I hated people who tried to wield power.
Those who used their lofty, stable positions to crush others—I had never once viewed such people kindly.
But...
I am someone who solves problems.
Even when I was young, I was a scholar, a researcher.
Maybe that’s why I loved games. Because games are a process of solving problems within fixed rules.
And if I can solve a problem, I don’t care what tools I use. Pen or pencil. Power included. If power is the only way to resolve the issue, then I’m willing to wield every last ounce of power I possess.
“Ghhk...”
The first problem was Gray’s survival. But along the way, the problem changed—eliminating the threats embedded within Hiaka itself.
It felt like a splinter in my foot. Small. Insignificant. But impossible to leave alone.
Solving that second problem had brought me here.
“Kh... Ugh...”
In my opinion, when a person grows old and stagnant, they rot. Most people change after death. But those who stagnate with age don’t. Even the nearness of death doesn’t change them—it only reinforces their sense of entitlement.
“Hrrrrgh...”
Which is why this man had to die.
“I’ll help you. If you can’t do it, I’ll open it for you—with your hand.”
I bent down and grabbed the officer’s wrist. Pulled it toward the Rift.
“Guh—! P-Please...! I was wrong...!!”
“Why resist? Hold your hand out.”
“S-Stop...!! No, please...!!”
By now, my stats had been bolstered by repeated training and boss fights. Even as he struggled and strained, I could overpower him.
“Who in the world takes responsibility just by saying so? You prove it. With your own hand. Right?”
The muscle in his arm bulged, veins popping. The trembling hand had no strength to resist. His elbow slowly began to straighten.
“Aaaaaagh!! P-Please! Please...!!”
He writhed as if I were dragging him toward a serpent’s maw. The other officers were frozen in panic, but none dared intervene. At last—when his hand hovered above the Rift—
“I believe that’s far enough.”
A dozen armored figures emerged in a shimmer of light and appeared at my side.
The emergency standby unit from HQ.
“H-Hey! Over here! Over here!!”
The officer who had been pretending to grovel moments ago now cried out in elation, as if angels had descended from heaven.
These were the Bureau’s elite—Unnamed Agents of the First Rank. They were not human. Constructs forged from [Stigmata†] and [Alchemy], ancient war automatons.
“Hey! This bastard tried to kill me! H-He’s a psycho! Arrest him!!”
Euphoria spread across the officer’s face. The glee of expecting me to be subdued and hauled away. After all, no matter how much authority a professor had, he assumed not even I could touch the emergency unit from Hiaka HQ.
An utter delusion.
I had contacted HQ as well.
And my request had gone straight to Ezekiel.
And Ezekiel—had more than enough authority, as a faculty director, to mobilize the Bureau and initiate a full audit.
The result?
“What are you waiting for?! Unnamed Agents! Hurry and take that lunatic down—!!”
Even as he barked wildly—
The Unnamed Agents bowed their heads before me.
“...W-What are...?”
The officer’s voice trembled with shock.
But the Unnamed Agents didn’t so much as glance at him. They spoke carefully to me.
“Please refrain from killing Bureau members, Professor.”
“......”
I had to admit it.
I was late.
“There are a lot of Rifts. Let’s handle those first.”
“Understood.”
Even now, the local officers and the commanding officer couldn’t comprehend this exchange—but that didn’t matter.
I let go of the officer’s hand and rose to my feet.
⋮
What followed happened swiftly.
The [Rifts] were real. All of them were on the verge of erupting, but fortunately, every single one was safely dismantled.
An official audit was launched into the Zone 4 Disciplinary Bureau.
Later I heard that the commanding officer received a heavy disciplinary action: dismissal from his post.
Apparently, he had connections. A shame, really.
It should have been expulsion.
Just a minor incident.
***
Officer Denis.
Or rather, former Officer Denis, was relieved of his duties after the audit. He spent the following days consumed with rage and misery.
And it was all because of him.
Senior Professor Dante Hiakapo.
Afterward, Denis attempted to file a background request on Dante through the ⧉System Network⧉. But it was expensive, so he kept the request limited—to Dante’s past. Because if you know someone’s past, you know who they are.
The result? Surprisingly little.
Officially, as recognized by the ⧉System Network⧉, he had no remarkable past. No notable history or identity.
Denis had assumed Dante would have powerful backing. But clearly, something was deeply messed up.
To think things had gotten this far because of that guy...
But Denis found hope in that.
Maybe... he could get revenge on Dante Hiakapo. The man who ruined his peaceful, comfortable life. That man’s life should be ruined, too.
So he resolved to use every connection he had.
The guy was a Senior Professor, right? Probably a [Master]-level combatant. Might even have a four-digit ranking.
So what? Denis had access to people like that too.
He first called White Saber.
“Hello?”
—Ah, long time no see, Officer Denis.
Apparently, news of his dismissal hadn’t reached Zone 0 yet. Denis didn’t bother correcting them.
“I’d like to request an assassination.”
—An assassination? Hmm. That’s difficult. I’m with White Saber. We don’t really kill people...
“This man has brought me unparalleled disgrace. I have no other way to get justice...”
