Chapter 40
My close-quarters combat skills were among the top even among the cadets. I had a certain pride in that.
However, the assailant mercilessly shattered my pride. He was clearly superior to me. Every time he lightly extended the back of his hand or his palm, my sword was deflected to the side as if it were a lie. He was parrying my sword strikes with his bare hands.
Ka- ang!
I barely managed to pull back my sword and aimed for the assailant’s neck once more. The assailant tilted his upper body at an angle and targeted my chest with his palm.
Kwa-duk!
I blocked the assailant’s attack with the bottom of my sword hilt. I felt a shock so intense that it seemed as if my fingers would break as I was sent flying backward.
‘He’s going easy on me. If he weren’t, I would’ve been dead already.’
Not even five seconds had passed since the fight began. In extreme situations, one’s sense of time becomes distorted. A single second, which would normally pass in an instant, now felt as long as a full minute.
The assailant was exceptional. His martial prowess was so impressive that it made me want to admire him. If he weren’t my enemy, I would have wanted to learn from him.
“Step back, kid. I don’t want to kill you. If you understand who you’re up against, your superior won’t blame you. The Imperial Guard wouldn’t have taught you to waste your life meaninglessly.”
The assailant spoke leisurely, revealing information about himself.
I had an idea of his identity. No matter how strictly the Empire controlled information, they couldn’t stop rumors from spreading through word of mouth.
‘An anti-Imperialist terrorist group.’
The so-called ‘Enemy of the Empire,’ known only through speculation and whispers, now stood right before me.
Everything made sense. The Imperial Guard had been moving to flush out the terrorists. If a high-ranking unit moved too soon, the terrorists would disappear without a trace. That meant they had approached this operation with caution—someone like me was merely a pawn in a much larger plan.
Whatever. None of that mattered. The bastard in front of me was looking down on me. A traitor to the Empire dared to belittle me?
“Hu……”
A breath escaped my lips and scattered in the air. This might be my last.
‘From now on, I will ignore my injuries.’
I raised my sword upright, bringing it level with my eyes.
From this moment on, I am my sword.
The outcome would be one of two things—either I break, or I cut him down first.
The enemy was stronger than me. If I wanted to compensate for my lack of ability and increase my chances of victory even slightly, I had to establish one condition.
‘Believe that he doesn’t want to kill me.’
That way, I could disregard survival and defense, focusing solely on offense. It was an inadequate solution, but it was the only way to make up for my shortcomings, even a little.
Kwa-jik!
I kicked off the ground and lunged forward. With my prosthetic’s output maximized, the force of my leap surged up to my crown.
Pssht.
Blood seeped from the gunshot wound in my side. But the fight would be decided before I bled out, so it didn’t matter.
Kaang!
Gripping the hilt with both hands, I struck down with full force. The assailant deftly tilted his upper body to the side, evading my attack.
Thump!
I took a wide step forward, spinning my body as I swung my sword. My blade curved sharply, as if it were chasing him.
Eudeuk!
The unbearable acceleration twisted my waist. I heard the sound of my skin tearing further at the wound in my side.
Since I was focusing entirely on offense, my openings were fully exposed to the assailant. A chill ran down my spine. His counterattack could crush my heart or my head at any moment.
But I didn’t flinch. I didn’t dodge or defend.
Only attack.
The enemy wavered. It lasted only for a fleeting moment, but he hesitated.
‘If you’re going to kill me, then do it.’
For some reason, he was reluctant to kill a user of Akies combat techniques. I had to believe in that and press forward.
Whirik!
The assailant closed in on me. I neither defended nor retreated. Instead, I thrust my sword straight at his head.
Flinch!
He braked abruptly, stepping back. Clicking his tongue, he seemed visibly irritated.
“You’ve trained to this extent at your age, and yet you’re willing to throw your life away for the Empire? Do you think I can’t kill you?”
If he truly intended to kill me, he wouldn’t be running his mouth.
The blood seeping from my side had already pooled around my feet. I didn’t need to look at it to confirm—I could tell how serious it was just from the cold spreading through my body.
Even my razor-sharp focus would soon start to waver.
“The Empire aside… your tone alone is insufferable. I could barely stand it.”
To be honest, that was probably the real reason I was still fighting.
