The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

River was horrified to hear that the Knights had taken Atlas.

“Atlas was taken by a Knight?? No way!”

It’s not just that he was taken, but apparently for suspicion of devil worship. River felt like his common sense was collapsing.

Of all people, that Atlas?

How could someone who had seen so many demons butchered right in front of him possibly be guilty of devil worship?

“There’s no way that’s right. I have to go protest.”

“We… I think it’s better to stay quiet for now.”

As River was about to head to the Church, Amy stopped him.

Why was she stopping him? Everyone knows he’s innocent.

“How can we just sit back when an innocent person has been taken away!”

“I’m worried too, but here, Atlas has more connections with the Church. He must have a plan.”

“He can barely even get up… how can we not worry…?”

Seeing Atlas struggling to breathe on the bed left River extremely flustered. He had never seen such a vulnerable side of Atlas.

“No. I need to go to the Church as well.”

“I… I want to run there right away too. But… Atlas said he would handle it himself. If we just rush in, things might escalate…”

Amy was reminded of the mess she had caused in the dungeon by jumping in without thinking.

If Atlas told her not to interfere, there had to be a reason behind it.

Worrying that her involvement might make things worse left her feeling paralyzed.

– “It’s not like he’s sick enough to die, so if push comes to shove, he’ll just take everyone there down and walk out.”

There’s a world of difference between an Expert and a Master… Who’s looking out for whom here?

The words of her companion whispering in her ear were persuasive.

But River thought differently.

“You’re right, Atlas can handle it by himself. He must have been confident enough to act boldly, as he always does.

But Atlas isn’t infallible. You know that.

He seems amazing all the time, but he makes mistakes often; he just notices them quickly and fixes them, so it goes unnoticed.

But this time, his state isn’t good! So we have to go help him..!!”

Seeing River speak so boldly made Amy’s eyes go wide.

——————————-

“The Knight in charge of the investigation is called Ham. You don’t want to be here long, right? So let’s wrap this up quickly.”

The first one to arrive was not an Inquisitioner but a Knight.

Inquisitioners really only show up as a last resort; it seems like Knights handle the general inquiries.

If I cooperate properly, I should be released soon… but contrary to his hopes, the investigation was going in circles.

“Let’s start with why you had this demon horn. Where did you get it, and why do you own this? Do you even know what it is?”

“… Please call the Saintess from the Church Country.”

That was all I could say.

They’re Knights dispatched from the Church Country, so they probably have means to contact the Church directly; talking to Carmel should clear up all misunderstandings.

“You want me to call the Saintess? Why on earth are you suddenly looking for her?”

“I’ll just say I contacted her. I’ll speak directly with her…”

When I suddenly mentioned talking to the Saintess, the Knight’s mood noticeably soured.

He seemed to think I was mocking him.

“The Saintess is not someone you can just meet because a mere student wants to. Especially someone suspected to be a devil worshiper like you!”

The Knight slammed the desk suddenly.

“Why did you have this demon horn? Why are you wasting time with odd mumblings?”

I was just as frustrated as he was.

Explaining this situation without revealing that I’m a Shadow would require more thought.

But my head wasn’t functioning well from the heat.

That’s why I asked them to call Carmel, but it seemed they felt insulted being left in that position as Knights dispatched from the Church.

‘Of course, I’m a bit upset about this since I’m defending humanity against a Great Demon with this horn.’

The longer I was detained, the more the heat in my head rose.

Having fought the Great Demon and come back injured for humanity, was this how I was being treated?

As the Inquisitioner kept babbling on, the heat in my head intensified, and my irritation boiled over.

I decided to go a little more primitive.

– Thud!!

I kicked the desk.

It was firmly stuck to the floor, so it didn’t move, but it made a loud sound.

The Inquisitioner looked at me in disbelief.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m saying once more, your authorities are lacking. Bring someone higher up.”

“I was assigned here by the Pope’s orders. As long as I’m investigating in this Academy, I may as well be the Pope himself.”

“What could be so impossible for you to say? If you were bold enough, it shouldn’t matter if I hear it or not.”

Hearing that, the Inquisitioner grew even more cautious.

“If you don’t speak… I’ll have no choice but to inform someone else.”

The air froze at his words.

“… What did you just say?”

“I received an anonymous tip just now and decided to search other dorms. Apparently, you were close to someone named… Amy…?”

As soon as he finished speaking, I kicked the desk again, which had been firmly ‘fixed’ to the floor.

– Crash!!!!

The base of the desk, which was firmly attached to the floor, tore off and crashed right into the Inquisitioner.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack against a student on the verge of death, the Inquisitioner’s frail body crashed against the hard stone wall along with the desk.

“Ugh… You… revealed your true nature..!!!”

The desk didn’t even touch him.

Complex wards appeared on his robe, defending against the impact of the desk.

“As an Inquisitioner, I…!!!”

“Shut up.”

– Crash!!!

Before he could finish his words, I kicked the desk once more.

The solid metal desk crumpled like a piece of paper, shattering the protection that had been guarding him.

“Cough..?!”

As the shield broke, the impact to his abdomen made him vomit and collapse weakly onto the desk.

The metal table arched, imprisoning the Inquisitioner against the wall.

“Hah… Hah…”

It hurt, and moving around only made my head throb.

But it had to be done.

There was no turning back now.

“Who do you think you’re messing with?”

I had come here quietly to avoid any trouble spreading to others, yet?

If they were going to act like this, I had no reason to stay docile.

After all, these guys are from the Church’s direct authority.

What should have been a symbol of fear now seemed like nothing to me.

I’ll knock them all out and contact the Church on my own; everything will be sorted out.

Yeah, the initial idea was way too peaceful.

I should’ve done it this way from the beginning.