Scene #1 – The Professors ◀
Scene #2 – Kaiser
Scene #3 – Eve
Scene #4 – Dante Hiakapo
They say being beautiful is a curse.
I'm not pretty, and I'm not a woman, but I think I get it now.
“Ha ha. Nice weather, huh?”
“It’s allergy season. What’s so nice about it?”
On the street, a White Saber professor to my left, a Black Abyss professor to ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) my right.
“Professor, the fried flounder here’s pretty good. Want to try?”
“Talking big is a Black Abyss trademark. Professor Dante, I got two of these, here—one for you...”
In the faculty dining hall—White Sabers on the left, Black Abyss on the right.
“......”
“......”
In the staff restroom, at the urinal—White Saber professor to my left, Black Abyss professor to the right... For fuck’s sake. There are seven stalls.
Despite me rejecting their offers, both factions still kept trying to cozy up to me.
At that, Adele stifled a giggle.
“Professor, you sure are popular.”
“......”
Not that it pleased me at all. I had to stay neutral anyway.
And while the Black Abyss and White Saber fought to win me over, there were others who opposed me outright.
Professors of the “neutral” camp—those who had no reason to covet me.
They’d already started quietly resenting me since I broke up the fight between Elize and Marina. But lately, that feeling had grown stronger.
That evening, after I’d met with Eve and returned before it got too late—
I was in the department office, going through paperwork.
“When a professor kills a professor, that's a problem.”
A professor muttered, brushing past me with a deliberate shove.
● Neutral Professor: Kollider
Other professors were present in the office. At that remark, all eyes turned to me.
After a brief pause, I answered.
“What nonsense is that? Go check the Disciplinary Bureau’s report.”
“Hmph. And what, trust them? Those bastards love blindfolding themselves and pretending it’s night.”
“Then do what you want. I don’t know anything about it.”
“Sure, sure. But if I may offer some advice—try acting your age. Swinging your weight around just because you’re strong is bound to backfire.”
“......”
Honestly, I knew. My words wouldn’t mean a damn thing.
“We get it, you’re tough. So tone it down. It’s not like the rest of us don’t know how to assassinate. We just suck it up and go to work like professionals.”
“Tone down what, exactly? I haven’t done anything.”
“Alright, alright. Ooh, scary. What, you gonna kill me next?”
I looked Kollider dead in the eye.
“Want me to?”
“...What?”
Kollider flinched.
“...What did you just say?”
“Kidding.”
With the neutral professor grinding his teeth and trembling, I turned my back.
In this damned Assassination Department split between black and white, there's only room for two types of "gray" professors:
A professor so great they don’t need to pick sides. A weakling that no side wants anyway.In my case, I’d originally been a solid #2.
But somehow, I was living like a #1 these days.
Senior Professor Kollider, though? He was a clear-cut #1.
A top 0.01% combatant, carrying a [Master]-class badge.
Elite training, widely respected in the department.
“Don’t let it get to you, Professor Dante. Professor Kollider’s just got a sensitive streak when it comes to assassination.”
Oddly enough, the one trying to comfort me was a Black Abyss professor. But even as I heard it, another thought came trailing after:
【 Black Abyss Professor Shark: “Still, the neutral professors have definitely started to resent Professor Dante lately... I mean, it’s not like anyone chooses to stay neutral for fun. Now this no-name suddenly gets praised outta nowhere? No wonder they’ve got it in for him.” 】
Jealousy, it seemed, had taken root among the neutral camp. The way Black Abyss and White Saber were courting me had stirred the pot.
‘And the senior neutral professors are preparing a mass defection, too.’
The main storyline continued creeping forward.
‘Only the top dogs are leaving. Guys like Senior Professor Kollider are basically dead weight left behind.’
Looking deeper, the guy had just hitched his wagon to the wrong horse.
But honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to care much beyond that. Let them hate me all they want...
Meanwhile, as I kept getting dragged into one event after another, I’d finally—finally—gotten a moment of peace.
‘It’s about time I start hunting demons and gathering Starlight Shards.’
Even while being pulled around and caught in constant trouble, that was the one thought stuck in my head.
The assassination of demons. The acquisition of Starlight Shards through them.
I hadn’t even begun yet. But now that I had some time, I could finally start moving on it.
To do that, of course, I’d have to find a demon first...
And that’s when something absurd happened.
The setting: near the professor housing complex.
“Adele. Who the hell is that bastard?”
I asked, pointing at the man standing in the garden of the manor across the street.
Adele’s eyes went wide, glancing sideways at him.
“Uhh... That’s the new professor. Professor Toxin. They brought him in from the Black Abyss side to fill Professor Hakon’s seat. Not sure where he’s from, though.”
So the time had come.
I’d expected it eventually...
But now, finally, he had arrived.
“......”
“...Why? Do you know him?”
A demon without horns.
That bastard had shown his face at the academy.
● Hornless Demon: Toxin
The moment I saw him, a deep fury surged in my chest.
Maybe it was just how the player-side system was coded—hostility born toward the enemies of humanity.
Do I know him, you ask?
"...I think I understand now."
