Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Chapter 97
EP23 - Hand (7)
After Balmung was taken to the infirmary. The Discipline Department was busy cleaning up the wrecked Management Bureau.
At Dante's request, this was processed as damage caused by Dante, not Balmung.
"Professor Dante Hiacapo? No..."
The official from headquarters who arrived late let out a deep sigh.
This was already the second Management Bureau Dante had destroyed.
"No, seriously... What is wrong with that guy? He smashes every single Management Bureau he comes across...? Is he a professor or something? What kind of mindset does he even live with...?"
It was merely a murmur.
But what happened next?
The employee found himself under the employees' inexplicably aggressive gazes.
What are they looking at?
Why are they acting like this?
Didn't Dante destroy your homes...?
"...Ahem. Then, I'll be going now."
He fled quickly, sensing the bad vibes.
Meanwhile, the members went out for a company dinner after the day's cleanup was finished.
They weren't in a bad mood, thanks to the 500,000 Hica consolation money Dante personally handed over as an apology.
On top of that, there was another 500,000 Hica from Betelgeuse, in the name of the Black Blade Society.
It was an unexpected windfall.
The Management Bureau was public property anyway. The two had no obligation to provide consolation money, and the Head of the Management Bureau refused it vehemently, but to no avail. In the end, it was divided among the 20 members of the Management Bureau. Because of this, only heartwarming anecdotes filled the dinner table.
"My word..."
One member took a drink and gave a wry smile.
"I knew Balmung had a crazy streak, but even now, thinking about it gives me chills. Ugh."
"Still, that guy, he looked completely at ease when he was leaving, didn't he?"
"He did..."
"It was like, magic... I was confused at first..."
It was too primal. The situation was so intense that even the Discipline Department of Zone 0, accustomed to violence and corpses, was taken aback.
"It was the first time I saw Professor Dante exert himself... He was scary."
"Ah, right. He was always someone with just a lot of rumors, wasn't he?"
"Exactly. There weren't many records either. Just heard 'strong, strong' by word of mouth..."
Then Kang Kang laughed.
"But what we saw is just the tip of the iceberg, right?"
Other members laughed.
"That's right. It must be."
"So he was holding back his strength then."
"If he had really hit him..."
The members shook their heads.
They didn't want to imagine it.
"...Ugh! I don't think I can work here for long."
"Why?"
"The fact that he held back his strength even after beating someone into a pulp is a bit terrifying."
"Yeah. He was a bit like a monster, not human. I have no idea what I'd do if they told me to stop him."
"The Professor must have been heartbroken too, right?"
"Are you kidding me? Of course, he was! He's a professor."
At that moment, Kang Kang downed his drink.
"You guys don't know anything."
"Huh?"
"Know what?"
"Heartbroken? No way. Professor Dante is a ruthless killer."
"......"
He then refilled his glass and said,
"He probably wouldn't bat an eye even if he killed a hundred people like Balmung..."
At his words, the members thought,
Is that so?
It seems like it.
In their imagination, Dante's lips stretched from ear to ear.
Then a long, forked tongue like a snake's shot out and flicked in the air.
"Gulp..."
"Scary..."
A professor who was a monster, devoid of blood and tears.
His name.
...Dante Hiacapo.
Clink-
The tip of the cigar was cut off.
Betelgeuse always put an expensive cigar in his mouth when he had a lot on his mind.
Using the highly advanced [Alchemy] he developed himself, called 'Bio-Alchemy,' he could even replace his internal organs and blood vessels, and he inhaled the dense, condensed smoke deep into his lungs.
Betelgeuse, once famous as Hiaka's genius, was a [Grandmaster] ranked in the 200s in his 70s.
A monster on the verge of becoming a [Challenger] like the Department Heads. And even now, he had reached the highest level among his peers.
"—Once upon a time,"
Betelgeuse opened his mouth, savoring the smoke.
"I thought I would become detached by the time I reached my age."
His voice carried a relaxed yet dangerous aura.
Someone once compared him to 'a pitch-black puma.'
The person seated with him agreed with the description.
"I had a lot, achieved a lot, and since I have no children, there was no reason to be desperate... I wondered what kind of greed could arise at this age."
The person in the dark did not reply.
They were merely listening.
"It seems that's not the case."
