A War Hero With No Regrets

19 – Killing the Sprout (1)

Inside the Safe House located on the outskirts of the city, Werner Grime was just staring blankly out the window.

“Director… Do you really mind if I don’t say hello?”

Ensign Carin Maven asked again carefully, and he answered her by nodding her head.

“It’s not a very good relationship.”

It was a tone that made it seem like it was no big deal, but Karin vaguely sensed the true meaning hidden behind it.

There’s no way you wouldn’t know.

But she couldn’t get it out of her mouth.

As she was biting her lip bitterly, Werner, who had been looking out her window, opened her mouth.

“It’s a little confusing. Karin.”

“Ah… The return to Forbidden Lake is tomorrow, so get some shuteye for today. “You were in the hospital all day yesterday too.”

“That’s okay, you don’t have to worry. “Could you please call the people upstairs instead?”

“Ah… Yes, yep… ! “I’ll come right away.”

“Thank you, Karin. “You have worked hard so far, so please rest well.”

She saluted Werner and carefully left the room.

“….”

Leah Gilead.

Karin thought about the name.

On the first day he arrived in Branberg, Eastern Military District, this was the name he desperately called after he suffered a seizure.

This is a fact that can be known because she is Karin, who stayed by his side all night.

At first, she wondered if Werner was missing her dead lover or her family, but she was a perfectly alive person.

She wasn’t even her family.

She was a member of the same unit.

In the end, after much deliberation, Karin came to one conclusion.

‘She unilaterally left Werner.’

There was no other answer than that.

Karin pictured Werner lying on the floor, extending his hand toward her.

It was a sight that could not easily be imagined, but it could not have been more miserable.

“….”

Karin felt as if her heart was being stabbed.

She was tormented by the countless memories of her being abandoned.

But she couldn’t show it.

She can’t even hold herself back here.

Werner Grime was having a hard time.

Then she just has to stick to her duties as her lieutenant.

Karin clenched her fists and, struggling to get her mind together, went upstairs.

Where the collaborators brought by Director Werner are staying for a while.

—-

As Karin left, Werner covered his face and sighed.

It was a mistake.

If only we had been more careful in identifying people and not let our guard down by simply relying on sight.

The unfortunate incident in which Leah Gilead was seriously injured would not have occurred.

The feelings of regret that I tried hard not to recognize rush in like a tide.

What if Leah died here?

Werner would have thrown himself out the window without delay.

The choices she made to protect herself once again drove her to her death.

He must have atoned for the pain that accompanied her death and at the same time started the next episode to pay for his sins.

Of course, thanks to her nanomachine and her cure, she was able to prevent the terrible event of her being killed, she said.

But she failed when she failed.

Just because Leah lived, that fact did not disappear.

In the end, Werner had no choice but to make a decision.

A peaceful life? Retire from the military and live leisurely?

I realize that it is no different from bullsh*t that denies the entire life I have lived so far.

Werner Grime.

No, the duty given to Graveyard’s former commander Luthus Ethan has not yet been lifted.

Light and shadow are inevitable.

The episode ended with twisting the outcome of the girls being sacrificed and trying to make them happy.

For them to be under the light forever.

You must remain in the dark forever.

We can’t have blood or dirty dirt on their hands anymore.

That was enough in the Graveyard.

It was a place like home where all the memories were contained, but it was also a graveside where everyone’s pain was engraved.

So the fortress headquarters was disbanded.

As only those who overcome the past can move forward, those in the Graveyard must leave the graveside behind and move on to the bright world.

Even if you live an ordinary life, do not fall into despair.

So that they can start families with other people and enjoy a smiling life with children who look just like them.

But Werner cannot do that.

Regression.

As long as he was born with this cursed ability, he could never escape the battlefield.

As a person who constantly goes back to the past and makes choices that he will not regret, he had to slaughter and eliminate all those who interfere with their happiness and try to ruin their rest.

“Now I know how stupid I was.”

Werner burst into laughter.

How foolish is this?

You worked so hard to decide not to regret it, but you end up making a choice you will regret again.

They still needed themselves.

Even after the Titans disappeared, there were numerous threats to their happiness and safety.

Werner’s eyes flashed coldly.

We must finish all the maintenance of Luthus Ethan in the numerous episodes left in Akasha.

Even if what is in front of me is a poisoned chalice, I will drink that cup silently.

It was just like that this time too.

As always.

When Werner made up his mind, someone knocked on the door.

Knock knock knock.

“Can I come in, Brigadier General?”

When humanity achieved complete victory over the Titans, Brigadier General Lutherth Ethan was a man who mastered both the good and the dark.

If those in the Graveyard were colleagues of the bright side, then of course there were also colleagues of the dark side.

“Come in.”

It was them.

—-

It must have been around the fifth regression.

Luther’s Ethan came to feel his own inevitable limitations.

Humanity was not only fighting against the Titans.

