The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

“You… didn’t even participate. How are you inside this forest?”

After talking with the Cyclops, Edgar asked with a look of disbelief.

Exactly.

‘Why am I doing this again?’

Edgar’s question made my head throb.

Why am I even in this situation?

By the time I enrolled in the Academy, I thought it was best to leave everything to Hayden, the original protagonist, and just help a little from the sidelines.

Though Hayden was a mess, he was a self-completed character.

His actions were rough, but his goals were all noble.

The Academy’s “Demon Slayer” was created under the obsessive goal of not allowing the weak to fall victim to demons anymore.

But Hayden doesn’t exist in this world.

Hayden’s fate rests on the shoulders of a much weaker girl named Amy.

I decided to help that frail, kind, and gentle girl just a little, but is this the result?

“Geez, how pitiful you are. After I went through all that trouble to save you, is that all you can say?”

“Well… thanks for saving me.”

When I pointed it out, Edgar promptly expressed his gratitude.

“Hey, ungrateful wretches. Don’t you have anything to say?”

“… Thank you. The Le Family won’t forget this grace.”

“Thanks…”

“To be saved by a human… Damn, I will repay this debt.”

“Yeah, yeah, good job. Well, the Hunting Festival ends here. Everyone head back quietly.”

As I said that, Edgar shot me a sharp glare.

“What are you doing?”

“Can’t you tell? I’m out here saving students like you in danger.”

“That’s the professors’ job. Why are you doing it?”

“I want to ask the same. Why am I doing this?”

.

.

.

The first thing I wanted to find was the faculty.

If the tower controlling this Hunting Festival was intact, at least that would be a better situation.

“Did it get destroyed first?”

The professors’ control tower in the front yard of the Black Forest was in complete disarray.

The most ridiculous part was that not a single professor or staff member was in sight when they should have been here.

There had definitely been a fight, but there were no corpses or injured people to be found.

It was very suspicious that there weren’t even any corpses of the professors and everyone had vanished.

There wasn’t enough time to search further.

.

.

.

Information about the individuals responsible for this situation was cluttering my mind, but it became certain after talking with the Cyclops.

[Someone was wearing a strange mask and told us to come under him… When we refused, he threw something at us… After that, I can’t remember anything.]

They said a strange mask was involved.

This was the doing of the Demon Church.

‘… If they can control the Cyclops, then the Hydra and Orthos probably got taken too… So then, it has to be a Demon Bishop at the very least… If they have the powers of a Great Demon to control others…’

I wanted to hurry up and think alone, but someone grabbed my sleeve.

“…. I need to talk for a moment.”

“What is it, Cindy?”

It was Cindy, an elven exchange student.

“That monster… the Cyclops is a creature that only appears in legends. Just existing can dominate an area. After facing it just now, I’m sure that’s not a lie.”

“Yeah, it really is a strong monster.”

“But you neutralized it in an instant… I’ve been curious for a while… just who are you?”

“…..”

Seems like they’re curious about all the unnecessary things.

‘Come to think of it, the Le Family is now related to the Grand Warrior…?’

Thinking back to how I used to be tormented by elves, a vein almost popped on my forehead.

“If you’re curious, ask the Grand Warrior.”

“What…?”

“You’ll understand.”

“What do you mean, asking the Grand Warrior!!”

Not wanting to deal with it anymore, I quickly left.

.

.

.

Just after I had completely distanced myself from the Lemnos team, I felt a hot heat radiating from my body.

It was clearly a sensation I had felt before.

“River…?”

I moved toward the source of the heat, just like before.

—————————–

As soon as I arrived, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

The place I reached, following the presence I felt from River’s body, was a mess.

There were monster corpses and monsters everywhere.

In the center stood a demon worshipper wearing a warped skull mask with goat horns, his thick robes flowing.

A mask with large horns… basically a Demon Bishop.

But there was someone who shouldn’t be here behind him.

‘The Principal… and Andy?’

Principal Gordon and Andy were guarding either side of the Demon Bishop like bodyguards.

In front of them stood Casey, barely holding onto her rapier, drenched in blood.

Her body was covered in large and small wounds, and behind her were other team members who were also injured, albeit not as severely.

With golden light fading from River’s body and Amy gripping the sword she had gifted me differently than usual…

Rio was unconscious, and Lucia was barely holding on.

Each of them looked a little different, but they all appeared to be in a terrible state.

“…”

I wanted to rush over and check if they were okay immediately, but I gritted my teeth and held back.

I suppressed the rising emotions by gripping Squirette tightly.

I can’t let myself be swept away by impulsive feelings.

I needed to clarify the order of operations now.

First, I had to make this place ‘safe’.

The black blade of Squirette sliced through the air.

The blade wind surged like a tempest, and all the gathered monsters were shattered, sending blood raining through the forest.

“Seal Cube..!!”

“!!”

Just as the surroundings were in ruins, Gordon and Andy reacted before the Demon Bishop did, like an automated security system.

-Swish!

“Argh!”

As Andy dashed out, drawing his sword, he slashed at the legs of the Demon Bishop, immobilizing him, while a transparent hexagonal cube appeared where I had just been.

It was the Principal’s large-scale binding magic, ‘Seal Cube’.

As the monsters were cut to pieces in the blink of an eye, the Demon Bishop looked around in panic.

