My Students Regret It After I Retired

27 – Riot

After Leos was imprisoned, at first, even his disciples resented him. Disappointment as a human reaction, for not believing in him. But that feeling didn’t last long. Because what angered him about his disciples was simply that they hadn’t believed him. Therefore, there was no reason to hold feelings of revenge. Only the feeling of cutting ties and never seeing them again. But the Empire was different.

‘The Empire’s Dark Shadows…’

When he killed Peredin, he’d said it. That he belonged to the Empire’s Dark Shadows, and that Bellin was also in the same group.

‘I never understood why they were doing this to me. I had done nothing wrong to Bellin. But if they’re part of the Empire’s Dark Shadows, it changes things.’

The Empire’s Dark Shadows are the kind of people who would gladly do any kind of dogshit if it was for the Empire’s benefit, or more specifically, the Emperor’s power. That’s why Leos had solved his long and lingering question.

Why did Bellin do it? The answer was the Dark Shadows’ orders. More specifically, he believed without a doubt that it was the Empire’s orders.

He didn’t know why they ordered his downfall when he had been on the path to success. But one thing was certain; Bellin, who obeyed the Emperor like a dog, had sent him plummeting. And the entire Imperial organization, starting with the judge, had been involved in that process.

That’s why, for Leos, the target of his revenge wasn’t his former disciples who hadn’t believed him.

‘I still don’t plan to take revenge on the disciples. I’ll just lose touch with them and live my life. Like people I never knew in the first place. But the Empire… the Empire is not the same.’

It wasn’t enough that they’d taken away all of his honor and wealth, they’d also sent him, a dog who’d worked for the Empire, plummeting in an instant. The Dark Shadows and the Empire’s subordinate organizations were not just something he could brush off as simply cutting ties. The Empire, which took his life for the sake of the Empire and then pretended to know nothing when it committed social murder, deserved to be punished. That’s what Leos thought.

‘But, it’s impossible for me to do it alone.’

Leos knew his own power better than anyone. Surviving within the Redgate vortex was possible. And those Imperial vermin who dared enter could be killed easily enough, exploiting the terrain. But conversely, if asked if he could launch a coup and invade the Empire directly, the answer was obviously no.

‘Over 90% of the Empire’s total military force is guarding the Imperial Palace. If I attacked, they’d all come out.’

Chainswords, superior artifacts, none of that would matter against that level of manpower. So, Leos buried his revenge deep inside. Despite knowing the Empire had framed him using Belin, he had to suppress his rage without even knowing the reason why.

He had endured three long years, shouldering the social stigma of being branded human trash. He had to bear the pain of his trusted disciples turning their backs on him in an instant, the terrible gazes of people who looked at him like a vermin.

Then, the man standing before him told Leos,

[You can have your revenge on the Empire]. Not on the disciples who now had nothing to do with Leos, but on the Empire that had designed and manipulated this whole goddamn mess.

“Tell me how this will unfold, first.”

Leos swung his chainsword, checking his surroundings. The headcount was only about 20, no additional forces stationed nearby. Moreover, they were all unarmed.

‘No variables. If they try any shit, I’ll kill them all immediately.’

The fact that Leos was even conversing with those belonging to an Imperial organization was a miracle. If he hadn’t disarmed and still had his sword, he’d have just bombed them all to oblivion without listening. And Lacart, the commander of the Extermination Squad, was well aware of this.

“I am Lacart, commander of the Imperial Extermination Squad. I’ve worked like a dog under the Empire’s thumb. To be honest, I did work for the Empire. But one thing needs to be made clear; I had no involvement whatsoever in anything related to you, Leos.”

He took a few steps closer.

“To some, I may be a lapdog of the Empire, a b*stard that needs killing, but not to you.”

“Why are you talking nonsense? That wasn’t my question.”

“No, it’s not nonsense. It’s very important. We have to distinguish who’s who, right? We may be the Empire’s lapdogs, but we were just used like you were. Just as you went around exterminating gates for the Empire, we also went around massacring those the Empire deemed unnecessary. The only difference is whether it was a monster or a human. It’s not an attempt to rationalize things. I just want to tell you that we’re in a similar position, and just as you desire revenge, so do we. That’s my motivation.”

Lacart moved right in front of Leos, lifting his chin to speak.

“Before we talk, if you don’t want to work with me simply because I’ve worked under the Empire, kill me right here and now. I’d rather die than be used again.”

At the same time, he spoke to those behind him.

“If my neck is severed, you guys run. There’s no need for you to die with me.”

“Commander Lacart!”

Paron was about to lunge forward, but Lacart stopped him.

“Paron, don’t do anything pointless. That’s an order.”

“…”

Paron ground his teeth, glaring at Leos. When Leos raised his sword, Paron’s face went pale, and he immediately reached for his hip, intending to sheathe his own sword. But Leos’s chain sword flew out, tearing away both the sword and its scabbard from his waist.

Then, Lacart moved his body to stand between Paron and Leos.

