The Great Red Star Project

“Director, are you really alright with this?”

In a single-room office right above the hall where work was being carried out diligently even late at night, the chief researcher stared at the man before him.

“What do you mean?”

“About… the monster that completed the first phase of research.”

With a gaze that seemed uneasy about whether it was right to proceed further with this work.

“There’s no particular problem, so why do you ask? We’ve already verified the safety of the monster, and even now, many researchers including yourself are managing it well, haha.”

And the elderly man who received that question, Serti, with his stylish bald head, laughed heartily and patted the chief researcher’s shoulder.

“Besides, if not now, when else would we test it? An armored monster, isn’t it such a beautiful and artistic creature! Think of it as verifying in actual combat against the Imperial army, haha─!”

As if such concerns were groundless.

‘We must make it as perfect as possible.’

For that, testing in various environments is essential. In fact, this survival training is also a procedure created to produce research data on monsters.

Thud─! Thud─!

Serti left the researcher who still seemed not to understand and moved his steps towards the cabinet.

“Hmm, it smells good.”

Then he took out the vodka he had stored separately.

“Di-Director?”

“Isn’t it the day we’re revealing the product of the armored monster project to the outside world for the first time? Don’t worry, it’s just a drink I’m having to celebrate briefly. I’ll only have one glass, haha!”

“Th-That’s not…”

He smiled with a husky voice, ignoring the researcher’s flustered stammering,

“Ah, this is the taste I wanted.”

He poured the reddish liquid into a whiskey glass and downed it.

“You’re afraid the cadets might get hurt, aren’t you?”

“Huh? Ah… yes, that’s right.”

“Even though many personnel are managing it, the subject is still an unstable research monster, so accidents could happen.”

Only then did he get to the main point of resolving the researcher’s doubts.

“But why on earth…”

“Do you know how many cadets die each year?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t ask back, just answer.”

His face, which had been smiling brightly with the corners of his mouth turned down and his eyes in a crescent smile, regained its original coolness, changing to a cold expression.

“I-I know it’s within about eighty people. Most are due to gun accidents or natural disasters, and the rest are caused by monster casualties or accidents during training.”

“Yes, you know well. No matter how much the Empire and Federation prioritize safety in training, unfortunate incidents occur every year.”

Serti muttered in a gentle voice.

“You still don’t understand?”

“I-I’m sorry. I don’t quite…”

“Even if a giant monster kills cadets, the maximum is four people, isn’t it just slightly increasing the statistics? Of course, it’s best to prevent such situations from occurring.”

Click─!

Then, putting down the empty glass after finishing his drink, he continued speaking to the researcher who still didn’t understand his words.

‘The strong ones will survive on their own.’

He swallowed the latter part of his words internally.

The subjects of the current experiment are the team with the most powerful force among all first-year students at the military academy. Wouldn’t they naturally survive against the monster?

From the start, it was only strong in power but not fast in speed.

Since they had removed the Achilles tendons and several sharp teeth, and even administered sedatives so that the cadets could handle it, he didn’t think that Yena with her robust strength would lose her life.

He never wanted her to die in the first place.

Why would he want her to lose her life?

She was a child who would provide a lot of research data in the future.

He had only sent the monster nearby; whether to fight it or run away was up to Yena’s team to choose.

It wasn’t forced.

He was giving them an opportunity.

From the perspective of the team Yena belonged to, the moment they defeated the armored monster, they would gain massive points, positively affecting the upcoming qualification screening.

He had presented a deal where both sides would benefit, so he couldn’t feel any sense of guilt even if he tried.

‘Even if something unfortunate happens…’

Of course, he hoped all the cadets would be safe, but if an accident occurred, wouldn’t it be the fault of those who recklessly engaged in a desperate struggle, disregarding the capabilities of the armored monster?

Creak─

Serti licked his tongue at the lingering alcoholic taste in his mouth while separating his body from the backrest.

“Researcher.”

“Yes.”

“I know you still haven’t accepted the part about conducting the test while taking the risk that cadets might be sacrificed.”

Then, resting his elbows on the desk and clasping his hands together, he placed them in front of his face and stared intently at the man before him.

“I don’t think this peace will last forever. The Great War has ended, and a new world has opened. At a glance, it seems like a world without any conflicts.”

“……”

“However, I think the current world is in a chaotic period on the brink of upheaval, just like the past before the Great War.”

A tone that was firm yet filled with strength.

A cold gaze befitting his position as the research director.

“Just look at the Bern Empire, are they accepting defeat and advocating for peace? Can’t you clearly see them preparing for revenge while even concluding military confidentiality treaties?”

Serti spoke while tightly gripping the glass he had placed on the desk.

‘We must prepare in advance.’

That was the reason why he didn’t stop the research despite the possibility of Imperial cadets being harmed, and rather pushed through with experiments even during joint training.

‘I am a citizen of the Federation.’

Didn’t the great Comrade General Secretary bestow upon me this glorious position of research director and appoint me as the head of the monster strategic weaponization research, the Great Red Star (Большие-красные-звезды) project?

It’s time to repay that.

Shouldn’t I offer something to protect the Federation before the world faces upheaval and nations clash again, before flames engulf this world!

Research!

More research!

They even provided an environment for endless exploration of monsters, which I can say I love the most!

“I don’t want to hurt the cadets, but I hope you understand that this action is carried out with the great cause of protecting the Federation.”

“Ye-Yes sir!”

