I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor - Chapter 84



Chapter 84

Just yesterday, or rather, until this morning, the peace that had lingered was now replaced by a void filled only with despair and pain, questions and violence.

The streets were littered with corpses.

In the sewers, which were meant to collect human waste and rainwater, arms and legs floated, unclaimed, while those isolated within the crumbled debris were slowly dying, feeling the piercing agony of skeletal structures and the relentless push of creatures squeezing their heads through the cracks of the shattered remains.

Of course, not all citizens succumbed helplessly.

“…Damn it.”

“Got a cigarette?”

“None.”

“If you’re going to be stingy, just say so.”

“Stingy.”

A man with a bushy beard tore open a cigarette pack, placing one between his lips, while a young woman, her eyes half-lidded, stared at him, bemused, as he shamelessly claimed he had no cigarettes despite holding a fresh one.

“Look at those eyes, cursing with venom. Here we go.”

“Ugh, just give it to me straight when the time comes.”

The two, murmuring in hushed tones, clutched their cigarettes with practiced ease, continuing their concealment and cover. Soon, they tossed their smoldering butts to the ground and made their way to the rooftop where the target, the Bishop, was visible.

Silence was paramount.

Thus, they nestled their bodies among the debris, beginning to converse in sign language.

‘Can we take that thing down?’

‘We have to. If we get any more isolated, we won’t escape.’

‘Damn, that feels like a death wish.’

‘If our whole mercenary band charges in, it’s possible.’

‘What are the odds?’

The bearded man shook his head nonchalantly, prompting the young woman to grit her teeth, veins bulging as she silently screamed.

‘In the end, it just means we’re dead!’

‘Give what you must.’

‘What you’re asking for is our lives, you b*stard!’

They bickered for a while, but deep down, they both knew the truth.

To leave this isolated sector, whether heading to the mercenary office or fleeing the Free Planet Alliance, they had to get past that creature.

And then it happened.

‘What was I thinking, trusting a person like this…’

‘Wait.’

The bearded man, who had been brushing off the young woman’s complaints, raised a finger, signaling her to be quiet. She immediately sealed her lips.

Before long, an unbelievable sight unfolded before their eyes.

– Grrrrrrrrr!

From beneath the creature they had thought was a wall, another being rose—a giant, a word that felt utterly fitting for its colossal form.

“W-what the hell.”

The shock was so profound that she nearly forgot she shouldn’t speak at all.

It was only natural.

No matter how many bizarre and extraordinary sights she had witnessed as a mercenary across the galaxy, she had never encountered a giant the height of a twenty-story apartment building.

“…How do we even catch that thing?”

Fear began to gnaw at her mind.

And she was not alone.

The bearded man standing beside him was equally at a loss for words, his expression one of sheer bewilderment.

But in that very moment.

“Shit!”

A man clad in black techwear and a military cap leaped from the building, cursing as he fell.

Soon, a series of others, dressed similarly, followed him from the debris and the streets.

The distinguishing feature? Unlike the man whose eyes were exposed, they wore black masks that completely obscured their faces beneath their hats.

“Get to tearing them apart!”

The leader, Volk, shouted with a voice that cracked, as if he bore some deep grievance.

Upon hearing the command, they surged forward without hesitation, like a pack of wolves racing across the plains, ready to attack the giant.

—Kraaarrr!

—Kyaaahhh!

Occasionally, creatures blocking their path lunged at them, sharp teeth and claws seeking to rend flesh from bone, but they merely sliced through the beasts with indifferent, precise swordplay.

Especially Volk at the forefront was on another level.

The expression of grievance that had just adorned his face faded, replaced by a smile hidden beneath his mask as he gripped his daggers in reverse.

After all, the leader of the wolves is one who carves a path through treacherous terrain for his pack.

“Let’s have some fun with this!”

He propelled his massive body down the slanted asphalt, slicing through the tentacles of an unknown creature that flew at him from the side.

—Kii, kiii, kiii.

Dodging the creature’s hand as it fell from the lamppost, he swiftly turned and plunged a dagger into its spine.

Crack!

Bones shattered, and he thrust his hand into the gaping wound, pulling the spine free with a sickening ease.

—Kiiiii!

The creature, writhing in agony, eventually went limp, and Volk moved on.

Any creatures he hadn’t dealt with were swiftly dispatched by his teammates following behind.

All of this transpired in less than three minutes.

From noble mtl dot com

As Volk reached the front of the group, he glanced back at the Bishop, who could only be seen by bending his waist.

“Well, it’s not like they told me to bring them back alive.”

At last, his teammates lined up silently behind him.

In a murder company, even a single team member doesn’t gather unless it’s something significant.

It’s only natural.

They were each an information resource and a restraint for the Zenolua family.

Thus, the ten gathered here were not the entirety of Volk’s team.

Yet Volk muttered playfully, “Anyway, they can’t help but get restless when it comes to battle.”

With a light crack, he loosened his hands and feet.

Then he turned his head, casting a glance at Jin Crow, who still watched him from the rooftop, before he plunged into the earth.

—Guuuh.

Perhaps Rook had sensed the threat beneath him.

He murmured a heavy sound, as if the massive resonator was not there for nothing, stirring the creatures around him.

But by then, Volk and his teammates had already scattered to the surrounding buildings.

