Chapter 342: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (60)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 342: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (60)
“Uncle… are you just going to stand by and watch?”
A bitter smile touched Walter’s lips.
“What can I do? This is the way of the world now.”
“You’re a coward, Uncle.”
At her words, Walter’s eyebrow twitched, but he didn’t argue.
“I, too, have people I must protect. In the end, I’m just an ordinary man, no different from them.”
Elena took a quiet breath, then spoke slowly and firmly.
“…What if I go to save Adele Licencia?”
The air in the car seemed to chill.
“Will you try to stop me?”
Walter stared at her in silence for a long moment before finally speaking.
“You…”
He opened his mouth but couldn’t seem to find the words.
When he finally spoke again, his voice was low and steeped in exhaustion.
“Don’t say such things so lightly. You are the heir to the Eisenhardt family. A single misjudgment on your part could bring this entire family to ruin.”
Elena didn’t look away. Instead, she met his gaze directly.
“I know. I know the responsibility, and I know its weight.”
She continued.
“But… I can’t just stand by and watch anymore.”
As Walter’s expression hardened, Elena went on, her voice calm.
“The things I’ve been through… they were horrific. Neither the colonial forces nor the Federation Army… no one cares about the lives of ordinary people. Orders are everything, profit comes first, and the sacrifices are always made by the nameless.”
Walter’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn’t stop.
“I… want to say that it’s wrong.”
“Elena.”
Walter said her name.
“Even so, what do you think you can change? You have no army, no political power, no organization. What do you plan to do?”
At that moment, I spoke up.
“If you don’t have an organization, you build one. If you don’t have power, you seize it.”
Walter’s head snapped toward me, his eyes glaring.
“It was you! You’re the one who put these strange ideas in Elena’s head!”
I met his gaze with a cold stare. Then, very slowly, I continued in a low, firm voice.
“You say you have regrets, but in the end, you’ve grown comfortable in your position, turning a blind eye to the destruction right in front of you. That makes you no different from them.”
Walter’s face stiffened. I didn’t stop.
“The family this, the system that… the moment you abandon real people to protect that kind of empty shell, you become nothing more than a bystander.”
A heavy silence fell over the car. Walter’s lips thinned. Fury burned in his eyes, but deep within them, a storm of complex emotions churned.
“…How dare you say that to me…”
He clenched his fists. I continued to look him straight in the eye.
“You know, don’t you? That Adele Licencia never attacked Mars.”
At my words, Walter’s eyes wavered almost imperceptibly.
“I know. Anyone inside the military knows.”
“And you’re still just going to watch?”
Walter clamped his mouth shut. The silence stretched on. Then, he slowly began to speak.
“If you two… are truly going to save her, you don’t have much time until the execution.”
Elena and I exchanged a look.
“Adele Licencia is currently in an isolation cell inside the Void Dome. Security is at the highest level, with Zeros Code and the Federation Army taking turns monitoring her.”
Walter continued, his tone decisive.
“I cannot help you directly. I have my position, and many people depend on me. However…”
Walter closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
“Tomorrow at 10 a.m., the Void Dome’s security system will undergo a temporary reboot. A seven-minute vulnerability will open up. It’s unavoidable, as the security protocols are updated sequentially.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
“And…”
Walter lowered his voice, speaking quietly.
“I have a private shuttle in my personal hangar. If you time it right, you should be able to evade the orbital defense network and escape the Federation’s surveillance zone.”
I nodded silently.
“This is all I can do for you. Anymore…”
“It’s enough, Uncle,” Elena said softly.
Walter gave a short nod and turned to look out the window again.
“…But Elena, always remember this. The world doesn’t always move the way you want it to.”
With those final words, we arrived quietly at his mansion.
*
Inside the prison cell, Lisa flopped onto the bed and muttered with a sigh.
“A public execution… I never imagined I’d die like this.”
From the opposite corner, Hina grumbled, curled up in a ball.
“Ugh… My face was shown to the whole world… I’m ruined.”
Lisa whipped her head around.
“Is that what you’re worried about?”
Just then, a relaxed voice drifted from the next cell.
“Still, it’s better than whining about not wanting to die.”
It was Sheryl Mortimer.
Leaning against the wall with her legs crossed, she didn’t even blink.
Lisa shot up and grabbed the iron bars.
“Are you all insane? They’re going to chop our heads off in front of everyone tomorrow! Don’t you feel any sense of crisis?”
Sheryl shrugged.
“There’s nothing we can do anyway. Don’t waste your energy. Just relax and wait.”
“Ha…”
Lisa pressed a hand to her forehead.
“What about you, Su-hyeon? Don’t tell me you’re not bothered by this either?”
Without even lifting her head, she whispered, very softly.
“…Master.”
Lisa covered her face with her hands and slumped to the floor.
“Haa… I feel like I’m the only crazy one here.”
Just then, Sheryl spoke in a low voice.
“Save your strength and just wait. An opportunity will come.”
“Like Sheryl said, stay quiet. Your anxiety is just making everyone else anxious.”
