The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

As the test reached its climax, Hulan, who was preparing to leave the Academy, ran into a very familiar face.

“Long time no see, Hulan.”

It felt a bit off to call it a familiar face, though. The other person was using such a dense Recognition Interference Magic that even Hulan, a Dragon Beastman, could barely see them.

But that was the biggest characteristic of this person.

The Knight, clad in armor exuding a thick black mist of Recognition Interference Magic, was one of only two in this world.

“Before you go, let’s do one job together.”

“Shadow… which one?”

“The one who once took down the Evil Dragon Wagner together.”

“So, you’re the one using a sword.”

Upon hearing the mention of fighting the Evil Dragon, Hulan could pinpoint who this person was. Common folks might not know much about this Master named Shadow, but even fewer could identify that there were two Shadows.

At first glance, the armor of Recognition Interference might make them look similar, but having fought alongside both, Hulan recognized that their fighting styles were slightly different.

As a wanderer, he’d formed ties with many people, but not many left as intense an impression as the Shadows did, so he remembered his brief encounter vividly.

“Didn’t you get one of these too?”

“You brought this with you… are you participating?”

“Yeah, I’m basically the one hosting this.”

“You?”

The thought that Shadow was hosting a meeting struck Hulan odd. The disconnect began to form in his mind about what he had initially understood about the meeting and what was being implied now.

It felt like the conversation was going off track.

“I have a feeling you’re not getting it, but what exactly is this meeting about that you’re attending?”

Shadow gazed up at the sky for a moment before speaking. “Do I have to start explaining from there?”

Curious, Hulan tried to follow Shadow a bit, but he was already packing to leave, so he adjusted his plans.

‘First, I need to give him the invitation. I’ll explain later, so just bear with me.’

‘Don’t worry about me; this is more important.’

Originally, he planned to give a full tour of the Academy, but there was no choice. Clad in Squirette armor, he struck up a conversation with Hulan.

Since Hulan had no idea what was going on, it fell upon Hulan to fill him in. He explained how chaotic things were with the Demon Church, emphasizing the importance of the Masters uniting against their forces at the meeting to prevent future troubles.

But would the other Masters truly step up?

After all, their own safety came first; they would probably push it off onto someone else.

He needed to create an atmosphere where refusal was not an option. He had killed three Demon Bishops alone and thwarted the Descent of a Great Demon. He had even put a Hell Demon on the brink of death and removed its horn.

A warning from someone like him would be taken seriously.

It was possible that the regular participants might conspire among themselves and force others to take the action. Hulan aimed to pull in those other Masters who usually didn’t participate.

Among the existing seven Masters, only he and the Commander shared opinions, and if the Master joined too, that would make three. Adding Hulan would make four… a majority.

While there wouldn’t be any forced execution through voting in the meeting, he could strongly encourage it.

“Right… it’s necessary to contain the demons… that’s a good point. But just with words?”

“… What is it you want?”

He thought about what could be asked. He wouldn’t entertain unreasonable requests, but if he couldn’t agree, he could simply refuse, so he decided to listen first.

What he asked for was simple but absurd.

“Hey, it’s been so long since I’ve fought someone similar, I feel like I’m getting rusty. How about a spar?”

——————

And just like that, a duel between Masters was set up in the dead of night.

Though it happened unexpectedly, Hulan had no intention of going easy on this spar with Hulan.

That wouldn’t be respectful, and he wasn’t in a position to slack off.

Hulan was a strong Master.

Always striving for self-improvement, he was an exceptionally powerful Master.

He was in a different league from the Sword Master who had ruined himself.

They both moved to the Special Arena for the spar.

“Quickly!! Move if you don’t want to die!!”

Originally, they planned to just fight in an empty lot. While the Academy wasn’t small, two Masters going all out could cause serious damage; after the Saintess contacted the Principal, he promptly alerted several professors, who hurriedly activated the Special Arena.

They had suffered damage from the series of events but were fortunate that there were no issues in getting it operational.

