Chapter 246

Chapter 246

The sunset over Border City had faded, and darkness settled in. Tonight, there wasn’t even a moon in the sky. It felt rather gloomy.  

In the affluent district of Border City, the buildings were spaced far apart, yet each one was a towering skyscraper, creating a unique atmosphere. The well-paved, wide streets were patrolled by police officers and surveillance drones—an uncommon sight in Border City.  

Wuuung.  

The aerial vehicle carrying me and Ismael landed on the rooftop of one of the skyscrapers.  

"When this meeting is over, you’ll need to bring me results I can present to my superiors."  

Ismael said as he saw me off.  

"You can rest assured. I won’t betray the deputy minister’s efforts and goodwill."  

I said as I stepped out of the vehicle. Ismael’s faint smile flickered across my vision before disappearing.  

Earning the trust of superiors was my specialty. There were few times when I failed to meet their expectations.  

‘There’s a sense of stability in this.’  

I liked belonging to an organization. I hadn’t felt this way in a long time. Jafa Industries had merely been a private company, lacking the power to control me.  

But Ismael and the federal government wielded the authority of a nation. They held my leash and could pull it tight whenever they wished.  

‘So, in the end, I’m just a well-trained dog too.’  

Even as I felt a sense of stability, there was a bitterness to it. In the end, I preferred control and a leash over uncertain freedom.  

‘I just need to meet Ismael’s and the federal government’s expectations.’  

As long as I remained useful, their protection would stay behind me.  

Step, step.  

I stood in front of the protruding elevator on the rooftop. As the doors opened, the destination floor was automatically set.  

Clatter.  

I stepped inside and checked my equipment.  

‘Auto-tracking pistol.’  

No issues. The retinal display was linked correctly. The battery was fully charged, and there was plenty of ammunition.  

‘Firelight Saber and FAI.’  

FAI was a creation of Lapis, designed to assist Firelight weapons. It had preheating and cooling functions.  

‘The Firelight Saber’s blade is shorter than the single-edged Firelight Sword, but its cutting power is on the same level. With a double-edged, straight-blade design, it’s easy to thrust and quick to swing.’  

I had never trained with the Firelight Saber before, but running through its mechanics in my head, its usage was obvious.  

It wasn’t an ideal match for my combat style. I relied on intricate, multi-layered tactics and movement to disrupt my enemies’ perception. My weapon techniques were never flashy.  

‘Now, as always, my fighting style is built around one-hit kills.’  

To maximize the Firelight Saber’s potential, my swordsmanship needed more creative movement. I’d have to keep that in mind.  

‘Three daggers made from Firelight’s Ignium blade—Mothblades(Moth to a Flame).’

I stored the two daggers inside my coat, one on each side.  

'The last one is on my right ankle.'  

Mothblade was my trump card. If I ever encountered someone stronger than me, I had to use Mothblade to catch them off guard and win.  

'I placed them where I could use them in any stance or situation.'  

As I processed my equipment, the elevator came to a stop. The 42nd floor.  

Viiiiiing.  

With a barely perceptible vibration, the elevator doors slid open.  

Ra, rara, rara.  

A song drifted through the floor. Following the sound, I realized it was coming from the ceiling speakers.  

I closed my eyes. There was no way the surveillance here would be lax enough to be spotted just by looking.  

Just as the texture of a wall or the shape of a space alters the way sound travels, by focusing, I could sense even the subtle distortions in the reflected echoes around me.  

Ssssss.  

I slightly parted my lips, sharpening my sense of smell. I dissected the layers of scent with the precision of breaking down raw meat.  

With every step on the carpet, old dust was stirred up, carrying the scent of the past. On the bare floor and walls, a faint trace of pungent cleaning agents lingered.  

Deeper inside, the pleasant blend of perfume and cosmetics extended in a single stream.  

Ssssss.  

My hair stirred slightly, following the air currents shaped by the ventilation system. Read the flow of air.  

If there was someone else here besides me—if they moved—it would disrupt the steady flow of air. Indoors, this alone was enough to sense another presence.  

……All this sensory input flooded into my brain. It burned hot, processing and analyzing the information.  

'If my sensory analysis detects an anomaly, then that anomaly is the presence of someone else.'  

Intuition and instinct were not irrational or unscientific concepts. They were merely the brain reading information too subtle for conscious awareness.  

And Akies Victima users did not leave their intuition and instincts buried in the unconscious—they pulled them closer to the surface, near the realm of active awareness.  

"Luka."  

My consciousness and auditory perception surged forward, seizing that voice with razor focus. It was electrifying.  

A voice from my memories—warm, affectionate. It hadn’t changed.  

'Luka.'  

That one word sent a storm of emotions and information rushing through me.  

Here I was, on edge, tense, scanning for threats… and suddenly, I felt small and pathetic. I even felt guilty—damn it.  

Suppressing my emotions, I opened my eyes. The enclosed room, devoid of windows, was bathed in soft, ambient lighting.  

Gilda, who had been sitting on the sofa, rose to her feet.  

"……It’s been a while."

I scanned Gilda as if observing her. I hated that I couldn’t look at her purely.  

"Your hair’s grown long. You’ve gotten a lot bigger, too. You don’t look like a boy anymore."  

"You too, Gilda. You’ve… become much prettier."  

To be precise, she had become refined.  

Gilda no longer wore the grease-scented work clothes of the past. Now, she was dressed in crisp, aristocratic attire befitting the upper class of the Empire. Her lips and eyes were painted in deep, bold shades of red.  

