Chapter 127
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127
When you live in the comfort of the Upper District, there's a fact you tend to forget.
Lava flows beneath Akbaran. Geothermal power was one of the city's core energy sources.
The perpetually lukewarm air of the Lower District came entirely from that geothermal heat. At least the surface was livable—even the Lower District, poor as it was, sat above ground rather than beneath it.
But the Deep District, buried beneath the city, was nothing short of hell. The air was so hot and stifling that the ventilation shafts lining the passages were rendered useless. It literally felt like my lungs were cooking. Worse still, the air quality wasn't just bad—it was lethally toxic.
"This is where a full-body prosthetic proves its worth," Kinuan said as he strode through the underground passage. I walked beside him.
Hssss.
My breaths came long and labored, dragged through the heavy filter of my helmet.
Kinuan, with his full-body prosthetic, sauntered down the corridor without a care. In an extreme environment like this, even I couldn't deny how badly I wanted one.
Even back when I went down into the sewers with Heilas and Paigon, I was the only one who suffered.
In those sewers, I was the only one who threw up, because I still had biological organs. There were physical limits that willpower and training simply couldn't overcome.
Calling the Deep District a "district" was being generous. It wasn't a residential zone; no one lived here. There were only the geothermal generators feeding energy to the city, along with the maintenance tunnels and facilities servicing them.
Either way, the Deep District was a place most imperial citizens would never set foot in their entire lives. Since the geothermal plant was critical national infrastructure, access was tightly restricted.
Whir, click.
As we passed, the surveillance cameras along the corridor bowed their heads and went dark—the work of Kinuan's Watcher authority.
"...Unless you brought me down this route purely to torture me, I assume there's a reason we're using this passage," I griped. Honestly, I was going out of my mind. My clothes were already soaked through with sweat.
"Because this matter demands absolute secrecy. Best to stay out of sight. Even I'm feeling a bit warm."
Kinuan flipped open a hatch on his forearm and injected coolant into his prosthetic body. The fluid would circulate through his system, cooling him down in moments.
I was baking so badly I felt tempted to inject that coolant straight into my own veins. Just a passing thought, of course. If I actually did it, I'd drop dead on the spot.
Instead, I pulled out my water bottle and hooked it up to the intake tube of my helmet. The cool water brought me back to life, loosening my parched tongue.
"Lately, there's a group in the Lower District trying to mislead and manipulate public opinion," I said, as though changing the subject. Even during the Enrico incident, agitators had latched onto the chaos. The moment I'd tried to take one alive, his bomb collar had detonated. It meant some formidable force was pulling the strings from the shadows.
"There's no shortage of factions in the Empire trying to steer public opinion. The group we're about to meet is one of them," Kinuan said.
He opened a door that branched off the main corridor like a side passage. His back was completely exposed—utterly defenseless.
Could I kill Kinuan right now?
The scorching heat of the Deep District made this a terrible battlefield for my biological body. I couldn't even bring half my combat power to bear. If a surprise attack failed here, I'd be entirely at his mercy.
"Luka, if you want to reach your goal, you'd best start moving soon."
Kinuan spoke without turning around. There was no doubt he meant the ousting of Heilas.
"I'm working on it."
"Soon, either the military or the Imperial Family will make their move. Frankly, ousting Heilas and seizing control of the Custoria family within such a short window is all but impossible for you. Your only real path is to cooperate with the Imperial Family and dismantle the Custoria family from within."
It was a harsh truth. Deny it as I might, it loomed right in front of me.
...My stomach turned. The oppressive heat only made the nausea worse.
Kinuan pressed on, backing me into a corner with his words.
"If you truly want to walk the path of a Watcher, it's time to choose. There isn't much time left. Not for me—and not for you either."
To my ears, it sounded like a threat.
Clack.
After walking what felt like forever, Kinuan opened the next door.
Whoosh.
The sudden temperature difference sent a gust of air whistling down the corridor. We'd finally reached a passage leading up to the surface.
"Luka, the group we're about to meet is Nemesis."
The Empire's infamous terrorist organization. I wasn't even surprised—they were one of the factions I'd anticipated.
