Of course, not everyone in that room was filled with goodwill toward me.
At this point, it would've been strange not to hear from the neutral faction. And sure enough, one of them raised a hand.
“May I offer my opinion?”
“Yes, Professor Badrock... please go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
It was Senior Neutral Professor Badrock.
True to his name, he looked like a squat, bitter rock.
One of those neutral professors who regularly trashed me behind my back.
“All of us here can agree, I think, that Professor Dante has played a significant role in handling this crisis.”
Surprisingly, he opened without sarcasm. His words were honest praise.
“He contributed to the counteroffensive against that monster in the sky... helped eliminate the infiltrators in Zone 0... I myself, despite having no fondness for him, must acknowledge those accomplishments.”
“And so?”
“I simply wish to ask Professor Dante directly. Is your request truly made for the sake of subjugating the monster?”
All eyes turned to me.
The demand I made—for the 「Titan’s Blade ○」—
Was it truly just to help kill Jinksythe?
Of course it wasn’t.
Let’s clarify something here.
I’ve often insulted assassins for being crude and shameless—but I’m not much better.
I’m a bastard too. I have no interest in fighting for ideals that don’t pay. No desire to make noble sacrifices for purity.
A true assassin at heart.
That’s me.
But I didn’t answer right away. I let him speak.
“...Frankly speaking, I have my suspicions about Professor Dante.”
“And what are they?”
“If you are, in fact, stronger than we thought... if you’re far more competent—perhaps even overwhelmingly so—then I must ask: are you using this situation for your own benefit?”
A murmur spread among the professors.
“What are you implying, Senior Professor Badrock?”
I spoke up.
“Professor Dante. Let me ask you plainly. Did you... assassinate a neutral professor?”
“...What?”
“Exactly as I said. Did you kill a fellow neutral professor?”
“I don’t even understand what you’re saying. And frankly, I’m getting a little irritated.”
“I apologize. But let me be clear. In the chaos of war—did you take the opportunity to eliminate a few neutral professors who had publicly opposed you? Can you give a clear answer to that?”
“I did not.”
“...I suppose. Someone as competent as you would hardly leave behind traces of an assassination.”
“......”
That came out of nowhere.
And yet, Badrock's expression remained deadly serious.
“Professor Gula is dead. So is Professor Olivia. And Professor Mark. All of them had a poor relationship with you. All of them died in places unrelated to Kreutz ambushes. And we had to retrieve their corpses ourselves.”
“And wasn’t it you, Professor Dante, who was suspected in the death of Professor Hakon not long ago?”
...Was that true?
Were neutral professors just... turning up dead?
Badrock looked at me with a grim, almost pitch-black expression.
“Do you have nothing to say, Professor Dante?”
It was a political move—well crafted—and a genuine inconvenience.
Everyone in this room knew the truth.
That I had long received overtures and favoritism from Black Abyss and White Saber alike.
And in contrast, had been openly hostile to the neutral faction.
“I...”
But the answer I would give was already decided.
“May I say something?”
A voice came from an unexpected direction.
Everyone’s attention turned.
And I was shocked at who it was.
“Professor Dante. That man is not the kind to do something like that.”
The speaker—wrapped in heavy bandages around the abdomen—was none other than... Senior Neutral Professor Kollider.
“K-Kollider...?”
Badrock’s face stiffened. So did many others. Even I was stunned.
Kollider had always been the most vocal critic of me in the entire neutral camp.
“Senior Professor Kollider...? What are you saying?”
“I fought alongside him against that monster Jinksythe. I wouldn’t call the man kind, but I will say this—he’s not the kind of garbage that would use a war to murder his fellow professors.”
Now that I thought about it—
Right before Kollider was stabbed and fell, it had been me who sent him the warning signal.
“Kollider...! You sure you’re not mistaken? In a crisis, it's easy to misinterpret things—!”
“No. Your true self is revealed in a crisis. Tch! Never thought I’d see the day I’d defend that bastard professor, but that’s my view.”
“Unacceptable! Professor Kollider, that man—!”
Badrock began to raise his voice, growing more emotional—
BANG!
A solid thud echoed through the chamber.
The sound of stone slamming into wood.
Angela had struck the table with her half-petrified arm.
“That’s enough. Professor Badrock’s accusations lack evidence. There is no reason to drag out these baseless suspicions and put one of our valued professors in a difficult position...”
“...My apologies, Senior Professor Angela.”
“It’s done. Furthermore, the department head has just given formal approval—Professor Dante...”
“You mean...”
“Yes. The loan is granted.”
Ah. There it was.
The national treasure was mine.
“That will be all for today’s meeting... Professor Dante, please come with me.”
***
Time was running out. I immediately followed Senior Professor Angela and a few of the elders to the Vault of Zone 0.
There, I obtained National Treasure No. 17 — the fabled 「Titan’s Blade ○」.
“Do you know how to use it?”
“It’s my first time wielding it in practice, but I’m familiar enough.”
“Then I’ll trust you...”
After a few formalities, a seemingly ordinary sword was placed into my hands.
Done.
I now had official possession — or rather, loan — of the 「Titan’s Blade ○」.
The thrill of securing such an overwhelming weapon only lasted a moment.
Jinksythe was going to vanish anyway, so it wasn’t immediately critical.
Instead, I turned my focus to the real mystery at hand.
“Multiple neutral professors were assassinated?”
That shouldn't have happened.
Sure, Professor Gula had died, but he was directly in the path of the Kreutz assassins. That could be explained.
But the others Badrock mentioned? As far as I could remember, all of them had been in safe locations.
They shared certain common traits:
— All were senior professors
— All were attacked while alone
— And all had been killed within the last few hours
After the meeting ended, I began a thorough review of the neutral professors’ status.
