The Ghoul Lord, having lost its core, was destroyed.
“He... he’s dead!!”
“That thing’s dead!!”
The Disciplinary Bureau agents shouted in disbelief, nearly leaping in place.
It was true.
Boss kill.
And with it, a surge of [Growth Mana] flooded into me, saturating my core based on my contribution.
< [Strength] +10.3 >
< [Agility] +7.4 >
< [Endurance] +5.5 >
< [Mana] +19.5 >
< [Willpower] +7.5 >
They say reading feeds the soul. I can’t say for sure about that—but this sensation? This definitely fed my soul.
I could feel it now. The sensation of my soul swelling and saturating every inch of my body.
< Total Combat Power: 157,530 → 159,036 (▲1,506) >
The numbers were satisfying too. Even from a player’s perspective, it was an impressive leap.
This was exactly why I’d chosen to carry the Giant Soldier’s Sword○ over the other national treasures. At this moment, given my physical stats, it was the only one that allowed me to solo a boss.
Anyway—
After this incident, around a thousand ghouls began disintegrating and crashing down to the ground.
If this game had a most broken damage mechanic, one of them would definitely be the <Fall Damage Check>.
“G-get back!”
“Move away!”
I backed off as well.
KUKUKUKUKUNG!!!
The ghouls poured down like a landslide, smashed to pieces, and the ones lower down were crushed to death by the sheer weight of those above.
“Warrior Department agents are arriving!”
Right on cue, the reinforcements came.
And with them, the incident ended.
“Thank you, Professor!”
“If it hadn’t been for you, the medical shelter would’ve been destroyed. There are hundreds of patients in there...”
I nodded to acknowledge their thanks.
If there was one miracle amidst all this, it was that not a single person had died. Even the seriously injured weren’t in critical condition.
And yet—even now, with everything over, ane person couldn’t calm down.
“Why are you doing this?!”
“Hold still, you bastard!”
The Bureau agents gathered around to restrain someone.
Of course—
It was Balmung.
“Let me go! I need to fight too!”
“Your job’s done! The warriors are here now!”
“Yeah, take care of yourself! You see your leg?!”
They were right.
He must’ve scraped against steel during the fall—
His leather greaves had split open and blood was pouring down his leg.
“I said I’m fine! I can still move!”
“Hey! Quit the bullshit and get your ass to the med tent!”
“What’s gotten into you lately?! You’ve been acting like a man possessed! You don’t see the dozens of others risking their lives out here too?!”
And then—
Balmung’s eyes lit up with fury as he grabbed the collar of an agent who was at least ten years his senior.
“You think just sitting here and waiting solves anything?! You think the Bureau saves everyone?!”
“What?! You little— Aren’t you Black Abyss?!”
“Black Abyss or not—are you telling me the Bureau can save all hundred victims just by sitting around?!”
“The Bureau isn’t your goddamn friend, you brat!”
“Yeah? And we can save all hundred—!”
“Then what about the hundred and first?!”
Balmung exploded.
“Then who saves the hundred and first?! If me moving saves even one more person, Shouldn’t I move?!”
At this point, I decided it was time to step in.
As a professor of the Department of Assassination.
“Stand down, Balmung.”
His jaw tensed. He turned toward me, released the agent’s collar, and bowed deeply and cleanly.
“...Yes, sir.”
【Whoa, what the hell?】 【That easily?!】
The agents around us looked visibly stunned, and rightfully so.
“Always show respect to the Bureau.”
“...Yes. You’re right. I apologize, officers. I let my emotions get the better of me.”
Balmung bowed at a sharp 90 degrees in front of the Bureau agents.
They looked awkward—but accepted the apology.
“Come with me for a moment.”
“I’m sorry for the disruption, Professor. And thank you... I mean, it was an honor. That thing you did earlier—it was really, just, absolutely—”
“That’s enough. Just come with me.”
I brought Balmung aside, sat him down in a corner, and began administering [Emergency First Aid].
Just like I’d done with Rebecca.
“Professor, please... You don’t need to do this—I can just go to the medics—”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Yes, sir.”
Truthfully, I was only pretending to be the kind, respectable professor—
Trying to boost our [Relationship Score].
I’m that selfish.
