Chapter 33 : Traitor

“…Ugh.”

Karen, regaining consciousness, groaned, wincing at the throbbing pain coursing through her body.

Still groggy, she tried to rise, only to realize sturdy chains bound her arms and legs.

‘What happened…?’

Recalling the last fragment of her broken memory, she was certain she’d been heading to return Lapis’s Stone to the Harriers.

“Ha, my necklace’s gone too.”

Not knowing who was behind this, she understood she was in deep trouble and decided to scout her surroundings for an escape.

A pitch-black space, where she couldn’t see an inch ahead.
The musty smell of dust suggested this was an unused area, deliberately chosen to confine her.

No sign of anyone else nearby.

“Spade…?”

Karen whispered the name of her companion.
Her dry, echoing voice betrayed how exhausted she was.

No response came.
Karen clenched her teeth, quietly organizing her thoughts.

If he’d escaped safely before she was caught, that’d be ideal, but she had to consider the possibility he’d already died.
Either way, it seemed clear she was alone here now.

“Cough!
Hack…!”

Of all times, a fit of coughing blood.
With her hands tied, she couldn’t cover her mouth, and blood spattered the floor.
As pain surged from deep within, she slumped, gasping feverishly.

Click!

A sudden light flooded the room, its brightness forcing Karen to squint.

“Well, the Red Warrior’s in quite a state, huh?”

A mocking tone.
Recognizing the nickname Red Warrior, often used among mercs, Karen realized her captor was a fellow merc.

As her eyes adjusted and she identified him, Karen glared with murderous intent.

“Rusty…
You crazy scrap dogs finally lost your fear, huh?
Daring to mess with Red Dog?”

Even if Rusty was the second-strongest merc team, the gap between them and Red Dog was vast.
Above all, Lycan, the Merc King, was the decisive factor.
Crossing him meant facing his powerful allies too.

Kidnapping Karen, a core Red Dog member, was tantamount to declaring war.
At this point, the fight between Red Dog and Rusty in Rat Town wouldn’t end until one was wiped out.

Yet, Rusty’s leader didn’t flinch at her warning, sneering scornfully.

“You still don’t get it, do you?
Your era’s over.
How’s it feel to crash and burn because of that precious rookie of *yours?”

“…What nonsense is this?”

“Well, since you’re gonna die here anyway, I’ll let you in on it.
Your newbie’s crime of killing Ikazuchi’s Inspector General got exposed.
Get it now?
The rumor’s already spread everywhere.
Even those suck-ups who kissed your ass probably know what’s coming for Red Dog.”

Karen chewed on his words, then let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha…
So that’s how it is.
Equal’s CEO tipped you off, right?
That damn creepy bastard—I knew he’d stab us in the back.”

“…Pfft.
Hahaha!!
Ugh.”

Rusty’s leader burst into a deliberately irritating laugh.
Beyond anger, Karen was dumbfounded, asking sincerely.

“What’s so funny?
Let me in on the joke.”

“Nah, you’re better off not knowing.
It’ll just make things harder for you.”

Worrying* about her well-being in this *situation?
How touching—but she didn’t need that fake concern.

Right now, she needed to keep him talking, buying time.

Of course, he’d realized she was a Stoner and taken her necklace.
But he hadn’t checked her pockets, where Lapis’s Stone was hidden.

Slipping out the ring while bound wouldn’t be hard.
When he let his guard down, she’d connect the Stone, break the chains, kill everyone, and escape.

The small problem?
Lapis’s Stone was far stronger, with harsher side effects.
In her current condition, using it would be like crossing a point of no return.

‘No choice.’

It was her only option now.
Waiting for her team to rescue her was too risky.
For all she knew, this lunatic might slit her throat any second.

“Fine.
Like you said, I’m dead anyway, so what’s the point of caring?
I don’t, so just spill it clearly.
Better than dying of boredom.”

“Heh.
I respect that gutsy attitude of yours.
Alright, since you’re begging, I’ll tell you.”

Perfect.
He was completely off guard, just as she’d hoped.
Enjoy yourself now—in 10 seconds, your head’ll be off.

“You think Equal Capital’s CEO tipped us off?
Sorry, but you’re wrong.”

Seven seconds left.

“Isn’t it funny?
Your leader’s always yammering about comrades, comrades till his ears bleed.”

Five seconds.

“And yet, you’re doomed by a comrade’s betrayal.”

Three seconds.

“Don’t you agree?
Why just watch from the sidelines?
How about decorating your old comrade’s finale yourself?”

One second…

“…What?”

She couldn’t comprehend it.
No, her mind refused to accept it.

But cruelly, the figure stepping out from behind shattered Karen’s denial.
Staring at the all-too-familiar comrade standing beside Rusty, she called his name emptily.

“Spade…?”

“You sure this is okay?”

Franklin’s question, from behind, met Lycan’s silence.

He didn’t know how to answer.
Countless thoughts swirled and vanished in his mind.
He was so confused he couldn’t even pinpoint what he was thinking.

Karen might die.
But that alone wasn’t why Lycan was this shaken.

It might sound callous, but he’d long braced for a comrade’s death.
Living as a merc taught him how easily life could slip away.

This wasn’t his first loss.
He’d endured countless farewells, yet kept living resolutely.

So why was he this rattled?
Pondering his own question, Lycan soon found the answer.

It was his fault.

Not just regret over failing to save a comrade due to weakness or lack of effort.
This was different—a doubt about whether the path he’d walked was wrong.

‘Cut off a stepped-on tail.
Clinging to it’ll get your head crushed too.’

Those words from before echoed back to him.

He’d thought it wrong.
Even if he’d known her briefly, the girl was still a comrade.
Protecting her, even at the cost of the team, was the belief he’d held.

The result was disastrous.
Karen and Spade were out of contact, and Ikazuchi’s wrath had shifted from the girl to the entire team.

They were heading into an obvious enemy trap, and even if they survived, the future awaiting them was bleak.

‘Was I… wrong?’

If he’d heeded the advice to cut off the tail then, would things be different now?

Who knows?
No one could say.

In this city, no one dreams of a rosy future.
Knowing their end will likely be grim, people live for the present, savoring it fully.

Lycan was no different.

Even if the path he’d trod was wrong, it was too late to turn back.
He had no choice but to charge to the end.

If death awaited him at that end, he’d embrace it gladly.

So, to his comrade’s question about being okay, Lycan answered thus.

“Why would I not be okay?”

“…Good to hear, then.
Heh!”

Franklin laughed carefreely, guzzling booze as if determined to drink his fill before dying without regrets.

Mary watched the two men with a complex expression.

Soon, the trio arrived at Rusty’s base, where Karen was held.
An unexpected figure awaited them.

A man in a uniform, with short, ash-gray hair and sleepy eyes.
Eric, a Special Security Officer from the Neotopia Police Department.