This time, it was Mason’s voice. Lisa let out a hollow laugh and looked away. Her gaze fell on Oh Hyun, who was doing something by himself in a corner of the cell.
“What are you doing in handcuffs?”
Oh Hyun looked up and said, “I’m thinking of a way to escape.”
“…Escape?”
“Yes.”
“Ha… You too… Never mind.”
It was then.
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed down the hall. The cell instantly fell silent. A moment later, the owner of the footsteps came into view.
A Zeros Code insignia was pinned to the epaulet on his Federation Army uniform.
He was a man of solid build.
“It’s been a while, Captain.”
Sheryl turned her gaze to him.
“It has, Torno.”
He bowed his head.
“I never thought we would meet again in a place like this.”
“My apologies.”
“Not at all.”
Sheryl asked quietly, “So… what brings you here?”
He closed his eyes, took a short breath, and pulled something from his coat. He then silently approached the cell and began to unlock the door.
“Are you sure about this?”
“This was a decision made after much consideration. The soldiers guarding this place are all comrades who move with me.”
Sheryl watched him for a moment before nodding.
“Thank you. Do you know Lady Adele’s location?”
“She is… in the sector where Leon Risensia is staying.”
“……I see.”
Torno took out a key for the handcuffs and said, “Everyone, come out. You will follow me from now on.”
As she opened the cell door, Sheryl muttered, “Saving Lady Adele first is the priority.”
But Torno shook his head.
“That’s impossible. That sector is… so heavily guarded we can’t even set foot in it.”
“Is there a way?”
“Not at the moment. However… we have a separate plan to rescue her—”
Just then.
—KUUUUUUUUUNG!
—BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!
A mechanical alarm blared, tearing through the prison. An automated warning echoed from the wall speakers.
[Warning! Intruder detected in the sector! All forces, prepare for combat! Full sector lockdown initiated!]
Sheryl immediately turned to look at Torno.
“Is this part of your plan?”
Torno’s face hardened. He pressed his lips together and gave a short reply.
“…No. This… is an unplanned variable.”
He immediately changed direction and said, “We need to move, quickly. This sector will be sealed off soon. We have to get out before the troops swarm in.”
The group nodded silently and began to move quickly down the prison corridor, following him.
“This way!”
Torno stopped in front of a door leading to an emergency passage.
He opened the security pad and quickly entered a code.
—Click, whirrr…!
The multiple locks disengaged, and the heavy door slid open. Inside was a dark, narrow staircase.
“Down there, it connects to an area near the machine hangar. The rest is—”
But at that very moment.
From the darkness at the bottom of the stairs, something approached. One step, then another. Soon, armed soldiers were revealed under the red emergency lights. All of them held automatic rifles, lining the staircase.
As the group froze, a man walked calmly through the ranks of soldiers.
He wore a neatly fastened black officer’s coat, the Zeros Code insignia on his epaulet. A cold, snake-like smile played on his lips.
He opened his mouth to speak.
“Torno, to be honest… I knew from the start that you would betray us.”
Torno gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath.
“…Fern.”
Fern gave a short laugh.
“But you know, it’s no fun if you move so predictably, Torno.”
He slowly turned his head, looking around before gesturing to his soldiers. Instantly, their rifle muzzles all pointed at Sheryl and her group.
“Captain Sheryl. And the rest of you. Why don’t you surrender quietly? Ending this without any casualties… is surprisingly something I’d prefer, too.”
Sheryl narrowed her eyes, glaring at him.
“…That doesn’t mean you won’t kill us.”
Fern smirked.
“Frankly, I don’t care if you live or die. It’s just that if you die before the execution… it would make things a bit tiresome for me.”
A tension so thick you could hear a pin drop hung over the group.
Sheryl turned her head toward Torno.
“…Weapons?”
“Just one pistol…”
As the encirclement tightened and the soldiers’ eyes glinted with killing intent, their fingers resting on the triggers, Su-hyeon and Hina exchanged a look. Just as the two women were about to make a move.
—KWAAAAANG!!
A flash of blue light tore through the ceiling. The clear, sharp energy instantly sliced through the space, landing precisely between the soldiers and Sheryl’s group.
The sound was followed by an explosion, debris, and smoke. Through the ruined ceiling, something dropped with a soft ‘thud’.
It was a person.
He held a single sword in one hand. A blue aura condensed on the blade, and with every breath he took, that energy flickered at its tip.
He calmly looked around and spoke.
“Su-hyeon, Hina. It’s been a while.”
“…Master!”
“Oppa!”
Overcome with emotion, Su-hyeon clasped her hands together as tears streamed down her face, while Hina sobbed where she stood.
At the sudden appearance of Jin Seo-yun, Fern’s expression twisted, and he irritably raised a hand.
“…I don’t know who the hell you are.”
He gritted his teeth and shouted.
“All units, open fire! Kill that man first!”
Just as the soldiers’ fingers tightened on their triggers, the tip of Jin Seo-yun’s sword tilted slightly.