Chapter 88: Another Side of History

“My lord! There’s a commotion in the city—!”

Upon hearing that report, Baron Volten just nodded calmly.

He had been feeling uneasy ever since he heard from his watchman that Baron Logan was just staying at an inn with a woman after he left the mansion.

There’s no way he’s such a simple character.

The man who cut down Arandel Helmont playing around with a woman in an inn after coming all the way here?

Yeah, right.

“I’ll go.”

He said before changing his clothes.

His clothes, resembling that of a hunter, was the same one that he wore during the revolution that he once led in the past.

As he stepped outside, the cold night air greeted him.

He remembered that day of the revolution had a similar atmosphere to this.

[Let’s go! Sweep them away!]

[Give us the drugs, you bastards!]

[Freedom! That’s all we want! Freedom!]

The ideals he held at that time were still etched in his heart.

[There it is! There!]

[Mine! That’s mine I told you! You fucks, get lost!]

[Junkie bastards, don’t think that I’m the same as you! I’m an ill-fated artist, devoted to art and—!]

His people’s joyful screams after the success of the revolution still echoed in his ears.

-Stop! At this rate, we’re all gonna perish!

-We must protect our Volten!

-I’ll distribute it fairly among you, so stop! Every single one of us—!

The fact that the ‘present’ was built upon his own hypocrisy.

-We’ll have our freedom! Everyone will get their share of the drugs! I’ll take responsibility!

After the successful revolution…

Though his words managed to prevent the rampage, madness, and chaos, he still found them hateful, even to this day.

But, even if he could go back to the past…

He didn’t know if he could offer a better solution.

This isn’t the future I had in mind when I spoke of those ideals…

Even until now, he was merely keeping this dying land alive, unable to do much else.

“Tell the Belling Waltz to leave this place quickly.”

After giving that order to the mercenary group he had been hiding at the Sponsors’ request…

The baron headed straight for the city.

Another wind was about to blow through Volten today.

Not long after that…

“Urgh!”

“It…hurts…”

“P-Please…spare me…”

In a clash, one thing that would happen when there were more people groaning in pain than the ones standing unhurt…

Was that the latter would hesitate and back away, frightened. Of course due to the nature of a crowd, not all of them were like that.

That particular group would try to pounce again if they saw an opening, or at least, try to get more people to cooperate with them, but…

“Enough. No matter how much you resist us, nothing will change.”

The Grandmaster’s uncharacteristically low warning echoed in their ears.

Under the moonlit sky, she stepped forward and asked them.

“What made you all do this? I always thought that the nature of loyalty is noble, but seeing you all, I’m starting to have second thoughts.”

“…”

“Your ugliness has shaken my belief, and I’d rather not experience that…”

The Grandmaster wasn’t just talking about the people of Volten.

She’s feeling conflicted between taking the sides of the Transcendent Race or humans…

While she wouldn’t consider siding with the Transcendent Race, this scene made her think twice of taking the humans’ side.

I can’t let this be.

Just as Isaac was about to intervene…

“The baron has arrived!”

“M-My lord…!”

“Oh, Hero of Volten…!”

“Please punish these wicked guys!”

“Don’t let the kingdom’s trash defile our land!”

No one guided them, and yet the crowd parted to both sides, opening a path on their own.

Then, through that path, Baron Volten appeared.

Not wearing the noble attire Isaac had seen earlier, but in leather clothes, adorned by fur accessories, as if he was going on a hunt. There was also a bow on his back and a hatchet on his waist.

Seeing him donning the outfit that perfectly matched his impression as a hunting dog, Isaac let out a bitter smile.

“That look suits you better, Baron Volten.”

“Let’s go. I’ve found the family of Milly Marseau that you’ve mentioned before, Baron Logan.”

Getting straight to the point like this was in line with his character, but…

At the same time, it felt like he was changing the subject.

“I need an explanation for this situation.”

