I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor - Chapter 88



Chapter 88

Sterro Mer.

No, now it was a beast that wished to be called King, scattering feathers that poured down upon them like rain.

Kagagagagagagagah!

To strike back against such a mere baptism of feathers with the pentacle might seem like a paranoid act at first glance, but the correctness of his choice was assured by the very first clash.

“Crrk!”

The strike unleashed was anything but light; feathers rained down upon them, imbued with a murderous intent.

Though Jin Crow could not fully grasp the realm of Stero Mer, there existed a sensation that came with being superhuman.

‘At least a quad or a penta.’

Even if the ability wielded was clumsy and lacked the finesse of the cadets, one could not dismiss the overwhelming output it possessed.

Yes, talent was horrifically absent.

Kagagagagakang!

Perhaps this was proof enough of its threat.

Though a step behind Jin Crow, Famiu sensed the danger and reached out into the air, tearing apart the very fabric of space.

In haste, Beatus scattered a barrage of projectiles.

Soon, those following Satra and Volk swiftly gathered them up as well.

“Cough!”

Yet, due to not fully blocking the assault, several bore wounds, but even as Miel trembled, she rushed to them, administering swift first aid.

Was that sight a source of delight?

Or was it, dreadfully, a cause for revulsion?

King’s eyes flared with intensity as he attempted to move his hands once more.

In that moment, Baek Hwi-young drew one of the spare spears and, without hesitation, launched it toward the creature.

Paaah!

Though it could not be compared to the meteor shower or comet of yore, the spear’s tip emitted a clear flash, aimed as if to pierce King’s heart at any moment.

-Insignificant, all of it!

Yet, to think that this would inflict any meaningful wound upon the creature was a vain hope; the launched spear lost its brilliance, dissolving into the air as if corroded.

-I shall, evolve!

At last, the creature’s eyes glowed a deep red.

The boy’s body writhed as the creature parasitized him, and the pair of wings, once mere appendages, shed their feathers, leaving only bone behind. Soon, it began to tear away its own human skin.

Chwaaak!

Without a hint of a groan, it shed its own flesh.

At times, bits of flesh clung and muscles resisted the violent force, yet they could not overcome that overwhelming might.

-Grrrrrrrr.

The last remnants of its self crumbled away.

And soon, from the split ends of its wings, black feathers sprouted, while a purplish exoskeleton enveloped the red flesh that had been bared.

– Kraaahhh!

At last, countless creatures, like a swarm of shadows, crawled up the immense walls of the building, now shaped like a dome, slipping into the depths within.

Occasionally, blood splattered from the grotesque claws and flesh that overlapped, and the spectacle of those who fell to their doom only added to the terror of the scene.

It was enough to make one weary with dread.

Jin Crow lifted his gaze, staring at Stero Mer, who was glowing as if in a trance of awakening.

…Calculating the power with cold precision.

‘The only meaningful strength that can reach Stero Mer is Baek Hwi-young, Volk, and perhaps Satra.’

Even with Satra, he held little hope.

He wouldn’t suddenly bow down to the King after coming this far, but it was true that she lacked the completeness of a true Quad Gear.

‘Best to exclude the cadets as much as possible.’

Dealing with the creatures scaling the walls would be a daunting task in itself.

Thus, Jin Crow turned to Volk, whose face was set beneath his military cap, and spoke.

“Protect the cadets.”

“…I thought this was a high-paying gig, but for the price of my life, it’s a bit much.”

At that, Jin Crow couldn’t help but let out a small, involuntary laugh.

Right above him, a monster of the Penta Gear writhed, yet it seemed Volk was more concerned about the money.

Srrr-.

Jin Crow angled his sword downwards, then addressed Volk.

“I’ll give you a hundred million per head.”

“I will do my utmost, sacrificing my life if need be, Instructor.”

True to the nature of those from the Free Planet Alliance, the moment a clear sum was mentioned, Volk’s enthusiasm surged, and he gripped his dagger with renewed vigor.

Having secured some insurance against the unknown, he glanced sideways at Baek Hwi-young, who stood expressionless beside him.

He didn’t particularly like the unnaturally bright look in her eyes, but it was clear she had grown, whatever the reason.

And whether she liked it or not, she must have realized or decided something about herself.

…There was no need for questions here.

Soon enough, the truth would reveal itself.

What mattered now was simply surviving.

