Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor-Chapter 20: Professor Assassination: Proxy Assassination (2)
“Professor! I’m so sorry. I was a bit late, right?”
Three hours later, Adele returned with her hands full of shopping bags.
She seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed herself.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, yes. Returning to the mansion now.”
Thus, the first shopping trip ended with everyone in a good mood.
If every day were like today, living in this world might actually not be so bad...
...But as soon as we returned, that thought was crushed.
The moment we entered [0 Zone], the professor assassination began.
【 Assassination Department, First-Year Baky: <They’re coming. Everyone, get ready to assassinate.> 】
It’s starting again.
But something felt off.
Red dots filled the minimap. And there was even a <Communication> message displayed in the 【Script】.
Two. Four. Six. Eight... Fourteen.
‘What the hell is this?’
There was an abnormal number of cadets targeting me.
“Adele. Stay alert.”
“Huh?”
That’s when—
Crack—!
A tree by the roadside snapped and fell onto the car.
“Huh? Oh!”
Adele hastily slammed on the accelerator, narrowly avoiding the falling tree.
Bang! The massive tree crashed down behind us.
“...What was that?”
A bewildered voice.
But it wasn’t over.
Shhhh—
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Shurikens flew through the window but were deflected by the barrier.
They were now seriously trying to stop the car.
Thunk!
Then, the car’s body suddenly sank.
It started to shake and wobble.
“What’s going on? Oh no...?”
Adele’s voice trembled as she slowed down.
The tires had hit a [Spike Trap] and burst.
“What the hell is happening all of a sudden? Let me just step out for a second and check—”
“No. Stay inside.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a professor assassination.”
She turned to me with wide, shocked eyes.
“...Today?”
It was the weekend.
Normally, even if they planned an assassination, it would be on a weekday.
First, I needed to assess the situation.
【 Assassination Department, First-Year Hadon: <Stay sharp! They’re about to come out!> 】
There were exactly 14 assassins.
All of them were gathered in the trees.
【 Assassination Department, First-Year Kata: <Cover your faces properly!> 】
They were wearing masks.
Obviously, they were operating as a coordinated group.
What was their assassination plan?
【 Assassination Department, First-Year Balisong: ‘Once they come out, we’ll turn them into a pincushion.’ 】
【 Assassination Department, First-Year Kuel: ‘Come out already. Come on....’ 】
【 Assassination Department, First-Year Kai: ‘Phew... Ready to fire.... We will definitely kill them....’ 】
They were far more aggressive than I had anticipated.
It wasn’t so much a strategy as it was a blatant attempt to tear me to shreds.
“What should we do? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No. Stay still.”
Despite being from the Assassination Department, they’re not completely reckless.
Attempting to assassinate someone who isn’t a professor would lead to severe punishment, possibly even the death penalty.
‘Let’s see.’
The car windows were tinted.
They couldn’t see who was inside, so they couldn’t attack recklessly.
However, the moment we step out, arrows, bullets, and shurikens will rain down.
‘...But something feels off.’
The fact that such a large group was targeting me.
The heightened sense of excitement in the air.
The fact that they deliberately chose to wear masks.
Considering all that, I thought it might be Marina and her gang, but...
【 Moonshadow Institute, First-Year Forte: ‘.......’ 】
Why the hell was that guy here?
It was Forte, the one who had attempted to assassinate me on my first day.
‘......First, I need to crush their assassination attempt.’
Today was different from that first day.
Back then, I was only focused on surviving the crisis, but today, I was in control of the entire situation.
I closed my eyes and activated my power.
『 World Forgery: Space Forgery [Mist Veil] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Magic Vehicle] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Dante] 』
⋮
No ordinary cadet would think of assassinating a professor one-on-one.
That kind of thing was only possible for Dormant Dragon Institute cadets.
That’s why most professor assassinations were organized as “raids” by assassination teams.
A group targeting a single, defenseless target.
That was considered part of the assassination training as well.
‘Fourteen... That’s unprecedented....’
In group battles, the basic principle was strength in numbers.
The more people there were, the higher their morale would be.
