The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

The destruction of the church at the Academy was not something that could be brushed aside easily.

The church, located within the Academy, was staffed by individuals dispatched from the Church Country, and it was currently occupied by the Holy Knights under direct control of the Church, along with the Inquisitioners… and even a Bishop.

It was akin to demolishing an embassy of a nation.

“Why is it so fast!! I just got the report, and it’s already over?!!”

The Principal cried out from the wreckage of what used to be the church.

Golems were hard at work filling in the overturned pavement and soil from all directions, while the mangled Holy Knights were being transported to the hospital.

The culprit behind this incident was nowhere to be seen.

The wandering Master Hulan, who was present at the scene, merely watched him go off somewhere.

With the continuous incidents already casting doubts on whether we could properly manage such a significant establishment like the Academy, this time even the Church’s envoys were attacked, and it left me feeling dizzy no matter how hard I tried to endure.

The Holy Knights had notified us that they would investigate a student suspected of heresy just like any other day, and I thought it would end with a reasonable inquiry, only for that student to turn out to be a living bomb, leading to the church’s complete destruction.

‘Just like him, charging in without a second thought…!!’

The bomb of a student… Atlas Nemea was the one Linda had her eyes on.

Achieving unreasonable feats at a young age, he had sparked countless conflicts upon entering the Academy, defeating all those he crossed paths with, but I never imagined he would take on the Holy Knights as well.

I thought it was nonsense that he was suspected of heresy and slipped a word to the Commander of the Order, but barely a few minutes later, the incident was over.

The Church Country’s investigation wrapped up rather swiftly.

What would happen if the Church formally lodged a complaint with the Academy regarding this incident?

Numerous hearings and inquiries… The thought of the Church joining this affair made my stomach churn.

I wanted to vomit right there, but first, I had to focus on managing the situation at hand.

Heal the wounded Holy Knights… apprehend the person involved for questioning…

I could hear footsteps crunching on gravel.

Startled, the Principal turned around to see the Bishop, neatly dressed, emerging behind him.

“B-Bishop! This situation is…”

“…”

The Principal was at a loss for how to explain this situation.

Should I make excuses? Just report the facts?

No, this snake of a man couldn’t possibly be unaware of what had transpired in the church.

Should I ask him to tell me how we should proceed from here?

Or perhaps…

‘The Holy Knights got wiped out by just one Academy student… the direct control of the Church isn’t all that impressive, huh?’

Thoughts flickered through my chaotic mind, but I dismissed them quickly.

However, the words that escaped the Bishop’s lips were remarkably calm.

“No, it seems we have misunderstood. I apologize.”

“W-What?”

The Principal doubted his own ears.

Given this newfound weakness, he wasn’t going to attack me? What was going on?

“There’s no need to worry. We will repair the damaged church with our budget.”

The Bishop walked away with a rigid expression to check on the Holy Knights.

It felt as if he was a mere flickering ember, recently ignited and now fading.

His retreating figure was filled with many thoughts.

————————————

Once I made my escape to Professor Praha’s laboratory, not long after I was told to take absolute safety measures, I was met with the chaos of my disheveled appearance.

“I’ll place you in the VIP Room. No one can enter without my permission, so it’s time for you to truly rest.”

Professor Praha, quickly tending to me while explaining precautions, wore a look of exasperation.

Thus, I found myself in the VIP Room, but I wasn’t alone.

“If they come back for revenge, I won’t hold back!”

“Leave it to us and focus on your recovery.”

River and Amy, who had come to support me, volunteered to guard the VIP Room.

They were quite serious about ensuring nothing happened if I was left alone.

Though it wouldn’t be safe with just the two of them, their thoughtfulness was appreciated.

“I’ll keep watch outside too, so just rest. What’s with this disaster…”

Somehow, Casey had joined as well, and despite her rough speech, she was genuinely worried.

Just knowing that there were people out there thinking of me brought me happiness.

Ultimately, the incident had erupted because I was hiding under the guise of a Shadow.

Sometimes it was inconvenient for things to not line up accurately, but I had no intention of giving up my role as a Shadow.

As a secret Master, the Shadows are sustained by the Empire’s formidable national power.

The best part of operating as a Shadow is the guarantee of ‘anonymity’.

It’s fundamentally different from Masters whose identities are fully revealed.

They are the Empire’s greatest power, and even moving recklessly is a challenge.

How could any lord not feel tension with a nuclear bomb roaming around without safety locks?

If it weren’t for the Empire, other nations would be clamoring for the identities of the Shadows, and they wouldn’t survive.

People flock to a Master with a known face wherever they go.

Whatever actions one takes draw others’ attention.

One can’t even play around in the Academy as a student.

I dislike that.

I wanted to live more freely.

While I may have grandly stated that I wouldn’t expect the Empire to manage the situation when the day came where both my master and I were Shadows, that was not the reason for this predicament.

.

.

.

Two days had gone by since the incident.

I lay on the luxurious bed in the hospital’s VIP Room, quietly counting the stains on the ceiling.

