The sight of being bound in chains, and the subtle sense of incongruity he had felt before.
After regaining consciousness, there was the completed Quad Gear as if it had been waiting for him, along with countless memories surfacing as though he had known them from the very beginning.
‘They're unfamiliar, but I have to become familiar with them.’
His head throbbed because of those contradictory memories that were his, yet not his, but it wasn't enough to interfere with combat.
If anything, it felt like they were instilling the proper level of tension into a body that had suddenly recovered.
‘This was never a situation where I had the luxury to think for long anyway.’
The moment he climbed out of the pit, he saw Ideale under attack and threw himself forward without a moment's hesitation.
This wasn't a matter of whether it was possible or impossible.
He had to do it, so he did.
Standing before Ideale like that, he barely had time to compose his complicated emotions before he had to suppress the guilty look that instinctively crossed his face at her words.
“If you can't explain why you're here, know that a pay cut won't be the end of it.”
“……”
Quite a few excuses came to mind, but he didn't bother voicing any of them.
Because he fully understood how bewildered she must have felt.
After all, not only the academy cadets but even an instructor on leave had somehow ended up thrown into this complete disaster in a third neutral nation instead of their own country. She wasn't the type to simply say, ‘I see,’ and let it slide.
‘Well. This is what normal is supposed to look like.’
The headmistress worried about her instructors and cadets.
It was perfectly ordinary “common sense,” yet after dealing with nothing but lunatics until now, it felt strangely unfamiliar instead.
“I stopped by while on leave, but I never imagined things would turn out like this.”
That was the only excuse he swallowed down.
Who could have possibly known?
He had merely intended to clear his head, thinking that if luck was on his side he'd obtain the Oparts, Nectar, and even if he didn't, picking up a decent awakening drug would be enough.
Never had he imagined that such a simple trip would become this long and tangled.
But the important thing wasn't the circumstances.
Both Ideale and Jin Crow knew that.
As though they had agreed beforehand, they immediately began discussing the battlefield.
“We won't be able to hold out much longer.”
“I know, Instructor.”
Ideale bit down on her lip.
It was a cruel dilemma.
If she redirected her full strength toward the Creatures flooding in from behind instead of focusing on the King, more than half of them would instantly become frozen corpses and shatter into pieces.
That wasn't an exaggeration.
Whether it was Major General Kim Cheol or Ideale, Penta Gears each possessed the ability to open an entire front by themselves, and they had proven it during the Third Galactic War.
Within the Human Composite State, she was commonly called the “Hero of Rocha Colony.”
But the Imperial Army would remember her as the “Nightmare of the Western Front.”
The Imperial knights and soldiers she had personally killed already numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
‘But the situation isn't favorable.’
It was something Ideale hadn't voiced aloud, but both she and Jin Crow knew it very well.
Her ability excelled in large-scale warfare.
On the other hand, to stop the King's regeneration, what they truly needed was overwhelming breakthrough power like Major General Kim Cheol's.
‘If only I had my Special-duty equipment.’
Unfortunately, she wasn't at full strength.
Penta Gear–class officers were issued exclusive Special-duty weapons rather than mass-produced equipment.
Naturally.
Their output was far beyond what standard-issue Carbine alloy equipment could withstand.
But at the moment, she had no Special-duty equipment.
The reason was simple.
The Kukenhauzen family wanted her to be crushed helplessly, and as part of that scheme, they repeatedly delayed the issuance of her dedicated equipment.
Had it been wartime, not even a major faction like the Kukenhauzens could have pulled that off.
Unfortunately, her Special-duty equipment had been lost during the Rocha Colony evacuation operation near the end of the war, leaving her stuck using standard-issue equipment for years.
“There is a way.”
It was then.
She raised her head at Jin Crow's words, spoken with quiet certainty.
How should she put it?
It was a kind of intuition.
If it was him—the man who had been constantly wary of the Creatures all this time—
Perhaps he really did know a way to overcome this situation.
Clang—.
The sharp sound of steel rang out.
Without hesitation, Jin Crow discarded the sword whose edge had grown dull.
After all, it had already burned through the last of its lifespan while cutting down those feathers moments ago.
Picking up another sword of similar size from nearby, he answered without even turning back to look at her.
“I'll become the hammer.”
“The hammer and the anvil.”
How could she not know such a timeworn tactic?
A classic yet highly effective strategy—when the enemy's attention was fixed on the main assault, another force struck their rear and swept them away.
In that case, the operation was simple.
Ideale would act as the anvil, drawing the King's attention onto herself.
Then Jin Crow would become the hammer, exploiting that opening to cut the monster down in a single blow.
