novelraw Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Kiiiiiiii.
Krrrreuk.
Along with the Creature’s low growls, their gleaming eyes beyond the darkened space were dyed red.
Multiple pupils blinking in the darkness were, in and of themselves, a painfully clichéd sight, yet perhaps because of that, they felt all the more terrifying.
“……Hoo.”
With a sigh, he undid the button of the shirt that was constricting the back of his neck.
He had failed to control his strength and the topmost button had popped off, but in a situation where his life was on the line, what did a single button matter.
Disgust and irritation mingled together.
That said, he could not devote his full attention solely to the Creatures.
After all, he could not exactly let Jimmy Silver go off peacefully.
……or so he had thought, but—
“Fast.”
In the brief moment his gaze was drawn toward the Creatures, Jimmy Silver had already fled faster than anyone else.
Who was supposed to be the cat, and who the rat, anyway?
‘He said Titan, didn’t he.’
He added Titan to his list of detested races and then shifted his gaze toward Baek Hui-young.
Whether his interest in Jimmy Silver had already been cut off, or whether he had decided that the Creatures right in front of him were more important even if he knew the man had escaped, there was no time to stop him as he once again charged straight at the Creatures.
“……Dokgo Ran is better, at least.”
If Dokgo Ran was a chihuahua that could at least be controlled, Baek Hui-young was like a feral dog.
And feral dogs were usually classified as rabies risks.
So wasn’t that just a symptom of rabies?
‘Roughly thirty of them.’
Even so, he had no intention of standing idly by.
If those things got outside, it was obvious that not only would there be civilian casualties, but his future plans would suffer no small disruption as well.
From the moment Jimmy Silver escaped, they must have noticed their movements, which meant that from now on, it was a race against time.
‘The problem is that they’re Pawns.’
They were mass-produced, but he knew better than anyone else the combat power of those things that nonetheless had proper names.
After the war with the Creatures escalated in earnest, they ended up being suppressed by squads wielding reinforced exoskeletons and anti-monster weapons, but at least right now, one needed to be a seasoned Dual Gear to properly face them.
Kyaaahhhhhh!
Kreuk, krrreuk!
At that moment, Baek Hui-young, who had rushed in, and the Creatures tangled together chaotically.
Using his spear shaft as a foothold, Baek Hui-young leapt toward the ceiling, then twisted his body midair to evade the incoming attacks.
He then drove the spear blade into the nape of the nearest one, shoved his hand into the opening, and ripped it out—combat that was practically art.
‘……Different.’
He could be certain, having directly witnessed the fight with Jimmy Silver just moments ago.
Baek Hui-young—he was a specialist in killing Creatures.
Humans were another matter.
Rather, his methods and posture looked awkward on him when facing people.
‘Does he have a field of specialization?’
Perhaps even as Baek Hui-young was losing his mind, his body itself was rejecting it.
After all, despite countless betrayals, backstabs, and trolling, Baek Hui-young was someone who had repeated regression after regression with the resolve to somehow save humanity, whether he liked it or not.
Jin Crow, who had been carrying on those faintly sentimental thoughts, lightly shook his head and then shifted his gaze toward the Creatures entangled with Baek Hui-young.
‘They’re less aggressive.’
Then he soon found another peculiarity.
Not only were their movements strangely sluggish, but their characteristic aggression was muted.
The reason was not difficult to infer.
Looking at the people trembling in fear inside the Cages strewn around the area, he corrected a mistake he had made.
……Disgust and revulsion surged up.
Why were they unable to escape the Cages, despite being Superhumans?
At first, he had assumed it was because of surveillance and fear, but now that he looked closely, they were not Superhumans at all.
“……Feed, then.”
What had value to them were the Creatures.
Therefore, no matter what, they had to improve the ‘quality’ of the Creatures.
Moreover, when any living being was full, its aggression naturally decreased.
Thus, everyone on Basement Floor 5 was nothing more than feed to be distributed to the Creatures, not Superhumans.
“Hoo.”
The sudden wave of fatigue and irritation left him unable to endure without putting a cigarette to his lips.
That irritation, however, was not directed solely at the enemy.
Kyaaahhhhhhh!
With a shriek, Baek Hui-young killed yet another Creature.
Movements that looked as though he had been born for the sole purpose of killing Creatures, utterly without waste.
