After Balmung was carried away by the medical corps, the Disciplinary Bureau was busy cleaning up the wreckage of the administrative station.
At Dante’s request, the incident was processed not as Balmung’s damage—but as Dante’s.
“Professor Dante Hiakapo? Oh, come on...”
The agent from Central, who arrived late, let out a deep sigh.
This made it the second administrative office Dante had personally wrecked.
“Unbelievable... That guy—what’s his problem with these offices? He just goes around smashing any government property like it’s a game. Is that what being a professor gives you? What the hell goes through his head...?”
It was no more than grumbling.
But then something strange happened.
The official suddenly found himself surrounded by the unexplained, hostile gazes of the on-site agents.
What the hell?
What’s with them?
Did Dante blow up their homes or something?
“...Ahem. I’ll take my leave, then.”
Sensing the mood, he made a quick escape.
Meanwhile, the officers—after wrapping up for the day—went out for drinks.
They weren’t in bad spirits. Mostly thanks to the 500,000 Hika “apology fund” Dante had personally handed over.
Plus the additional 500,000 Hika delivered in Betelgeuse’s name from the Black Abyss.
A surprise cash windfall, really.
The administrative office was public property anyway. Neither Dante nor Betelgeuse had any obligation to compensate anyone. The director tried to reject it outright—but it was useless. In the end, the twenty officers split the money evenly. So during the after-party, the conversation turned into a string of dazed compliments.
“Man...”
One officer took a swig and let out a bitter laugh.
“I always knew Balmung was a bit of a lunatic, but even thinking about it now gives me chills.”
“Still, didn’t that guy look completely calm when he left?”
“He did...”
“There was something... magical about it. At first, I couldn’t even process it.”
It had been so visceral. So raw. Even the officers of Zone 0’s Disciplinary Bureau—well-accustomed to violence and corpses—were thrown off by the sheer intensity.
“That was my first time seeing Professor Dante use force... It was terrifying.”
“Right? Up until now, it was always just rumors, right?”
“Yeah. There were never any concrete records. Just people saying he was strong, over and over.”
That’s when KangKang chuckled.
“But what we saw was probably just a drop in the bucket.”
The others laughed.
“True. That makes sense.”
“He must’ve been holding back.”
“If he actually hit for real...”
The officers all shook their heads.
They didn’t even want to imagine it.
“...Damn. I can’t work here for much longer.”
“Why?”
“The idea that what we saw was him holding back is just... too much.”
“Yeah. Felt less like a person and more like some kind of monster. I wouldn’t even know what to do if someone told me to try and stop him.”
“I’m sure the professor felt bad too.”
“Of course he did! He’s a professor!”
KangKang suddenly knocked back his drink.
“You guys don’t get it.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“‘Felt bad’? Don’t be ridiculous. Professor Dante is a cold-blooded killer.”
“......”
He refilled his glass and added:
“Someone like Balmung... he could kill a hundred of those and not even blink.”
That got the team thinking.
Really?
Maybe he would.
In their minds, the image of Dante grinned—his lips tearing open all the way to his ears.
And then a long, forked snake tongue slipped out and licked the air.
Gulp...
“Terrifying...”
A professor without blood or tears.
His name...
...Dante Hiakapo.
***
Tak.
The end of a cigar was snipped off.
Betelgeuse always lit an expensive cigar when his thoughts grew heavy.
Thanks to his self-developed “biological alchemy”—a high-grade form of [Alchemy]—he could replace even his own organs and blood vessels. He inhaled that pungent, condensed smoke deep into his lungs.
Once known as a genius of Hiaka, Betelgeuse was now in his seventies, a [Grandmaster] ranked around the top 200.
A monster poised to surpass even the [Challenger]-ranked department heads. Even now, he stood alone among his peers in terms of power.
“—Once upon a time...”
Betelgeuse exhaled smoke and opened his mouth.
“I thought I’d mellow out at this age.”
His voice was easy-going, but dangerous.
Someone once said he gave off the aura of a jet-black puma.
The person sitting with him agreed with that metaphor.
“I’ve got more than most. Achieved more than most. No kids, so I’ve got nothing desperate tying me down... I figured I wouldn’t want anything anymore at this age.”
