20 chapter - Professor Assassination: Proxy Assassination (2)

Surviving The Assassin Academy As A Genius Professor — novelight.net · All chapters

20 chapter - Professor Assassination: Proxy Assassination (2)

"Professor! I’m so sorry. I’m a bit late, right?"

Three hours later, Adele returned, both hands full of shopping bags.

She’d clearly enjoyed herself to the fullest.

"Let’s go."

"Yessir. Returning to the estate now."

And so their first shopping trip ended with everyone in high spirits.

If every day could be like this, maybe life in this world wouldn’t be so bad…

…That thought was crushed the moment we returned.

Because as soon as we entered [Zone 0], the assassination attempt on the professor began.

【 1st-Year Assassin Dept. – Baiki: <He’s coming. Everyone get into position.> 】

Here we go again.

But something felt off.

The minimap was littered with red dots.

And even a <Transmission> message popped up on the 【Script】.

Two. Four. Six. Eight… Fourteen.

‘What the hell is this.’

An abnormally high number of cadets were targeting me.

"Adele. Be on guard."

"Huh?"

It was right then.

Crack—!

A tree by the roadside broke and came crashing down onto the car.

"Huh? Whoa—!"

Adele slammed the accelerator, barely swerving around the falling tree.

Ka-thoom! The tree smashed down right behind us.

"…What was that?"

A shaken voice.

But it wasn’t over.

Shhhhhhhh—

Kakakakang!

Shurikens smashed against the window, deflected by the barrier.

They were clearly trying to stop the car now.

Thunk!

And then—the car sagged.

A tremble followed.

"What’s going on? Wha—?"

Adele’s voice cracked with panic as she slowed.

We’d run over a [Spike Trap]. The tires burst.

"What is this all of a sudden? Let me get out and—"

"No. Don’t."

"Huh?"

"It’s a professor assassination."

She turned to me with wide, startled eyes.

"…Today?"

Because it was the weekend.

Normally, assassinations only happened on weekdays.

I assessed the situation.

【 1st-Year Assassin Dept. – Hadon: <Get ready! He’s coming out soon!> 】

Fourteen assassins.

All clustered in the trees above.

【 1st-Year Assassin Dept. – Kata: <Cover your face properly!> 】

They were all masked.

It was clearly an organized attack.

So what was the plan?

【 1st-Year Assassin Dept. – Balisong: ‘Soon as he steps out, I’m turning him into a pincushion.’ 】

【 1st-Year Assassin Dept. – Kuel: ‘Come out already. Come out…’ 】

【 1st-Year Assassin Dept. – Kai: ‘Hoo… ready to fire… we’ll kill him for sure…’ 】

Rougher than expected.

It didn’t seem like there was a complex plan.

Just a brute-force smash job.

"What should I do? Can I help somehow?"

"No. Stay still."

Just because it's the Assassin Department doesn’t mean they act without rules.

Targeting anyone other than the professor is grounds for maximum penalty—including execution.

‘Let’s see…’

The car had tinted windows.

They couldn’t tell who was inside, so they couldn’t risk attacking blindly.

But the moment I step out—arrows, bullets, shurikens will rain down.

‘…Still, something’s off.’

The fact they’re targeting me as a group.

The tense energy, almost euphoric.

The deliberate use of masks.

Was this… Marina’s gang again?

【 1st-Year Moonshadow Cadet – Forte: ‘…….’ 】

Why the hell is he here.

It was Forte—the one who’d tried to assassinate me on my first commute.

‘……Fine. I’ll crush them this time.’

It’s different from the first day.

Back then, I was just scrambling to survive.

But today, I hold all the cards.

I closed my eyes and activated my abilities.

『World Forgery: Spatial Forgery [Mist Veil]』

『World Forgery: Form Forgery [Magic Vehicle]』

『World Forgery: Form Forgery [Dante]』

⋮

***

No regular cadet thinks they can assassinate a professor in a one-on-one.

That’s only possible for the Dormant Dragon cadets.

Which is why most assassination attempts are structured like raids by “hit squads.”

Multiple attackers aiming at one unguarded target.

That, too, is part of the art of assassination.

