I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor - Chapter 74



Chapter 74

To put it bluntly, Lucky Anubis’s power crumbled faster than anticipated.

“The Genolua Family”

The only existing mafia family, one of the five forces that manipulate the Free Planet Alliance.

Some might wonder.

How could a force that governs planets fall apart so swiftly?

Even if troops were diverted due to Stero Mer’s orders to suppress the riots erupting throughout District 11, allowing an invasion into the mansion in less than an hour was certainly not reasonable.

“Did I not explain this?”

In response to Jin Crow’s question, Tita Genolua ripped the neck off an approaching android, shaking off the oil that splattered her face instead of blood.

“Many are under a misconception.”

Why, there’s that image, isn’t there?

If it’s the mafia, they must speak English with a deep Sicilian accent, don fedoras and wield canes, cold and ruthless as the shadows of skyscrapers.

Of course, they are indeed the family’s true strength.

In fact, it is correct that they handle most matters on their end.

However, when it comes to needing combat power rather than mere business or cleanup, it is their true strength—the Murder Company—that steps in.

“If they had stood by Lucky Anubis, I would have given up on revenge and fled. Of course, they would have hunted me down to the ends of hell, but still.”

She spoke matter-of-factly, yet did not bother to hide the subtle fear that seeped through her voice.

They pledge absolute loyalty to the one who becomes ‘the Godfather’ through ‘due process,’ and they take no side in the family’s internal strife.

Could it be that there has never been a single instance of discord within the family?

While there may not have been a Judas as shocking as Lucky Anubis, those who dared challenge the name of Zenolua have never been few.

Yet, until now, no faction that stirred internal conflict had ever attempted to move the assassination company.

No, rather, they advanced with gratitude that they did not find themselves on the opposing side.

“A sharp blade that even those who wield it do not dare to face. That is the shield that protects us from other factions.”

Perhaps, even now, they are lurking in the shadows, observing this absurd and cruel family feud while keeping other powers in check.

They exist for that very purpose.

From noble mtl dot com

“So, when you become king, you plan to use them to strike Stero Mer.”

“Indeed. That’s why Gangganghyeok approached me, knowing I was at a disadvantage.”

Had there been no chance of victory, he would have neatly captured her, brought her to the committee as a trophy, and then killed her prettily, preserving her for use as a tourist attraction.

The title might have been something like ‘The Fall of the Mafia.’

In the end, it was not a bad outcome for them, regardless of how it turned out.

Even if it was the judgment of a slippery, hard-to-believe earwig, it was enough to gain confidence.

“Cough!”

“Miller, it’s been a while.”

“…Damn, help me.”

Tita Zenolua gripped the collar of the man lying on the ground with her blood-stained leather gloves.

She pulled him up so forcefully that it seemed perilous, but there was no need for concern, as she had already extracted his arms.

“…Everything is, cough, for the family. Cough.”

Miller swallowed words that were either a plea for his life or a testament to his beliefs, but they would never reach Tita Zenolua.

It was only natural.

She already knew all too well what he had done in that alley before, as an insider.

Perhaps because of that.

She looked down at him with eyes devoid of any sympathy, and then, dispassionately twisting his neck, she whispered.

“Blood is repaid with blood. That is the rule of the family.”

With a sickening crack, the wretched traitor’s body crumbled.

Creeeak!

“Cough!”

And in that moment, Jin Crow, too, pulled the mechanical heart of the cyborg that had been lurking behind the wall, wiping the oil that splattered on his cheek with indifference as he spoke.

“I must admit, it seems the riot has significantly depleted their forces.”

“Indeed.”

In this regard, Tita Genolua could not help but agree.

They had entered the mansion more easily than anticipated, and the enemies guarding the interior were all merely Triple Gear level.

Of course, from the outside, Triple Gear was hardly a force to be optimistic about, but she had the ‘Mercenary Jin’ who had promised a total of six billion dollars.

“…I greet the Consigliere!”

“Pl-please, have mercy.”

Even if they were mafia, their lives were not without value.

If it were an invasion from the outside, it might be different.

Faced with her perfectly justified appearance, those who had been cornered and those who had never liked Lucky Anubis to begin with surrendered after much deliberation.

“Is this the place?”

“…Yes.”

At last, they reached the door of the office located at the deepest part of the mansion.

Jin Crow wiped the blood from his dagger and the flesh of an unknown origin with a cloth pulled from his pocket, then asked casually, but Tita Genolua’s voice in response was tinged with regret.

It was only natural.

This had once been the corridor and door she wandered through to see her father, not a traitor, just a short while ago.

“Ha.”

Yet she understood all too well that there was no time to linger here.

With a brief deep breath as a signal, she kicked the door open and stepped inside.

What awaited them was exactly as expected: a villain with a shotgun, his expression and attire a chaotic mess, and the sinister face of Lucky Anubis.

“Sit down, Tita.”

…It was not a request.

Jin Crow instinctively shifted his inner gears, preparing for any potential ambush or attack, but instead found the silence around them almost disconcerting.

Yes, it was as if they were in a safe house completely detached from the blood and screams outside.

In the face of this oddity, both Jin Crow and Tita Genolua found themselves at a loss for words.

Then Lucky Anubis, with a bitter smile as if his throat were parched, took a sip of the whiskey before him and spoke.

“I’ve heard the tale. A mercenary hired by Tita, is it? You should sit as well.”

Naturally, neither of them would take a seat.

