Stero Mer.
No... the beast that now wished to be called King scattered his feathers like rain, sending them hurtling toward them.
KAGAGAGAGAGAGANG!
At first glance, injecting a Pentacle merely to block a barrage of feathers might have seemed almost paranoid.
Yet the very first collision alone proved that his decision had been the correct one.
“Ghk!”
His sword strike was by no means weak, yet the feathers continued pouring toward them with murderous intent.
Jin Crow couldn't completely gauge Stero Mer's level.
Still, there was something Superhumans simply sensed.
‘At the very least, Quad... or Penta.’
Even if the way he wielded his power was so crude and talentless that it failed to measure up even to the cadets' level, he couldn't ignore the overwhelming output Stero Mer possessed.
Yes.
His talent was abysmal.
KAGAGAGAGANG!
That alone proved how dangerous he was.
A beat slower than Jin Crow but still sensing the threat, Famille extended a hand into the air and separated space.
At the same time, Beatus desperately unleashed a barrage of gunfire.
Soon afterward, Satra, Volk, and those following them quickly dealt with the rest.
“Ghk!”
They failed to stop every feather.
Several people suffered wounds.
Even though Miel herself was trembling, she still hurried over and administered first aid.
Was that sight pleasing to him?
Or unbearably revolting?
King's eyes flared as he moved his hand once more.
At that very instant, Baek Hwi-young drew one of his spare spears and hurled it toward him without the slightest hesitation.
PAAAAANG!
It wasn't comparable to Meteor Shower or Comet.
Even so, the spear wrapped in a brilliant flash shot forward as though it would pierce King's heart.
—Pathe... tic!
But as if to demonstrate just how futile it was to expect that attack to inflict any meaningful wound, the spear instantly lost its light and melted away in midair as though corroding.
—I... shall evolve!
Soon, his glowing eyes turned crimson.
As the Creature writhing across the boy's body continued to spread, the pair of wings that had been attached to him were now reduced to little more than skeletal frames after shedding their feathers.
Then...
He tore away his own human skin.
Schraaaaak!
Without even the slightest groan, he peeled away his own flesh.
Chunks of meat clung stubbornly to the skin.
His muscles resisted the impossible force.
Yet they couldn't overcome his overwhelming strength.
—Grrrrrrrrr.
The last traces of his ego crumbled away.
Black feathers sprouted from the split ends of his wings.
Purple exoskeletons spread across the exposed crimson flesh beneath the flayed skin.
—KRAAAAAAAAAAA!
The giant building, now transformed into a dome, became overrun as countless Creatures crawled across its walls before sliding down into the interior.
Their grotesque claws and flesh frequently collided, splattering blood.
Some even trampled one another and fell to their deaths.
Yet somehow...
That only made the sight even more terrifying.
Enough to instinctively recoil.
Jin Crow looked up at Stero Mer, who seemed to be undergoing some sort of awakening.
...He coldly assessed their strength.
‘The only ones with any real chance of reaching Stero Mer are Baek Hwi-young, Volk... and Satra.’
Even then, he couldn't place much hope in Satra.
She wasn't going to suddenly kneel before King and worship him after coming this far.
But the truth remained that she still fell short of being considered a complete Quad Gear.
‘Keep the cadets out of this as much as possible.’
Simply dealing with the Creatures pouring over the walls would already be exhausting enough.
With that in mind, Jin Crow looked toward Volk, whose face beneath his military cap had hardened.
“Protect the cadets.”
“……I thought this was just some high-paying part-time job. This is a bit much for my life.”
At those words, Jin Crow couldn't help letting out a faint chuckle.
A Penta Gear monster was writhing directly above their heads.
Yet all Volk seemed concerned about was money.
Shing.
Lowering the sword in his hand diagonally, Jin Crow spoke.
“I'll make it a hundred million per head.”
“I'll risk my life and do my very best, Instructor.”
As expected of someone from the Free Planet Alliance.
The moment a concrete amount was offered, Volk's motivation surged, and he immediately reversed his grip on his dagger.
Having secured insurance against the worst-case scenario, Jin Crow glanced sideways at Baek Hwi-young, who stood beside him expressionlessly.
He still wasn't fond of those unnecessarily clear eyes.
But regardless of the reason, Baek Hwi-young had undoubtedly grown stronger.
Whether he liked it or not...
He had realized something about himself.
Or reached a decision.
...There was no need to question him here.
Soon enough, he'd learn the answer himself.
Right now, surviving was all that mattered.
“You said you'd carve us a path.”
“Yes, Instructor.”
At his call, Baek Hwi-young produced yet another spare spear.
