North x Northwest
Chapter 115

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Sagastar pressed his hand against his shut eyes.

‘There are a variety of reasons why officers get a tattoo. It serves important and convenient purposes for the person who possesses one in most cases, like if taken prisoner, a person with a military tattoo may be treated with respect. In case of his death, his corpse can be identified as someone who needs to be transported to the mainland or he can use his tattoo as proof of his Navy affiliation when requesting assistance in an emergency…’

Although Edgar was unconcerned about all of this, Sagastar had been nagging him about it for three months straight. As a result, Edgar got a tattoo after succumbing to the commodore…

A sudden shout split through the office.

“…Commodore!”

“..!”

A young man with epaulettes stormed in with his hat on.

“There’s been a battle!”

The silence that had enveloped the room for a moment, broke at once.

“What about the hostage?”

“The hostage has not yet been identified! This is the signal I just received!”

“…Was the attack preempted? What was the naval fleet’s response?..”

“…What about backup? Have the 2nd and 3rd squadrons caught up?..”

“…Is it Towny Lelden?..”

“…Have you secured the location of the hostage?..”

Sagastar slammed the table in the midst of the various questions, causing the ship models around the Hangyang islands to shake in unison.

“Catch up at full speed.”

“Yes, Commodore.”

Half of them hurriedly left the admiral’s room. The remaining officers in the office were busy calculating the position of the Towny Lelden and the angle of the Justorin’s gunports.

“…Major Conan must also have the location of the hostage in mind. It’s upwind, but I’m sure he is aiming for the mast…”

“…Squadron 2 has arrived. Signals are expected to come in soon…”

Sagastar rubbed his chin nervously, worrying about Edgar’s tattoos.

‘Being unable to deny one’s identity is one of the rare negative consequences of having them… It could be that the execution ceremony has already taken place because of that…’

Sagastar couldn’t bear his pessimistic imagination running wild anymore and jumped to his feet. The cluttered command centre focused on him in an instant. Ignoring the attention, he silently turned around, pressed his hand against the wall and lowered his head. A particular situation from the past was clearly drawn before his tightly shut eyes. At that time, they were at the receiving end of a shelling…

– – – – – – – – – flashback – – – – – – – – –

The naval force was on the defensive after the central upper deck got completely destroyed. The deck was thick with gun smoke. Sagastar gasped when a corpse collapsed next to him. Shrapnel from the bow had pierced the body’s chest, and the tip of a sharp fragment was lodged in Sagastar’s thigh.

Sagastar shouted desperately.

“Doctor!”

But there was nothing but groans around. It wasn’t difficult for him to piece together the fact that the centre of the ship had been annihilated. Still, Sagastar shouted through the smoke that began to disperse.

“Officer down! Doctor! Doc…”

The cloud of smoke dissipated, and a pair of red eyes engulfed with fear were frantically searching everywhere. There wasn’t a single breathing person in his line of sight. There were only corpses scattered all over the place. His instinct that sensed death, became desperate to live.

“Doctor! Doctor! Is anybody there? Damn it…”

His cries started to sound more and more like sobs.

‘Because the shelling happened at such a close range, hand-to-hand combat is only a matter of time. I have to go down to the infirmary before the enemy crosses over…’

However, to do so, Sagastar first needed to remove the wood stuck in his thigh. He ripped the shirt off a nearby corpse and wrapped it tightly around his leg just above his injury. He then grabbed whatever he could get his hands on and put it in his mouth. As he started to remove the piece of wood, the size of his forearm, from his body, he quickly ran out of breath and felt himself getting faint in his head. Nonetheless, Sagastar took deep breaths, clenched his jaw and continued.

A groan escaped through his gritted teeth. His hand that squeezed his thigh was starting to get wet. Hot liquid gushed out in sync with his heartbeat; He started bleeding. The sensation felt as if his senses were getting numb. By the time he successfully removed the fragment from his leg, his strength was completely drained from his body. He swayed back and forth, looking for something to hold on to. However, his frantic arms fell without catching anything. His entire body went limp, with no power to lift it back up.

His body wriggled intermittently, as though convulsing. From somewhere he could hear the gentle voice of his wife and the cries of his newborn son. With their ringing hallucinations in his ears, Sagastar called out to them faintly. His neck gradually bent backwards and his vision collapsed.

After falling down, a fast-moving object flashed across his eyes. It was the back of someone’s shirt without a coat on. His resentment grew as he watched the body move so vigorously with his dying eyes. However, as if he felt that gaze, the man who was running turned to Sagastar. Sagastar only saw a blurry face. The man was about to pass him indifferently but then looked down as though he had noticed something.