Every time she moved, her earrings shimmered. The nails on the fingers holding her glass were a shade of violet, neatly grown and untouched by labor.  

Gilda was now a company president, a businesswoman. Her changed appearance made that fact all the more evident.  

"Are you saying I wasn’t pretty before?"  

"That’s not what I meant. I meant you’ve become even prettier."  

Gilda let out a clear laugh. It was no different from the one in my memories. As if to say, even if the exterior had changed, the inside remained the same.  

"I was joking. Make yourself comfortable."  

Gilda calmly gestured for me to take a seat. I sat across from her.  

"If you have anything you want to ask me, you can go first."  

It was rare for me to yield the initiative.  

"Well… Just knowing you’re alive is enough comfort for me. And… I don’t exactly have the right to face you with a clear conscience."  

I felt my body tense.  

'She doesn’t have the right?'  

It wasn’t easy to grasp what she meant by that.  

"I’ve been in Border City ever since I regained consciousness…"  

I briefly summarized what had happened. How I had woken up in Border City and worked under Jafa. I left out Kinuan and Ilay.  

"How’s Gabriel doing?"  

"I left him with someone trustworthy. It’s better than keeping him by my side."  

Gilda hesitated before speaking again.  

"Gabriel cut off contact with me and disappeared on his own. Once he went into hiding in Border City, there was no way for me to find him. It’s difficult to extend my influence from Akbaran all the way to Border City. I’m sure that sounds like an excuse."  

I looked at her with a neutral expression.  

"No. I believe you."  

In truth, I didn’t. With enough money and the right actions, she could have found Gabriel and taken care of him.  

"You must be curious about Giselle. I don’t even know where to begin. I feel like I can’t start without a drink. What about you?"  

Gilda lifted the bottle slightly in my direction. I stared at my empty glass for a moment before nodding.  

"If it’s just one drink."  

If the person sitting in front of me weren’t Gilda, I wouldn’t have accepted.  

"To our reunion."

Gilda spoke briefly and took a drink.  

I tilted my head back and downed the liquor as well. If this was a trap, if the drink was poisoned, I was ready to kill Gilda here and die alongside her.  

Clack.  

I placed my empty glass on the table.  

"Now, tell me about Giselle. What happened?"  

"You already know the broad strokes, don’t you? You must be curious about the details."  

"I know there was a conflict between you two. But I can neither understand nor imagine it—seeing you and Giselle fight against each other."  

I spoke honestly, and Gilda laughed so hard that tears welled in her eyes.  

"Haha, people change. Given enough time and the right motivation, anyone can change. Luka, who do you think changed?"  

I brought the bottle toward me, filled my glass, and drank it all in one go.  

"Both of you."  

It was impossible for only one person to change while the other stayed the same. Twelve years was a long time.  

"In the beginning, we got along well. Giselle and I were a perfect match, as you might remember. She respected me. And I liked her too."  

"That makes it even harder to imagine."  

"Our company grew rapidly. We hired more employees. That’s where the differences in opinion started."  

"Difference in opinion?"  

"Giselle was younger than me. I forgot that."  

Giselle did have a childish side. She acted strong on the surface but was fragile inside… Sometimes, she crumbled easily.  

Ah, I see.  

Even with just this much, I could make out the final missing piece of the puzzle.  

I bit my lower lip.  

'It was because of me.'  

As if proving my assumptions right, Gilda continued.  

"Giselle let personal emotions influence her management. She had no interest in the company’s growth or prosperity. At first, it was within an acceptable range—after all, it was practically a two-person business. But when you have hundreds of employees, things change."  

"That ‘personal emotion’ was related to me, wasn’t it?"  

"Of course. I have eyes, Luka. There’s no way I wouldn’t notice. The sudden declaration to expand into Border City… that was just an excuse to smuggle you out of the Empire. At the time, G&G was locked in fierce competition with rival companies inside the Empire. There were cases of industrial espionage, and our domestic market share was on the verge of being taken."  

Giselle never looked at anything else. She made me her top priority and handled everything around that.  

"So that’s why you said you couldn’t face me with a clear conscience."

"At the time, there were things I had to prioritize over you, Luka. If the company collapsed, the people who trusted and followed me would lose their jobs. And Giselle… she crossed the line."  

"Embezzlement?"  

"Giselle manipulated the company’s books for years. The embezzled funds were completely converted into other assets, making them impossible to trace. It was on a scale that shook the very foundation of G&G Cybernetics. I fought desperately to keep the company alive. The process was so devastating that I don’t even want to talk about it here."  

Gilda frowned, pressing her fingers to her temples before letting out a deep sigh.  

"Gabriel wasn’t the only one I had to abandon. The people who believed in me and followed me lost their jobs without understanding why, crashing straight to rock bottom. I occasionally heard news of their deaths—whether by suicide or murder. Embezzlement, industrial espionage… No, even that industrial espionage was probably Giselle. She must have sold our technology to competitors because she needed money immediately."  

There was anger in Gilda’s voice. She hated Giselle.  

It must have taken an immense amount of money to smuggle me out and treat me. Giselle had destroyed the company and sold off its remains to fund it.  

And the one who had fought desperately to hold the company together and rebuild it was Gilda.  

"Giselle must have needed an absurd amount of money. An amount so staggering that I couldn’t comprehend it. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine that taking you away and treating you would require that much. There was something more."  

I had been silently listening, but now I struck at the heart of it.  

"So, did you take action yourself? Did you try to eliminate Giselle?"  

Gilda, who had been speaking, fell silent. She gazed at me quietly.  

For a moment, her emotions were unreadable. The mask of a businesswoman was rigid.

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