WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

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Chapter 34: Professor Assassination: Illusion Arts (5)

Elize had her mystical dogs spread all throughout Zone 0.

They were called Mung, Mini-Mung, Mini-Mini-Mung, and so on.

She usually let them roam freely, wandering across the vast expanse of Zone 0, playing together wherever they pleased. 

But that evening, one of the Mini-Mini-Mungs brought back some intriguing news.

“Huh? Really?”

“Mung!”

Something this interesting couldn’t be ignored! 

Elize dashed out of her room and knocked once on Gray’s door before barging in without waiting for a reply.

“What the—? What’s going on?” Gray asked, startled.

“Wanna go see Professor Dante’s Illusion Arts right now?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Let’s go watch. I think we can still catch it. You need to see just how good the professor is with Illusion Arts.”

“Why on earth would I—?”

Before she could finish her sentence, Elize seized Gray’s wrist and took off, dragging the reluctant girl behind her with terrifying strength. 

“W-Wait a sec!”

Gray struggled, repeatedly bonking Elize’s head in protest. But the pink-haired airhead’s skull might as well have been made of steel—neither words nor fists could break through.

Before she knew it, they were both on the back of Elize’s mystical beast, the giant hound Mung.

“Mung, run.”

Elize lifted her head and sniffed the air. Her sense of smell, far beyond even her hound’s, pointed her toward Professor Dante.

The wild dog then turned translucent and pranced across the night sky, heading toward an abandoned forest at the far edge of Zone 0.

* * *

There was a concept in the real world known as the uncanny valley.

It referred to the unsettling feeling people experienced when something non-human appeared almost human, but not quite. The closer it resembled a real person, the more disturbing it became.

One theory suggested this was an evolutionary trait. Humans had developed the ability over thousands of years to pick up on subtle differences in facial expressions, speech, and behavior—to spot things that looked human but were decidedly not.

Things that, more often than not, posed a threat.

I wasn’t sure if the same concept applied to this game world.

But right now, someone—nay, something—stood before me, wearing human skin and pretending to be one of us. 

And what I felt wasn’t just discomfort.

From the very first moment I saw this thing, there was a murderous disgust that rose from deep inside me. Whether it came from the uncanny valley effect or simply because I was now a player in this world, I couldn’t say. But the feeling was undeniable. 

That was when the creature spoke.

“…That’s a rather aggressive thing to say to a fellow professor you’re meeting for the first time, Professor Dante. I only came here to help some children in danger. If you act so threatening right away…”

But I didn’t listen. 

I couldn’t listen.

There was only one impulse in my chest: to kill the thing standing in front of me.

“Professor Toxin.”

“Yes?” he responded, seemingly pleased. 

“There’s no need to sugarcoat anything. In fact, my ears aren’t open to anything you say.”

“…That’s quite unfortunate. Your attitude leaves much to be desired. Shouldn’t people talk things through when there’s a misunderstanding? Communication is key, after all.”

“Sorry. Even now, I couldn’t understand a word. I want to listen, I really do. Even if it’s all flowery nonsense, I’d love to hear it. But my brain flat-out refuses to process your words.”

Toxin stared at me, puzzled by my response.

“But allow me to make a suggestion,” I said.

“Oh? What is it?”

The demon’s eyes were glazed and unfocused. 

“Why don’t you kill yourself?”

It was a fair proposal. Rational, even.

Filth should be cleaned up. But if it could vanish on its own, there was no need for me to get my hands dirty.

“If you do, you won’t have to suffer a painful death by my hands.”

The demon's already-unfocused eyes seemed to drift even further apart.

Its lips curled into an unnatural grin before parting.

“…You really are different from other humans. I’ll have to kill you right here, right now, with everything I’ve got.”

Suddenly, a pair of skin-textured wings burst from his back, tearing through his flesh and clothes.

Flap—!!

Dark mana exploded from the demon, weighing down on the forest with its immense pressure. 

Boom—

Even the lowest-ranked hornless demon was incomparable to humans. They were monsters with strength equal to an entire unit of human combatants. 

The creature released its full power without reserve, demonstrating that we would never hold a candle to it.