The figure in the dark didn’t reply.
Just listened.
“Guess I was wrong.”
Betelgeuse closed his eyes, lazily. Half his face lit by a soft glow.
“What do you think, big sister?”
It was a grotesque way to phrase it—but he couldn’t stop himself from calling her that.
Angela, one of only two Chief Professors in Black Abyss, replied curtly.
“What do you even want that bad, Chief?”
“Dante Hiakapo.”
“......”
A name that shot out without a word of preamble.
Angela smiled faintly with her eyes closed.
Of course. She figured as much.
“He’s a truly remarkable young man. A brilliant professor. A decent, upright youth.”
“Do you know what he did after the Balmung incident?”
“What did he do?”
“He brought Balmung to me. Made him do a handstand. Ordered him to apologize for his insolence. That half-mad brat actually listened.”
A full apology bow...! That classic, ancient gesture...!
Angela laughed.
“Ha! Professor Dante really has a way of doing the most adorable things. Makes me wonder what kind of world would just cough up a kid like that.”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe... we’re witnessing the birth of another ‘Constellation’ in Hiaka.”
“......”
The response ended there.
Witnessing the birth of a Constellation.
In Hiaka’s history, only two people had ever earned that title.
Could this be the third?
“Constellation...”
Betelgeuse turned to the window.
A single word. Yet tangled with endless thoughts and feelings.
Constellation.
That damned word.
They were used to silence, so the two simply sat with it for a while.
But in the end, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Betelgeuse had to admit it—even if only to himself. Dante’s growth and trajectory were on par with, or above, those prior Constellations.
And that only made the desire in him swell further.
“Not one hundred million. Not two hundred...”
His head tilted diagonally.
A sigh drifted out along with smoke.
“...So what the hell do I even offer him?”
***
This happened just after I handed Balmung over to the Bureau.
As the Nibelung Family left the academy, I couldn’t just let them walk away.
So I followed them. Caught up near the front gate of Zone 0. And finally managed to strike up a conversation.
“What do you want?”
“I’d like to ask you something.”
I had altered my face and appearance using [Illusion]. I wore the look of a soft, harmless young man—with a little mole like a black bean on my cheek.
“I’m the assistant of Professor Dante Hiakapo, senior professor of Hiaka Academy and advisor to the Dormant Dragon Cadets...”
“Assistant?”
“Yes. My name is Kongte.”
The Nibelung operatives were in no mood to entertain me. Clearly still tense from what had just happened.
“Wait, you mean Dante—that guy with the pink eyes?”
I decided to dial down the menace for once and responded gently.
“Haha, yes. That’s our professor—pink-eyed and all.”
As an assassin, Dante’s body was used to pulling off this kind of act naturally.
What followed was a long exchange.
Three questions. Three answers.
And three inner monologues.
Here’s the summary:
Q. Was the plan to use Gray or Balmung to expand influence in Zone 0 directly ordered by the Matron?
A. What would you do with that info, punk?
S. [She told us to ‘look into it,’ but yeah, she’s clearly hoping for it. Besides, if someone dropped a rice cake in your lap, you’d be an idiot not to eat it.]
In the end, it was exactly what I expected.
Piggybacking on someone else’s success.
Q. What gives the Nibelung Family the confidence to act like this? Don’t you think you’re underestimating Hiaka, backed by the royal family?
A. Even if the royals get uppity, they can’t afford to publicly cross the Abyss Constellation⚉. So what’re they gonna do?
S. [Worst case, we just bolt to the Empire! Who’d be desperate enough to stop us in this climate?]
Batalion really set a bad precedent.
Goddamn bastard.
Now everyone else thinks they can pull the same move.
Q. Is there a way to end things cleanly between the Academy and the Nibelung Family?
A. You insane bastard.
S. [You guys are broke. Without our Black Abyss “donations,” you’re toast.]
And to be fair, the numbers weren’t small.
“...I see.”
I formed a few hypotheses in my head.
And from there, made a decision.
But just as the conversation wrapped up—
“Hey.”
The adult from the Nibelung side, the HR chief Hitahil, suddenly tossed a question my way.
“You’re really Dante’s assistant? Then give your professor a message.”