I wanted a clearer picture of what had actually happened. I made several calls — especially to Badrock — and surprisingly, he was willing to share details without much resistance.
And perhaps because of the recent assassinations...
Most of the remaining senior neutral professors had clustered together for safety.
Except for one.
The one who had defended me earlier — Kollider.
Having taken a stab wound to the abdomen, he was recovering alone in a private infirmary room.
So I went to visit him.
Pretending it was a simple hospital visit.
“...Huh? Professor Dante?”
The moment he saw me, he frowned.
So, defending me didn’t mean he liked me. That hadn’t changed.
“What brings you here? You’re a busy man. If you’re here to say thanks or some crap, get lost...”
“It’s not that. I appreciated earlier, but I’ve got other business now.”
I cast [Illusion] and hid myself just behind the wall.
“Tch... What is this, showing off illusions in front of me? You trying to flex?”
Ah, right. Kollider was an illusion arts professor.
Didn’t care.
“I’ll be staying here a bit. Three, four hours, tops.”
“Excuse me? What the hell are you doing? You’re not seriously going around killing neutrals, are you? Building up to kill me now?”
“If you're that worried, go ahead and text your neutral-only group chat and tell them Dante’s here. Not like I didn’t know about that, by the way.”
“...So you do know you’ve made enemies. Maybe you should’ve acted like a decent person once in a while—”
While Kollider rambled, I stood silently by the wall for hours.
Staring vacantly.
Scanning every 【Script】 I could find nearby.
Until—
I finally moved.
“You—! Is this where you show your true colors—!?”
“Shh.”
I silenced Kollider and stepped out of the room, opening the emergency stairwell door.
And there I waited.
For the two girls to arrive.
The culprits.
The assassins of the neutral professors.
“......”
Down the stairs.
Rebecca locked eyes with me and froze in place.
Elize followed just behind her, bumping into her back. “Ouch...” she muttered, stumbling slightly before looking up at me.
She gave me a smile and waved.
But I couldn’t smile back.
“The Saint of the Palace wouldn’t come here just to pray.”
“......”
This was only the second time I’d faced Rebecca directly.
Just like the first time—her eyes were devoid of emotion as she stared up at me.
Elize, sensing the tension, began to glance between us, confused.
“Could you step aside, Professor?”
Those decadent red eyes... the gaze of a blood-drenched tyrant.
Still, her 【Script】 didn’t appear.
“You’ll need to explain. What this is. What you’ve been doing. You owe me that much.”
And at that line, she seemed to realize her crime had been uncovered.
“...I was going to kill Senior Professor Kollider.”
“Denied.”
“......”
“You won’t even offer a defense?”
“No. Because I did it. I’ve said it before, but your eyes really are sharp, Professor.”
“You’re strange. Disgraced by treason, outcast, and drifting like flotsam. Why go out of your way to kill the neutral professors?”
“It must be done. Any seed of rebellion must be eliminated now.”
She spoke something far more dangerous than I had anticipated — and yet, she did so with perfect composure.
“Not every neutral is a seed of rebellion.”
“But rebellion always begins with neutrals.”
“There are always exceptions.”
“Not in Zone 0.”
“And what gives you the right?”
“This is the Royal Academy. And I’m a princess. Isn’t that enough?”
“Not even close.”
In that fragile standoff,
Rebecca took a long, deep breath.
From the pit of her stomach, she exhaled.
This was the moment.
Where I had to decide: how would I shape my future relationship with her?
I could tell, instinctively—Rebecca could not be controlled by kindness.
She was a tyrant. A cadet in name only.
A beast wielding the Moonshadow Institute’s blade with impunity.
If I just wanted to survive, I could grovel and play the sycophant.
But if I wanted a proper professor-student relationship?
Then—
I thought back to history.
The Roman Emperor Nero, who ruled through cruelty, lost his power when the Senate denounced him.
Oda Nobunaga, whose brutal reign ended in the Honnoji Incident.
Louis XVI, whose neglect of the people led to the French Revolution.
Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge, who was toppled through rebellion and foreign invasion.
Suicide was a common ending—but that wasn’t the point.
It was the process I was thinking about.
Tyrants don’t stop themselves.
They are only stopped by external pressure.
“Rebecca Hiakium.”
“Yes, Professor?”
Then from now on, I would be that pressure.
“You came as a student. Then act like one.”
One simple line.
Elize immediately flinched. “......!” She covered her mouth, glancing anxiously at the princess. Even clueless Elize could tell what I had just said was insane.
“......”
Rebecca stared at me, expressionless—then spoke.
“Elize.”
“Y-yes, Princess...”
“It’s your mission. Kill Professor Dante.”
“...Ah.”
Elize hesitated.
She reached toward her hip—
Shh—
And drew her blade.
Her face was filled with confusion.
But a mission was a mission.
“I’m sorry, Professor... you’ll have to die now...?”
The moment her foot touched the next step—
I spoke.
With clarity. Authority.
“Wait.”
Elize froze.
Now completely caught between me and Rebecca.
“Elize. What are you doing?”
“...Um. I’m supposed to kill the professor...”
Those soft pink eyes looked back at me.
I gave another command.
“Wait.”
“...O-okay... uh... mm...”
Rebecca’s expression began to crack.
“What are you doing? Go kill him. Now.”
“...R-right. Yes...”
When she moved again, I gave one more command—
“Elize. Sit.”
“......”
And Elize, now on the verge of tears, climbed the last few stairs—
And knelt down in front of me.
The surreal ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ nature of it all.
Rebecca raised a hand to her face, covering it.
And from behind it, an irritated voice:
“...What the hell is this supposed to be?”