< Elize: Balmung, come here. >

< Balmung: Where?! >

< Elize: Parking lot. Hurry. >

< Balmung: Which parking lot?! >

< Elize: Behind the building. Hurry. >

< Balmung: Are you seriously a shit-for-brains? What building, where, you dumbass?! >

< Elize: ?? >

< Elize: Why are you lashing out?? >

⋮

Balmung, who was running behind the hotel building following Elize’s scent, had to suddenly come to a stop.

Because he caught a certain scent.

‘Huh?’

Scent, even if one tries to hide it, can never be perfectly concealed—it inevitably lingers in a space.

And ever since he was young, Balmung had been able to pick up more information than others through scent.

And now,

‘This scent is.......’

A sharp, pitch-black scent.

Balmung meticulously analyzed the familiar smell.

There were two scents. It was like a small scent was layered on top of a larger one.

The smaller scent was that of the Nibelung Matriarch. Even something vaguely similar to it was enough to make the hair on his head stand on end.

The larger scent was from a woman.

‘......’

And at the time she was giving off that scent, she had been feeling fear—but at the same time, she had also felt fighting spirit.

In short, the owner of the scent had been in a situation where she wanted to pounce, but was hesitating because she was scared.

Once he figured that out, Balmung realized the scent’s owner wasn’t as far as he thought.

He realized she had been huffing with frustration, circling the area without daring to charge in.

“......!!”

In the next moment, he bent his waist and twisted his body backward.

Zzzzzzziiip――

A pitch-black bullet flew over his head and smashed into the Goldenfield sculpture.

BOOOOOM!!!

The giant coin-shaped sculpture had its center hole blasted open with pinpoint precision.

Nearby citizens screamed in shock.

“Eek!” “What the— i-it’s a shooting!!” “Run!!”

At this moment, the situation wasn’t so bad for Balmung. Because some pointless beer parade commemorating the massive auction event was going on.

There were lots of people around. The noise from the brass instruments and drums was loud.

Even when a gunshot rang out, people only panicked and ran away nearby—those even a short distance away didn’t hear it.

Taking advantage of the commotion, Balmung activated [Stealth] and melted into the crowd. Then he reached for the pistol on his waist.

His safety was now secured.

Because he was buried under the smell.

But even after rolling his eyes around for a while to find the sniper amidst the crowd—something ridiculous happened before long.

‘...This little fuck?’

Among the hundreds and thousands of mixed smells, he began to sense that smell. The one from the bastard who had just shot at him.

Balmung found the single, foreign thread of scent.

And he had a pretty good idea of who it was.

Surprisingly, it was someone of his own blood.

Possibly... a sibling.

Same mother, different father.

< Elize: Balmung. >

< Elize: Balmuuuung. >

He turned off the comms.

Elize was completely useless in a situation like this. Even if she came, she’d just wag her tail and go,

“Wow! That scent is just like yours.”

Right now, he had to focus on the enemy.

Most likely, the opponent was a pitiful creature.

Some girl, clipped and caged under that bitch of an old hag. Abused and raised in captivity.

But he didn’t give a shit. The Dante Assassination Squad had officially marked the Nibelung Family as enemies.

If he could kill, he had to kill right away.

He was probably giving off his own unhideable scent too. So the enemy would also be trying to follow that line of scent through the crowd, hunting him.

‘Where are you?’

In the bustling crowd, the two sniper-assassins were searching for each other—by scent.

‘Where are you...?’

***

Assassins are trained so that they won’t get nervous in front of their targets. They walk through the estates of nobles. They steal bear cubs. They train in acrobatics on cliffs a thousand feet high.

Even those assassins couldn’t help but feel tense now.

The elite assassins of the Dominion❆ stood stiff, staring at the two men before them.

One of them was their guildmaster.

Kaiser.

Their master. The one who built the largest power in the Rewiyan region, including Count Kahla’s territory. The great boss of the underworld.

Now even the Black Star⚉ of Hiaka considered him an ally—the Young Giant.

They were his elite assassins. They had completed his training camp. Serving at the side of such a great being was, to them, a point of pride in life.

And because they lived so close to him, they immediately sensed something was off.

‘...The boss’s aura is far more ominous than usual.’

Kaiser’s gaze was low. His voice was even more subdued.

He felt stronger—more overwhelming than ever.

But instead of being reassured, this animalistic shift triggered a gut instinct in the assassins.

‘The boss is... nervous.’

‘Just who the hell is that guy...?’

The man wore an [Anonymity Mask] that covered everything below his nose. Only his pink eyes were visible. And even those were affected by [Cognition Disruption], so they probably didn’t even reflect his real face.

