Do Your Own Revolution

#019.

“Kuh, kuheuk?! cough-!”

Maximilien’s body, his heart pierced, lost balance and collapsed.

In the Elcidore mansion where not even an ant stirred, only his coughing and the sound of Irene gnawing on bones echoed.

However, this desolate scene didn’t last long.

Having seemingly grasped the situation, Maximilien broke the silence with a bewildered expression.

“You… Was this your doing? Eugene?”

How remarkable that he still had the strength to speak even with a knife in his heart. Admiring his extraordinary survival ability, I looked at Maximilien.

Well, he was an NPC who made people say ‘how is he not dead yet’ even in the main story.

Though he does eventually die in the later chapters.

“I told you, didn’t I? That the plan was a success.”

“…!”

Enough with the idle thoughts.

Upon hearing my answer, his face, which had been full of questions, hardened.

“You, you…!”

“You seem curious about how things ended up like this.”

No matter how tenacious one’s life force might be, one cannot rise after having their heart pierced.

I approached Maximilien and slowly began to speak.

Still, he was one of the important NPCs, and in the main story, he was the protagonist’s mentor.

I thought it was only right to at least explain why he was dying.

“I informed you about the existence of the secret passage and induced Revolutionary Army’s surprise attack. I leaked false information to Lupeon to make him think your main force would be the airship fleet.”

The smoke screen operation that Maximilien and I jointly orchestrated.

Lupeon fell for that deception and deployed the Magic Corps outside the mansion.

For the Revolutionary Army, it was a golden opportunity.

And from my perspective, it was the first prerequisite for the plan.

“Thanks to that, you had no choice but to concentrate all your forces at the Elcidore mansion, and Lupeon had to deploy the Magic Corps outside the mansion.”

Maximilien had to use the Revolutionary Army, the blade he had carefully honed, and Lupeon had to activate large-scale tactical magic to stop it.

One side had no choice but to throw precious mages into the heart of enemy territory, while the other had to deploy their maximum forces externally.

A precarious deadlock where both sides shouldered risks.

The battle between the two forces began in that dangerous tug-of-war.

[Most of the Knight Order isn’t here! Stop them from joining Lupeon! For the revolution!]

[Waaaaaah-!]

The Revolutionary Army gathered in the underground passage deployed their magic at maximum output, turning the mansion into literal wasteland.

An elite force created by scraping together as many available mages as possible from the Revolutionary Army, which didn’t have many mages.

The concentrated power of the Revolutionary Army was enough to qualify as any Knight Order.

[Revolutionary Army?! Where the hell did they come from?!]

[Damn it, the lord is isolated! All remaining knights and combat troops charge! We must join up with the lord!]

In response, the knights remaining in the Elcidore mansion rushed out.

Even though the majority of their forces were deployed to the eastern front, they were elite mages ranking 3rd in the empire.

As if trying to make up for their previous mistake of letting Maximilien escape, they fiercely pushed back against the Revolutionary Army.

“Leaking information to both you and Elcidore was to create exactly this situation.”

Hearing my words, Maximilien coughed up blood-mixed phlegm and spoke.

“The Revolutionary Army lacking in absolute numbers, and the Knight Order unable to receive support from the Magic Corps…”

A deadlock where neither side could gain the upper hand.

The battle naturally flowed into a war of attrition, and the fatigue of forces on both sides gradually increased.

“And at the end of this fierce struggle…”

I raised my hand to point at Irene, who was filling her stomach in the midst of this tragedy.

“The greatest variable on this chessboard appears.”

When both sides’ magical power was depleted, and they didn’t even have the strength to grip their swords.

When fatigue from battle reached its peak, though there were few casualties due to the evenly matched forces.

Irene, having created a large black sphere above her head, opened the small door leading to the basement and walked out.

[Uh, huh?]

Irene slowly walking out to the center of the battlefield.

[What is that?]

[Looks like a girl, but…]

The Revolutionary Army, who had no way of knowing about her existence, was bewildered by the appearance of this out-of-place figure.

[Wait. If she came from the basement, could it be…]

[Ah, aah… Aaaah…!]

