Chapter 39
The Barbara’s Curse incident was shrouded in mystery.
There were still numerous unresolved aspects.
But first and foremost, survival was the priority.
I ignored the pain creeping up from my side. Blocking out unnecessary sensations, I focused on detecting any external threats.
‘Attack drone.’
Drones were highly efficient as weapons. Despite their weak defenses, they could attack enemies unilaterally from a safe distance.
Whirrrr.
I pinpointed the drone's location by carefully listening to the direction of the gunfire and the sound of its movement. It was approaching from the north side of the garden.
I quickly took cover behind a marble pillar taking Giselle.
‘I don’t have a weapon on hand right now.’
I was practically unarmed. The only thing I had was a mere pocket knife, barely more useful than a can opener.
‘But taking down the drone is easy enough but…’
Now that I had located it, I was confident I could dodge its shots. The drone’s reaction speed wasn’t fast enough to hit me. The only reason I had been caught off guard earlier was because of a surprise attack from long range, without any prior warning. If Giselle hadn’t been there, I might have narrowly avoided it.
‘The problem is that if I move at high speed, my wound might worsen.’
If there were more enemies lurking around, I had to be cautious. There was no point in recklessly pushing my body to its limits just to take down a single drone.
Gunfire rang out, but the drone was equipped with a silencer, making it questionable whether anyone nearby would even notice. For now, I had to assume that escaping on my own was my only option.
‘I swear I’ll smash your face in, you damn woman.’
Picturing Barbara’s face in my mind, I steeled my resolve.
“Do you have a mirror?”
At my request, Giselle pulled a compact mirror from her inner pocket. Snatching it from her, I used its reflection to get a clear view of the drone’s position.
The drone’s form was faintly visible, its matte black surface blending seamlessly into the night sky.
‘Focus, Luca.’
I steadied myself, closing my eyes for a brief moment before reopening them. As my senses sharpened, the surrounding objects became crystal clear.
Whoosh!
Spinning swiftly, I leaped out from behind the marble pillar. Using the rotational force of my body, I hurled the pocket knife like a projectile.
A silver arc shot forward in a straight trajectory. The pocket knife streaked through the air like a guided missile, heading straight for the drone.
Ka-clang!
A metallic clang resounded as sparks flew. The pocket knife tangled with the propeller, causing a loud, jarring noise.
Tududududu!
The drone, now crippled like a bird with shredded wings, spiraled downward while firing wildly in all directions. To avoid getting hit by stray bullets, I pressed myself flat against the ground, shielding my head.
I didn’t check the condition of the fallen drone. Smashing it completely with just a pocketknife was impossible. If I got too close, I could’ve been shot. But at least I had disabled its flight function, so it wouldn’t be chasing us anymore.
While I was fighting, Giselle had regained her senses and was fiddling with her terminal.
"Is the communication function working?"
When I asked, Giselle shook her head.
"No. Both internal and external communication are down."
Mine was the same. The screen stuttered like an old terminal that had been in use for over a decade before displaying an error message.
‘Could a mere student really pull this off?’
Absolutely not. There was something more going on that we didn’t know. Barbara had some kind of background.
—Static.—
A burst of noise crackled from Giselle’s terminal.
—Giselle, Giselle, Giselle. I tried to protect you, so why did you betray me? And Luka…—
Barbara’s voice, distorted by static, sounded even more eerie.
—I like you. So… I want you to despise me even more.—
I snatched the terminal from Giselle and crushed it in my grip. Tiny fragments of the device crumbled into dust, scattering across my palm.
"There’s no need to listen to the ramblings of a lunatic. This incident is probably…"
I trailed off, clutching my side. No matter how much she was the daughter of the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Giselle was still a civilian. I couldn’t say any more.
‘They’re operating on a level above me.’
I recalled the Commander of the Imperial Guard’s lukewarm response.
‘Not just me—he even used his own daughter as bait.’
The misplaced pieces were finally falling into place in my mind.
‘He’s my superior… but he’s ruthless.’