‘저격 천재 가문 출신의 월영학사 놈도 있어....’
게다가 강자가 함께할수록 자신감이 붙는다.
‘.......’
‘.......’
좋아서 이 자리에 온 이는 없었다. 평소 호아킨에게 당하고 살던 놈들이 모였기 때문이다.
그러니 최초에는 괴로움 반 두려움 반이었다.
한데, 막상 표적을 앞에 놓고 암살에 돌입하니 흥분감이 차오른다.
‘......여기서 죽인다면, 교수의 모든 것과 1,500만 히카, 그리고 졸업증을 얻을 수 있어.’
교수의 재산과 1,500만 히카는 n빵이지만, 졸업증은 그렇지 않다.
암살학과의 졸업증은 위대하다.
누군가에게는 업적이라서.
누군가에게는 생도 생활의 완성이라서.
반대로 누군가에게는, 히아카 왕실로부터 20년에 걸쳐 연금을 받기 때문이다.
다시 말해, 한 번만 잘하면 된다.
그럼 든든한 연금을 얻게 된다!
‘가능성은 있다.’
그는 최근 마리나의 사태에서 무력을 쓰지 않았다.
‘반격하지 않는 교수.’
반격을 못 하고 회피만 하는 교수라 했다.
도구가 단순하니 공략도 단순하다.
‘회피를 막는다.’
현재. 차는 멈추었고, 사방에는 덫이 깔려 있으며. 그들은 차를 둥글게 둘러싸고 있다. 어디로 나오든 반드시 죽일 수 있다.
그리 생각할 무렵, 차내에서 마력이 ‘파지직’ 튀었다.
< 전원, 준비! >
생도들은 믿어 의심치 않았다.
이제 교수는 고슴도치가 될 것이라고.
그러나 숲의 사방에서부터 안개가 피어나기 시작하면서 그 생각은 서서히 꺾이기 시작했다.
“어?”
마치 사방에 연막탄을 친 듯 뿌옇게 변하는 숲.
“뭐, 뭐야?”
“안개? 연막탄인가? 하지만 언제....”
사방이 순식간에 자욱해지자, 당당히 준비했던 기색 사이로 혼란이 파고든다.
아직 암살 경험이 미미한 생도이기에 더더욱.
< 다들 당황하지 마! >
< 눈을 감고 소리에 집중해라! >
생도들이 귀를 기울였다. 그러자 마력승용차의 엔진 배기음이 들려왔다.
‘저쪽이다!’
안개를 뚫고 차가 도주하기 시작했다. 그러나 앞바퀴가 모조리 터진 탓에 제대로 구르지 못하리라.
교수는 비겁하게 차에 숨겠다는 걸까?
생도들은 검을 들고 차를 추적했다. 나무에서 나무 사이를 가로지르며.
‘소용없어!’
직선 도로에서 차를 멈춘 이유는 단순하다.
앞에 이중의 덫을 깔아 놓기 위함이다.
승용차는 피할 수 없다.
‘조금만 더 가면.......’
구덩이에 빠질 것이다!
그들은 믿어 의심치 않았다.
차가 덫 위를 스쳐 지나가기 전까지는.
< 뭐, 뭐야?! >
< 어떻게 된 거야! 왜 지나치는데! >
자동차는 마치 무게가 없는 것처럼 덫을 무시했다. 설마 저것 또한 교수의 술수란 말인가...?
무언가 이상했다.
< 당황하지 마! 당황하지 말라고! >
< 쫓아! 뛰어! >
< 괜찮아! 쫓아가면 돼! >
당황하지 말라는 말은 아무런 도움이 되지 않았다.
삼중으로 깔아둔 덫이 엉망이 되자, 생도들은 실시간으로 ‘무언가 잘못되는 기분’을 강하게 느꼈다.
흐름의 문제였다.
지금 당장 어긋났다는 느낌보다, 이것이 계속 가더라도 성공하지 못할 것 같다는, 불길한 예측. 그럼에도 흐릿한 판단 속에서 덜컹거리는 차를 뒤쫓았다.