“I see.”

I pulled out my rifle 「Liberator ⁺₊⋆」 from my inventory.

Because I finally understood what the creature was trying to say.

“…So you refuse.”

“Urgh!”

Because of the demon professor’s sudden surge of killing intent, the cadets couldn’t move.

Their legs buckled beneath them as the creature spread its wings. A primal terror sized them.

Demons reduced humans—who prided themselves as the rulers of all creation—into nothing more than mere prey.

The comfort they’d felt from Professor Dante’s presence disappeared in an instant.

Ah…! Monster…!

I-I have to run... b-but my legs won’t move!

Derek and the others trembled, paralyzed with fear. 

The demon swooped down toward them, sword drawn and wings outstretched. 

Schlaak!

Crack! Crash!

“Aah!”

A single slash cut through the air, felling several trees in an instant.

But Dante—the true target—was gone.

The cadets looked around and spotted him behind the demon’s path.

“You slimy rat—!”

The demon lunged again, disappearing into a blur under the cover of night.

And yet, Dante remained disturbingly calm.

Each time, he vanished before the blow could land, reappearing elsewhere. It was as if he were buying time... or waiting for something.

But the cadets couldn’t understand what that something was. 

“W-We have to help!”

“Ah, y-yeah!”

They thought they needed to act. That maybe they had a role to play in this bizarre showdown. 

But their reckless help might have only made things worse. 

But thankfully, they were stopped before they could act.

“…Don’t move.”

An illusion of Dante appeared right before them, commanding them with a calm authority.

This time, they froze not out of fear, but because they chose to listen to their professor’s order. 

Dante activated and deployed 『 Mana Distortion Fields 』.

Blue spheres of energy bloomed across the forest, spreading in all directions. 

The demon dodged with ease, leaping dozens of meters to stay out of reach. 

But as the spheres multiplied, it had no choice but to rise—nearly 50 meters into the air—spreading its wings and gliding above the tree line.

“Such cheap tricks—!”

Then it realized something.

It should have been impossible. No assassin could deploy so many 『 Mana Distortion Fields 』 across such a vast area. Even for a mage, this would be an incredible feat.

These were all illusions.

Realizing the truth, the demon began pouring out raw demonic energy, mimicking a Projectile-type ability to flood the entire area and erase every illusion from existence. 

『 Overflowing Demonic Energy 』

Rumble—!

It was a brilliant decision. The 『Mana Distortion Fields』 across the forest shattered like glass and faded away. What remained was Dante, who had been hiding behind one of the distortion fields.

“You think you can simply keep dodging?! Think again!”

A pitch-black and purplish light burst from its mouth. Jet-black lumps began to take form beneath the dark glow. They were the demon’s summoned creatures, resembling bats.

Overflowing with confidence, the demon had played its trump card.

But what it didn’t realize was that this was precisely what Dante had been waiting for.

…Summoning, huh.

The reason Dante had been scattering illusions all over the place and engaging in seemingly meaningless exchanges was to verify the demon's main strength.

Since demons imitated humans, they also used the 12 ability types. And now, Dante had figured it out.

Though the demon had applied for a teaching position as a professor specializing in Projectile abilities, Dante now knew its true specialty—the strength it had been hiding:

Summoning & Taming.

And that was a tricky specialty to deal with.

Now, there were too many summoned creatures to handle. Dante was facing over a hundred bats, each the size of a human torso and bearing dagger-sharp fangs.

They all dove down—aiming to rip the throats of Dante and the cadets.

“Agh! Damn it!”

Schllik—!

Blood burst from Dominic’s back as fangs bit down on him. Derek, too, had a fang graze his head, sending blood spurting.

“Get off! Get off me!”

As Dominic screamed helplessly, Hwaru frantically slashed at the bat clinging to his back. But that was only the beginning.

A cloud of darkness was about to rain down under the starlight. Someone had to stop the wave of bats—and the only person they could rely on was Dante.

Kiiiiiiing──

Just as the shadowy cloud was about to crash into them, the bats suddenly twisted in mid-air and rapidly flew back up.

