A pillar of fire surged up from the city, and thick, suffocating smoke billowed upward.
‘What is this feeling…?’
Cesar Li stared vacantly at it. A melancholic emotion slowly seeped out from deep within him.
Is it relief? Yes. He had dealt with the arsonist and the first step of his plan was perfectly set, so he felt satisfied and relieved.
Is it regret? No. This incident was the proper use of anger and a legitimate expression of hatred. Although Cesar wished he could have ensured more firepower, he did not regret taking action.
Then, is it joy?
“….”
No, it is not joy. Strangely enough.
Every night, he had tossed and turned in anticipation of this day, dreaming of it arriving, meticulously preparing to enhance the completeness of the plan while running toward the future that would unfold afterward.
So, yes. Cesar had undoubtedly planned a three-year-long revenge and put it into action. The first stepping stone had been perfectly laid.
But then, why?
‘Why on earth?’
Why does a smile not rise to his face?
Why is there only this sadness and muffled feeling? Cesar’s melted expression trembled.
Hadn’t he dreamed of the taste of revenge every night? Hadn’t he hoped for a thrilling and exhilarating satisfaction?
To be the avenger in place of those who had screamed as they burned. Hadn’t he wanted a revenge that was more certain than anything else in this world?
And finally, he had achieved that revenge.
…But the taste of revenge was not sweet.
‘…No, that’s not it.’
Cesar shook his head. His revenge had not yet been perfectly executed. The biggest prey remained. Cesar’s remaining right eye sank coldly.
“It seems the bomb has exploded. I’m relieved that it worked well.”
His companion, driving the vehicle he was in, glanced back and spoke. Cesar slowly nodded.
“Yeah. But this is just the beginning.”
“Right. It’s just the beginning… Those bastards haven’t truly tasted the heat yet.”
The bomb had exploded in two places: the tavern where the arsonists had partaken and the mansion of the Adelhaid Duke, located on the opposite side of the city.
Although the mansion of the Adelhaid Duke was heavily guarded, they had only managed to blow up the entrance and courtyard…
‘What a wonderful warning it became.’
Cesar bowed his head toward the two places spewing black smoke. Five agents had been stationed at the Adelhaid Duke’s mansion and four at the tavern. It was a distribution of personnel according to skill and appropriate numbers.
Of course, they would all have died due to the explosion. That much was not something Cesar had ordered.
Right after the war had ended, the veterans, who had received no particular compensation, had to live having lost everything.
For instance, some had lost an arm. Others might have had fingers severed. Or perhaps they had severely injured their heads.
Even after losing precious things, they were merely cast into a cold and indifferent society.
A society more brutal than the battlefield, and chillier than the daily clanging of steel that had pounded the earth.
Cesar retired with the rank of sergeant. He was given a fair amount of money, but that was the end of it.
The pain of war was far too insufficiently healed, and those who had merely stood idly by, far from the slaughterhouse, enjoyed a hefty pension while mocking the blood and sweat of soldiers, including Cesar.
Soldiers had died countless times in the Great War, and only those with irreversible scars had survived. Thus, peace came to the Empire.
And there was no place for the veterans who had lost everything.
Some were averse to the fact that they had taken lives, while others merely feigned gratitude for their sacrifices while deceiving them. Some simply ignored them, showing no interest.
After victory, those who returned to the city looked like beaten soldiers, and the public, unaware of their efforts, was intoxicated only by their brief taste of victory. There was no one to welcome the veterans back.
Those who had shared life and death with him now struggled in dire straits. Many found themselves on the streets, and among the veterans who had only awaited the end of the war, some ultimately made the extreme choice due to society’s humiliation when they returned.
Cesar felt an increasing disillusionment as he looked at this society. Even though he had retired as a non-commissioned officer, the gaze upon him was no different from that on the soldiers.
Hiding behind the wall of security that they had risked everything to defend from the fierce waves of foreign powers. Living safe and idyllic lives. They had protected the numerous people of the Empire living like this.
And what returned was the harshly cold gaze of the crowd. Cesar gritted his teeth.
‘…Damn it.’
Cesar’s fist clenched tightly. The veterans who had made plans with him had nothing left to lose.
Thus, they did not hesitate to risk their lives. Thinking of the nine souls that would soon be extinguished in that blazing pillar, he let out a trembling sigh.
Nine had died, but their deaths were merely for show. Nine died as the cost of opening the prologue of the plan.
That fact filled him with unshakable guilt, rendering him unable to bear it. Cesar forced himself to regain his composure and solidified his expression.
“Don’t forget.”
Their sacrifices. The society that made them this way. And those who had transformed himself into the embodiment of revenge.
“Don’t forget… absolutely not.”
That was a warning to himself.
Cesar’s expression hardened again. The deed had been done, and there was no turning back.
“How much longer?”
“Just a little more.”
“Good. Send the other team to the annex, and we’ll enter the main building.”
