“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
That was the 17th time I’d said that to the Disciplinary Bureau.
And I wasn’t lying—I really didn’t know.
“Of course, Professor Dante! There’s no way you would know what happened to Professor Hakon!”
“How could you possibly know about the assassination tools that weren’t even recovered?”
“The body probably isn’t even in this world. Hahaha!”
Every single investigator in the Disciplinary Bureau clearly believed I had done it.
Yet, citing insufficient evidence, they formally closed the investigation and handed it off.
“I’m telling you, I really don’t know.”
“Ah, yes yes, of course. No doubt about it!”
“Nor do we! Hehe!”
“......”
Utterly ridiculous.
Stunned, I walked out of the Bureau only to find Adele waiting outside with an armful of flower baskets and letters.
“What’s all that?”
“Oh, Professor. Look at these!”
Letters?
“They’re gifts from the White Saber Association. They asked if they could have a word with you!”
“......”
Ridiculous.
And yet, just as she said, two professors from White Saber were already approaching, waving from a distance.
“Ah, Professor! We've met before, haven’t we?”
“Are you well? Apologies—we should’ve properly introduced ourselves during the Elize incident...”
It was disorienting.
“What is this about?”
“Oh, nothing serious. Just that while you’re on campus the next few days, we’d like to... accompany you.”
I understood immediately.
They were offering protection.
Or at least, that was the pretext—what they really wanted was to make me feel indebted.
“No need. Nothing’s going to happen [N O V E L I G H T] in broad daylight.”
“Oh, we insist! We really should’ve paid our respects earlier!”
“Just think of us like bodyguards. We’re research professors, no classes at the moment!”
So, I took Adele and exited the Assassin’s Hall.
The professors really did follow like bodyguards, all the way to the car.
‘But I didn’t kill him.’
If I had to guess, it must’ve been someone else.
This is the Department of Assassination, after all—a place where everyone has a grudge against someone else.
Upon digging a little, I discovered Hakon had a lot of enemies.
‘Whatever... I don’t even know anymore.’
Until that moment, I’d more or less written the whole thing off.
Hakon’s death was nothing more than a removal of a threat to me.
No more, no less.
But just a few minutes later, everything flipped on its head.
【Black Abyss Professor Venom: <Head to Street 32.>】
【Black Abyss Professor Curtin: <Confirmed.>】
【Black Abyss Professor Vyper: <Confirmed.>】
As I stepped out of the Bureau, I saw a string of names from the Black Abyss side pop up in the 【Script】, all converging on the same place on the [Mini-map].
A bad feeling settled in.
I decided to follow them—and what I saw wasn’t pleasant.
“Hah... Ghh...”
A professor from the White Saber Association lay slumped against a wall, soaked in blood, a blade skewering his abdomen. He gasped for breath.
“Professor. Are you alright?”
“Ugh... Ah, Professor Dante...?”
“You’re badly hurt. Where’s your potion?”
“I drank it... already...”
Professor Hyelan of White Saber waved me off with a strained smile.
“I’m alright. Really... I’ve called it in. The medics are on their way... It’s not a fatal wound.”
He said that while blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
“Let me pour some potion on the wound.”
His body was barely moving—probably poisoned.
I poured what was left of an elixir onto the injury.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t life-threatening. If the blade had pierced his lungs, he wouldn’t even be able to speak.
Which meant—
They’d aimed for his abdomen on purpose.
Deliberately avoiding vital organs.
A warning, then?
The attackers were almost certainly the Black Abyss professors I’d just seen.
【White Saber Professor Hyelan: ‘Ah... dammit... Of all people, Dante had to be the one to find me...?’】
【White Saber Professor Hyelan: ‘I can’t afford to leave a bad impression on him...’】
His thoughts struck me as strange.
He forced an awkward smile and spoke.
“Thank you, Professor Dante. That helped a lot. I really am okay now...”
“If this is what ‘okay’ looks like, I guess corpses can walk themselves to the hospital too. Professor, please shut up.”
