Education Institution

The Education Institution (教育機関, Kyōiku Kikan) is an antagonistic group of cultists in Black★★Rock Shooter DAWN FALL.

Description
The Education Institution is an armed cult led by an entity named Smiley. It operates a massive wheeled ground carrier as its main base of operation. Most of the soldiers wear a white full body gear with a yellow smiling face mask, as well as a tabard over their torsos with gold accents. At least one officer wears a different mask with X-shaped eyes and a blue lipped grin, as well as a halo on top of his head. Charlotte is the only known female member of the Education Institution's armed force.

Smiley, who calls himself the "Schoolmaster", claims the Education Institution is the only organization that sincerely cares about the evolution of mankind, and that it has a duty of "educating the unenlightened and the ignorant". Those who oppose will be eliminated by force. Countless teenage girls are taken by the Education Institution, either by kidnapping or persuasion with the promise of food and money, and are then transported via armored trains to the carrier. They would eventually undergo "conformity test" by Smiley in the form of sexual acts to see if their bodies are qualified for Hemiteos Unit conversion surgery. However, most of the girls fail and do not survive such test, and ultimately their bodies are left to rot near the carrier's laboratory.

Men may be recruited into their ranks in the name of education, but those who are deemed worthless or ill-suited for their cause are absorbed by Arche and become raw materials for the Iron Ocean instead.

The Education Institution usually conducts armed raids with a fleet of fast moving vehicles, though they also received assistance from the Unmanned Forces for escort duty or coordinated attacks at times.

History
Little is known about the Education Institution's past except that the Education Institution kidnapped Jessica and her daughter Charlotte sometime before 2062. Jessica's husband David believed they were killed, and held a deep grudge against the Education Institution.

When Artemis learned of Empress's reemergence in 2062, it sent its avatar Lunatic to inform Smiley of Empress's existence and ordered a pursuit. Not long after, Momiji, one of the girls destined for Smiley's "rituals", escaped from captivity and was narrowly saved by Empress when the Education Institution caught up with the former. Momiji then requested Empress's help to rescue the other captive girls who were held in an armored train, and despite the Colonel's disapproval, Empress decided to help out. Although Empress and the Colonel successfully intercepted the train, Smiley remotely detonated the bomb that was hidden inside, killing Momiji and the other captive girls.

Smiley later sent Charlotte to pursue Empress, and while she had the upper hand in combat, she ultimately retreated when her weapon was destroyed by Empress's coil gun.

One day, the Education Institution raided Norito's hometown and kidnapped girls there, including his sister Miya. Norito sought help in a remote tavern, but he was tracked down by the soldiers. A Hemiteos Unit named Strength, who happened to be around at the time, tried to repel them, but ended up escaping when one of her Gigantic Arms was absorbed by Arche. The soldiers then killed the tavern's occupants, and when they were about to execute Norito, Strength rescued him with the aid from Empress and Dead Master, another Hemiteos Unit.

Learning that Miya, whom Empress had previously saved from the Unmanned Forces, was held by the Education Institution, the three Hemiteos Units and their Peacebuilding Forces escorts attacked the ground carrier. In a heated battle, Empress defeated Smiley, and Dead Master shot down Charlotte, but most of the Peacebuilding Forces escorts were also killed in action. Miya was rescued by Strength and Norito inside the carrier before she would undergo a conversion surgery into a Hemiteos Unit.

The Education Institution went quiet for some time with the ground carrier immobilized, and its leader incapacitated in battle. However, having discovered Lighthouse No. 8's Hemiteos Unit laboratory's entrance, the Education Institution and the Unmanned Forces pushed for an attack on the site, where Empress would undergo an enhancement process in an incubation pod, with Peacebuilding Forces defending the entrance. Although Dead Master and Strength also put up resistance against the incoming assault, a revived Smiley overpowered and captured them. Empress eventually completed her enhancement process, and made use of her new strength to rescue her allies. The three Hemiteos Units fought Smiley together and ultimately brought him down, this time for good.