‘Fourteen of them? That’s record-breaking…’

In group fights, numbers are everything.

The more people, the higher the morale.

‘There’s even that sniper prodigy from the Moonshadow Institute…’

Confidence skyrockets when there’s a strong ally in the mix.

‘…….’

No one was here out of joy. They were all kids who’d suffered under Joaquin.

So their motivation was half fear, half desperation.

But now, staring at their target and launching the ambush, a different emotion surged.

Excitement.

‘If we kill him here, we get everything: the professor’s gear, 15 million Hika, and a diploma.’

The gear and money would be split.

But the diploma?

That was personal.

A graduation certificate from the Assassin Department meant everything.

For some, it’s a badge of honor.

For others, the culmination of their cadet life.

And for some… it’s a 20-year pension from the Hiaka royal family.

In other words—you only had to succeed once.

And you’d be set for life.

‘It’s possible.’

He hadn’t used force during the Marina incident.

‘A professor who doesn’t retaliate.’

They said he couldn’t fight back, only evade.

His tools were simple. So was his strategy.

‘Just block the escape.’

The car’s stopped.

Traps surround it on all sides.

They’ve encircled it. No matter where he exits—he’ll die.

Just as they believed that, the car sparked with magic.

<Everyone, ready up!>

The cadets had no doubt.

That professor was about to become a pincushion.

But then—fog began to bloom from all directions.

“Uh?”

Like smoke bombs going off in every direction, the forest grew hazy.

“W-What is this?”

“Fog? A smokescreen? But when—?”

As the area quickly filled with mist, confusion began to slip through their poised formation.

They were still inexperienced.

<Don’t panic!>

They listened. And they heard the engine of the magic car rumbling.

‘Over there!’

The car began to drive through the mist.

But the front tires were all burst—it shouldn’t move well.

Was the professor trying to flee like a coward?

The cadets drew blades and gave chase. Leaping from tree to tree.

‘Useless!’

He’d stopped on this straight road for a reason—

To lure them onto the double-layered trap ahead.

There was no way the car would avoid it.

‘Just a little further…’

It’ll fall into the pit!

They were sure of it.

Until the car passed over the trap.

<Wh-What the hell?!>

The vehicle floated over it, weightless.

Another one of the professor’s illusions?

Something was wrong.

<Don’t panic! I said, don’t panic!>

<It’s fine! Just stay on him!>

But “don’t panic” was useless advice.

With all three layers of traps ruined, they began to feel something was wrong.

A shift in the flow.

Not just immediate failure—but the dreadful sense that even if they kept going, they wouldn’t succeed.

Still, they chased the sputtering car, caught in hazy judgment.

<Huh? An ambush!>

<What!?>

Suddenly, strange voices echoed over comms.

<What? Who are you? What are you talking about?!>

<I’m Bargan, dumbass! Someone just came at me with a blade—HEY! BACK OFF!>

It wasn’t just paranoia. Someone was turning on their own.

One cadet, mid-air, was suddenly attacked with a dagger and had to retreat in panic.

Now they were squaring off atop the trees.

“…Hey! Why are you targeting me?!”

“……”

“Say something, idiot!”

“……”

The other didn’t reply—just twitched with a raised blade, ready to strike.

It was happening all over the field.

<It’s not just one or two!>

The thrill of the ambush was mutating into pure aggression.

Even just being blocked made them want to stab someone.

‘This is…!’

But no one saw the truth—until one cadet finally figured it out.

<It’s me, Forte from Moonshadow! Everyone, take off your masks!>

<What?!>

<They’re clones! It’s an illusion! The professor used [illusion magic]!>

Forte gritted his teeth.

This was Dante’s doing.

‘With cadet uniforms and masks, it’s easy to mimic appearances…’

But you can’t copy faces.

You’d have to know them.

‘So… Professor Dante Hiakapo. I thought he was a footwork or projectile type… and now you’re telling me he uses illusions too…?’

Forte’s eyes cut through the forest.

There were about ten clones total.

He knew illusion clones required intense mental focus.

It had been only thirty seconds since the assassination began.

And already Dante had deployed all these fakes, blocking off the entire field.