“No, really... I’m fine. But it’s just a little... embarrassing, you know? For a professor to be caught like this in front of someone he respects... Would you mind giving me a moment alone?”
Even now, he was trying to make a good impression.
Respect? We’d never even met.
Which begged the question—why was he so desperate to make me think well of him?
The answer wasn’t hard to find.
A directive’s gone out.
Not just one or two professors trying to court me—clearly, an order had been issued across the entire division.
Recruit Professor Dante to White Saber.
Of course. From their perspective, I’d just taken down a monster like Hakon with ease. It made perfect sense.
As I watched the wounded professor, the medical team finally arrived and began transporting him to the hospital.
“Medical team here! We’ll get him to the hospital right away!”
“Thank you... Huff...”
After a brief pause, I made up my mind.
“I’m coming with.”
“Of course, sir.”
Truth be told, this was my first time meeting Professor Hyelan.
But I felt oddly sorry for him.
I hadn’t killed Hakon—but because of the rumor that I had, this man ended up like this.
So I got in the car to keep an eye on him.
Meanwhile, I was still trying to wrap my head around Black Abyss’s behavior.
If they were mad that I killed Hakon—why not come after me directly?
Instead, they attacked a professor from White Saber as if issuing a warning.
Why?
***
I had a bad feeling.
One of the most dangerous Bad Ending events suddenly floated to mind.
「Bad Ending: Hiaka Assassination War」
The “Assassination War” refers to an all-out faction conflict between assassins—full-blown warfare.
And the Hiaka Assassination War was the worst of them all. A catastrophic event that could occasionally be triggered when factional tension between White Saber and Black Abyss was mismanaged to hell and back.
Fueled by deep-rooted historical grudges, it turned into a massive, emotionally charged bloodbath. Over two hundred professors split along faction lines, killing each other until the Academy itself was reduced to rubble.
The game only supported auto-save on [Hard Mode], so whenever this event triggered, I’d practically tear my hair out—because once the Academy was destroyed, it was straight to [GAME OVER].
And now, perhaps... I was staring that very war in the face.
Professor Hyelan lay asleep nearby, swathed in bandages. I sat beside his hospital bed, lost in thought.
That was when it happened.
“Thank you, Professor Dante.”
Several White Saber professors had come to visit.
“I heard you looked after Hyelan, even applied potion for him. Thanks to you, his injuries weren’t as severe as they could’ve been.”
Not that I’d reduced the severity of the wounds—they were deliberately shallow to begin with. But I saw no reason to correct the narrative.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Just a moment. Could I ask you for a brief word?”
A man with leonine features stopped me in the hallway. He introduced himself as Leo Bardo, senior professor of Assassination Defense with White Saber.
Then, carefully, he made his pitch.
“I realize the timing isn’t ideal... but I’d like to make you an offer.”
“An offer?”
“Yes. A recruitment proposal.”
My eyes narrowed.
Of course. Here it comes.
“The recent assassination of Professor Hakon... To us in White Saber, it was deeply moving. That monster took countless lives, including my own brother’s.”
“......”
“As a result, there’s been strong consensus internally. We’d be honored if Professor Dante joined the White Saber Association.”
Leo gave me a warm, gracious smile.
“We’re prepared to offer you 50 million Hika over four years as a signing bonus.”
That... was outrageous.
When I busted the proxy assassination ring, the bounty was maybe 500,000 Hika.
This was 100 times that. As a recruitment offer.
【White Saber Professor Leo: ‘Surprised, Professor Dante? That’s the third-highest recruitment bonus in our history.’】
I was indeed surprised.
“And that’s not all. Research, assassination requests—there are countless opportunities that come through us. You’d be prioritized for everything.”
Sweetness layered on sweetness.
Of course, it wasn’t free money. Joining would mean fulfilling all member obligations.
But for 50 million up front? Most would take that deal in a heartbeat. That kind of money would skyrocket my combat capacity.
“Would you consider joining us?”
But I couldn’t accept it.
So I stayed silent.
“Would you like some time to think about it?”
“......”
Even then, I didn’t answer. I simply sat there for a moment.
It was late at night. The hospital’s admin office was empty—just me and Professor Leo.