—......
The kindly Senior Professor hesitated, then asked what had happened. Denis seized [N O V E L I G H T] the moment, fabricating events to make the man out to be a monster.
—Is that true? What a devil...
“Yes. I swear. Please, help me...”
—Alright. It’s against my principles, but... even if not assassination, I’ll see what I can do.
Then the professor on the line asked,
—What’s the name?
It was Leo Bardo, the famed assassination defense professor of White Saber.
“Dante Hiakapo!”
And then.
Something strange happened.
The call went completely silent.
“Uh, Professor Leo...?”
—......
“Professor Leo? Did you hear me? I said Dante Hiakapo?”
—......
What was going on? Why no reply? Denis frowned.
And then, unexpectedly cold words came through:
—Let’s pretend I never heard this.
His heart sank.
That voice—sharp as a blade.
“Wh-Why...?”
—I find this unpleasant, Officer Denis. Handle your own affairs from now on.
Click.
The call ended.
Denis blinked.
What the hell was that?
Leo—known for his fairness and gentlemanly manners—that Leo, reacted like that?
He tried calling again. No answer.
Denis clenched his teeth.
Leo must’ve gotten scared.
Because Dante was Black Abyss.
Worried about inter-faction conflict, probably.
Tch. The White Saber bastards—always so spineless and incompetent. The Black Abyss savages run wild and they just turn away?
But Black Abyss would be different.
Denis remembered a cadet who once volunteered with the Bureau—a genius, just, and nothing like the usual Black Abyss sort.
“Hello?”
—Yes, Officer.
He picked up. It’d been a while. They exchanged small talk, and then Denis got to the point.
“Sorry, but could you take a request?”
—A request?
“Yes. An assassination. Just one person.”
—Why are you making an assassination request to me, Officer?
Denis spun another embellished story. And as expected, this unusually kind Black Abyss cadet nodded along.
—He really sounds like scum. I’ll take care of it.
“Truly... thank you!”
—What’s the name?
This cadet—heir to the House of Nibelung, son of the Black Abyss Constellation⚉, and genius assassin of the Black Abyss—
Was Balmung Nibelung.
“Dante Hiakapo. Even his name sounds like trash, right?”
And then—
—What the fuck did you just say?
A string of profanity exploded through the phone.
Denis’s heart sank.
“Wh-What...?”
—Dante Hiakapo? Did you seriously just say Dante Hiakapo?
“......”
—You’re saying he unjustly wrecked the precinct? Bullshit, you fucking worm. You think I’m an idiot? What kind of crack are you on?
“Cadet! Wait, I... I don’t understand—!”
—Cut the lies, you little bitch. If Professor wrecked the place, then it was your own damn fault. Who the hell do you think you are, trying to smear him?
He couldn’t understand this reaction. He didn’t know what to say. But Balmung wasn’t done.
—HEY!! How many people have you called with this crap? Huh?! Tell me! HOW MANY!?
—ANSWER ME, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!
—No, forget it. WHERE ARE YOU?! Zone 4 Precinct, right?! I’m coming right now. WASH YOUR NECK AND WAIT, MOTHERFUCKER!!
Click.
Just before the line disconnected, Denis heard a final low mutter:
“...Let’s see if you say the same thing to my face...”
His fingers trembled.
Thankfully, he wasn’t in Zone 4 or at the Bureau. But his heart wouldn’t stop pounding.
What is WRONG with that psycho Black Abyss freak?!
He remembered Balmung.
A sharp-looking kid, but kind.
The cadet who’d volunteered with the Bureau. A gentle, dependable young man.
And now—he’d turned into something more Black Abyss than any Black Abyss.
White Saber’s off. Black Abyss is off.
It was like the whole world had conspired to screw him over.
Who even was Dante Hiakapo?
......
He couldn’t stop here.
But he didn’t dare call any Chief Professors. They’d probably ignore him, if not worse.
That left one last possible contact. Neither Black Abyss nor White Saber.
[ Neutral Senior Professor Kollider ]
“......”
He’d once called himself an elite. And to be fair, he looked the part.
He was neutral. Older than Dante, maybe—possibly outranked him.
“......”
But after those last two calls, Denis felt strange. For some reason, he sensed Kollider might not have more pull than Dante.
He had a bad feeling about it.
“......”
And so Denis gave up on revenge.
His will was completely broken.
– [Missed call: Balmung Nibelung (4 times)]
Though for the next few days, he lived in sheer terror.
– [Missed call: Balmung Nibelung (38 times)]
Even after blocking the number, the calls kept coming.
– [Missed call: ??? (1 time)]
– [Missed call: ??? (35 times)]
– [Missed call: ??? (127 times)]
⋮
After waking from a nightmare where a rabid dog bit his throat—
“Huff!!”
Denis bolted upright, clinging to his blanket, shivering in fear.
“S-Stop calling me...!!”
Hair loss. Insomnia. Nervous breakdown.
< Message from ???: I will find you. >
< Message from ???: And I will fucking kill you. >
SCREEEEEEEEECH!!
After three days of living in dread, Denis finally decided to leave the Academy for good...