I prepared to take Giselle to a safer location.
At the entrance of the garden stood a familiar face. It was Felix Eigen, another Imperial Guard cadet dispatched like me.
"Felix, is this an order from higher up?"
The moment I saw him, I asked. He had come equipped with a sword and a handgun, seemingly to support me.
"Yeah. Looks like you’re getting special treatment again. I didn’t receive a single heads-up about this operation."
Felix shrugged and chuckled.
"I wasn’t informed beforehand either. I only realized I was following their plan after everything started."
The Imperial Guard was working on a larger scale. Even as mere cadets, they kept us in the dark, ensuring secrecy at all costs.
"Wait, hold on. Are you saying… this was all my father’s plan?"
Felix and I were soldiers, so being treated as expendable tools was something we had come to accept. But Giselle couldn't take it as easily. Of course, it made sense—after all, the orders had come from her own father. It was only natural for her to be shaken.
Felix, however, was more concerned about me than Giselle’s reaction. His gaze stopped at my wounded side.
"Is it serious?"
"If I don’t get treated soon, they might find my corpse by morning."
"So it’s not a problem yet."
I smirked. Felix kept the sword for himself and tossed me the handgun since I was injured.
He then pulled out his terminal to report to command. His device seemed to be functioning properly.
"Right now, Luka and Giselle Custo—"
Felix never got to finish his report.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. The bullet shattered Felix’s terminal—and took his right hand with it.
Felix didn’t even scream. As if we had rehearsed it beforehand, we immediately scattered to the left and right, pressing against the garden entrance walls.
Kiing!
I pulled Giselle behind me and placed my finger on the pistol’s trigger. I locked eyes with Felix, who was hiding against the opposite wall.
‘A seasoned opponent.’
We had been ambushed, yet we hadn't sensed the enemy at all. The shot was fired from close range—it wasn’t a long-distance sniper.
Whoever had attacked us was trained in stealth and ambush tactics. Skilled enough to fool even the senses of Imperial Guard cadets like us.
‘Luka, cover me.’
Felix mouthed the words silently. He was planning to charge toward the direction of the gunfire with his sword. If we focused, we could deflect a few bullets.
I nodded and steadied my breathing.
"Hey! Let’s have a chat. If I had really aimed for your heads, one of you would already be dead."
The attacker spoke from the end of the path leading to the garden entrance.
They had deliberately revealed their position, letting us pinpoint their location. They were extremely confident in their skills.
Felix and I quickly exchanged hand signals and adjusted our plan.
‘While I distract the attacker, Felix will circle around and strike from behind.’
The plan was made in an instant. Felix kicked off his shoes and moved without a sound. Meanwhile, I raised my voice.
"A chat? Shouldn’t you at least know who we are before asking for one?"
The enemy wouldn’t even suspect we had already devised a counterattack. It was almost as if I had responded without thinking.
"I know very well. Aren't you the adorable little cadet?"
The attacker sneered before continuing, "I don't have much time, so I'll get straight to the point. Hand over Giselle Custoria."
"Planning to ransom her off for a hefty price?"
I was trying to buy time, no matter what.
"Our princess wants her. I don’t really want to do this to kids, either. But you’re a soldier, so you get it, right? Orders are orders, whether you like them or not."
My eyes widened at his words. Something felt off.
‘He said you, not you all.’
The attacker knew Felix was flanking him!
I had no choice—I braced myself to take a bullet and leaned out from behind the wall, head and shoulders exposed. I had to cover Felix now.
Crack.
The sound hit me before anything else. The sickening snap of bone breaking and twisting out of place. It wasn’t loud. Just a sharp, precise rupture that cut through the silence.
‘Felix is down.’
I quickly assessed the situation. The attacker had Felix by the throat. With one hand, he had snapped Felix’s neck and was now staring directly at me.
Felix’s limbs dangled limply, twitching sporadically. His sword lay abandoned on the ground.
I shoved my emotions aside. Now wasn’t the time. I had to focus on the enemy.
Kiing.
