Chapter 140
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 140
I was barely clinging to consciousness. If my focus slipped for even a moment, I knew I would pass out.
"You came to help me, Grace. I'll admit, I was half-doubting you'd come."
I watched Grace approach, her Ruina—currently in the form of a sniper rifle—slung over her shoulder. She looked down at me.
"I figured I wouldn't sleep well if you died, Master Luka. Besides, you said you believed in me."
Grace knelt beside me.
"Haha… cough, wheeze."
I tried to laugh, but a flare of pain in my chest twisted my face into a grimace.
"Hmm, you're in terrible shape. The burns are severe, too. It's a miracle you're still alive. If you have any last words, you should say them now."
Grace assessed my condition with detached calm.
"Last words? Please… Considering who I was up against, I got off easy. By the way, the eye you kept hidden under your eyepatch is beautiful."
I looked at Grace's left eye. Objectively speaking, it wasn't a pretty eye, but aesthetic standards are subjective.
To anyone else, it would look like a monstrosity, an eye that prioritized function to an extreme. Her prosthetic left eye was likely an ultra-high-performance model, so powerful that it couldn't be kept active at all times.
"For now, we need to hide. A riot has broken out, and the atmosphere in Akbaran is volatile. Even Diva finds it strange. She said this is the most chaotic Storm Era she's ever experienced."
For context, the Storm Era came roughly once every thirty years. Martina Diva had survived many of them.
Either way, I had to hide. I had likely dealt with all the assassins Heilas sent, but there was no telling when the next threat would appear.
While I could trust Grace, Martina Diva was not someone I could fully rely on. And if Diva made a decision, Grace would have no choice but to betray me.
That meant there was only one person who could protect me right now. Someone I could trust completely—or rather, someone I used to trust. I still didn't know if he would risk his life for me now.
A lot of time had passed. Just as I had changed, so had he.
"Use your terminal to call Ilay Kartika. His unique ID is…"
I forced the words out before my consciousness faded any further. Grace rapidly keyed the details into her terminal and waited for a reply.
"He says he's on his way."
Hearing that, a thread of tension inside me finally snapped. I grabbed Grace's arm, as if trying to hold onto my rapidly fading consciousness.
"One last favor, Grace. Protect Giselle until Ilay arrives."
"I'll throw that in as a bonus."
Grace nodded. Only then did I let go. Having forced myself to stay awake for so long, my body immediately shut down.
"Master Luka? Wait…!"
Panic crept into Grace's voice.
Through my narrowing vision, I saw her expression shift. Her brow furrowed as she shouted at me, her usual cold, aloof facade completely gone.
So Grace really does worry about me.
With that final thought, I slipped into darkness.
* * *
I had lost count of how many times I’d passed out in such a short period. Once this was all over, I was bound to suffer from all sorts of aftereffects.
I wasn't just pushing my body; I was abusing it. It felt as if my obsession alone was dragging along a corpse that was begging for death. I felt so guilty I wanted to apologize to my own body.
"Damn it, Luka! What the hell is…"
"…Cardiac arrest…"
"We need to administer a cardiotonic…"
"That'll kill him! Stop the bleeding first!"
"Keep calling his name to stimulate his brain! If it stops, it's over!"
My consciousness drifted back, the voices sounding as if they were coming from a great distance. Even then, I couldn't make them out clearly.
My body was being carried somewhere on a stretcher.
"H-Heilas…" I mumbled every time my mouth managed to move. This was no time to hesitate because of a little pain.
"Shut your damn mouth! You're going to die at this rate, you idiot!"
That was probably Ilay's voice.
My consciousness sank again. When I next awoke, I heard different voices.
"Now isn't the time to worry about side effects, is it?"
"But the last person we shot this into turned into a freak."
"Still better than dropping dead right now."
"No, you're just doing this because you find it amusing, you psycho."
"Oh, come on, there really is no other way. We don't have proper facilities. Darling, should we just let him die then?"
There were other voices mixed in with Ilay's and Grace's. I probably knew them both.
"If that's the best option, we have no choice. Please, Director."
It was Ilay's voice. He had used the title "Director." It took me a moment to realize who he was talking about.