Kinuan's collusion, laid bare.
This was the very act of collusion Heilas had spent so long desperately hunting for. The old me would've had his mind consumed with the urge to bolt straight to Heilas and report it.
"Are these His Majesty the Emperor's orders?"
This collusion had to be at the Emperor's command. Kinuan nodded.
"It's routine, during a Storm Era. That's why I brought you along. Down the road, even after I'm gone, you'll have to handle affairs like this yourself."
It felt like a handover—a predecessor grooming his successor before his departure. If our line of work were anything ordinary, I might have found the moment almost touching.
We left the Deep District behind and climbed to the surface. Before long, a sprawl of abandoned ruins came into view. We'd reached the outskirts of Akbaran.
Rustle.
Kinuan rummaged through the ruins and pulled back a tarp. Beneath it sat a rusted vehicle, stripped down to its bare chassis.
At a glance it looked like a scrap heap, but a closer look revealed the engine and components in perfect working order. Even the rust was nothing more than camouflage.
"Drive to the coordinates I've entered. Should take about an hour."
Kinuan climbed into the passenger seat. I tossed my helmet in the back and vaulted into the driver's seat. The vehicle was open-topped, so a light leap was all it took.
Whirrrr!
The wheels spun furiously as we tore through the ruins. Soon we left the last of them behind and hit the open wasteland.
Kinuan sat with his arms crossed and his eyes shut. His presence was as still as a sleeping man's.
Just how strong is Kinuan right now?
I'd promised Ivan I would kill Kinuan. Today might be my chance.
As if sensing my killing intent, Kinuan slowly opened his eyes. His heavy lips parted.
"Luka, the turmoil and doubt you're wrestling with—it's a road I've already walked. Trust me. The path of a Watcher is your best option."
Depending on how you looked at it, his words carried more than one layer of meaning.
"Even if the path I take diverges from your intentions, Instructor, I will become a Watcher in the end."
"Hmm. Do your best. For what it's worth, I became a Watcher by killing my predecessor."
Kinuan said it casually, but I nearly slammed on the brakes. It was a bombshell that set my head spinning.
"You've never mentioned a predecessor before."
I barely managed to keep the tremor out of my voice as I nudged him to go on.
"It's nothing remarkable—just a common enough occurrence in the Empire. The better a full-body prosthetic is maintained, the longer it lasts. It's hardly unusual for a son to grow impatient waiting for his father to retire."
It was maddening. My heart hammered against my ribs. This time, his words sounded like a direct parallel to the current Emperor and Ivan.
"I don't know why you killed him, Instructor, but I doubt it's a heartwarming story."
"My situation was different from yours. I was more of a backup than a designated successor. There was only a ten-year gap in age between us. Barring an untimely death, I'd have had little chance of ever inheriting the mantle. Instead, I'd likely have been thrown onto high-risk missions even other Watchers refused—and quietly 'disposed of.'"
"...So it wasn't so much a betrayal as a desperate bid to survive."
"Either way, my point is this—even if you were to come for me, it wouldn't be anything new to me."
My hand nearly went for the Crucis resting beside me. My mind was in absolute turmoil.
Do I have to make my move here?
The plan that leapt to mind was simple: wrench the wheel to flip the vehicle, and in that split second of chaos, take Kinuan's head with the Crucis.
But there's no way he'd fall for a trick that cheap.
I kept driving, calm. Nothing had happened yet.
I stared at the vehicle's radar screen. The outdated display showed no terrain—only the distance and bearing to our destination.
For all I knew, what waited for me at those coordinates wasn't Nemesis at all, but an executioner.
"You're overthinking, Luka. Clinging to needless impurities only dulls your resolve. The more things you have to protect, the more situations you try to avoid, the more inefficient your thinking becomes. You take the long way around, ignoring the most direct answer, paralyzed by what you can and cannot bring yourself to do."
Kinuan's words were dangerously seductive. It felt as if the fog clouding my mind was beginning to lift.
'Protect the Custoria family.'
Discard that single premise, and the answer became crystal clear.
Report Ivan's rebellion to His Majesty the Emperor... and act as an imperial spy within both the Custoria family and the military.
