I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

“……Say that again.”

“At present, Black Mer has lost thirty percent of its combat strength, and we have lost control of most of the airspace over the residential districts. The Empire and the Human Composite State have each crossed the border under the pretext of rescuing their own citizens, and…….”

By the time Stero Mer opened his eyes once more, the entire situation had already spiraled beyond recovery.

The Empire and the Human Composite State had each dispatched fleets.

The moment the Red Hand confirmed the full-scale Creature invasion, they severed all ties and withdrew to their own sanctuary.

Nor was that all.

Every Creature he had barely managed to bring under control through countless experiments had lost all reason and gone berserk.

And to top it all off, Mer Corporation's headquarters—his fortress until only moments ago—had collapsed.

Crunch.

Even though he had finally obtained the power of a Penta Gear, Stero Mer could not suppress the fury welling up inside him.

'Those beasts... dare.'

Of course, he knew.

Creatures were not mere beasts.

Having already glimpsed fragments of the truth through Nectar, he understood that better than anyone.

But that did nothing to calm his anger over the complete ruin of his plans.

“Chairman, the stability of the subject body is—”

“Silence.”

Crack!

Without hesitation, he crushed the head of the android that had approached him to report something before rising to his feet.

Because he had been inside life-support equipment intended for transplanting his cyberbrain, he naturally appeared as a completely naked young boy.

Neither he nor anyone else in the laboratory paid the slightest attention to it.

Naturally.

The android researchers selected for this facility had been stripped of every emotional and rational faculty except research and obedience.

Aside from them, there was only one sapient being in the laboratory.

Mother AI, Nectar, which had submitted to him.

“Nectar!”

The moment he stood, he called out into the laboratory.

Breaking the brief silence, a voice faintly mixed with mechanical noise quietly responded.

〔What is it?〕

It was a completely monotone mechanical voice.

Yet Stero Mer, having dealt with it for so many years, recognized it immediately.

It was not flustered in the slightest.

As though everything unfolding now had always been destined to happen.

Perhaps because of that.

Without bothering to conceal the rage surging within him, Stero Mer roared,

“Why is the Queen here? You never warned me about a Higher Species!”

Creatures obeyed the Higher Species.

Already knowing that fact, he had always remained vigilant against them even while planning to exploit the Creatures.

And Nectar had clearly informed him that the probability of a Higher Species coming to Mercato was effectively zero.

〔Subject Icarus.〕

Perhaps sensing his fury.

Nectar broke the silence with those few words.

Instead of calming him, they only fueled Stero Mer's anger further.

“Drop that ridiculous name. You made a deal with me. As repayment for the sins committed by your progenitor. Then what the hell is this...?!”

His anger was justified.

His agreement with Nectar had been made through mutual consent.

As part of that agreement, Nectar had promised to aid him.

It had been both atonement and recompense.

Yet even Stero Mer, who had been shouting in fury, found himself doubting his own ears at Nectar's next words.

〔The Queen is not a Higher Species.〕

“What?”

〔Queen. Classified as mass-produced.〕

Regardless of his reaction, Nectar continued speaking in the same emotionless monotone.

〔……No obligation to provide that information. End of statement.〕

Hearing those words, Stero Mer let out a hollow laugh.

“So that's how it is.”

He ground his teeth.

He had long since realized that Nectar had become increasingly reluctant to cooperate with him.

Subject Icarus.

Hadn't it started calling him by that absurd designation around the same time?

Even so, he had not cared.

After all, Nectar remained bound by contract and obligation.

Whether it liked it or not, it had no choice but to assist him.

But that assumption had shattered because of today's events.

For a long while, Stero Mer stared at Nectar's main core in the center of the laboratory.

Then he turned away without hesitation.

He strapped the watch he had tossed aside onto his wrist.

Immediately afterward, clothing woven from nanomachines enveloped his naked body.

“When this is over, you and I are going to have another conversation.”

Nectar did not respond to the voice that carried killing intent beyond mere coldness.

Nor did Stero Mer expect an answer as he stepped into the elevator.

Several minutes passed.

Silence filled the laboratory.

Only then did Nectar's distinctive light begin flickering as it quietly murmured,

〔Subject. Irregular identified. Executing protocol.〕

Unlike before, the voice was no longer mixed with mechanical tones.

Instead, it resembled the soft voice of a human girl.

After Jin Crow left the Safety House, calling himself a mere mercenary, the atmosphere among the cadets became... peculiar.

In truth, it was only natural.

Their original objective—hunting Creatures—had barely begun before falling apart.

After that, they had endured one hardship after another.

To make matters worse, Instructor Jin Crow had caught them in the act.

'Even looking at it positively, everything's become a complete mess.'

Of course, looking only at the results, no major disaster had occurred.

If anything, there had been gains.

After all, they had rescued Dokgo Ran and Hino Kanae after they were kidnapped.

They had gained real combat experience.

And since Instructor Jin Crow himself seemed to have become entangled in something much bigger, they believed things probably would not escalate further.

Though, admittedly, hearing about the Red Hand and the Free Planet Alliance's conspiracy surrounding the Creatures was a problem in itself.

“……I'm boooored.”

“Be quiet.”

“Mmm.”

They could all tell something was terribly wrong.