“You said you would carve a path, right?”

“Yes, Instructor.”

At his call, Baek Hwi-young produced an extra spear, unfolding it with a determined grip.

Seeing this, Jin Crow tugged at his slightly loosened leather glove with one tooth, pulling it off, and with hands marked by wounds and veins, he spoke indifferently while gripping his sword.

“Pierce it.”

A tone unlike any before.

His murmuring felt less like a command to a subordinate and more like a statement shared with a comrade forged through long battles together.

Did the other feel it?

Or perhaps, was it a strange sense of déjà vu?

Baek Hwi-young’s ashen pupils widened slightly, but soon he nodded with a peculiar expression, gripping the spear tightly.

Creeeak…

The spinning flash lingered at the spear’s tip, and soon the light flickered once more.

Crack!

In that moment, Jin Crow too kicked off the ground, leaping into the air alongside the spear.

‘I cannot sever it in one blow. First, I must tear off the wings.’

Even if he had transcended the limits of the Pentacle flesh, the imperfect gears of his being did not stretch any further than before.

He could feel it.

He was blocked by the extreme, the limit of the Triple.

The difference between Triple and Pentacle was like the sky and the earth.

Yet, he roughly swept back his hair that danced in the wind, clenching the sword with his scarred fingertips, gritting his teeth.

‘Bend it. Cut through it!’

If he could not leap beyond, he would die.

Finally reaching the limit of his leap, he grasped the very tip of the advancing spear without hesitation, and as the flash extended by Baek Hwi-young began to fade, it ultimately brought him before the soaring Stero Mer, suspended in the sky.

—Grrrrrrr.

Seeing the glare of the creature before him, he gripped the sword so tightly that the veins in his arm threatened to burst.

Perhaps due to the injection at his nape, bruises marred his skin, and the continuous administration of stimulants had rendered his complexion pale and his eyes bloodshot, but he paid it no mind.

He turned the gears within.

Creating an axis that did not touch the void, he soon brought the sword down without hesitation.

「National Army Swordsmanship Technique No. 4: Diagonal Slash」

At the tip of his sword, a unique dark haze shimmered, and he ignored the wings stretching toward him, driving the blade down with resolve.

Kagagagagagagagagah!

The pitch-black sword met the exoskeleton with a grotesque scream, and soon Stero Mer and Jin Crow exchanged glances, their faces smeared with each other’s blood.

“Damn it, eat this.”

Jin Crow seized the wing of the creature that pierced his abdomen and twisted it.

—Kkuaaahhh!

Steromere writhed in agony, his severed wing and right arm moaning as he contorted his body.

In a moment that transcended understanding, they loathed each other.

Jin Crow’s sword splintered, scattering like shards, as the right arm connected to King’s wing plummeted to the earth, following him down.

“…Kuhk!”

Jin Crow fell, impaled by the creature’s wing and right arm, and the cadets, frantic to fend off the encroaching creatures, were aghast at the sight.

“C-C-Captain!”

“Eek! Beatus!”

“U-uhh!”

At Dokoran’s cry, Beatus immediately relinquished his shoulder, and Dokoran, after delivering a brutal kick to the approaching Phon’s abdomen, leapt over his shoulder.

But that was not all.

「Spatial Manipulation: Acceleration」

Pamiyu, her face pale from the sustained manipulation of space, bit her lip hard as she accelerated Dokoran’s body, while Hino Kanae and Satram also surged toward the rapidly descending Jin Crow, piercing through the creatures.

Yet, unfortunately, what loomed above them was a beast that far surpassed any human.

—Kraaahhh!

The gaping void in the ceiling of the massive dome writhed like a pupil, and beneath it stood the creature, forcing its severed right arm and wing to regenerate, sketching a colossal wedge at its fingertips.

“…”

Baek Hui-young, in that fleeting moment, gazed at Jin Crow, who was about to plunge into the earth.

The pain-wracked, yet chillingly indifferent black and ashen pupils met.

No, it was closer to Jin Crow unilaterally commanding Baek Hui-young.

—What are you doing? Block it. Do you want to die together?

In that instant, if one were to say he heard a cynical voice from his eyes, would it be a lie?

Conflicted, yet in that moment, he seemed to decide as he seized Dokoran by the nape and hurled him toward the cadets, then shouted at the rapidly descending wedge.

“Pamiyu!”

