Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: You're Not Crow
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"Yeah, too much? Really?"
A long, sharp ice spike falls to the floor and shatters.
"Isn't showing sympathy to a psychopathic murderess you just met here more heartless than to the people who've followed your justice their whole lives?"
Orca crushes the fragments underfoot as she slowly walks over, picks up the baton she had thrown, and returns.
"It's truly bizarre. I just can't understand it. Crow always said there was no room for compromise. That at the very least, good people wouldn't suffer losses, and all villains would face the judgment of the law."
The tears streaking her cheek have frozen solid by now. Her pale hand, meant to wipe them away, merely pushes a small chunk of ice to the ground.
"But everything you're saying is so inconsistent. If you were the old Crow, even if you ended up in here for some mistake of your own, you'd have accepted it willingly."
I can guess what she's getting at,
so I take a step back and try to make excuses to Orca.
"...It's because I didn't do anything wrong. I told you. I'm innocent! It wasn't my fault—I was framed...!"
"So you're saying the Association you cherished and devoted yourself to, and Justice, are lying? Is that what you're claiming?"
Fuck.
I devoted myself to the Association,
and together with Justice, I overcame countless hardships.
But since uncovering the corruption within the Association as it began to grow its influence was a relatively recent development,
Orca, who hadn't crossed paths with me much, can't easily accept the internal affairs of the Association or my predicament.
It must have been about a year ago—maybe even two—since I last saw Orca.
"I didn't know back then! That's why I tried to fix it. And this is the result. So please, just stop and let it go. Beating us like this won't solve anything."
"A minimum level of violence is essential when capturing villains. That's a fundamental truth, the basis of justice. If you're not prepared to get blood on your hands, you can't fight, right?"
Especially after she left the police force and was reassigned elsewhere, our paths never crossed again.
Back then, we could only wish each other happiness in the future, but now I realize we weren't the type to part so lightly.
"You have to fight when it's time to fight. Right, Crow?"
More than I expected,
I seem to have left a profound and intense impression on Orca.
"What you really need to fix is your attitude. No matter what happened, you should have accepted the punishment willingly. That's who Crow was. Even if you were truly innocent, you should have endured it stoically and died. That way, I could've just grieved alone and moved on."
In her memories,
I have become a figure far greater than I could ever live up to.
Not some pathetic loser rotting away in prison, enduring daily torment like me,
but a great hero who vanquishes all evil and upholds good and justice.
Thwack—
Mid-sentence, Orca swings the baton in her hand and strikes Creep.
Fortunately, it hits her forearm instead of a vital spot, so Creep doesn't collapse. But as Orca begins using her ability in earnest, the situation changes rapidly.
Without any warning, the surroundings freeze over. Orca's chill restricts our movements. The soles of our shoes stick to the floor, refusing to budge as they enter a deep freeze.
"Kuh-hurk"
A kick slams into Creep's abdomen in that state. She barely manages to block it with both arms, but Orca's kick lands true anyway, sending Creep tumbling forward.
"Fine. Since you said it was too much for the greatest hero, Crow, to slice open her belly with his powers, I'll just give her physical punishment instead. Let's end it here."
But contrary to her words, Orca relentlessly targets Creep's stomach. She swings her foot hard once more at the belly of the woman sprawled on the ground.
The tip of her combat boot, loaded with her full weight and momentum, drives mercilessly into Creep's gut. Even as Creep tries to shield herself with her hands, Orca's violence continues with enough force to crush every bone in her arms.
"Gonna have a baby? As a villain?"
"Stop!"
She even drops her full weight from above with her heel, and each time, a gruesome sound echoes.
Having taken plenty of beatings here myself, I can somewhat gauge the pain she's enduring.
"Stop it!"
I hurriedly rip off the soles of my standard-issue shoes and charge at Orca to grab her. But contrary to my intent to restrain her, Orca's ability effortlessly shakes me off her back.
"Urgh...!"
