novelraw Chapter 11
Chapter 11
It wasn't often that a new lecture was established at the Central Special Mission Military Academy.
After all, since its existence from the First Galactic War, it already had every lecture imaginable.
But this time was different.
Wasn't this a lecture on how to fight against the very beings that, until just recently, were treated as beasts or monsters?
So much so that even the directive from the Ministry of National Defense was exceedingly vague.
「To be operated as a joint course, not a regular one.」
Cadets at the military academy usually take lectures from their respective combat departments as their major, and receive the necessary theory and doctrine for officers as their minor.
A joint course is a lecture that doesn't fall into either of these two categories, and it often lies somewhere between the combat and theory departments.
In other words, even the Ministry of National Defense had yet to establish clear guidelines for the Anti-Creature Combat lecture.
‘Passing the buck and putting on a show. The virtues of the military.’
Was it thanks to this, or because of it?
With several factions showing a lukewarm response, thinking there wasn't much to gain, Jin Crow was able to become the instructor for the newly established lecture without any major incidents.
That wasn't to say the deal with Idealle had been completely unnecessary.
Even if it wasn't a particularly profitable position, factional disputes were, by nature, all about tripping each other up.
“The results of the vote. 33 in favor, 29 against. With 3 abstentions, Instructor Jin Crow will take charge of the newly established Anti-Creature Combat lecture.”
At Idealle’s declaration, Jin Crow rose from his seat and gave a slight nod, and soon the half-hearted applause of the instructors filled the conference room.
Clap, clap clap…….
Of course, no one thought there was any sincerity in that applause.
Rather, the instructors couldn't help but dart their eyes between Idealle and Jin Crow, as for them, this was an endlessly bewildering result.
‘Why would Idealle support Jin Crow…?’
‘Don't tell me, did he get in line with the Rosen side?’
‘That can't be right. She's a woman who detested factionalism so much…’
What more needed to be said when even the instructors from the pro-Rosen faction who had supported Jin Crow wore dazed expressions?
But as there was no need to resolve their questions, Jin Crow and Idealle left the conference room as if by agreement, without even a brief exchange of glances.
“……Ha.”
“Ahem.”
The instructors, faced with a situation they couldn't comprehend, left their seats with their own different thoughts, speculations, disappointments, and expectations.
“……”
Meanwhile, the atmosphere around the instructors on the so-called pro-Idealle side, who had silently cast their votes in favor despite Idealle's incomprehensible request, was different from the others.
They were all busy observing the expression of Idealle, and as she left the conference room and headed for her office, her face was, unlike ever before, endlessly hardened.
‘Jin Crow.’
To them, there was no other choice but to think that Jin Crow was the reason.
Wasn't this the first time that the woman who despised factionalism, who subtly pushed away even those who followed her out of pure respect, had dipped her toes into factional politics?
Their thought was that it could never have been of her own volition.
Because of that, the instructors could only watch Idealle’s retreating back with pity, suppressing the urge to march up to Jin Crow and grab him by the collar.
But they did not know.
That this was not blackmail, but a transaction.
‘……If that information is truly real.’
And that in that moment, Idealle’s anger was not directed at Jin Crow, but at her own family.
‘I must stop it. Even if it means bringing down my own family with my own hands.’
But before her anger and the instructors' misunderstanding could be resolved in any way.
「[Breaking News] Remal, an industrial planet in the Eastern Defense Line, invaded by space monsters, 'Creatures'.」
「Planet damage level 'Black'…… Essentially in the planet abandonment phase.」
「Planet Remal Defense Force practically annihilated. Survivors estimated to be less than 10%……」
「'Has the Synthetic Nation's Federal Government abandoned its people?' Separatist group 'Red Hand' releases a statement.」
Once again, shocking news struck the military academy.
***
‘……Was it this bad?’
The tragedy of Planet Remal was unfolding with information being released even faster than during the Planet Aurum incident.
This was because Planet Remal was surprisingly well-known within the United Human Star Nation, and the most decisive reason was that the few survivors had been rescued not by the Federal Army, but by the separatist terrorist group 'Red Hand', which had been conducting guerilla warfare in a nearby region.
“Red Hand. An anti-government organization that criticizes the United Human Star Nation's militarism and ochlocracy.”
The tragedy of Planet Remal, and its few survivors falling into the hands of those who desire internal strife—the outcome was obvious.
The internet was already a battleground, rife with pro-government, anti-government, and neutral factions, as well as information on the Creatures, and analysis of the damage, while protests demanding an explanation from the Federal Government were breaking out like wildfire on every planet.
‘Of the 3 billion population, not even 100 million survived. A tragedy.’
Three billion here was different from the three billion on Aurum.
If the United Human Star Nation had something to say to the survivors back then, this time, it did not.
Fwoosh, puff-.
Jin Crow slowly leaned back against the sofa, which had now become his armchair, and exhaled smoke that pressed down on his lungs.
‘Not bad. No, in this case, is it a good thing?’
From now on, every time the danger of the Creatures was highlighted, the value of Jin Crow himself would also rise.
It couldn't be, but it felt as if the timing of this incident was almost too perfect.
But why?
It was clearly a beneficial event, yet it left a particularly bitter taste in his mouth.
It was the same as when he had mentioned the self-needling before.
“……It’s not easy to adapt.”
As an avid reader who had gone through the original 「Galactic Chronicles」 dozens of times, he knew he had to harden his heart from the beginning.
Because of that, he also understood that considering the future damages, the incidents on Aurum and Remal were just the beginning, 'minor' damage.
But it was frustrating.
It felt as if all sorts of emotions were tightening around his neck like a chain.
Sizzle-.
He stubbed out the cigarette in his mouth.
