“They handed command of the First Step Zone over to an outsider?”

“Yes!”

“What nonsense is this?”

Count Kahla’s face twisted at the report.

This was the fatal flaw in their rotational command transfer system.

Since the authority of command was intangible and ever-shifting, something like this was theoretically possible—but who would’ve expected it to fall right into the hands of an outsider?

“What lunatic snatched the command authority?”

“W-Well... it’s a professor named Dante Hiakapo from Hiaka Academy!”

“Who the hell is that?”

“He’s supposedly a senior professor from the Department of Assassination...”

Count Kahla let out a dry chuckle.

Not even a chief professor?

Just a senior professor?

Things had become so hectic that ridiculous, worm-like events were taking place.

“We need to eliminate him immediately.”

He was the type who could not tolerate even the smallest infringement upon his authority, and the thought of power leaking elsewhere deeply disgusted him.

Besides, hadn’t his strategist Carlos already assured him this situation was just a prank of the stars—something that would soon pass?

“Carlos!”

“Yes.”

A red-eyed man turned toward him.

“Some out-of-nowhere professor has started meddling with our forces. You’re certain of your judgment, right?”

“I am, my lord.”

Reassured once again, the Count calmed.

Now all that remained was to eliminate the disruptive element—this Professor Dante.

That was when—

“Brother. Please allow me to handle this.”

It was Count Kahla’s younger brother, the junior baronet Modrio.

“You?”

“Yes. As I mentioned earlier, I now have a strong ally on my side. I will take care of this Dante.”

“Oh right. That unknown thug you mentioned using? Hmph...”

Count Kahla folded his arms. His usually lackadaisical younger brother was oddly confident this time. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to test him.

“Fine.”

“Trust me.”

Junior Baronet Modrio bowed with a smile.

To him, this was a chance. A crack had appeared in the Count’s authority. Now was the perfect moment to expand his own influence.

...Thus, in the House of Kahla, no one considered the monster in the sky a threat.

***

The announcer shouted,

“First, allow me to present the curriculum vitae of our newly appointed Interim Commander of the First Step Fortress Zone, Professor Dante Hiakapo of Hiaka Academy!”

As if rehearsed, he began listing Dante’s publicly known achievements.

Youngest ever senior professor. Hero of the Kreutz Rebellion. And so on. Even just the public stuff was quite flashy.

“In the end, he deployed to support us! Everyone, a round of applause for the professor’s noble decision!”

Applause thundered down.

Dante sat in silence, maintaining his presence.

But internally, it felt like someone was holding a knife to their throats, forcing them to praise him.

Clap clap clap!

Somehow, Dante had become the interim commander of the First Step Fortress Zone under Count Kahla.

So... was he happy?

‘This is bad.’

Not even close.

In fact, he felt a growing sense of danger.

He shouldn’t be commanding. And not just because of his respect for Eymon.

Napoleon’s downfall began with the Russian campaign. One key reason for that failure was a lack of unified command.

Even in the game, there's a unit-wide status debuff called [Command Confusion]. Right behind [Morale Drop], it’s one of the worst debuffs a unit can suffer.

In short, Dante needed to pull himself out of command.

‘...Why the hell am I even here right now?’

No matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t know. And he couldn’t exactly ask the fortress commanders either.

It was too stupid a question.

But through experience, he knew what mattered most in this situation.

Authority.

So, he decided to start by being petty.

“Fortress Commanders 08 and 02, step forward.”

At his sluggish command, the two commanders stepped out nervously.

“F-Fortress Commander of 08, reporting!”

“Fortress Commander of 02, reporting!”

They were the ones who had harassed him the most outside the fortress gates.

Their faces turned ghostly pale, as if aware of their guilt.

“Bow your heads.”

Would it work?

“Bow your heads...!”

...It worked.

“All right! Let’s begin the formal meeting!”

From here on, Dante paid attention.

