This was the first time I had used 「Liberator⁺₊⋆」 in actual combat. Just as expected, it was overwhelming.
But I wasn’t in good shape either.
< [MP]: 43 / 1,258 >
My nerves were frying, like a filament resisting current. A burning smell lingered at the edge of my hearing, as if something had singed inside my brain.
Overuse of mana. I felt like I was going to throw up. Dizziness. Nausea. It was hitting all at once.
‘I’ve already depleted this much mana... in just that short time...?’
A few rounds of form-forged illusions. [Ultrasound]. The illusionary body’s martial motions. A handful of 『Magic Distortion Fields』.
And then, just once, the space forgery 『Kaleidoscope』. I had reconstructed a previously made polygon—but the range had been far too wide.
I felt the weight of my own inadequacy. From mana to every other factor—I was lacking.
Still, I could move.
“Grrrrgh...!!”
I turned my head.
That bastard—smashed and broken from the unexpected strike—was now trying to get back on his feet.
I approached the demon with 「Liberator⁺₊⋆」 still in hand. His wings had been burned away. His lower half and left arm were gone.
His face was twisted in agony—which, considering demons aren’t supposed to feel pain, was a good sign.
Because the [Radiant Star⁺₊⋆]’s brand bore the power of light—effectively a kind of [divine power], fatal to demons.
As I stepped closer, he tried to crawl away using his one remaining arm and mangled lower torso.
“Are you afraid of me?”
No reply. His jaw and part of his neck had been incinerated.
Pathetic. It was always strange how life became so precious precisely because it was finite. Even a monster born to slaughter humanity whimpered at the end.
Which is why killing it had meaning. If it weren’t precious, there’d be no value in taking it.
Ironically, I felt grateful at that moment.
Grateful he had refused my offer.
Now I could shoot him in the head myself.
CLICK — !
The light burst forward, crushing his skull and ripping through the surrounding forest.
As the bastard’s upper body crumbled, an unexpected status window popped up.
┃ ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Achievement Unlocked: [First Demon Kill]
┃ Reward: Star Fragments × 20
An enormous amount of Star Fragments.
A rush of satisfaction—elation—welled up from deep within.
At last, I had killed one of humanity’s enemies.
‘......’
My overheated mind began to cool.
But I couldn’t relax yet. His ability was [Summon-Taming].
Just because the summoner dies doesn’t mean the summons vanish peacefully.
I needed to search his personal dimension immediately.
But first, as a professor—I had to check on the students.
“Is everyone alright?”
“Yes...”
No visible wounds—but not unharmed either.
They’d been crushed by sheer mana pressure. All of them were bleeding from the nose, eyes reddened. That meant possible internal organ damage—or even brain trauma.
“Hwaru. Dominic. How are you two?”
“...Yes. Ah. I’m... alright...”
Maybe it was because they’d been part of my first day of teaching. I couldn’t help feeling a little more attached.
Neither of them looked good.
Dominic, especially—with his weak mana constitution—had apparently coughed up blood. His pristine white uniform was stained red.
“Can you all walk?”
“Of course, Professor. You know what Dominic’s only strength is? His physical sturdiness.”
Dominic promptly collapsed.
THUD!
He’d fainted.
The problem? The guy easily weighed over 150kg.
My physical strength was barely at a trained athlete’s level—and I was drained of energy. Carrying Dominic the full 2km to the campus clinic was going to be rough.
‘Seriously... this isn’t looking good.’
Even if I called for help, they’d take too long to arrive.
That’s when something popped up in the 【Script】.
【 Dormitory of Slumbering Dragons - 1st Year Elise: ‘My eyes hurt.’ 】
【 Dormitory of Slumbering Dragons - 1st Year Gray: ‘......’ 】
Apparently, Elise and Gray had been watching the whole situation unfold.
Perfect timing.
“How long are you two planning to just stand there watching?”
“Huh?”
“You mean... us?”
The cadets around me looked confused. Then the invisible space shimmered and Elise appeared—smiling, like always, with that golden retriever expression.
The cadets flinched at her sudden appearance.
“Hello, Professor.”
“Elise. I’ll ask why you’re here later. For now—can you take these kids to the clinic building?”
Elise tilted her head and asked:
“Why?”
A strange question.
But I’d known her long enough.
There was no malice in it. She genuinely didn’t understand.
She was kind—but her sense of common sense was twisted. She could be shockingly cold toward strangers she wasn’t connected to.
So I whispered:
‘None of them have dads.’
‘Gasp. We have to help them then.’
‘Exactly.’
Elise nodded, then spoke into the air: “Mung. Lend me your back?”
Mung? Now that I looked, something was on the minimap.
Probably the giant spirit hound. Elise picked up the cadets like dolls and disappeared into the sky.
“......”
Only Gray was left behind—standing there, dazed.
But her expression... was strange.
What’s her problem?
“What is it.”
I scanned her face.
Nothing specific showed up in the 【Script】 either.
“Professor... how skilled are you in [Illusion]?”
Gray asked without expression—unlike the teasing tone I’d seen before. Even her crooked tooth was hidden.
“Why would you ask that... right now?”
“You were... pretty good.”
I had a bad feeling.
I didn’t fully understand yet, but I knew Gray was an unpredictable one.
If I wanted to maintain authority here, small talk was a waste of time.
“If you have nothing else, I’m leaving.”
