“...What is that thing?”
It was Princess Rebecca who asked.
The monstrosity floating about 4,000 meters above, appearing nearly three times larger than the sun or moon, looked like an elongated black rock torn halfway out of the sky. Its presence alone—suspended like some grotesque taxidermy—was unnerving.
“Hehe... I have no idea!”
“Hmm, me neither. Balmung?”
“...No clue.”
Kwan, Elize, and Balmung all shook their heads.
Even Kendreik did the same.
Naturally, everyone’s gaze landed on Kaiser.
How the hell should I know, you bastards... he thought. But still, Kaiser voiced the first thing that came to mind.
“...Looks like a [Totem].”
Totem?
Everyone turned their eyes back toward the window.
Indeed—after hearing it said aloud—it did resemble a [Totem].
A psychic construct that dominates an area, unleashing overwhelming power within it.
On the flip side, once rooted, it cannot move from its location.
“But for a Totem, it’s not active at all.”
Something was off.
Unlike other psychic constructs, [Totems] usually leak massive amounts of mana.
That thing wasn’t giving off anything.
“And it’s floating. Totems are supposed to be grounded. That’s a basic rule.”
Another strange point.
A totem suspended in the sky? Even a [Grandmaster] couldn’t pull that off.
“So... is it really a Totem?”
“Are you certain?”
Once again, everyone turned to Kaiser with doubtful stares.
“What do you want from me?! You think I’m some god who gives answers when you push a button?! Why the fuck is it always me under the microscope???”
...Is what he wanted to yell. But instead, he settled for stroking his chin and adopting a thoughtful, suspicious expression.
“Still... this doesn’t make sense. There was nothing like this in the intel I received.”
“You mean the intel from the traitors?”
Rebecca nodded solemnly.
“There were reports that assassins from Kreutz would strike soon.”
“Ugh. Those fuckers...”
“War?”
“Unlikely. Neither side wants full-scale war. It’ll probably be something like an Assassination War.”
“Gasp... Then... our Department of Assassination... are we doing anything about this?!”
“Everyone who needs to know, including the Dean, already knows. Of course we’re preparing.”
Rebecca’s eyes flicked back to the monstrous shape in the sky.
“But that... isn’t part of it.”
There was nothing like that among Kreutz’s arsenal.
She was certain. That thing simply didn’t exist.
Which meant this... this entire incident had nothing to do with the expected enemy.
Something completely unrelated was targeting Hiaka Academy.
Not even the royal information network, the academy’s own intelligence system—none of the trusted sources knew about it. Not even money or power could uncover this.
Rebecca’s lovely brow creased.
“...How interesting.”
That was when sharp-eyed Balmung spotted something.
“Oh—an airship.”
An airship?
Indeed. Looking closer, an airship was flying toward the sphere. Likely carrying the professors as an expedition team.
It didn’t change much. The sheer presence of the anomaly was overwhelming enough to eclipse such a detail.
Zone 0 was in a state of chaos. Professors. Dormant Dragon students.
Cadets too, of course—and the [Assassin Town] forums were overflowing with panicked and concerned posts in real time.
“...For now, go inside and get some rest. We’ll move as the situation develops.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
“Layme, you should rest too.”
“I’ll stay by the princess’s side.”
Meanwhile...
Someone was missing.
Rebecca turned to Kaiser.
“Isn’t today Gray’s discharge date?”
“...Yes.”
“Then why hasn’t she come? Where is she?”
“......”
Kaiser paused to think.
Gray had recently thrown herself into [Illusion] training like a madwoman.
She was practicing three times more than usual, and eventually pushed herself into [Overload], nosebleeds streaming down her face as she kept going.
They had even argued a couple of times. As the team leader, Kaiser had warned her the training was excessive.
He once asked, “You’re already more skilled than Professor Dante—so why push yourself this far?”
Gray had smiled faintly at first, but then her expression hardened. Even her fangs seemed to retract.
——
Kaiser, normally perceptive about people’s emotions, couldn’t read her that day.
She eventually forced a smile and said, “Because I’m better, I have to widen the gap, dummy.”
What chemical reaction was happening in that gray-haired girl’s brain—he couldn’t guess.
Regardless, Gray’s obsessive training had weakened her immune system. In the cold early winter, she caught a severe flu.
Even then, she kept training until she passed out from blood loss and was hospitalized for IV treatment.
This morning was supposed to be her discharge day.
But she hadn’t come back.
“...I’ll check.”
Kaiser contacted her using a [Crystal Orb].
But Gray didn’t answer.
“...Damn it. Why isn’t she picking up?”
***
“If... if those are hands, then how big is the actual body...?”
“Is it a beast? But what kind of monster is this...? Senior Professor Toy—do you know anything?”
“No. I’ve been crawling through dungeons all my life, but I’ve never seen anything like that.
Besides, unless it’s a dragon, no beast gets that big...”
While the professors muttered and speculated, I remained deep in thought.
There were a few things I needed to evaluate.
First—
This [Error Space] is roughly 50 meters across...
But the [Error Space] around Eve’s resting place at Starfall Mountain was 1,000 meters in diameter.
The current one—despite being so much smaller—had already produced a top-tier boss-level enemy.
And Starfall Mountain’s anomaly was twenty times larger.
I didn’t know if size directly correlated with danger, but its sheer scale was worrying.
What the hell is even in there? Why is Eve there?
I had no answers.
Second—
How should I interpret this situation?
...It’s not as bad as I feared.
An [Error] isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
For example—Jinksythe, that monster—was supposed to be summoned while hidden under a 『Curse of Concealment』.
But now, its form was exposed, as if under the effect of [Reveal] or [Detection] magic.
If it had been summoned while hidden, the academy might have been annihilated.
In other words—we had time to prepare.