He stared at the trajectory of Baek Hui-young’s precarious acrobatic combat.
He was already close to a trance.
Facing thirty Creatures alone and having already eliminated two was nothing short of astonishing.
……And only a single minute had passed.
How should he put it.
He wondered if it was similar to his own state back when he had headed for Atla Colony, but it was a little different.
That hostility and killing intent were entirely his own.
It was what one might call extreme selection and concentration.
He must have heard earlier when Baek Hui-young mentioned five demerit points.
It was just that it was not information he needed right now, so he had filtered it out.
‘But I can’t leave it like this.’
The sound from earlier—others coming down—was gradually drawing closer.
The two of them against thirty.
It might be possible.
No, if he himself planted the one remaining Pentacle and fought, he could almost certainly wipe them out.
The problem was that there would soon be many eyes watching.
‘It’s bad if Baek Hui-young’s full strength is revealed now.’
Not for Baek Hui-young’s sake, but even thinking of himself, the losses would outweigh the gains.
In fact, wasn’t that what Baek Hui-young himself had been most wary of?
Whether or not he was a regressor did not matter.
The problem was that this galaxy had grown vast and its population overwhelmingly large, causing all kinds of rabid bastards to proliferate—and when most of them saw talent, they thought of only two things.
Recruit it, or eliminate it.
And since Baek Hui-young would never enter the service of those who acted for their own advancement and goals, wouldn’t he naturally be put in danger of being eliminated?
In truth, he could not even remember how many assassination attempts Baek Hui-young had suffered in the original work.
‘There are CCTV cameras, too. Standing out any more is dangerous for both of us.’
Just where did he think this place was?
It was the Free Planetary Alliance.
A holy land of the black market and the darknet.
To put it bluntly, there was no guarantee that the CCTV footage capturing the current situation in this factory would not get stolen by a darknet diver.
Up to now, it could be brushed off as a cadet excited by the effects of awakening drugs, but the moment those Creatures were truly all killed, there would be no way to smooth it over.
‘What a damn world.’
Because it was so highly developed, one had to leave every possibility open and measure malice accordingly.
He spat out the cigarette he had been holding in his mouth with a “Tch-” and rotated his Gear as is, then leapt as if lightly tapping the ground.
Paaang!
The spot where he had been standing trembled as dust billowed, and he pierced through the rapidly passing darkness to face Baek Hui-young, who was in the middle of gouging out a Creature’s eyes.
“……!”
His reflection was clearly caught in Baek Hui-young’s pupils.
He hesitated for a moment and blinked, thinking he had come to help, but unfortunately, Jin Crow had not come to help this time.
Kwaak!
He roughly grabbed Baek Hui-young by the collar.
Then, just in time, he blocked the Creature’s attack that was thrusting toward the back of Baek Hui-young’s head with the tip of his drawn blade, pulled him in until their noses were almost touching, locked eyes with him, and chewed each word firmly as if to brand it into his mind.
“This isn’t reckless. At this point, it’s idiotic, Cadet Baek Hui-young.”
……If you die, I die too.
Turning that thought over and over, he threw Baek Hui-young toward the entrance without hesitation.
Knocking him out with a blow to the back of the head while he was at it was just a bonus.
Next, when he tossed Beatus—who had collapsed and was relatively free from the Creatures’ attention—toward the emergency exit at the end of the corridor, Famille and Miel, who had just come down, came into view.
“I-Instructor!”
“……Why are you two here again.”
“T-That is. Hic! Hic!”
“……We have no excuse, Instructor.”
At least the two of them seemed to know they were at fault.
Ignoring the throbbing, numb sensation in the back of his head that felt as though he had been struck with a club, he brushed aside the bangs that were obstructing his vision and spoke.
“Take the two of them and tell Tita Zenorua. I’ll buy time, so free the Superhumans and then regroup.”
Even if their identities were already exposed and there was nothing to be done about it, shouldn’t they at least do what they could right now?
“……Instructor, but.”
Miel had no leeway as she tended to the injured Baek Hui-young and Beatus, but for some reason, Famille—who looked slightly pale—coolly assessed the situation with eyes befitting her distinctive blue gaze.
She must have instinctively realized that the Creatures glaring red-eyed in the darkness were not mere mass-produced models.
But the answer Jin Crow could give was concise.