Gray stared at me—expression unreadable.
And I walked away.
After that, I had to move fast.
“Hmm? Professor Dante, what happened to you?”
Fortunately, Dean Shaman hadn’t left campus yet. He shook his thick jowls in surprise.
Only later did I realize blood was dripping from my ears.
At any rate, I informed him that Professor Toxin had been “a monstrous anomaly.”
The Dean’s face turned grave. He summoned a few high-ranking Disciplinary Bureau officers.
Thus, I headed with two bureau officials and the Dean to Professor Toxin’s residence in the faculty quarters.
And sure enough—just as I feared.
We discovered the corpses of three cadets who had been presumed missing or assassinated.
And using those corpses as nutrient pulp, we found a massive batch of over 1,000 eggs—bloated, veined, and pulsating.
“What the hell is this...?!”
“They appear to be monster eggs... but...”
The Dean and the officials were visibly shaken—but I knew what they were.
They were the eggs of the Corpse-Skin Moth—a curse-based demon parasite.
Its function? To spread [Curses].
But the demon I had just slain—Professor Toxin—had been a [Summon-Taming] type.
What did that mean?
It meant Professor Toxin... had been cultivating these eggs for someone else.
‘......There’s at least one more demon inside the academy.’
Maybe even several. A full-fledged cluster, already formed.
The rest would be the Bureau’s problem to handle.
***
That night—
Clatter... Clatter...
Elise, sleeping peacefully as always, suddenly opened her eyes to the sharp shattering of something breaking.
‘Mm...’
What was that sound?
Something sharp, like glass shattering.
And then... it felt like something flickered outside the window.
She perked her ears, but everything was silent.
Must’ve imagined it.
She was just starting to drift back into sleep when—
CRASH! This time, it was unmistakable.
She got up and headed out—
And found Gray in the courtyard behind the Dormitory of Slumbering Dragons.
Shards of glass were falling all around her.
“What are you doing, Gray?”
“...What? Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I heard something and came to look. What were you doing?”
“...Doesn’t matter. Go away.”
“Okay.”
Still, she hid behind a tree and peeked.
Gray had blood dripping from her nose.
What the...?
Then Gray caught her staring and snapped:
“...Hey. Stop peeking and scram.”
“Mm-hm.”
Elise turned away.
If she stayed any longer, Gray might punch her.
Meanwhile, Gray muttered to herself, “Ah, f**k... Why can’t I do it...?”
Elise didn’t understand what she meant.
She just went back inside and curled up in bed again.
In the end—what was that?
She was curious, but the thought didn’t last long.
Elise fell back into dreamland.
“...zzZ.”
In her dream, for some reason, she was taking a walk with Professor Dante.
– Wait here.
She waited like a good girl.
And then he gave her three bones.
***
Thus ended the assassination of Toxin.
Successfully.
But there was one unfortunate part—
The confiscation of assassination tools required "grounds."
Which meant I had no grounds to confiscate Derik’s 「Remote Control Ring」.
I’d only confirmed it via 【Script】.
That thing easily cost hundreds of thousands of Hika... and it had clearly been used in an assassination.
Yet I couldn’t take it.
Originally, I’d planned to evade the attempt safely, then fabricate proper grounds...
‘...F**king demon bastards.’
Anger swelled inside me—but I held it in.
What’s done is done.
“I’m glad you’re all safe.”
The next morning, I stopped by the clinic.
Everyone was doing fine. They’d be discharged tomorrow.
“Thank you, Professor...”
“Seriously. We thought we were going to die...”
The cadets bowed over and over, practically in reverence.
【1st-Year, Department of Assassination - Derik: ‘He didn’t even show himself when we tried to assassinate him... and now he’s the one who saved us...’】
In truth, I’d just gone there to kill the demon.
But they were all gloriously misunderstanding it.
【1st-Year, Department of Assassination - Dominic: ‘What I saw yesterday was neither false nor exaggerated. Professor Dante, you are...’】
I was still weak.
But they all believed I was some terrifying powerhouse.
【1st-Year, Department of Assassination - Hwaru: ‘What the hell was that yesterday?’】
Some were still puzzled.
The Disciplinary Bureau probably told them to keep quiet about Professor Toxin.
Not that anyone would’ve believed it anyway.
Demons weren’t common knowledge yet.
‘If word got out, it’d be a nightmare.’
Like last time.
Back when the rumors spread that I killed Professor Hakon, nearly sparking a full-scale Black–White assassination war.
“Attention.”
I decided to clamp down the story myself.
I was still weak. I didn’t need exaggerated rumors making me out to be stronger than I was.
“Let’s keep what happened yesterday between us. Especially anything about me—do your best not to talk about it. You know my situation as an assassin. It must stay hidden.”
The cadets nodded.
Two of them, especially, responded with way too much enthusiasm.
“Yup! You can count on me!”
“Professor Dante. My weight isn’t the only thing heavy about me. Let me show you how heavy my tongue is. No need to worry.”
I trusted them.
⋮
A short while later—
“Guys, something huge happened today—but oh, the professor told us not to talk about it... mm? Well, Professor Dante totally annihilated some intruder...”
“You’d better stay sharp. Professor Dante’s a monster-class assassin. Not curious? Heh. Fine—just between us...”
⋮
The very next day—
The entire academy was thrown into an uproar.