The Level 8 totem was already deployed. Everyone had finished their combat doping. The battle could no longer be stopped—and Gray was here.
She was lying on a mat. Wrapped in a blanket. Like she was lounging in her own bedroom.
“Gray Habanero.”
I shut the door quickly and asked.
“What exactly are you doing here?”
“...Took a nap?”
“Why.”
“What do you mean why? This is Gray’s hideout... shortened to Grayout...”
“What the hell are you talking about. Why would the Department’s airship be your hideout?”
“Well, no one came for like... half a year... hic...”
That’s when the stench of alcohol hit me.
Three empty liquor bottles rolled on the floor.
“...Uuuugh? Speaking of which, Professor, what are you doing here? No one’s come here for like... months...”
I closed my eyes.
Then pinched the bridge of my nose.
I recalled that the Habanero family descended from cat beastkin, and cats... tend to sleep anywhere.
Even so—this wasn’t something I could just excuse.
<155!>
<150!>
<145!>
⋮
The countdown to engagement was ticking down over <Communications> in real time.
We were in the middle of a battlefield.
And this girl wasn’t even remotely prepared.
Of course not—she’d just woken up from a nap.
She didn’t even seem to have a parachute artifact. We had each grabbed only one before boarding, and there were no extras. The airship had been dragged out of storage with barely any equipment onboard.
What the hell was I supposed to do with this?
“Ah, right, right—Professor...”
Then, suddenly.
Gray bared her fang-tooth and grinned.
“Did you hear? There's some fun news...”
“News?”
“Kaiser said... I’m overwhelmingly better than you at [Illusion].”
“...What?”
“Shocking, right? I told him nooo, but he just kept insisting. Like, really seriously... hic.”
“......”
“So, if you ever feel like you’re lacking, wanna take lessons from Gray~? Ehehe. Hic... I don’t like most loser professors, but you’re kinda okay...♡”
A teasing voice, a cocky smirk, a smug look in her gray eyes.
But I couldn’t even process what she was rambling about.
The stink of cheap booze was rising thick off her. I’d just come back from staring down a demon—and my temper was already hanging by a thread.
“What the hell are you even saying right now?”
“Wha? I mean, like, Gray—”
“Enough.”
“...?”
“I’m not listening to another word. Get a grip, Gray Habanero. Cut the lunatic talk.”
A tone harsher than even I was used to.
Maybe it was that severity...
“...Eh?”
The smile vanished from her face.
Her fingers curled in. Her gray eyes widened in shock.
“...Why... why are you mad at me...”
She murmured. Genuinely surprised that I’d snapped.
But this was no time to worry about her feelings.
<130!>
Time was running out.
Gray’s condition?
Drunk.
Her cheeks and ears were flushed, her skin hot. Her eyes were half-lidded and hazy. She looked unwashed, even—unkempt.
“Hey.”
She mumbled, then tried to speak more firmly.
“...Why’d you get mad all of a sudden, and... and act like that...”
I stepped forward and she recoiled.
“Gray Habanero. I’m extremely busy right now. And I’m in a very bad mood.”
“...So what do you want me to do?”
“Answer the question. How much did you drink?”
“...Why?”
“Answer. How much?”
“......”
Then, as she stared up at me like a scared cat...
She broke into a wide smile.
“One shot♡”
A lie.
I checked her 【Thoughts】—she’d downed all three bottles lying around.
Cheap crap, but large bottles. 35% ABV.
She was utterly plastered.
I already knew Gray had a temper and violent tendencies. Add alcohol and self-control was basically nonexistent.
<110!>
And there was still a monster outside.
If battle broke out, I couldn’t trust she’d stay put.
“Do you have a parachute artifact?”
“...Why would I...?”
Then Gray opened her eyes wide and declared,
“I didn’t steal it!”
“Do you have one or not?”
“No. I didn’t take it. The storage was already empty. Gray didn’t do anything wrong...”
“Got it. Raise your arms.”
“...Huh?”
I quickly removed my own parachute artifact and tried to put it on her.
I could create a fake one with [Illusion] if needed.
“...What are you doing, Professor?”
“Arms up.”
“...Why? What for?”
“I need to put the parachute on.”
“Parachaute? What’s that...”
“You don’t need to know. Arms.”
“N-no...”
She started resisting, swaying like a drunk, making it nearly impossible to strap it on.
“Ugh... stop it... why’re you doing this...”
“You can’t understand me right now. Just move your arms. You're getting in the way.”
“Stop it... it hurts... Why are you touching me so much? Are you curious about my tattoos or something...?”
“I don’t have time. Stay still.”
“It hurts! You’re squeezing too hard...”
<50!>
<Professor Dante! What are you doing?! Get out here!>
Urgency surged again.
I grabbed both her arms and pinned her to the wall.
Thud—her body jerked from the impact, and her eyes spun.
“...??”
Pushed up like that, she stopped resisting.
I managed to strap on the artifact and fasten it tight.
Then, I changed my mind—bound it fully so she couldn’t take it off.
“What is this...” she grumbled, trying to tug at it, frowning with discomfort.
But I’d knotted it up so thoroughly she wouldn’t be getting out of it easily.
“Gray Habanero. You’re very drunk. Do not come outside. Just sleep it off here. Understood?”
“...I’m not dru-hic-nk.”
“Good. I’ll say it again. Do not leave this room. Got it?”
“......”
She hesitated, then turned her head away.
“...I was gonna sleep more anyway...”
If the airship goes down, the engine room doors will automatically open.
The parachute will deploy on its own.
So she needed to stay here.
“...Hic.”
I closed the engine room door.
【 Gray: ‘...What’s wrong with him...?’ 】
【 Gray: ‘...I was trying to be nice...’ 】
【 Gray: ‘......’ 】
Let’s hope... she doesn’t do anything stupid.
