The universe was an unimaginably vast expanse.
What was the universe as people commonly imagined it?
To humanity, the universe had been nothing more than an endless expanse of blackness visible once they left Earth.
It was even the reason a rumor once spread that astronomers had unusually high suicide rates.
—In the boundless universe, humans are but dust, something even smaller than that.
Of course, as many people knew, the consensus was that this was never actually true.
Rather, once humanity's technology reached a certain ‘Singularity’ and began advancing beyond all comparison to the past, mankind explosively left its footprints across the pitch-black universe.
Sometimes through violence.
Sometimes through mistakes.
Sometimes through acceptance.
After the invention of Hyperspace Jump technology, hundreds of millions of pioneers ventured into space with support from nations, individuals, or corporations, or under agreements granting them pardons for their crimes.
「Humanity's new home awaits. Let us go to space!」
Countless people disappeared within Hyperspace, and as all of Earth's capabilities were redirected toward space exploration, the environment rapidly deteriorated.
Yet humanity did not stop.
Just as London had once been engulfed in smog during the madness of the Industrial Revolution, they instead treated Earth's decay as a symbol of progress and continued their frenzied march forward.
During that process, the Kardashev Scale, proposed by the renowned Soviet Union astronomer Nikolai Kardashev and later refined by Carl Sagan, became not only a milestone by which humanity measured its own advancement and growth, but also an excellent indicator for evaluating the capabilities of civilizations they might encounter in the future.
Its principles were complicated, but in simple terms, they were as follows.
—Every civilization emits its own unique radiation, and since no civilization can escape the laws of thermodynamics, any world inhabited by intelligent life must inevitably be observable.
Based upon that premise, humanity observed every location their ships could reach.
As a result, the SS714 Fleet, which had drifted through Hyperspace for two years, became the first to encounter an alien species.
〔This is... SS714. First... intelligent... life... found.〕
To report this monumental discovery, they survived thousands of brushes with death within Hyperspace before finally returning to a colony near Earth.
With excited voices, they reported their findings to the Space Exploration Headquarters.
The civilization existed deep beneath a purple sea.
Not only was even basic communication impossible, but they also possessed a primitive and incomprehensible social structure.
The first alien species humanity had ever encountered.
Humanity looked down upon them.
As Hyperspace maps were rapidly completed, indiscriminate contact followed.
And at the same time—
Disaster began.
“Φ ΨΕ!”
“τ!”
To drive away the unfamiliar invaders, they wielded an incomprehensible power that raised the sea itself.
The violet ocean transformed into colossal giants resembling its inhabitants and brought human ships crashing down.
Physical attacks were completely ineffective.
And in that process, the leaders of every nation realized something horrifying.
“What if they recover information from the ships they've captured and discover the location of our planet?”
“They're an alien race that uses powers we cannot comprehend! This is no longer the stuff of science fiction!”
Cast into an unknown world, humanity was instantly consumed by fear.
Unknown laws of physics.
Unknown species.
Unknown futures.
The fact that humanity had invaded first—
That the nameless race had merely defended itself—
Had long since disappeared from everyone's minds.
Only one thought remained engraved upon them.
“We've already crossed the point of no return. Who's to say they aren't already on their way to destroy Earth this very moment?”
“Everyone, please regain your senses...!”
“Then let us launch a preemptive strike instead! We can simply erase the entire planet!”
“T-That's utter nonsense...!”
“The United States agrees.”
“China also agrees.”
“Russia as well....”
Regardless of whether they were superpowers or lesser nations, fear spread among world leaders like a plague.
They assembled an unprecedented grand fleet and headed toward the planet designated Aqua-0.
“Θξλλ!”
“ΡΣυ! ΡΣυ!”
Perhaps they too had prepared for the coming invasion.
Thousands of colossal giants modeled after themselves floated across the violet seas.
Yet rather than descend into their atmosphere...
Humanity instead presented them with the culmination—
The very pinnacle—
Of all the violence it had ever created.
〔Orbital bombardment. Commencing.〕
〔Lord, forgive us.〕
Five thousand strategic nuclear warheads stockpiled by the nations of Earth were launched simultaneously toward Aqua-0.
The instant they were fired, every ship escaped the blast through Hyperspace Jump.
“......ΩΠΦΞηη.”
The nameless alien race watched the scene unfold.
The species that would one day be named the Acurins stared blankly as countless flashes of death descended upon their once-glorious violet sea.
Long ago, after witnessing the Trinity nuclear test, Robert Oppenheimer had spoken these words.
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. (나는 이제 죽음이요, 세상의 파괴자가 되었다.)”
The nuclear explosions, made even more compact and destructive through scientific advancement, vaporized the seas.
Civilization disappeared.
Where the light faded, radioactive rain poured for hundreds of days.
The scientists who had observed the extinction of an entire civilization from afar under orders from their governments reflected upon Oppenheimer's words and experienced two emotions.
‘Humanity has now committed a sin that can never be erased.’
One was despair.
And sorrow.
‘We are the first civilization to set foot in this boundless universe.’
The other was joy.
And exhilaration.
Among the commanders who formed one pillar of the first multinational united space fleet, the commander of the German fleet—
‘Kering Kukenhauzen.’
The emotion he felt was none other than this.
“Humanity has finally proven with its own hands that it is the most advanced intelligent lifeform in this universe...
...and its rightful conqueror.”
It was a revelation beyond mere joy.
Humanity was magnificent.
Did not the glorious bombardment before his eyes prove exactly that?
Kering Kukenhauzen, who would later become the founding family head of the Kukenhauzen family after humanity expanded into space, believed that with all his heart.
