Do Your Own Revolution

#141

Thud-!

The shattered Colossus and Petrenko’s pierced head.

Along with the relief that it was over, came extreme exhaustion and Magical Power Exhaustion triggered by empty magic circuits.

Cough! Hack…!

Even from a distance, Eugene’s condition was grave.

The magic imprint, overheated from excessive magic bullet use, continued to burn his skin, and the throbbing headache made it impossible to see straight.

He was barely clinging to life, in a state where collapsing at any moment wouldn’t be surprising.

Nevertheless, Eugene somehow maintained consciousness and saw his friends crawling out of the crashed airship.

The momentary relief that their lives weren’t in danger was short-lived.

“Hmm~ Hmm hmm~”

A soft humming reached Eugene’s ears.

A hideously cracked voice.

When he looked up, there stood a thick-bodied scientist and unfamiliar shadows.

Lavrenti Kravchenko.

The secretary general’s confidant and a mad scientist who had conducted human experiments on countless Imperial and Republican citizens.

He was looking at the dying Eugene with a satisfied smile.

“Thank you, Petrenko. You are truly a hero of the Republic.”

Doctor Lavrenti spoke while looking at Petrenko’s corpse at Eugene’s feet.

“Sacrificing yourself to stop the Imperial devils, and even capturing their leader Eugene Lorentz… Truly an achievement that will go down in the Republic’s history.”

After finishing his words, Doctor Lavrenti gestured to the shadows lined up behind him.

About ten shadows following the doctor.

Though they were hard to recognize due to their blackened skin, their magical power wavelength revealed their identity.

“Knight Order.”

Those who had fallen to become Doctor Lavrenti’s puppets, having lost their will.

It was painfully obvious what kind of procedure the doctor had performed on these knights.

In terms of magic circuit output, all were six stroke.

This meant that all ten individuals standing behind the doctor possessed magical power rivaling Guille’s.

“Today is truly a wonderful day! An experiment using a Republic hero as material, a historic battle! And the merit of capturing the Empire’s hero!”

“……”

“And on top of that, we’ve obtained the final key to our plan… the Wings of Crimson.”

Doctor Lavrenti flashed his glasses with a grin.

What appeared on his face was a repulsive smile riddled with greed.

Seeing this, Eugene felt the urge to tear that mouth apart right then and there.

“With this, the secretary general will finally…!”

As Doctor Lavrenti muttered this while pointing his pistol at Eugene,

just as he was slowly pulling the trigger.

Clang–!

Along with a red magical power light, sparks flew before Doctor Lavrenti’s eyes.

“…What?”

What blocked the doctor’s path was a puppet knight.

The barrier he deployed had blocked Eugene’s attack.

The doctor’s eyes, now as big as saucers, stared at Eugene.

He was witnessing an impossible phenomenon.

“……”

Eugene, aiming Heresy at him while emitting red eye-light.

With his gaunt body and empty eyes, he looked no different from a moving corpse.

A state where collapsing at any moment wouldn’t be strange.

Yet the doctor and his guardian knights couldn’t move carelessly.

“How… How is this possible?”

His magic circuit, which had been empty until just now, was operating.

The majestic magical power flowing from the imprint was flickering, targeting them.

‘What has happened?’

He should clearly be in a dying state, so how had he recovered?

Just as Doctor Lavrenti widened his eyes at witnessing this incomprehensible phenomenon.

Clang–!

A red beam flying from afar tore through the barrier spread before them.

“Tch!”

A sniper shot from a Special Magical Power Unit’s high-ranking mage.

This meant he was now within range of the Imperial army.

“I’ve wasted too much time.”

Taking Eugene with them would be impossible in this situation.

The doctor clicked his tongue once and turned around roughly.

“Ah, aah…!”

“Retreat! The Republican army is retreating!”

As the Republican army fled after losing their greatest weapon, Eugene walked unsteadily forward.

Seeing this, soldiers emerged from their trenches and slowly gathered where Eugene stood.

A precarious state where he could collapse at any moment.

Yet Eugene forced himself to stay upright and looked at the approaching Kalhyram Army soldiers.

“…!”

“We’ve won… Ah…!”

“He really defeated that monster…!”

Eugene stood atop the remains of the fallen Colossus.

The soldiers who saw him standing on the giant’s corpse looked up at him with awe-filled gazes.

Like a hero from a holy painting.

The soldiers of the southern front would likely never forget this sight for the rest of their lives.

“Phew……”

The hero who steadied himself with a deep breath faced the soldiers looking up at him from below.

Those who stared at him with heated gazes, like bombs about to explode.

As if pulling that trigger, Eugene gritted his teeth and raised his fist toward the soldiers—

“Uwaaaaah–!”

“We won! We wooon—!”

“Eugene-! Eugene-! Eugene-!”

Thunderous cheers and shouts erupted across the front lines.

A massive victory of bringing down the Republic’s giant.

The Empire had finally achieved victory in their war against the Republic.

“I tried doing what I used to do with the Revolutionary Army, glad it worked better than expected.”

As he watched the cheering soldiers, his mouth slowly opened.

The soldiers’ faces were full of hope as they savored the glory of victory.

It was clearly different from ‘himself’ who had been betrayed after failure.

“What are you doing sprawled out at such an important moment, Lord Hero.”

A changed future.

Newly bloomed hope.

Looking at all of this, the protagonist ‘Eugene Lorentz’ gave a bitter smile.

“Still, this is much better than me.”

***

‘Hey, you crazy bastards-!’

What surfaced in the hazy dream was an old memory.

The betrayal of those he trusted.

The life ruined because of it.

And even the world beyond the monitor that had become his final solace after falling to rock bottom.

