The Life of a Traitor

I think I understand what went wrong 100 years ago. Leonardos and the followers of the four manipulated history.

The people in High End were not aware of the fact that outside people have taken an oath to protect the country, only Leonardos were aware of this. Likewise, the followers of the four started spreading conspiracy theories that caused multiple conflicts in the past.

So, I guess the four districts we currently know are the descendants of the followers and inherited the name. That's why they were praised as heroes.

“Brother, I didn’t get all of it.”

"I will tell you in detail once we get back home. There is one more person that I need to deal with. Let's go."

I wonder what happened to Igor. There was no mention of him later in the memoir.

As for you, great grandfather, things turned out the way you feared the most. But it couldn't be helped. Someone had to take a step. I also think it was a bad idea not to join them. I always thought the outside world was still at war but if there was peace then it was stupid not to join them.

His vision was for the good cause but it turned out that way. I felt bad for him, all of his efforts went in vain.

When I came out, I saw Valentino standing with his team.

“When did you arrive?”

"Just a moment ago. I was going to call you."

“Valentino, I found out who the traitor is.”

“Really? How?”

"Don't sweat the details. I am going to rush to his place. Angelo said he is currently in his room. You handle the situation here."

“You will confront him alone?”

“Yes, but don’t worry about me.”

With that, I rushed towards the main entrance. I was breathing heavily, but there was no time to care for that. There was no telling what that man would do if we didn't capture him as soon as possible. He might go into hiding. Then, it would be impossible to find him.

I took a break for a second because I was completely out of breath. Just a little more. We parked our vehicles a mile away from the main entrance.

“There it is.”

I grabbed my bike and rode it at full speed. I was going towards district X-99 Delta. Because that's where he was.

"Hey, Risa. Can you hear me?"

I contacted Risa on the way.

"Where is Fina? I can't reach her."

“She is with me but heavily injured.”

“Injured? That damn Alessandra. How is she right now?”

"Aida applied first aid to her wounds so her condition is somewhat stable but she still needs proper medical treatment so I am taking her to Alibi."

“You are alone?”

“Yes. I am driving a car right now because Marsia and Aida stayed back with the plane to rescue people."

"Now, listen to me. Hand Fina over to the doctors and come directly to Delta. We have a traitor to deal with."

“What??”

I gave her some more instructions then aborted the connection.

It took me 10 minutes to arrive at Delta. I went straight to the destined place.

“Nicolo.”

I heard Angelo’s voice from an alley.

“He is still in there?”

“Yes. Are we going rush in?”

“Only I will go in. You will stay behind.”

“What? Why?”

“Risa and the others are on the way. Give me a signal when they arrive.”

"Alright, fine."

I went into the house and stopped right in front of a door.

My heart was beating fast, my blood was boiling, my brain hurt. It pained me to think that he would betray us… he, of all people.

I burst into the room. There he was, resting on a sofa while reading a book.

"Yo! Took you long enough. Angelo has been keeping tabs on me for a while now. I was getting tired of waiting."

“Jacob.”

I ground my teeth in anger and frustration and pointed my gun at him. He snapped his finger and suddenly, a group of armed men burst into the room. I was surrounded by rifles.

"Are you the one who orchestrated this entire thing?" I asked while looking unfazed with all of that.

"Yes, of course, but on the order of higher-ups."

"Higher-ups?"

What was he talking about?

"You see, I am not from this country."

"What the hell are you talking about? The only way to enter this country is through the port. And there is no way you could have entered through that path.”

“Did you get a chance to read the memoir of Grigio Leonardo?”

“How do you know about the memoir?”

“So, you did read it. Ever wondered what happened to Igor in the end?”

“____what are you getting at? You are descendent of Igor?”

“Wrong. I am Igor.”

…

…

…

"What is this bunch of nonsense?"

“Just because something is beyond your understanding doesn’t mean it’s nonsense. Let me tell you, my story.”

During the Apocalypse. Time period: Unknown

Devastation everywhere. Buildings were in flames; people were getting killed.

“Mama, I am scared.”

"No need to be scared, my child. Mama is here with you."

I was just a kid back then. It was too much to witness the cruelty of the world at such a young age.

"I found a mother and a child." A soldier in a black uniform appeared in the alley we were hiding.

“Please have mercy on us, please. I beg you. Spare us.”

"Not a chance, old hag. That kid will be used in our experiments. Be grateful that he will be sacrificed for the sake of the motherland."

More of his allies entered the alley as well.

"Save me, mama. I don't want to go. Save me. I am sacred. MAMAAAAAA."

What I witnessed at the moment was the murder of my mother. Those soldiers ruthlessly penetrated bullets into her. I could not remove that terrifying image; it had burned into my memory.

Soldiers left the body of my mother in the alley and took me with them. I went unconscious on the way.

When I woke up, I found myself on a bed. I freaked out and screamed,

“MOTHEEEEEEEER”

"Keep your voice down, kid. You are in a military residence."

A general came to my room and glared at me. I started crying, but as a result, I received a slap from him.

"Didn't I say to keep your damn voice down?”

I hit the brakes. I realized there was no point in crying and whining, no one would come to my rescue.

A maid entered with a tray in her hand.

“When he is done eating, give him new clothes and bring him to the training ground.”

"Understood, sir."

After that, General left the room.

I didn't feel like eating anything at that moment but he would probably thrash me if I didn't eat it.

I took the first bite with the most disgusting expression on my face.

After I was done eating the food, the maid provided me with a military dress of my size. I didn't know back then about what was exactly going on. I was just following them because I didn't want to be pounded and eaten up by them.