< 어? 기, 기습이다! >
< 뭐!? >
그런데 그때였다.
통신으로 이상한 말이 들려오기 시작했다.
< 너 뭐 하는 새끼야! 왜 나한테 칼을 들이밀어! >
< 뭐? 너 누구야. 무슨 소리야!? >
< 나 바르간인데. 아니, 갑자기 누가 나한테 칼을...! 야! 너 뭐 하는 거야 이 새끼야! >
아닌 게 아니라, 배신자가 있는 듯했다.
한 생도는 나무에서 나무로 날아가던 와중에 누군가가 단검을 들고 달려들어, 다급히 거릴 벌렸다.
그렇게 나무 위에서 대치하게 된 두 사람.
“...어이! 왜 나를 노리는 거야?”
“.......”
“뭐 해? 정신 차려 인마!”
“.......”
The opponent didn’t respond. He just kept shaking his body slightly, as if he were ready to lunge forward with the knife at any moment.
It seemed like the same situation was happening all around them.
< Who the hell are the traitors?! What the fuck is going on? >
< It’s not just one or two of them! >
< Stop now, or I’ll kill you! Got it!? >
The collective excitement of the group assassination was rapidly turning into aggression.
Just the sight of someone blocking their path with a knife was enough to provoke a desire to stab them.
‘This is...!’
But just when no one else could grasp what was really happening, one cadet finally figured it out.
< It’s me, Forte from Moonshadow Institute! Everyone, take off your masks! >
< What?! >
< These are clones! The professor used [Illusion Arts], no doubt about it! >
Forte gritted his teeth.
This was undoubtedly Professor Dante’s doing.
‘The cadet uniforms and the masks—they were easy to replicate in appearance.’
But replicating their individual faces was another matter.
After all, he wouldn’t know what they looked like under the masks.
‘Professor Dante Hiakapho... I thought he was just a [Footwork] or [Throwing] type assassin, but he also knows [Illusion Arts]...?’
Forte’s eyes sharpened as he scanned the surroundings.
At a rough estimate, there were about ten clones moving around.
From what he had heard, using clones required an enormous amount of mental concentration.
Thirty seconds had passed since the assassination attempt began.
And within that brief span of time, the professor had created this many clones, sent them out, and positioned them in front of each assassin to obstruct them.
Professor Dante was...
‘...a monster, damn it!’
Recently, there had been rumors going around.
That he had no past. That he never counterattacked. That Professor Dante was actually weaker than expected.
But that couldn’t possibly be true.
Forte knew it in his gut.
It was just like on the first day.
He was once again recklessly targeting an overwhelmingly powerful monster.
Even so, he hadn’t actually faced Dante’s ‘full strength’ yet.
He hadn’t fought him directly, so there was still a chance...
Or so he had thought.
A stupid, naive thought.
‘I had no idea the gap was this insurmountable.’
This assassination attempt was already a mess.
And it had all fallen apart in such a short time.
‘But....’
Once you draw your sword, you have to cut something.
An assassination attempt that ends half-assed isn’t an assassination at all.
< Damn it... What the hell do you mean by taking off our masks? >
< The car stopped over there! Can’t we just go and carry out the assassination?! >
< And how do we even know that car is real?! I’m not taking off my mask! We’re just fucked, that’s it! >
Everyone was confused and shouting over each other, their opinions completely unaligned.
Forte felt a surge of urgency.
Whether they wanted it or not, the assassination had already begun.
“Everyone! Look at me!!”
Forte removed his mask and stood on the tallest tree.
“It’s okay! We can still do this! Take off your masks! Take them off and distinguish the fakes! These clones only mimic the outer appearance. Once you remove the masks, you can tell them apart!”
Forte’s assessment was correct.
No matter how powerful 『World Forgery』 was, it couldn’t replicate faces it had never seen before.
However... the cadets, who were still mere rookies in the world of assassinations, weren’t willing to listen to him.
< H-How the hell are we supposed to do that!? >
< If it’s found out that I tried to assassinate him, I’m screwed! I could get a demerit! >
The situation was a mess.
