Bad Born Blood - Chapter 133



Only Noblemtl

133

From the audience with His Majesty Krachia, the virtual simulation began to react abnormally.

Chijik, Chik.

The sensory noise was so bad that at first I thought there was a loss of data.

‘That’s not it.’

The simulation was accelerating abnormally fast. It was hard to see what was happening. I tried to consciously slow down time, but it didn’t work.

‘It’s Noel’s doing.’

Noel secured important memories. They were fast and had lots of blank spaces.

The scene was blurry and passed quickly. The sound was also distant and mumbled. No matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn’t hear it.

‘Noel and the Emperor of that time are talking.’

Was there even a concept called the Emperor’s Watcher, Archies Domini, at that time? Even if there was no name, a similar concept would have existed.

From this time on, Noel must have also become the Emperor’s watcher.

Goooow.

Suddenly an incomprehensible sight flashed before my eyes.

I could see the stars and the universe. And then there was a fleet of ships, seemingly made of bone and flesh, advancing, emitting a strange darkness.

The ship was bloodshot, as if it had turned the inside out of a living thing inside out, and its outer skin, with its blood vessels pulsing, seemed to breathe. It seemed as if blood would drip out at any moment. The propulsion system at the rear was spreading darkness instead of light and flame.

Even looking at it as a fragment of memory, it felt unsettling. I instinctively felt a sense of rejection.

‘It’s neither Corrado nor Bellato… … .’

This is a ship of a construction style that I have never seen before. It was originally a ship built with organic materials. As far as I know, there is no ship of that style, not only among humans but also among aliens.

The fleet, which seemed to be woven together by death, was breathtaking to look at. It felt like my heart was being crushed.

Pot!

My eyes flashed dizzyingly. Unable to bear it any longer, I pulled my consciousness and senses out into the outside world.

“Haa, haa.”

My breathing was ragged, as if I had just surfaced from a dive. I felt my forehead and took off the simulation device I was wearing.

“Luca?”

“Baby, no, Giselle. Give me some water.”

I almost called Giselle Agatha. I was still confused. I couldn’t even tell if I was Noel or Luca. I wasn’t even sure if this was the era I knew. Maybe my life as Luca was just a dream.

‘A sense of floating reality. A hazy identity.’

I had a Harry Disorder. Even though it was a low-depth simulation, the side effects were severe. The virtual and the real felt vague.

‘That means the identity level between me and Noel was high.’

Giselle, sensing that my condition was serious, brought me water without saying a word.

“Sorry, but the mirror too.”

Giselle also has some knowledge of virtual simulations. She noticed that I was having a Harry disorder and quickly brought me a hand mirror.

‘I am Luca.’

Luca, from the 72nd Orphanage in the lower district.

‘Guard cadet.’

He is about to graduate. He also received a medal of honor.

‘Now it’s Lucas Custoria.’

This is not a dream. The name Custoria is an achievement I have earned through my own efforts. Bring your consciousness into reality. This is the world I live in. Don’t be buried in the past.

‘Kinuan, Hailas, Giselle, Gabrielle, Gilda… … . Grace, Martina Diva… … .’

I thought about how others see me. The way others see me is also a part of the self. I gathered the Luca inside and outside and held on to the self and identity that were about to scatter.

Clink, clank.

The hand mirror I was holding kept shaking because my hands were shaking.

‘I’m not Noel, I’m Luca.’

But my brain was rejecting my claims and will. I looked like Noel in the mirror. The situation was quite serious. My brain was recognizing me as Noel.

A gap has developed between consciousness and cognition.

“Giselle.”

I said, holding back my breathing.

“say.”

“Tell me you love me. So I can feel like this is real.”

Giselle reached out and grabbed my cheek. Then she tilted her head and kissed my lips.

“… … This is reality, Luca.”

My ragged breathing calmed down. The image I saw in Giselle’s pupils was not Noel, but Luca.

“It works better than words.”

I closed my eyes and opened them, saying, As soon as my brain accepted reality, my condition stabilized dramatically.

“What on earth did you see?”

“I don’t know, but it must be one of the reasons Noel is frustrated. Barbara… …is still inside the simulation.”

I was so out of it that I didn’t even realize that Barbara was right next to me. She was wandering around the simulation as if she was asleep. Her eyelids and fingertips were twitching intermittently.

Barbara will be much slower than me. The lower her identity score, the longer it takes her to interpret and accept other people’s memories. She will also get less information than I do.

‘Barbara might not have seen the fleet I just saw.’

The reason I woke up was because I had glimpsed a secured memory. This was possible because the identity score was high.

‘It’s true that Noel and I are similar.’

I also felt it deeply. I hesitated to jump into the simulation. If I were to look at it from an observer’s perspective rather than Noel’s, there would be no such side effects.

‘But I have to finish the simulation before Barbara. And we don’t have much time.’

And if it’s not Noel’s point of view, the memory will be less complete. I’ll miss a lot of things.

To get anything out of Noel’s choices and decisions, we need to look at the simulation from his perspective.

Creak.

I grabbed the simulation device. Giselle didn’t stop me, even though she looked worried.

I closed my eyes and continued the virtual simulation.

* * *

I don’t know what the Emperor and Noel talked about.

However, I could understand the flow and outline of it. This may be because it is a similar situation to the current empire.

‘A powerful enemy from outside.’

If we lose, the survival of the nation will be at stake. If the nation collapses, everyone, whether noble or poor, will die, and even if they survive, they will be reduced to slavery.

Compared to the question of national survival, the gap between rich and poor and class conflict are minor issues.