As soon as the Special Arena activated, it whisked them away to a small dimensional space.

It was supposed to be nighttime with the moon shining, but the Special Arena created a dimension with blazing sunshine and rocky mountains.

“It seems like things have gotten a bit more serious, but this is still just fun…!”

Hulan boasted his bulging muscles as he shed his shirt, his scales glistening like armor in the sunlight.

The weapon of Hulan, the Dragon Beastman, was his solid body honed from birth.

He could process claws and scales from actual Dragons into high-grade artifacts and had scales and claws of the same strength himself.

Since it wasn’t an artificial item but rather his own body, it was unmatched in containing mana.

Although the duel was somehow happening, the reasoning Hulan had mentioned applied to him too.

Fighting between Masters was quite rare; such experience was invaluable.

“I hear Dragon Beastman scales are ridiculously expensive. I think I’ll take this chance to strip you of them.”

“Sounds fun! Give it a shot if you can!”

That was the signal, and they charged at each other.

The battle between Masters had begun.

Hulan had Aura Blades on all ten fingers, not just one per hand.

The reason he could maintain ten Aura Blades, which were difficult to keep up, was that they were part of his body.

It was much easier to infuse the aura into his body than to extract it and embed it in other objects.

“Then let’s start with a greeting… Tenfold Claw!!”

Hulan’s claws sliced through the air, sending five streaks of Sword Qi tearing with great velocity.

It was the technique that had ripped Asmodeus apart in Hell. Each attack possessed the power to demolish walls, yet to Hulan, they were merely a way to test the waters.

He could jump over the rules, but curious about the extent, he chose to take it head-on.

The attack had strong power, but to him, it was just an initial probe.

Having smashed through the Sword Qi with no problem, Hulan closed in, and as if waiting for him, Hulan thrust his claws forward.

His hands moved rapidly, aiming to tear through Hulan’s armor, but he pretended to accept the attack while striking with his unguarded forearm.

“Ugh!”

-Clang!!

Yet the sword strike made a strange sound and came to a halt.

As scales and aura met, a sharp noise and sparks erupted in all directions.

He was attempting to slash, yet couldn’t.

Making a dull thud, Hulan’s Aura Blade was stuck against Hulan’s arm.

“Hehe, you couldn’t cut me, huh?”

It wasn’t just any sword; it was an Aura Blade. Even the barrier of a Great Demon should have been slashed through in one go, yet Hulan’s bare arm remained intact.

His arm was covered in Dragon scales, which are indeed hard to cut with regular swords, but an Aura Blade was something else.

So, was there some defensive magic on his skin?

That wasn’t it either.

Most defensive magic wouldn’t withstand an Aura Blade from a Master; it should’ve been shattered instantly.

Yet Hulan’s scales casually blocked his attack without a hint of injury.

“I see my skills haven’t dulled yet.”

Seeing this, Hulan appeared satisfied.

Though he expected this, seeing it firsthand was a bizarre sight.

“To think you knew this was coming, and you’re still so sneaky about it?”

“Haha, then just don’t accept it!”

After confirming that his attack wouldn’t land, Hulan immediately went on the offensive.

His attacks became rougher and bolder after realizing that nothing he did inflicted any damage.

Dodging the claws slicing near his face, he took another stab at Hulan’s abdomen.

“Ugh!”

-Thud!

Yet again, his sword merely produced a dull sound.

Though the scales on his abdomen were thin enough to tear skin slightly, it hadn’t pierced through.

To block even his extreme Aura Blade was exceptionally underhanded.

That was the law Hulan had gained as he became a Master.

While using the law, Hulan’s body, honed over a long period, wouldn’t break or deform.

No matter how much he slashed, punched, or tried to crush him, nothing worked; it simply transformed into a useless endeavor in his mind.

From the perspective of the Knight, it felt like he was using an invincible cheat.

Killing him over and over would at least give some satisfying feedback, but Hulan’s law nullified that whole exchange.

“I was curious if you could still effortlessly block a Master’s attack, but it seems I still have got it!!”