Upon arriving at the hospital, I was treated just enough to be able to move and then posted with weapons while on an IV, waiting for potential revenge from the Bishop and other church factions, but there hadn’t been any movement.

Either they were too beat up to be bothered, or perhaps the upper echelons had spoken up and the situation was suppressed; either way, I was thankful.

I didn’t care for myself, but I hated the thought of others on guard for me getting caught up in this.

‘These bastards better not think I’ll let this slide.’

Lying in the empty hospital room, I pondered deeply.

While it was true that my silence had sown the seeds of misunderstanding, the attitude of the Holy Knights was also very displeasing.

There was no way I was just going to quietly let this go.

At this rate…

-Can I come in?

-Sure.

-Yeah… yes!!

I could hear voices from outside.

Someone was about to enter.

-Knock knock.

A guest had arrived.

“… Come in.”

As the door opened, a sweet scent filled the hospital room.

A sweet aroma that relaxed my muscles and lowered my guard.

I hadn’t even seen her face yet, but I knew immediately who it was.

“Ugh?? How did you get here..!!”

“I urged her to come. There’s a lot to say, but… there’s something we need to do first.”

I tried to get up to open the window, but I couldn’t.

My condition was still in shambles.

In the meantime, she had walked right up to me.

“I’m sorry…”

The Saintess, Carmel, who approached me slowly, bowed deeply.

Unlike those who had never come to visit, it was commendable that the Saintess from the Church Country was hiding her identity to come and apologize to me.

However, my heart wasn’t exactly at ease.

“Hey, it’s sneaky for you to be here! Get the Pope over here!! Did that old man send you? Just because we know each other and you have some traits, does that mean you think you’d get forgiven easily??”

The Church Country had set this treacherous sight in front of me, with Carmel being beloved by all.

I couldn’t resist her power.

Just her presence made me feel affectionate, how could I possibly be angry?

“No one sent me… I came because I wanted to.”

“Don’t say such things…! That just makes my anger fade!!”

“I’m sorry… but… I only thought of this method.”

I intentionally got rough to keep my anger alive, but tears welled up in Carmel’s eyes at my harsh words.

That sight was so endearing that I even considered just ending it there.

Carmel reached the front of the bed, knelt, and held my hand.

“At the very least… I will heal all the injuries you’ve sustained now.”

“If it’s that simple, I would’ve been better sooner. Do you think treating internal injuries is easy!!”

Today, Carmel wasn’t joking around.

She wasn’t smiling and messing around like she usually did; her expression was more serious than ever as she held my hand.

“May the Almighty Father guide you… Perfect Heal!”

A brilliant light filled the hospital room.

I would have asked for help sooner if a little divine power could heal me, but my condition wasn’t that simple.

There was no way I would recover just like that.

That’s what I thought until just a moment ago.

“How is it…?”

“There’s no way I could get better from this… Oh, wait, I feel better now?”

“Thank goodness… I was worried about what I would do if this didn’t work.”

Just to be sure, I focused on circulating energy from my Dantian, and everything felt fine.

Just like that, the injury I had been expecting to slow down my recovery for weeks was healed.

In Carmel’s hand was a rosary I had never seen before.

It was something familiar.

At first glance, it looked like an old, worn-out silver rosary, but… it was one of the holy relics known as the Mother’s Rosary, stored by the Church Country.

“Did you bring that without permission?”

“No? I’d have to wait two weeks for permission, so how could I do that? I planned to drop it off while visiting McKinto anyway, so I just took it.”

The Church Country’s treasury is located beneath where McKinto resides.

Though McKinto had sacrificed much while serving the divine in his capacity as a Dragon, he couldn’t let go of his habit of hoarding treasures in his nest, so he remained a sentinel guarding his treasure.

Among those treasures, the ‘Mother’s Rosary’ is known to be a holy relic that’s hard to transport, so it was impressive that she managed to sneak it out.

It was admirable, but ultimately, my bad condition was due to the Holy Knights.

I decided to harden my resolve.

“Even so, I won’t forgive you…”

“Of course… this incident is a failure of our management, and I have no excuse.”

To avoid damaging relationships with me, who is known to have killed so many demons, the Church Country must provide adequate compensation.

I wanted to discuss this with the Pope or McKinto, but having the Saintess wasn’t so bad either.

I intended to have a serious conversation with Carmel when I heard other footsteps outside.

-Amy, what’s going on in there?

-They’re having an important discussion inside.

-It’s not someone strange.

-Important discussion? Who went in? Atlas needs absolute safety, who did you let in?

-A..ah, no!!

“Who’s in there!!”

As River burst in through the door, the first thing he saw was me.

“Oh? Atlas, can you move now?”

“Just figured that out.”

Next, his gaze shifted directly to Carmel.

Carmel merely smiled and greeted River.

“Who are you?”

“Hoho, hello. It seems our Atlas owes you quite a bit. I’m nothing much, just a Saintess in the Church Country. I came to apologize about this incident.”

“A Saintess…?”

River’s eyes sharpened.