He hadn’t even noticed that his ‘guards’ had activated.

“Looks like… My new brother has come!!”

He belatedly gave me a greeting, but it was already too late when he realized the monsters were shredded.

The edge of Squirette’s blade was already half embedded in his neck.

“Ah…?”

With a fluid motion, the Demon Bishop’s head flew off.

His head, wearing the skull mask, tumbled on the leaves.

The head that fell to the ground didn’t move, appearing as if it was dead.

“….”

The moment the head dropped, Gordon suddenly fell silent.

He looked like someone whose control had been released.

But I drew my sword again.

“I thought you would turn your back thinking you died like this, you filthy demon worshipper.”

I slashed at his seemingly intact torso with Squirette.

I had cut through his neck so hurriedly before, but this time it was different.

This time, the Aura Blade was manifesting properly on Squirette.

“Graaargh??!!!”

A scream erupted from the Demon Bishop’s severed head.

While simply decapitating wouldn’t have been a big deal, being severed by the Master’s Aura Blade was another story altogether.

As I sliced down from his shoulder to his abdomen, he screamed at a volume that seemed likely to burst his eardrums.

“Atlas?!”

Seeing me suddenly appear and butcher the monsters and the Demon Bishop, Amy’s eyes widened in shock.

Not just her, everyone was startled by my sudden appearance.

To them, it must have looked like in the blink of an eye all the monsters were cut in half and the Bishop’s head had been severed.

Right now, it was more important to cut that bastard into dozens of pieces and throw them in all directions than respond to those words.

“Don’t!!! Atlas!! That guy uses the Power of Domination. If you get caught in his powers, we’ll be finished, so run away!!!!”

[[Stop it!!]]

Before Amy’s warning could finish, the Demon Bishop shouted with authority in his voice.

His voice resonated throughout the forest, and my sword was barely stopped from slicing apart the Demon Bishop’s torso.

Even though it had already been cleaved into four pieces.

“Hah… Has it finally stopped? You sword-wielders really don’t communicate well…”

Seeing my sword halted, the Demon Bishop looked satisfied.

His head floated into the air, and soon, the severed body parts followed suit, reassembling like a puzzle.

It was strange how quickly he healed from wounds inflicted by the peak Aura Blade.

From how he reacted during the attack, I was sure the damage had been dealt.

‘… He’s pulling some other trick.’

Generally, demons can heal wounds quickly because the substances of this world cannot inflict real damage on them.

But this was different.

Though he was indeed taking damage, it was likely he was minimizing it somehow or transferring it to something else.

“Atlas too…!”

With my sword halted by his powers, Amy gritted her teeth and gripped her sword again.

“If you don’t stop now, something worse will happen…!!!”

“Don’t let Atlas be controlled!!”

Both Amy and River, dragging their exhausted bodies, charged at the Demon Bishop.

He didn’t even turn around and simply said.

“[[Stop]]…”

Just as he had done with me, he let out a voice infused with his powers, but Amy and River either resisted his powers or ignored them and continued to rush forward.

“You’ve forgotten that it doesn’t work well on little sisters… Then…”

“Ugh?!”

“Now’s not the time for important discussions, so just play with these girls.”

Moments after he said that, dazzling large-scale magic poured down in front of the exhausted Amy and River.

The now-dominated Principal stood as a barrier against them.

Satisfied by that sight, the Demon Bishop walked around me in a circle.

“Short little Master… so you’re that Master that His Excellency spoke of to tear apart.”

The Demon Bishop looked at Amy and River.

Both seemed weary, but they didn’t appear to be weak enough to fall to such monsters.

They would soon finish cleaning up and come over here.

“No matter how you glare, it’s futile. When His Excellency descended upon this place, needless to say, the inadequate believers held a ritual in a shabby environment, rendering him incapable of using his powers.

But I am different. I, who assist Him from the nearest place, can freely use the powers gifted to me by Him.”

Powers.

The transcendental ability that Great Demons can use.

Each Great Demon possesses a different power, and they can grant their powers to their close followers.

It wouldn’t be that difficult for a Demon Bishop to use a Great Demon’s powers if he served directly.

“Even calling yourself a Master, you’re just a human… consider it an honor to die by the Great Demon’s power. Now… [[Commit suicide]]”

Once again, the voice of the Demon Bishop, filled with authority, echoed throughout the forest.

Hearing those words, I lifted Squirette, placing the blade against my neck.

I could feel the cold and sharp caress of Squirette against my throat.

“Ah… No!!!”

“Atlas!!!”

As the blade touched my throat, Amy and River’s faces turned pale.

Lucia, who was under the power of the Domination, looked the same.

She couldn’t even speak, but her trembling body desperately wanted to break free.

[You will be beheaded and die within two weeks…!! I don’t know how you evaded the last prophecy, but it will be difficult to escape this one!!]

The prophecy of the cursed weapon flashed through my mind.

The prophecy that I would die by decapitation… made me recall my current situation.

Is this the time of the prophecy?

My arm pressed Squirette harder against my throat.

If I pulled Squirette this way, the sharp blade would slice through my skin and veins, causing blood to spray from my neck.

My grip tightened on the handle, and Squirette moved, targeting the Demon Bishop.

-Swish

“Huh?”

I sliced through the Demon Bishop’s neck.

In truth, I had never been affected by his powers from the beginning.