After that, Joaquin reportedly refused to attend classes for a while.
The mental shock must have been significant.
The Dormant Dragon Institute is so full of geniuses that it's easy to overlook, but if Joaquin had been in [Hard Mode], he would have been more than qualified to enter Dormant Dragon as an elite.
From the perspective of the Black Abyss Faction, the cost of cultivating a single assassin like him is at least several million Hika.
And that promising kid was suddenly crushed by some neutral professor.
Some of the professors in the Black Abyss faction were grateful to me for the Marina incident, but they were from the moderate faction.
Among the radicals, however, they now had more than enough reason to hold a grudge against me.
"...We'll end today's class here."
Meanwhile, the class was gradually stabilizing.
As a seasoned veteran, I could talk about special abilities as much as I wanted, and thanks to the Joaquin incident, the cadets' enthusiasm for assassination had noticeably diminished.
After finishing the class, I stepped outside.
"......"
"......"
The stares of the two cadets standing in the hallway were not pleasant.
I was already used to people glaring at me like they wanted to kill me, but these two felt a little different. They were hesitating about something.
The sneaking glances they cast at me eventually led them to step outside the building. And then, they started talking.
【 First-Year Assassination Department Cadet Harun: "What should we do?" 】
【 First-Year Assassination Department Cadet Mateo: "What do you mean, what? We have to tell Professor Hakon. He said to call him before Professor Dante joins the White Saber Association." 】
Professor Hakon?
I’d heard that name before.
Among the professors, he was considered quite skilled, a senior professor at that.
【 First-Year Assassination Department Cadet Harun: "Didn't you see the professor's eyes? They're fucking terrifying...." 】
【 First-Year Assassination Department Cadet Mateo: "Then I'll do it. You stay out of it." 】
...Before I got involved in something annoying, it would be better to slip away.
That was what I intended, but luck was not on my side.
Right in the middle of the hallway, I ran into the very Professor Hakon they had just mentioned.
"Well, well. If it isn’t Professor Dante?"
A body so large it looked like his muscles might burst. And the aura he exuded was considerable.
● Black Abyss Professor Hakon
"Who might you be?"
"Who am I? We're fellow professors. I'm Hakon, from the Assassination Department."
"......."
He extended his hand for a handshake. I didn't take it.
【 Black Abyss Professor Hakon: 'Not shaking my hand? ' 】
【 Black Abyss Professor Hakon: 'I was planning to take a blood sample.' 】
Just as expected. He was preparing to cast a [Curse].
"I heard you've been quite busy since your appointment. Got some time today? Let's have a little chat."
"I appreciate the offer, but I'll pass."
I slowly started to walk down the narrow hallway.
"Dante."
He called out to me as I was about to pass by.
"Stop acting cocky."
I stopped as well.
For a brief moment, a strange tension hung between us.
"Did the Black Abyss send you? Or did you come on your own?"
"You're being awfully disrespectful for a professor. Didn't I just tell you to stop acting cocky?"
"The answer."
"...You're a strange one. You’ve only been here for less than a month, have no backing, and yet you go around stirring things up. What gives you such confidence?"
Hakon let out a loud, mocking laugh.
"The Black Abyss sent me? What a ridiculous question. You think I came here on a whim?"
But his words and thoughts did not align.
【 Professor Hakon: 'They said not to worry about him, but I can't just let it slide. Joaquin was just the beginning. A professor who ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) can’t tell his place will always be a hindrance.' 】
So, he came of his own accord.
Now that I had figured that out, I resumed walking.
"You should learn to value your life."
He was probably Joaquin’s advisor.
From the White Saber Association’s perspective, they likely didn’t want to clash with Hakon, so they conveniently turned a blind eye to Forte.
Thinking I was running away, he raised his voice.
"Professor Dante. You strut around too much. Consider this my final warning. While you still have your one and only life, focus on your duties as a professor. Because for someone like me, tearing a little punk like you limb from limb is nothing."
He spewed his anger relentlessly.
But I kept walking without responding.
【 Black Abyss Professor Hakon: '...Ignoring me, huh? You dare to ignore me, the War Ghost?' 】
Once I turned the corner in the hallway, I checked the script a bit more closely.
【 Black Abyss Professor Hakon: 'This arrogant bastard. I was planning to recruit him into the Black Abyss, but I guess that’s not happening.' 】
【 Black Abyss Professor Hakon: 'Professor Dante. Your cause of death will be that you didn't listen to what people told you. We'll see each other soon. At that fancy professor’s residence of yours.' 】
So, he plans to attack soon.
