The thoughts of the knights gripping the net continued.
【 ‘This... won’t be easy....’ 】
【 ‘Professor Dante, that guy’s level is absurdly high... This might be our first failed mission....’ 】
【 ‘Should we dismantle the "Heavenly Net" and switch to the Pass Technique...? But then we wouldn’t be able to stop the professor-assassin from escaping...? Goddamn it...!!’ 】
They all seemed to think I was going to win—just as I intended.
Let me speak from my perspective. Starting with the conclusion.
‘...I lost.’
That was the carefully considered conclusion.
‘...I can’t beat him. No way.’
I tried to ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) come up with a variable, but I couldn’t even see a chance to win.
It was simply a matter of raw difference in class.
At first glance, my fight with Kashan looked like a straightforward clash—creating distance, closing it, rinse and repeat. But in reality, it was far more complicated.
Kashan was a specialist assassin-hunter, with a thorough understanding of [National Treasures]. Despite being caught in my illusionary zone, he reacted to my attacks with ghostlike precision. There wasn’t a single opening I could exploit.
On the flip side, even if there was a disparity in class, I was an old hand. I had seen the 【Script】 and read all of Kashan’s moves, allowing me to cut him off a half-beat ahead no matter what he tried.
The end result? Both of us locked in a frustrating dreamlike slugfest...
‘At least what I realized during my sparring match with Joaquin helped a little.’
I continuously disturbed his sense of distance throughout the fight using [Perception Forgery].
‘...But in the end, I’m no match for that brute strength.’
This is the limit of what I can do right now.
So I changed tactics.
I had to appear overwhelming.
The goal: to break Kashan’s will to fight.
I desperately pretended to toy with him.
Did it work?
【 Kashan: ‘Huff... This professor isn’t just a high-class assassin...’ 】
【 Kashan: ‘He’s got overwhelming real combat experience. He knows exactly how to handle elite warriors... At this rate, I might end up dead...’ 】
Yes!
My bluff worked perfectly.
Now, if Kashan says something like, “Wanna call it a draw...??” then my plan is to reluctantly agree.
...That was the plan.
But Kashan’s expression said otherwise.
【 Kashan: ‘......I can’t give up like this.’ 】
What are you talking about?
Why?
Why aren’t you giving up?
【 Kashan: ‘An assassin capable of deploying this level of illusion even when it’s been completely seen through...’ 】
【 Kashan: ‘This is thrilling.... Kuh... If there’s ever a time to risk my life, it’s here and now...’ 】
Oh no. You degenerate freak.
Why are you so eager to throw your life away?
【 Kashan: ‘...Ah, what a joyful life I’ve led.’ 】
Then he suddenly starts reminiscing about his life.
This guy’s insane.
‘This is driving me nuts.’
They all think I’m just being cocky.
But the truth is—I’m an assassin who blows his load early. I’d already burned everything in the short term.
[Perception Forgery] eats up mana like hell, and I was down to about 15% of my mana pool.
Meanwhile, Kashan, who fought like a trained warrior, still had 70% left.
So I changed tactics again.
I decided to run.
But Kashan was a specialist in hunting assassins, and I couldn’t escape with some half-baked tactic. Especially not when I barely knew jack about [Stealth].
So I waited for a chance.
Any cadet who’s paid attention in my class would know: “Stealth” is about interacting with the environment.
No one notices a pickpocket when a volcano is erupting.
So, when he used 『Palace Rainfall』—I’d already predicted it and used “a flick” with the Giant Soldier’s Sword○.
BOOM —!
The moment the massive explosion and shockwave burst out—I summoned [Decoy Dante] and slipped away in a flash.
And now, here we are.
‘...Why did you come here?’
Ran whispered to me from beside my hiding spot.
“Stay quiet,” I whispered back.
We were hidden beneath a pile of fallen leaves, right below where I’d cast [Perception Interference Field] earlier.
The 『Curse of the Target』 disappears the moment the pursuing arrow reaches the target.
Which meant—I was completely hidden now.
[Decoy Dante] was standing there in my place.
Now, if they just kill the decoy and carry it away...
Perfect escape secured...!
A flawless on-the-spot improvisation...!!
‘But, Professor...’
‘Speak.’
‘Didn’t you... maybe mess that up?’
‘......?’