“Like I said before, if you really don’t want to join us, I hope you’ll be satisfied with just taking my head.”

“Why are you going this far?”

“I want to show you that we’re different from the Empire. Unlike those bugs who treat all humans like expendable supplies, I genuinely value my comrades. Ironically, despite being the leader of the Executioner Squad that has killed so many people, I truly believe that.”

“You’re disgusting. Killing others without a second thought, but cherishing your own comrades.”

“LEO. Aren’t you the same?”

At Lacart’s words, Leos briefly fell silent. LEO was the nickname Leos used on the InterRunner. There, he had posted countless confirmations of his kills.

“We’ve been observing you for several days from quite a distance. You have comrades.”

“Is that a threat? With this number, it wouldn’t even take a minute to kill all of you.”

“Leos. It’s not a threat. I’m saying I’m just like you. To save my comrades, I had to do certain things. Like how you killed those other raiders.”

Leos met Lacart’s gaze for a moment, then slowly lowered his sword. It wasn’t because he was persuaded. It was just that, after seeing various aspects of the man, he figured he was worth exploiting.

First, he wasn’t armed. That pretty much meant he knew something about my disposition. I had no idea how he’d found that out.

Second, he didn’t abandon his comrades carelessly. Unlike other pathetic b*stards, he was the leader yet was risking himself at the front lines.

Third, his subordinates were willing to risk their lives to protect their leader, Lacart. If he was a shitty leader, they’d only move out of obligation. They wouldn’t rush in with anger like that guy Paron who was far away.

And, most importantly, fourth.

‘They were observing me. And, I didn’t even notice.’

Lakart observed and spoke of approaching this place. Not only did he know there were companions, but he also knew they were using the nickname LEO on the Interrunner. This was the truth, not a lie. But it also meant something else.

‘He knew there were companions, but he didn’t use it to ambush.’

Lakart was saying so indirectly.

With this number of people, after diverting Leos’s attention, it wouldn’t have been hard to ambush his companions. If they were all gathered like this now, Leos could kill them all, but with the assumption that he had to protect Herisia and Bendict, if they had approached scattered in groups of five, it was impossible to guarantee what the outcome would be once their location was revealed.

‘Of course, if he had done that, he would have ended up being killed by me anyway.’

Lakart didn’t say it directly, but Leos perceived all this information in a brief moment and came to a conclusion.

‘He’s useful. And despite finding my weakness, he didn’t exploit it and instead chose to disarm and then engage head-on.’

Lakart forsook the easy path and chose a troublesome method that required him to risk his life. Therefore, Leos decided to listen to his opinion to some extent.

“I promise not to betray. But that’s only as long as you don’t act suspiciously. I won’t share the same space as you. And I’ll have a spyrel on you at all times, and you will live on the outskirts of the safe zone. If we ever end up fighting the Empire, you will be the front line. Even if others join along the way, you will be the ones at the front. If you agree to those conditions, I’ll consider working with you as you requested.”

“Is that all? I can do that much.”

“…”

Leos was taken aback by the unexpected reaction, and Lakart, with a serious expression, began to place all the documents he had in his possession on the ground.

“These are documents detailing the vile things the Empire has been doing. They even include official documents that were sent to us.”

When Leos looked at the documents, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

[Red Gate Vortex Isolation Personnel Extermination Plan]

“Is this true?”

“It’s just a plan, it hasn’t been implemented yet. The Emperor of the Peren Empire realized that he couldn’t seal all the Red Gates, so he was considering how to prevent any more Red Gates from being created. One of them was to drop a mana bomb on this entire area to obliterate everyone, the gates, and the monsters all at once.”

“Even if they drop a bomb, if they don’t seal the gates, the monsters will keep appearing, won’t they?”

“Once every 24 hours, they’ll just keep pouring them down on all areas. That’s what the Emperor thought. But of course, this plan is the very last resort, something they would only use if there was absolutely no other way. So for now, they have just made it. Unless the Emperor is insane, he knows that if he used this method, a large-scale rebellion would break out. So they’ve put it aside as a last resort.”

“Why tell me about a plan that is not feasible?”

“We’ll be using this.”

Lacarte started scanning the documents, then opened a Distance window, and began uploading the extermination plan file to the Interrunner.

“What are you…”

The document Lacarte was uploading had changed its title from [Red Gate Vortex Isolated Personnel Extermination Plan] to [Red Gate Vortex Isolated Personnel Extermination Execution].

As if the plan was already finished and only execution remained, parts of the content had also been modified.

“It’s a document we manipulated. I told you, I’d let you get revenge in the same way.”

“People won’t believe it, will they?”

“Of course they will.”

Lacarte smiled, looking at the uploaded file.

“People are simpler than you think. They’re easily swayed by what’s in front of their eyes, rather than reason. Like how they blamed you, who was innocent.”

Leos was doubtful. Could just this document really make people react like this?

But.

After about five hours passed.

“Empire! Stop the massacre of the innocent!”

In the Peren Empire, massive riots began to break out.