Then he threw on his overcoat and rose from his seat.
‘Time to train.’
Training was all that was left.
Fortunately, there was something he had realized while going back and forth to the training grounds the other day.
‘It's not a Double Gear. Something is strange.’
There was the word 'Error' written after 'Dual', and above all, his intuition was screaming like crazy.
The question remained.
Was the damage sustained on the battlefield truly the only reason Jin Crow had become like this?
Knock, knock-.
His thoughts were cut off there.
He shifted his gaze to the door where the knocking sound came from, and soon pressed the switch next to his quarters' door to open it.
“Instructor Jin Crow, here is a brief proposal for the new lecture's curriculum and recruitment process.”
A man with familiar brown hair.
It was Assistant Instructor Ginatio Rowen, with whom he had clashed in the lecture hall before.
“In addition, this is the projected budget and a list of cadets who have expressed interest in applying.”
He handed over the documents one after another, unconcerned with Jin Crow’s reaction.
“Right.”
Jin Crow also didn't ask questions like, ‘Why are you the one bringing this?’
He had half-expected Idealle to attach some kind of safety measure like this.
“Are you the assistant instructor for this lecture as well?”
“……Yes, that’s right.”
Rather, it was Ginatio Rowen who was taken aback by his composed attitude.
But, even at his reaction, Jin Crow simply skimmed through the documents he had been handed.
‘This… isn't bad.’
The list of cadets was quite substantial.
So much so that a satisfied smile inadvertently formed on his lips.
‘But it’s not enough.’
In the novel, countless people hunted Creatures alongside the protagonist, ‘Baek Hwi-young’, but among them were those who were unparalleled.
The so-called 「Standard-bearers of the Stars」.
Peers from the Central Special Mission Military Academy who would later become generals, each having torn hundreds of billions of Creatures to shreds.
‘Famille D'megeard.’
Fortunately, she was the only one currently at the military academy whose name was not on the list.
***
“……It’s creepy. Unpleasantly so.”
Unlike Jin Crow's, her endlessly shining golden hair swayed with the trembling of her shoulders, and her characteristic blue eyes also contorted in displeasure.
At that, Dokgo Ran, standing before her, cracked her knuckles, her bronze muscles twitching.
“It should be creepy. How dare he mess with my A-grade assignment?!”
“Not you……. No, a gorilla charging at me is certainly creepy in a different sense.”
“Alright, let's see you get beaten to a pulp by a gorilla today!”
Dokgo Ran immediately kicked off the ground.
KABOOOOOM!
The floor of the training ground, made of reinforced alloy, instantly buckled, and as Dokgo Ran leaped dozens of meters in a split second, Famille couldn't help but let out a sigh.
‘That instructor, honestly. Would it kill him to just give a D+?’
Since the man was already rumored to be sensitive, he must have held a grudge against Dokgo Ran for her earlier provocation.
“If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten a failing grade! My assignment was perfect!”
“Ran, you went to sleep after writing less than half of it……. Ugh, forget it.”
She didn't bother saying that it would have been an F if she hadn't touched it.
If she could reason with words, she wouldn't be a gorilla.
Woooong-.
At that very moment, Famille’s fingertips, for a fleeting instant, pointed towards Dokgo Ran, who was throwing a punch that broke the sound barrier.
“Huh, huh?”
In that moment, all Dokgo Ran could do was watch Famille click her tongue in a pathetic manner through her rapidly flipping vision.
“Your goal is to spar anyway, right? Then I'll end it quickly for you.”
Space separates and rotates.
The principle is simple.
The reassembly of extended force, and its release.
CRUUUUUNCH!
“Gueeeehk!”
Dokgo Ran’s body was launched in the exact same direction it had come from, and thanks to that, the floor was completely torn apart, scattering steel fragments in all directions.
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
Since all the floor panels were made of reinforced alloy, each one rushed towards Famille like a sharp dagger, but she simply isolated the space where the fragments floated with an endlessly indifferent hand and spoke.
「Compress.」
The short utterance was not spoken through her vocal cords.
It was merely a wave of her ability, manipulated by her will.
But this anomaly was no illusion.
Woooong-.
Her blue eyes flashed, and the formless space that shot out from her fingertips engulfed Dokgo Ran, who was just getting back on her feet.
“Ptui-.”
Dokgo Ran spat out red saliva.
The scratch on her cheek from the alloy healed quickly, and a smile spread across her lips.
“Yeah, this is how it should be!”
The frantic appearance from a moment ago was gone.
Her characteristic reddish-black eyes were now filled with the emotion Famille found most troublesome—a love of battle.
“……I think I'll have to take a slightly longer bath today.”
How did she end up with such a ruffian by her side?
Famille sighed and immediately twisted her fingertips, severing space dozens of times in an instant.
「Disassemble.」
「Assemble.」
Deconstruction is the reverse of assembly.
Following her will, her inner Gear rotated rapidly, instantly creating something from nothing and manipulating space.
CRUUUUUNCH!
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
The training ground floor supporting her shot up into the air in an instant, and space itself, imbued with malice, descended upon Dokgo Ran.
And, sitting just below the training ground ceiling, Famille D'megeard, who had piled it up like a fortress, made the flickering lights her chandelier and created a throne from the twisted alloy, seating herself upon it.
“If you can reach me up here, I'll give you an apology, Ran.”
“And throw in a one-month pass for the snack bar!”
KWAAAAAAAANG!
Dokgo Ran was swallowed by the encroaching forest of cement.
“……Oh my?”
At that moment, Famille, who had been about to take out her device with a bored expression to work on her overdue assignments, spotted a man standing beyond the training ground and let out an involuntary gasp.
“Instructor Jin Crow?”
It was quite an unexpected appearance.