“I’m listening.”
“Tell him to give us a call. We’ve got an offer he’s never even dared to dream of.”
A generous offer?
Hardly.
[‘If he drags those cadets into our hit squad, that is.’]
[‘Just control that guy and everything else falls into place.’]
Kongte the assistant probably smiled and bowed politely here.
“Understood. I’ll deliver Professor Dante’s answer to the Nibelung Family tomorrow.”
⋮
After parting with the Nibelungs, I visited Balmung in the hospital.
He’d just come out of emergency surgery, covered in bruises and wounds, looking up at me.
“Professor...”
A hardened expression, slightly softened.
But after watching him this long, I realized—he only ever made that face when he’d just been tossed a bone.
“I’m sorry. No, wait, that’s not how I should start—”
“Just sit.”
“I’ll sit after I say this.”
He struggled upright and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
“I’m truly sorry. I heard from the other officers. My curse attacked a lot of them...”
“It’s fine. I handled you pretty rough myself. Doesn’t sit right with me.”
“No, I was out of line. I deserved worse. You could’ve killed me...”
“Enough. Don’t talk too much.”
It wasn’t like I wanted an apology.
Nor was I in the mood to receive one.
I was just curious.
As I said before, [Stigmas] are heavily influenced by will and emotion. Why had he lost control? Was it a professor’s insult that enraged him? Or how the hell did he end up harboring the Abyss Constellation’s⚉ [Stigma]?
Still, I decided not to ask.
Not now. Too much negativity already.
“Let’s skip the sappy stuff. Take this.”
“...What is this?”
An assassin contract.
Same kind Elize and Kendreik signed.
“......”
Balmung’s eyes widened.
“You willing to be trained by me?”
“...Huh? Y-yes! Of course!”
“Sign it.”
He hurried to comply.
Unexpected.
I thought he’d resist a little.
Then again—
Who was Balmung?
A guy who cussed out random kids... cussed out his teammates... cussed out Betelgeuse... and once tried to snipe me with a rifle...
...Yeah.
That’s a lunatic right there.
“If you join the assassin squad, you’ll have to follow my orders exactly.”
I said it with some concern.
“If you tell me to die, I’ll die.”
“......”
“Why the pause? Want me to prove it?”
Prove it? What the hell’s wrong with you.
Anyway, just before stamping the blood seal, Balmung mumbled something gloomy.
Said he hesitated to sign because of his ties to Nibelung.
Seemed like he thought he’d ruined everything.
“If... it’s not rude to ask, may I know how things ended with the Nibelung Family?”
“We’ll see.”
“I did strike two of their people, so—”
“That doesn’t really matter.”
“...Why not? I’m sure you know already. The Nibelung Family’s a dangerous and sensitive group—”
“Balmung.”
I cut him off.
“That’s between the Academy and the Nibelungs. That’s my problem, as a professor. Not yours.”
“Ah, I apologize...”
“If you’re worried, there’s only one thing you need to do: be more mindful of your words and actions.”
“Yes...”
Balmung bowed deeply.
Then crept closer.
And whispered in my ear.
‘...If you ever need a suicide-bomber kamikaze freak to take out the Nibelung Family, I’m your guy...’
Not necessary.
Still, even after I said that, he didn’t look at ease.
Well, I’m a single person, and the Academy’s an institution. It’s natural that we don’t always see eye to eye.
So he stamped the blood seal. Finalized the contract. I made him one more bone balloon.
And even at our farewell, his 【Script】 was filled with this:
【Balmung: ‘What if Professor joins hands with the Nibelung Family...?’】
Useless thoughts.
***
The next day, the Nibelung Family’s Investigation Division uncovered something shocking.
A massive vehicle carrying their personnel had been crushed halfway up the mountain. As if trampled by a giant beast. The nearby road had caved in under the weight of something massive and heavy.
There were no traces of a killer, so it was clearly an assassination—but filled with mysteries.
No corpses were found.
So the division mobilized teams and scoured the area.
Eventually, they looked up toward the tallest tree in the dense forest.
There, they found them all—HR Chief Hitahil, agents Kadurfin, Mammon, and the rest—everyone who’d visited the Academy.
All hanging from a single rope.
As if on display.