Various reports came in. Scouts and other units had been attacking the [Isolation Wall], but had not broken through. A mysterious monster had been spotted in the sky. The Count’s office had ordered the First Step Zone to enter temporary standby.

“Standby?”

That was a mess of a response. Every second mattered now, and they were telling them to wait?

Sure enough, when Dante examined the official papers from the Count’s office, it stated plainly:

The Count considered this “a prank of the stars” or “something that would pass soon.”

And so, their troop response was minimal at best.

They were cut off from external communication, and it was painfully obvious the domain was turning a blind eye to internal chaos.

Put simply—the Count’s estate had lost its mind.

‘Is this Eymon’s plan too?’

Maybe it was a deception so thorough that it even fooled their own allies.

Thinking that way, he had to admit—what a master tactician.

A strategy so deceptive that even Dante, a grizzled veteran, couldn’t read it?

“In addition, our First Step Zone’s Joint Assassination Unit has been summoned to standby in the Second Step Zone, per Count’s orders. While the entire domain is effectively under lockdown, the Count’s office insists there is no need for undue concern—”

He could ignore most of this, but not that part.

“Hold on.”

“Y-Yes, Professor Dante?”

The announcer paused. The fortress commanders looked back, tense.

“Didn’t you say earlier that communication with the Count’s office is down?”

“Yes. At present, we’re only receiving one-sided orders.”

“And now you’re sending assassins?”

“Yes. It was a hotlined summon from the Count’s strategy office.”

In other words, they were moving extra missiles up to the next floor.

“The First Step’s joint assassination unit—how many operatives are there?”

“Approximately 105, Professor.”

“......”

There was no reason to stage all of them in the Second Zone. So, the Count was probably planning to call them to the estate soon.

Dante tilted his head.

‘Is this Eymon’s plan too?’

Even though it was confirmed that the giant monster could unleash heavy firepower, they were gathering assassins in one place?

They should be spreading out, not clumping together.

This was another decision Dante couldn’t understand. Again—what a war genius.

Let’s review:

A looming crisis where the monster could strike at any moment—and the surface shows no signs of war preparations.

A true war genius.

They shut their doors and ask only for assassins, when they should be coordinating real-time with lower units.

A true war genius.

They gather assassination units in one place where a single concentrated strike could destroy everything.

A true war gen—

Wait.

“...Professor. Something’s wrong.”

That’s when Ran whispered from beside him.

“...This operational state—does this make any sense? At this rate, we’re inviting total annihilation.”

“......”

Dante thought so too.

Why had Eymon made such a call?

He looked out the window. Something dark and massive loomed behind the clouds. Bomiteka was gazing down upon the world.

Demons had intelligence too. At this very moment, Bomiteka was sweeping over the domain in its own way.

Maybe Eymon, knowing that, was deceiving even his own allies to fool Bomiteka.

“It’s fine.”

“Is it really fine?”

“Yes. It’s fine. I’ve got a plan.”

Ran still looked dissatisfied—her expression unreadable but faintly annoyed.

At that moment, the announcer asked,

“...Then, regarding deployment of our assassination unit—how would you like to proceed, Professor Dante?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to him.

As interim commander, he had the authority to decide.

Two choices presented themselves:

Join the assassination unit and move toward the Count. Or reject this insane plan and take direct control of the command structure.

Everyone was anxious. The First Zone’s assassination unit was essentially their missile stockpile. And now someone wanted to hand that over to the Second Zone.

“Send the assassination unit.”

Everyone looked gloomy at his decision.

At the same time, Ran widened her eyes and stared at him.

‘......?’

“Yes! Understood!”

“And furthermore, I will assign Interim Command of the First Zone to Professor Gula.”

Gula’s silence masked his shock.

The moment Dante called him a “chief professor,” all the commanders’ expressions froze. They were clearly thinking:

“He outranked Dante...?”

“...Then, what will you do now, Professor?”

“I, along with my assistant Ran, will join the First Zone’s joint assassination unit and head toward the Count’s domain. From here on, listen to Chief Gula for communications and command.”