...Mess up?
This perfect plan? You're saying I made a mistake?
I checked—fast.
I looked at [Decoy Dante] standing there.
“You really don’t know anything.”
“What you think you’ve grasped is an illusion. A mirage. Just bubbles that burst.”
“Pathetic insects. You don’t even know what’s true. Or what matters.”
“You are wrong.”
“It all amounts to nothing but an ‘incorrect answer.’”
The decoy Dante had started rambling on his own.
“......?”
“......??”
The knights' expressions turned confused.
Oh no.
I had whipped up that decoy in a hurry during the explosion and didn’t have time to adjust the [Thought Variables] properly.
What had I even input...?
I checked in a panic.
『 World Forgery: Input Thought Variable [Denial] 』
It was only set to reject things.
That’s all it could do—argue!
‘......It has a logic circuit embedded, but...’
So what?
‘We’re screwed.’
If they figured out it was a fake, they’d be certain I was hiding. As a specialist assassin-hunter, Kashan would comb the area completely. It was only a matter of time.
But that decoy Dante... was too simple.
It only denied things!
‘We’re doomed.’
‘Could the TA please shut up?’
‘Isn’t there anything we can do? You’re the God of Illusion, aren’t you?’
‘.......’
Even the God of Cooking can’t make rice out of thin air.
At this range, I could barely toggle switches. And none of them were related to language.
At most, I could adjust posture, facial expression, or maybe muscle movement...
【 Kashan: ‘Hmm....’ 】
【 Kashan: ‘Something’s off...?’ 】
Then the eagle caught a whiff.
【 Kashan: ‘Better take a closer look.’ 】
Damn it. He’s moving. Toward Decoy Dante!
Kashan gulped a recovery potion, clink—tossed the glass bottle aside, and stepped forward.
“Professor Dante Hiakapo. What does that mean? I came here knowing more about you than you think.”
From here on out, I couldn’t do a damn thing.
This was code red. Full crisis mode.
‘Park, Dominic, Opus...’
While Ran folded her hands and prayed to the Virgin—
The decoy Dante opened his mouth.
“You still don’t understand my words.”
“What?”
Excuse me?
“Professor Dante. I don’t know what the hell kind of posturing that’s supposed to be, but it doesn’t work on me.”
“When will you finally open your eyes.”
“...What?”
“Do I still look like Dante Hiakapo to you?”
“.......”
Ah. It’s over.
He blew it from the start.
【 Kashan: ‘Not Dante?’ 】
【 Kashan: ‘What the hell is this lunatic talking about...?’ 】
Kashan looked just as confused.
I stared blankly at Ran. She was rummaging in her pocket.
A pistol.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Planning a painless exit.’
I snatched it away.
Because I needed it more.
‘Let go.’ ‘Give it back.’ Ran resisted. And now we were fighting over a gun in a damn bush.
Meanwhile, the conversation went on.
“...Not Dante? Then who are you? Who am I assassinating, then, as Knight Yuzen?”
“That is incorrect.”
“Huh?”
“You are not Knight Yuzen.”
“.......”
Wait, what??
Then it hit something.
Yuzen was a cover name used for royal dirty work.
That’s right—Kashan had never revealed his name even once!
And now his expression froze.
“Also, you worm of a knight. Those two eyes are wasted on you.”
“...What?”
“Do you still think this is ‘an assassination’?”
“An... assassination... isn’t it...?”
Kashan was seriously trying to have a conversation.
Ran and I stopped tugging on the gun and watched the scene unfold.
【 Kashan: ‘Rank at least top 500. Senior professor after only half a year. According to Cheongru, skilled enough with intelligence to be considered a Constellation of the System⧉... A big-name assassin like that wouldn’t talk nonsense. Then what is he trying to say...?’ 】
【 Kashan: ‘......!!’ 】
Kashan’s expression stiffened.
What is it? What did you figure out?
【 Kashan: ‘Not Dante, and not an assassination...?’ 】
【 Kashan: ‘No, no way......!!’ 】
What now? What is it?
What is this idiot-only-rebuttals decoy making you realize?
“Professor Dante Hiakapo.”
Kashan bared his fangs and scowled.
“Don’t tell me... you dragged me into this to talk about that......?”
Huh?? What’s “that”?
But Decoy Dante just sighed.