“I believe without doubt that you, as a proper citizen working for the Federation, understand this well. Even if the children lose their lives, isn’t it a noble sacrifice to give birth to the great research product of the armored monster!”

“Th-That’s right.”

Thud─

Serti stood up and grasped the hand of the researcher who couldn’t utter a word, swept up in his atmosphere.

“If there are any unusual occurrences with the armored monster, come in and report regardless of who’s in this room.”

“Ah, understood!”

Then he spoke words of caution while his eyes gleamed,

“Well then, keep up the good work.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Director!”

Patter patter, creak─!

Only after the researcher quickly moved his feet and left the office did Serti calm his heightened emotions and sit down again.

An empty room with no one else.

“…The cruel world’s pendulum has already started swinging.”

Muttering lonely in that space.

---

Armored Monster (Panzer-Monstrum)

A special weapon utilizing specimens that have had their mana amplified using mana stones on existing monsters, promoting mutation to abnormally grow their body size or capabilities.

Its strength was as tremendous as its weighty name.

Its skin could barely be penetrated using armor-piercing rounds or anti-monster mana bullets, and even if the skin was damaged, most of it would quickly recover due to its excellent regenerative ability.

“Grrrr……”

And such a monster is now drooling in front of me.

“Uh, uweeh?”

“What on earth is that?”

Even Erika and Rina were frozen before this creature, whose size made the giant monsters they encountered in the morning seem laughable.

“D-Damn it. It appeared.”

Wolf, who had already been thoroughly beaten by this thing once, uttered rough curses while shrinking his body and trembling, perhaps recalling past nightmares.

“Could it be what attacked Wolf?”

“Yeah, it must be.”

“Yena, I think we should retreat first.”

There was not a moment of hesitation.

Shortly after encountering the form of the armored monster, Rina grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back, suggesting that we flee.

“Y-Yeah! I think Rina’s opinion is good, Yena!”

“You too, Erika?”

“I’ve been training hard all this time and resolved not to run away from monsters if possible, but there’s no way we can beat that! It’s night now, so visibility is poor too…”

Erika was the same.

She actively supported Rina’s opinion to take Wolf and leave this forest to camp in another area immediately.

It was a contrasting attitude to what she had shown so far.

‘Well, it is scary.’

In fact, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand their reaction; rather, I understood it more than enough.

What cadet would try to face that thing rationally? A monster with a body size that seems insufficient even if you put two giant monsters together, they’d just try to run away.

“I think it might be okay to fight.”

“Eh?”

“What?”

“Are you c-crazy?”

But aren’t I a person who diverges from the track of ordinary cadets?

“It seems weaker than it looks…”

I carefully examined the armored monster, ignoring Erika who was dumbfounded, Rina who was bewildered, and Wolf who was wide-eyed with terror.

“Hmm, it should be fine to face it.”

And after a moment’s time, I made an overall assessment of it.

The hard armor that should cover its back and joints was missing, it lacked the sharp fangs that could penetrate even tanks in an instant, and even its sole horn was bluntly ground down.

Whoosh, whoosh─!

Its legs, briefly illuminated by the flickering lamplight, also seemed injured judging from the blood flowing profusely.

‘This is definitely not something that should be here…’

Above all, I felt a strong sense of discomfort from the fact that this armored monster with such an ambiguous appearance had come here deliberately.

Surely, as the armored monster was a secret weapon of the Federation, research would be conducted in utmost secrecy. So even I, who was knowledgeable about the world setting, didn’t know that the project was being carried out at the Sevirpol training ground from this period…

‘Yet it appeared here.’

And right in front of me, no less?

It was strange.

I doubted if it was real.

“Gyarrr──!”

I rested my chin on one hand and stroked my jaw, watching the growing form of the armored monster as it approached with thunderous steps, emitting a fierce roar.

‘Someone sent it here.’

The more I continued my thoughts, the more I couldn’t help but reach the above conclusion.

Logically thinking, there’s no way a product of a project the Federation is conducting in secret would be released in such a training ground, right? Someone must have let it loose here.

And sent it to this vicinity.

I didn’t think at all that the current situation was a plot concocted by Wolf.

The equipment manager didn’t have the authority to move this creature, and at least in this world, there were no brainless fools who would freely use experimental subjects from secret research to try to kill me.

‘The research director?’

In the end, only one person came to mind. The only person who could freely use the armored monster in this training ground was Serti, that man with the impressive bald head.

He was a man obsessed with research, more than enough to summon the armored monster.

“Erika.”

“Y-Yes?”

Rustle─!

Having finished thinking that far, I erased any further idle thoughts, lowered my upper body, and raised my head.

“Ye-Yena? Surely not, right?”

“Erika.”

“When Yena calls like that, you always go out to fight… You’re not really thinking of facing that monster, are you?”

Erika tried to dissuade me with a forced laugh, seeing my familiar posture.

“Isn’t encountering it a kind of fate?”

“I don’t think so…”

“Isn’t it most fun and enjoyable to face fate head-on instead of avoiding it?”

“Ye-Yena?”

I still wasn’t sure who had sent it.

No, I couldn’t even be certain if that monster was truly being controlled by someone.

But the fact that we encountered the armored monster was clear and the reality we faced, wasn’t it? Then it’s only right to engage with it properly.

“Please take care of Rina and Wolf.”

“Huh?”

Patter patter!

I kicked off, smiling brightly, leaving behind the team members who were watching this side with bewildered eyes.

“Gyarrr──!”

Towards the creature with reptilian eyes.