RURO Chapter 33

Russian Roulette /̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿

CHAPTER 33

Tessa remembered what it felt like when she first manifested as a Sentinel.

Near the end of the war, the government had more or less dumped her at an orphanage after her parents were killed. It was a place where children, orphaned and left all alone, gathered without receiving proper care.

Tessa, who had been living in hiding among the ruins, was no better off than those children—perhaps even filthier.

The joy of being rescued vanished almost instantly. The orphanage she was placed in was so cramped there wasn’t even room to step, and life there meant following harsh rules.

Children who couldn’t quickly accept the reality cried or screamed every day, and getting beaten was the natural outcome. After that, the kids would cry even harder.

Fortunately, Tessa was a child who knew how to stay calm. She had reached the point where she could think about her parents’ deaths without breaking down.

A few weeks? No, maybe it was months. Tessa spent that time trapped in a moldy building, listening to the constant wailing of children, feeling herself dry up inside.

Was she going to live like this forever?

It wasn’t hard to guess what kind of future awaited a lost child. Tessa was young, but old enough to understand reality.

She was certain it was all over.

Tessa was an orphan, and that was an irreversible fact.

No one could bring her parents back. There was no one to take her in. Some distant relative coming from afar—those were things that only happened in novels.

No one was going to come for her.

She would become nothing more than war’s leftover wreckage, tossed aside on the streets. No different from an unwanted lump of concrete.

That wasn’t the life she wanted. It didn’t matter if she was never loved. What truly frightened her was the thought of having to live like a shadow of society. As if she didn’t exist, as a voiceless being. Trampled if stepped on, unable even to scream.

How much time had passed since she was admitted to the orphanage?

Tessa began to grow seriously ill. The staff immediately isolated her from the other children once she developed a high fever. If it turned out to be an infectious disease, it would be a nightmare.

Sweating and barely able to see, she stared blankly at the ceiling. A doctor with a medical bag came into view. He would say it—this child doesn’t have long to live…

Where will I be buried?

As that thought passed through her mind, the doctor’s expression grew more cautious while examining her. After that, strangers she had never seen before began coming in to look at her, again and again.

Did she have some serious disease?

Soon after, Tessa met a man. A dignified, middle-aged man in a fine suit. The kind of person who would never normally come near an orphanage. Tessa wondered to herself why someone like that would be here.

The man gave her a strange medicine. Only later did she learn it was a supplement for Sentinels. Before she knew it, her illness vanished completely. Sitting her down, the man asked,

“What’s your name?”

“Tessa. Tessa Ambrose.”

She replied with her head bowed low, shy and wary. Back then, she had no idea.

She had no idea that this man would take her away from the orphanage.

That something she thought only happened in novels was about to happen to her too.

“Tessa. Have you ever heard of Sentinels?”

“…Sorry?”

“I’m from the Sentinel Management Bureau. If you come with me, I believe you can do something incredible. You’ll be protecting people who need help.”

“Like a soldier or a police officer?”

The man smiled.

“Yes. Like a soldier or a police officer.”

“But I’m just a girl.”

“No, Tessa. You’re a Sentinel.”

Tessa looked up at his face. He seemed like someone from an entirely different world. Yet he was telling her she could be part of that world.

“It means you’ll be someone far stronger and more capable than any soldier.”

* * *

Vicente looked up at the figure standing in his way. Tessa was defying him for the first time. And the reason for her defiance was something simple and painfully familiar.

To save the lives of men as worthless as scraps of tissue.

Ha! Vicente let out a hollow laugh as he met Tessa’s amethyst-colored eyes. She was no longer the frightened little deer she used to be. Of course, Vicente could still see the fear lingering in her gaze, but it was clear she had become far more resolute than before.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Tessa grabbed the revolver in his hand and pressed it against her own abdomen.

“If someone must be punished for this mistake, shoot me.”

“Are you serious?”

Defiance was practically a declaration of disobedience. Had it been any other subordinate, he would have shot without hesitation. But the one blocking him now was not just any subordinate—it was Tessa.

“You’re standing in my way… for the sake of three useless men.”

The shadows in Vicente’s eyes deepened, darkening further.

“Do you even understand what you’re trying to take on?”

At that, the hand clutching the revolver trembled slightly, but she refused to let go.

“They’re civilians.”

“So what?”

“You can’t kill someone over something so trivial.”

A few seconds of silence passed. So quiet, it felt as though the two of them were the only ones left in the vast casino.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, Vicente suddenly smiled.

“You know, Tessa.”

“…”

“It really is better to make you hate me.”

Before she could react, he yanked her by the arm. As he pulled her into his embrace and she fell against him, he pulled the trigger.

Click.

The gun didn’t fire.

A misfire.

“Hmph.”

While Tessa exhaled in relief upon realizing the chamber was empty, Vicente stared down at the gun in silence—then pulled the trigger again.

Click. Click. Click. Bang! A clear shot rang out. Tessa stopped breathing. She wanted to look back but didn’t have the courage to do so. Vicente, still holding the now pale Tessa in his arms, let out a mocking laugh.

“Unlucky.”

Tessa cursed him in her mind. Unlucky? What the hell was unlucky about it? You’re the one who broke the rules!

Having killed one, Vicente seemed to lose interest. He tucked the revolver back into his coat. The casino remained shrouded in silence.

Tessa could smell the scent of blood spreading nearby. Vicente stood up, pulling her with him. His eyes were now impossibly close.

It was clear—his attention had shifted entirely from the men to Tessa.

“Shall we go, darling?”

His voice was chilling as he spoke.

* * *

“Ahgh!”

Tessa let out a pained groan as she was thrown to the ground. They were on the rooftop of the hotel’s top floor, an empty space exposed to the night. Clutching her by the collar, Vicente loomed over her. The city lights flickered over his face, silhouetted against the black sky.

The wind howled around the building, whipping Tessa’s hair wildly. Her shoulder was precariously close to the edge. If she so much as turned her head slightly, she would see the dizzying drop below.

But fear wasn’t what consumed her—it was hatred. Hatred for the man in front of her, burning so fiercely it eclipsed even terror.

Vicente looked down at Tessa with disdain, as though mocking her for daring to glare at him with such defiance. Yet he had long since begun to lose his composure as well.

“Why are you so angry, hmm? Tell me, Tessa.”

He leaned closer to her. The wind roared in her ears, but his voice rang through with crystal clarity.

“I didn’t even think you were worth this much.”

“Ugh!”

“There’s a limit to how stupid someone can act.”

It irritated him. Every time Tessa acted like a clueless mutt, it got under his skin. And he couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t as if this was his first time dealing with the Intelligence Agency’s dogs.

It had never happened with any of the others.

The fact that even he couldn’t make sense of the feeling made it that much harder to bear.

Vicente loosened his black tie with the hand not holding her. Then, he wrapped the tie around Tessa’s neck and tied it in a knot.

As if putting a leash on her.