The Elcidore knights, who knew of her existence even if only through rumors, could only be overwhelmed with despair.

[Hee~!]

After looking around at both sides, Irene, feeling terrible hunger, stretched out her hand.

[Kwoooooo—!]

Dozens of mouths protruding from the black sphere began to roar at them.

30 minutes.

That was how long it took for the brightly smiling Irene to completely annihilate the exhausted Knight Order and Revolutionary Army.

“Finding that child was a coincidence. Although Elcidore had been conducting experiments away from the Imperial Magic Department’s eyes for a long time, to think they would put a monster’s core into a human body…”

While I was enthusiastically continuing my explanation.

Suddenly, Maximilien grabbed my collar and shouted at me.

“Why…!”

Blood flowing from his mouth and eyes.

Transformed into a demon-like appearance, Maximilien was growling at me.

“Why on earth did you do this…!”

Looking at that sight, I stopped my explanation and met Maximilien’s gaze.

“If you wanted to escape the life of an assassin, you could have asked me for help. If you wanted wealth and glory, you could have revealed the real entrance…”

“…”

“But you did neither. You destroyed both the Revolutionary Army and Elcidore…!”

The defeated revolutionary was crying out to me in anguish.

Resentment, hatred, doubt, despair.

His voice, mixed with countless emotions, was directed at me, and I could clearly feel his anger, but…

Well.

I didn’t particularly feel any guilt.

It seemed that ten-year-old Eugene’s heart had worn away completely at this young age.

“Why… Why would you do such a thing…!”

“Because that’s the only way I can live my life completely as my own.”

At my words interrupting his, Maximilien’s voice stopped.

“If I kill Elcidore, I become a traitor who killed an imperial noble. If I join the Revolutionary Army with you, I’d have to live my life being hunted.”

That’s why I killed both sides.

To remain as an innocent imperial citizen caught in the fight between the Revolutionary Army and magic nobles.

“When we first met, you said it, didn’t you? That you saw the qualities of a hero in me.”

It wasn’t just me.

You said that to all your disciples.

However, while playing this game, I had a special sentiment about that title of hero.

– You are the hero of the Revolutionary Army.

– Only you, the hero, can do this.

– This is what a hero must do.

The word ‘hero’ that I heard endlessly throughout [Revolution Empire].

That title was a guarantee to accept impossible missions, and a free pass to dangerous zones with slim survival rates.

Those who praised the protagonist as a hero all betrayed him one by one, and protagonist Eugene could only realize this fact when he was at death’s door.

Having experienced countless such incidents and dangers, I could say this.

Hero, protagonist, warrior, hero.

All those countless titles were truly…

“Sickening.”

“…What?”

Maximilien wore an expression of complete incomprehension at my words.

But it didn’t matter.

Facing Maximilien who was looking at me with eyes full of disbelief, I spoke slowly and deliberately.

“A hero is nothing but a tool to fulfill the objectives of those who use them. Their life is not that of a human but of livestock, and their sacrifice is merely exploitation dressed up in the fine clothes of the word ‘sacrifice’.”

I won’t live like that anymore.

I didn’t want to live bound by the role of protagonist, as someone’s tool.

Revolution? The empire’s transformation? The world’s salvation?

Do it all yourselves.

I’m out.

In this game world where only miserable endings exist, Eugene Lorentz’s purpose is just one thing.

To survive.

To survive and live completely according to my own will.

Click

I picked up Maximilien’s gun that had fallen to the floor.

One magic bullet remained in the cylinder.

“This should be enough.”

The ‘Wings of Crimson’ Maximilien possessed was a 7-stroke magic imprint.

And this magic bullet was a monstrous round that even the highest-level magic imprint comparable to the head of a magic noble family could barely withstand.

It had enough power to shatter my mere three-stroke magic imprint.

“Eugene. You…!”

“Farewell, master.”

Though Maximilien seemed to have more to say, I didn’t listen anymore.

The cold muzzle of the gun aimed at its owner’s heart-

“It was nice meeting you, even if briefly.”

With the gunshot, the founder of the Revolutionary Army lost his life.

