‘Dante Hiakapo...’
The man’s name was Wolfgang Yussef.
‘Dante Hiakapo......’
He was Kreutz’s great illusion scholar, recipient of the 489th Obel Illusion Award, and a [Challenger]-level specialist of the trap-dog auxiliary system—one of the most advanced forms of Kreutz magic support.
And now, while [Stealthed], he was crossing the river at the head of Kreutz’s elite assassination unit—the Red Cross Assassins.
‘Dante Hiakapo............’
Dante Hiakapo.
‘Die.’
Please.
Just die.
Ever since the moment he met him, Wolfgang had only one thought in his mind.
Die, Dante. Please, just die.
No—scratch that.
I’ll kill you myself.
I’ll kill you, the one who ruined illusion magic.
Dante Hiakapo, the one who ruined Kreutz’s future—I’ll absolutely, absolutely capture, torture, and kill you.
‘......Dante Hiakapo!!!’
And yet, this wasn’t personal.
Whenever he thought of the man, his head would boil, his heart would pound, and ever since that pompous blabbering at the Soltia Conference, he’d wanted to kill him—he hated him so damn much—
......But Wolfgang wasn’t the kind of professor who tortured and killed people over petty emotions.
It’s just, there was a very clear academic reason he had to torture Dante before killing him.
Because Cain probably wasn’t the original body—Dante was.
If Dante died, the follow-up research on the Pink Drug would die with him.
Only through interrogating Dante Hiakapo could they find the gaps in the paper and use them to advance illusion magic beyond its current limitations.
And so, for Kreutz’s future—Dante Hiakapo had to be tortured and die......
< Ogron†: Dante Hiakapo has been spotted. He’s onboard a yacht with Imperial Professor Hicks Bohr. >
< Wolfgang†: Confirmed!! >
Those around him were cautious. Wolfgang’s rage was infamous. Every day he smashed his office, wrecked his lab, and lived in a haze of liquor.
If he met Buddha, he’d kill Buddha.
If he met a TA, he’d kill the TA.
< Ogron†: But, Professor. >
< Ogron†: There’s another assassination unit. >
< Wolfgang†: Who the hell are they? >
< Ogron†: Looks like they’re from the Empire. >
This was unexpected.
Why would Imperial bastards show up now?
“They must not get him first!”
“Yes, sir!”
Wolfgang leapt mid-sprint, reaching out with his hand.
Crackle—!!
It was a fusion technique of [Trap] and [Illusion]. Dozens of kilometers of invisible traps stretched out like vector fields, detecting test particles along custom coordinates.
『 Mana Disruption Field 』
Vwooooooom—
In that instant, the entire area came under Wolfgang’s perception.
Dante’s combat ability. Hicks Bohr’s combat ability. And also—the approaching strength of the Imperial assassination squad.
‘Those bastards......’
He narrowed his eyes. Even among high-tier imperial assassin units, this group was clearly elite.
― .
Then something registered.
< Wolfgang†: Southwest! >
< Wolfgang†: Move southwest! >
Just as Wolfgang shouted, Dante and Hicks activated 『Teleport』 and headed for the riverbank.
Simultaneously, from the Imperial side, a massive fireball dropped straight down and smashed the yacht.
KWA-KWA-KWAAANG!!
The 10-meter-class anti-gravity yacht exploded and was torn in half in a single blow. A [Magic-type] assassination.
‘So they want Dante dead too.’
That couldn’t be allowed.
He had to be captured alive—so they could torture him.
Thus began a dual pursuit, both factions now chasing after Dante Hiakapo at full speed.
***
The teleportation dropped us into the city.
Professor Bohr and I darted through the urban streets.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Dante] 』
I scattered dozens of illusions of myself—but it was pointless.
「 Ω 」
With a grinding spatial rupture, all the illusions were torn apart.
I expected this.
Among these assassins, many bore the Stigma of the Death God.
“There are too many of them! I’ll request royal backup!”
Hicks Bohr frantically contacted someone.
We kept running.
All the while, I checked the scripts.
【 SowolΩ: ‘He’s moving. Pursue.’ 】
【 Wolfgang†: ‘Catch him!! Everyone inject the Pink Drug!!’ 】
Two factions.
And both bastards had star symbols screaming next to their names.
Kreutz’s group was led by Wolfgang.
The other side was centered around someone named “Sowol,” a [Challenger].