“……It's worth trying.”
Most of the Special-duty officers were already struggling just to hold back the advancing Creatures.
Not only the Pawns and Knights, but even the Rooks and Bishops were rampaging in an attempt to enter the battlefield.
Furthermore, the 4th Fleet had suffered devastating losses during the previous great war and had already been slated for gradual disbandment.
That was why it had been stationed near the border of the Free Planet Alliance, a comparatively safe rear area where both large-scale battles and unrest were rare.
Accordingly, even the Special-duty company Ideale had brought consisted entirely of Triple Gear officers and Dual Gear non-commissioned officers.
In other words, the only people she could truly rely on were the instructors and the Military Police.
But even they were tied down holding the front line.
Which meant the only one she could place her faith in now was Jin Crow.
Crunch!
After replacing her equipment with the open-finger glove–type Special-duty armament she had prepared in advance, Ideale nodded.
Jin Crow stepped forward in blood-soaked military boots and took a short, deep breath.
Then he called out the name of another anvil he needed.
“Baek Hui-young!”
“Yes, Instructor.”
“I'm here too!”
Baek Hui-young had already come outside together with Dokgo Ran.
Looking at Jin Crow, Dokgo Ran waved cheerfully with his usual bright grin.
Jin Crow barked an order.
“Support the Headmistress!”
No reply came.
But neither of them hesitated.
As though he had been waiting for that very command, Baek Hui-young launched his last remaining spare spear shaft.
Dokgo Ran immediately followed, crushing debris beneath his feet as he leaped forward.
Crackle—.
The overcharged spear shaft vibrated violently.
Without hesitation, Baek Hui-young hurled the spear toward the airborne King.
「Penetration Stack : Acceleration」
A flash erupted.
「Comet」
The very same might that had previously torn apart hundreds—no, thousands—of Creatures was recreated in his hands.
Immediately afterward, Dokgo Ran, having launched himself by stepping off Baek Hui-young's shoulder, roared.
The veins bulged in his bloodshot eyes, and the prominent muscles beneath his bronze skin writhed violently.
“GRAAAAAAH!”
「Dokgo Style」
「Explosive Thunder Fist」
Ran's maddened punch struck the King's abdomen with perfect accuracy.
Just as Ideale had done moments before, the King's body traced a diagonal arc before crashing into the ground.
KWAAAAAAANG!
Mer Corporation Headquarters, no longer resembling a skyscraper and now more aptly described as ruins, shook with a deafening explosion as clouds of dust billowed into the air.
Watching the scene with bated breath, one mercenary muttered quietly.
“……D-Did we get him?”
“You fucking idiot!”
“Guhk!”
“Shut this bastard's mouth right now!”
The veteran mercenaries paled in horror.
The instant he uttered those words, they punched him in the stomach and knocked him unconscious.
But, just as expected—
The King soared back out from the ruins.
Its purple exoskeleton and wings regenerated without a single scratch, as though mocking them.
-As one who does not... die. Grrrr.
If anyone claimed that sight wasn't despair-inducing, they would be lying.
Every direction resembled the hell described in Revelation.
The only difference was that, while the calamities in Revelation came one after another, the Free Planet Alliance had apparently paid for all of them in one lump sum.
Yet despite the King's return, neither Baek Hui-young nor Dokgo Ran looked the least bit despairing.
Naturally.
Their role had only ever been to support the anvil.
The true anvil hadn't even begun yet.
“……Haa.”
Unlike other Superhumans, who leaped by propelling themselves with Psionic energy after planting their feet on the ground, Ideale slowly floated upward.
Far more refined and powerful Psionic energy than before flowed through her body.
Naturally, she could feel the circuits inside the open-finger gloves on her hands burning away in real time.
Until now, she had been forced to restrain her strength.
Otherwise, there was no way standard-issue equipment could endure the output of a Penta Gear.
But if her role was no longer to spearhead the attack, but to support instead—
‘Draw all of its attention onto me.’
Then there was only one answer.
After withdrawing the absolute zero she had spread across the battlefield, Ideale felt the Penta Gear spinning furiously within her and exhaled softly.
「GULAG」
The moment those words left her lips, chains of ice shot in from every direction, binding the King's body in midair.
Nor was that all.
The instant the absolute zero receded, enormous ice structures resembling prison bars crashed down upon the King's body, completely preventing it from taking flight again.
-Grrrr! Kr!
Though the King occasionally spoke human language, whenever it grew excited it reverted to savage growls.
Swinging its limbs madly, it smashed apart the ice chains and bars wrapping around its body.
Ideale charged at it relentlessly.