Sagastar saw that the man was aware of his survival. The man, who hesitated for a moment and checked the pirate ship on the other side again, approached him with reluctant steps.

Sagastar wanted to beg him in the hopes he would be taken to the military doctor. However, he was unable to make a sound. The man kept looking back with some kind of lingering attachment as if he was unable to see the desperate expression of a dying man.

‘Just why did this man, who seems to have no interest in me, approach me? …Anyway, I need to make clear that he has to take me to the infirmary…’

Even if he couldn’t make a sound, he could mouth his words.

The man who sat down next to him muttered annoyedly.

“…Why did you take it out yourself?..”

He seemed to have noticed Sagastar’s wound.

Still having some strength left to move his eyes, Sagastar lowered his gaze. He needed to get the man’s attention in order to express his desire to be taken to the doctor. However, the man seemed a bit odd. Despite the fact that his injury was confirmed, he remained motionless. A wounded person would normally be dragged by the arm to the deck below, but the man sat still and stared at Sagastar’s leg. With that, the hope he had for a moment, helplessly vanished. His withering body could only bear resignation, no longer possessing the burst of energy he once possessed. Sagastar muttered with his spirit going only further down.

‘…If you are not gonna save me…Why did you come here…’

The body that had given up all hope gradually weakened.

“Wake up.”

Sagastar’s eyes widened at those words. The man lifted his head and looked at Sagastar’s epaulettes before asking.

“You’re a lieutenant? What’s your name?”

Surprisingly, his voice came out this time.

“Sah… Sagastar…”

“All right. You still remember your name.”

“Victor… Sagastar…”

“Do you have a family?”

“Isabelle…Le, Leon…”

“Okay. I found your arteries… I just sutured your femoral artery.”

“..?”

Sagastar, who was repeating the names of his wife and son, couldn’t understand a single word the man uttered.

“But it seems the injury has touched the iliac artery as well, this one lays deeper so it will be difficult to get a clear view.”

“…”

Sagastar shook his head while letting go of the blur in his mind. He still felt weak, but his focus came back dimly. The man grabbed his chin and forced Sagastar to look at him. That’s when Sagastar saw the man’s face. It was a face he knew very well. The man spoke again as if he was trying to clutch himself into his dying consciousness.

“So, Isabelle is your wife, huh? If you want to see Isabelle again, you’d better hold out until I replace where the bleeding is coming from.”

“…Yes… I know… Admiral…”

Edgar’s eyebrows curled up upon hearing that Sagastar, who finally recognized him, sounded relieved.

“I guess you’re not destined to die here then.”

“…”

A sigh escaped between Sagastar’s trembling lips. He realised a little later that he had laughed. But before he dwelled too much on it, Edgar started talking to him again.

“Who is Leon?”

“…My, my son… now… just, a year…”

Edgar hung his head in silence. Rather than asking out of curiosity, he asked in order to keep Sagastar’s mind busy. Edgar’s sweat gathered on his brows before pouring down like rain. He was clearly preoccupied with something, wiping his sweat without pausing. It seemed that he was looking for the blood vessels that were damaged. Edgar, who was engrossed in Sagastar’s rescue, heard the latter muttering frantically.

“…Tha… thank you!…”

“Hah! Found it….”

“…Die! Navy bastards!…”

Along with an unidentified cry, the sound of piercing flesh entered Sagastar’s ears, followed by an unbearable groan. When Sagastar raised his eyes with difficulty, an unfamiliar face suddenly emerged from behind Edgar’s back. Its shaggy face grinned, and dirty gold teeth flashed. He moved his gaze down as he scanned the body of the uninvited guest. From his shoulders to his arm, his hand and his hilt…

As blood dripped down the sword lodged in Edgar’s side, the blade began to twist deliberately. Edgar could only tolerate the tearing of his skin and did not respond. When Sagastar noticed the admiral’s bloodshot green eyes trembling, he raised his eyes in a flash of anxiety. That fleeting moment. Sagastar passed by the green eyes enduring the pain, his senses heightened, and lowered his gaze. Edgar wasn’t able to fight back because both his hands were stuck somewhere. Sagastar looked down at Edgar’s hands which were clutching a needle and thread. The admiral’s hands, covered in blood, remained motionless. Sagastar intuitively knew, if Edgar let go of either one of them, he would die…

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