‘A Death God Stigma...’
Only one group in the Empire used naming formats like that—the Death God Assassins.
An assassination cult that targeted only Constellations.
Their methods didn’t even appear in [Hard Mode].
They were a disaster incarnate—appearing from nowhere to assassinate Constellations before vanishing again.
Why I’d become their target, I didn’t know......
‘This could get dangerous.’
The situation was worse than I thought.
Just then, Dominic’s message came through via [Crystal Orb]. He reported that the Death God Assassins were inbound—and that the Elemental Banquet was watching me.
It didn’t help much.
Still, I hadn’t come here alone.
I never go anywhere alone. I always bring one person when I move.
< Dante: ―― >
I sent a signal,
< Eve: ――? >
and received a response.
I transmitted my coordinates to the elephant.
‘But even if Eve arrives, I can’t guarantee survival.’
Assassinations are always games of probability. And my death probability had just gone above 0%.
“Professor Bohr!”
“Yes!”
“They’re targeting me. We need to split. Launch me with 『Teleport』!”
“Professor—what are you saying...!!”
I gave him the coordinates. Bohr panicked.
“We’ll escape together! It’s better to divide their firepower—!”
That’s when—Thunk!—a bullet slammed into a wall nearby, blowing it apart. ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) The shockwave dug a crater nearly 3 meters deep. A sniper shot.
“Gh...!”
“Just run!”
“Yes!!”
As we tore through the marketplace, [Sniper Fire] rained down like machine gun fire.
TUKUKUKUKUKUKUKUKUKUKUK!!
Each bullet was more accurate than the last. The shots shredded the surroundings. Each round hit like a metal bowling ball. Walls crumbled. Buildings blew apart. A few stray shots turned a passing cargo wagon into a pile of rags.
And this—this was the ability of just one person.
“Gahhh!”
“G-Get down!!”
Shit—right in the middle of a crowd. Debris from a collapsing building flew in and struck Bohr in the head.
Blood gushed out.
“Gh—damn it...!”
“Bohr!”
“I’m fine!”
“No—I’m not! That bastard’s sniper shots can hit from anywhere. Running like this is pointless! Hurry—launch me!”
“......!!”
Bohr gave a reluctant nod.
Ah.
“One more thing—go to Legorian ahead of me and deliver this message!”
“What message?!”
“Tell them: I will reveal part of Hiakapo’s Final Summary.”
He nodded.
FLASH!!
Bohr was a mage. A gifted one, particularly with teleportation.
As light wrapped around me, I let go of control—and when I opened my eyes, I was standing on a rooftop.
I immediately sent updated coordinates to Eve. Then—
Footsteps behind me.
“Professor.”
I turned my head. A man in a black mask stood there.
He held a single sword.
He was an assassin of the Death God Assassins.
The rest of them were far behind—but they had already spread out across the city and begun the hunt.
“Why is the Death God Assassins targeting me?”
I asked.
“Let me ask instead. How long did you think you could keep escaping our grasp?”
“?... What are you talking about.”
What the hell is he saying.
“Why would I need to escape your grasp? What's the goal of this assassination to begin with?”
“To deceive people. To pretend to be some half-baked professor. To live like that, fooling everyone—what’s the reason? Are you that afraid of us?”
“Sorry, but I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Enough. That tone of yours is really despicable, you know.”
“What is?”
“What’s the point of living like that, just to become a star?”
“Become a star?”
“No more games. The time for turning a blind eye is long gone.”
“Turning a blind eye to what?”
“......”
I’m genuinely asking because I have no idea.
“......”
The killing intent from the other side grows thicker.
Even the 【Script】 offers nothing useful. Just a flood of profanity.
“......You goddamn pest.”
Then the man slightly lifts his mask. Inside—eyes the same pale pink as mine.
But it wasn’t a gesture to show me his eyes.
It was to see me with his naked eyes.
The moment I confirmed the color of those eyes, the millstone in my head started spinning like it had a motor attached.
‘Oh.’
No way......
‘Is this connected to Dante’s past?’
A current ran through me.
The entire history of Dante I’d experienced as the host of this body rushed through my mind.
After <Synchronization> had completed.
At first, I’d assumed Dante was simply a professor with no past.
But from what I felt in front of Kendreik 1.0, I held myself as an endlessly powerful man, an adult (=which I actually was).
In battle, I fought surprisingly well. (=I had real combat experience.)
