Chapter 157

A ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍tingling killing intent brushed past his cheek, forcing him to twist his body.

The ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍next instant, a black flash grazed past him, leaving a shallow cut across his ear as it engulfed the surrounding space.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

The ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍deafening explosion was accompanied by a violent gale blasting from behind, making the scene all the more terrifying.

He ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍was, albeit imperfectly, still a Quad Gear.

Yet if even he would have been caught in that attack without an instant's judgment...

‘A Penta Gear.’

Maintaining the poker face he barely held together through stimulants, Jin Crow fixed his gaze on Ean Yung.

‘......If he commanded subordinates like those, then what kind of monster had you been, Jin Crow?’

With that thought unconsciously crossing his mind, he looked Ean Yung over.

His red hair was disheveled.

Beneath the strands hung dark circles even heavier than Jin Crow's, and his eyes were utterly lifeless.

Not only that.

The Staff Sergeant insignia sewn onto his crimson uniform stood out clearly.

Throb.

Why?

A sudden headache surged through him, forcing him to bite down on his lip, but Ean Yung and Setter Platoon had no intention of giving him any room to breathe.

“Jin Crow!”

At Ean Yung's shout, Jin Crow narrowed his eyes and spun up the Quad Gear within him.

Kkiiiiik—.

The grinding noise of the misaligned virtual mechanism scraped against his ears.

After swiftly sweeping his gaze across the Setter Platoon members leaping toward him, he drew a short breath.

“......”

Gritting his teeth, he swung his blade.

KAGAGAGAGANG!

He blocked the attacks crashing down toward him without much difficulty, but cold sweat nonetheless trickled down his back.

Naturally.

He had already sensed that the true attack was not coming from the soldiers surrounding him...

But from Ean Yung.

Just as expected.

Watching the platoon members fall back after pinning him down as though it had all been prearranged, while Ean Yung pierced through the opening at an unbelievable speed, Jin Crow muttered under his breath.

“......Penta Gear.”

Ean Yung raised his hand.

His reddish leather glove formed the shape of a hand gripping a pistol.

Then, a hazy black shadow mirrored the shape of the handgun, and at the muzzle, an alien black energy unlike any ordinary Ability-type power gathered for an instant like a black hole before erupting.

Only then did Jin Crow realize it.

The man standing before him was not merely a Penta Gear...

「Zeroing」

A Special-duty Weapon exclusive to Penta Gears.

Commonly known as—

「Supernatural Weapon」

A true wielder of one.

Ideale Kukenhauzen had been a Penta Gear, but he had lost his Supernatural Weapon.

Major General Kim Cheol, with his inherently aggressive personality and his grotesque obsession with battle, simply did not favor using Supernatural Weapons.

Some might have wondered.

Wasn't the firepower possessed by the Penta Gears who held the front lines far lower than expected?

But Jin Crow knew.

He knew just how absurdly destructive a Penta Gear wielding a Supernatural Weapon could truly be.

However, that realization had already come too late.

“Ghk!”

All Jin Crow could do was pour every ounce of Psyonic Energy he could muster directly into a frontal defense against the strike.

Using his pitch-black sword as the framework, he spread his Psyonic Energy like steel plating to brace for the impact.

Then, at that very moment.

Light returned to Ean Yung's dead eyes as though locking onto a target.

Wearing an expression that seemed to be both crying and laughing, he quietly uttered.

「Fire」

A brief flash flickered.

Faced with the darkness swallowing his vision, Jin Crow could only let out a bitter chuckle.

“Goddamn it.”

The next instant, the true might of a Penta Gear said to be capable of holding an entire front line alone descended upon the world.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

Jin Crow's body was launched in a perfectly straight line by the recoil, and an area spanning well over a kilometer was utterly annihilated.

Nothing within the blast radius remained intact.

“Ah... aaah...”

The nameless Capital Defense Force soldier hiding inside a nearby shop with severe injuries...

“S-Save...!”

The parent wandering the streets flooded with blood and filth after losing their child...

“......Mom.”

The child blankly staring at the flash while clutching a worn-out doll.

——!

Everything vanished.

Quite literally.

Even the sound of the explosion itself.

The black flash tore away half the body of a Sacred Tree.

It pulverized the pillars of towering buildings.

The asphalt and paving stones covering Pure Land's verdant earth were returned, quite literally, to their natural state.

“—Kgh!”

Jin Crow was no exception.

He shut his eyes against the searing flash.

His coat, woven from a carbide alloy, failed to withstand the heat and melted away, while his cheeks, hands, neck, and arms twisted grotesquely with burns before regenerating again and again.

Blood scattered through the air and vaporized.

Perhaps because of that...

As his body flew in a straight line after losing his sword, it left behind a crimson trail of evaporated blood.

His body became weightless.

Then, after crashing several times...

He was finally slammed into the ground alongside the pillar of the tallest nearby building like a piece of discarded trash.

Looking up at the building collapsing amid a tremendous quake, he muttered through split lips and half-lidded eyes.

“......Fuck.”

Staring at the falling debris filling the sky above him, Jin Crow thought.

‘This is fucking bullshit. Seriously.’

Those were the true feelings he had hidden until now.

...No.

Had he ever really hidden them?

‘My body's heavy.’

Like a lump of cotton soaked in water.

No matter how desperately he struggled to pull himself out, his consciousness slowly sank.

Growing accustomed to that familiar sensation, he bit down on his lip and wished.

‘If only... I had at least learned something before this...’

