Bad Born Blood - Chapter 185



Only Noblemtl

185

– Mr. Luca, you should prioritize protecting Anguise Regina. I will explain the details later, but… … I am the target of this raid. Anguise Regina is secondary. Then, once this situation is resolved, I will contact you again.

I listened to Japha’s recording. There was an explosion at the end of the recording. Japha was also under attack. It seemed like an emergency situation in many ways.

– The ruler of Border City’s food industry, Company Japha, has been attacked. Who on earth is behind this? As you all know… … There are so many possible explanations! It’s questionable whether Mr. Japha is even alive. The burning building you’re seeing right now is the headquarters of Company Japha, and I’m One Bright, in charge of relaying the situation! What if… … .

Angus Regina bit her lower lip as she watched the news on her terminal. I grabbed her overcoat hood and pulled it down lower.

“Don’t show your face to others. Walk while looking at the ground, and follow me while looking only at my legs.”

“I guess you’re used to this kind of thing.”

“It’s everyday life.”

I lightly kicked the duffel bag that was leaning against the wall. Blood was pooling and dripping down from the bottom of the bag.

Inside the duffel bag was the assassin I had defeated. I took off his combat uniform and stuffed him in, and he fit easily into the bag. In fact, since he had no legs, the volume was greatly reduced, so it wasn’t difficult.

First, I planned to take the assassin to the safe house and interrogate him.

I took a breather in the alley and surveyed the situation. In the distance, I saw a red haze like the setting sun. It wasn’t a real sunset, but the momentum of a firestorm. Beyond that, the Jafar Corporation building was burning. Border City’s attention must have been drawn to that area.

… … Gabriel and Boyan were not currently staying at Jaffa’s office. The only one who was concerned was Lapis. Without her, there would be no one to maintain my body.

I saw Anguise Regina biting her thumb.

“Are you worried about Jafar?”

Anguish Regina glanced at me and then belatedly opened her mouth.

“It’ll be okay since we have the Equsians and En.”

“Hmm, you can say that even after seeing Equusian being beaten so easily just now?”

“The Equsians who have joined me this time are low-level warriors. They must have thought it would be a waste to use their high-level forces to protect me, since you are here too. If it were any other time, En would have been my bodyguard.”

Angus Regina had great confidence in the Equusian mercenaries. It was probably a trust born of her experience. They had apparently done a good job so far.

Well, looking back on my experience, the best Equusian mercenaries were very skilled. Even if there were just three or four of them, they would be able to stop any reckless attack.

“Anguiseuuuu! Reginaaaaaaa!”

“Where are you! I will guide you to a safe place!”

There were also fans who were looking for Anguise Regina. They were moving to protect Anguise Regina, but they were only getting in the way.

“Don’t move.”

I made my move after making sure the noisy crowd had passed, and arrived at the safe house before the sun rose.

I looked up at the safe house. From the outside, it looked like one of the many residential villas scattered throughout Border City.

When I went inside, the hallway was dirty with trash that looked like it had been there for years, as if there had been no cleaners, and there was a strange smell every time I passed a different room.

Anguise Regina and I stood in front of the room designated as a safe house.

Dalgrak.

You can see a door that is locked and chained. There are also signs that someone tried to break it. However, despite its rusty appearance, the lock and chain were made of high-strength alloy. It was not something that a civilian could cut with a single stroke of his/her might.

I unlocked the locks in the prescribed order. The intricately tangled locks and chains unraveled one by one.

Creak.

The door opened slowly. The thickness of the door was about the length of my index finger. It would be impossible to penetrate even with a heavy weapon, and since it was a double door structure, there was another, thicker metal door on the inside.

‘This is a facility with top-notch defense capabilities. It’s like a bunker.’

The walls and floors were also incredibly thick. Because of this, there was a step up to the main gate, so you had to climb four steps to get inside.

The interior of the room was small, with reinforced walls, ceilings, and floors, and no windows. What looked like windows from the outside were fake.

‘It’s a structure that’s isolated from the outside. Water is drawn from a water tank in the ceiling, and a generator is used to generate electricity. The shelves are filled with compressed food and daily necessities.’

I squinted my eyes as I looked inside. This wasn’t just any safe house. It was a facility where you could survive alone for a few weeks, or even a couple of months. Even if the villa was bombed and completely destroyed, this room would still be able to survive.

‘Border City is in chaos, and Jafar has many enemies. The preparations are not strange. However, the equipment is excessive. It must not have cost a few pennies.’

And Jafar was not fazed by this attack. He calmly gave instructions and moved as if he knew it was coming.

I opened the bag of compressed food and chewed it.

“You drink it with water.”

Anguish Regina said as she sat down.

“I’m fine because I’m healthy. My digestion is also good.”

“……okay.”

Anguise Regina sighed and gave up on taunting me. She didn’t pay any attention to me, as if she had a lot to think about.

“By the way, do you know who Jafar’s enemy is?”

“I don’t know… … .”

I cut her off and laughed.

“Don’t lie. You’re more worried than flustered by this attack. You knew this day would come, right? If you want to hide it, you can. But if you want my help, you’ll have to say something. Even so, I owe Jafar quite a debt of gratitude. I’d rather step forward and help him than ask for it. Write it down while my favor is fresh.”

“You’ve suddenly become a silver-tongued speaker. You’re persuasive.”

“I guess my rehabilitation is coming to an end. I’m actually quite… logical and rational.”

Even I, as I speak, barely manage to hold back a laugh. Logical and rational, yes, um, but it’s not completely wrong. In some ways, it’s quite accurate.

