Chapter 93
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 93
My life as a cadet was drawing to a close.
It had been an intense four years. The youthful look had almost entirely vanished from the other cadets' faces. The same was true for the reflection staring back at me in the mirror.
A lot had happened.
I had escaped death's door more than once. Looking back, it was a miracle I was even alive.
Ssssshhhh.
I let the spray of the shower wash over me. My mind was clear today.
Next year, I'll become an Imperial Guardsman.
After finishing my shower, I stood before the mirror once more. Surgical scars and battlefield wounds were etched into my skin like tattoos.
Compared to four years ago, my frame had grown considerably. My physical development was nearing its final stages. My shoulders had broadened, and my torso had hardened.
I trained this body to survive—but it's a body I'll eventually cast aside.
Flesh and blood had their limits. Even now, I had to guard my vulnerable biological parts every time I fought.
To grow stronger, I must transition to a full-body prosthetic.
Once I did, I'd no longer have to worry about dying from some minor, trivial attack.
The defensive capabilities of an Imperial Guard-spec combat prosthetic were overwhelming from the outset. It was practically like wearing a combat suit even during peacetime.
Discarding the flesh.
I blinked. Countless people across the Empire longed for a full-body prosthetic but could never afford one.
Yet, occasionally, there were those who felt a deep aversion to them. Even among the nobles, such people existed. I'd heard they clung to their biological bodies, enduring social contempt and practical disadvantages to do so.
But there's no reason for me not to make the transition.
The advantages of upgrading to a full-body prosthetic were immense. A well-maintained noble with one could live nearly two hundred years if they were long-lived. That was double the biological lifespan. Except for the brain, they were immune to all manner of diseases and injuries; if something broke, they could simply replace it.
What's more, the decline in performance from aging was remarkably minimal.
They'd adjust their appearance as they aged, eventually locking it in around middle age—because that look commanded the most dignity and gravitas. An excessively young or boyish appearance made one easy to look down upon.
Though brain aging is unavoidable...
A human with a full-body prosthetic was essentially immortal until their mind finally collapsed.
...I, too, would break free from the shackles of flesh and blood.
Whirrrrr.
I stood at the exit of the shower. Warm air blew through the gaps in the door, drying the moisture on my skin.
Slide.
Dressed in my Imperial Guard Cadet uniform, I stepped out of my room. The hallway was filled with the sound of footsteps.
"Hey."
"Hard to catch a glimpse of you lately."
"Well, yeah."
Many cadets from my class filled the hallway. Normally, our differing mission schedules made it hard to cross paths, but today, most of them were in the quarters.
As if by unspoken agreement, we walked in the same direction. Familiar faces joined us one by one. It had been a long time since our entire class had gathered like this.
I would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them, roaming the battlefields together. I didn't know how many of us would still be alive decades from now.
Those who survived until then would occasionally reminisce about the ones left behind. Claude Ramones, Felix Eigen... Perhaps Ilay and I would become figures of the past as well.
Thud, thud.
We left the cadet quarters and headed toward Imperial Guard headquarters. Active-duty Guardsmen watched us with sharp, piercing eyes.
"Yo, Luka."
Ilay, who had arrived at headquarters first, waved at me. After exchanging greetings with a few other classmates, he fell into step beside me.
"Back from another mission already?" I asked.
He could have rested the day before, but he was incredibly diligent.
"What's the point of slacking off? I've probably lost any shot at graduating top of the class, but I might as well do what I can."
My position as top graduate was already set in stone. Killing Rick Silva Nunez was that massive an achievement. Even if someone cleared every single cadet mission solo, it would be difficult to match such a feat.
I wonder how strong Ilay's gotten.
I wanted to test myself against him properly. Not in a spar—in a real fight.
I still vividly remembered our time in the depths of the Arcane Fortress. Back then, I'd completely overwhelmed him.
"Are you Lucaus Custoria?"
An unfamiliar Imperial Guardsman stopped in front of Ilay and me.
"Yes, sir."
As I answered, I scanned his appearance. His identity wasn't apparent from his uniform alone.
Whir.
Using my Watcher Authority, I accessed the upper network to check his profile.
Arakan Pelideas, Commander of the 10th Centuria.
In other words, the 10th Centurion. Pelideas was one of the military families. There was actually someone from the Pelideas family among my classmates as well.
"And you must be Ilay. I've heard a lot about you. I'm the 10th Centurion, Arakan Pelideas."
The 10th Centuria was the lowest-ranking unit within the Imperial Guard. Yet a Centurion here was the equivalent of a top graduate among cadets. He was one of the prospects who could eventually become Imperial Guard Captain.
As the 10th Centurion, he's probably only three or four classes ahead of us. He must've come to introduce himself.
It meant we, too, were becoming part of the Imperial Guard community.
"One of you two will likely be my successor. Given the timing of promotions to the higher units and your abilities, you both fit the bill. For now, as for my lieutenant... Ilay Kartika, you're the right fit."
Listening from the side, I chimed in.
"I'm not inferior to Ilay."