‘Scattered, you say?’

That choice was also quite puzzling to Jin Crow, who was observing the scene.

However, as soon as he realized what that action was laying the groundwork for, he could only mutter in disbelief.

“A wolf would be better off as a rabid dog.”

—Uraaah! Aah!

Indeed, after scattering, Volk and his teammates climbed up to the largest building still standing, one larger than Rook, and leaped down from different directions toward him.

It’s easy to say, but in a situation where most nearby buildings had already collapsed, even the closest one was quite a distance away.

Yet, without a hint of hesitation, Volk and his team leaped down with a single-minded determination to capture Rook.

Kwaddeuk!

Pwoook!

Though none of them reached Rook’s upper body, they anchored themselves into his thick hide, establishing a foothold as if they were climbing a sheer rock face.

—Guuuh!

Of course, neither Rook nor Bishop would remain idle.

Bishop’s tentacles reached out toward those hanging on the surface, while Rook began to move his massive body, indiscriminately smashing the surrounding buildings once more.

Kugugugugugugung!

As the buildings crumbled and the swirling dust tangled chaotically, Jin Crow, having meticulously finished his doping, took a short, deep breath.

‘I didn’t think Volk would catch him.’

Still, the reason he had handed Volk money and pushed him into the battlefield was simple.

There was only one chance.

To seize it, they had to be thoroughly prepared and hunt him down.

He brushes his cool nape with a gloved hand, roughly sweeping aside the hair that obscures his vision.

At last, he steps onto the railing with his booted foot and turns the gear of the triple.

Srrr-.

He draws forth the sword, as dark as the abyss, which he had kept sheathed until now.

Then, without hesitation, he leaps from the building, taking a deep breath as his feet touch the ground at the moment the gears mesh.

Boom!

He leaps swiftly through the opening created by Volk.

In that fleeting moment, the gap in information that allowed the rook and bishop to remain unaware of him was everything Jin Crow had commanded of Volk.

Finally reaching the crumbling and fractured feet of the rook, Jin Crow gazes at the teammate who has not faltered despite the bishop’s tendrils and the rook’s thrashing, and that teammate immediately reaches out toward him.

Crack!

The concrete crushed beneath his boots crumbled like a cookie, and Jin Crow seized the hand of the nameless teammate who had been holding firm near the rook’s knee, lifting off into the air.

And in that very moment.

“Volk!”

From a hollowed-out recess of the rook’s shell, Volk, hidden away, extended the wire he had prepared at Jin Crow’s call.

Soon, as Jin Crow grasped it, he steadied his body, which was being flung outward, and surged toward the bishop.

-Wuuu, wuu.

The bishop, with a face that seemed to wear a black robe, scattered a red cross-shaped light, a form that undoubtedly stirred something psychological, yet to Jin Crow, it was merely a target to be cleaved.

-Wuuu.

-Graaargh!

Sensing the danger, the rook immediately extended its hand, covered in a gauntlet-like exoskeleton.

Jin Crow had already angled the tip of his drawn sword and twisted his waist in the air, finally swinging it.

Swoosh!

A line of crimson splattered before Jin Crow, a stark contrast to the darkened scene.

He had indeed struck, yet his expression remained far from bright.

It was only natural.

What he had cleaved was the rook’s hand, not the bishop lurking behind it.

“Such a pity.”

He muttered softly, sensing the impending pain as the bishop’s tendrils filled his vision.

But just then.

From a blind spot, Volk leaped, wielding daggers in both hands, unseen to Jin Crow.

“Ugh!”

The tip of the outstretched dagger shimmered with the chaotic remnants of psionic energy, scattering wildly, while the severed remains of tentacles brushed against Jin Crow and fell to the ground.

And in that moment.

Jin Crow instinctively recognized the opportunity, channeling all the psionic energy he harbored into the blade, ignoring the strain that surged through his veins as he thrust forward.

「National Military Swordsmanship Technique No. 3: Thrust」

The red glow of the Bishop’s eyes overlapped with Jin Crow’s pitch-black pupils, and soon the tip of his sword pierced the creature’s heart.

Fwoosh.

The blade, entering without resistance, burst forth from its back, and he swiftly angled the tip.

Kwadadadadadadadak!

At last, the murky flash extending from his blade pierced through the Bishop’s body and exploded the head of the Luc.

– Guh, uuhhh…

Soon, the massive form began to tilt.

All who watched, holding their breath at the death of a giant that seemed to belong in myth, were struck with horror, yet Jin Crow, standing atop the sprawled body of Luc, could hardly muster the strength to move his weary limbs as he took a drag from his cigarette.

‘If it weren’t for the pain patch, I’d have died a hundred times over.’

Indeed, a billion dollars is mere pocket change.

He felt a twinge of guilt for having bought his life so cheaply.

As he pondered this, he searched for his lighter, but it was nowhere to be found. Just then, with a furrowed brow,

Sizz—

Volk lit his cigarette for him and said, “Since I saved your life once, I’ll be charging you an additional hundred million dollars, dear customer.”

At his words, Jin Crow let out an involuntary chuckle, then nodded as he spotted a familiar gray head approaching from afar.

“Understood, but the lighter is mine.”

“Excuse me?”

Of course, the lighter was already in his hand.