“Ha, logical and rational? Let me think back on what happened. My knees are suddenly starting to hurt.”

Anguish Regina smiled faintly. She seemed to have taken my words as a joke.

“Anyway, if Jafar dies, I’ll be in trouble too.”

I said, observing Anguise Regina’s expression.

“You lighten the mood with humor and lead to secret answers. If you put your mind to it, you can seduce a woman well.”

“I don’t think he only seduces women.”

Angus Regina shook her shoulders and held back a laugh. She must have remembered me saying I liked men.

“You’ll find out soon anyway… … It’s not a big secret. Jafar is an outcast. He was kicked out of his family and has no protection. Well, no, it’s not just that he has no protection. He was a dishonorable person, and his family tried to kill him, so he was always on the run.”

It’s a story I’ve heard a lot.

‘Boyan.’

Jafar must have felt sympathy for Boyan when he saw him. If I had known a little more about the Tajirun race, I would have noticed the signs of that emotion.

‘Even if I don’t care, Jafar will continue to help Boyan.’

I was waiting for the story of Anguise Regina.

“In the past, Jafar went to his father and patriarch and made a deal. He paid a price and made a non-aggression pact. Today, that pact has been broken or expired. That’s why they’re trying to kill Jafar again.”

“I don’t know much about Tajirun, but… … Unlike Boyan, Jafar is excellent as a Tajirun. I don’t think they’d brand him with dishonor and banish him for just any reason.”

“That’s… …ask Jafar. That’s all I can dig into here, Detective.”

Anguish Regina said, putting her finger to her lips as if she had regained her composure. The safe house was literally safe. It had a cozy feel to it, and it also gave me psychological stability.

‘The best case scenario would be for Jafar to successfully renegotiate with his family.’

But I quickly erased that possibility from my mind. I have to prepare for the worst. That’s how I’ve survived so far.

Knock knock.

I tapped the duffel bag with my toes and untied the straps. The duffel bag came halfway down.

The assassin, wearing only black underwear and no combat uniform, squirmed. She tried to move her hands, but they were tied tightly behind her back, making it impossible.

“Hey, are you awake? You’re not dead, are you?”

The white-haired assassin opened her eyes dimly. The burnt cross-section of her thigh still emanated a charred smell. Angus Regina averted her gaze for a moment, as if it was difficult to see the injury.

“you…….”

The assassin frowned at me. My maskless face would look familiar.

‘This woman’s cognitive abilities have declined significantly. Aging is inevitable.’

An assassin in her prime would have instantly thought of me. Now, she had trouble recognizing me because my body shape and appearance had changed slightly.

“If you stay quiet, I won’t kill you. Well, it seems like you don’t have much time left to live anyway. And to be an assassin at that age… … Didn’t you not prepare enough for retirement? What did you do with all that money?”

I said, pretending not to know her. The assassin waited another ten seconds before opening his eyes.

“That boy from back then. I didn’t kill you.”

“Ashitabi this and that and that.”

I said grumblingly. The assassin laughed hollowly.

“The arrogance of my past has become a hindrance to my present. Arrogance eats away at the future, not the present.”

“That’s why you should have killed him when you could. You’re getting into this situation because you’re trying to act like you’re better than everyone else.”

I laughed. The assassin nodded resignedly, not even showing any anger. I held back the gnashing of my teeth at that reaction.

“You are right. So just kill me. If you have any interest in the arrogant mercy I have shown you, I beg you to do me a favor.”

“… … Before that, if you know anything, tell me everything. Then I’ll do whatever you want.”

“You know this well, right? An executor like me receives missions through a middleman. I don’t know my clients. Well, maybe it was different in the past. I’m not a big shot anymore.”

She said with her own mouth that she was not a big shot. The way she used to subdue me and look down on me was nowhere to be found. That woman who said with her own mouth that she was strong without a single doubt… … .

… … I wanted to grimace and swear.

‘Why are you weak?’

I know the reason. It’s because of aging. But I didn’t want to accept it.

“Let’s talk about something else. What are the side effects of aging?”

“It’s not so much a side effect as a fair price to pay. Because I forcibly stopped aging and strengthened my body. It was an unstable procedure to begin with, and later on, I overused regenerative treatments. I was quite old when I met you before.”

The assassin spoke calmly.

“Really? How old were you then?”

“You shouldn’t ask a woman’s age carelessly. It’s not just about her age. You’d better not expect to hear anything from me.”

The assassin laughed bitterly. She looked transcendent from life to death.

“Are you really going to take the hard path? Do you think I’ll let you off because you’re an old man?”

I said, curling my fingers heavily. An ominous sound came from my palm.

“You look angry at my appearance, don’t you? Do you know why? Whether we replace flesh and blood with horrifying machines, or use biotechnology to strengthen cells and chemically treat our nervous systems… … we will eventually age and become weak. It’s just that it’s slow and fast. My appearance is like your future, which you couldn’t die in time. Isn’t it? Little one.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore and grabbed the assassin by the hair and slammed him to the floor.

Kwajik!

Her nose broke cheerfully.

“I’m going to die before I end up like you. I don’t plan on living comfortably and dying in bed.”

I lifted my hair and let go of my guard.

“Kick, kick. I did that too. But where in life do I ever get to do what I want?”

The assassin spat his broken front teeth on the floor and said:

I bit my lower lip. I wanted to bang her head on the floor and make it burst. But I let go.

“I won’t kill you. Death is what you want. So, just gulp down the porridge I feed you and hang on to your life.”

A life of helplessness is a cruel punishment. The more fiercely one lives, the more painful it will be.