“...Why don’t we just attack it?”
At that moment, in response to Vyper’s suggestion, Leo jumped up in alarm.
“Professor Vyper. Are you insane? You want to attack that thing without even knowing what it is?”
“Well. With two senior professors here, I don’t feel like we’d lose—no matter what it turns out to be.”
“That’s not the point! That’s reckless!”
Even the two senior professors wore cautious expressions.
“I agree. I think we need further discussion first.”
As Kollider stepped in to mediate, Leo turned to me.
“What about you, Professor Dante? Got any read on it? I’ve tried everything—can’t sense a damn thing.”
To live as a ‘noteworthy figure’ is to be the center of attention every time someone asks a question.
Even the senior professors, Vyper, and Kollider turned their eyes to me.
“......”
I considered briefly... then chose to speak honestly.
“...It’s a Totem-type monster.”
The moment I said it with certainty, one of the senior professors asked,
“You’ve encountered this thing before?”
“I’ve seen it long ago. Though there isn’t really a ‘main body’ to speak of. It’s just a head with seven arms attached.”
The senior professors looked doubtful.
Though they appeared to be in their 30s or 40s, they were in fact in their 70s and 80s.
They’d been crawling through dungeons for decades—and I claimed I had seen what they hadn’t.
“Each of the seven arms uses a different curse. But until all arms are summoned, it doesn’t initiate combat.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s say you’re right. Then, can we stop it here and now?”
“Hard to say... I wouldn’t recommend charging in with just the six of us.”
I mentally ran the damage calculation.
Three arms had emerged.
We could probably sever them.
The senior professors were monsters in their own right.
But the odds that both would make it out unscathed? Not great.
Those two must survive at all costs.
There are eight senior professors in the Department of Assassination.
Three neutrals have defected.
Only five remain.
If we lose two more here, and Kreutz launches an Assassination War, the internal damage will be catastrophic.
“Wouldn’t it be best to cut the three arms now?”
“The problem is, until the [curses] activate, we don’t know which arm wields which curse. If they’re low-level, sure—the seniors could rip them apart. But if we’re unlucky and one of them carries a high-tier Curse, say from the 90s... even a senior professor might not survive.”
“Curse in the 90s range... That high?”
Their faces darkened.
That’s right. Among Jinksythe’s seven arms, one wields a curse ranked in the 90s.
Rarely, it’s something like Curse No.96 – 『Curse of Instant Death』.
As the name suggests, it causes immediate and irreversible death.
“But then again, if we don’t do anything now, it’ll only get worse. Cutting off three arms now would halve its offensive power.”
“Attacking now is efficient... but whoever charges in first could die...”
A senior professor chuckled.
That’s the fate of an assassin.
Assassins are essentially missiles. They pour out all their output in a short burst to kill the target.
No one expects a missile to remain intact afterward. And yet these men had survived into their seventies and eighties. They knew that was pure luck.
“My recommendation: fall back, prepare, identify the curses, and engage afterward.”
“But if we delay, won’t more arms appear?”
“Yes.”
“...And a monster of that scale—surely it won’t show its full hand unless we toss in something big. We’d need to throw in a tiger to draw out its fangs...”
The senior professor caught on quickly.
“Very well. Let’s convene for another strategy meeting. Everyone gather up.”
A tactical discussion began again. Leo still argued against an early strike. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Vyper pushed for it.
And in the end, Vyper’s stance won.
“We’re looking right at an unknown enemy on school grounds. I’m not going to stand by just because I’m afraid to die.”
I wasn’t thrilled, but it wasn’t the worst option.
Eventually, we’d have to fight.
“Then I’ll lay the [Totem] and we’ll begin right after.”
“Right. I’ll start doping. Professors, make sure you’ve all got your ‘parachute artifacts’ equipped.”
I also checked my gear and drew the Liberator⁺₊⋆.
Crackle! Vwoooom—
A tremendous magical signal burst forth, and a tempest surged over us.
Senior Professor Toy’s [Totem] began to manifest.
Kuguguguung...
A glowing totem rose from the center of the deck.
『 Firefly Sanctuary 』
A top-tier Level 8 Totem.
Anyone within the field could use 『Blink』 and 『Airwalk』 multiple times in a short span.
With this very ability, Senior Professor Toy had once assassinated 52 Kreutz operatives with just five assassins in under two minutes—and returned unscathed.
“Totem deployment countdown: 180 seconds!”
That was when it happened.
An odd 【Script】 caught my eye.
【 Gray: ‘Ugh... why is everything shaking...?’ 】
...What the hell?
Why is Gray’s script showing up now?
“Everyone ready! We’ll begin the operation in 170 seconds!”
“Yes! Deploying <Communications>!”
The countdown began.
【 Gray: ‘Why is it shaking so much... it’s dizzy...’ 】
Hold on.
What is she doing?
She’s not supposed to be anywhere near here.
We’re all wearing ‘parachute artifacts’ because if the airship crashes—we’d have no other option.
【 Gray: ‘Ah, what the fuck... Did I drink too much? Why is everything spinning...’ 】
I spun around in a panic just as Leo shouted,
“Professor Dante?! Where are you going!”
“I’ll be right back—need to check something inside!”
I rushed into the interior of the ship. The pilot blinked in surprise.
“Looking for something, Professor?”
“Anyplace someone could be hiding?”
“This airship’s for rescue ops—aside from the deck and the cabin, there’s nowhere, really... Oh! There’s the engine room, I guess.”
The engine room?
Unlike loud real-world engines, this one was powered by a Levistone. Warm. Filled with soothing energy.
I sprinted to the engine room and yanked the door open.
I flicked on the light—and saw gray hair.
“...Whoa, you scared me.”
Gray, curled up in a blanket, looked up at me.
“...What are you doing here?”