***

Maximilien’s body, having served its purpose, crumpled lifelessly.

“Eugene. If you’re done, can I eat this person?”

“No. He’s someone I know.”

Patting Irene’s head who had approached my side, I said that.

Maximilien’s corpse staring at me with wide-open eyes.

Ignoring that gaze, I picked up Lupeon’s right arm that had fallen at his feet.

“Still… As expected, it hasn’t disappeared.”

Elcidore’s magic imprint still hadn’t lost its light despite losing its owner.

When I concentrated, I could still feel the characteristic cold chill continuing inside the arm.

Wondering if perhaps Lupeon was still alive, I checked inside the mansion, but Lupeon’s entire upper body including his heart had been crushed.

Then there was only one conclusion.

Even at this point when its owner Lupeon was dead, the ‘Mark of Control’ was still alive.

“Good thing I killed them beforehand.”

Saying that, I looked at the corpses strewn across the mansion courtyard.

Revolutionary Army in trench coats.

Knights in red coats and ornate medicine cases.

And finally, the Knifehead members in gas masks and hoods.

“Huu…”

Taking in their corpses with my eyes, I looked up at the sky with a dejected expression.

The Knifehead seniors I had lived and worked with for almost 2 years.

I wondered if there wasn’t a way to release the ‘Mark of Control’ without killing them, but it was impossible after all.

“Then, there’s only one troublemaker left.”

The Revolutionary Army’s attack was fierce, and Elcidore’s resistance was intense.

The Knifehead gave up the advantage of stealth and confronted them head-on, so there’s no need to say how desperate they were.

Irene’s black sphere killed them all.

However, among all those corpses, only one person’s corpse couldn’t be confirmed.

“Ben Herkes.”

The supervisor who oversees everything in Knifehead.

The moment I quietly spoke his name.

The black tentacle Irene summoned deflected a dagger aiming for my back.

“I thought you were just an excellent member, but I never expected this level. Eugene.”

A giant in a robe was walking towards me.

Dozens of daggers filled his waist, legs, and arms all over.

The black daggers that the Knifehead members wore on their chest.

“You’re more sentimental than I thought. Collecting the members’ daggers.”

“They’re guys I’ve personally trained for decades. Even if they’re not my children, I have at least the affection of a master for his disciples.”

Saying that, Ben stood in the middle of the mansion courtyard and drew the sword at his waist.

“Creating a clash between the Revolutionary Army and Elcidore, causing the lord’s death, then eliminating the Revolutionary Army leader… Truly impressive.”

“Your survival wasn’t part of the plan, Supervisor.”

“That’s fortunate then. It means my skills haven’t rusted yet.”

The five-stroke magic imprint shining on his right arm.

Except for Knight Order leader Burken, it was the most powerful magic imprint in the Elcidore family.

“Eugene!”

“It’s okay. Stay there.”

Using Irene would have been safer, but I held her back.

She had already consumed too much blood.

If she were to devour a magician’s body full of magical power now, there was a real possibility she would go berserk.

‘I didn’t expect to test it this soon.’

Thinking that, I pulled out the gun from my breast pocket.

“Hooh…!”

Seeing Maximilien’s gun in my hand and the new red magic imprint engraved on my right arm,

Supervisor Ben let out a short exclamation.

“Wings of Crimson…! Ah, so that was your goal!”

“Though I didn’t expect to obtain it this way.”

To think I’d obtain the magic imprint that the protagonist inherits in the original work like this.

Saying that, I slowly aimed the gun at Ben.

Then Ben pointed his sword at me and spoke in his characteristically monotone voice.

“Knifehead 41st Generation Official Member, Eugene Lorentz.”

“…”

“You are Knifehead’s final target.”

With Ben’s words, dozens of ice shards flew towards me.

Such powerful magical power that my previous self couldn’t have even responded to.

However, instead of deploying a defensive barrier, I channeled magical power into my right arm holding the gun.

The [Wings of Crimson] accepting my magical power emitted a red light.

And the magic engraved there began to unfold at the muzzle.

Since I killed my master from my previous life with my own hands.

Now it’s time to kill my master from this life.