Hmm. Now that I'd said it out loud, it sounded needlessly defensive.
"I don't have the skill to handle a wild horse like you. You need a superior who can firmly keep you in check. Personally, I prefer a lieutenant who moves on his own once I've grabbed the reins."
Arakan bared his teeth in a fierce grin. Hearing this, Ilay clapped me on the shoulder and laughed.
"That's exactly my specialty. See, Luka? I told you—you need to temper that attitude of yours. It'll make climbing the ranks a whole lot easier."
Frustratingly, Arakan's read on me was spot on. I, too, preferred a superior who could win me over through sheer capability.
"I've taken up too much of your time. Run along. Today's an important day for you all."
Arakan stepped aside, his coat fluttering with a stylish flourish.
Continuing on, we arrived at an annex of the headquarters. The building, designed with clean geometric lines, seemed simple yet possessed an eye-catching grandeur.
Weapon Exhibition Hall.
The Empire was generally straightforward, but the names of its military facilities were exceptionally so. You could tell a facility's purpose just by hearing its name.
We stepped inside. From the outside, the interior had looked dark, but it brightened the moment we entered. It wasn't that the lights had suddenly switched on. Rather, light-blocking particles floated like a curtain at the entrance, making observation from outside difficult.
"Ah, the prospective Imperial Guardsmen have arrived."
Heilas spoke from the entrance hallway. He stood with four Imperial Guardsmen.
Heilas nodded as he took stock of the cadets filing into the building.
"As you all know, this is a Class-1 secure facility of the Empire. Just to be safe—if anyone has a recording device turned on, turn it off now."
The surroundings fell dead silent. Fortunately, there were no such idiots among us.
"This will be the first and last time I guide you so kindly."
Heilas smiled and turned his back to us. As he walked, he stopped before the first exhibition room.
"This is the Bestia, a general-purpose combat prosthetic from the early days of the Imperial Guard's founding."
Beyond the glass hung a headless full-body prosthetic, split wide open. All manner of components were intricately intertwined. Though they were merely mechanical parts, the sight was no different from a dissected human body.
Beside the Bestia, its specifications were written out in detail. It might have been cutting-edge in its day, but by today's standards, it was entry-level.
Heilas slowly walked us through the combat prosthetics that had shared the Imperial Guard's history.
"You are the Empire's most elite soldiers. You are different from other military personnel."
His words were occasionally laced with remarks meant to instill pride in us cadets.
"We use nothing but the absolute best—not just for our full-armor prosthetics, but even for our combat prosthetics."
We were different from ordinary soldiers. That was simply fact. No matter the cost, we were armed with the finest equipment and prosthetics.
"And this is the Caligo, the current-generation general-purpose combat prosthetic of the Imperial Guard."
The cadets lingered before the Caligo for quite some time. Heilas, as if expecting it, leaned against a wall and chatted with the other Guardsmen.
The Caligo was a prosthetic designed with a heavy emphasis on survival and defense, allowing the user to keep executing missions even after sustaining fatal damage.
The auxiliary nervous system that was on Jupe's prosthetic comes standard here.
...In other words, to kill an Imperial Guardsman using a Caligo, you had to crush their head. Until then, they could tenaciously keep fighting with the help of its various auxiliary functions. In many ways, it truly lived up to its classification as a combat prosthetic.
We passed the Caligo. After going through one more door in the hallway, the ceiling height doubled compared to before.
Hummmmm.
The hum of the ventilation system vibrated through the metal walls and floor. The deeper we walked, the faster my heart beat.
The symbol of the Imperial Guard revealed itself before us.
The Legion full-armor prosthetic.
The Legions stood beyond the glass panes as though imprisoned. The interiors of their helmets were hollow and dark, devoid of any eye-glow.
The Legions looked similar, yet subtly different. I stared at the one most familiar to me.
The close-quarters specialized Legion, model name Hector.
I'd seen it before. It was the Legion that had fought against the Holy Knight of Kora.
The Hector boasted higher output and superior defense compared to other Legions. Its structure and functions were also simplified, making it highly reliable. It was the Legion that could be pushed to its absolute limits.
Glancing to my side, I saw Ilay had been intently studying a different model for a while now.
The lightweight Legion, Achilles.
I moved beside Ilay and stared at the Achilles as well.
"They call it lightweight, but it's actually a multi-purpose model. Good mobility means you can adapt flexibly to any situation."
Ilay spoke as if explaining it to me. He seemed drawn to the Achilles. Come to think of it, it did seem perfect for him.
In reality, the Hector and the Achilles made up half of the Imperial Guard's Legions. Although the Hector was specialized for close-quarters combat, it still fell within the category of versatile Legions that could be deployed in any situation.
I examined the other Legions as well.
The long-range specialized Legion, Hercules.
It was a Legion designed for artillery and sniping. It featured separate mounts on its shoulders and flanks for heavy cannons, and its legs were thicker than those of other Legions. On top of that, in emergencies, stabilizing anchors would deploy from its legs and drive into the ground.
For a long-range specialist, its bulk is even greater than the Hector's.