That was the final thought he had before losing consciousness.

The Hound Mothership.

Wolfschanze.

A ghost ship officially listed as lost by the Ministry of National Defense despite being equipped with an advanced stealth system reserved for only a handful of Composite State warships.

Inside its office, the black-haired Captain quietly continued his paperwork with complete composure.

Rustle.

He silently turned another page.

Countless scars stood out across the back of his exposed hand.

Watching a lightbulb flicker briefly, he absentmindedly placed the cigarette resting on his desk between his lips and lit it.

Sizzle. Hiss.

Within the dimly lit office, only the faint glow of the ember flickered, gray smoke drifting through the air like a mirage.

“......Hoo.”

He let out a quiet sigh.

It carried profound exhaustion.

And responsibility.

The letters on the documents blurred beneath the flickering light.

The black-haired Captain, Jin Crow, pressed his fingers against his brow and growled softly, like the howl of a wolf.

“......Goddamn it.”

Just then.

Creeeak—.

The rusty steel door opened, and a somewhat gaunt-looking Staff Sergeant Ean Yung approached, holding out a bottle of liquor.

“What are you doing?”

“Ean.”

Jin Crow looked briefly at the adjutant who had entered his office without even knocking.

Then, letting out a sigh as though giving up, he accepted the bottle.

Ean Yung wiped the blood from his hands with a towel and grinned playfully.

“Call me Staff Sergeant.”

“Don't you ever get tired of that? We've both grown up quite a bit.”

“Well, no matter how much we grow, we're still just the Composite State's damned dogs.”

Clink.

He retrieved a glass teetering precariously on the shelf and set it on the desk.

Then he snatched the bottle back, uncorked it, filled both glasses, and lightly clinked his own against Jin Crow's with a teasing smile.

“Honestly, I liked being a Staff Sergeant better. Back then I only had to worry about our platoon. Now... well.”

But both Jin Crow...

And Ean Yung as he spoke...

Knew perfectly well.

Neither of them looked even remotely cheerful.

Perhaps because of that.

Without either saying another word, they tilted back their drinks, lit cigarettes, and after a long silence, Ean Yung spoke again.

“I killed Alea today.”

“......”

“Yesterday it was Gerard. Two days ago, Cooper.”

Jin Crow closed his eyes.

A dull ache pulsed beneath his heart, within the virtual organ no human had originally possessed.

“Manufactured hunting dogs. Even those are incomplete, left waiting only for death.”

Ean Yung laughed bitterly.

It wasn't as though they enjoyed drowning themselves in alcohol and cigarettes.

Jin Crow had it easier than most, but nearly every member of Hound lived with chronic headaches and heart failure.

Yet their superhuman bodies faithfully carried only the pain.

Their physical bodies themselves remained fully operational.

What else could they do?

If they wanted to dull the pain, they had to stay intoxicated by something.

“Jin.”

An old friend.

A comrade who had crossed countless battlefields beside him.

After draining the rest of his drink, Ean Yung stood and walked toward the door.

Grasping the doorknob, he looked back at Jin Crow, still sitting quietly, and spoke.

“......We don't have much time left. The same goes for our officers, Jin.”

“I know.”

“You wouldn't understand. You're the closest thing to a completed product. But when the war ends, we...!”

“That's enough.”

Cutting off Ean Yung's words, Jin Crow looked at him with an expressionless face.

“There are too many listening ears, Staff Sergeant Ean Yung.”

“......Understood, Captain.”

In the end, Ean Yung turned back with a twisted expression, and Jin Crow sighed as he rose from his seat.

Yet Ean Yung's words continued echoing in his ears.

—You wouldn't understand. You're the closest thing to a completed product. But when the war ends, we...!

Beyond the radiation-shielded window stretched an endless sea of darkness.

He looked briefly at the reflection of the black-haired young man staring back at him through the glass.

Then he closed his eyes and quietly murmured.

“......Yes. You're right, Ean Yung.”

The Composite State.

The Holy Galactic Empire.

The two great powers that had fought two massive wars.

Though they had appeared evenly matched on the surface, every war had ultimately ended with the Composite State falling behind.

Because of that, during the last interwar period, the Composite State created Hound.

But the true purpose hidden beneath it...

Surely had not been merely to win the war.

‘If all they wanted was victory, there would've been no reason to turn us into monsters like this.’

And the price of the power they coveted was steadily reducing every Hound into beasts beneath humanity.

An injustice where the victims alone bore every cost.

Because of that, Ean Yung had said.

‘Let's strike the Composite State.’

It wasn't that he valued his own life.

He had thrown it away countless times on the battlefield already.

But...

—You deserve to be happy, Jin.

Was it really alright?

Could he truly cast those pitiful brothers...

Sisters...

And family...

Into the flames of vengeance with his own hands?

Unable to find an answer, Jin Crow eventually sank back into his chair.

He poured the rest of the liquor into his glass, took a sip, lit another cigarette, and found himself staring at the holographic calendar floating before him.

[UC.145. 9. 17. 11p.m. Wed.]

September 17, UC 145.

11:00 p.m.

Wednesday night.

Then, at dawn the following day—

-S-Save me! GAAAAAAAH!

-M-Monsters! Die!

-Ah... ugh...

When Jin Crow opened his eyes once more, what reached his ears was the sound of endless slaughter...

Along with—

-KRAAAAAAAAAAH!

The horrifyingly familiar screams...

Of his comrades.

RelatedRelatedRelated