“What are you doing?! Why are you running?! Kill the humans!!” the hornless demon shouted

But it was pointless. The bats were acting as Dante intended.

He was utilizing something inaudible to the human ear—impossible to produce with ordinary Illusion Arts.

But as a user of a forbidden skill, Dante could easily replicate it.

『 World Forgery: Phenomenon Forgery [Ultrasound] 』

He exploited a major flaw in Summoning & Taming-type abilities. Once deployed, familiars became separate entities that the summoner couldn’t directly control. 

Thus, if manipulated, this flaw could even turn familiars against their summoner.

As the ultrasound spread across the forest like a barrier, the bats floundered and flew upward, gathering around Toxin.

“Ugh! You idiots!!”

Even so, they didn’t attack their master. But they had bought enough time for the children to start escaping.

“Hey! Don’t just stand there! It’s dangerous here!”

“What are you doing?! Run!”

Having grown somewhat used to the fear, the cadets slowly regained control of their bodies. Some started running and called for the others to follow.

But the demon quickly recovered from the bats’ disobedience.

“KILL THEM ALLLL—!!”

『 Fear 』

With the thunderous roar, the demon blasted away the ultrasound.

“Urgh! T-They’re coming!”

“Damn it—!!”

The cadets were in danger once again. All they could do before the incoming swarm of crimson-eyed bats was stumble back on trembling legs.

“Agh!”

Burdened by the demon’s mana pressing down on them, one soft-hearted girl tripped on a root and tumbled down.

“Hwaru—!!”

“Get up! Get up and run!!”

As she slowly raised her head and looked back, despair seeped into her eyes. The swarm of bats was only inches away.

Then, suddenly, Dante stood before her.

Until now, he had been facing a dilemma—a very difficult one.

His rifle 「Liberator ⁺₊⋆」 blessed by the 「Radiant Star ⁺₊⋆」, could only fire two shots.

Though the bullets spread out and covered a wide range like a shotgun, they couldn’t cover the entire sky.

There was no way to eliminate both Professor Toxin, who was gliding around high off the ground, and the massive swarm of bats with just two shots. 

Even three wouldn’t be enough.

But now, there was a solution.

Dante cast a new illusion.

『 World Forgery: Spatial Forgery [Kaleidoscope] 』

He had been preparing this forged realm ever since he first sensed the demon. And with the time bought using ultrasound, Dante finally managed to unleash it.

Mana burst forth from the ground, engulfing the entire forest and rising into the sky.

A boundary formed in front of him, engulfing the incoming bats and reaching up to the demon.

It was enormous—forty meters wide and one hundred twenty meters tall.

A tower made of tens of thousands of mirrors, each angled to reflect and refract light beautifully across its surfaces.

Since the hornless demon was gliding in midair, it couldn’t escape the boundary immediately. Confused by the sudden surroundings, Toxin hesitated, failing to consider flying upward fast enough.

This was Professor Dante’s answer to the dilemma.

And now, it was his turn to act. 

He fired his first bullet containing the stigma of the god of light, 「Radiant Star⁺₊⋆」.

BANG—!

The bullet, formed of light itself, split into dozens of beams, striking the mirrors. They reflected and refracted, ricocheting through the kaleidoscope and soaring skyward.

Starting just above ground, the beams raced up through the tower, bursting from its peak in a single massive pillar of light.

The pillar plowed through and obliterated the swarm of bats.

Then, without slowing, it pierced the demon floating above, consuming it in its holy blaze.

Ah…

The cadets looked up, finally aware of the surreal spectacle above. 

The light stretched into the sky, tearing through the darkness. 

The monster that terrorized them burst into flames and shattered into pieces, falling from the heavens back to the mortal realm.

It was as if they were witnessing a miracle.

The overwhelming illusion blanketed the night sky.

If a god had truly commanded “Let there be light” when creating the world from darkness, this might have been what it looked like. 

As a reverse meteor shower streaked into the cosmos, a silent witness could no longer deny what she saw. 

Her chest swelled with emotion as she took deep breaths.

Finally, Gray bit her lower lip, unable to look away from the spectacle before her very own eyes.

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