There had been a threat of assassination from Professor Hakon.
If the bastard actually showed up, that day would become his funeral, one way or another.
Even so, my nerves were far from calm.
Being marked for assassination had a way of speeding up your desire to win the Witch of the Graveyard over to your side.
And so once again—
I found myself at the cemetery on Starfall Hill.
“...Well then, I’ll be heading back.”
As usual, it seemed like I’d be returning empty-handed.
But today was different.
Clang—
Just as I turned to leave—
Eve moved.
She turned her head, reacting for the first time.
To what?
A sound, it seemed.
The clang came from the sniper rifle on my back, Liberator⁺₊⋆, bumping against the metal frame of the stand.
What... was it really that sound that made her react?
“You said you couldn’t hear.”
A curious tilt of the head.
So, on a hunch—
『World Forgery: Form Forgery [Bell]』
I pulled out a model I’d crafted earlier.
Ding-a-ling!
Eve’s eyes lit up a little more.
“...?”
I’d made countless sounds over the past two weeks, and this was the first time she’d ever reacted.
Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
A faint expression of interest—perhaps even enjoyment.
She seemed unable to hear any other sounds, but the resonance of metal must’ve reached her somehow.
“You want it?”
“......”
In that moment, I felt something close to awe.
Eve slowly began to approach me—pulling her hood back just enough to reveal her face.
She stepped down from the tomb, cautiously stretching out her hand to take the bell.
I pulled it back just a little.
“Don’t twist it.”
“...?”
“I said, don’t twist it. Like this. Twist it and... You know I had to pay for that scope you broke? Of all things, you just had to bring the expensive one.”
I mimicked the twisting motion that had destroyed the last scope. Eve just tilted her head again.
Well, this time it was illusion magic. It wouldn’t break.
I handed it over.
“......”
Thunk.
A dull, muffled sound. She’d grabbed the bell by its body and shook it.
“You’re supposed to hold it from the top.”
“......”
I took it back and demonstrated.
Then again, Eve was still smarter than a snail, and followed my lead.
Ding-a-ling....
Finally, a sound.
She shook the bell, mesmerized.
Ding-a-ling... Ding-a-ling...
Unlike when she’d twisted the scope until it broke even after it stopped turning, this time, her movements were careful.
Ding-a-ling...
Maybe because of that—
For the first time, as we parted ways, she mimicked one of my gestures.
A simple wave—"take care."
The motion itself was awkward, but for the first time, she acknowledged me as a person.
A massive leap forward, wasn’t it?
“Stay well.”
“......”
She still couldn’t speak.
***
Nightwalker Building.
Hiaka Department of Assassination – White Saber Division Office.
Usually a quiet place.
But today, it was as if fireworks had gone off.
“Hakon’s dead? That ghost from the Second Assassination War?”
“I’m telling you, it’s true!”
“Unbelievable. That bastard’s really dead...?”
Smiles began to spread across the professors’ faces.
White Saber’s professors still remembered him clearly—the face of Hakon, the man who mercilessly butchered their comrades during the war a decade ago.
Twelve curses wielded freely—entire assassination teams coughing blood and dying in a single strike.
Since joining the academy, he’d played it off as a relic of the past, but everyone had always wanted to kill him.
“Well damn, that bastard died beautifully. Hahahaha! Serves him right!”
Chief of the White Saber Division, Senior Professor Baekwa, burst into hearty laughter.
“But really, who the hell managed to kill that Hakon bastard? The guy they used to call the Curseblade?”
“Professor Dante, sir.”
“Dante? Who’s that?”
“The new professor. Teaches Assassination.”
“Wasn’t he supposed to die to Hakon?”
“That’s the thing—he assassinated Hakon instead.”
“Huh!?”
“And get this—Professor Dante showed up for work this morning, not a single scratch on him.”
“No kidding!? What a damn treasure!”
Baekwa stroked his snowy white beard, absolutely delighted.
It just kept getting more interesting.
“We’ll need to reassess our evaluation.”
“Evaluation?”
“You remember those rumors? That time he stopped the Marina vs. Elize fight, people said he was strong. Then there were the whispers that he used time magic to stop Joaquin’s proxy assassination. You said that was nonsense, sir.”
“I did say that! What kind of time magic crap!”
“But if he assassinated Hakon like it was a joke... maybe it’s not so far-fetched?”
“......”
Baekwa’s expression sobered as he stroked his beard.
“Nah. Time magic’s still bullshit. Kids see illusions and call it magic—typical.”
Still—
“This Dante guy. Just how strong is he?”
“We don’t really know.”
Now they were curious.
A professor with no background.
Supposedly brought in by the Chairman.
The royal lunatic who played the mystic and never communicated with the faculty—he had a habit of picking up weird assassins from who-knows-where. So that meant nothing.
They ran checks. Nothing turned up.
Place of birth: unknown. Family: unknown. Combat rating: unknown.
But one thing was certain—he assassinated the Hakon. And walked away without a scratch.
If that was the case, White Saber’s course of action was clear.
“Shall we bring Professor Dante into White Saber?”
The question made the Chair’s face crumple.
“Professor Gwangsun, what kind of question is that?”
“Sir?”
“You don’t ask, ‘Shall we bring him in?’ You ask, ‘What do we offer him?’ You dense idiot!”
A man that powerful?
He had to be brought in—no question.
***
“Hakon’s dead.”
Hiaka Academy – Black Abyss Division.
The professors of the Black Abyss sat in a dark office, incense smoke curling as one of them murmured.
“What a pathetic death. Did he survive the Assassination War just to die like that?”