Professor Dante was…

‘…a fucking monster!’

There’d been rumors lately.

That he had no past.

That he didn’t retaliate.

That he was secretly weak.

But that couldn’t be true.

Forte felt it deep in his gut.

Just like that first day.

He’d once again made the mistake of aiming at something far above his level.

Still, he hadn’t seen Dante’s true strength yet.

Hadn’t faced him directly.

So maybe…

Maybe it’d be different this time.

What a foolish thought.

‘To think the gap was this enormous…’

This ambush had already failed.

It had all unraveled in mere seconds.

‘But…’

Once the blade is drawn, it must taste flesh.

An assassination must not end half-baked.

<Shit… what do you mean take off our masks…?>

Confusion tore through the comms.

Forte felt he had to take command.

Whether he liked it or not, the ambush had already begun.

"Look at me!!"

Forte pulled off his mask and stood atop the highest tree.

"It’s fine! We can still do this! Take off your masks! You’ll be able to tell the fakes apart—they’re only rough copies!"

Forte was absolutely right.

Even 『World Forgery』 couldn’t mimic an unknown face.

But…

To the young, inexperienced cadets—his words didn’t register.

In the chaos, panic clouded their thinking.

"……"

Everyone went quiet, eyes behind masks darting suspiciously.

<……You’re the most suspicious one here.>

Someone turned their suspicions on Forte.

"What?! The fuck are you talking about?!"

Forte shouted. But suspicion spread like wildfire.

<Yeah! Maybe you’re the fake!>

Logic twisted from every direction.

Too many voices. No consensus.

"You idiots! Just take the damn masks off!!"

<Yeah!>

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Shurikens flew. Forte dove to avoid them.

<Hey! If it’s a clone, it’ll be weak!>

<Right! Clones suck at fighting! Just attack anyone standing still!>

With their tension snapped and violence misdirected, chaos exploded.

Forte thought they were all morons.

‘You don’t even know who’s who without the masks, dumbasses!’

But it was too late.

The clones started vanishing, revealing they were fake—

And it sent the group into a frenzy.

<They’re clones! Kill them!>

<Wait—no! Not me—!>

Someone screamed. No one heard.

It was a total breakdown.

Forte tried to protect the real cadets.

<Hey! A clone’s protecting another clone!>

<That’s the real one!!>

<Where?!>

Forte tore off his mask and yelled.

"I’m Forte! Back the hell off, moron!"

"What?! Then why are you protecting a clone!?"

"This isn’t a clone, dumbass—it’s a person! Look!"

But the cadets, driven only by voices in the comms, charged at him anyway.

Nearly ten of them.

The situation was a disaster.

They ran at him, blades out.

Thwip-thwip-thwip!

Shurikens dug into him all over.

"…You fucking idiots!"

He could’ve dodged.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he shouted—

"WAKE THE HELL UP—!!"

And just as the final charge was about to land—

A voice rippled through every mind.

"Stop."

A calm command, echoing like a ripple across a silent pond.

Every cadet flinched and turned.

There stood Professor Dante Hiakapo.

‘W-When did he…?!’

He walked forward slowly.

No sound from his steps.

His pink eyes bore down, emotionless.

Like death in human form.

The cadets instinctively stepped back.

‘Wait… maybe this is the chance…!’

‘Yeah… he’s off guard…!’

But groups are bold.

Some still hadn’t realized the truth.

They saw an opportunity.

Gripped their blades.

Prepared to strike.

Dante furrowed his brow.

Zzztt—!

Magic sparks danced—and a miracle unfolded.

Like a dream, everything slowed.

Falling leaves froze mid-air.

Dust, birds, cadets—everything stopped.

The whole world froze in place.

⋮

『World Forgery: Spatial Forgery [Time Freeze]』

⋮

Once everything stopped—he could finally see clearly.

A mask slipped off the face of a cadet collapsed in the center of the crowd.

A cadet bleeding from a knife in his back.

Forte.

"Why didn’t you listen?"

In a world where even sound had frozen—

Dante Hiakapo’s icy voice rang with fury.

"I distinctly told you to stop."