The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 73

The spectator seats were filled with various reactions.

There were groups casually joking around, as if it didn’t matter who would win, having become friendly in just one day.

Then there were others, eyes ablaze, dividing into factions to cheer each other on.

And there was the group hurling insults at Atlas, who was overwhelmingly winning, alongside several others engaged in brawls.

It was no wonder, as it wasn’t just a handful of people that came out; a whopping 120 members from Clover Academy had arrived.

It was indeed noisy in many ways, but considering the purpose of the exchange meeting, I thought it might not be such a bad outcome since some students were getting closer.

But then, suddenly, the situation got weird.

It all started when thick black smoke began billowing from the center where Margaret, the captain, stood.

“Wow… what’s that?”

“Is it smoke?”

Ordinary folks don’t encounter demons in their lives.

Seeing the thick, palpable magic pouring out, they simply thought it was a smoke screen for covering their eyes.

It was too late when they sensed something was off.

“U… uh? Why…?”

The Clover Academy students began to act strangely upon witnessing the magic emanating from the arena’s center.

They twisted their bodies like sickly individuals scratching every part.

“What’s wrong with you guys??”

“Sa… Save me!!! My body!!!”

All but the five participants succumbed to spasms as the magic emerging from the arena’s center went unnoticed.

“Uwaaaaah!!!”

A student who had collapsed, spewing forth the same black magic as that pouring from the center of the arena, staggered back to his feet.

His skin had turned black, and his eyes rolled back to reveal only the whites.

And then, a small horn sprouted from his crown.

The academy students took a slow step back, watching as he appeared no longer human.

“Wha… what’s going on??”

It was absurd, no matter how one looked at it.

Just as the bewildered students, unsure of what was happening, were lurking around, someone shouted out.

“You guys!! What are you waiting for? Run!!!”

I didn’t know who it was, but that voice was a signal.

The students from Clover Academy, now completely blackened, charged toward their fellow students.

“Gyaaaaaah!!!”

Suddenly, hell had unfolded at the academy.

—————–

Even Amy, who was supposed to be the one most knowledgeable about demons at the academy, sensed something was off.

– Demon! Clover Kingdom has truly fallen into the clutches of the Demon Church…!!

The spectator seats had turned into complete chaos.

The magic pouring out was so thick that Atlas was no longer visible; it must mean that at least a high-level demon was descending.

And the magic gushing from various parts of the arena likely indicated that mid-tier demons were being summoned as well.

– No… it’s not that the demons are being summoned directly… It seems the demons are manifesting through the students’ bodies as sacrifices… Which explains why no one recognized it…

Regardless of what it was, it remained a serious situation.

The students, witnessing someone they had just been talking to transforming into a monster, were in a state of panic, causing secondary and tertiary damage.

Although the academy had some measures against demons, it certainly wasn’t prepared for a scenario of this magnitude.

– We must kill the demons. If we leave it be, an enormous number of people will be hurt or killed. You are the only one who can do it.

I agreed with my companion’s opinion that we had to stop this incident somehow.

“Everyone, let’s get out of here quickly!”

“Isn’t that the same thing? We have to help Atlas…! We don’t have weapons right now!!”

“Worrying about Atlas right now is the most pointless thing to do!! We need to evacuate to safety first!”

Lucia trembled in fear at the sight of the black magic swallowing Atlas, but Amy, knowing his true identity, intervened.

Who dares worry for whom?


It was utterly foolish for those who hadn’t even reached Expert rank to be concerned for the Master, Atlas.

Amid the turmoil in the spectator seats, flashes of magical light erupted.

Someone was suppressing the overwhelming onslaught of demons from over a hundred mana-infused entities.

It was the professors, who had no prior engagements and had come to observe the exchange meeting.

The professors began to split into groups to fend off the assailing demons.

[This is a message: All academy students evacuate to the main building!! All professors capable of fighting, hold off the demons!!!]

The principal, who had been in the VIP room, rushed out to start subduing the demons.

“Aren’t we supposed to help??”

“The professors are doing their best, so let’s prioritize getting to safety…! We’d just be a hindrance otherwise.”

Everyone looked uneasy, but they all agreed with what I had said.

River grabbed the hem of Amy’s cloak.

“… Amy, aren’t you going to vanish again like this…?”

“Me?? Am I…?”

“You did that before…”

Amy recalled the moment she witnessed the descent of the Great Demon alongside River.

“… Yes, I probably will. I know the best way to deal with those demons.”

She spoke the truth without lying.

“Isn’t there anything I can do to help?”

“If it were a gang of regular thieves, that would be ideal, but River, you’ve never faced a demon before. Please leave it to me and evacuate to a safe place. That way, I can fight with peace of mind.”

River wasn’t weak, but he couldn’t use Holy Power and didn’t have weapons made of Rare Metal. All he could do against the demons was stall for time.

Simply being there was a blessing if it meant he wouldn’t get hurt.

“… Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”

It was impossible for just the professors to hold back the demons.

Although it seemed like the demons were being suppressed, thanks to their special characteristics, they wouldn’t take any damage and would constantly resurrect unless eliminated in a peculiar manner.