“Watch your words, Professor Vyper.”
“Watch my words, my ass. I told that moron three times—not to attack a professor with unknown capabilities. Wasn’t he warned from above to leave it alone?”
“He was trying to bring Dante into the Black Abyss. Apparently Dante was... rude.”
“‘Rude,’ my ass. He’s a professor, not some bratty student. Letting emotions get the better of him? Tch. White Saber must be throwing a damn parade.”
Professor Vyper—snake-eyed and bitter—didn’t hide his irritation.
“Ugh... First the Marina incident, now this. What the hell’s going on? If you ask me, that bastard got emotionally unstable after the Joaquin fiasco.”
“What do you mean?”
“Joaquin was one of his old students. He let his feelings get in the way. Instead of disciplining the brat for screwing up, he covered for him—and got himself killed.”
That was when—
“Maybe try showing some quiet respect for the dead.”
The door opened, and every voice went still.
Professor Vyper lowered his head immediately.
“...Chief.”
Hiaka Academy’s Black Abyss Division Chief—Betelgeuse.
Massive frame. Worn-out air. He sat down with perfect poise and lit a cigarette.
“We’re sad too, Professor Vyper. But shouting won’t help anything.”
“Apologies, sir. I overstepped.”
Betelgeuse exhaled slowly, smoke curling from his lips.
Hakon had been useful.
In both power and influence.
The Ghost of War, after all.
He was hard to control, making him an unreliable piece in major plays—but still, an excellent professor.
And now, he was dead.
“The body?”
“Never found.”
“So no cause of death. No clues.”
“No, sir.”
“Are we sure Dante did it?”
“Most likely. He’s the only one Hakon clashed with recently.”
“Meaning—no proof. What did Hakon prepare for the hit?”
“Traps, enhancers, cursed weapons. The whole war arsenal.”
“What, the stuff from back then?”
“Yes, sir.”
Fully armed... He went to kill Dante with everything he had.
For Dante to kill that Hakon?
That was no small feat.
Smoke thickened.
“...This makes revenge... complicated.”
‘As long as it’s not discovered, murder is legal.’
In assassination, the emphasis is on secrecy, not killing.
Whoever killed him, they did a fine job—by assassin standards.
And that made revenge tricky. No ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) justification.
“Who cares about justification.”
“Just say the word. I’ll rip his throat out while he’s taking a dump and boil it into bone soup.”
Betelgeuse said nothing. Just exhaled more smoke.
After the Second Assassination War, White Saber and Black Abyss had settled into a tense peace.
No reason to fight your own countrymen when global tensions were already high.
But lately... there’d been a suspicious rise in professor assassinations.
“......”
The Neutral faction didn’t have the means for this.
White Saber, who controlled the Disciplinary Division, denied involvement—blaming rogue students from the Dormant Dragon Institute.
But come on. Were students really capable of this level?
And now a Black Abyss veteran professor had been killed... by someone supposedly neutral.
Betelgeuse felt it in his gut: a storm was coming.
“Assuming Dante acted alone, with no faction ties, we have no grounds for retaliation.”
If anything, he deserved praise—for proving his skill as a fellow professor.
“But if it turns out Dante is secretly affiliated with White Saber... things change.”
Fwoosh—
Smoke filled the air, and Betelgeuse whispered,
“...We’ve been at peace too long, haven’t we?”
If Dante was White Saber?
Then Black Abyss would respond... the Black Abyss way.
***
“Professor. Last night... did you...?”
It was nighttime. Adele greeted me at the mansion door with an odd question.
“...Did you meet with Professor Hakon?”
What the hell was this now?
If Hakon didn’t show up, how would I have met him?
“......”
I said nothing, unsure how to respond. Adele hugged her arms, looking like she’d seen a ghost.
“It’s true, then...? The rumor...?”
“What rumor?”
“Oh, come on! That you assassinated Professor Hakon...!”
Absurd.
I killed Hakon?
Meaning... he was actually dead?
Suddenly?
“The whole department is talking about it! When did you even go out and do it?! Oh my god...!”
Adele wasn’t kidding.
I checked the Assassin Town community via my Crystal Orb.
Sure enough—post after post saying Professor Hakon had been assassinated last night. No body. Officially missing.
“Professor. KangKang is here.”
Thirty minutes later, someone from the Disciplinary Division showed up.
KangKang—a pretty-faced patrol officer.
“Could you come with me to the Bureau, just for a moment?”
“...I don’t know anything about this.”
“Yes, we know.”
KangKang smiled brightly and winked.
Then he whispered.
“...Black Abyss and the Disciplinary Division searched everywhere. Not a single clue! You really are amazing...!”
No, seriously.
I don’t know anything about this.
“Your skills are incredible. Truly.”
He looked thrilled—KangKang had a bit of a thing for me—but I was baffled.
Sure, I would have killed Hakon if he’d come for me that night. But I didn’t.
“I still have to bring you in for formality’s sake—shall we?”
“......”
The rumor had clearly spread.
Even though it was night, every student I passed looked utterly stunned.
Thoughts filled with shock, disbelief, and fear poured from them one after another.
【 Assassin Dept. Year 1, Kill: “That’s Professor Dante of Hiaka...” 】
【 Assassin Dept. Year 1, Fehillia: “He assassinated the Ghost of War Hakon without leaving a trace...” 】
【 Assassin Dept. Year 1, Orun: “How strong is he? What kind of past does he have...?” 】
And it wasn’t just the students I passed on the street.
Over the next day, going back and forth with the Bureau, I saw it—
The whole department was in total chaos.