‘Is this really the ending? Really?! No, how can there be such a crappy ending when things were going so well! What is this! Aaargh-!’

He thought it was the final sanctuary given to a fallen failure.

Watching the characters’ stories, he sincerely hoped that at least their futures would be filled with only brightness.

The protagonist’s desperate life seemed like looking at his past self, and the sight of pioneering the future with companions was like the ideal he had dreamed of. ʀα₦ƟᛒÈꞩ

‘How dare you kill the protagonist like this at the end! Aaargh-!’

Perhaps that’s why I’m so persistently trying to change the future.

At least the story’s protagonist.

At least ‘me’ in this world, I hoped would find happiness after all trials ended.

“……..Ah.”

A brief dream.

When I came to my senses, I was standing in my office on the airship.

Before my eyes was Irene, standing face to face with me.

But something about the atmosphere felt strange.

She was aiming her tentacles at my neck with vacant eyes and an expressionless face.

“Irene.”

“……”

“What are you doing?”

When I asked this after trying to maintain composure, Irene tilted her head while maintaining her expressionless state and slowly approached.

Once. Twice. Three times.

After examining my face several times, Irene suddenly broke into a bright smile and—

“Eugene! It’s Eugene! You’re back!”

“Uh, uuh?!”

With those words, she rushed forward and embraced me so tightly I thought I would be crushed.

“Eugene! Eugene!”

“Hey hey, what’s this all of a sudden?! More importantly, let go of this…!”

When I said embraced so tightly I thought I would be crushed, this wasn’t a figurative expression.

I can’t breathe.

I just returned from fighting Colossus, is this how it ends?

While struggling with Irene like this.

– Finally awake, huh?

A voice came from across the room.

A voice with a strange resonance.

Just as I turned my head at that familiar voice.

After recognizing the owner of the voice, I could only freeze in place.

– That’s a relief. Otherwise, we really could have died. The face is identical, and even the way of speaking is perfect… How did she figure it out, I wonder?

Speaking in a flat tone while sitting against one wall was a man.

A man with the same face as me, wearing a shabby trench coat and a red armband.

“You…?”

Ah, this is our first time talking face to face, isn’t it?

I only saw your face once during the Elcryer incident.

Muttering this, the man opened his mouth with a mischievous smile.

– Nice to meet you, ‘Eugene’. (+)^[1]TLN: Do you guys still remember the name of the MC before transmigrated? It’s Yu-jin, Seong Yu-jin. And why do I talk about this? Well, the Korean for Yu-jin is the same as Eugene (유진). So, we don’t know whether the game’s protagonist, or the original “Eugene”, calls the MC “Eugene” or “Yu-jin” unless we asked the author.

“……”

Eugene Lorentz, the protagonist of [Revolution Empire].

The protagonist of this damn game greeted me.

***

Rewinding time slightly to when Eugene returned from the battlefield.

What greeted Eugene when he returned to his office was Irene’s razor-sharp tentacles.

“Tell me. Where is Eugene?”

“What are you suddenly talking about? I’m right here in front of…”

Bang–!

A tentacle grazed past Eugene’s face.

Dozens of eyes and hundreds of mouths were growling at him.

“I don’t know something like you. I’m looking for Eugene. Give him back quickly. And disappear.”

“Ha.”

A short sigh.

Along with it, Eugene changed his expression and spoke to Irene with a sardonic smile.

“What will you do if I don’t give him back? I might even commit suicide with this body if things go wrong…”

“Go ahead, failure.”

Failure.

Eugene’s eyebrows twitched at those words, but Irene continued speaking without concern.

“The future you tried to change? The world? The Empire? I’ll destroy every last bit of it all.”

“……”

Eugene furrowed his brow and pondered Irene’s words.

‘I had my suspicions when I heard she had the Queen’s Factor…’

Does this mean she knows?

Since when?

After trying to calm himself, he spoke to Irene.

“But that’s the work this guy created, not mine. You’re saying you’ll just destroy it?”

“Yes. I’ll destroy it all.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Irene said.

“A world without Eugene is unnecessary anyway.”

“You crazy woman.”

I didn’t even have such intentions to begin with, but now this makes it even more impossible.

Muttering this, Eugene raised both hands with a sigh.

It was a sign of surrender.

“I never intended to take over his body or anything like that. I’m just holding onto it until he wakes up.”

“……”

“Besides, if it weren’t for me, wouldn’t this guy have been dragged off to the Republic and turned into an experimental subject? You bare your teeth at me despite owing me thanks?”

This feels rather unfair.

Just as he was thinking this.

As if sensing the will from within, Eugene let out a sigh of relief.

“Speaking of which, he’s about to wake up.”

Just after muttering this.

As if suddenly remembering something, he asked Irene.

“Since I don’t know when we’ll meet again, let me ask one thing.”

“……”

“What exactly are you doing beyond the rift?”

A moment of silence.

And after a while, a bright smile bloomed on Irene’s face as she silently stared at Eugene.

“I’m making preparations.”

“Preparations?”

“Yes.”

Ah, this is a secret from Eugene though.

As Irene said this, an ecstatic smile filled her empty eyes.

Love, obsession, madness.

A single point reached beyond all that.

Having reached that place, she opened her mouth with an expectant voice.

“I’m preparing to live eternally with Eugene.”

• 1. TLN: Do you guys still remember the name of the MC before transmigrated? It’s Yu-jin, Seong Yu-jin. And why do I talk about this? Well, the Korean for Yu-jin is the same as Eugene (유진). So, we don’t know whether the game’s protagonist, or the original “Eugene”, calls the MC “Eugene” or “Yu-jin” unless we asked the author.

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