As I applied the dressing, I asked what I’d been wondering.
“...Why are you so restless?”
Balmung was a sharp, well-trained Doberman.
He immediately understood the meaning behind my question.
“...I don’t really know. A few days ago, I was just sitting in the dorms, and then— it started to drive me crazy.”
“Details.”
“I just couldn’t sit still anymore. I needed to do something. But I didn’t know what that something was...”
He lifted both hands and covered his face.
This was a guy who always dressed himself up with style—and now he looked like a bloodied butcher, barely holding himself together.
“Something’s... something’s wrong, isn’t it? But I don’t know what to do about it. The Academy—Hiaka—it’s falling apart. What am I even supposed to do?”
From my judgment, this was compulsive behavior.
It reminded me of children whose parents were getting divorced—suddenly trying to act cute, smile more, be ‘good’—to fix something they had no control over.
“So I figured, at the very least, I should go out and try saving people. I asked Kaiser, and he said maybe that’d help calm my nerves...”
“And did it?”
“Sort of. Moving felt better than sitting still. But then... I couldn’t stop. Sitting still made me anxious again. It just kept twisting in my chest. I—I’m sorry, shit... What the hell am I supposed to do, Professor...? Hiaka Academy is already ruined.”
His fingertips trembled.
I paused.
And thought back.
This probably had to do with Balmung’s family.
Here’s a lesser-known truth:
The Nibelung Family, traditionally, only allows women to serve as the Matriarch—the ruling boss.
(The Black Abyss Star⚉ prefers women.)
Because of this, the male who provides the seed for a male child is seen as having “defiled” the Matriarch’s body—and is executed.
In other words—
When Balmung was born, his father immediately became a target for Nibelung’s assassination.
From what I could find, the man managed to evade pursuit until Balmung was nine... Then disappeared. Presumably assassinated.
After that, Balmung likely developed this helpless dread—this deep suffering from watching everything collapse around him without being able to stop it.
And when he grew strong enough to change things himself—he internalized the belief that he always had to do something.
Compulsion, in its purest form.
I took a moment.
Then said,
“What I want to say first is this— You’re going to be okay.”
Balmung looked up, dazed.
“...I’m okay?”
“Yes. Things aren’t as bad as you think.”
“But Professor...”
“The Assassination War is over. The ghouls will soon be gone. Sure—the Academy’s in worse shape than before. That’s a fact.”
“......”
“But imagine a man who had ten million Hika. Now he only has eight million. Is that man unhappy?”
“...Well... Eight million isn’t so bad, I guess. Still richer than me...”
“Looked at from what he lost, he is unhappy. Strange, isn’t it? Same situation— But whether he’s happy or not depends on what defines him.”
“...The person who judges...?”
“Then let me ask you. Up until now, who’s been judging your world?”
“......”
Balmung muttered, almost inaudibly.
“...I have.”
“Balmung Nibelung. Stop overthinking.”
“......”
“The human brain is trapped inside a small room, and its thoughts cannot escape. They echo back and forth. You’re confirming your own helplessness, your failures, your collapse, and torturing yourself with bias and self-reinforcement.”
“......”
“You don’t need to think that far.”
Balmung’s mouth slowly parted.
His head sank down.
“......”
When a person’s thoughts become the problem, they instinctively try to fix it with more thoughts.
But sometimes, simply stopping the thought is what allows things to settle.
“...Thank you.”
“Good.”
I thought I’d stay a bit longer to monitor his condition before leaving.
That’s when—
A few Black Abyss cadets standing at the edge of the alley, smoking rolled cigarettes, began staring at us blankly.
And then—one of them locked eyes with Balmung.
“Hey, you fuckers! Hey!!”
Suddenly, Balmung shot up—exploding in rage.
“You watching a goddamn show? What the fuck are you looking at?!”
“...Huh? What’s going on?”
“Don’t you see the professor’s standing right here?! Aren’t you gonna salute?!”
What the hell is this?
The startled cadets immediately stubbed out their smokes, rushed over, and bowed deeply.
“Ah... G-good morning, Professor!”
“Good morning, sir! I’m sorry for not greeting you sooner!”
I nodded and let them go... though it was a bit startling.
