Chapter 38
Anschel anxiously stared at Ender.
For the past five years, he had been enthusiastically serving as Ender’s aide. Despite shedding tears about having such a difficult superior, he never quit his job because of Ender’s brilliant achievements.
Originally, Anschel was a cold-hearted person. Since he didn’t particularly care about anything except matters concerning Harriet, there weren’t many things for an aide to worry about. Ender had only cursed and shown irritation like this twice before.
The first time was when a stupid officer tried to provoke Ender by crumpling a photo he had.
“Give that back, you fucking bastard.”
When Ender burst out with such vulgar curses in rage, the other person’s face flushed as if he was feeling ecstatic.
He looked quite confident. Proud that he’d made the war hero Ender McGuire lose his temper. At the same time, his face was full of curiosity about why Ender was so angry over a mere photo of a man.
In the end, instead of returning the photo to Ender, he crumpled the picture of the white-haired man in his fist, filled with a sense of triumph.
The moment the man crumpled the photo, Ender cut off his wrist. Then he beat him so severely that the man would never be able to leave his bed again.
He only used his ability once, when he cut off the man’s arm. With a furious face, Ender stepped on and kept stomping the man who had lost his will to fight and was begging for his life. Anschel had never seen Ender lose his mind like that before, so he trembled and clung to Ender.
The man was an officer and the second son of a fairly wealthy family. His parents were ability users and quite doted on their second son who had proudly enlisted as an officer. Not only had their son lost his hand, but he had also become incontinent, so the situation almost took a very serious turn.
But the people and the military loved Ender McGuire. So instead, they criticized the malicious officer for pushing the hero to his limits. The McGuire family readily offered an enormous compensation for their beloved only son, and the officer eventually disappeared amid the criticism.
Afterward, Ender carefully unfolded the crumpled photo. Anschel vividly remembered how gentle and fragile his touch was.
He hadn’t understood back then, but thinking about it now, that photo might have been Ender’s only sanctuary while hiding his feelings for several years, waiting for an opportunity.
The photo appeared to be a blurry CCTV image of Harriet Alster. It showed him holding a water bottle in one hand, speaking to someone with indifferent eyes.
It had been enlarged so much that beyond the white hair, his facial features weren’t clearly visible. Anschel didn’t know who the person in the photo was back then.
The second time was when Ender McGuire was twenty-four, just beginning to make a name for himself. The day before he was to go to the front lines, he knocked on the door of the President’s reception room.
At that time, Anschel was waiting outside the door with his hands behind his back. The reception room was well soundproofed, so only muffled sounds could be heard. Next to Anschel stood Benjamin Oger, the President’s bodyguard, firmly in place.
Suddenly, the door flung open. As Anschel stepped back to follow Ender, he heard the very kind and gentle voice of the President.
“So you’ve hidden that child there? Hehe, I don’t suppose you thought I wouldn’t find out.”
Ender, who had been walking out after bursting through the door, stopped in his tracks. His eyes burned fiercely. Wind swirled around as if a strong gust was blowing.
The President’s bodyguard, Benjamin, nervously reached for his gun. Anschel anxiously looked back and forth between them. The moment someone touched the President, martial law would be declared. Then, no matter how powerful Ender was, he would be helpless.
“We want a hero. I think you understand my meaning, Ender. You’re doing very well right now.”
The President smiled and gestured. Benjamin stared at Ender’s back with tension, then quietly closed the door without making a sound.
Ender returned to his office and closed his eyes with a very tired expression.
That day, Anschel learned that Ender had received orders for reassignment to the front lines. Although Ender had already fought in many battles, he would now face countless more at the frontline. Anschel could tell that with the public already enthusiastic about Ender, his popularity would only grow stronger if he fought at the front.
‘…That child? Hidden?’
Recalling the conversation between the President and Ender, Anschel was confused but didn’t bother to ask.
Ender, who had never smoked before, pulled out an electronic cigarette case with gold trim. While Anschel preferred regular cigarettes, he couldn’t help but swallow at the sight of Ender.
That was because Ender looked far too handsome with the electronic cigarette between his lips. Each time he inhaled and exhaled, smoke escaped from his red lips.
“…That fucking old man will someday regret trying to make a deal with me using ‘that person’.”
With a rough, vulgar curse, Ender lowered his eyes, which were blazing with anger. There was a calm that felt like the quiet before a storm.
Finishing his recollection, Anschel looked at Ender, who still had his eyes narrowed. In Anschel’s opinion, it was premature to mess with the Maxim family, especially Delta Maxim.
“My goodness… Ender, why are you so angry?”
