Chapter 26 : Determination

“I’m sorry.
I’ll apologize on their behalf.”

Lycan’s words were an apology.

I couldn’t comprehend it.
Skipping all context, he’d jumped to a one-sided conclusion favoring them.

I stepped forward to set the record straight.
But Lycan extended his arm, blocking me, speaking lowly.

“I’ll handle it.”

“It’s a misunderstanding!
I can explain everything!”

“Defying your leader’s orders now?”

“…”

Why?
Instead of defending me, he was silencing me—I couldn’t understand him.

The bald merc glared at us, smirking unpleasantly, then shamelessly demanded.

“You don’t think an apology’s enough, do you?”

“What do you want?”

“Compensation.
For the bereaved, say… 50 million credits?”

“Don’t joke!
If anyone deserves money, it’s us, not you!”

Outraged by the absurd demand, I snapped.
Before the other side could react, Lycan’s icy glare warned me.

“Ignore my words one more time, and you’re out.
Step back.”

“…Understood.”

Rage, overwhelming, surged within me, yet it cooled, my emotions freezing.
Aimlessly, I turned, stomping away, leaving the scene.

Only upon reaching the empty training area did my numb emotions finally erupt.

“Ugh…!!”

Unable to vent, trembling with fury, I unleashed it on the punchbag machine before me.

Thud! Thud!!

Damn it.
Damn it.
Damn it!

How long did I go?
My fists, red, skin peeled, only then did my rage subside, reason returning.

Beep-beep!
An out-of-place sound, followed by a score display.

Feeling hollow, I collapsed on the spot, staring blankly at the floor.

Even then, doubts lingered.
No matter how I thought about it, Lycan’s behavior felt off, unlike his usual self.

The other side?
Lowlife third-rate mercs, no better than thugs.
Lycan?
A legend in the industry.
No need to stoop so low.

A Rat Town sewer rat’s life worth 50 million credits?
Even his mother would abandon him for that sum.

I tried to understand, but it wasn’t easy.

Honestly, did I even need to understand?
After all the vile harassment I’d endured from those *scum, why was their deserved death a problem?

“Done wallowing alone?”

So, when Lycan found me, I felt more unease than relief.

Maybe he wasn’t the great person I’d thought.
Perhaps he didn’t see me as a true comrade, feeling no need to back me.

That thought sank my heart.
Had I foolishly overreacted all this time?
Did he see me as a disposable pawn, while I was the only one sincere?

“…How’d it go?”

“Settled amicably, sent them off.
Money solved it—lucky us.”

“Why didn’t you believe me?
I wasn’t the wrong one—they were!”

My whiny question prompted Lycan to meet my eyes, answering directly.

“I believe you.
I’d never trust some nobody over a comrade.”

“Then why…?”

“Didn’t it feel off?
A nobody merc team storming our hideout in broad daylight, openly protesting.
Over a sensitive issue that could spark conflict.”

His sudden words made me blink, mulling them over.

“Likely a bait.
If we’d taken their provocation and fought, we’d have fallen into a trap.”

“A trap…?”

“Not their doing, of course—someone* else pulled the strings.
I can think of plenty suspects already.”

Lycan had deduced that much in that brief moment?
Still, something didn’t add up.

“But we’re Red Dog!
The strongest merc team…!
No matter who they are, we have the strength to win!”

“Big kid, you’re misunderstanding something.”

He plopped beside me, speaking with an almost detached calm.

“I’m not strong.
Far from it—I’m weaker, more cowardly than anyone.
That’s why I’ve survived this long.”

“But…”

“You’ll realize one day.
Strength isn’t what matters.”

I couldn’t agree.
In this city, nothing was more important than strength.

The day Ruby was in danger—if I hadn’t had my Stone?
I wouldn’t have saved her.
I’d be trapped in unimaginable regret, living only to suffer.

I protected Ruby because of the Stone.
In a world without law or order, strength was needed to guard what mattered.

I gently stroked the ring I’d never removed since that day.
As if echoing my thoughts, the Stone glowed faintly, resonating.

Lycan, glancing at the ring, warned in a cold tone.

“Once you pay off your debt, discard that ring.”

“No way.”

“If you don’t, it’ll kill you first.
The Stone’s already sapping your life, bit by bit.”

“No.
I’ve used it countless times, and I’m fine.”

The mood turned frigid instantly.

Now I realized.
He’d never understand me, just as I couldn’t understand him.

“Lapis.”

The first time he’d called me by name since we’d met.

“Remember this:
Power you can’t handle will drive you to ruin.
The more you rely on that ring, the unhappier your end will be.”

“Why are you like this?
Karen uses hers fine!
She’s done it way longer, yet you never say anything to her—why pick on me?”

I shouted without thinking.
He let out a hollow chuckle, laced with deep emotion, enough to startle anyone nearby.

“Fine, you say?
That’s what you want to believe, isn’t it?”

“…What does that mean?”

“Makes sense, I suppose.
She acts fine around you, putting on a show.
No wonder you’d think that.”

Karen, acting?
My mind grasped what he meant instantly, but my heart denied it, rejecting the truth.

“Go to Karen’s room late at night, quietly.
Unless, of course, you’d rather lie to yourself and live comfortably with that belief.”

“…”

Even after Lycan left, I sat dazed, motionless for a long time.

‘It’ll be fine.
Nothing’s wrong.’

Muttering pointless reassurances, I cautiously opened the door.
In the dim moonlight filtering through the window, despite wanting to believe otherwise, I followed Lycan’s words.

Karen’s room was opposite mine.
Far enough that I rarely passed it unless I had business with her.

Walking that somewhat unfamiliar hallway slowly, I heard faint, pained moans.

“…”

I froze, struggling to move forward.
The closer I got, the clearer the sounds.
The source?
Karen’s door.

Standing before it, I pressed my ear to the door.

“Ugh…!
Ha.
Aah!!
Hng.”

The sounds were near screams.
Just hearing them painted a vivid picture of her agony.
I felt pathetic for not noticing until now.

Leaning against the door, I stared blankly at the scenery beyond the window.
Clouds rolled in, blocking the moonlight, plunging the hallway into pitch-black darkness.

I recalled today’s events slowly.

Thinking back, Lycan was just trying to protect us as the team’s leader.
Yet I childishly whined, disliking his actions.

This makes me worse than a petulant 16-year-old.

I thought Karen was fine.
Always confident, leading me reliably.

I believed the Stone’s side effects could be managed with strong herbs.
When she smoked, she exuded a mature, relaxed aura.

But I was wrong.
As Lycan said, Karen was dying from the Stone’s side effects.
A mere cigarette couldn’t suppress that.

To survive, she needed to reduce her Stone use.
That’s the only solution.

‘I can take her place.’

I’m also a Red Dog ace.
If I work harder to cover Karen’s share, it’ll work.

I can do it.
I’m capable.
I don’t feel the Stone’s effects.

‘To protect my family and comrades…’

I had to succeed.