I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

Chapter 61

Pamiyu sat alone, staring at the chart displayed on the massive window.

She brushed aside a strand of golden hair that clung to her cheek, blinking her blue eyes as she took a sip of warm cocoa instead of her usual black tea.

The sweetness lingered on her tongue, and she shifted her weight, smiling slightly as she adjusted her aching thigh.

“Alright. Buy.”

[Order executed.]

With a single click, a staggering sum of one hundred million dollars vanished, yet she felt no worry.

Surely, this stock would rise.

And it wouldn’t take long for that confidence to twist into despair.

“Uh. Uh-oh?”

Her gaze followed the rapidly sliding graph, the dwindling balance, and finally, the blaring alarm.

[This stock has been delisted.]

The cocoa she had been savoring slipped from her mouth, staining her white short-sleeve shirt, and soon she found herself stretching her cheeks, murmuring softly.

“Ha, haha. A dream. It’s just a dream.”

“Right. Just a dream.”

“Hmm?”

She turned her head at the unfamiliar, yet somehow ominous, cold voice that came from right behind her.

The place she found herself in was her hometown, and more specifically, her own room.

How then could this voice be heard?

Blinking in dissonance, what filled her eyes at that moment, as if awakened from a dream, was nothing other than—

“Awaken, Pamiu.”

A cold voice, reminiscent of some stern instructor, echoed from outside, accompanied by the monstrous roar of Dokoran.

“Ugh, it hurts!”

KWA-BOOM!

“It’s the real deal.”

And it was a thunderous sound that one could instinctively grasp without needing any explanation of the situation.

*

Just before Pamiu awoke from her slumber.

“…Is this a kidnapping scene?”

“Seems like it, doesn’t it?”

Startled by the sudden scream, Beatus, gripping the steering wheel, directed the pickup truck toward the source of the sound. Soon, he gazed through the window at a man who could only be seen as a perpetrator of a kidnapping.

“Emergency signal?”

“Not working.”

“…Tsk.”

The moment the option to hand it over to the agency vanished, only one path remained for them.

No matter how much the cadets were told to exercise caution outside, could they really stand by in silence upon witnessing a crime unfold before their eyes?

“Wait—”

“Hey, mister!”

Feeling an unsettling vibe, Baek Hui-young tried to stop them, but already, everyone except for Miel and Pamiu, who were seated in the back with Dokoran, had exited the vehicle.

“Haah.”

In the end, he too had no other answer.

If they hadn’t gotten out of the car at all, it might have been different.

But with things having unfolded in some manner, he could not simply stand by and watch.

“Miel.”

“Uh, yeah.”

Miel, still wrapped in the pink blanket she had given, shook Pamiu’s shoulder, who was mumbling something in her sleep.

“Ah, no… If I fall…”

Was she dreaming a nightmare?

But now is not the time to be blissfully lost in nightmares.

He shook his shoulders roughly after pushing Miel back, and soon spoke to her, who was staring at him with trembling eyelids, as if in a daze.

“Wake up, Famiyu.”

“Uh?”

“It’s the real deal.”

The atmosphere outside was anything but ordinary.

Because of that, he entrusted the still-dazed Famiyu to Miel and stepped out of the car. Almost immediately, he caught sight of the back of Dokgoran, whose eyes were clearly wild.

“That b*stard!”

“Haah.”

The man, who seemed to be the source of the screams, lay on the ground, motionless as if he had fainted, but it was not the time to concern himself with him.

And rightly so, for even as he stepped out of the car, he could sense a series of presences behind the single man.

“Dokgoran! Stop!”

“Uaaah!”

Despite Baek Hui-young’s shout, Dokgoran did not halt his leap, and Beatus and Hino Kanae, too, seemed intent on following, gripping their weapons tightly as they shifted into gear.

It was already too late to turn back.

In that moment, Baek Hui-young’s gaze fell upon the enemy.

‘A soldier?’

A black cap pulled low and a mask obscured his face.

He wore techwear, also black, designed for ease of movement.

On the surface, he appeared to be just another member of the underworld, but he could not deceive Baek Hui-young’s keen eyes.

‘Balanced on one leg, ready to respond, shoulders relaxed.’

A trivial detail, yet one that soldiers were almost brainwashed to master, as it could mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield.

‘At least a triple threat. And a veteran.’

And soon, his expectations would be confirmed in reality.

“Cough!”

“Ran!”

Dokgoran’s outstretched fist was blocked with alarming ease, and the man followed up by calmly driving his knee into her abdomen.

However, despite being able to subdue her in an instant, he tilted his head slightly and murmured softly.

“…What is this?”

Too straightforward to be a mercenary.

He was clumsy for a former soldier, yet undeniably honest.

In that moment, as the man furrowed his brow and gazed at them, a series of figures emerged from the forest behind him.

“What’s this? You still haven’t finished… huh?”

“Let me listen to the radio.”

“…Wait a moment.”

Clad in black, their faces obscured by hats and masks, they stood there.

Five of them, excluding the man who had been standing.

Numerically equal, yet the problem lay in the fact that these were seasoned veterans, while he was merely a fledgling cadet just beginning to find his footing.

“…Tch.”

Baek Hwi-young clicked his tongue, then drew forth a compact special operations weapon that had been compressed into a small rod at his waist, simultaneously shifting gears.

Creeeak-.

Though it was a virtual mechanism that should not produce sound, the sharp clank of the gears resonated clearly, enhancing his body with psionic energy.

His vision widened.

His awareness sharpened.

His muscles tensed.

And just as Baek Hwi-young took his first step forward.

“Let’s not complicate things; let’s finish this quickly!”

A woman, who had been cautiously observing, shouted from behind the man who first encountered them, extending her hand. Soon, the wrist of her arm opened, sending dozens of wires lunging toward the gasping Dokoran.

