Bad Born Blood - Chapter 177



Only Noblemtl

177

We live in an age where standards do not exist.

There is something called an average in humans, or in all species. If there are abnormally large differences between individuals and their physical structures are different, they cannot be established as a species.

Every species has its own innate temperament and tendencies, and clear physical limitations, no matter how hard it tries.

‘Bullet dodge.’

It’s a joke that people like me make.

However, humans originally cannot dodge bullets. No matter how much you train, it is impossible. It may be possible once by chance, but it is impossible to do it intentionally.

In this day and age, we humans are replacing our bodies with machines, and furthermore, we are manipulating hormones and receptors and chemically processing our nervous systems.

The modern era is one in which artificial modifications have become routine to the point where the average value of a species has become meaningless. The value of an individual has changed to the point where it can be considered a different species, not to the point where it reaches its innate limit.

That’s why such a ridiculous fight was possible.

‘Fireworks should not collide.’

Dodge and attack. Blocking should be excluded from the options.

This is the first time I’ve been this focused since waking up in Border City. I have to use my senses to anticipate the enemy’s movements and keep my body positioned precisely.

Mistakes that lead to death are part of my daily life, but I’ve never been this close. If I just misplace my feet and body, I’m in a situation where I can’t recover and end up dead.

Jeeeeing!

On one side of the Hwagwangyeodo, plasma fever was intense. The heated atmosphere was visible as if it was glowing.

Every time he swung his sword, a long afterimage remained, and a dizzying trajectory followed. The same was true for the two fire-light swords Balek used.

Whoosh!

Balek would sometimes wield one of his fire-light swords in reverse and perform unconventional attacks. When he became accustomed to the attack, he would change his sword and take another stance.

‘Balek is experienced.’

We fought in silence. The three swords swung through the air, leaving behind only plasma glow and afterimages, and Valek and I performed acrobatic feats using every joint in our bodies, narrowly avoiding the blades every time.

Cheek!

The hem of the clothes cut by the blade burned with heat. A pungent smell of charcoal rose up.

Whoosh!

Balek leaned down and aimed for my leg. I dodged the blade with a light jump.

Kit!

Then came Balek’s stab aimed at my chest. It was a series of attacks that made good use of the advantage of the twin swords.

But I didn’t just jump. I jumped with my toes off the ground, making it easy for me to spin around in the air. I had expected this kind of attack.

Choaack!

And he swung his fire-light sword and aimed for Balek’s neck. Balek flinched and hesitated whether to block it or not.

‘This is truly a difficult fight.’

If you block, both of you will die. However, rather than dying alone, it would be better to take the enemy with you. At the worst possible moment, you will choose to block.

So, you have to be careful with your attacks. In particular, the finishing blow has to be so subtle that the enemy can’t even respond.

In some ways, it was a ridiculous battle. They avoided each other as if they were in sync, and sometimes attacked in an awkward manner.

As I continued to fight the difficult battle, my concentration became condensed into a single point. The blurry world became clearer. The gloomy colors of the world suddenly became bright like primary colors.

It’s great for rehabilitation.

“under.”

A brief smile passes across my lips.

Alright, Balek. I don’t know where you came from, or what you learned from Kinuan, but you’re a very fine man, a sacrifice for my rehabilitation.

I squeezed out the skills I had been suppressing. I checked what I could do now and how far I could see ahead. The water of concentration kept gushing out from the well that I thought was dry.

Kirit!

I boldly aimed my Hwagwangyedo directly into the path of Balek’s sword.

Whirl!

Balek frowned and changed the trajectory of his blade. It was a delight to watch Balek’s reaction.

The rough stimulation was waking up my brain. It was running more actively than ever. I was thinking smoothly. My split mind was analyzing Valek from various angles and giving orders to my body.

“Gabriel! Get Ernest Borel out of here. Don’t kill him, there’s still something to dig up!”

I shouted without even looking back. I could tell without looking that Gabriel had arrived.

For a moment, I could hear Gabriel and Ernest arguing. But I didn’t have time to pay attention to that. Valek’s narrow eyes sparkled and he accelerated his movements.

“after.”

I let out a short breath. My brain and body were properly heated. I can do it now. I feel like I can push myself without losing my reason and consciousness.

… … just like I used to be.

The light and smooth accident became heavy as if changing gears. The heavy accident had the same amount of force, crushing and pulling time.

As if I had been administered Jin-Gau’s drug, everything seemed slow and then stopped. A moment ago, I could only perceive parts of Balek, such as his sword, arms, and legs, but now I could see Balek’s entire body and even his surroundings.

Chijik.

Let’s stop here before our brains go to shit. The moment of hyper-focus was enough to gain the upper hand. Even if it’s just for a moment, if we can think far ahead of our opponents, that’s all we need.

Whoosh!

I swung my sword lightly. It seemed as if I was swinging it into the air, but Balek’s right arm caught the exact path of my blade.

To anyone watching, it would seem as if Balek is offering his arm to me. It was a feat made possible by recognizing the gap in perception and moving through it.

Cheeeeeet!

The Hwagwangyedo cleanly cut off Balek’s right arm. The cross-section where the machine parts were exposed was sizzling red.

It’s a great sword. The first time I cut something, I fell in love with it. Usually, weapons with enhanced cutting power are less fun to cut. However, this one had a nice resistance in my hand the moment I cut, and it was delicious.

Balek retreated urgently. From his perspective, this must have been an unpredictable situation. My skills must have increased absurdly in an instant. To be exact, I moved at a level that even an Archie’s Victima expert could not calculate.

This was purely the superiority of the Archies Victory.