However, after he was purged by his political enemies in his later years, his son Hauver, who inherited the family on the brink of extinction, shed tears of blood as he reflected upon his father's words.
“Humanity is great.
But not everyone is.”
What Kering Kukenhauzen had believed in was humanity's potential.
What his son, Hauver Kukenhauzen, saw instead was that, apart from a handful of elites, humanity consisted of nothing more than pigs overflowing with contradictions and incompetence.
No matter how great the hero.
No matter how virtuous the saint.
If someone threatened their vested interests, they would plunge a knife into that person without the slightest guilt or remorse, all for the sake of protecting their own bowl of rice.
Because of that, as he returned to Kering Planet, the family's only remaining Colony Planet, he declared before the handful of retainers who remained.
“The Kukenhauzen family shall return.
And we shall strip away humanity's incompetence and contradictions.”
That was probably where it all began.
Everyone who bore the Kukenhauzen name was rigorously educated and strictly controlled for the restoration of the family.
Personal desires?
Personal thoughts?
Such things were never permitted.
The only thing that mattered was producing Kukenhauzens worthy of becoming elites.
And after several generations—
“The superior must lead the foolish.
That is their responsibility, their destiny, and their duty.”
Not only did they restore a family on the verge of extinction...
They succeeded in turning it into the greatest faction within the Human Composite State.
People began calling them by many different names.
Yet the one that suited them best was undoubtedly—
Ironblood.
〔Lately, I've been hearing news that is both pleasing... and unwelcome.〕
The voice coming through the communicator was extremely low.
A calm voice devoid of any emotional inflection.
Yet Günter, who had met the man face to face several times before, immediately sensed that he was in a foul mood.
With respect and remorse, he replied.
“I have failed you.”
〔Naturally, it is only expected that the bloodline of Kukenhauzen excels. That much cannot be helped. Even so, I cannot help but be disappointed in you.〕
“......”
〔I will not waste words.〕
This was the command of none other than the family head.
How could he possibly doubt it?
Or question it?
〔Carry out the plan I mentioned before and remove Ideale from power. It is about time we summoned her back to the home planet and put her to better use.〕
Günter, the Chief Instructor of the Ability Department, silently waited for the rest of the instructions.
Then, upon hearing the final order, he lowered his head and answered.
“Glory to the bloodline of Ironblood.”
It was loyalty bordering upon madness.
Jin Crow sat in his office chair, silently chewing on a cigarette.
Smoke drifted gently from the half-burned cigarette like fading embers, but he paid it no mind as he rubbed his aching eyelids.
“Haa....”
A quiet sigh escaped him.
Naturally.
Over the past several months, the thing he had done most was not teaching.
It was paperwork.
There was simply too much to handle.
The upcoming Frontline Inspection alone required consent forms from every cadet, official documents, budgeting for local military cooperation and supplies, and countless other administrative tasks.
On top of that, with more cadets attending his lectures, he also had to revise and expand the existing curriculum.
“...I'd rather be back on the battlefield.”
He truly had never imagined he would say something like that.
The worst part was that he meant it without the slightest exaggeration.
After spending months buried beneath paperwork, was it any wonder he felt irritated enough to want to cut down anyone who crossed his path?
Fortunately, the headaches had eased thanks to the medicine Viper had given him.
If the headaches had continued as well...
‘I'd probably cause some kind of incident, end up imprisoned in Alcatraz, and get assigned to a penal battalion once the war began.’
Rather than follow that route, resetting his life would honestly be easier.
Baek Hwi-young had actually walked that path once in the original story.
It had also been the timeline that collapsed the fastest and most miserably.
Baek Hwi-young was the protagonist, so things probably would not become quite that catastrophic.
Even so, it was impossible to imagine a bright future.
Creak.
Thinking that, he propped his feet onto the desk and pressed a hot towel against his tired eyes.
“...Instructor, I bought it.”
At that moment, the office door opened.
Carrying a paper bag, Ginatio entered as though it were perfectly natural and began laying out the food on the table before the sofa.
His appearance, however, was utterly haggard.
The face that had once been rather handsome had become dry and worn.
Even his fingertips trembled slightly.
“Aren't you going to eat?”
“You eat first. I want to stay like this for a little while.”
“Yes... well.”
At Jin Crow's words, Ginatio stroked the stubble growing across his jaw before stuffing the bread and black tea he had bought into his mouth.
Any discomfort or awkwardness he had once felt around Jin Crow had long since been buried beneath the exhaustion of work.
After all, Jin Crow was not the only one working overtime.
In fact, because so many people still felt uncomfortable around Jin Crow, Assistant Instructor Ginatio had ended up handling nearly all of the practical work by himself.
Perhaps because of that...
As Ginatio silently and hurriedly shoved bread into his empty stomach, a single drop of liquid—
Whether sweat or tears, it was impossible to tell—
Ran down his cheek.
Lowering the towel and brushing aside his slightly damp bangs, Jin Crow looked toward the man sitting before him as Ginatio spoke.
“...Have you ever thought about selecting a teaching assistant?”
“Who knows. Is one really necessary?”
Jin Crow absentmindedly tore apart a shell-shaped bread and put it into his mouth.
Then, just as he reached for the tea—
The killing intent brushing against his neck instinctively caused Psionic energy to surge through him.
He looked up.
“...H-Hahaha.”
Seeing Ginatio laughing like a man who had completely lost his sanity, Jin Crow blinked for a moment before speaking almost on instinct.
“...Choose one yourself.”
“Thank you. Thank you....”
Was it just his imagination...
Or did it seem like this man was breaking down more with each passing day?
Genuinely worried about him, Jin Crow rejected the supply plan Ginatio had submitted.
What else could he do?
After all...
The brown ox was always the one that worked the hardest.
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