Ah, Director Jin Gau must be here. That man was treating me.
"Luka, you can probably hear me, right? The brain scan shows continuous activity in your auditory cortex. I'm going to initiate induced regeneration. Even if I explained accelerated cell division, you wouldn't understand… so just think of it as super-regeneration."
Jin Gau paused for a moment as if preparing something. A short while later, he continued.
"Even though I'm no doctor, I still value my ethical duties, so I'll give you a warning. This is a dangerous procedure."
Valuing ethical duties… If that was a joke, it was a good one. It was actually pretty funny.
I kept listening to Jin Gau's explanation, but most of it didn't register. My cognitive abilities had deteriorated too much.
"…If we had a proper facility or if your injuries were less severe, we could control the areas of regeneration. But your condition is so critical that you need full-body regeneration. On top of that, your heart is damaged, so I can't control the drug's flow. I'll do my best, but even I can't predict the outcome. If you understand and consent, remain silent. If you object, move your eyes, your mouth, anything."
I was going to consent anyway, but… I felt like a lab rat.
"Ah, thank you for consenting. This is a procedure I've been wanting to try out."
Yep. Definitely a lab rat.
"And I forgot one thing. This is going to hurt like absolute hell. I guarantee… even you will find it hard to endure. Hey, bring a gag!"
If even Jin Gau was saying that, I couldn't imagine how horrific the pain would be. If I could move, I would have thrashed about. This definitely required a second thought.
Jin Gau plunged something into my chest. A syringe, most likely. A thick needle pierced all the way into my heart, discharging a stinging drug.
At first, I felt nothing. The silence was more unsettling than the pain.
Crack!
A sound echoed from somewhere inside me. I didn't even know what it was.
Slowly…
Slowly, my dulled senses sharpened, and the various pains from my injuries enveloped me.
Blink.
I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was Jin Gau, wearing glasses and a luxurious gown embroidered with gold thread. The mansion was filled with decorations just as lavish as his attire.
"This is La Vie en Rose's VIP Mansion. Though it's for my exclusive use right now," Jin Gau said with a smirk. A bit further away, Martina Diva stood in thin clothes. I could also see Ilay and Grace.
"Giselle is receiving treatment, too. She's in much better shape than you, so don't worry," Ilay said, stepping closer.
Slap!
He grabbed my cheeks with both hands, his blue eyes burning with intense emotion as they stared into mine.
"Thanks for calling me, Luka. Now, let's make sure we both see each other again alive."
Ilay patted my cheek and stepped back. Then, the treatment began in earnest.
Squeeze!
Jin Gau repeatedly injected drugs into my body, his eyes fixed on a screen displaying complex, fluctuating graphs. His usually playful eyes would occasionally narrow with serious intensity.
Crack!
The sound came from deep within my body.
It hurt.
It felt as if someone had reached inside me and snapped my bones. I could still endure this much.
Crunch, crunch.
It felt like fanged insects were crawling through my insides, chewing away at my flesh. It was gradually becoming unbearable. This was an unfamiliar kind of pain.
Riiip!
A fine, thread-like pain surged through me, as if my entire nervous system was being torn apart fiber by fiber. This was not the kind of pain one could get used to.
So, even if I looked pathetic, there was nothing I could do.
Clank!
My limbs were restrained, but my torso thrashed and bucked against the table.
Pain tolerance training was, fundamentally, about desensitizing oneself. It was a process of teaching the brain that minor injuries wouldn't kill you. We experienced the kinds of pain we would face on the battlefield beforehand, imprinting on our brains that we wouldn't die from such wounds. That allowed us to ignore most injuries without panicking.
In other words… my tolerance for an entirely new type of pain was nonexistent.
I'm going to die.
The thought was an illusion, but it felt real. Although this was a treatment, horrific sounds echoed from inside me. Bones fused rapidly, and wounds healed at a bizarre speed.
"Oops, that fused wrong. Now, where did I put the saw and hammer…"
It was a super-regeneration treatment that was difficult to control. Jin Gau broke my improperly fused bones all over again. Blood sprayed like a fountain wherever his hands touched.
