The Rewolf Black Institute was universally acknowledged as Asterisk's most combat-oriented academy, boasting the highest number of Gryps championship titles among all six institutions.
Setting aside historical figures, even among current students it housed formidable fighters like Ophelia Landlufen, Melchior, the Arayashiki Hyougo, the Rodolfo Zoppo and the Irene Urzaiz. Among these, the first four—excluding Irene—each possessed strength sufficient to claim the top rank at any other academy, making them veritable monarchs of individual combat prowess within the six schools.
Unlike the Eastern aesthetic of Jie Long, the classical elegance of Queenvail, or the opulence of Saint Galahadworth, the architecture here embodied sheer vulgarity. The buildings resembled fortified strongholds rather than conventional dormitories or academic structures.
The student council president's office lay at the academy's deepest recesses.
Dirk Eberwein advanced down the corridor with visibly darkened expression, his obese frame moving with unexpected agility. His face perpetually bore the look of someone nursing a grievance—a man who never smiled, whose closest secretaries only ever witnessed his displeasure.
This man, dubbed the "King of Malice," served as the strategic mind behind Rewolf's warrior collective. His specialty lay in relentlessly exploiting opponents' weaknesses through threats, intimidation, or even assassination. No tactic was too dark for this demonic intellect—he would calmly commit any atrocity if it meant destroying his enemies.
"Well, well."
The moment Dirk entered his office, a voice like darkness incarnate exploded in his ears, making him instinctively recoil.
"Don't bother. The barrier covers the entire perimeter. There's nowhere to run."
At the prestigious president's desk sat a white-haired, red-eyed youth lounging with legs crossed atop the furniture, radiating casual dominance.
"Incidentally, I've configured this office barrier to admit only you. Your bodyguards can't enter. I wonder if they've realized your life is no longer your own?"
Roy rocked gently in the chair, his eyes brimming with lethal intent.
"...Hmph. Your presence here means Faceless failed, I take it."
Dirk's momentary shock passed quickly. Snorting in disgust, he strode fully into the room.
"I underestimated you. This barrier—it's similar to Seisenjutsu?"
"It blocks all radio waves too. Your distress signals won't transmit."
"Tch!"
Dirk pulled out his phone, confirmed the dead signal, and spat in irritation.
"Fine. I'll play along. Since you waited for me instead of striking immediately, you must want something. Speak."
He plopped onto a visitor's sofa, arms crossed, radiating impatience.
"Such unpleasant tone. Do you speak this way to everyone?"
"My apologies. I was born this way."
"Then forget it."
Roy shrugged.
"You guessed right, I do have something to tell you. But what I want to say has nothing to do with tonight's assassination attempt—it's about something else. Something related to Akatsuki."
"Did you know there's a wire in Faceless's ear planted by Akatsuki?"
"What did you say?"
Dirk's brows instantly furrowed, his expression darkening further.
"Look into my eyes."
Roy smiled faintly as his eyes suddenly changed color, revealing dazzling pupils entwined with runic chains.
"The Evil Eye Sorcerer! So it's you...!"
Dirk bolted upright in shock, his face undergoing a series of rapid changes.
But before he could say another word, his consciousness abruptly wavered. No matter how hard he resisted, it was useless—he soon lost all awareness completely.
"Answer my question again: Did you know there's a wire in Faceless's ear?"
"I knew."
Dirk replied mechanically.
So he had been pretending earlier.
What a schemer.
"Why did you do it?"
"Faceless belongs to the conglomerate, not to me. I'm about to undertake a major operation that he might obstruct or even eliminate me over. I had to get rid of him, so I sent him to assassinate the wielder of the Sword of the Black Furnace. If he died, good. If not, I'd hand him over to Akatsuki."
I see.
Faceless was Asterisk's top agent. Though he was affiliated with the Black Cats—Rewolf's intelligence agency—the Black Cats were essentially established by the conglomerate. While the student council president had the authority to insert personnel, Faceless definitely wasn't one of those. His loyalty lay with the conglomerate, not Dirk, which was why Dirk, sensing danger, deliberately discarded him.
But this also clarified another matter—
"So that means Akatsuki is on your side?"
"Correct."
Dirk nodded mechanically.
That made sense.
Roy, like Faceless, had assumed Faceless was an ace operative who usually stayed deeply hidden—to the point where even his existence was questionable. The idea that Akatsuki could find and control him among countless people seemed utterly unbelievable.
But if Akatsuki and Dirk were allies, it became understandable. Diluc had intentionally delivered Faceless to Akatsuki, which was how Akatsuki had managed to control him without his knowledge.
"Where is that guy now?"
"I don't know. He always appears through puppets—never in person."
"What a pain!"
Roy cursed under his breath.
That bastard Akatsuki thrived on chaos. Roy couldn't care less what happened to the world or how many people Akatsuki killed, but if Rikka's order collapsed, the benefits he stood to gain would become uncertain. Roy wanted to find Akatsuki—at the very least, to keep him within sight for peace of mind.
But puppet masters were troublesome. They could manipulate puppets from hundreds or even thousands of miles away, never needing to appear in person, making them exceptionally hard to track. Roy had even tried using magecraft to locate him before, but not even divination could pick up a trace of him—he was harder to find than lice on a monkey.
"Fine. Then as a fallback, tell me this—what exactly are you all planning?"
Roy lifted his head, his cold gaze piercing through Dirk.
...
Half an hour later, Dirk jolted back to awareness.
He glanced around, frowned, then opened his computer, pulling up a spatial display and optical keyboard before immersing himself in work.
Roy observed him covertly for a while before vanishing into the shadows. With the aid of runes, he left Rewolf Black Institute completely undetected.
After making a trip back to the redevelopment zone to retrieve the Crimson Lotus Badge from Fan Xinglou, Roy immediately headed toward Seidoukan Academy.
"Akatsuki's existence poses a threat. I was initially concerned about being discovered, but now that it's confirmed Akatsuki is in Asterisk, we must accelerate Claudia and the others' enhancement schedule."
Previously, Roy had worried that enhancing Claudia and the others too drastically might draw unwanted attention, even from corporate entities. But now, enhancement was no longer optional—without it, Claudia and the others could face real danger.
While physical enhancements could proceed gradually, their five senses needed immediate reinforcement. At the very least, they had to gain the ability to see the threads with their own eyes to avoid falling under Akatsuki's control.
His phone vibrated. Opening it, Roy saw a message from Sylvia, who seemed anxious about him leaking the recording. In truth, Roy had never recorded anything—he'd been bluffing from the start.
After replying honestly, Roy returned to Seidoukan Academy. Instead of going to his dorm, he went straight to the girls' dormitory to find Claudia first.
There was no time to waste. The enhancements would begin tonight!