To become, just like the original meaning of that old name that had long since become merely a title, an inescapably cold prison from which it could never escape.
KAGAGAK!
Chains of ice bound its wrists, ankles, abdomen, and wings.
Its skin froze wherever they touched.
And before long, the King poured every ounce of its murderous hatred and fury upon Ideale alone.
-KRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Jin Crow had been waiting precisely for that moment.
He didn't miss it.
Tap.
With a brief push off the ground, he leaped forward.
Approaching the King's deliberately exposed rear, left open by Ideale, his gleaming eyes sharpened as he pushed the Quad Gear spinning inside him to its absolute limit.
「National Army Swordsmanship No.3……」
Right then—
The King tore apart the chains binding one of its wings and, in the same instant, seized Jin Crow by the throat.
-Garbage...!
“Urgh!”
Jin Crow immediately drew the dagger at his waist and slashed off the King's wrist.
But the creature's physical strength far exceeded imagination.
“Jin!”
Ideale's cry rang in his ears.
Ironically, however, the countless chains she had scattered about made it even harder for her to approach.
And even if she could—
What could she possibly do while the King still had Jin Crow's neck in its grasp?
“Ghk……”
He strained his neck as though it were about to snap.
Veins bulged across his forehead and the back of his neck.
Purple finger marks repeatedly appeared and faded upon the throat already covered in wounds.
‘My strength...!’
The Quad Gear continued spinning.
Yet it was being overwhelmed by sheer physical power.
But then—
Something flashed through his mind.
-Grrrrr!
As though determined to finish him, the King drove its freed wings toward every vital point in Jin Crow's body.
Countless eyes witnessed the scene.
Even Ideale reached out desperately, already convinced of his death.
But at that very moment—
“Haa.”
Gone was the face twisted in pain just moments ago.
Instead, it had returned to one that was calm, composed, indifferent.
He discarded the dagger in his hand and gripped his sword firmly with both hands.
Facing the razor-sharp feathers rushing toward him, he whispered quietly.
「National Army Swordsmanship—Modified Style」
KAGAGAGAGAK!
Every feather shattered against the tip of his blade.
The wrist clutching his neck flew apart.
Even the King couldn't comprehend what had happened in that fleeting instant.
And that very moment foretold its end.
「Jin Crow Style」
「Knight Slash」
Together with that familiar jet-black flash—
Jin Crow swung the sword clasped in both hands with every ounce of his strength.
Fortunately, Ideale's ice chains filled the surroundings, giving him no need to worry about finding footing.
‘Horizontal slash.’
He severed its waist.
‘Vertical slash.’
He targeted its side and cut away a wing.
‘Thrust.’
He pierced its shoulder—
Then twisted.
‘Diagonal slash.’
Finally, he carved apart its mutilated body.
His swordsmanship wasn't flashy.
He merely followed the grain.
Cut.
And cut again.
Slash—.
After delivering the final strike, Jin Crow fell straight toward the ground.
Watching him fall, everyone sighed in disappointment, convinced he had failed.
But then—
“G-GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
The beastly roar that had echoed ever since Stero Mer became the King vanished.
Its body shattered into countless pieces before collapsing completely.
“……That was Instructor's true strength?”
“……Who the hell said he was all hype?”
Naturally, whether they were cadets, instructors, or Military Police, everyone who witnessed the sight could only stare in utter shock.
“Instructor!”
Only Baek Hui-young, however, knew the battle wasn't over yet.
Scanning the surroundings, he shouted as he picked up a steel pipe lying nearby and leaped forward.
“T-That's...?”
“The Queen!”
Only then did everyone notice the tentacles and the Queen flying toward Jin Crow from the side of the collapsing building.
“Cough... You finally decided to show yourself.”
Contrary to everyone's fears, Jin Crow had anticipated the Queen from the very beginning.
Without hesitation, he bit down on the black pill ingredient Viper had given him.
The awakening effect surged through him.
His eyes flashed as he grabbed hold of the incoming tentacle.
The side effects didn't matter.
He could simply repay the debt after taking what he needed.
Whoooosh!
The Queen instantly halted his fall and hurled him back into the sky.
Its gleaming eyes flickered as though it was about to say something.
-Ah... Uuuuu...
As though desperately yearning for something, it let out an excited cry.
Jin Crow frowned in disgust, lowering his greatsword as he muttered quietly.
“Don't cry. Not if you can't even cry beautifully.”
Gathering every last drop of Psionic energy within his body, he brought the blade crashing down.
And for a single instant—
The only thing visible was—
KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGANG!
The image of a gigantic greatsword descending upon the earth—
A single judgment.
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