"Hmm, did humans always have three kidneys? Kidding, kidding. I'll just remove the worn-out one and you can use the new one. It seems regeneration doesn't strictly follow the genetic map, what with all this unnecessary proliferation."
What in the world was happening to my body?
Rattle!
My eyes must have been bloodshot. Jin Gau was drenched in my blood.
Slash!
He picked up a scalpel and slit my throat. In an instant, a massive amount of blood drained out, and I felt myself about to die from the loss.
"No choice if I want to stop the drug from reaching your brain. I'll hook you up to a hemodialysis machine, so hang in there," Jin Gau explained calmly, shoving the tube into my neck.
…I lost track of time. Unfamiliar sensations of pain took turns stabbing at my brain. I wanted to pass out, but my mind remained agonizingly sharp.
Even the talkative Jin Gau fell silent, focusing entirely on the procedure. It seemed even he had run out of energy to chatter.
"It's almost over. I'm one thing, but you're truly remarkable. Honestly, I operated so recklessly I wondered if this was even okay. I went into this with the mindset that it wouldn't matter if you died. Anyway, since you survived, don't just throw your life away. I hate seeing someone I worked so hard to save die right after."
His words carried a strange weight.
Jin Gau couldn't be ignorant of the Empire's dark side. It was also a mystery why he was here during such a chaotic time.
* * *
I had survived, thanks to a treatment that was nothing short of a miracle.
My entire body was sore, as if I had been beaten to a pulp, and the fresh scars crisscrossing my flesh were raw and red. But the fatal injuries that had brought me to death's door were healed in just half a day.
Throb, throb.
I grimaced at the splitting headache. Even though I had recovered, my body still ached. Intermittently, phantom pains stabbed and cut at me.
Aftereffects.
The trauma, etched into my brain and body, would be permanent. It was the price for such a reckless, extreme treatment.
"I won't be doing a detailed examination. We don't have the equipment, and I doubt we have the time," Jin Gau said, completely naked. He was washing the blood off in a shower installed right in the center of the mansion's first floor. As for why there was a shower in the middle of the hall… I didn't really want to know. This was a mansion owned by La Vie en Rose, after all.
"Thank you for treating me, Director. Though I did feel the urge to kill you a few times."
I stumbled as I climbed down from the makeshift operating table.
My body was covered in new scars, as if someone had drawn patterns on me with a knife. I’d had plenty of scars to begin with, but this was on another level entirely.
"I don't know what you're up to, and I don't care to know. The Empire's power struggles have nothing to do with me. If someone comes asking, I will tell them everything. So don't ask me for any more help, and don't spill any of your secrets. Understood?"
Jin Gau skillfully drew a line between us. He hadn't survived this long in the Empire for nothing; he had his own way of navigating the world. He wasn't just some mindless eccentric.
Martina Diva descended the stairs from the second floor, carrying a change of clothes for Jin Gau.
"You managed to survive, Young Master. My darling really is amazing. I was actually debating whether or not to call a cleaner."
I scanned the room for Giselle and Ilay, but they were nowhere in sight.
"Where is Giselle?"
"She's sleeping upstairs, so don't worry. The young master of Kartika is keeping a close eye on her. You must have built up quite a bit of goodwill, eh? So many people helping you. Even Grace stepped up without asking for anything in return."
"That's just because Grace is kind," I said dismissively, wanting to avoid the topic with Martina. But she persisted.
"No, that's not it. We're a gang. Someone who is merely kind can't survive as an officer. They don't drop everything and run just because an acquaintance is in danger. So why did Grace do it? It's simple. The one thing that paralyzes reason is love. Grace likes you, Young Master. You noticed those feelings and used them, didn't you? Quite impressive."
I remained silent.
Martina was right. The only reason Grace had helped me was purely emotional. She hadn't done it expecting anything in return.
"…Anyway, thank you for your help, Martina."
"I only did it because Grace asked. So make sure to thank her. Now, Grace will be in my grasp for the rest of her life. She'll never be able to leave La Vie en Rose. Her sense of responsibility is just too strong."
I placed a hand over my chest. I couldn't tell if the feeling was an ache or a sting.