I didn’t like him. I wanted to prove that his arrogance—the way he spoke as if I wasn’t even a threat—was wrong. Maybe that was just my nature.
“That rebellious spirit of yours, I like it, kid. You’re definitely more like us.”
The assailant shook his shoulders as he laughed. He opened the mouthpiece of his helmet, revealing a faint smile on his lips. Then, he continued speaking in a calm tone.
“My name is Rick Kaiser. I’m a republican.”
“Aha, so a terrorist?”
“I’d prefer if you called us the Resistance.”
“So basically, I should just call you a son of a bitch from now on? What kind of name is son of a bitch? That’s pretty weird.”
The assailant said nothing and simply closed the mouthpiece of his helmet. His lenses glowed crimson. Looked like he was pissed off—maybe a lot.
Thump!
The assailant lightly bounced in place. A mechanical whine rang out as his output surged. Then, just as he hopped again, he vanished from my sight—only to reappear right in front of me.
His crimson eyes locked onto me fiercely. He clenched his fist tightly and thrust it straight toward my face.
A perfectly aimed strike at my head. He was trying to kill me. Seemed like he had changed his mind.
It was too late to dodge. Still gripping my sword, I crossed my arms to block. This wasn’t a defense for survival—it was to buy even the slightest bit of time.
Kwa- zizijik!
My crossed arms were being crushed. Amidst the scattering parts and fragments, I caught sight of his fist, sharp like a spike.
Everything slowed down, like a scene replayed in slow motion.
I was pulling up my leg. My toes were aimed at his jaw. Even if my head shattered first, my leg would still carry out the command my brain had given.
Fine, go ahead and break my skull. I’ll smash your jaw in return. If I’m lucky, we might both die together.
Kwajik!
Impact.
The world, which had been moving so slowly, suddenly snapped back to its original speed. I blinked.
I was still alive.
Kuuuk!
The assailant was gripping the back of my neck. Somehow, he had managed to control the force of his own punch, despite its terrifying speed. I’d bet he could even catch a bullet with his bare hands.
Tuduk, tuk.
My finishing kick had been reduced to scrap metal, falling uselessly to the ground. The assailant had blocked it effortlessly with his other hand, then crushed my right leg completely.
‘I lost.’
The difference in power was overwhelming. He had countered even my final, desperate move.
He was using a better prosthetic than mine. But this defeat wasn’t because of the difference in performance. Even if we had used prosthetics of the same output, I still would have lost. That was an undeniable fact.
Both of my arms had been shattered below the elbows, and my right foot was crushed where his grip had left its mark.
“You pissed me off. This is your last chance—beg for your life. If you do, I’ll let you live.”
The assailant spoke while gripping the back of my neck. Forcing my lips upward, I smiled.
Kang!
With my only intact limb, my left foot, I kicked him in the groin. A metallic clang rang out—he must have been wearing proper protection.
“...Hah, good. Let’s see if the universe is on your side. If you somehow survive, send my regards to Kinuan. Tell him I’m doing just fine.”
With those final words, he tightened his grip on my neck.
Udeuk!
The last thing I heard that day was the sound of my own neck breaking. Not an unfamiliar experience.
* * *
Most organic humans die when their necks are broken.
...Most of them, anyway.
I stared at the metal spike lodged into my nape—a traction device holding my fractured vertebrae in place.
Running my fingers over the back of my neck, I felt cold metal. An external spinal cord had been implanted, stretching from my nape down to my tailbone, temporarily replacing my severed central nervous system.
Thanks to it, I could move my arms and legs. Aside from being unable to freely turn my head, I was in decent condition.
“Hey, Felix. Can you talk?”
I turned my upper body and looked at Felix, lying in the hospital bed.
“U… Uhh… L-Luka? Ah… it hurts.”
“You idiot. Of course it hurts—you’re trying to move your neck.”
Felix lay there with a blank expression. The confident, cheerful guy I once knew was gone. Drool dribbled from the corner of his mouth, soaking into his pillow.
I looked at him and gave a bitter smile. He was beyond recovery. His brain damage was severe—he had been left untreated for too long with a broken neck.
Meanwhile, I had been lucky. I heard that four Imperial Guards had arrived with Giselle right after the assailant took me down. Thanks to their quick emergency care, I had avoided brain damage.
