Chapter 266

Chapter 266

Barbara had one peculiarity.  

‘She could replace her body, whether it was cybernetic or biological.’  

Of course, it was highly unstable. A closer look would reveal how unnatural it was.  

However, as far as I knew, Barbara was the only person capable of such an unstable replacement.  

Barbara was a monster who could control another person’s body or prosthetics simply by transplanting her brain. Because of this ability, she was an unparalleled agent.  

If Barbara was determined to conceal her identity, only a handful of people would be able to find her.  

‘An unbelievable mental fortitude—no, it should be called madness.’  

Even while using other people’s bodies and cybernetics, her sense of self never wavered. Barbara was still Barbara.  

Scratch, scratch.  

A filthy old beggar was scratching his head roughly.  

“Luuuka, yeah, ah, well, guess it’s time to throw away this body too.”  

Barbara, in the form of an old man, spoke in a slurred tone. She took out a syringe filled with some drug and injected it into the back of her neck.  

I didn’t know for sure, but it was probably a drug that increased bodily adaptability. After the injection, Barbara’s movements became more fluid, and she slightly parted her lips.  

“You’re still switching bodies to live?”  

“A single body is too easy to track. Gotta make an effort to survive.”  

“From the Empire’s pursuit?”  

I was curious whether Barbara was still affiliated with the Empire.  

“Kihit, are you trying to test me? That’s a bad habit, Luka. Pretending to know what you don’t—it’s annoying.”  

“I don’t care whether you’re annoyed or not.”  

I sat down on a grimy, foul-smelling chair.  

This shabby virtual simulation shop was damp and dreary. Focusing on my sense of smell, I could pick up all kinds of filth, including the stench of decay and blood. That meant there was a rotting corpse somewhere in this shop.  

“Look, I’m not killing you right now, Barbara. Let’s build some trust.”  

“Hihit, you need my help, don’t you?”  

“You need mine too.”  

“That’s right. We need each other. If only you hadn’t sided with Giselle... I might have actually liked you.”  

Hearing that gentle, affable tone coming from an old man’s mouth sent chills down my spine. I had the sudden urge to plant my fist into that wrinkled face. My fingers twitched involuntarily.  

“There’s something that doesn’t quite make sense. You’ve been obsessively chasing after Giselle, yet you have no idea where she is. Even if it’s part of her plan, it’s still strange.”  

As I spoke, a realization struck me like a bolt of lightning. The moment I voiced the question, the answer unraveled on its own.

‘Barbara has definitely severed ties with the Empire. She completely broke away after the Storm Era. That was thanks to people like Hemillas dropping dead en masse.’  

Barbara had chosen to ‘not know’ so that even if she was captured, Giselle would remain safe. There was no secret more secure than one that no one knew.  

“Everything is for Giselle. Whether it’s the Empire or the Kinuan, they could crack open my skull and dismantle me down to the cellular level, and they still wouldn’t find her. You can’t extract what isn’t there.”  

I felt a strange emotion. Barbara’s determination to protect Giselle was absolute. If nothing else, she was a woman who never lied about that.  

“Barbara, the reason Giselle is being hunted is because of me. Everyone is looking for her because she smuggled me away.”  

And now, Giselle was my weakness. Those who wanted to use me were searching for her.  

“That’s why you weren’t supposed to wake up yet.”  

“You said I had ten years before I woke up. What did you mean by that?”  

“By then, the Empire won’t have the capacity to focus on you anymore. A lot will happen in those ten years. The Empire’s Blade will rise in rebellion, and at the same time, the Federation and the Holy Corite Alliance will intensify their pressure. Border City, the melting pot of nations and races, will vanish.”  

“So, delaying my awakening was Giselle’s plan?”  

“You, in the Storm Era, moved forward by devouring yourself. Giselle always pitied you and didn’t want to see you like that again. That’s why she planned to wake you only after everything was over. We succeeded in hiding you from the Empire, but…”  

However, the Tajirun information broker family had learned about me.  

“We failed against the Tajirun.”  

“Alien races have entirely different technological systems from ours. Their methods of gathering information are also different, leading to unpredictable events. The Tajirun, in particular, are incredibly cunning and intelligent. Every race despises them, yet no one dares to ignore them. Even I have done business with them from time to time.”  

A memory resurfaced. Barbara had once contacted me and Giselle by rerouting through the Tajirun’s network servers.  

“Then is there no way to contact Giselle?”  

“All we can do is wait for her to reach out first. The next… scheduled contact is about 3,500 days away.”  

I frowned. Barbara really intended to wait ten years.  

‘I have no intention of waiting that long.’  

But before I could find Giselle, eliminating the Kinuan had to come first.

‘Giselle intended to wake me only after all the chaos had settled.’  

The same applied to me. Finding Giselle would come only after suppressing the disorder and dangers.  

"Barbara, from now on, you and I are hunting the Kinuan. Tell me everything you know."  

I would trust Barbara. To be precise, I wasn’t trusting her.  

‘I trust Giselle’s judgment—she chose to cooperate with Barbara.’  

Barbara likely felt the same. She trusted me because I was someone Giselle had chosen.  

Swish.  

Barbara pulled out a terminal from her coat. A hologram flickered to life. The projection was dim, likely due to the lens nearing the end of its lifespan.  

The organizational chart of The Empire’s Blade appeared, though it was heavily obscured. Aside from the factions directly under Barbara’s command, most of the chart was blank.  

“The Empire’s Blade is a more loosely connected organization than Nemesis. Even the so-called Heads—the leaders—don’t know much about each other. Even I’ve only identified about half of them.”  

“How does such a loosely connected group manage to move as one?”  