“U-Understood!”

Done.

With that, the situation was realigned.

1. Command passed to Gula (he’s foul-mouthed, but will follow orders—perfect for Eymon’s chain of command)

2. Dante rejoined the assassination unit (regained his role as a missile)

A temporary detour had been corrected.

Then Gula freaked out again. A comm came through.

Professor Dante...! What in the world...!? You’re giving command to me!?

Do your best. I heard you’ve had wartime command experience.

Well—sure, I have, but why give it to me...? You’re more qualified than I am...!

The foulmouth actually sounded concerned. Maybe it was a shared-prison bond thing.

Dante just replied that he’d be fine.

Then Ran spoke up too.

“Professor. This... really doesn’t seem right.”

“Don’t worry too much.”

“Of course I know you’ve got a plan, but still—abandoning command authority entirely just isn’t logical.”

Even Ran, rarely emotional, looked genuinely disappointed.

Dante had only one thing to say.

“It’s fine.”

Still, Ran kept muttering under her breath.

“There’s no way this is fine...”

...And yet, what happened next?

Half a day later—as Dante moved toward the Second Zone with about a hundred assassins—

The fortress commanders of that zone, people he had never even met, bowed their heads to him.

“Welcome, Professor Dante. We’ve heard you’ve been appointed Interim Commander of the Second Step Zone.”

...What?

“Thank goodness someone like you is here. Everyone was miserable under our last commander, Boyaman.”

...Who?

“Please, come in. This way.”

Wait, what? Am I dreaming?

As he dazedly followed them, a trembling voice came from beside him.

It was Ran.

Even that robotic assistant was trembling, fists clenched.

“...As expected. You truly did have a plan all along, Professor.”

“......”

“...And I doubted you. How shameful of me.”

“......”

Dante said nothing.

Because there had been no such plan.

“??,,,,”

He still couldn’t make sense of any of it—

And then, status windows burst open again.

⋮

⧉ Through your ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ masterful assassination unit deployment, you have extended your domination beyond the First Zone into the Second.

⧉ Of the 22 fortresses, 15 are now under your [Domination].

⧉ Your current influence within Count Kahla’s domain: Rank #2, 36.7% (▲25.5%)

⧉ This is a monumental achievement completed in less than 24 hours!

Progress has surged dramatically!

┃ [Infiltration] Progression Advanced to Stage 2

┃ Reward: Star Fragments × 48 (Base 8 × 6 Fortresses)

Total Star Fragments: 324 (▲48)

⋮

Dante stared at the screen, dumbfounded.

“......”

Something had gone seriously wrong.

***

But it didn’t end there. A hostile unit stormed into the Second Zone carrying weapons.

“Where is Dante Hiakapo?!”

Here we go. The Count must’ve finally realized something was off and sent a force to seize back command.

The Second Zone commander and his soldiers tensed.

“Junior Baronet Modrio demands an audience! You’ve dared to mock Count Kahla’s military as an outsider! Prepare to receive the Count’s rightful judgment!”

The fortress commanders, caught in the middle, didn’t know what to do.

But Dante didn’t flinch.

He hadn’t asked to be a commander again. It just... happened.

Still, he had seen this coming.

“Let them in.”

Crossing his legs at the head seat, he called them forward.

What was about to happen was simple. He would hand command to Modrio, and return to being an assassin.

But then—

The group entering between the knight-guards felt... off.

“You...! So you’re the bastard behind all this madness!”

It was the junior baronet Modrio, Count’s younger brother.

He stormed in.

But Dante wasn’t looking at him.

His eyes were fixed beside him.

Limp.

Limp.

Limp...

A man walked awkwardly, cane in hand, long hair swaying. His pupils were slit vertically.

And the moment their eyes met—

The man’s expression changed in a subtle way only Dante could perceive.

It was Kaiser.

“......”

“......”

Why the hell are you here...?