Betelgeuse closed his eyes languidly, the dawn light illuminating half his face.
"What do you think, sister?"
Thinking it was the most disgusting thing in the world, yet unable to correct the self-indulgent mouth that spoke,
'Angela,' the Head Priestess of the Black Path, the only two of her kind, replied curtly.
"What is it that you desire so much, Branch Chief?"
"Dante Hiacapo."
"......"
The words came out without a single retort.
Head Priestess Angela closed her eyes and let out a soft laugh.
As expected.
"He's a truly outstanding young man. A genius professor, and a decent youth."
"After the Balmung incident, do you know what he did?"
"What did he do?"
"He brought Balmung before me and made him do a handstand, telling him to apologize for his defiance. That insane young man. The funny thing is, Balmung actually complied."
A grand bow...! That is a very famous and ancient method of apology...!
Angela laughed.
"Hoho. Professor Dante really does only the cutest things. I often wonder what kind of world such a child could have sprung from."
"That's how it was."
"Perhaps, we are witnessing the moment another Constellation is born in Hiaka."
"......"
The response stopped.
Witnessing the birth of a Constellation.
To that position, which had only ever had two people in Hiaka's history.
Was the third one being born right now?
"A Constellation."
Betelgeuse turned his gaze out the window.
A word tangled with a myriad of emotions and thoughts.
Constellation.
That damned Constellation.
As they were accustomed to silence, the two enjoyed it for a long time.
But eventually, Betelgeuse had to agree inwardly. Dante's actions and growth rate were on par with, or even surpassed, previous Constellations... No. He was clearly superior to them.
That's why his greed was about to burst.
"If not 100 million, or 200 million..."
The man's head tilted diagonally.
A sigh escaped with the smoke.
"...What do I have to give him?"
This happened right after Balmung was sent to the Discipline Department.
As the Nibelung Family was leaving the Academy, I couldn't just let them go.
So I followed them and, after stopping them at the gates of Zone 0, I was able to have a conversation.
"Who are you?"
"I have a question I'd like to ask."
At this time, I had changed my face and appearance with [Illusion Magic] to that of a gentle young man, with a mole like a black bean on my face.
"I am a senior professor at Hiaka Academy, and an assistant to Dante, the supervising professor of the Hidden Dragon Hall..."
"Assistant?"
"Yes. My name is 'Conte'."
The Nibelung's subordinates greeted me gruffly. They seemed very sensitive after the recent events.
"And Dante, the one with the pink eyes?"
For the first time in a while, I stopped acting tough and opened the conversation gently.
"Haha, that's right. Our professor has pink eyes."
Dante's body was that of an assassin, so this act was natural.
After that, quite a lot of conversation ensued.
Largely three questions and three answers.
And three [Inner Thoughts].
To summarize the core points:
Q. Is the plan to increase influence in Zone 0 using Gray or Balmung a directive from the Grandmother?
A. What are you going to do with that information?
S. [The Grandmother only told us to find out, but she wants us to, and it looks like a prize we can snatch, so it would be foolish not to take it.]
After much back and forth, the Nibelung's stance was clear.
Hitching a ride.
Q. What gives the Nibelung Family the confidence to act so brazenly? Are they underestimating Hiaka Academy, which has the royal family behind it?
A. No matter how much the royal family blusters, they cannot openly make an enemy of the Dark Star Constellation. What are you going to do about it?
S. [If things go south, we can just flee to the Empire! Who needs whom more, in this situation?]
Battalion set a strange precedent.
You damn bastard.
Because of you, others are watching and following suit.
Q. Is there a way to cleanly end the relationship between the Academy and the Nibelung Family?
A. You crazy bastard.
S. [Your Academy is broke. Without the monthly Black Path donations we provide, it would be difficult, wouldn't it?]
Indeed, the amount was not small.
"...Is that so."
I formulated certain hypotheses in my mind, and based on those hypotheses, I made a choice.
However, as this Q&A session concluded.
"Hey."
Hitahil, the Head of Personnel of the Nibelung Family, asked me a question in return.
"You said you're Dante's assistant? Then tell your professor we have an offer."
"Please tell me."
"Tell him to contact Nibelung. We'll give your professor treatment he could only dream of in his lifetime."
Is it a good offer?
No way.