“...What are you doing?”
“...Sir?”
“Why are you disciplining other students?”
“Oh, my apologies... It’s just—they saw you and didn’t even acknowledge your presence... Isn’t it basic manners to greet a professor?”
“......”
I let it slide—for now.
But for some reason...
I felt I couldn’t leave him like this.
“Come walk with me.”
“Yes, Professor...”
I took Balmung somewhere quieter.
His reaction just now might have been typical of the Black Abyss environment and his Nibelung upbringing, but that wasn’t all. He was clearly unstable. Normally, he wasn’t nearly this emotional.
Could I really do something for him right now?
I asked myself that.
After all—I’m a professor armored in deception, am I not?
“......”
But what kept me calm amid all these storms was that I had learned how to be calm in my own life.
And because of that, perhaps—I was someone who could say something.
***
Gray was having a dream.
A very strange dream.
A man appeared in her dream.
What made it so strange was that men rarely appeared in Gray’s dreams.
Out in the real world, sure—she’d grab a guy’s hand without hesitation, or flash a glimpse of her hidden tattoos if she noticed someone staring. That was just her style.
She found it hilarious when they didn’t know what to do with themselves. Toying with others was fun.
But in truth—
Gray had no interest in men.
It’s not that she only liked women. She just didn’t care. She lived with her mind constantly immersed in illusion magic.
She thought things like romance were a waste of time. And when she looked around? Idiots like Kendreik, lunatics like Kaiser, boring guys like Balmung, and walking question marks like Quan were all she had to choose from.
She couldn’t understand why any girl would waste her life chasing after that trash.
So for a man to show up in her dream... Was really out of the ordinary.
She didn’t know who he was.
His face wasn’t visible.
He just... had odd tastes.
He approached her—and started tying her up.
“Ugh, no... What are you doing...?”
Gray resisted.
The man didn’t seem hostile. But still, the whole situation felt off. So she struggled as much as she could.
But strangely—her body had no strength.
“You can’t understand me right now anyway. Just move your arms. You’re in /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the way of me dressing you in the nakasam.”
What the hell is nakasam?
“Ugh, stop... That hurts...”
It was weird.
Really weird...
Maybe because it was a dream, but she couldn’t move properly.
It reminded her of the time when she and Elize had been on terrible terms.
She once dreamed about punching Elize—but when she tried, her fist felt like a cotton puff.
Now again, she was being restrained, unable to do anything.
“Why do you keep touching me...? Are you curious about Gray’s tattoos or something...?”
Still, since the man didn’t seem openly hostile, she tried to talk to him calmly.
But then he suddenly shoved her against the wall.
Her body hit it with a solid thump, pinning her completely in place.
She couldn’t move at all.
Everything that happened afterward—
Was a blur. Fuzzy, like fog.
Who was that man...?
Well, whatever. It was just a dream.
Gray thought no more of it.
After all—
It was morning.
“Gray! Gray!!”
“...Ugh?”
The dormitory maid of the Dormant Dragon Cadets—Lucy—rushed in, calling for Gray.
“Get up! Do you know what time it is?!”
“...Why? Why? What time is it?”
Still half-asleep, Gray flailed her hand toward Lucy.
The maid frowned—
Then pressed her ice-cold hand, soaked in the chill of early winter, to Gray’s stomach.
“KYAA!”
Gray leapt up.
“WHAT THE HELL?! Did you soak your fingers in ice water or something?!”
“Hey! This isn’t the time for that! Pull yourself together—this is a BIG deal!”
“Big... deal?”
“Assassination Daily is coming to interview you!”
“...??”
Gray blinked wide-eyed. Then snorted.
“...Really, sis? You woke a sick person up over that crap? Even the village idiot Elize knows Assassination Daily is total bullshit—”
“You dumbass!”
Maid Lucy clutched her chest, exasperated.
“That’s not it! Have you really not heard anything?!”
“Heard what?”
“Your photo shoot for the monthly cover model just got confirmed!”
“Huh? Wait—what? ...Why?”
“What do you mean why?! Because of the Airship Incident! That whole department is in chaos!”
Gray sat there, slack-jawed.
Her crooked fang poked out in disbelief.
“...Huh?”