“… … Be their focal point, Noel Mulizka.”

The emperor, who did not even show his face, uttered his last words. This was heard clearly. This was a scene left intentionally by Noel.

‘Agatha must have seen this scene. Barbara must have seen this.’

This is an important reminder: the first rebellion was a royal plot.

‘With this information alone, Barbara’s chances of survival will increase dramatically. She’s caught one of the Empire’s weak points.’

The Emperor must have told Noel that Accrecia could not survive without internal stability. And he must have presented evidence so clear that even the clever Noel could not deny it.

“What will you do if I refuse? Will you kill me on the spot?”

“Do as you wish. If we don’t find a way out, we’ll perish anyway, and the planet Ark will become our grave. Whether you take Kyung’s life here or not, it has no meaning in the grand scheme of things. Close your eyes, cover your ears, and enjoy your happiness. That’s the life of a criminal.”

The Emperor extended his hand, and the door leading out of the audience room opened by itself. But Noel did not leave.

“… … I wanted to be proof that you can choose a better life.”

“Not everyone can live a life of abundance. We lack everything. Moreover, we are humans who cannot give up greed. People would rather throw away what they have than share it.”

I was slowly sucked into Noel’s point of view.

“I know that too. But down there, people are crushed by despair and dying because there is no hope. Even if not everyone can live a better life, hope and faith alone can give us the strength to endure the suffering. Even if I cannot be the light that illuminates down there, I thought I could be a ray of light as a signpost.”

After hearing my words, the emperor placed his elbows on the armrest and rested his chin on it.

“If you are a light, you can be a small light that can save people’s hearts. But in the end, everyone will scream and die. As I said before, if it’s for your own satisfaction, you can do whatever you want. I won’t bother you, so don’t bother me either. I have to save their lives, not their hearts. That’s the duty of a ruler.”

On the emperor’s backlit face, a blue flame-like light rose from his eyes.

Even without closing her eyes, the world seemed dark. It was Aquis Victima’s intuition. The world would become darker. So pitch-black that nothing could be seen, so black.

But we must live even if we lose the light and wander in the darkness.

Noel’s distant despair repelled me. I saw him behind Noel like a ghost.

“I will accept it, Your Majesty.”

Soon, even Noel turned black.

* * *

Noel’s memories of his boyhood and youth were long, perhaps because they were such happy and sweet times that he would not want to forget them.

But the memories of the young age were fragmentary. They passed quickly, like dots. And the scenery and backgrounds that represented Noel’s image were always gloomy and dark.

The identity between me and Noel was so low that I was separated into separate characters. This is because I could not fully understand the emotions and anguish Noel felt during this time.

“Noeeeeeeel-!!”

Catherine cries. The Mulizka family was on the path to ruin. It was because their son-in-law had become a heinous criminal.

Noel even went so far as to extract soldiers from Mulizkajaeger to follow him. Many of the early rebels were from Mulizkajaeger.

The Mulizka family, marked by infamy, were ostracized from the aristocratic society and fell to the bottom. The only way out for them was to kill Noel.

A furious Catherine led her forces into a surprise attack on Noel and the rebels. It was a battle that stripped away all of Mulizka’s assets.

‘Catherine.’

I could see Noel’s regretful heart.

The Mulizka family was also a target of the Emperor’s purge. Mulizka was not the only one. The private units of nobles organized into regular troops would be evaporated one by one as they fought against Noel’s rebels.

‘A measure to reduce the influence of noble families.’

To carry out a grand plan, one needs the power to suppress opposition. The Emperor organized his internal affairs to gain that power.

The battle between Catherine’s forces and Noel’s rebels passed quickly.

Noel’s Archetype Victory was in the final stages of completion. The rebel officers who had been taught by him also overwhelmed the regular army.

“Ha, haha. I gave you everything. I wanted to see what your dream was. But is this all the light you were chasing? It burns so brightly. Because you burned everything you built, betraying everyone! Ah, it shines! Noel!”

The captured Catherine screamed.

“Katherine, I… … .”

Noel hesitated as he spoke. What could he possibly say to her? He narrowed his eyes and continued.

“… … This is what I wanted to do. To change the world from the bottom up. I realized that it was impossible from the top down.”

Noel turned his back cruelly, and Catherine committed suicide in prison.

‘There is no light.’

Noel failed to become light. Instead, he became a black hole that sucked in even the smallest bit of light. He would embrace and swallow all the light of the empire before dying.

The Emperor and Noel’s plan seemed to be going smoothly. With the imperial family and the rebels knocking on both sides, the empire was firmly established.

But things in life don’t always go according to plan.

There was a ferocious genius who tore apart the two men’s thorough plans.

A strange being appeared on the battlefield. It was a human wearing armor. That alone was not unusual. The armored body was often used in actual combat.

Nevertheless, what made this being so different was… …purely because of its overwhelming violence. It was incomparable to existing combat vehicles and soldiers. It was on a different level from other armored vehicles.

Affection is weak. Hatred is empty. But love and hate are tenacious and strong.

The mental strength and fighting spirit that were forged through love and hate were not crushed by the mindless machine. They drew out all their potential without losing their self.

The heterogeneous armored body rushed through the rebels as if it were piercing through them. It was a majestic sight, as if the idea of ​​destruction had been manifested on the ground. Even the flying and crawling warriors of the past were torn to pieces like toys.

-I judge you on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor and the people of the Empire, Noel Mulizka.

The letters engraved on the armor were Scylla. It was a mechanical sound, but Noel knew who she was.

“… … Agatha.”