But one thing was clear: That man had made even their mighty Guildmaster tense.

So the assassins became tense too.

At the same time, curiosity began to rise.

‘Who is he?’

‘Didn’t the boss just call him “Professor”?’

Those who had looked into the Guildmaster’s past knew—he had once been a student at Hiaka Academy.

Then, he dropped out.

That was strange.

The man who had recruited a Constellation as an ally at barely twenty-two—there’s no way such a person couldn’t conquer a mere academy.

So then... did that mean this “Professor” was the one who had driven him out of the academy?

In that silent, tense moment, the man spoke.

“Kaiser Truman. Never thought I’d live long enough to see this. Did you get on the same ship as the Matriarch?”

“If our paths are aligned, I’ll board with anyone. Professor.”

“Then you chose not to get on my ship.”

“Each man has his own theme. Sometimes the road requires turning back.”

“Even if it means standing in my way?”

The assassins froze.

The professor’s pink triple-irised eyes narrowed slightly. An invisible pressure seized their legs.

“Where are you headed?”

“To let the Dominion❆ be known to this land.”

“And what does the Dominion❆ seek?”

“That’s not something you need to know.”

“......”

Silence fell.

The two men fell quiet. The man called “Professor” silently gazed into Kaiser’s eyes.

From the side, it might’ve looked like nothing was happening—but as the gaze extended, Kaiser’s expression began to stiffen.

It was clear: the “Professor” was crushing him with something unseen.

“...So that’s how it is. That’s what happened.”

The man may have been over twenty, but not a single person understood what those words meant.

“Are those your people?”

“Yes. And they are fully capable of stabbing through your heart, Professor.”

But as the professor pulled a sword from subspace—everyone realized what was about to unfold.

“I’ll evaluate them.”

At that moment, Kaiser’s voice resounded in their minds.

< Kaiser: Commence combat. >

In that instant, all traces of fear disappeared from the assassins’ eyes.

There were no humans there now.

Only tools.

< Kaiser: The target is an illusion-assassin. >

An illusion-assassin.

A very difficult opponent.

< Kaiser: We are all wearing Black Star Orbs. Through the Stigma, we can distinguish each other. >

Ah!

So that’s why they were told to wear the orbs before deployment. It was in preparation for this.

< Kaiser: Do not place too much faith in your senses. >

< Kaiser: The opponent’s skill level rivals a Constellation, but their mana reserve isn’t as vast. If we use the Chariot Formation to keep inducing illusions, we have a chance. >

At that moment, the Count’s guardian knight stepped in front of Kaiser.

That was the signal.

The [Throwing-Type] assassins hurled their concealed weapons.

Zzzzzziiiiiiing!!

In the early evening, dozens of throwing weapons sliced through the air.

But Professor Dante instantly melted into the void and vanished.

‘He dodged it!’

‘Where did he go?!’

Kaiser’s vertical pupils tracked the air—thanks to the [Legendary I] grade monocle he received in exchange for help from the Matriarch, he could now perceive the very points where mana was “pulsing.”

< Kaiser: Number 13. To the left of 150. 157. 191. >

In the three-dimensional formation, the assassins lunged in like lightning.

They fired throwing weapons.

They swung their blades.

And throughout the entire process—they never once gave the enemy a proper angle for a counterattack.

KAKAKANG!

The veil tore, and the professor repelled the assassins with his sword. The throwing weapon aimed at his lower body lifted him into the air.

As he kicked off the tree, then kicked off the side of the building and soared upward, the assassins leapt up one after another in pursuit.

< Kaiser: Number 2. Now. >

At that moment, an assassin who had been standing by in advance used his ability.

BZZZ-K—!!

Amid the burst of magical resonance, he became a single throwing weapon and cut through space, aiming for the professor.

BOOOM—BOOOM—!!

But what in the world just happened?

The professor was merely standing on the side of the building, holding a sword—and yet, as if a transparent barrier had formed in front of his body, the attack was deflected away.

An attack strong enough to shatter an ogre’s skull—

< Kaiser: That weapon is the Giant Soldier’s Sword○. You are facing an invisible giant soldier. >

< Kaiser: Even so, nothing changes in the strategy. Lure him into the Chariot formation. >

‘Yes, sir!’

After many such <Transmissions> were exchanged, the assassins once again resumed their attack from appropriate distances, firing throwing weapons, launching sniper fire, and using assassination magic, all aimed at the professor.

In the midst of this, the professor began to unleash [Illusions].