The image of the terrorist who broke my neck was burned deep into my mind. Even when I closed my eyes, I could see him clearly. A kind of trauma.
‘Rick Kaiser.’
That was the name of the terrorist who stood before me. I woke up fifteen days after he took me down.
‘Ridiculous. A so-called republican with the name Kaiser.’
Kaiser meant Emperor. A cruel, ironic joke.
Outside the hospital room where Felix and I were staying, an Imperial Guard stood watch. As the door opened, Commander Hemillas came to see us. More precisely, he came to see me—Felix was incapable of communication.
Creak.
The commander, dressed in his uniform, stood before me. Since I couldn’t move my neck, all I could see was his chest.
“There’s no need to stand. Stay seated and rest.”
He lowered himself into a chair, leaning forward to match my eye level. His gaze briefly shifted past me to Felix. A hint of unease flickered in his eyes before disappearing.
“…Felix carried out his role to the very end.”
Before making my report, I mentioned Felix. It was the least I could do.
Then, I verbally relayed the details of the incident to the commander. After listening, he told me there was no need to submit a written report for this case.
“Rick Kaiser. Real name, Rick Silva Núñez. He’s a top-priority fugitive of the Empire.”
“I’ve never heard of him.”
“Not all fugitives are publicly wanted. Especially those tied to the Empire’s… stains.”
I flinched.
The Empire’s stains.
The Empire was supposed to be flawless and infallible. Calling something a stain implied imperfection, even corruption. And yet, those words had just come from the mouth of the Imperial Guard Commander.
“Rick was once part of the Imperial Guard, wasn’t he?”
“Did he say so himself?”
“He referred to Felix and me as his juniors.”
The commander nodded. A terrorist with a background in the Imperial Guard—it made sense why he was classified as a secret fugitive.
“It’s only fair that I tell you the full story of this operation. There’s no need to refuse; you deserve to hear it.”
I waited in silence. He seemed to be deciding where to begin.
“Operation Juliet has been in preparation for five years. Its objective is to infiltrate the leadership of the anti-Imperialist terrorist group, Nemesis.”
“Infiltration, not extermination?”
The commander placed a terminal in front of me. Its holographic lens glowed before projecting a three-dimensional organizational chart—a structural analysis of the terrorist group.
The chart was disorganized, its connections appearing weak and fragmented.
“Nemesis operates as a thoroughly compartmentalized cell organization. It’s impossible to eradicate them through conventional methods. No matter how many branches you cut off, they keep growing back. Unless we sever the head, it’s meaningless.”
I thought of Rick Kaiser. He was likely a key figure within Nemesis. Was capturing him the true goal of this operation?
“Since we failed to capture Rick alive, does that mean the mission was a failure?”
That would mean Felix’s death was in vain. The thought unsettled me.
The wrinkles at the corners of the commander’s mouth deepened. He shook his head with a faint smile.
“We succeeded brilliantly, Luka. We managed to infiltrate one of our own into the core of Nemesis.”
I didn’t fully understand what he meant. For the first time in a while, I felt like an idiot.
“What do you mean?”
“The fact that even you are confused proves just how successful this operation was.”
The commander swiped the holographic display to the side. My eyes widened at the next screen.
Barbara’s face appeared in the hologram.
“Barbara is our person. Nemesis recruited her as a hacker. They must have had their eyes on her for a long time. Of course, we made sure they did.”
My grip on the bed railing tightened. It was a good thing my original prosthetics had been destroyed—if I still had them, I would have crushed the railing by now.
Just how many people had been deceived for the sake of this operation? Among them was the commander’s own daughter, Giselle.
“Does Giselle know?”
I couldn’t hold back the question. My emotions were written all over my voice.
“She knows nothing. And it’s best if she never does. Do you understand why I’m telling you all this?”
The commander narrowed his eyes.
My heart sank.
Elimination.
That was my first thought.
No matter how skilled I was, I was still expendable. A pawn that could be discarded at any moment. Especially since I had no background or connections—it would be even easier to get rid of me.
“…Read it and sign.”
The commander pulled an electronic document from his coat.
Tense as I was, I let out a hollow chuckle the moment I saw it.
It was an adoption document. The signature of Commander Hemillas Custoria was already on it. The only blank space was the section for my name.
“Welcome to the Custoria family, Luka.”
Hemillas rose from his seat.