But I knew exactly how many people were in this building right now.
Twenty-one.
【White Saber Professor Eugene: ‘......’】
【White Saber Professor Rondran: ‘......’】
【White Saber Professor Hodrigu: ‘......’】
Hidden near the ceiling and along the walls—White Saber professors in [Concealment].
【Black Abyss Professor Vyper: ‘......’】
【Black Abyss Professor Venom: ‘......’】
【Black Abyss Professor Curtin: ‘......’】
Out beyond the window, clinging to the outer wall or nestled in the second-floor corridor—Black Abyss professors.
The funny thing?
All of them were experts at hiding, but terrible at finding. Since detection during concealment required equipment and effort, none of them realized the others were there.
Only I knew.
Only I could see the ludicrous scene unfolding right now.
【Black Abyss Professor Ludenbach: <We’ve arrived as well, Professor.>】
Make that twenty-five.
【Black Abyss Professor Vyper: <Good, stay hidden.>】
【Black Abyss Professor Ludenbach: <Why were we summoned?>】
【Black Abyss Professor Vyper: <Ah, you must’ve missed the briefing. Let me summarize again.>】
【Black Abyss Professor Vyper: <We currently suspect Professor Dante assassinated Hakon with assistance from White Saber. We believe it was not a solo act. Our current mission is to confirm Dante’s allegiance. Once confirmed, further action will follow.>】
Then another chimed in.
【Black Abyss Professor Venom: <Doesn’t look like he’s actively meeting with any collaborators right now.>】
【Black Abyss Professor Vyper: <What you see can’t be trusted. White Saber likely knows we’re watching—they could be severing ties as a smokescreen. What matters is the result. Whether Professor Dante joins White Saber or not. That’s all we need to watch.>】
Exactly as I suspected.
The 50 million Hika was a poisoned chalice. The path to not just my death, but the total collapse of the Department.
The “further action” would lead straight to the Assassination War.
Even if that logic felt like a stretch—Hakon had been that important, and the instability in Zone 0 lately made things more volatile.
But—
No.
No.
This entire scenario was fabricated to get me killed.
If things could explode this easily, someone would’ve lit the fuse long ago.
The fact that everything stayed calm until now meant only one thing.
I was the reason.
This is the malevolence of [Hell Mode].
Just as that thought crossed my mind, Leo spoke again.
“Professor Dante? If you need more time to consider, we—”
“That won’t be necessary. I already know my answer.”
【White Saber Professor Eugene: ‘......’】
【Black Abyss Professor Vyper: ‘......’】
In that instant, both sides locked in on my response.
“I’m sorry, but I must decline.”
And with that, the silent audience split in two.
“Ah... May I ask why?”
“I’m not suited for belonging to groups. Personality flaw.”
Short and sharp.
What could they even say to that?
White Saber professors were visibly disappointed. Half of the Black Abyss was relieved—“Thank god, I didn’t want to fight.”
The other half thought, “Damn. He would’ve been useful.”
Until Leo spoke again.
“If it’s a matter of compensation... we can offer 65 million.”
...What.
Did my price just jump like that?
“It’s not about the money. I understand how massive 65 million is. But this is a matter of principle.”
Leo smiled again.
“You do know how to negotiate, don’t you? In that case, my final offer: 80 million.”
Thud.
My heart just dropped.
Eighty million?
At this point, reality began to warp. Even 50 million had felt surreal. But 80?
And I wasn’t the only one shocked.
【Black Abyss Professor Vyper: <Hah! That’s the largest recruitment offer in White Saber history.>】
Even he was stunned.
【Black Abyss Professor Ludenbach: <...Should I switch sides too?>】
Someone in Black Abyss was actually considering defecting.
But I knew.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
No matter how large the sum. No matter how many opportunities they promised.
It was all laced with poison.
Every one of them a jaw in the trap, waiting to snap shut.
Accepting this offer would trigger the unraveling of everything.
“I’m sorry, Professor Leo. But I—”
“One hundred million.”
And in that moment—
Everyone stopped breathing.