Perhaps aware of this, Lucky Anubis did not press further but continued speaking.

“I was caught off guard.”

His voice carried a complexity of emotions, tangled and raw.

Yet, one thing was certain: it was close to regret.

Only then did Tita Genolua, shaken from her stupor, glare at him fiercely before drawing her pistol and aiming it at him.

“What is it? Now that death is near, do you wish to live?”

“Not a chance. The end of Judas must be wretched.”

He referred to himself as Judas, a bitter laugh escaping his lips as he downed the remaining whiskey in one swift motion.

The smoke from the dying cigar swirled between them, and it was Lucky Anubis who shattered the silence.

“Your father, my godfather, was a man of integrity.”

“How dare you….”

“Listen. This is a tale you need to hear, Consigliere.”

She had approached him, consumed by thoughts of vengeance, yet the voice of Lucky Anubis, nearing death, bore an undeniable weight.

So much so that Jin Crow gently grasped her excited shoulders to still her.

In response, Lucky Anubis nodded his gratitude to Jin Crow, took a drag from the cigar, and continued.

“Our beginning was to protect the community. Unable to direct the violence and scorn they received towards the state and the true enemy, they unleashed their pity and ignorance upon the weak, the wretched, and the destitute, simply because they were human. We sought to shield ourselves from such pitiful foes.”

The start was not grand.

They raised their guns to thwart a robbery next door, took in the orphan from across the street, and fought to safeguard the streets for their daughters, the playgrounds for their children, and the jobs for their youth.

They were vigilantes, family, and an order born from lawlessness.

“But as people gathered, and the meaning of power and force faded, choices became inevitable. Light and shadow. We chose the shadow.”

Now, people called them the Mafia.

Yet they were not cast out.

They were criminals, but still vigilantes.

“We are contradictory beings.”

They dealt in stimulants and various drugs for profit.

Yet they thoroughly incinerated and banned substances meant solely for extreme pleasure.

They forbade touching civilians and inevitably protected the lives of those residing in their territory from the various gangs that arose.

They established orphanages and took in the abandoned.

They created jobs for widows and thwarted the atrocities of rival factions.

Yet sometimes, they took money to create orphans and widows.

“The black suits we wear are the original sin we bear for tomorrow’s funeral.”

They were villains, yet not entirely so.

Drifting in the thoroughly gray zone, a wretched and contemptible criminal fringe.

Good intentions are belittled as hypocrisy.

Guilt is dismissed as mere excuse.

Such is the fate of those branded by the mark of the mafia.

In that case, is it not better to accept one’s villainy, bearing the mark upon one’s forehead?

“A man who has committed crimes all his life may repent and become a priest, yet when the silver candlesticks of the cathedral vanish, it is he who is first suspected. That is human nature, and it is only natural.”

“…You have always been one to ponder, Anubis. Is that why you killed your father? Was your loyalty not satisfied by the mere act of proving it, given your wretched contradictions?”

At that, Lucky Anubis closed his eyes, hearing the words of Tita Genolua.

“We had to make a choice, Tita.”

And the words that followed were succinct.

“Sterro Mer will soon be a creature, wielding those beasts, igniting the Galactic War at will. No, the forces that resist will be the first to be dealt with.”

“Is that all you fear…?”

“Why are you not afraid?!”

KWAANG!

Lucky Anubis slammed his fist down on the table with ferocity.

“He has already transcended humanity. It is not merely the creatures that instill fear. The Black Mer beneath him could obliterate Sector 11 in an instant with orbital bombardment! Is that possible? It is for him. Why? Because he is a monster!”

What resonated in his voice was conviction, condemnation, and something akin to confession.

“We had to choose. To embrace the contradictions we have built, to be cast into hell alongside the innocent. Or to shed those contradictions now and live thoroughly as a villain!”

Thus, he killed the former leader who defied Sterro Mer’s command.

Not wanting to die, weary of contradictions, yearning to seize a future stained with mud and disgrace, unwilling to charge into the visible inferno with a bomb strapped to his back.

Thud-.

Lucky Anubis slumped into his chair, soon opening the desk drawer to retrieve something.

Perhaps it had been made long ago, a slightly worn fake ID and a small chip containing CCTV footage.

“…The truth lies here. It would be wise to see it when all is said and done.”

He spoke to Tita Genolua, who regarded him with complex eyes, in a voice both bitter and tender, then slowly drew a silver revolver from his coat.

Despite clearly drawing a weapon, Jin Crow did not move a step behind her.

Perhaps she sensed the impending events.

“Wait, just a moment—”

Tita Genolua’s pupils trembled.

She reached out, thinking this was not right, but alas, Lucky Anubis was a single-gear superhuman.

Pulling the trigger just a bit faster is all that’s needed.

Taang!

With a short and succinct sound, Lucky Anubis’s head is sent flying.

“…Ah.”

Tita Zenolua, her face splattered with blood, was too bewildered to even think of wiping it away. Soon, a breeze from somewhere revealed a small note hidden beneath the ID card he had placed on the table moments before.

“Tita, you continue to gnaw at my insides until the end. Once you’ve received a proper scolding from the Lord in Hell, I shall tell you. He raised you to be just like him.”

As she absorbed the entirety of the scene, Jin Crow silently held a cigarette, gazing at the lifeless lips of Lucky Anubis.

“…”

A strangely light smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, as if he had taken on the role of the wretched Judas.