We were also fighting against humanity itself.

The fear that the world might perish tomorrow enveloped the entire empire, and it became a hotbed of all kinds of crimes.

This was the reason why the authority of the President became more solid.

Although he had no military insight, his political ability was outstanding, so he left the management of his front to Supreme Commander Arthur Phileas and stabilized the domestic situation.

He mercilessly beat up the opposition forces and executed them all on charges of treason.

If you’re lucky, you’ll get to a camp.

If not, the death penalty.

If you were unlucky, all of your family members would be killed.

Of course, in the process, the President did not use only honorable methods.

Because members of the Nationalist Party, following the Revolutionary Party, suffered enormous sacrifices at that time.

For a moment, we held out our tongues at the cruelty of the President, who made up crimes that did not exist and executed innocent people.

Luthers realized that this too could be a method.

The situation of the war could not be changed just by looking at it externally.

For complete victory, even the darkness operating beneath the surface must be exploited.

The truth realized in the fifth regression.

In that way, the people who participated in the sixth session became the faithful shadows of Luther’s Ethan until the fortieth episode.

Also known as ‘the cornerstone of the monument.’

At Werner’s words, five men and women rushed into the room.

“I thought our brigadier general had finally lost his mind when he said he was retiring.”

A man with dark scars on his face laughs cheerfully.

It was Mateus, the ‘godfather’.

He was the leader of a gang that led a violent organization in the capital area, and was purged for rebelling against the orders of the President during the suppression of the Nationalists.

If it weren’t for Luthus, who just happened to offer a helping hand, he would never have survived.

Because of this, Mateus moved north to the Grave Yard and helped Luthus work undercover with his surviving members.

It is not just Mateus, the leader of an organized crime group.

Dorothy, ‘Hetaira’, a drug dealer who manufactured powerful illegal drugs.

Legoro, a ‘Salgwi’ who has made it his vocation to be a contract killer since he was young.

Lastly, Saloka, a ‘centurion leader’ who mainly deals with smuggling and intelligence.

They were all prominent figures in the afterlife, but at the same time, they were also loyal followers of Luthers Ethan.

As their notoriety spread widely among the civilian world, Diane Schmidt, a revolutionary who was dragged along, felt like she was losing her mind.

“It’s been a while.”

“Oh my, you’ve grown so much taller while I’ve never seen you before. Even the original version wasn’t a joke… “This is a bit tempting.”

Dorothy tempted him by putting her finger to her lips.

Of course, Werner didn’t even pay attention.

“… “It’s still a little chilly, though.”

“I didn’t call you to tell such a trivial story. “I guess you probably heard it from Saloka.”

Werner turned his head towards the man wearing the most simple attire among the four.

“Oh my, did you have to tell me? “I thought I knew everything~.”

Century Saloka.

There was no particular reason why he received the nickname “Century Captain.”

Information begins with hiding one’s identity.

Salocca was also a master of vocal imitation and disguise, so he could sing for as many as a hundred people.

He burst into laughter, imitating Dorothy’s tickled voice.

“Hey, imitator. “Didn’t I tell you that if you copy me again, I’ll kill you?”

“They said they would kill me. But so what?”

This time it was Mateus’ voice.

However, Mateus just burst out laughing at Saloka.

“hahahahaha, it’s really f*cking annoying. “Okay, this was it. Do you know how much I’ve missed this bastard since I haven’t seen him in six months?”

Dorothy, who was the target of the teasing, was furious, her face red and red.

“Enough joking around, what kind of business did you call me for, Brigadier General?”

“Actually, there are many targets, right? He said he would shake off his hands, but if he were to summon us again, he must be quite a big deal… Then the Fuhrer? Supreme Commander? Either that or… “The Argentine Orca that bit its owner without fear?”

“Oh yeah… Arhen, I heard that b*tch betrayed you. “Every time I see you, that look of disregard for people is the same, so I don’t think you’ll ever get a wish if you soak it in a high-concentration aphrodisiac.”

“… Don’t cross the line. “Before I kill you.”

However, the moment Argen’s name is mentioned, Werner’s previously friendly voice suddenly changes.

Dorothy had no choice but to gulp, swallow dry saliva, and step back when she saw that sight.

“Ah, okay. Why are you so angry? I can’t say what I want….”

“There is nothing wrong with Argentina. “It just did what I intended.”

“No matter how strong she was, it wouldn’t have been easy for her to be openly hostile to you.”

“Let’s cut it short and get to the point-.”

Werner said, looking at Diane Schmidt, who was trembling and sandwiched between the four cornerstones.

“The people we need to disband this time are not just one or two people.”

“So it’s the military itself?”

“No, it is a revolutionary front.”

Luthers Ethan.

The other identity he used was not only that of Director of the Security Bureau, Werner Greim.

He, who is also a big name in the world behind the empire, emphasized once again.

“Revolutionary Front, we need to tear them all down and kill them.”