Despite the fact that Ender was clearly raising his claws and fur like a loyal cat whose master had been insulted, Harriet smiled slightly and gestured. He patted Ender’s back gently and said:
“Your cute face is all twisted up.”
Harriet took out two candies from his pocket and gave them to Ender, telling him to calm down. Ender, who had been staring at Delta, held out his hand behind his back.
Damn it, even in this serious situation, those two were in their own world. Ender very carefully took the candy and brought it to his mouth. Then he put the candy in his mouth. Seeing this, Harriet gave a small smile.
‘Why is that guy acting like this?!’
‘He’s always like this!’
Anschel and Angela exchanged familiar glances. Angela looked at Anschel with eyes that seemed to beg for this situation to be resolved quickly.
Delta smiled triumphantly as he watched Ender calm down with the quieting atmosphere. But he soon realized that was a misunderstanding.
“AAAAAHHHH!!!”
“Damn it!”
Anschel pulled out the gun from his waist and swung it at Delta. With a thud, Delta, who had been screaming, fell to his knees. He momentarily stopped screaming from the shock of being forced down.
Anschel strengthened the barrier even more, but it was clear that Delta’s bodyguard outside would have heard the scream.
Delta looked at his ear that had fallen to the floor with heavy breaths. Blood began to pool between his fingers and palm as he covered the wound, then dripped down.
Delta clutched where his ear had been and looked around while panting. He could see Ender McGuire casually sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. And beside him, Harriet wore a troubled expression.
“Don’t move.”
With a devil-may-care attitude, Anschel pressed his knee firmly on Delta’s waist, forcing him down. Delta’s eyes trembled endlessly from the shock of having his ear cut off. He stared into space while taking shallow breaths. Soon, a buzzing sound in his ear was followed by increasing pain.
Anschel placed the gun muzzle against the back of Delta’s head and looked to Ender for direction. The damn superior was just sitting blankly next to Harriet without showing any reaction.
BANG-!
At that moment, Anschel’s barrier shook violently. It seemed like Delta’s bodyguard had started to move. Since it was clear that he would either call for backup or report to superiors, Anschel lifted the barrier.
“Young master!!”
“…You shouldn’t have a personal bodyguard, Major Delta. Please use military bodyguards at the very least.”
Anschel said with a pale face. The older man with a nice mustache looked at Delta, who was kneeling and bleeding while being held by Anschel, and his eyes flashed. His face turned dark as blood vessels popped out, and he shouted:
“How dare you do this! You bastards will all go to the brig for violating military law!”
I don’t know why this guy who isn’t even a soldier is talking about the brig.
Anschel sighed. Due to the sudden commotion, his trademark 2:8 parted hair had slipped to become 5:5. Since it had been difficult to maintain the 2:8 style lately, he thought about just leaving it as is to save hairspray. Meanwhile, the man’s body began to change color dramatically.
“Seems like he’s a fire ability user.”
“Having a fire ability user as a bodyguard when it’s raining—there’s a limit to how stupid one can be.”
Ender sneered in a whisper. Anschel agreed on that point. The man rushed at Anschel with his body engulfed in flames. He seemed to think he should first remove Anschel, who was restraining Delta. But that was a foolish judgment.
A massive barrier formed in front of Anschel, and BANG!! The man’s body staggered as he crashed into the barrier. Anschel used multiple layers of barriers like shields. He wasn’t idly standing beside the war hero Ender McGuire for nothing.
“W-w-wait a minute!!”
Angela screamed and ran behind the sofa. She didn’t know what to do in this sudden battle and blood-soaked situation. She was someone who had fled because she hated this bloody battlefield.
Anschel clicked his tongue for not being able to take care of her and extended his hand again. Then he brought down a long vertical barrier where the man was standing. It inflicted a small wound on the man’s shoulder and embedded deeply into the floor as if to split it.
And with consecutive BANG! BANG! sounds, barriers crashed down where the man stood, like guillotines falling. The force was enough to cut a person in half.
But perhaps because he was Delta Maxim’s bodyguard, the man dodged very well. Anschel faced the bodyguard while still restraining Delta.
As the barriers closed in with increasingly narrow gaps, the bodyguard’s speed slowed. Noticing this, Anschel forcefully slammed barriers into the man’s shoulders, arms, and legs, immobilizing him.
“Arghhhh!”
As the man screamed from the sensation of his flesh being cut, Anschel aimed his gun at the center of the man’s forehead and fired. Anschel, breathing heavily, pressed on Delta Maxim’s waist again, forcing him to lie flat.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