Their minds were too clouded by excitement and fear to think rationally.
“.......”
“.......”
In the midst of the silence, all the eyes behind the masks darted around nervously, filled with suspicion.
< ...You’re the most suspicious one here, aren’t you? >
Someone started to doubt Forte.
“What? What the fuck are you saying?!”
Forte shouted, but the suspicion spread like wildfire, igniting the cadets' anxiety and quickly spiraling out of control.
< Y-Yeah! What if you’re the fake?! >
< If you’re right, then we’ll end up stabbing each other! >
< If it’s [Illusion Arts], wouldn’t it be more efficient to just make you a fake?! >
Everyone spouted their own logic from their own perspective.
Too many cooks in the kitchen, and their opinions couldn’t align.
“What the fuck are you idiots talking about?! Take off your masks!!”
< Don’t make me laugh! Hey, let’s take that bastard down first! >
< Yeah! >
Shing! Shing! Shing!
The cadets hurled shurikens, and Forte barely managed to dodge by throwing himself to the ground.
< Hey! If it’s a clone, its combat power is low! >
< Yeah, clones can’t fight well anyway! Just attack anyone who isn’t moving! >
The excitement of the assassination, once suppressed, now twisted into raw violence.
To Forte, it all sounded like the ravings of complete morons.
‘You idiots! You’re not even taking off your masks! How the hell do you know who’s who?!’
But the scene had already turned into a chaotic frenzy.
When some of the clones were struck down and vanished, the situation descended further into madness.
< Hey! These are definitely clones! Kill them! >
< Kill them! They’re weak! >
< Hey, hey! Wait, not me...! >
Someone’s scream was drowned out in the chaos.
Everything was spiraling into utter disaster.
Forte tried to protect a cadet who wasn’t a clone.
< Hey! A clone is protecting another clone! >
< This one’s the real body!! >
< Where?! >
Forte ripped off his mask and shouted desperately.
“I’m Forte! Back off, you dumbasses!”
“What?! W-Why are you protecting a clone?!”
“What clone?! This guy’s a real person!”
But the cadets, their minds clouded by chaos, were no longer thinking straight.
Despite Forte’s desperate shouting, nearly ten cadets charged toward him, weapons drawn.
A complete mess.
Cadets charging forward with blades.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Shurikens embedded themselves all over Forte’s body.
“...You idiots!”
He could have dodged.
But Forte didn’t.
Instead, he roared at the top of his lungs.
“Snap out of it─!!”
And just when the assassins were about to lunge forward—
A voice sliced through the chaos, piercing through every cadet’s mind.
“Stop.”
The word echoed like a ripple across the frozen battlefield.
Every cadet, as if hypnotized, turned their heads in unison.
There, standing amidst the mist, was Professor Dante Hiakapho.
‘W-When did he...?!’
Dante walked forward slowly.
His footsteps made no sound.
His pink eyes bore down on them, utterly devoid of emotion.
His gaze and posture, cold and calm, looked as though death itself had taken human form.
Instinctively, the cadets took a step back.
‘Could it be... Now’s the chance...!’
‘Yeah. While he’s underestimating us...!’
But a group can be a dangerous thing.
Some {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} cadets still hadn’t grasped the situation.
They mistook this moment for an opportunity.
So, as several of them gripped their swords and prepared to unleash their abilities—
Dante’s brow furrowed.
Crack—!
As mana rippled outward from his body, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
It was as if the entire world had been thrown into a dreamlike state.
The falling leaves stopped midair.
The dust clouds suspended in the air froze in place.
A bird in flight, a cadet mid-leap—everything halted in mid-motion.
It was as though the entire world had been encapsulated in glass.
⋮
『 World Forgery: Space Forgery [Time Freeze] 』
⋮
Only after everything had stopped did certain things become visible.
A cadet, collapsed in the middle of the crowd, his mask slipping off.
A cadet with a knife embedded in his back, blood dripping down—Forte.
“Why aren’t you listening to me?”
In the world where all movement and sound had been completely frozen,
Dante’s icy voice rang out in anger.
“I clearly said, stop.”