Whirl!

I straightened up and stretched my Hwagwangyedo forward.

Cheeeee!

Balek looked back and forth between the cut surface of his charred forearm and me.

Kit!

He managed to snatch the fire-light sword from his right hand with his foot and put it in his waistband. Hmm, he did a good job of taking care of it in the midst of the chaos. He really is quite talented. People who have seen me up until now must have felt this way.

“……how?”

It was a word from Balek that was a mixture of embarrassment and admiration.

Gulp.

I felt blood coming from my nose and wiped it with my sleeve.

A tingling headache was creeping up on me from the inside of my head. I had only been in the hyperfocus zone for a moment, but it was already like this. It was only natural that my old brain was damaged.

“When I died and came back to life, even this became possible.”

I once switched my cerebrospinal fluid to a refrigerant and reached a state of hyperfocus for a long time. The unique neural connections that emerged then are scarred into my brain.

Although I said it was a super-focused area and such, it is only the maximization of the abilities of the Archies Victory and the Royal Guard.

For example, if a natural human being runs 100 meters in 10 seconds, he is just running well. However, if he runs 100 meters in 1 second, that can be called a superpower.

Likewise, thought acceleration is something any guard who has undergone neurochemical treatment can do, and multi-faceted reasoning is a basic ability of Archie’s Victima adepts.

However, beyond the perception of time slowing down, the ability to stop and extend countless branches of thought within the stopped time was something that could be called a special ability.

Thanks to the dangerous and unfamiliar stimulus called Valek, I was able to bring out my potential to the limit. That’s why practice is important.

“I heard you were Mister-level, but you’re even better than that.”

Mista, a term meaning someone who is skilled in Aikies Victory and capable of teaching others. I heard this word from Kinuan before.

“You’re pretty good too. As a rehab partner.”

“My pride is greatly hurt, but I cannot deny that you are superior to me. Just now… … I was really surprised.”

“There will be many surprises in the future. You will learn that there are such novel tortures in the world.”

I flinched as I approached Valek. Valek smiled faintly and pointed behind me.

“But you have a lot of impurities and baggage. You will need to use your abilities multiple times to capture me, and the engagement will be long.”

The word ‘lump of luggage’ refers to Gabriel.

“I don’t care about the back. They’re all grown ups, so they’ll figure it out. My only interest is Kinuan’s traces.”

“The source of the chaos you create is the contradiction itself. The contradiction of rejecting others while embracing them.”

That must be what I heard from Kinuan. I guess he really is Kinuan’s disciple.

“Well, that’s it for now… … .”

Any attempt to figure me out is disgusting.

“You probably think you can leave that big guy alone and capture me. But when the time comes, you’ll run to that side. That deviation is what deepens the chaos.”

We shouldn’t talk any more, let’s just fight.

Ta-Ang!

But my senses were already where Gabriel and Ernest had disappeared to, and I keenly picked up the gunshot. Perhaps something had happened between Gabriel and Ernest.

Valek, the user of AKS Victory. I feel this every time, but AKS Victory users are full of annoying people. Including me.

I wanted to move in a different direction from Balek’s arrogant assumptions and flatten his nose. If it was a matter related to my life, I would have gladly done so. I hate moving according to others’ expectations even if there is a higher chance of death.

‘This is difficult.’

It is disadvantageous for the user of Aki’s Victory to be the first to understand the principles of his actions. The reason I am constantly being taken advantage of by Kinuan is because I do not know his principles of action.

I don’t know how Valek works, so it’s hard for me to gain the upper hand in psychological warfare.

Well, it’s a long thought, but I know myself this time. I know how I’m going to act. It’s a bit of a stretch, but Gabriel’s survival is important to my interests. The only person who can kindly fill in the gaps of the past is him at the moment.

Swish.

Balek was stepping back. He was looking at me and slowly backing away.

“I’m letting you go here not just for Gabriel’s safety. If you continue to be this complacent, you’ll suffer a terrible fate.”

“Of course. I know that your choice now is based on a combination of interests. I’m not saying this to get out of here. If you were confident that you could subdue me, you would have continued the fight even at the risk of your comrades.”

And Balek was building up my pride. He might provoke me for no reason and then I might get angry and chase him away.

He was smart. Maybe he was more suited to Archie’s Victory than I was, given his personality. A guy who throws away his pride and all that has more options.

Valek disappeared around the corner. After confirming that he had disappeared, I followed Gabriel and Ernest.

Thud, thud.

Gabriel and Ernest didn’t go far. They didn’t even go to the road and get into the car they had prepared. In the dark alley where not even sunlight could enter, the smell of fresh blood wafted.

bang!

The gunshots rang out another foot. I leaned my shoulder against the wall, staring down the alley.

I heard Gabriel swearing, and I saw his bloody face. With his eyes wide open, he pulled the trigger repeatedly toward Ernest’s body.

“Lu, Lu, Luca… … I, I’m sorry.”

Gabriel stuttered when he saw me. He tried to smile, but his mouth was twitching. It was a strange expression that was neither smiling nor crying.

“Oh, I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t allow this brat to breathe for even one more second. Siren and Runia’s faces kept coming to mind… … I couldn’t stand it anymore, I thought I was going to die.”

I expected it. That’s why I didn’t want to leave Gabriel and Ernest alone. I couldn’t help it because of Balek’s appearance.

I sighed, pushed my shoulders away from the wall, and approached Gabriel.

“I’ll collect the body. You wipe up the blood and wait at the hospital.”

Gabriel nodded and stamped his foot on Ernest’s already tattered face. Ernest’s head was strewn about like pulverized meat.