Isaac said, pointing at the sack filled with the corpse and the crazed citizens. The baron sighed before he replied.

“I’ll naturally provide you with one. Let’s go.”

When he glanced at the crowd, they backed away again.

The way they bowed their heads and stared at him gave off the impression of total madness.

“Let’s go. For now.”

If we stay any longer, something in the Grandmaster might change…

Struck by this thought, Isaac decided that it’d be better to leave this place for now.

“…”

However, even as Isaac led her away from this place…

The Grandmaster’s gaze occasionally turned to the crowd that had tried to overturn them.

Back at the baron’s mansion.

In a dark room, the baron lit a single candle before slowly looking out the window.

There was a complex emotion behind his gaze, and it seemed that he needed some time to express that in words.

For a while there, Isaac thought that he’d start smoking, but…

In the end, he just let out a sigh without touching his cigarette.

“Volten is a city of drug addicts.”

“…”

That wasn’t a particularly surprising revelation.

During the fight earlier, Isaac saw plenty of addicts.

Of course, their degrees of addiction were different, but in his eyes, they were all the same.

“Alcohol, gambling, women, in their eyes, these are all secondary compared to drugs. Due to that, I have to personally supply them with drugs.”

“You should be aware that the kingdom prohibits drugs.”

“But without them, Volten would cease to exist.”

They could easily take this as him admitting to do crime.

But the baron just gritted his teeth.

“In this city, everything is centered around drugs. The Underworld’s rebellion? It only happened because the kingdom showed signs of wanting to clean up the city’s back alleys. Drug trade was the Underworld’s biggest business.

“The revolution I led? It was only possible because the Underworld raised drug’s prices way too high.

“Lastly, the reason why this city could still run? It’s because I’m supplying drugs for free.”

Thanks to the drugs that he supplied, all the drug dealers died out.

This revelation made Isaac understand why the people had such blind loyalty to Baron Volten.

In essence, they were addicts trying to protect a supplier that gave them their drugs for free by any means.

For them, the baron was the guardian, as well as the savior that led them to their twisted paradise.

“Do you understand now? That’s the kind of city Volten is. A precarious city that could collapse at any time.”

The baron slowly turned his body.

Then, he calmly said to Isaac.

“Nevertheless, I chose to run this city as it is. Because it’s my responsibility.”

Isaac didn’t know what kind of past this man had.

So, he found it hard to understand his desire to maintain this city, no matter how fucked up it was.

But, he could tell one thing.

This man would never back down, would never waver.

Everyone had their own circumstances, their own stories.

Just as Isaac had his secret of regression and past, Baron Volten probably had a reason why he couldn’t just abandon this land.

But, from an outsider’s perspective, he was just being unnecessarily stubborn.

“And that led you to help the Sponsors to assassinate the princess?”

“…”

Baron Volten’s eyes trembled slightly.

He only wanted to talk about Volten’s secret.

All he knew that Isaac was here to find the family of a woman named Milly, and yet…

“As expected, you didn’t come here just to find your friend’s family.”

He muttered in a low voice, his tone changing.

By now, his hand was resting on the hatchet at his waist.

“Our drug supplies are starting to run out.”

“…”

“The people are demanding for more, but soon enough, the warehouse will be emptied.”

The drugs they collected after eliminating the drug dealers in the revolution…

While the amount was vast, it wasn’t infinite.

“In the midst of this, they came. The Sponsors. Introducing themselves as such, they promised to supply us with more drugs.”

His speech quickened.

‘Obsession’, masked by ‘conviction’, settled in his eyes.

The fact that he was willing to assassinate the princess of the country for the sake of the city he had lived in all his life…

Meant that he was unable to think clearly from the very start.

Shing!

He drew his hatchet.

“This land abandoned by the kingdom—! I am the one who’s been keeping it alive…!”

He probably thought Isaac couldn’t parry his hatchet without a weapon.