I arrived at the training ground. There were a bunch of kids in the military dress, looking all scared. I was one of them. We were snatched from our families and brought to this mysterious place.

"Listen up, brat. From this day, you will be training under my command for 6 years. Then, you will be sent to the battlefield to sacrifice yourself by protecting your motherland. Am I clear?”

All of that was too hard for us to comprehend but things started to get clear once our hellish training began. And in six years, we got a crystal clear idea of our goals and objectives. We fought countless battles together through the years in the seemingly endless war. We laughed together, we cried together but those moments eventually came to an end.

Little by little, we were reducing in numbers. Our unit was getting smaller in number with each battle. Many died during the war. Those who survived, couldn't fight so they were never to be seen again. Then, the time came when I lost both my arms in battle. That was when I learned what happened to those who survived the brutal battle but were unable to fight anymore.

They were used in multiple experiments. That sent a shiver through my spine. The experiment I was chosen for was brain transplantation.

At that time, the government was trying to find a way to obtain eternal life. With brain transplant, they were trying to replace a brain of an old person with a younger person. That way, the person won't die of old age. Same for someone with a disability, but the experiment had been a total failure so far.

“Put him on the table.”

I didn't resist at all. I knew there was no way I would get out of there alive. I would definitely die during this transplantation. But a miracle happened and I survived. My brain was transplanted into a younger body while my memories were still intact. It felt a little weird and uncomfortable to have a different body but at least I was alive.

I was the first person to succeed in this. Doctors concluded that I have a special kind of brain structure that is very rare to see.

I was a valuable experimental object for them; hence I was not sent to the battlefield again. Instead, I was assigned to their intelligence bureau and worked for them for decades. I infiltrated countries and found ways to destroy them, internally. Sounds familiar? I was the one who sent those four on these lands.

Then, I, personally, met Grigio and introduced myself as an ex-Russian. I succeeded in destroying the country, well almost, without much effort but then the ceasefire was announced? They had ended the war? Why? I was starting to have fun with that.

Then, I received an order from the higher-ups to convince Grigio to accept the proposal.

I was disappointed.

They had restored peace after shedding this much blood? No, I wanted more chaos. This was not enough. I wanted more.

That was when I came up with an idea. I lied to the government about convincing Grigio. When they finally accept his proposal of an isolated state, I presented them with another idea.

"How about I stay in that country and make him submit it to you eventually?"

The idea was good but the intention was different. All I wanted to see was more chaos and suffering, that was just perfect for me.

After giving it some thought, they gave me their approval and sent experts with me to perform the brain transplant. The country was still open at that time so it was fairly easy for me to enter with the doctors, without raising any alarms because I told Grigio that I was going back to my motherland. What really upset me was that he didn't mention my name in his memoir towards the end.

Time passed by and I ignited multiple conflicts that you might have heard of. Those experts brought in apprentices to have someone performing the brain surgery once they were dead. That was how I survived for these past 100 years.

Going around causing havoc was a part of my life. I started to get bored and created Opus to reduce this boredom. Then, I met you and understood your circumstances. This could work, I thought. I could finally succeed in destroying High End in its entirety.

The government kept telling me to get over with this 100-year long mission and I was bored as well. Then, I constructed a plan to make both factions destroy each other using Nox. So that our forces could easily invade this land.

All of you fell right under my trap. I manipulated Giovanni and provided him necessary information to fight back to some degree because a one-sided battle wouldn't be fun, don't you agree?

Cassius, that I killed, was one of the experts but being too smart was a problem in itself. He thought he could succeed in double-crossing me.

I was stunned to hear all this stuff that Jacob was saying. Everything sounded so absurd and over the top that it was so hard to believe, yet…

"Having a hard time believing it? I can't blame you. But worry not, I was ordered to kill you."

Just then, we heard a scream of a girl.

“What was that?” One of the armed men said.

“I will go and check.” The other one said in response.

That was the signal.

"NOW!" I screamed.

A ball rolled into the room and exploded. The room was filled with smoke. I fell to the ground to avoid getting hit by the bullets.

All I could hear were the sound of the gunshots and screams.

When the smoke cleared, I saw the dead bodies of those who were holding a gun at me just a moment ago. Jacob was on the ground uninjured. He applied the same strategy as me to avoid the bullets.

The ones who shot the bullets at them were Risa, Coda, Orlando and Trey.

“I still can’t believe it’s you…”

"I will explain things in detail later on, but first, tie him up."

"YO! Everyone, looks like you won the battle of High End?" Jacob was smiling despite knowing he couldn't do anything in a situation like this.

"Shut up, Jacob. You betrayed us even after spending so much time together. For what cause?"

"It was a complicated matter, leave it for another time." I interrupted her.

"Aren't you glad, Risa?"

“What for?”

“It was because of that you were able to achieve success. If it wasn’t for me, he might not even survive during the Lavister Hall incident.”

He did have a point. But we couldn't just turn a blind eye to his actions.

“Nicolo.”

Angelo called out to me.

“What is it?”

"Valentino just contacted me saying multiple warships are approaching the port."

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Obviously, all of them were confused to hear that but I knew exactly what those ships were.

“Valentino is asking whether to use Nox on them or not?”

"Do not attack them at all costs."

“Why?”

“Just do as I say.”

“HO! Are you trying to negotiate with them?”

“Of course, we can’t take the entire fleet out with the Nox because our current vessel is just not that strong. My great grandfather made a mistake by not accepting their proposal. It’s way better than getting everyone killed.”

"You are not as stupid as I thought you would be. I was laughing at Grigio's every decision. Well, what are you going to do with me?"

"Handing you over to them would probably be the best option.”

"You think so?" He had a smirk on his face and all I did was stare at him.