[If you bring the Hidden Dragon Society into the Guided Assassination Squad, then, speaking hypothetically.]
[Just getting a hold of that one person makes everything easy.]
At this point, assistant Conte would have smiled brightly and bowed his head.
"Understood. I will deliver Professor Dante's stance to the Nibelung Family by tomorrow."
⋮
After parting ways with the Nibelung Family, I visited Balmung, who was hospitalized.
After an emergency surgery, he looked up at me with numerous bruises and wounds.
"Professor."
His expression, which had been stiff, softened slightly.
However, based on my observations of him so far, I realized he looked brighter, as if he had received something in return for his bones.
"I'm sorry. Ah, no, that's not it..."
"Sit down."
"I'll just greet you and then sit."
He staggered to his feet and bowed at a right angle.
"I am truly sorry. I heard everything from the other members. My curse attacked many people..."
"That's enough. I am also not at ease for having treated you so roughly."
"No, sir. I committed such rudeness. You could have just killed me..."
"Stop. Don't talk too much."
It wasn't for the sake of receiving an apology, nor did I feel like receiving one.
I was just curious. As mentioned before, [Stigmata] are greatly influenced by willpower and emotions. Why did he suddenly lose his composure? Was it the insult from a certain professor that angered him? Or how did he come to possess the [Stigmata] of the Black Darkness Fortress? etc.
But I decided not to ask about that right now. He was already in a negative mood, and it was a negative topic.
"I'll stop with the embarrassing talk. Write this."
"This is...?"
An Assassination Squad contract.
The same one Elise and Kendrake had signed.
"......"
Balmung's eyes widened.
"Will you accept my guidance?"
"Yes? Ah, yes! Of course!"
"Sign it."
He frantically began to write.
It was unexpected.
I thought he might resist or act stubborn for a bit.
After all,
What kind of person is Balmung?
He curses at passersby... curses at members... curses at Betelgeuse... He once came to shoot me with a sniper rifle...
Whoa.
Now that I list it, he's a madman.
"If you join the Assassination Squad, you must follow my orders well."
I said that with some concern.
"If you tell me to die, I will die."
"......"
"Why are you looking at me like that? Shall I show you?"
Show me what, you lunatic.
Meanwhile, after finishing the contract, Balmung began to say something in a gloomy voice before stamping his blood. The content was that he hesitated to sign the contract due to his relationship with Nibelung.
He seemed to think he had ruined many things.
"Excuse me, but may I ask how the matter with Nibelung was resolved?"
"We still have to wait and see."
"I hit two people, and regarding that matter..."
"That's not very significant."
"...Why? As you know, Professor, the Nibelung Family is a very dangerous and cautious opponent..."
"Balmung."
I cut him off.
"From here on, it is a matter between the Academy and Nibelung, and a matter for me, the professor. You, as a student, do not need to worry about it."
"Ah, I'm sorry..."
"If you are worried, there is only one thing you must do. From now on, be cautious in your words and actions."
"Yes..."
Balmung bowed his head deeply.
Then he slowly approached and, looking up, whispered into my ear.
'...If, by any chance, you need a suicide bomber for a terrorist attack when you're taking down the Nibelung Family, you can call on me anytime...'
I don't need that.
However, even though I said that, he seemed unable to hide his anxious heart. In the end, since I am an individual and the Academy is a collective, our opinions might differ.
So, after stamping his blood, completing the contract, and making one more bone balloon, even as we parted, his [Script] was filled with thoughts like these.
[Balmung: 'What if the Professor sides with the Nibelung Family...?']
It's a useless thought.
The next day, the Nibelung Family's investigation department discovered something shocking.
A large vehicle carrying their members was smashed in the middle of a mountain slope. It looked as if it had been trampled by the foot of a giant monster. It had sunk deep into the ground, along with the nearby road, as if crushed by something large and heavy.
Since there were no traces of a killer, this was an assassination, but there were many mysteries.
No bodies were visible.
The investigation department mobilized personnel to search the entire area, and finally, their attention was drawn to the highest tree in the dense forest.
They looked up at the high place.
There, Personnel Team Leader Hitahil, members Kadurfin and Mammon, and others—everyone sent to the Academy—were found all at once. As if on display.
All of them were hanged from a single rope.