But unfortunately for him, he faced the wrong opponent.

The Grandmaster, who had been listening from behind, made her move immediately.

Thwack!

Her straight kick accurately struck the charging baron’s abdomen.

Sending him flying backward before rolling on the ground.

No matter how much experience he gained through the revolution…

The other side had a skilled martial artist whose level had reached the realm of ‘unfathomable’.

To her, handling him was like handling a child, that was how much the difference in skills between them were.

“You knew all along that you’re doing it for your self-satisfaction. That the end of this farce would come, soon or late.”

Coldly speaking.

The baron’s version of Volten wouldn’t have lasted long.

What he was doing wasn’t much different from forcibly keeping a terminally ill patient alive by injecting drugs into them.

Their heart was still beating, but in the end, they were still walking towards their death.

“Urgh!”

Clutching the struck area with his hand, the baron raised his head.

“Did you think I didn’t know that?! Even if it’s ugly…! Even if it’s broken…! I was trying to keep Volten alive for as long as possible, and take responsibility—!”

“Stop pretending to be a martyr.”

“…!”

“You’re just a hypocrite. I have no desire to hear your sob story.”

The baron, staggering to his feet, forcibly raised his trembling lips.

“Would you have made a different choice if you heard the screams they made that day?! The day they embellished as a revolution! The entire city almost died! If I didn’t take responsibility and promised to supply them with drugs—!

“Their madness would only increase by the folds! They will start another rebellion! I had to hold them back with a leash—!”

Tears welled up in Baron Volten’s eyes as he spat out those words while panting.

The man Isaac thought was a powerful hunting dog was shaking like an old dog about to be put down.

“…Yes, you’re right.”

A sigh, as bitter as tobacco, came out of his lips.

“I wasn’t unaware that I was being a hypocrite.”

However…

“I just pretended to be unaware. That’s why I just watched them die, telling myself that I’d take responsibility.”

The baron swung his hatchet wide.

Once again, he charged at the Grandmaster, but ultimately collapsed before reaching her.

Thud!

“Urgh!”

A groan mixed with a cry came out of his mouth.

“If I die…! If I die here, Volten will fall into chaos again…! The entire city will turn into a giant opium den…!”

“…”

“You only have two choices here. Either kill me and watch Volten turn into a hellhole again, letting hundreds dying at once—”

Or let them drown with their drugs, walking towards a quiet death.

“…”

Isaac slowly approached the baron.

He might not yet fully realize the weight of the consequences his choice would bring.

But…

The war with the Transcendent Race was imminent.

So, he decided not to hesitate.

He took up the cold, sharp hatchet with his hand. Looking up at him, Baron Volten gritted his teeth and bid his farewell to the world.

“If so, then… Welcome… To the godforsaken Volten…”

Thwack!

The hatchet’s blade mercilessly cut into the owner’s neck.

Looking down at the baron’s head rolling on the floor, Isaac caught his breath and said.

“Could you please bring me my sword?”

“…Your choice… It won’t be easy, you know?”

“It’s alright. I’ll manage.”

The Grandmaster slowly turned her body.

Not knowing what the outcome of the impending chaos would be…

It’ll be hard…

For now, she decided to follow his request, so she headed to the inn.

Tonight, another incident was about to happen in Volten.

Following the ‘Volten Rebellion’, where the Underworld took over the city after judging their drug trade business would cease to exist due to pressure from the kingdom…

And the ‘Volten Revolution’ where the citizens reclaimed the city due to the Underworld raising the drugs’ prices to an excessive level…

Tonight…

After judging that Drian Belfort, also known as Baron Volten, was involved in the ‘ First Princess’ Assasination Attempt Incident’, Baron Logan executed him on the spot.

The citizens, after learning of Drian Belfort’s death, started another riot.

In which, Baron Logan managed to suppress swiftly.

The event that would later be dubbed as the ‘Volten Massacre’ was about to unfold.