“Don’t cross the line as a cadet. Shut up and do as I say.”
Huh, this wasn’t right.
It seemed the side effects were starting to kick in.
Before he could even correct the harsh words that had slipped out unconsciously, he dodged the Creature’s attack that came crashing down with a spear aimed at him and shouted.
“Move!”
“O-Okay—.”
Unlike the flustered Miel, the sufficiently rational Famille nodded and was about to respond when—
Kugugugugugugung!
“Huh? H-Huh?!”
“I-Instructor!”
The ceiling, which could no longer withstand the accumulated aftermath of the battle and the heavy movements of the Creatures, collapsed, and before they could do anything, concrete and rebar formed a massive wall between Jin Crow and the cadets.
“Is everyone okay?”
“T-The building is collapsing. We have to get out!”
Far off, above the gaping hole in the ceiling, people’s shouts tangled chaotically, and once they were separated from the Creatures by the shockwave, people who had been cautiously watching finally escaped from the Cages and brushed past them.
However, Famille and Miel, who stood blankly in place with the collapsed Beatus and Baek Hui-young behind them, could do nothing but stare at the debris that had engulfed Jin Crow.
“……Instructor.”
“Jin Crow, Instructor.”
What emotions were contained in those softly murmured words, they had no way of knowing.
The place where Dokgo Ran and Hino Kanae were confined was, how should one put it—
Much like the Creatures, it was a fairly large container focused on minimizing damage to the value of the ‘product.’
It even had a bed and a bathroom, so it felt like what one might call a studio apartment.
There was even air conditioning.
Of course, the problem was that that was the extent of the ‘welfare.’
Several people had been confined in the room, but after being dragged out at intervals over several days, only Dokgo Ran and Hino Kanae remained inside.
“……I’m hungry.”
“Something seems to be happening, Ran.”
“Is that so…….”
Dokgo Ran replied curtly while lying on the bed.
It might have sounded unpleasant at first glance, but sensing that it was a defense mechanism born of frustration, helplessness, and wounded pride, Hino Kanae did not say anything further.
In truth, wasn’t it only natural to be sensitive?
They were, in their own way, the top elites of the Human Composite State.
Yet not only had they been subdued by those rootless terrorists, they were now on the verge of being sold off—how could their pride not be hurt?
“I said I’m hungry…….”
Moreover, it was not mere whining.
Whether it was to be wary of Superhumans, or to prevent them from using their strength just in case, she did not know, but the meal that normally came once a day had yet to arrive.
‘……I am hungry.’
Because of that, just as even Hino Kanae was beginning to sympathize with Dokgo Ran’s complaint—
Kuaaaaaaaaah!
Hearing the sudden howl of a Creature echoing from below, it was impossible not to be shaken.
Furthermore, when several tremors followed and they even heard the sound of part of the building collapsing, the worst imaginable scenario flashed through both of their minds.
“……It looks like the Creatures escaped.”
“D-Did Instructor Jin Crow come to get us?”
“What are you talking about…… Ha, honestly, I wish that were the case.”
Hino Kanae spoke as if dumbfounded for a moment, then let out a hollow laugh, hugged her knees, and muttered.
“Bad luck, can’t live up to his looks, smells strongly of cigarettes, an alcoholic, and sensitive—but if he saves us, it’ll probably just end with demerit points.”
“……You’ve really got a lot built up, don’t you?”
As the two chatted about something that had no real chance of happening, a few more tremors shook the area, and the interior lights went out.
In that moment of bewilderment—
Turbuk, turbuk.
From outside the container, down the corridor, the sound of someone walking could be heard.
The two looked at each other without saying a word, then moved to either side and fixed their gaze on the container door.
Turbuk.
And finally, when the footsteps of the unknown person stopped in front of the container and the door opened—
“Ran!”
“Aaagh!”
Dokgo Ran immediately lunged forward, baring sharp fangs toward the man’s neck, while Hino Kanae used one leg as a pivot and lashed out with a kick.
“Hoo.”
But at that moment, the kick was blocked by the man, who let out a short sigh, and Dokgo Ran’s teeth sank into the sleeve of some leather coat.
“……You’re really something else, you problem children.”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
In that instant, the two could not help but doubt their eyes and ears.
What came into view as their eyes adjusted to the darkness was unmistakably the pale, utterly cold face of Jin Crow.