The attacker was clad in a full-body combat suit, completely sealed with no exposed gaps.
Its surface shimmered, shifting colors seamlessly to match the surroundings. Camouflage technology—no wonder we hadn't noticed him.
‘So that’s why we couldn’t detect him.’
The attacker tossed Felix’s body aside like a ragdoll and turned toward me.
Kiing.
His helmet emitted a faint hum, and two pairs of glowing red eyes flared to life. The suit’s camouflage faded, locking into a solid black color—he no longer needed to hide.
Bang!
I fired at his head, wanting to test his reaction speed.
The attacker tilted his head to the side, dodging the bullet with ease. Fast.
Fast enough that Felix hadn't stood a chance. That meant his combat skills were on par with an Imperial Guard.
‘This is going to be rough.’
I curled one side of my lip.
"Giselle, the moment I start fighting, you run at full speed. Don’t look back. I’ll buy as much time as I can."
"I…"
I clamped my palm over Giselle’s mouth.
"There’s no time to argue. Just do as I say."
I bared my teeth, growling low. This was the best option. Besides, the enemy’s goal was to capture Giselle alive. If she ran, it would at least divide his attention.
I stepped out from behind the cover of the wall.
"I don’t really want to kill two juniors in a single night."
The attacker muttered as he looked at me.
‘Junior?’
That word momentarily distracted me.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the attacker had closed the distance. His speed was insane. The red glow of his helmet's optics flickered along the path he had taken.
Wham!
I crossed my arms to block his kick, but the force still sent me flying a good twenty meters.
"You’re surprisingly good at throwing off my senses! Cute, really!"
The attacker let out a cheerful laugh as he sent me crashing.
Clench!
I bit my tongue hard in frustration. The pain snapped me back to focus.
Even if I put everything I had into this fight, winning was uncertain. I couldn’t afford any distractions. What was I doing? Pathetic, Luka.
The one fortunate—yet infuriating—thing was that my opponent was underestimating me. He hadn’t used his sword or gun. He hadn’t even followed up with another attack.
…And he had given me time to prepare.
Creak, creak.
My right cybernetic eye spun rapidly, almost frantically. A movement impossible for a biological eye.
A flood of visual data poured into my brain. It felt as though my occipital lobe—the part responsible for processing vision—was heating up.
I reconstructed the visual information into a three-dimensional map inside my head. Within a hundred-meter radius, I could perceive everything—as if I had lived in this place for decades.
‘Akies Combat Technique.’
At its core, it was an extreme form of analysis and insight—pushing past the brain’s limitations, even if it meant risking damage. It started by expanding the senses, allowing me to grasp my surroundings with near-perfect clarity.
A throbbing headache pounded in my skull, and a feverish heat spread across my forehead.
Bang!
I fired a series of shots at the attacker.
Whoosh!
He weaved left and right, dodging the bullets while closing the gap between us.
For just a fraction of a second, his gaze flickered toward Giselle as she fled.
I tossed aside my empty pistol and moved. Backpedaling swiftly, I hugged the wall near the garden entrance before leaping over it without even looking.
The mental 3D map in my head matched reality perfectly.
As I cleared the wall, I kicked off it midair to propel myself even farther.
Not a single motion was wasted. Even if my speed wasn’t overwhelming, my efficiency was—leaving no openings for the attacker to catch up.
‘Borrowing this, Felix.’
I landed beside Felix’s corpse and grabbed his sword, twirling it in my grip. The moment I started high-speed movement, the bleeding from my side worsened.
"You didn’t even look, yet you accurately gauged your surroundings and moved accordingly… That’s Akies optimization, isn’t it?"
The attacker crouched atop the wall, pointing at me. I didn’t bother responding.
He stroked his chin as if deep in thought before continuing.
"…Since you seem to have learned Akies Victima, I won’t kill you."
I raised an eyebrow, my brow furrowing.
The way he spoke—as if he was above me, as if he had any authority over my life—disgusted me.
I didn’t like most people, but this bastard? He was exactly the kind I hated the most.