Watching him, Jin Crow pulled off one of his slightly loosened leather gloves with his teeth before gripping his sword with a hand crisscrossed by wounds and swollen veins.
“Then carve it.”
It was different from before.
His tone no longer resembled that of an instructor addressing a cadet under his care.
Instead...
It sounded as though he were speaking to a comrade-in-arms with whom he had fought side by side for years.
Did Baek Hwi-young notice?
Or did he simply experience a strange sense of déjà vu?
His ash-gray eyes widened slightly.
Then, wearing an odd expression, he nodded and tightened his grip on the spear shaft.
Gigigigigik...
A spinning flash gathered at the spear's tip.
Soon, the light flared once more.
KWADEUDEUK!
At that same moment, Jin Crow kicked off the ground and leaped into the air alongside the spear.
‘One strike won't be enough to cut him down. I'll tear off the wings first.’
Even though the Pentacle had allowed him to surpass his body's limits, it didn't increase his incomplete Gear as it had before.
He could feel it.
He had reached Triple Gear's absolute limit.
Triple and Penta.
The difference between them was as vast as heaven and earth.
Still, he simply swept his windblown bangs back roughly while tightening his grip on his sword with scar-covered fingers.
‘Cut him. Cut straight through!’
Because if he couldn't surpass that gap...
He would die.
The instant he reached the limit of his leap, he grabbed the end of the spear shaft flying ahead of him without hesitation.
Though Baek Hwi-young's flash gradually lost its brilliance, it carried him all the way before Stero Mer, who floated proudly in the sky.
—Grrrrrr.
Meeting those glowing eyes, Jin Crow gripped his sword so tightly the veins in his arm nearly burst.
The injection site at the back of his neck had darkened into a bruise.
The repeated use of awakening drugs had already left his complexion pale and his eyes bloodshot.
He paid it no mind.
He rotated the Gear within himself.
Created an axis unsupported by anything in the air.
Then...
Without the slightest hesitation, he brought down his sword.
「National Army Swordsmanship No.4 : Diagonal Slash」
A dark haze rippled along the edge of his blade.
Ignoring the wing thrusting toward him, he swung downward without wavering.
KAGAGAGAGAGAGAGANG!
His pitch-black sword screamed grotesquely as it collided with the exoskeleton.
Soon, Stero Mer and Jin Crow met one another's gaze, each splattered with the other's blood.
“You son... of a... bitch.”
Jin Crow seized the wing that had pierced through his abdomen and violently twisted it.
—GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Stero Mer twisted in agony as his severed wing and right arm were torn away.
The instant they exceeded the limits of human perception...
They hated each other with every fiber of their being.
Jin Crow's sword shattered into fragments.
King's severed right arm, still attached to the wing, followed Jin Crow as he plummeted toward the ground.
“……Kuhak!”
With King's wing and right arm still lodged through his abdomen, Jin Crow crashed downward.
The cadets, who had been desperately holding back the advancing Creatures, stared in horror.
“I-Instructor!”
“Damn it! Beatus!”
“R-Right!”
At Dokgo Ran's shout, Beatus immediately offered his shoulder.
After kicking an oncoming Pawn squarely in the abdomen, Dokgo Ran sprang upward from Beatus's shoulder.
Nor was that all.
「Space Manipulation : Acceleration」
Famille, her face deathly pale from repeatedly manipulating space, bit down hard on her lip as she accelerated Dokgo Ran's body.
Hino Kanae and Satra likewise cut through the Creatures as they rushed toward the rapidly falling Jin Crow.
Unfortunately...
The one above them was a beast that far surpassed humanity.
—KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
The Void Fissure writhed like a gigantic eye through the shattered ceiling of the dome.
Standing proudly beneath it, the monster forcibly regenerated his severed right arm and wing before forming an enormous stake at his fingertips.
“……”
For the briefest instant, Baek Hwi-young looked toward Jin Crow, who was about to crash into the earth.
Black eyes distorted by agony...
Yet chillingly calm...
Met ash-gray eyes.
No.
It was closer to Jin Crow silently issuing him an order.
What are you doing? Stop it. Are you planning to die together?
Would it have been a lie to say Baek Hwi-young heard that cynical voice within Jin Crow's gaze?
Conflicting emotions flashed across his face.
Then, as though he had made up his mind, he grabbed Dokgo Ran by the back of her collar and threw her back toward the cadets.
Looking up at the gigantic stake descending toward them, he roared.
“Famille!”
“……!”
They immediately understood what Baek Hwi-young intended.
Their expressions twisted in despair.
But the moment Famille saw Jin Crow slam into the earth and disappear underground...
She realized there was no other choice.
