Chapter 528: Bloody Requiem (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 528: Bloody Requiem (3)
I know.
Even though I was the one who proposed it, I know it’s a completely absurd plan.
No matter what constraints we put in place, does it even make sense to give the enemy free rein?
Moreover, before executing any operation or plan, you’re supposed to weigh the risks of failure. The risk of this plan was the lives of nearly a hundred people, including the Volunteer Group.
It was a risk that went far beyond high-risk—an ultra-risk. No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a super ultra-risk.
And yet, after a long discussion, the plan was approved.
Not because they were all fools, but because the situation was just that desperate.
If the Romanian government was truly connected in some way to the Apostle of the Seven Deadly Sins, our Raid Team’s target, then we had to consider ourselves surrounded in the heart of enemy territory.
It was a precarious situation where anything could happen at any moment.
That’s why we made this choice.
Before the enemy could tighten the noose from all sides, we decided to break through in one direction while we still had the chance.
That’s when it started.
We began running simulations, assuming the enemy's worst possible move.
A dangerous gamble.
Although the plan was executed after everyone agreed, I was the one who suggested it.
So, it’s a relief that things have gone well so far.
Because being thrown in this prison was one of the scenarios I had simulated.
Snap!
Crack!
After cleanly removing the special handcuffs from my comrades' wrists, I peered through the bars to survey our surroundings.
Hmm, good.
The sound was quite loud, but seeing how quiet it was outside, it seemed they didn’t hear.
That also meant they were far away.
I turned back to my comrades, who were rubbing their wrists and calmly checking their bodies, and raised the tension.
“Alright, everyone, stay sharp. The real mission starts now.”
This was as far as my planning went.
A situation where, one way or another, we followed the enemy's lead and ended up in the heart of their territory.
This was the limit of what I could imagine back then.
In other words, from now on, we had to improvise to overcome whatever came our way.
It was only natural.
How could I have possibly imagined this far, not knowing the structure of the Blood Sanctuary, the ancient castle where the True Ancestor slept?
I didn't even know how many enemies there were.
Of course, I still had a few contingencies prepared for a crisis, but I’d save those for later.
A female mage from the Raid Team asked.
“What’s the plan from here?”
A plan, huh?
I didn’t have a long-term one, but I knew what we had to do right away.
“First, we need to get our confiscated equipment back.”
Reclaiming the gear they took from us before we entered the prison.
“After that, we’ll rescue the Volunteer Group.”
The next objective was to rescue the Volunteer Group, who were likely being held in a different location.
This was just as urgent as retrieving our equipment.
As long as they were in the enemy’s hands, we couldn’t act freely.
“The enemy must not find out we’ve escaped until after we’ve rescued the Volunteer Group.”
“To do that…”
“Let’s form an elite team to conduct the search.”
“You mean the rest of us should pretend we’re still locked up in here?”
“Yes. And while we’re at it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pick off any guys who come checking on us one by one.”
You know, like a Venus flytrap.
The Raid Team members were huddled together in the cramped cell.
I picked out the kids who were mixed in with them.
Shin Yu-jeong, Angela, Son Seo-yeon, and finally, Ju-yeon.
“The five of us will search the castle.”
“The selection criteria seem awfully blatant…”
At a comrade’s question, I smiled and nodded.
He was right.
It was blatant. I picked them to my own liking.
“In a situation like this, teamwork is just as important as skill.”
“Well… that’s true.”
With that explanation, no further complaints were voiced.
Besides, searching the castle was a far riskier task than pretending to be prisoners.
No matter how full of justice they were, there was no reason to walk willingly into the jaws of death, right?
As things settled down, Yoon Si-hoo, who was among the Raid Team, shot his hand up.
“Sunbae-nim, should Ha-rin and I just stay here?”
“Yeah. You two stay here.”
“Ah… I understand.”
The kid lowered his hand, his voice tinged with disappointment.
Jin Ha-rin, standing next to him, also looked a little let down.
Did they want to come along that badly?
But it couldn’t be helped.
“If I take you two, our numbers here will be too thin. Besides, this is enemy territory. We don’t know what dangers are lurking, and the risk becomes too great if we have to fight while protecting you as well.”
They had grown at a dazzling pace and were still growing, but it wasn’t enough.
Frankly, it was a huge stretch to even bring them this far.
If it weren’t for my selfish desire for them to learn faster, I would have left them in Korea.
With a bitter smile, I left them with a piece of advice that was also a warning.
“It’s good to be confident and full of will, but you also need to know how to distinguish between what you can and cannot do.”
“Yes…”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Good.
I like that they get it the first time I tell them.
