I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

Chapter 62

“What the…!”

The sudden emergence of a third force.

Both Baek Hwi-young and the Red Hand were taken aback by their intrusion.

“Kugh?”

“W-what is this?”

The soldiers of the Red Hand, struck by the truck, scrambled to their feet without even brushing off the dust from their clothes, desperately trying to fend off the incoming attacks.

“What are you doing, Beatus!”

“Ah, I got it!”

Naturally, Baek Hwi-young was not one to simply stand by and watch.

He shouted at Beatus and, without hesitation, surged forward, taking advantage of the opening created by a mysterious man who had just fallen out. He thrust his spear into the fray.

Crack!

The special officers, or rather the superhumans, possess a certain signature.

It is the way they mold their psionic energy, and furthermore, it serves as the foundation for the aliases of the special officers.

For instance, the “Executioner Yudis” of the Northern Special Officer Academy.

And Baek Hwi-young’s signature is none other than—

“Pierce.”

It was a spear that must penetrate.

“Gah!”

The first thing the extended spearhead met was the psionic barrier the enemy had instinctively raised.

Though the opponent’s gear was merely dual, their mastery of psionic energy surpassed that of a typical triple gear.

A common cadet would have been easily thwarted.

But Baek Hwi-young was no ordinary cadet.

“Graaah!”

He thrust into the abdomen, pushing deeper.

Twisting the spear lodged within, he tore through organs and spine, slicing diagonally.

Having silenced one, Baek Hwi-young turned his gaze to assess the battlefield, soon narrowing his brow.

‘I’ve gained the advantage of surprise, but their level is lacking.’

There were a total of seven soldiers of the Red Hand.

In contrast, the newly emerged third force numbered ten.

Yet, as if they had just fallen from the sky, their skill was insignificant.

‘Hino Kanae. Dokgoran.’

However, it was undeniable that they had bought him time, so Baek Hwi-young immediately headed toward the leader and the two being held captive.

‘Rescuing them is the top priority.’

His senses were already aware of everyone present.

Pamiu was protecting Miel well, and Beatus, though hesitating to kill with the gun’s muzzle still aimed, was managing to keep himself safe.

All that remained was to save the captured Dokgoran and Hino Kanae.

Bang!

Leaving behind the soldier of the Red Hand, writhing on the ground with his abdomen split in two, he charged straight for the leader of the enemy.

‘…I can let them all die.’

The soldiers of the Red Hand, the third force that had come to rescue them, no, he could sacrifice every human in this resort to save those two.

Only the humans at the resort?

That cannot be.

If necessary, I would sacrifice every human of the Free Planet Alliance to save those two.

Is there a weight to a human life?

Why wouldn’t there be?

…No, this is rationalization.

I just wanted them all dead.

Baek Hwi-young, with veins standing out in his eyes, soared high into the void once more, unintentionally muttering words filled with intent.

“To save scum like you, the sacrifices of my fallen comrades, these maggots.”

In a fleeting moment, countless deaths of the two who had breathed their last in his arms flashed before his eyes.

Memories that did not even exist in this timeline, yet only he could fully remember, rotting like a festering sore.

Though the sentence twisted, his fury would surely be conveyed in full.

“…Things have gotten complicated.”

Whether the leader of the Red Hand heard his mutterings or was simply irked by the complexity of the situation, he whispered as he reached out with his fingertips toward Baek Hwi-young, who was plummeting rapidly.

In that instant, a blinding flash filled his vision.

Kugugugugugung!

A sound like thunder followed the flash, and Baek Hwi-young gritted his teeth, swinging his spear wide to cleave through the electric shock before driving it precisely into the top of the creature’s head.

Kwaaang!

The spear, splitting the creature’s afterimage in two, pierced the earth, leaving a long scar, but the real battle was about to begin.

—Kiiiii.

Yes, everyone thought so.

If not for the chilling cry of a beast brushing against his ears and the sight of something kicking up dust in the distance.

“…Creature.”

Baek Hwi-young gazed across the plains with a look of despair, and the leader of the Red Hand, having confirmed the sight as well, clicked his tongue in disappointment and spoke.

“We retreat, Kin.”

“Yes, Squad Leader.”

The runner, called Kin, slung the drooping Dokoran over his shoulder, while Hino Kanae, perhaps having taken a sedative in the meantime, did the same on the opposite side.

—Kyaaa!

The roaring shriek grew closer, and the woman with purple hair, grasping the situation, desperately ignored the cold sweat pouring down her face as she bit her lip.

“Step back!”

“……Cough!”

The survivors who had intruded upon her command fell back, and the battlefield became a standoff that no one desired.

“……Damn it.”

In the end, Baek Hwi-young could not help but smirk, a twisted smile creeping across her face as she watched the runner and leader vanish quickly, dragging Dokgo-ran and Hino Kanae along with them, her eyes swirling with madness.

And then, at that moment.

“……We have a place prepared on our side.”

The woman, her violet hair striking beneath a pulled-down hat, murmured this as she gathered the injured and loaded them into a dented vehicle.

As she observed her retreating figure, Baek Hwi-young found herself unable to gauge the unfolding situation, her expression one of dismay as Beatus, Pamiu, and the dazed Miel approached, their presence barely registering in her mind.