“When the time comes, we’ll move naturally. Each of us will rebel against the current emperor in our own way. There’s widespread discontent toward Ivan Accretia. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the worst emperor in history.  

Giselle and I gathered Imperial Guards who had once followed Hemillas and formed our faction. Others rallied nobles who had lost their wealth and status by backing the wrong side during the Storm Era. That’s how the Empire’s Blade was born—an alliance of factions opposing the emperor.  

If you think about it, even Nemesis is technically part of it.”  

“Some groups won’t move. The emperor must have planted spies and counteragents among you.”  

“We’ve accounted for that. The uprising will be discovered, of course… but it doesn’t matter. A revolution is a wave that can’t be stopped just because it’s seen coming. That’s why Ivan will do everything he can to uproot the Empire’s Blade before it gains momentum.”  

A lingering discomfort gnawed at my chest.  

‘Is this really the extent of Ivan’s political acumen?’  

The Ivan I knew was highly cunning. He was more than capable of persuading and manipulating people into his camp. It didn’t seem likely that he would be politically cornered so easily.  

‘But I’m not in the Empire right now… I can’t grasp the full picture.’  

I had many questions for Ilay. But whether I’d get to see him again was another matter entirely. If Ilay wanted to contact me, he would need Ivan’s permission.  

And Ivan would never allow me and Ilay to meet so easily.  

“Now it’s my turn to ask a question, Luka. Do you have a way to lure out the Kinuan?”

“I’ll pretend to go into hiding outside of Border City. That way, Kinuan will have no choice but to act. For some reason, he doesn’t want me to disappear. He wants me to keep moving openly, just like I am now.”  

Barbara, still wearing the face of an old man, studied me carefully.  

‘…He needs me to be in motion to achieve his goal.’  

I swallowed that thought. I still didn’t understand Kinuan’s true intentions. I didn’t want to make hasty assumptions.  

“Hm, then let’s get ready.”  

Barbara placed a finger on her lips and let out a nasal hum. Again, she currently looked like a ragged old man.  

*         *         *  

I had my feet in four different factions.  

‘The first is Jafa Trading Company.’  

Jafa Trading Company was looking for Kinuan. Within Border City, they held influence, but at the end of the day, they were just a business. However… to be honest, they were the group I trusted the most.  

‘The second is Ismael and the Federal Government.’  

If I wanted to negotiate with the Empire, I needed the Federal Government as a shield. Without them, I had no defense against the Empire’s brutality.  

If the Federal Government ever decided I wasn’t worth the trouble, they would abandon me in an instant. I needed to keep feeding them just the right amount of incentive.  

‘The third is Emperor Ivan Accretia.’  

Ivan had a leash around my neck. I couldn’t trust his words completely, but he had promised me freedom if I delivered Kinuan to him.  

‘The fourth is the Empire’s Blade.’  

The organization Giselle had assembled. Right now, Barbara was leading in Giselle’s place.  

In the end, there was only one conclusion.  

‘I have to capture Kinuan.’  

As I meditated and sorted out my thoughts, I opened my eyes.  

Drip.  

I wiped away the blood trickling down from my philtrum. Just when I thought things had been quiet, it was starting again.  

‘My thoughts won’t stop.’  

The more dangerous and complex the situation became, the less my brain could rest.  

Except for moments of sleep and meditation, my brain and autonomic nervous system remained constantly active.  

The sheer level of stress pressing down on me would have driven any normal person insane.  

Thump. Thump.  

My heartbeat was irregular, sending sharp pains through my chest muscles.  

Slurp.  

I consciously drank tea to try and halt my racing thoughts, but in extreme situations like this, it was meaningless.  

‘…Looks like I’ll be suffering for a while.’  

I pulled the trigger inside myself, forcing myself into the extreme.  

My brain and senses absorbed the surrounding information as if sucking it all in. The nervous tension, anxiety, and unease twisted my insides.  

Crunch, crunch.

I forced myself to chew and swallow a nutrition bar. The discomfort in my chest worsened due to indigestion and gastritis.  

‘I’ve stayed here for a long time.’  

I glanced around my room in Jafa Trading Company’s headquarters. By now, I had grown so familiar with it that it almost felt like home.  

But I had always known this was a place I would eventually leave. That day was today.  

Swish.  

I stood up and prepared to leave. My belongings amounted to nothing more than an additional waist pouch.  

Clank, clank.  

I secured my Firelight Twinblades and my new Crucis to my waist.  

‘Let’s begin, Jafa, Barbara.’  

I had given Jafa and Barbara their instructions. They were to act as if I was truly disappearing.  

Jafa froze my credit chip and cut off all my support.  

Barbara assigned Lante and the former Imperial Guards to escort me.  

‘I’m going into hiding outside of Border City.’  

That was the illusion we were creating.  

If Kinuan was keeping an eye on me, he would sense these movements and conclude that I was leaving.  

Clatter.  

Before I could even reach the door, hurried footsteps echoed. The door burst open, and a woman stepped inside.  

“Is… is it true that you’re l-leaving? What about… finding Kinuan? Haa, haa…”  

Anguis Regina clutched the doorframe, gasping for breath.  

I scratched my head awkwardly.  

“I’ve decided to stop working with Jafa. This has gotten too big for a mere trading company to handle. The nations are starting to move.”  

Anguis Regina’s eyes flared as she staggered toward me.  

Whoosh!  

She grabbed my collar and scowled. Her lips quivered as if she had a torrent of words she wanted to unleash.  

Swish.  

But in the end, she swallowed them all and let go of my collar. I looked down at her impassively.  

“Did I… misjudge you?”  

“Probably.”  

I gave a short reply and walked past Anguis Regina.

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