“Incorrect.”
No, you fool!
You were supposed to say yes!
You made it sound so ominous and significant!
“Wait. So it’s not ‘that’?”
“Such arrogance. Do you think I’d summon you just to talk about such drivel?”
“...D-drivel...?”
I turned my eyes ablaze and scanned the 【Script】. All of it. Even the knights’ thoughts. But there was no mention of “that.” Just a jumble of other thoughts.
What kind of thoughts?
【 ‘This overwhelming aura...’ 】
【 ‘He’s a senior professor? Just how powerful is he...?’ 】
【 ‘M-my legs are shaking... Goddamn it... There’s no way our Captain wins this one...!’ 】
Why are you all getting intimidated by a decoy?
You clowns.
“...Professor Dante. If it’s not ‘that,’ then what are you even trying to say...? If you’re not Dante and this isn’t an assassination, then what the hell is your point?”
“You don’t know? Pathetic.”
“......Say it. It’s humiliating to beg like this, but I need to know. I need to understand what you’re trying to say.”
“That’s also incorrect.”
“...What?”
“There’s nothing to say to a worm like you.”
“.......”
【 Kashan: ‘...This is driving me insane.’ 】
I feel you, man.
I have no idea where this conversation is going.
Or why it flows so damn well.
But—
‘Should I hand you the gun now?’
‘Why me? It’s yours.’
Ran’s response was exactly mine.
Could it be... maybe...?
Was Decoy Dante accidentally breaking through in a way we never expected...?
That’s when it happened.
THUD—!
An axe came flying and slammed into Dante’s chest. Crushed the clavicle right next to his neck.
The illusion didn’t break immediately—it had been made with a semi-permanent [Fusion Formula], similar to Chief Cain’s method.
“Ah! ...Ahh!?”
My heart dropped, and so did Kashan’s, judging by his reaction.
The thrower was one of the knights. Kashan turned on him.
“Hey, Robin! You—what the hell!?”
“Ah...! Sorry!! He just kept insulting you, sir... I-I figured you’d block it... B-but what the hell?!”
Decoy Dante had slumped against a tree, the axe buried in his chest.
“...Yeah, seriously??”
Kashan looked totally shaken.
Sure, even if he was a Grandmaster, this must’ve been a first for him.
“Anyway—anyway...! Let’s check if he’s dead, and if so, let’s grab him and go.”
And just like that, they believed the decoy was really me.
Which meant—Ran and I had survived.
I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when—
Something went wrong.
Something totally unexpected.
“Where do you think you’re going.”
A voice pressed down over the entire space.
And then—while still lying down, I suddenly couldn’t breathe.
KU GU GU GU GUNG ......
It felt like the moon itself was crashing down. The overwhelming magic began to crush the entirety of Starfall Mountain.
Like someone had shoved a fist down my throat—I was suffocating from sheer pressure. My whole body tensed instinctively.
There’s only one person at Hiaka Academy who could unleash mana of this scale. Not even the great Ezekiel or Vulkan could do this.
“......!!”
Kashan’s expression froze in horror.
He realized it too—instantly.
The identity of the presence approaching this place.
THUD!!!
A colossal figure slammed into the earth like a lump of steel, revealing itself. The net of magic that blanketed the area was ripped apart by that arrival.
Even if everyone used to mock that massive frame, no one would dare to now.
He was a [Challenger]-rank at one hundred years old. Currently ranked 71st in the world. Once, he stood at the very doorstep of a [Constellation].
Hiaka Academy’s Guardian Deity—
● Shaman Kreutz, Head of the Assassination Department
His assistant flew in behind him and checked the fallen decoy Dante.
Shaman Kreutz stared at the decoy... then silently turned to Kashan.
“You’d better choose your answers carefully.”
Like a massive beast spewing rage, an unprecedented pressure erupted from him.
The world, the ground—everything began to feel even heavier.
“Otherwise, I’ll come knocking on the royal palace. With a sword in my hand.”
Kashan was frozen solid and couldn’t respond.
The knights behind him had long since fainted—collapsed headfirst on the ground.
“I ask you—who was it.”
A terrifying bloodlust surged through the air.
The monster who had slaughtered hundreds of Kreutz assassins singlehandedly just months ago now questioned a mere human.
“Who ordered you to kill my son.”