“……Satra. You were alive.”

It was a line tinged with a deep sense of longing.

*

Jin Crow brushed aside his slightly disheveled bangs.

The lingering scent of cigarette smoke clung to his fingertips, sharp and acrid, yet it sharpened his senses, clearing his mind.

“So, have you thought about the terms?”

“An advance of one billion. And when this job is successfully wrapped up, I’ll hand over the information you seek.”

He narrowed his eyes at Tita Zenolua’s words, a hint of skepticism creeping in.

“Disappointingly low, don’t you think?”

“If it’s the kind of information someone like you is after, it’s worth that much. Of course, if you can’t accept it, I’ll gladly hand over fifty billion in cash instead. Clean and laundered.”

This time, Jin Crow nodded in agreement.

It was, in its own way, a tidy calculation.

In fact, dealing in such terms was far more comfortable.

Emotions always led to complications.

For that reason, he took another drag from his cigarette, expressing himself in his own way as he asked her, “So, when will you check that chip?”

“Well, you do have the right to see it.”

Tita Zenolua chuckled softly.

Now that they were in a contractual relationship, there was no reason not to show it, especially since it was the last message from a subordinate who would have met a meaningless death had he not delivered it.

There was no reason to withhold it now.

By this point, he must have realized that betrayal equated to death.

Tita Zenolua handed over the chip, gesturing for it to be played, and the nameless mafia who received it pushed it into the central playback device.

At last, what emerged was that which belonged to a man, familiar yet loathed.

〔It is the decision of the Council.〕

“……Judas is coming.”

Judas Iscariot.

The son of ruin who sold Jesus, the betrayer of the century.

The moment they heard his voice, their faces all hardened in unison.

Only Jin Crow remained unfazed, sipping from the glass before him, listening to the words that followed.

〔We cannot defy Stero Mer. Thus, it must be done.〕

What they spat out was a business plan, a series of horrors unimaginable to a sane mind.

〔We’ll procure a large quantity of drugs to incapacitate the superhumans from the black market. The payment to be handed over to the Red Hand will be superhumans themselves. They say they’ll pay a hundred million dollars per head.〕

〔That’s cheap for superhumans.〕

〔Considering we’re receiving creatures, it’s to be expected.〕

Human trafficking.

〔…Isn’t it dangerous, though? Even primitive tribes have reportedly caused quite a bit of trouble for both the Synths and the Empire.〕

〔In any case, the risk falls on Carpe Diem and the Red Hand. We’re merely touching the smuggling routes. Moreover, what we need to worry about are the small entities that don’t even have names yet.〕

Creature smuggling. Complicity in crime.

〔Still, it’s reassuring. The former Don certainly cared for the family, but he couldn’t bend his stubbornness…〕

〔He went senile in his later years. To rebel against Stero Mer in Mercato? What a fool.〕

Justifications that could hardly be uttered.

“Son of a b*tch!”

“Someone ought to toss thirty silver coins at him. Crazy b*stard.”

“I’ll go. Might as well slip in a napalm as a bonus.”

The mafia never tolerated insults.

It was only natural.

To be present here meant that they regarded Tita Genolua as the rightful heir instead of the traitor Lucky Anubis.

Naturally, their loyalty lay with the name ‘Genolua,’ and to insult the former Don was to deny their own identity.

“…….”

Yet that fury did not last long.

No, to be precise, all eyes turned to Tita Genolua seated in the chair and the man named Jin.

One might think they were gauging the boss’s mood.

But even Tita Genolua, who should have been the one to unleash her fury, found herself instinctively tensing at the psionic energy that the man before her was unconsciously exuding.

‘What a murderous intent.’

How to describe it? It felt like a razor-sharp blade pressed against the nape of her neck.

No, it was closer to a bomb.

Even now, the second hand of the clock ticked away, a bomb that could explode at any moment.

Was that the reason?

Tita Genolua, suppressing the anger that surged within her, spoke to Jin Crow, who was obliviously puffing on a cigarette, unaware that the filter was already ablaze.

“…It seems you have your own story to tell.”

“I’ll change the proposal.”

“Pardon?”

His next words made her blink in surprise, leaving her no choice but to doubt her own ears.

“For the price of cutting off Stero Mer, an additional 1 billion upfront. What do you think?”

As Jin Crow uttered those words, a sardonic smirk played on his lips, while his eyes sank low, devoid of light.

“…”

“…”

A heavy silence fell over the basement, where dozens had gathered.

Where had the sharp teeth that had been bared at Lucky Anubis gone? Everyone stared at him like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs.

There was no need for explanation; their reactions spoke volumes about the status of Stero Mer.

“…It’s impossible. That guy is—”

Finally breaking the silence, Tita Genolua murmured, her voice now laced with frustration and discomfort.

“He is, in fact, an immortal.”

And the words that followed were a terrifying truth that even most citizens of the Free Planet Alliance were unaware of.

Yet, even in the face of her revelation, Jin Crow remained unshaken.

Instead, he took a sip of his drink, savoring it as if to digest her words.

“Then, we just have to kill him until he dies.”

Only then did they realize.

This man had already made up his mind.