Even Dokgo Ran merely complained about being bored while quietly remaining inside the Safety House.

'No... in this case, it's probably more accurate to say someone drilled proper manners into her.'

In truth, it was not only Dokgo Ran.

Famille shifted her gaze slightly and looked around the old wooden mansion, ancient beyond merely being antique, where the cadets rested separately.

“……”

“……”

Though they had grown close enough to normally chatter endlessly with one another, the room was filled with nothing but silence.

Perhaps that was only natural.

Every one of them had too much weighing on their minds.

'We're the elite. The future leaders of the next war.'

It was the phrase they had heard most often after entering the Central Special Service Academy.

It was also a belief that had naturally settled into the minds of many cadets.

Naturally.

Because it had been true.

Simply gaining admission to the Central Special Service Academy after overcoming such overwhelming competition had already proven their worth.

And that inevitably became what people often called baseless confidence.

'Because we're Superhumans.'

Even if thrown into outer space, they could ignore the laws of physics and continue living by manipulating Psionic energy.

Of course, if they were not rescued in time, they would still die.

But compared to ordinary people, who would perish instantly without a protective suit, it was truly astonishing.

Nor was that all.

Though she had never witnessed it herself, reaching the Penta Gear realm—regarded as the highest level currently in existence—granted enough power to hold an entire battlefield alone.

Perhaps that was why they had become complacent.

Even if Mercato was both a tourist destination and a lawless zone, surely no one could touch them.

'There were simply too many of them.'

But reality proved otherwise.

After leaving the Safety House only to learn that escape was impossible, then returning after witnessing the true nature of the Creatures outside, they finally understood why Instructor Jin Crow had feared and remained so wary of them.

-Kiiiiiiiiiiik!

Hundreds.

Thousands.

The Creatures surged forward like an endless tide, creating rivers of blood.

The soldiers and mercenaries resisting them fell one after another.

Not all of them had been ordinary.

Even from afar, several had displayed strength worthy of serving as instructors at the Central Special Service Academy.

Yet more than half of them had died.

Whether buried beneath the advancing Creatures.

Hunted down by Pawns and Knights.

Or swallowed whole by indiscriminate bombardment.

“……Sniff.”

The sight was horrifying enough that it was understandable why Miel Amber trembled while shedding tears.

Even Beatus, who had once briefly served in a PMC, no longer carried his usual relaxed demeanor.

Instead, he silently maintained his firearms with a blank expression.

“……Ugh.”

Even Dokgo Ran—proud bearer of such glorious titles as The Living Proof of Human Rabies, Ran Dental Clinic, and The Craziest Bitch in the Central Special Service Academy—had been crushed by the atmosphere into silence.

Famille was no different.

Forcing herself to ignore the horrifying scenes she had witnessed only moments earlier, she carefully reviewed every piece of information that might lead to an escape.

'We have to get out.'

Only she, the most rational person present, capable of discarding even emotion itself, could think this way.

She had seen the outside herself.

Finding a patch of sky without a Void Rift had become harder than finding one with it.

The ground was completely covered with Creatures.

And the people assigned to protect them were, after all, what society commonly called the Mafia.

Criminals.

'Instructor....'

Jin Crow lingered in her thoughts like a thorn lodged in her throat.

But there was nothing she could do.

It was the very definition of a dilemma.

She had to do something.

Yet there was nothing she could do.

And doing nothing meant watching every surrounding circumstance plunge further into the abyss with each passing moment.

Was this what overwhelming helplessness felt like?

'I don't like this.'

Moreover, she felt equally uneasy about Satra's group, who were staying in the Safety House alongside them.

“……Captain, but—”

“Enough. The decision has already been made.”

Wasn't it suspicious enough that they kept whispering among themselves?

Though Baek Hui-young's impulsive actions and Instructor Jin Crow's tacit approval had smoothed things over, they were rebels from the very beginning.

There was nothing stopping them from suddenly contacting the Red Hand and selling everyone out.

Knowing that, she kept herself on full alert, not even removing her Special Armaments, the open-finger gloves.

Baek Hui-young also remained a concern.

After glancing around briefly, she headed toward the bedroom where he lay.

Creak.

The door opened.

Then closed.

Her gaze settled upon the gray-haired young man sleeping on the bed.

“……”

Within Famille's eyes were suspicion.

Questions.

And the faintest trace of rejection.

She was no fool.

Whether rationally or instinctively, she had sensed that both Instructor Jin Crow and Baek Hui-young had begun acting differently from a certain point onward.

The problem was that she had no idea why.

After watching the peacefully sleeping Baek Hui-young for quite some time, she quietly murmured,

“I feel like you know something... but I don't know what it is. Who exactly are you?”

“……Famille.”

“U-uh?”

At that very moment, Baek Hui-young opened his gray eyes.

Grasping Famille's wrist, he slowly raised himself into a sitting position.

Holding onto her as she instinctively tried to pull her arm away, he looked at her with eyes filled not with their former uncertainty, but with coldness, composure, and an unsettling calm before asking,

“Where is the Instructor?”

“……What are you?”

Instead of answering, Famille found herself asking him a question.

“How are you... a Quad Gear?”

Her voice carried nothing but fear toward an incomprehensible anomaly.

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