My Students Regret It After I Retired

34 – There Is No Safe Place Anywhere

“Cough… *cough*…”

Impaled through the abdomen by Leo’s chain blade, Alik staggered, trying to hold himself up, before collapsing onto the ground. The man’s expression was utterly wretched. With one arm and leg mangled, defeat in battle was practically a foregone conclusion. But that wasn’t the reason for his agony.

“Redgate… Redgate… they’ll… they’ll seal it, right…?”

Alik was a man who had lived only for the sake of his supposed loyalty to the Empire. The countless people he had killed, the lives he had driven to the brink – all of it was justified by his self-serving belief that some sacrifices were necessary for the greater good. That’s why Alik was able to act with such conviction. But now, Alik felt no conviction. He had betrayed his own beliefs. The only way he could die with any semblance of honor was if his death benefited the Empire.

Alik knew there was no way he could survive this, so he mumbled, even as his breath grew shallow, desperate to find some excuse to comfort himself.

“Promise… keep your promise… to seal Redgate…”

Leo stood right in front of Alik, looking down at him as he spoke.

“I said I’d seal it if you killed your underlings, or if your underlings killed you, right? But now you’re just dying a dog’s death while desperately trying to live. Why should I listen to you?”

“…”

Alik, head of the Imperial Executioners, reached his trembling hand towards Leo.

“You’ll… you’ll be punished by the heavens…”

“Then you take it in my place when you die.”

With a *snick* sound, Alik’s head fell straight onto the ground. Without a doubt, if hell existed, that’s where the man was headed.

Leo turned around silently and looked at the remaining figures standing in the empty clearing.

“Did you all see? These guys who always force others to sacrifice themselves, they never make any sacrifices of their own. They only talk that way because they’re in a position to force others to do so. That’s why, your beliefs are wrong.”

Leo whispered as he pierced the neck of each Executioner with his chain blade.

“The countless murders and crimes you’ve committed were just selfish acts for your own self-gratification. And meeting me now is the price you pay for your sins.”

“Ugh…”

The last man fell to the ground, and the corpses of the executioners lay scattered across the empty lot. Leos clicked his tongue, looking at the blood splattered on his body, then slowly walked towards the boys who had just been attacked.

“Bro… Bro… please open your eyes…”

Taeon, clutching Tedre, was sobbing. His own body was riddled with wounds, but his worry for his brother was so great that he didn’t even think about stopping the bleeding and stayed glued to Tedre’s side.

Leos spoke to Lakart, who was watching from the side.

“Heal these lads.”

“Not a difficult task.”

At Lakart’s gesture, Paron walked up from behind and stretched out his hand. A powerful aura of mana pulsed from Paron’s hand and was absorbed into Tedre’s body.

At that moment, the falling drops of blood began to slow and stop, and Tedre’s ragged breathing began to return to normal. Paron then used healing magic on Taeon as well, before withdrawing his mana.

“Tae…on…?”

Soon after, Tedre opened his eyes and looked at Taeon.

Taeon hugged his brother urgently and burst into tears.

“Bro… Bro… You’re alive… I thought you were going to die… I thought you were going to die…”

Leaving behind the beautiful sight of the brothers caring so deeply for each other, Lakart asked Leos,

“How are you going to take responsibility? You’ve saved people who should have died. Are you just going to abandon them like this? Or will you be responsible for them until the end?”

“I don’t have the capacity to take care of them. I only saved them because I didn’t want to see them in despair right in front of my eyes.”

“Hmm… then we’ll just leave them here.”

Leos didn’t answer, and Taeon, who had somehow moved closer, grabbed Leos’s sleeve, sobbing.

“Sir… won’t you help us…? Please… We’ve been close to death… so many times… We were lucky to survive today, but if something like this happens again, we’ll surely die… Please, just take my brother, if not me… Please… ”

As Taeon sobbed and clutched at his sleeve, his brother Tedre approached and shouted with a stern expression.

“Taeon! What are you doing! Come here right now! It’s bad enough that they helped us for free, but they even used healing magic on us for free, which would normally cost a huge price. But trying to cling to their lives is a leech-like behavior. We have to find our own way to live. So come here right now.”

When Tedre yelled, Theon whimpered and walked further away again.

“I’m sorry…please pretend you didn’t hear what I said earlier…and…thank you so much for saving me…”

Leos looked back and forth between Tedre and Theon, then slowly opened his mouth toward Rakart.

“Can you guys help them? I’m a little worried about just leaving them.”

“Hey, Leos. It’s not like we’re not worried, but you know the situation we’re in? Monsters are swarming all over, we need to find food for our extermination squad members, and the Empire’s trackers are coming every now and then, it’s hard for us to help them. You decided you couldn’t take them in because you have your own comrades to protect and care for, right?”

“If you help them, I think I could look upon you in a positive light.”

“What kind of irresponsible thing are you saying…”

Rakart scratched his head haphazardly for a moment, then sighed and spoke.

“Paron, bring them over. Set up a base with some of the trees around here.”

“Sir Rakart…the opposition within the extermination squad will be severe. Are they going to be working alongside us? To be blunt, they’re completely useless.”

“Leos said he’d look at us positively. That alone makes them useful enough.”

“…”

Paron tried to object, but then closed his mouth.