He gritted his teeth, sharpening the completion of his revenge, along with the torturous life he had lived.
Today, he would see it all come to an end.
*
“Professor, be careful. I will send personnel to the Academy as quickly as possible, so don’t worry too much.”
“…Yes. Understood.”
With that, Chief Curbin hurried back to the intelligence department. I watched the receding vehicle, stroking the hard something I had tucked away in my pocket.
What he had given me, a self-defense pistol in case of an emergency, was that. The metallic feel of the L-shaped object was ever so familiar and chilly. I pulled my hand out of my pocket.
‘…Damn it.’
It was an object I never wanted to hold again. A chilly sensation I never wanted to feel again, and the sensation of killing that I firmly believed I would never see again in my lifetime.
Yet, cruelly, time had turned and returned to me. I clenched the shaking hand tightly.
‘Calm down. Stay calm.’
Suppressing the rising nausea, the remaining Sofia Sub-priest and Professor Esther cast worried glances at me.
“Head Priest, are you okay?”
“Professor Lucio, you should go inside….”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. We need to move to the main building first.”
With that, I headed toward the main building with the two of them. Even then, I tried to think as calmly as possible.
I still didn’t know the cause of the explosion. But for some reason, I strongly felt that it was something Cesar had done.
Why did I feel that way? Because I had spoken with Cesar at the Academy just a few days ago? Because during that conversation, he had hinted at a chilling revenge?
In the first place, why did Cesar want to meet me? How did Chief Curbin know about my meeting with Cesar?
Thinking about it, it made no sense. The fire department had already processed him as a casualty. The fact that he was alive could not be judged solely by his completely melted face.
However, the intelligence department had found out not only that Cesar was alive but also that he was conspiring against the Adelhaid Duke. Was that even possible?
When I met with Cesar, there had surely been no one nearby. We hadn’t spoken loudly, and Cesar had become a completely different person after the fire incident.
Did the intelligence department recognize Cesar’s appearance and find out a few days later that Cesar and I had spoken? It would make more sense for the Adelhaid Duke to kneel and apologize to Cesar.
Let’s think about it. Who benefits the most when the fact that Cesar and I had a conversation reached the ears of the intelligence department?
‘…Damn, I don’t know.’
While I was wrapped up in complicated thoughts, the car carrying Chief Curbin grew increasingly distant, now on the verge of disappearing from my sight.
As I watched the vehicle that had completely vanished, I put aside my chaotic thoughts for the moment…
“…….”
Suddenly, a thought struck me.
What Cesar wanted was revenge against the Adelhaid Duke. Cesar had said he would make the Adelhaid Duke pay a price equivalent to the pain he had suffered.
What would that revenge be? What was the reason he had shown up at the Academy?
He had said he found a job as a mechanic with his colleagues. I had often seen mechanics dressed like him working on the Academy’s streetlights.
– In fact, I wanted to pull you to our side, so I watched you for a while… but you were already living your own life.
The Academy. The reason he had made an appearance there. Was it because he had been watching me as a professor there and suddenly approached me a few days ago?
– I didn’t want to pull you in anymore… but I just wanted to talk to you for old times’ sake.
Was it really a simple desire to talk to me?
Or was it….
“…Could it be?”
Days after suddenly approaching me and talking, the head of the federal intelligence department, Chief Curbin, came to find me.
As a result, the upper echelon of the federal intelligence department was temporarily vacant. Regardless of what “event” unfolded in the city, the intelligence department would be delayed in addressing that incident.
The explosion occurred on the opposite side of the city, far from the Academy. Was that just a coincidence?
What if I thought of it this way.
Cesar disguised our conversation as a coincidence and let slip the fact that we had talked to the intelligence department.
If, beforehand, Cesar had intentionally leaked the fact that he was alive and hinted at his revenge against the Adelhaid Duke.
If the head of the federal intelligence department, recognizing that, came to meet me to investigate my relationship with Cesar.
If, in the meantime, chaos ensued in the city, causing the federal intelligence department to panic and shift their focus to other incidents.
‘I was used as bait.’
Then that means I was the bait. Although Cesar still aimed for the Adelhaid Duke, he would not directly approach him. Instead, he would thoroughly prepare and lure the Adelhaid Duke in.
In the ensuing vacuum of administrative power, the bait that Cesar could draw the Adelhaid Duke with was….
“…Laura.”
For someone like me, who thought they had nothing to lose, there was still a mountain of things to lose.
The moment I realized that, I was already running frantically.
“Professor Lucio! Why are you suddenly running…!”
“Damn it…!”
Breathing heavily, I ran alongside Sofia Sub-priest and Professor Esther, who also began to run.
I must protect her. No matter what, I must protect her. I will not allow a second failure.
While running nonstop, I prayed desperately.
“Damn…! Damn it!”
I hope my expectations are wrong.
I hope my desperation does not become a fleeting wind like before. I hope it does not lead to a sorrowful ending for everyone.
I prayed sincerely.