Of all the Dormant Dragon Cadets, only Rebecca existed in my memory. (=Tied to the royal family.)
I had direct memories about Eymon and the Xikos family. (=???)
And when I requested the audit of Zone 4’s Disciplinary Bureau, I realized my synchronized memories included an understanding of internal Security Bureau systems. (=I was formerly with the Security Bureau.)
‘Then... who is Dante Hiakapo?’
A powerhouse from the Security Bureau, with ties to the Hiaka royal family. But since even the Empire’s Death God Assassins recognized him, he was probably of Imperial origin.
“Whether it was out of fear, or betrayal—I won’t ask anymore. Frankly, I don’t care.”
The assassin extended his hand.
In an instant, darkness swallowed the surroundings.
“But now, you have to die. You must understand that it’s the natural order.”
At the same time, blue sparks formed across several points in the air, ripping through subspace and pulling out swords. A total of thirty blades emerged, all aimed at me.
Thirty swords. The peak of the 8th-level 『Dominion of Blades』.
『 Dominion of Blades – Release 』
Even the pressure alone from the swords was immense.
Each and every one of them bore [Stigmas]. They were all legendary weapons.
“Embrace them, O Monarch of War―”
At that moment, I realized what those swords were. The 27th Imperial Designated National Treasure, 「Swords of the War King」. A set of weapons made from the stingers of the ancient hyper-colony predator—the War King Wasp.
There were more than 120 of them, each imbued with deadly poison, and sharp enough to tear through dragonhide.
CRRRRAAAAAACK—!!
With the activation chant, black lightning exploded everywhere, and the swords—despite being made of metal—began to slither.
They were now actively exuding poison.
And then, they rushed at me.
But surprisingly—
Though he might have known Dante’s past, he clearly knew nothing about me—the current Dante.
‘If he knew, he wouldn’t have attacked that way.’
As the pitch-black swords flew toward me, I started feeling good.
Once separated from the body, weapons have weak magical dominion.
『 Arsenal of the Thousand Arms 』
The formula: [Absorption].
The swords flying at me—those 「Swords of the War King」—one by one pierced the air and began filling my [Armory].
“......!!”
He panicked and halted his skill, but by then, twelve of the 「Swords of the War King」 had already been absorbed.
As the ability stopped, the dark surroundings brightened again, and the assassin’s face stiffened.
“My swords. What’d you do to them.”
“Tasted great.”
I patted my stomach. His expression contorted into a snarl.
“When did you get the ability to do something like that?”
“Wanna have them back?”
“Is that a joke? Hand them over. You bastard.”
So I gave them back.
『 Arsenal of the Thousand Arms 』
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAANG―!!
The summoned weapons ripped through space, carpet-bombing the spot where the assassin had been standing. I didn’t include the 「Swords of the War King」. They were expensive.
“Guh!”
He had considerable ability—he immediately shot into the air.
Which was exactly what I wanted.
Because I had already dropped down below the rooftop.
“......!!”
And there—Eve had just arrived, one hand raised.
Wearing a helmet, mounted on a motorcycle.
Huh?
A motorcycle?
“Let’s go. Send me the coordinates.”
“......!”
I jumped onto the back. Eve hit the accelerator.
The motorcycle she’d brought from somewhere was absurdly powerful—it carried not just her, but the massive elephant and me, all with ease.
【 Wolfgang†: ‘That way!’ 】
From Kreutz’s side, which had already set up the 『Mana Disruption Field』, pursuit began immediately.
But it wasn’t bad.
Assassins might be faster than bikes in short bursts, but they were glass cannons—over long distances, they couldn’t compete with a vehicle.
As we sliced through the wind—
Suddenly, a strange thought hit me.
‘Wait a minute.’
This...
‘How are we even riding this thing?’
...The elephant doesn’t have a license, right?
And sure enough, as Eve sped up, the handlebars started to shake.
The bike began to wobble like crazy!
“Hey. Hey! Eve! Don’t grip the handlebars so hard! Loosen up! Relax your hands!”
“......!?”
But no matter what I said, she couldn’t hear me.
Eve, flustered, gripped the handles even harder—and snap—the handlebars came off in her hands.
She broke the damn thing.
“Why the hell would you snap that off?!”
“......!?!?!??!”
Then she turned around and looked at me.
Why are you looking at me.
Eyes on the road.
“.......”
Save me, Professor.