Ice shards sprout from her back, and unable to endure the stabbing pain, I let go of Orca.
And just like that, sprawled on the floor, Orca's attention shifts to me. This time, not Creep, but her violence pours directly onto me.
"How dare you touch a correctional officer!"
Each blow reverberates through my body like a fuse igniting. My mind reels from the punches, my entire body screaming in agony.
The last time she beat me, it wasn't this painful, but Orca's punches now, swung in earnest, are entirely different.
"You're! Not! Crow! Got it? You're...!"
Orca unleashes her punches freely, as if liberated from something. Her expression is freer and more composed than before.
No, perhaps even beyond that,
she seems to be truly accepting and enjoying this situation.
"Just some villain who looks similar. Crow is dead. No, I am Crow. From today on, I'm Crow, and you're nothing."
Liberation.
That's what I see.
Even as blood vessels burst in my eyes
and bones cave in,
Orca, straddling me, relentlessly pours out her rage, her pent-up resentment.
"I'll! Carry on Crow's justice. No compromises. Filthy serial killers like you and that one over there deserve to die. I'm the one keeping you alive. So take the beating without complaint and be grateful...!"
It was a clear answer.
She needed someone to replace the me in her imagination—one who never errs,
always shining nobly.
For her, that someone
was the justice I always preached.
A justice even more flawless,
sharper, more violent,
and authoritarian
than the one I upheld—twisted by the years apart into something entirely her own.
"Even if you crumble, the justice of me and Crow won't! What crumbles is just one pathetic human...!"
Since those were words I once said,
I can't utter a single retort as the blows rain down.
"Haa, haa... S-so..."
I, suffering beneath Orca,
am no hero—just a villain.
A hollow shell of one.
Just a villain who slightly resembles Crow.
"Good... From now on, I'll educate you every day, as per my duties as a correctional officer. Especially vicious villains like you need special supervision..."
And so,
Orca, who could never grasp hold of our bond, grabs my collar with trembling hands and mutters.
"Cor-rection. Behavioral correction! It's an important mission to resocialize villains like you!"
Finally facing the small hope and desire returned to her grasp,
Orca vents her true feelings.
"So, wait."
But first, there's something she must do.
Orca glances at Creep, who is stroking her belly and coughing in the distance.
"I'll remake you into Crow. Before we really get started..."
Before she can fully indulge in her honest lust and possessiveness toward me,
or her base desires,
Orca must eliminate any potential in Creep's belly.
"..."
So this time, she uses her ability in absolute earnest.
Her palm aims at Creep,
and as I watch,
I vomit blood.
Ring ring ring—
A single phone call jolts the three of us back to our senses.
The old phone on Orca's desk connects to the prison's internal network. Someone inside the prison is looking for her.
"..."
Ring ring ring—
But Orca hesitates for a moment. Something more important is right in front of her.
Ring ring ring—
Surprisingly, Creep giggles and taunts Orca.
"Ahh, ahaha! Answer it quick. Hmm? Officer, if you don't pick up now, you'll regret it~...?"
Orca ignores Creep's provocation and tries to finish things, but
realizing few people would call her at this hour, she reluctantly stands.
"Ahem! Hm!"
First, she must steady her agitated voice.
Straddling me, who knows what thoughts raced through her mind—contrary to her icy exterior, her entire body is flushed hot, steaming.
"A- a- a-"
Her voice drips with excitement. She desperately tries to compose herself for the important call, but her flushed red face and the steam rising from her body show no signs of fading.
"...Yes, Correctional Officer Orca speaking. Yes, Director."
But
the voice from the other end douses her like cold water.
"...Yes?"
Her body cools rapidly. Instead, a fierce chill emanates once more.
"..."
Orca glares at Creep as if to kill her,
and Creep flashes her a strained smile before winking at me.
"Honey... don't worry... I'll watch over our baby..."
The mood is foul.
The floor is freezing over.