I turned and shattered the incredibly sturdy lock.
CRUNCH!
Its function was instantly lost to an immense grip strength, one on the verge of reaching the realm of transcendence.
I carefully opened the door and, as I stepped out, left a final request for those remaining.
“Please put on a good act.”
“Don’t worry about us, you all worry about yourselves.”
“That’s right. Avoid combat as much as possible until you get your gear back.”
“Fighting!”
Instead of worry, a flood of encouragement poured out.
They say birds of a feather flock together. It seems everyone around Francis is the same.
“Alright, let’s go.”
I carefully exited the prison with my comrades.
* * *
Rumble—
The weather had been clear.
But not long after he got off the plane, it began to cloud over rapidly.
Suddenly, a flash lit up the sky, and a brilliant white bolt of light shot down between the gloomy heavens and the earth.
CRACK!
The roar of thunder echoed violently in his ears.
But it didn’t register.
Right now, even a noise several times louder than thunder wouldn’t have bothered him.
Because a sight far more horrific was unfolding before his eyes.
“Ahahaha! Look, Master. I told you, didn’t I? That this place would be teeming with prey.”
“……”
Plink. Plonk.
Then, the rain began to fall.
As if to welcome it, Michelle stretched her arms out wide, tilted her head to the sky, and closed her eyes.
“Mmm… and it’s raining right on cue.”
The falling raindrops washed it away.
The splatters of blood from the corpses strewn about, which had stained her jet-black robe.
Having pleasantly finished her shower, she approached, took his hand, and led him forward.
“Oh, my. What are you doing just standing there? You must eat.”
“……”
She led him to the nearest corpse.
A faint groan could be heard.
“Ughhh… s-save me…”
Right.
They were on the verge of death, but they were still alive.
The reason he had thought of them as corpses was because they would be soon enough anyway.
And by his own hand.
But he found it difficult to reach out.
The last shred of his conscience kept holding back his steps, his hand.
Michelle did not let this stand.
“Surely you’re not… hesitating now, are you?”
Her tone was somehow chilling.
He protested.
“…The ones I’ve dealt with until now were people who deserved to die.”
But the people gathered here were different.
These were people who, unable to endure starvation in a ruined nation, had been reduced to bandits.
Harming and stealing from others was undoubtedly a great sin.
But having once suffered from starvation himself, he couldn’t bring himself to find an answer.
Was their crime truly deserving of death?
Before he could answer for himself, Michelle, who had come up behind him and embraced him, whispered.
“Of course they are, Master. These people deserve to die.”
“…Why?”
“Because for every life they saved by stealing, those they stole from would have died.”
“……!”
She wasn’t wrong.
For their own sake, for their families’ sake, they chose to steal.
Then what about those they stole from?
They would have suffered from even greater hunger and eventually lost their lives.
‘Yes, that’s right.’
She was right.
The people dying at his feet were all humans who deserved to die.
They decided to become bandits because, in the end, they had strength.
That’s why they could so easily think of surviving by taking from others.
Rage surged within him.
“You never once thought about it from the victim's perspective, did you…!”
Because this is how the world is.
Because my life, my family’s lives, are more important than others.
They would have rationalized it that way, never giving a thought to the feelings or the future of the victims they robbed.
“So I’ll teach you.”
His voice was laced with a cold chill.
He pulled a dagger from his coat and aimed it at the dying men.
“I’ll teach you what it felt like for those you stole from as they died.”
You will feel it just as keenly.
He plunged the knife down.
Thrust—!
“Keoheuk…!”
All hesitation was long gone.
He stabbed.
Crunch!
And stabbed.
Slice—
And stabbed again.
“Gurgle…”
One by one, their breaths ceased.
After ending dozens of lives, he caught the pouring rain in his hands and washed the blood from his face.
Then, without a second thought, he turned to Michelle, who had been watching him, and asked.
“Now, tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“We didn’t come all this way just to kill pathetic losers like these.”
Before they came here, she had told him.
That the end was not far off.
She had said the one who would mark the beginning of her new start was here.
“Tell me. Who is it?”
“……!”
She saw it.
A momentary demonic aura pouring from the eyes of the man demanding an answer.
And she felt it.
A suffocating pressure that constricted her body before vanishing in an instant.
A sense of obedience bloomed within her.
At this, she answered without further delay.
“The Apostle of Greed.”
The final sacrifice he had to kill and destroy.
“You must kill him.”
“The Apostle of Greed…”
The man, Son Si-woo, mulled over the name for a moment.
He immediately turned his back and strode forward without hesitation.
To open his tightly sealed future with his own hands.
Michelle silently followed behind him.