Hakon is a [Master]-rank assassin. Among the 15 million martial artists across the continent, he’s ranked 7,132. He’s also one of the top-tier professors in the academy.
If I were to face him with my current tools, it would be either kill or be killed. And that would inevitably escalate things with the Black Abyss faction.
'...Even so, if he comes for an assassination, I'll kill him.'
At some point, someone will inevitably become an enemy.
That’s how it is in the Department of Assassination.
The rumor that Professor Dante had uncovered Joaquin’s proxy assassination plot spread quickly throughout the Department of Assassination.
The professors from the White Saber faction found it exhilarating.
The professors from the Black Abyss faction found it infuriating.
The neutral professors felt uncomfortable.
Most of the cadets found it hilarious and laughed among themselves.
"Joaquin was way too full of himself."
"Shh. Someone might hear you."
Meanwhile, the same rumor reached the Dormant Dragon Institute.
While four of the seven cadets from Dormant Dragon were hiding in an old warehouse, Dante’s name came up in their conversation.
"Joaquin. That bastard got completely wrecked, huh?"
"I heard it was a Disciplinary Action No. 9. Including all the confiscated items, he got fined nearly a million Hika."
"Wow. A million Hika? That’s insane... No, but Joaquin was still good at stealth and had a keen sense. Why did he suddenly go after that professor?"
"How would I know?"
While they were having such an idle conversation, the team leader, Kaiser, spoke in a low, heavy voice.
"Kendreik."
A massive cadet with a ferocious expression turned around.
The long-haired cadet standing in the backlight of the warehouse.
"...What? What do you want?"
The cadets of Dormant Dragon believed that Kaiser knew everything.
Was that why?
Actually, Kaiser had only called out Kendreik’s name to point out a mosquito sitting on his head.
But when Kendreik, with his slitted pupils, met Kaiser’s gaze, he flinched and spoke.
"Ah, fuck. Yeah. I incited the assassination. So what?"
"......"
Kaiser raised an imaginary question mark in his mind. ‘???’
He had no idea what Kendreik was talking about, but he simply kept staring at him with a deep, enigmatic gaze.
"...Ah, fuck. Don't look at me with those eyes, you bastard! Can't I just be curious?!"
"What are you curious about?"
"Balmung, that bastard, keeps running his mouth about how powerful Professor Dante is. I just wanted to confirm it for myself."
At that, Balmung scoffed.
"Birdbrain."
"Shut your damn mouth. There's a limit to how much I'll tolerate from you."
"Fuck off."
Ah, so that's what it was about?
Kaiser shivered internally.
To think they dared to pull such disrespect against the professor...
"So, what did you find out?"
"I don't fucking know. Some data came in, and it seems like he uses magic too."
"Magic, huh?"
"They said he stopped time or something. But it can't possibly be time-type magic, so those idiots must've just been too freaked out and imagined things."
"...Is that so?"
"What do you mean, is that so? Time magic is ultra-high-level magic that only Grandmaster-level mages can handle."
That was true.
Across the entire continent, with its hundreds of millions of inhabitants, there were probably less than ten mages capable of handling time magic.
Most of them would be [Grandmaster]-level, top-tier high-ranking mages.
However...
Kaiser thought that if it was Professor Dante, it just might be possible.
Dante was extraordinary.
In front of the dean, royal officials, and the Tower Master of the Mages, he had seen through Kaiser's true identity with a single glance.
Eyes that discerned the essence.
Power that dominated space.
And despite having all that, he never boasted or flaunted it.
'Professor Dante Hiakapo. Could it be... that you can even handle time magic...?'
Kaiser suddenly felt a rush of intense embarrassment.
The gift he had offered, no, the bribe, suddenly felt like a pathetic trinket.
To think that he had sent a mana elixir to someone who might have reached the level of a Grandmaster mage.
It was like handing a 100 Hika bill to the richest man in the world as a 'generous' gift.
'Ahh! And I even said, [I hope it pleases you] after sending that lousy thing!'
His entire body trembled with shame.
Noticing this, the other cadets subtly exchanged glances.
'Kaiser is trembling with rage...'
'That guy's pride must've taken a serious hit.'
'What the hell did the two of them talk about that day?'
The day Professor Dante was brought to the Dormant Dragon Institute.
Kaiser, as their team leader, had a one-on-one conversation with the professor.
When it was over, he sent Professor Dante off, looking somewhat embarrassed.
To the cadets, it was a shocking incident.
Whether it was a professor or a noble, Kaiser had never bowed to anyone.