“W-What?!”

“Ugh-!”

Naturally, Beatus and Hino Kanae, upon spotting this, each drew their pistols and katana, but the wires targeted not only Dokoran but them as well.

‘So fast!’

But that wasn’t all.

The wires were not merely extending; they were precisely aiming for their blind spots, surging forth with deadly intent.

In that moment, as he gritted his teeth and hastily rose to his feet.

“Get out of the way.”

A low voice murmured.

Then, stepping forward, Baek Hwi-young let his distinctive ash-gray hair billow as he thrust the long spear’s tip into the ground.

Kwadduududek!

A deep scar was etched into the hardened earth, and soon, a strong wind swept through, mingling with the rising dust between them.

The wires twisted in every direction, and without a hint of hesitation, Baek Hwi-young leaped swiftly toward the foes that had formed in the gaps.

“Oh?”

Were they taken aback by the movement?

Or was it a mix of admiration laced with deception?

The woman who had thrown the wire blinked her golden eyes and murmured softly, as soon Baek Hwi-young’s spear tip filled their vision.

‘So this is the real one.’

It was a thought shared by them all.

The woman called Lan was likely the lowest rank within the team.

In contrast, the gray-haired man before her was like a machine, seasoned by countless battles.

“Ugh!”

As he dodged the spear, he immediately thrust it down, using it as an axis to kick out the blade that extended toward him.

The spear tip he drew next traced a long line, aiming precisely for the woman’s throat, and in that moment, she bit her lip, extending a hand as if to offer one of her arms.

But just then.

“Impressive.”

A voice laced with intrigue brushed past as the man descended, and Baek Hwi-young, feeling the jolt graze his cheek, released the spear and leaped into the air.

Crackle!

Sparks flew, and the man’s electric strike traced a long line, landing precisely where Baek Hwi-young had just stood.

KWA-BOOM!

A deafening roar erupted, incomparable to the sounds before, and amidst the blinding flash that obscured their vision, Miel, who had just disembarked from the vehicle with Pamiu, sighed and shouted.

“Hwi, Hwi-young!”

“Behind!”

Yet, what returned in that moment was not Baek Hwi-young’s pained groan, but a fierce cry through clenched teeth.

“Uh?”

“Miel!”

Though fatigue dulled his senses, causing him to grasp the situation a moment late, Pamiu quickly understood his intent and activated the open-finger gloves on his hands.

「Space: Isolation」

Forcing the unheated psionic energy to move, he separated himself and Miel from the moment in space.

And just as he dodged the man’s outstretched hand by a mere 0.1 seconds, he turned to look back.

“W-what!”

Reacting instinctively to Baek Hwi-young’s warning, Beatus bit her lip, and soon Pamiu and Miel could only sigh in unison.

“Ran.”

“Ka, Kanae.”

Dokgo Ran lay sprawled, while Hino Kanae stood rigid, a dagger pressed against her throat, her expression hard as stone.

Beatus, unable to gather both of them, bit his lip and murmured softly.

“…Runner.”

A superhuman who surpassed the speed of sound not through physical training, but through the power of abilities.

It was an absurdity that defied reason.

And in that moment, Baek Hwi-young landed before Beatus, drawing forth an extra spear, his lips pressed tight.

“Is it the Red Hand?”

“…This.”

At his whisper, the expressions of the others flickered for just a heartbeat.

Of course, they were not so foolish as to be unaware of what that meant.

Yet, the confusion did not linger long.

From the moment the joker known as Runner succeeded, they stood in a position of overwhelming advantage.

“…”

Silence stretched, and they stared at one another, a tense mix of anxiety hanging in the air.

And just then.

Zing.

The watch of the man who appeared to be their leader chimed, and as he answered, a familiar yet lively voice rang out.

[Yes. This is Artin. What is the matter?]

“A previously unreported item has intruded during the harvest. Moreover, it seems they know our identity.”

[Ah… This is troubling.]

Artin, momentarily flustered, turned to someone nearby and soon replied with an air of nonchalance, as if nothing had happened.

[There’s no helping it. However, you must pay the price.]

“Understood. I will report to the higher-ups.”

Even after hearing that exchange, it was impossible not to grasp the gravity of the situation.

“…Were they all in cahoots?”

Beatus muttered, while Pamiu grimaced, and Miel could only stare, her mouth agape, eyes darting.

“Ha, haha…”

But at that moment.

Only Baek Hwi-young laughed as if in disbelief, muttering words that held no meaning.

“Yes, so at this time… Ha, haha. Hahahahahahaha!”

What began as a low chuckle soon transformed into the laughter of a madman, echoing across the plains, and even the enemies, caught off guard by the bizarre spectacle, felt a chill creep over them.

Buuum!

Suddenly, amidst that laughter, the harsh roar of an engine pierced the air, and a black pickup truck surged forward, crashing into the soldiers of the Red Hand.

Kwaaang!

With a resounding crash, the truck, its bumper crumpled, swallowed the men whole, while others inside kicked the doors open and spilled out.

And in that moment, the woman with violet hair at the forefront took a swig from a flask with an incompatible arm and murmured,

“It is time to settle the debt.”

At her words, they offered no reply, but immediately charged toward the soldiers of the Red Hand.

*

Meanwhile, at that very moment.

“Mm?”

“What’s wrong?”

Tita Zenolua, who had just begun to speak, questioned the suddenly furrowed brow of Jin Crow, but he merely shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“No.”

For a brief moment, there was no need to mention that his nape had tightened for no apparent reason.

Thus, he roughly extinguished the cigarette he had been holding in the ashtray and turned back to her.

“So, have you thought about the conditions?”