Shutting her eyes tightly, she acted.
「Space Separation」
「Occupation」
「Space Manipulation」
Drawing out every last drop of Psionic energy, she raised the surrounding concrete.
Then she isolated the interior from the exterior, preparing for the impact.
“Cough! AAAAAAH!”
Dokgo Ran struggled to her feet and desperately charged toward the wall.
But the overwhelming mass crashing against the barrier prevented even that.
KUGUGUGUGUGUGUNG!
As violent tremors shook everything, no one remained standing.
Silence swallowed them in the darkness.
“Why... Why!”
Within the darkness, Dokgo Ran found Baek Hwi-young without fail and grabbed him by the collar.
No one stopped her.
They all knew Baek Hwi-young had made the correct choice.
Had he tried to save Jin Crow instead, Dokgo Ran would've been caught in it as well.
No matter how gifted she was, a mere Triple Gear Superhuman couldn't survive an attack from a Penta Gear monster.
But...
The right choice wasn't always the one people accepted.
Dokgo Ran slammed her fist into Baek Hwi-young's chest again and again.
Soon, however...
Even that became impossible.
“F-Famille!”
Having poured every last ounce of strength into her final spell...
Famille collapsed.
Miel hurried toward her.
Green light gathered beneath the buckling wall, easing the pallor on Famille's face ever so slightly.
KUGUGUGUGUGU!
Of course...
With the caster unconscious, the wall could never hold forever.
“The one paying us... Damn it!”
Volk fired his wire toward the massive stake that had lost its momentum after becoming entangled in the rubble.
After slicing through it, he stepped across the writhing flesh and launched himself toward Stero Mer.
“I've never liked you!”
If the client was dead...
There was no longer any reason to protect the cadets.
Returning without hesitation to the ruthless leader of a Murder Company, he slashed his dagger toward the monster.
But there was one thing he had overlooked.
Unlike every opponent he had faced until now—those he could overcome through sheer experience alone—
King could not be defeated by experience.
—Grrrrk!
His dagger struck the exoskeleton.
The next instant, agony beyond comprehension exploded through Volk's body.
Acting purely on instinct, he fired a wire into the wall.
Then he pulled himself toward it.
KWAJIJIJIJIK!
At that very moment, Stero Mer's abdomen split open.
A gigantic tentacle shot out in pursuit.
“Kuhak!”
Volk instinctively curled up and pushed his Gear to its limit to block the attack.
Even so...
The impact was enough to drag his body, still connected to the wire, crashing into the ground.
KWAAAAAAAAANG!
Dust billowed skyward.
The nameless members of the Murder Company rushed toward their fallen team leader.
“……Th-This is why...”
Miel stared blankly at the apocalyptic scene unfolding before her.
If it felt as though death itself was about to swallow everyone...
Was that really such an unreasonable thought?
The Creatures surged toward them once again.
“Ugh!”
Without even having time to grieve or fear for the others' injuries and falls, Hino Kanae clenched her teeth and swung her sword.
“AAAAAAAH!”
Ignoring the crimson lines being carved across her bronze skin, Dokgo Ran desperately charged toward the crater where Jin Crow had fallen.
“Ghk!”
Beatus managed to maintain his composure despite gritting his teeth.
Even so, it was obvious he was barely holding on as he sprayed every firearm at his disposal.
“……Hwi-young.”
Miel's trembling gaze settled on Baek Hwi-young.
Perhaps her voice reached him.
He slowly turned his head.
Then Miel, her face pale, tightly shut her eyes as though preparing for the final moment.
—KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
As though savoring their despair, King roared and extended his hand to reap their lives.
Baek Hwi-young likewise slowly tightened his grip around his spear, preparing for the coming battle.
But at that very moment...
A woman's unfamiliar yet infinitely familiar voice echoed softly throughout the dome.
“You've endured well.”
A series of figures leaped from an assault ship that pierced through the clouds beneath the Void Fissure and descended at incredible speed.
“From this point onward... I'll take over.”
Leading them was a white-haired Brigadier General clad in a black military uniform.
Without the slightest fear, she strode forward to punish the creature that had dared lay a hand upon the Human Composite State's cadets.
KWAAAAAAAAANG!
Unlike the others, who descended beneath parachutes, she alone fell barehanded, landing directly before the cadets.
Immediately, she spoke in a chilling voice.
「Absolute Zero」
A Penta Gear–class Special-duty officer capable of holding an entire front line alone—
A deterrent whose very existence shaped the battlefield.
“Freeze where you stand, beasts.”
Ideale Kukenhauzen murmured quietly, her distinctive white pupils flashing brilliantly.
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