The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 30

Atlas, who had chased away the seniors, approached me with a creepy grin.

“If there’s more of that nonsense… No, I’ll just come around more often.”

“Thank you for helping me…”

Even though his class was a bit far away, it seemed to irritate him that I might get into trouble, so he said he would always come to check on me.

He had a devilish face, but his heart was like an angel’s.

He had been a bit harsh with the seniors, but it was all for my sake.

Once again, I felt confused.

Just as my thoughts were deepening, Atlas spoke up.

“I don’t really know. You must have your reasons.”

“Huh?”

I was taken aback by his sudden words.

“I thought things were a bit easier, but I still don’t know why you’re lingering around. If it’s your situation, there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“Um… I’m sorry…”

It must have shown too much.

I was suspicious of Atlas… I kept pulling away on purpose so I wouldn’t notice any changes in him if we got too close.

“There’s no need to apologize. I don’t know what you think of me, but my thoughts haven’t changed.”

Atlas was thinking of me like this, and yet I still suspected him.

The earnest gaze of Atlas looking up at me was incredibly painful.

“If you ever go through something tough like just now, let me know. I’ll help you as much as I can. If it’s too hard to talk about, then that’s that…”

“…Thank you for saying that.”

Such a kind word

It hurt unbearably.

‘What… should I do…?’

I bit my lip tightly.

—————————

I still hadn’t sorted out my feelings about Atlas.

There was no concrete evidence that he was a Demon, just a lot of suspicion.

It didn’t make sense to judge someone’s life based on such flimsy things.

Rather than deciding on the uncertain, let’s handle what’s certain first.

“Is this… right?”

I arrived at a cave near the deep forest.

I was dressed differently than usual.

I wore sturdy leather pants with a white leather armor over chain mail and a red coat.

Inside the coat were two silver automatic pistols that were hard to find at the Academy, and a thick silver greatsword that glimmered in the moonlight.

– Now is the perfect time. The Demon Church must be starting to move, and they probably haven’t prepared for the rituals properly.

‘.. I understand.’

Today was the day I would kill a demon.

My companion had said that the fanatics of the Demon Church would unleash chaos in the dungeon prep class a few days later.

This couldn’t be done overnight, so they had secretly been preparing near the deep forest, the least populated area of the Academy.

I had to kill them all.

Since I had started hearing my companion’s voice, I had fought the Demon Church multiple times.

I had little vengeance against demons, but my companion was different.

He could not forgive the existence of demons.

He could not tolerate the idea that demons and their followers lived and breathed in this world.

My companion provided me with favorable information, and I killed demons as he wished.

This was not a forced relationship.

I knew better than anyone how people died at the hands of the Demon Church’s schemes.

I thought someone had to stop them, and my companion knew best how to do that.

The ultimate goal of the Demon Church was to summon all the Great Demons to turn this world into Hell.

Yeah… this was about saving the world and saving more people.

Inside the dark cave, there were no traps.

It only looked like a regular cave.

But it seemed my companion could see through the disguises and was instructing me where to move.

After passing through a secret passage that looked like a wall, an unpleasant sense of discomfort made me frown.

This unpleasant sensation, looking like black smoke… the magical essence of demons filled the passage.

‘I can’t see ahead…!’

– Ugh… this is a foul stench of magic. Am I late?

My heart raced.

The density of this magic meant that either a demon had descended, or a fallen human with demonic traits had a contract with a demon.

I had faced contracts with fallen humans before but had always been afraid.

This time, it could be a demon appearing directly.

‘Demon…’

The demon I saw as a child came to mind.

I calmed my trembling hands.

I was scared, but I had already killed demons and fallen humans several times.

The greatsword blessed by the words of the God on my back and the two pistols loaded with special bullets were all specially made weapons to confront demons.

As long as I knew how to kill a demon, I could fight.

I wouldn’t be afraid.

I just had to do what I always did.

As I moved deeper into the cave, the presence of the demon grew stronger.

At some point, the narrow passage widened, and a large clearing appeared.

The clearing was filled with dark magic, making it hard to see.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed a magic circle drawn in blood on the ground.

It was a magic circle meant to summon a demon.

– That’s!!

In the middle of the magic circle stood someone.

His body was soaked in blood.

Surrounding him were corpses dressed in black robes.

Did he kill them all?

Or were they sacrificed for him?

Or maybe both.

The dense magical essence obscured his face.

As time passed, the darkness began to clear, revealing the figure standing on the magic circle.

He was holding a sword painted in black.

He looked… a bit short.

As the smoke dissipated, beautiful blonde hair appeared.

It seemed familiar.

His face was revealed.

“Uh…?”

– Get a grip!!!

It was unacceptable to daze in front of the enemy, but the moment I saw that man, I was at a loss for words.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing with my own eyes.

‘Atlas…?’

The blood-soaked Atlas stood upon the magic circle filled with magical essence.