“…!”

They realized what Baek Hui-young desired and wore expressions of despair, but at that moment, Pamiyu, having confirmed Jin Crow’s fall into the earth below, understood there was no choice left and squeezed her eyes shut.

「Spatial Separation」

「Occupation」

「Spatial Manipulation」

With every last drop of psionic energy extracted, the concrete around them rose, soon isolating the interior from the outside in preparation for the impending shock.

“Cough! Uaaah!”

Dokkoran, rising late, dashed desperately toward the wall, but in that moment, the overwhelming mass that surrounded them made even that impossible.

Kugugugugugugugung!

Along with the vibrations, they remained silent in the darkness, unable to stand.

“Why, why!”

In the depths of the shadows, Dokkoran found Baek Hui-young and seized her by the collar, yet no one could stop her.

She knew that Baek Hui-young’s choice had been the right one.

Had she tried to save him, Dokkoran would surely have been caught up in it, and no matter how promising she was, a mere Triple Gear superhuman could not withstand the assault of a Pentagear monster.

But the right choice is not always supported.

In the darkness, Dokkoran struck Baek Hui-young’s chest with her fist, but soon she could do that no longer.

“Pa, Pami-yu!”

In that final moment, having poured out every ounce of her strength, Pami-yu collapsed.

Miel reached out to her in haste, and soon a green light swirled beneath the crumbling wall, bringing a semblance of comfort to Pami-yu’s pale face.

Kugugugugugug!

Of course, with the caster down, the wall could not hold for long.

“Someone to pay me… Ugh!”

Volk extended a wire toward the wedge, now lost in the debris, and soon he soared over it, stepping on flesh as he flew toward Stero Mer.

“I’ve never liked you!”

If the client was dead, there was no need to protect the cadets.

He returned coldly to his role as the team leader of the assassination company, drawing a dagger toward the creature, but there was one fact he had overlooked.

Unlike the others, who had somehow managed to cover their tracks with their experience in slaughter, King could not be faced with mere experience.

—Krrrk!

The outstretched dagger met the creature’s exoskeleton, but soon Volk instinctively drove the wire into the wall, overwhelmed by pain that transcended sensation.

And quickly, he pulled himself toward it.

Kwahziiizzz!

In that moment, Stero Mer’s abdomen opened, and a massive tentacle reached out, chasing after him.

“Gah!”

Volk instinctively curled his body and pulled the gear up to block, but the impact was enough to drag his flesh, tethered to the wire, down to the ground.

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Kwahhh!

Dust swirled, and the nameless assassins of the fallen team rushed to save their leader.

“…This, this is why.”

Miel stared with vacant eyes at the apocalyptic scene unfolding before her.

If death seemed poised to engulf them all, was it too bleak a delusion?

Once more, the creatures surged forth.

“Ugh!”

With no time to mourn the injuries and falls of others, Hino Kanae gritted her teeth and swung her sword.

“aaaH!”

Ignoring the crimson lines etched into her bronze skin, Deokgo-ran desperately tried to charge toward the pit where Jin Crow had fallen.

“Cough!”

Beatus, though gritting his teeth, managed to maintain his composure, yet it was clear he was barely holding on amidst the scattered gunfire.

“…Hwi-young.”

Miel’s trembling gaze turned toward Baek Hwi-young.

Had her voice reached him?

He slowly turned his head, and soon she shut her eyes tight, gauging the final moment with her pale face.

—KaaaH!

The King, as if savoring their despair, reached out to harvest their lives.

And Baek Hwi-young, too, gripped his spear tightly in preparation for the impending battle.

But just then, a strange yet infinitely familiar voice to the cadets echoed softly in the ears of everyone trapped within the dome.

“You’ve held on well.”

From beneath the voided crack, a cloud pierced through, and a series of figures leaped from the descending assault craft.

“From now on, I shall take charge.”

At the forefront stood a white-haired general clad in black military garb, striding forth to punish those who dared to touch the cadets of the Synthetic Nation.

KWA-BOOM!

Unlike the others who deployed parachutes, she alone fell unencumbered, landing precisely before the cadets and whispering in a chilling voice.

「Absolute Zero」

A single individual forming the front line, her very existence a suppressive force—an officer of the Pentagier elite.

“Freeze, beasts.”

Ideale Kukenhausen murmured softly, her distinctive white pupils gleaming.