Even if a king or emperor were brought before him, Kaiser would never be intimidated.
Yet, Kaiser had clearly been put on the back foot.
Thus, within the Dormant Dragon Institute, the incident was interpreted as Kaiser suffering his first defeat at the hands of Professor Dante.
So, now that Dante's name had come up, they assumed Kaiser was feeling humiliated.
But that was also why the cadets felt like it would be a worthy challenge to assassinate him.
"Someday, I'll kill him with my own hands."
"You won't be able to, even if it kills you."
"What about me? I think I could do it."
While the cadets bickered among themselves, Kaiser finally detached himself from the window frame and spoke.
"...The time has come. Everyone, prepare yourselves."
At that command, everyone shook off their idle thoughts and began loosening up their bodies.
Kaiser snapped his fingers.
Snap!
In an instant, all of their outfits transformed into those of servants and maids.
Then—
Whoooom—
Kendreik pulled out the battle axe Santa Barbara, which was enchanted with the 『Explosion』 spell.
Swish—
Balmung took out the [Legendary I] grade, jet-black sniper rifle Siegfried⚉, spun it once, and gripped it firmly.
Shhhk—
Gray also activated Thread of Silver, the unique inherited ability passed down through the Habanero family, letting it flow through both hands. It took the form of a thread-like electric saw, sharper than any blade in the world.
Their short-term objective: Purging the traitors who engage in treason.
Their long-term objective: Assassinating the Emperor of the Empire.
'...Not that I ever wanted any of this.'
Kaiser inwardly lamented as he opened the warehouse door and stepped outside, limping along with his cane.
The location was a secret banquet hall somewhere in Hiaka.
Under the vintage chandelier, middle-aged men in elegant attire gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing merrily.
It was a gathering of executives from Steel & Labs and Smith, two prominent military supply companies.
They were all a few drinks in, their faces flushed and visibly intoxicated.
Perhaps because of that, they didn't react properly when the cadets suddenly approached them.
"Huh? Who are you kids...?"
"Good evening. You gentlemen are renowned arms dealers, are you not?"
"What’s this? Haha... Even the servants know about us now."
"Kids these days, saying all sorts of things. You want an autograph or something?"
Kaiser continued speaking.
"You gentlemen have been profiting immensely within the Hiaka Kingdom by exploiting the pressure exerted by the Empire. In addition, you have a history of abducting children of our citizens under the guise of imperial conscription, with twelve abducted and half of them murdered."
"......."
"Moreover, you are currently involved in leaking technology to enemy nations through your collusion with neutral senior professors and traitors. For these reasons, we regret to inform you that you have become a serious obstacle to our ultimate plans."
The businessmen fell silent. The atmosphere grew chilly.
"Guards...!" they called out urgently, but no response came.
Because they had already been killed on the way in.
Kaiser drew the sword hidden within his cane.
Shiiiing—
A completely ordinary sword.
Yet it emitted an ominous, overwhelming wave of mana.
"We, too, are sinners."
The moment the order to assassinate was given—
The waiting room was instantly transformed into a sea of blood.
⋮
Meanwhile, Kaiser was internally struggling with these missions.
After the mission, when he returned to Dormant Dragon Institute, Kaiser clutched the toilet in his personal room and vomited.
"Ugh—! Hah, hah..."
It had already been half a year.
Every time he saw someone die, Kaiser had to go through this routine.
He was not inherently violent by nature. He was born into a normal family and lived an ordinary life until now.
But no matter how much he vomited, the lump of something lodged in his heart wouldn’t come out.
The agony only grew stronger.
"......."
He had killed people.
For a dream that had nothing to do with him, he was killing people he had no connection to.
He didn’t know whether it was right or wrong. He just felt miserable.
Whether it was being a hero of justice or a mastermind in the shadows, neither role suited him at all.
"Sigh..."
After retching for a while, Kaiser slumped in front of the toilet and stared blankly at the bathroom window.
Life felt suffocating.
Would someone toss down a lifeline?
It was obvious he couldn't escape this reality. He knew too much, and the Dormant Dragon Institute had placed far too much trust in him.
Even so, Kaiser wanted to pour his heart out to someone.
"......."
Ah, right.
Now, he had someone who would listen to him.
Until recently, he had no one in this world he could ask for help. But now, it was different.
"......."
He activated the crystal sphere to send a message.
But then, he hesitated.
Should he send it or not?
What should he say?
Would he be bothering the professor with such a trivial matter?
After a long period of contemplation, he finally managed to type out a single sentence.