Since the Hercules lacked mobility anyway, it was designed to abandon evasion entirely, layered instead with even thicker armor.
I scanned the rest of the Legion models.
The cadets gazed at the Legions with excited faces. To them, the Legions were objects of envy and aspiration.
But...
The Legion was different from other weapons.
The Legion eats away at our minds.
I understood this well now. None of the cadets here knew the true nature of the Legion better than I did.
The Akies Combat Style and the Legion.
In essence, there was no difference between them. That was why they were incompatible. Both repeatedly overworked the human brain until it broke down.
Even the great Kinuan was dying from the aftereffects of the Akies Combat Style. Heilas, too, had warned me to be wary of the Legion.
I snapped out of my thoughts. An Imperial Guardsman approached me.
"Luka, the Captain is calling for you," the Guardsman said. Ilay glanced my way.
It wasn't strange for me to be summoned separately. No one thought of it as favoritism anymore. After all, I was the adopted son of the Imperial Guard Captain.
And implicitly, I was also the leader of my fellow cadets. If there was ever a need to gather the class or pass along a message, going through me was only natural.
Heilas, who had summoned me, walked silently into a private lounge set up deep within the exhibition hall. I followed.
Creak, thud.
The door closed.
"I have something to discuss regarding Bao Zakanan, Luka," Heilas said, settling into a chair.
Bao Zakanan.
The man suspected of orchestrating Nikolaos's assassination.
But was it really alright to talk about that here? Four Imperial Guardsmen currently stood around us.
As I hesitated, Heilas continued in a grave tone.
"These men can be trusted."
Coming from Heilas, it couldn't be a lie.
Does that mean the Guardsmen here are more loyal to Heilas than to the Empire?
I felt strange. I couldn't tell whether to be pleased or troubled. These were Guardsmen who had served the Empire for at least a decade—some for several. Yet they'd keep a secret for Heilas, who wasn't even of the same family.
"...Did you cover up Ilay's misdeeds because you weren't loyal to the Empire? If the two of you, who've spent only a few years together, could do that, then those of us who've rolled through battlefields together for decades share a bond far deeper than yours, not shallower."
Ah. I see. My eyes widened.
I was still lacking in experience. Grace's words came back to me. I was young. I had just realized that fact with painful clarity.
Heilas must have several "Ilays" of his own. Comrades-in-arms with whom he could share dangerous secrets and trust implicitly.
"I'll speak frankly. Did you know about the transgressions Ilay and I committed in the Arcane Fortress?"
"The circumstances made it obvious. That's a matter I can overlook at my discretion. After all, your intentions weren't to rebel against the Empire. You two were far too valuable to be discarded over something like that."
I bit my lower lip lightly, then released it. I barely suppressed the self-destructive urge to chew on it until it bled. Our desperate efforts suddenly felt like child's play.
"Does discussing Bao Zakanan here mean I should take it that you intend to use the official authority of the Imperial Guard?"
"I tried to resolve it within the Custoria family, but there was no clear solution. We intend to uncover evidence of Bao Zakanan colluding with terrorists and formally arrest him. That way, we can make it an official matter."
Heilas was breaking the balance. He was wielding official authority for a private matter.
"Allow me to say something presumptuous."
"I'm used to your presumptuous words and actions, so go ahead."
At Heilas's joke, the other Guardsmen merely shrugged and chuckled softly.
"There's a possibility Barbara's information is false. Furthermore, Barbara reported to the Empire that Bao Zakanan is a traitor—and the upper command might be leaving him alone for some grander plan. If we intervene, we might disrupt the Empire's designs. Is there truly a reason to risk that and keep investigating Bao Zakanan?"
The Imperial Family already knew everything about the Custoria family's movements. I had reported it myself. And even without my report, they likely already knew about Custoria.
Stop here, Heilas. You're a wise man. Nikolaos would be satisfied with this much effort.
I desperately wanted Heilas to stop.
"You're absolutely right. Excellent insight. If I were to honestly report to the upper command that I'm investigating Nikolaos's death... they'd tell me to back off. Seeing how a high-ranking official like Bao Zakanan is a collaborator yet hasn't been purged, it's safe to assume some other plan I'm unaware of is unfolding beneath the surface."
It seemed my persuasion was working.
"In that case—"
"Luka. Nikolaos was my son."
Heilas drove the point home with a single sentence.
I shut my mouth. His son had died. I could never truly comprehend the depth of that grief—especially since Heilas was not one to easily show his emotions.
Heilas had been holding back all this time. He must have been desperately suppressing the urge to tear the Empire apart. Had he mobilized all the power and intelligence at his disposal to shake the Empire, he would have found everyone involved long ago.
But Heilas hadn't done that. Because he was the Imperial Guard Captain. He, too, likely understood just how intricately entangled the Empire was—perhaps even better than I did.
"I would act the exact same way if you died the way Nikolaos did."
Heilas added. I wanted to believe those words were true.
"If there's anything I can do, I'll help."
I had no choice but to say that.
...A Watcher can do nothing but watch.