In this intricate web, the undisputed powers were the Emperor and Kinuan. Even Agatha had warned me: the Custoria family could never hope to defeat the Imperial Family.
"Someone once told me that those 'impurities' are what make a person strong," I said, forcing the words out, straining against the pull of his logic.
Kinuan let out a dry chuckle.
"Utter nonsense. Whoever told you that—think carefully. Aren't they the very one who shackled you with those 'impurities' to begin with? When you shoulder that burden, who profits most from it? That same person—forcing sacrifice and loss upon you under the banner of duty and responsibility."
It felt as though someone had struck me over the head with a hammer. This was a dilemma I'd wrestled with for a long time.
The feeling that I was growing soft.
Back when I had no family, no house to worry about, I was sharp. All I had to watch was my own back. I wouldn't have suffered like this—paralyzed by an endless tally of considerations.
Heilas Custoria.
...Heilas was the one who'd loaded the "impurity" of family onto my shoulders. And he was the one who'd preached, over and over, about humanity and those very impurities.
I felt sick to my stomach.
I desperately wanted my reasoning to be wrong.
Acting Family Head.
It was a symbol of his trust in me. Deep down, I'd been glad, believing it meant he trusted me that much. That was why I'd worked myself to the bone—to protect the Custoria family, no matter the cost...
I wanted to deny it. But the deductive reasoning of Akies Victima wasn't something I could simply switch off. My thoughts branched outward, relentlessly following the clues Kinuan had scattered. He had surely anticipated exactly this.
The bridge of my nose and my forehead burned, throbbing with a dull ache, as if blood were pooling beneath the skin.
"I'll say it again—your doubt and your struggles are things I've already lived through. During this Storm Era, the Imperial Family will launch a massive purge. Many key figures in the military will die. Act wisely, young Watcher."
Kinuan had gone so far as to leak a critical imperial plan to me.
Beep, beep.
The radar's pinging quickened. Our destination was drawing near, finally pulling me free of my spiraling thoughts.
A person?
Squinting ahead, I spotted a figure standing atop a distant hill. They were still so far off they looked like nothing more than a speck.
Kinuan stepped out of the vehicle and took the lead.
"We walk from here. And keep your face covered. If they realize who you are, they'll pull the trigger without a second thought."
I pulled on the helmet I'd thrown into the back seat. To Nemesis, I—the man who'd killed Rick—was a sworn enemy and a marked target.
As we neared the hill, an armed man with a rifle stood waiting. To ward off the brutal wasteland climate, he'd wrapped cloth tightly around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed. Drones and heavy weaponry hung from his waist and back. He carried himself like a seasoned soldier.
"Who's this?" The man raked his gaze over me before turning to Kinuan.
"An ally who shares our cause. I can't disclose his identity just yet."
"We've worked together a long time, but... this is pushing it. You expect us to trust someone whose identity is a complete blank?"
"And what will you do if you don't?"
Kinuan stood perfectly still as he spoke. The man narrowed his eyes, tapped his earpiece, and exchanged a few words with someone on the other end.
"...Fine. Let's begin the exchange."
Kinuan drew out his terminal. A lens clicked open, projecting a holographic map of the Upper District into the air.
"For Rick."
"For Rick."
As if by rote, Kinuan and the man paid their respects to Rick.
On the holographic map, lines traced various routes running from the Lower District up into the Upper District. Each path was laid out in meticulous detail, complete with specific dates and times.
As I studied the map, something struck me as off.
There are no escape routes.
There were entry points into the Upper District, but not a single extraction route. They had no intention of coming out alive.
"How many men can you mobilize?" Kinuan asked casually.
"About a hundred who actually know how to fight."
"I see."
They were preparing a wave of terror attacks to be unleashed during the Storm Era. Detailed plans flew back and forth between the two men.
I burned every detail into memory. Under Kinuan's orchestration, Nemesis would strike at the specific nobles the Imperial Family had marked.
The scattered pieces of the puzzle were finally coming together. The outline of the grand picture was beginning to emerge.
...How many pieces of this puzzle could I actually move myself—and whose design would ultimately decide the final picture?