Another version of the professor moved somewhere else. The sky and ground flipped upside down. Dense smoke exploded, and some of the thrown weapons rebounded back at them.

< Kaiser: Prepare for reversal of the world. >

< Kaiser: Number 6. That professor is a fake. >

< Kaiser: Number 11. The throwing weapons are illusions. >

But each time, Kaiser instantly grasped the professor’s intent and directed them accordingly.

They had undergone training like this dozens of times at the guildmaster’s training camp. And now, their senses had become so sharp that even a breeze brushing a hair would trigger them.

They responded instantly to the professor’s illusions.

The professor kept leaping back, trying to widen the distance.

The assassin team followed at optimal range, persistently pressuring him.

A joint attack with perfect coordination.

Because of that, they began to feel like—they just might land a hit on him.

< Number 7: He’s making a big leap! >

< Number 2: Copy that! >

In that moment, Number 2—the fastest stepper in the Dominion—stepped forward in midair.

Using the sky as footing, he coiled his whole body like a spring.

He activated the ability that the Guildmaster had bestowed upon him recently, the one he had trained with every night to master. He embedded it in his feet.

⋮

『 Sky-Step Walker 』

⋮

―― .

In an instant, having crossed the sky, Number 2’s blade shot toward the professor’s pink eyes. The tip of the blade grazed the professor’s cheek.

Sssssshk—

Splat. Blood splattered.

At the same time, a shiver ran through the assassins’ insides.

‘Got him!!’

‘We caught up!!’

With the Guildmaster alongside us, we can even fight someone near the level of a Constellation. That belief started to take hold.

But Kaiser’s expression had stiffened.

< Kaiser: Number 2! DEFEND!! >

< Number 2: Huh? >

< Kaiser: It’s an illusion! >

That was strange. The Guildmaster should be able to read mana pulsations now, shouldn’t he?

But Number 2 soon panicked. As he landed after his strike, from the shadowy window of a nearby building—an invisible massive shape suddenly sprang out and ambushed him.

It was the finger of the Giant Soldier. Like a flick to the forehead, it slammed down onto the protective barrier above Number 2.

BOOOOOM—!!

The shockwave rippled out in concentric circles and flung the man away.

At that moment, Kaiser realized:

The professor had deliberately let himself be “caught” to take down the fastest one of them.

< Number 7: When the hell did that illusion get set up...?! >

The assassins widened their distance. There was no rush—their opponent was the one desperate to enter the building anyway.

And so, the professor stood atop the building’s rooftop, beneath the dark sky.

Backlit by the halo of a giant star they called the moon, his pink eyes looked down upon them all.

“Your assassination prep gets a passing grade, Kaiser. You’ve made quite the solid response against me. To think you’d make things this troublesome for me with assassins of this caliber.”

The guildmaster spoke up.

“......I didn’t expect this. That even against someone like me and my team, you’d come prepared, Professor.”

At this, the assassins were stunned—the Dante whose cheek had been cut open suddenly dissolved into a swarm of blue butterflies.

In other words, that [Illusion] had been planted before he even arrived here. There was a reason the Guildmaster couldn’t read it.

Despite only facing people like them, that great professor had prepared in advance.

“Because I’m a professor.”

The guildmaster laughed.

That’s right.

To lead by example—that is what it means to be a professor.

“Kaiser. I now understand ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ your position well. And I’ve also come to a clear conclusion about how far I must go.”

At that moment, the professor scanned all the assassins once, then turned his gaze off into the distance.

And then, slowly, he spoke.

“But... it seems I don’t have much time left.”

Kaiser realized it too—аn abnormality.

From far away, the Matriarch, having sensed the situation, was flying toward them.

Riding the darkness!

“My observation of your progress ends here.”

In the next instant, a terrifying surge of mana erupted from the professor’s body.

KUUUUUUUUUNG......

The ground and the air began to tremble. An oppressive pressure descended from the sky, as if the heavens themselves were pressing down.

The assassins were shaken.

So this is the "not-so-large" mana reserve he supposedly had?

At the same time, a disc formed in midair behind him. It extended upward, stretching all the way into the sky.

Not one, but four of them.

They looked nearly identical to the dark fortress-like structures that had surrounded the casino earlier.

⋮

『 Stigma Engraving I: 「Luminous Star⁺₊⋆」 ⊂ 「Illusion Pillar: Spectrometer」 』

< Fragments of held Stars: 457 (▼100) >

⋮

With those behind him, the backlight intensified.

The man with pink eyes looked down on all of them and spoke.

“May your eyes be blinded.”

In the next moment, a massive light burst forth from the [Spectrometer], engulfing the entire casino district.

────── .