If I had to describe the feeling— It was like spotting a snake creeping into your tent during a peaceful camping trip... Ready to bite your sleeping children.
A disgust that didn’t come with the option of “shoo it away.” No. If there’s a rock nearby, you bash its head in. That kind of primal hatred.
‘......’
I expected it to come. I knew I’d have to fight it. I even wanted the Starlight Shard it carried.
But now that the thing stood in plain sight, everything else faded to the background.
What remained... was a hatred so deep, even I was startled by it.
Scene #2 – Kaiser ◀
“Welcome, cadet.”
At the old man’s words, a young man entered, limping lightly on a cane. He gave a shallow bow before sitting across from the elder, legs crossed.
“I appreciate the welcome.”
The young man was Kaiser Truman. Like today, he regularly met with the Royal Senate.
“Chilly day, isn’t it? Have some tea.”
“Thank you. It’s warm... and fragrant.”
“How have you been lately? I must say, every time I meet you, my heart flutters, haha.”
“I'm afraid I’ll disappoint you this time. These days, I’ve been tending to an apple tree behind the Dorm of the Sleeping Dragon.”
As they began their idle chat, the elder adjusted his glasses.
No matter how many times he met him... That boy always gave off a dangerous air.
A child born not even of commoners—but of slaves. And yet, he sat face-to-face with a noble-born elder of the Royal Senate with such ease?
“May I ask a bit about your activities?”
The elder tread carefully as he shifted to the real topic, but Kaiser only smiled mildly.
“These days, we’ve all been quietly focused on our studies.”
After a little more small talk, the elder sighed inwardly.
That slippery bastard...
Most children who come into power young are eager to show it off— But not this one. He hid it completely. Revealed only what was necessary.
Because of that, the royal family still had no clear grasp on the true power or intention of the Dorm of the Sleeping Dragon.
And yet that was supposed to be the goal of these meetings: to size him up and get a leash around his neck.
“I enjoyed our time together.”
In the end, this meeting, too, concluded without results.
Frustrated, the elder muttered,
“Cadet Kaiser. May I offer some advice—just one piece—from a grandfatherly perspective?”
“Yes. I’ll take it to heart.”
“If you keep everything so tightly hidden, you’ll never receive help from any adult. People—when they connect—must at least share some part of their true selves.”
“Ah...”
“I don’t know what kind of great deed you’re chasing, but you won’t achieve it alone. A child moves forward by following in the shadow of a hero. That’s how they find the right path, and one day— When that hero falters, it’s the child who will inherit their will and continue forward. In that sense, you...”
The sermon went on a bit longer.
“Thank you for your advice.”
Kaiser bowed politely and exited.
Truth be told, he hadn’t taken in a single word.
What was he supposed to do with it? It’s not like he even wanted to be here...
Still, one line from the elder had stuck in his mind.
“If you keep hiding like that, no adult will ever be able to help you.”
There was a time when Kaiser, too, had feared that very thing.
And over time, that fear had steadily eroded his mind.
But now... things had changed.
A child moves forward by following in the shadow of a hero?
‘You’re absolutely right.’
What the elder didn’t realize—
Was that Kaiser had already chosen his hero.
He might have said all that hoping the royal family would become that hero...
But Kaiser had already resolved to walk in the steps of a very different figure.
A person who supported him with no strings attached. Someone he could truly seek advice from when faced with hardship.
That one and only hero—
‘...Professor Dante Hiakapo.’
Today, Kaiser decided to send him a message for the first time in a while.
- To. Professor Dante:
Hello, Professor.
To Kaiser—who only ever contacted people he didn’t want to talk to—
Chatting with Dante was his ultimate stress relief. His personal hit of dopamine.
- To. Professor Dante:
Hello, Professor.
But suddenly, he hesitated. What if messaging too often became a nuisance?
Worry began to set in.
- To. Professor Dante:
Hell_
He deleted the message. It felt too shallow, just saying hello. No—he had to accomplish something meaningful for Dante before reaching out.
“......”
At that point, Kaiser found himself thinking once more... about what it meant to be “right.”
To repay the kindness of someone who had supported him—that was right.
Everything was new for him.
His lack of resistance to killing. The catharsis after defeating a hostile opponent. All of it.
But more than that—
For the first time, someone who had alway been pushed around by others... Had made a decision of his own. Acted of his own accord. And that sense of agency gave him a kind of emotional satisfaction he’d never known.
– Dante: "What you believe is right... is right."
Good or evil—whatever it was—
So long as he saw it through because he believed in it... It was right.
That thought led Kaiser to peer inward—for the first time in his life.
If his heart were soil, it was a long-abandoned field. Seeds others had tossed aside had grown wildly. Weeds tangled over everything, an unkempt, neglected bramble.
But when he pushed past the brush—
He came face-to-face with something he hadn’t seen in years:
A patch of empty earth.
Can I plant something here?
Was defeating the professor’s enemy truly enough? Could that alone be called righteousness? Or... could he go one step further?
Of course, now wasn’t the time for that. He had far too much to do.
But the thought—
It took root in his mind. In that newly cleared patch of earth, at its very center.
“......”
If rain ever came—