‘If I hadn’t seen the fight just now, I would have said something…’

Paron had seen Leos fight. The execution squad, who ranked among the top in combat power even within the Empire. He had not only won against a large number of them, he had completely overwhelmed them. Strategy, combat, and justification, he had crushed them in every aspect. A man with such immense power that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a monster.

‘He’s an essential figure in the coup.’

Even excluding the fact that only Leos can seal the higher-level Red Gates, Leos’ combat power was an indispensable factor.

‘But… come to think of it, Leos’ specialty is supposed to be fighting monsters…?’

Paron suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. According to the information he had found, Leos had no record of killing anyone before the Red Gate vortex incident. That meant he had never killed a person before. Which also meant that he was more adept at fighting monsters than people.

‘Truly…a man with no end in sight.’

Paron, after weighing several options, had no choice but to bring the children.

“You two must’ve heard, right? You’ll be with us from now on. We’ll protect you.”

“R-really?”

Teon asked, voice trembling, and beside him, Tedre hesitated a moment, then bowed his head and said,

“We’ll try our best not to be a burden. If there’s anything we can do, just tell us, and we’ll do our best.”

“That’s enough. Have you eaten? Looks like you were trying to roast some monster corpse when you were attacked.”

*Grumble…*

Just then, a loud sound came from Tedre and Teon’s stomachs, and Paron ordered his subordinate to bring out chunks of jerky.

“Eat. We have plenty anyway.”

Paron tossed the jerky in a lump and walked ahead first, and the subordinate mumbled, looking flustered.

“Boss, that was our rations for today…?”

“So what? We’ll just roast some monster for a change.”

The subordinate, seeing the children’s happy smiles, nodded and replied.

“That sounds good too. It wouldn’t hurt to tear into a monster for a change.”

Lacart, watching Paron and his subordinate talk from behind, placed a hand on each of their shoulders and said,

“Look at them. They seem so happy, don’t they? They’re smiling so brightly even over a piece of jerky.”

“Not a piece, it’s a chunk. Anyone stranded would be happy with that much.”

“Paron, you have no romance at all. It’s just a figure of speech, figure of speech.”

Paron chuckled softly, then after a moment of silence, opened his mouth.

“Lacart…if we revolt, will the Empire be a little more livable?”

“I don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, those who find happiness in such small things won’t die so meaninglessly like that. The current emperor is a piece of trash who thinks everyone but himself is just an accessory.”

“I see.”

Even after Lacart and his men left, Paron continued to watch the children from afar for a long time. They seemed so affectionate and happy.

“Brother! We have too much jerky, let’s only eat a little and share the rest with others!”

“Good idea, Theon. They must have gone out of their way to give us so much. It wouldn’t make sense to eat it all. We’ve had enough, so let’s keep the rest and give it back tomorrow.”

‘Feels good.’

Grateful for small things, a family ready to give their lives for each other. Paron envied them.

The man was lost in thought for a while, before walking towards Lacart and speaking.

“Brother, how about we go for a walk together today? It could be a reconnaissance too.”

“Ugh, why the sudden ‘brother’?”

“You used to tell me to call you that.”

“That was when you were a kid.”

“That makes me sad.”

“Why are you acting so unlike yourself?”

Lacart looked at him with a puzzled expression, and Paron chuckled before replying.

“I guess even when you get older, you still want to act like a child to someone you can rely on.”

Lacart made a disgusted face and ran off, and Paron slowly followed him.

The night wind was particularly cold. But through that chilling wind, the smell of blood from the corpses he had killed during the day wafted over.

“So many people died, but it feels even more peaceful here.”

To protect freedom and peace, you need power. Feeling that once again, Paron gripped his sword tightly.

*

The news of the entire Imperial Execution Squad’s demise began to reach the Imperial Palace.

The Emperor, having already dispatched the Shadow Unit, the Eradication Unit, the Execution Squad, and several other groups, was confident that Leos would be captured eventually, even if it took time. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of fury.

-CRASH!

The Emperor smashed everything in the room. He stared at a trembling attendant and spoke.

“Repeat it. What happened to the Execution Squad?”

“The entire squad, including Captain Alaric… are presumed dead.”

-CRUNCH…

The Emperor kicked an innocent maid, then stepped forward and shouted.

“This won’t do. I’ll mobilize every soldier guarding the palace to capture that b*stard. If we waste any more time, even the palace will be in danger. No… maybe it’s better to change our approach. If we deal with the source, at least we’ll lessen the risk of the Red Gate spreading. Those who are bound to die anyway… if they sacrifice themselves for the Empire, they’ll be happy, right? We should abandon what needs to be abandoned. From now on, those within the Red Gate vortex will be wiped out like monsters…”

-RUMBLE!

While the Emperor was giving orders, a sudden vibration shook the room. The Emperor barely maintained his balance, standing and shouting.

“What’s going on! Report immediately!”

The Knight Commander, who had been waiting outside the door, entered immediately, knelt before the Emperor, and cried out.

“Your Majesty… We’re in big trouble. Right now…”

“Speak quickly! Is it an enemy attack? If it’s those who started the revolt, kill them all. How dare they attack the palace? Wipe them all out!”

“It’s not that… the Red Gate… it’s not limited to the vortex anymore, it’s spreading throughout the entire Empire. And just now…”

The Knight Commander added, his eyes filled with despair.

“A High-Grade Red Gate has appeared right next to the palace.”