<20!>
***
I stepped back out onto the deck.
<5!>
The moment the totem completed, it would explode with magic.
Even an eyeless demon would detect us then.
<4!>
But what worried me most was this damned [Error Space].
I knew nothing about its properties.
<3!>
If those three arms all carried 『Curses of Instant Death』...
Hiaka Academy would lose its three strongest professors in an instant.
<2!>
But right now, all I could do was throw myself into this uncertainty.
So please...
<1!>
Please...
CracklingzzZZT—!!
A magical surge burst forth. 『Firefly Sanctuary』 spread its totem field. A green aura engulfed a 40-meter radius.
And for the first time, I felt something strange form inside my body—a foreign [button].
A [Blink Button].
Each press would teleport me. But with my offense limited to just two bullets, I had to strike with precision.
<Moving out!>
Vyper launched first. Blades sprouting from his palms—「Poison Fang」—he struck at Jinksythe’s fingers.
Then, he summoned a 15-meter-long cobra «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» to coil around one of the arms.
Jinksythe’s fingers twitched—trying to curse. A reaction to damage.
That’s when Leo’s blow landed—KWAANG!!
A massive finger, bigger than a human body, shattered.
Leo soared up with a 『Blink』 and shouted:
<Senior!>
Angela, one of the senior professors, had already blinked 40 meters upward.
Using [Step Arts], she rose over 100 meters.
Now, she came down like a meteor.
A combat-type assassin in her 80s—wielding a massive 3-meter scythe, 「Grim Reaper Ω」, a [Legendary I] stigmatic weapon.
She descended like divine judgment. The scythe glowed with killing intent as she plunged downward.
Landing directly on the wrist Vyper had immobilized.
A Grandmaster-ranked strike, with full force behind it.
BOOOOMMMMM!!
The air split. The blow hit like a bomb.
Jinksythe’s massive hand—easily the size of a four-story building—shattered.
The shockwave cracked the wrist and forearm.
It had been under five seconds since the operation began.
That’s how assassins fought—no stalling, no pacing.
Kill, or be killed.
<It worked! Surprise attack successful!>
<Everyone, fall back now!!>
Toy, the totem user, began repositioning.
Kollider prepared illusions to intercept any counters.
And I moved.
I blinked upward, then froze midair with 『Airwalk』.
I needed a full overview.
I channeled mana into my eyes—Jinksythe’s two remaining arms were moving.
Massive, mechanical, disturbingly human movements.
I had to read them.
Only I could identify the curses from the smallest tells.
<This much... this much is manageable, right!?>
Kollider was ecstatic.
I shouted:
<Control!! That’s the 『Curse of Domination』!!>
<What?!>
One of the moving arms bloomed with hundreds of eyes.
It was the 90s-tier arm.
Curse No.90 – 『Curse of Domination』.
The giant hand pointed straight at Toy.
<Dodge, Senior Toy!!>
I screamed.
In an instant, the eyes on Jinksythe’s hand closed—
—and Toy’s body vanished, reappearing across the totem field, near Kollider.
<Senior!!>
<I-I’m okay! I dodged it! I’m fine!>
<That’s not it.>
<Kollider, get out of there—!!>
Too late.
THUNK―
A sword burst out of Kollider’s chest.
Toy’s sword.
<K-Kollider!>
<Senior Toy! What the hell—Ah!!>
At that moment, another hand moved.
Its palm split open to reveal a gray totem.
A gray beam shot toward Vyper.
―― !!
“Ghh!”
A 2-meter-wide beam. Vyper barely twisted his body to avoid it.
But the cobra he’d summoned—its head turned to stone instantly.
<Second arm is the 『Curse of Petrification』! Goddamn it!>
Everything unraveled at once.
Kollider collapsed.
Toy lunged at Leo.
Angela had to block him.
<Angela! Don’t stop me! I’m fine! The one who’s cursed is Leo!!>
Toy, completely dominated, claimed to be fine—but no one fell for that.
<Angela, behind you!!>
At my shout, she blinked just in time.
The curse missed her by a second.
<Thank you, Dante!>
She had evaded it.
Angela had the advantage of being a pure combat assassin—a Grandmaster who had refined her strength for nearly 70 years.
The gray beam fired at Vyper again.
Several missed—and blasted the ground.
Students, buildings, facilities below—everything turned to stone.
I moved again.
I knew what I had to do.
<Angela! You must destroy the 『Domination』!>
<I know! But I’m the only one who can hold off Toy!>
<Leo! On my signal—go airborne!>
<Understood!>
But Toy was still listening to this <Communication>.
It didn’t matter.
His “sky” wasn’t ours.
<Now!!>
Four of us blinked simultaneously.
『World Forgery: Perception Reversal [Inversion of the World]』
Just before it triggered, I flipped the up and down inside the illusion.
Even as a Grandmaster, Toy couldn’t tell the difference.
He blinked—opened his eyes at the bottom of the totem zone, 20 meters down.
Angela and Leo appeared in the opposite sky.
I raised my Liberator⁺₊⋆.
I’d already sensed it—Jinksythe’s cursed arm, the “Hand of Domination,” had been eyeing me.
Because 「Radiant Star⁺₊⋆」 made it uneasy.
───.
So when I fired, it twisted its wrist and dodged the bullet.
But I wasn’t aiming at it.
I aimed at the totem.
KAAAA-BOOM!!!
The 『Firefly Sanctuary』 shattered in one hit.
The spatial binding field vanished.
The power that anchored me unraveled.
But not just for me.
Toy, mid-teleport, began to fall.
<WHY THE HELL DID YOU BREAK THE TOTEEMMMMM―― ― ...>
Stop acting, you insane bastard.