There were only three methods to devour the demons.

And one of those three methods lay with Amy.

“Russell, let’s evacuate quickly!”

“Wha… what about Parker??”

“I told him to escape first and bring others back.”

As soon as River confirmed Lucia was escaping with him, Amy left the VIP room and headed for the spectator seats.

Why is it that an ominous premonition always turns out to be true?


I always hoped that the things I didn’t want to happen wouldn’t happen.

Shoving those complicated thoughts aside, I needed to kill the demons first.

Amy equipped the gear she had prepared, just in case.

A Devil Slayer had emerged at the academy.

—————–

The thick magic that was nearly suffocating made it impossible to see Margaret.

There was a high chance she had either become a demon-possessed mind or was being sacrificed to summon a demon.

I was utterly baffled.

How could I believe that a group of representatives from a nation, not some terrorist organization, sneaked in here with malevolent intentions?

The little kingdom, which didn’t even have the military power to stand against an empire; what audacity did they have to behave like this without support from the church?

“I chide myself for considering myself crazy, but is this what’s truly insane? What kind of confidence is that??”

Was there a hidden agenda for war?

Perhaps they thought if they landed a strong first blow, the empire would fear and negotiate.

Those with confidence in their strength could easily hold such thoughts.

“Sibling!!”

As I pondered whether those guys had all taken drugs collectively due to sheer absurdity, Hera came charging in from behind.

“Are you alright?? Are you hurt anywhere?? Let me see your hands.”

“I’m still fine.”

As soon as Hera arrived, she grabbed my hand, which had just swept away several Clover Academy students.

“Why did you have to do that when we could’ve won safely??”

She seemed genuinely worried about me facing off against Aura Blade barehanded.

But it was no time for sentimental talks.

“Wow… um, is that a demon? Captain, can we stop that…? It’s my first time dealing with a demon…”

One of the club members swallowed hard as he beheld the swirling magic before us.

Could it be that they intend to face this? Given how long it takes, it wouldn’t be surprising if a high-level demon showed up, if not a Great Demon.

‘If I try to take this on half-heartedly… these folks might get cocky and think they can help me…?’

I feared they might feel cornered and feel obligated to stay.

Though it wasn’t a Great Demon ruling over hell, the top subordinates of a high-level demon were practically coated in concentrated magic, meaning anyone unprepared would die simply by brushing against it.

We were talking about a foe that even Expert mid-tier and upper-tier students couldn’t handle. Being simply here was a burden.

Let’s all get out together first, then we can come back later discreetly.

“What are you thinking about facing it? We need to leave the students to the professors, and evacuate ourselves first!”

Just as I finished speaking, dazzling spells rained down from the sky upon Margaret.

[Message: All academy students, evacuate to the main building immediately!! All professors who can fight, block the demons!!!]

The principal had stepped out of the VIP room to calm the chaotic situation.

The mere fact that someone more competent than them had stepped in lifted a layer of responsibility they felt.

“Right?? It’s definitely better to do that, right??”

“Are the Clover folks out of their minds? This isn’t just a few people; it’s a large-scale terror act??”

No matter how strong the students were, at the end of the day, they were still students.

As everyone tried to rush outside the arena, a profoundly intense demonic presence began to rise from the thick magic that inhibited sight.

-Aaaah!!!!!

The howling woman’s scream reverberated through the arena, echoing with a sound like she was being ripped apart.

-It hurts…!! It hurts!! It hurts!!!!!! Why… why is this happening to me!!!!!!!!!!

From within emerged a massive demon…

“No… it’s a Mind.”

“Mind?? What’s that??”

“An individual who has embraced demonic power as a human.”

“Is that… a human??”

The chief member gasped at the sight of the Mind appearing behind her.

True, it was a Mind, but it was stretching the limits of what one could call human.

Standing at about 5 meters tall with a body of deep purple, reminiscent of Margaret’s hair, it loomed ominously.

Its face bore the traces of features, but all expected components—eyes, nose, mouth—were hollowed into voids.

From those voids, thick magic seeped out, enveloping the area in black fog.

The most horrifying sight was the Mind’s torso.

-Aaaah… Aaaah!!!

The Mind’s torso contained Margaret whole.

Her clothing had vanished entirely, and her limbs were embedded into the Mind’s body, resembling a grotesque torso.

Whether experiencing intense pain, black tears streamed down from her eyes.

Writhing as if to cover its face in anguish, the giant stumbled and glanced toward me as it tried to escape from the arena’s wall.

-You… you…!!! It’s your fault…!!!! If it weren’t for you..!!!!

Those hateful eyes seemed ready to pounce at any moment.

Watching the Mind Margaret lower itself to charge at me made the Swordsmanship Research Club members turn pale.

“Run away!!”

– Thud! Thud!

“How dare you crawl in here!!!”

The Mind Margaret, poised to charge at me, flinched as it was struck by the principal’s magic barrage.

“Woooo! As expected of the principal!!”

“Quick, let’s get out of here!!”

In that moment, the Swordsmanship Research Club and I hastily exited the arena.

The arena had turned into a battlefield.

The professors set up defensive lines using their spells to restrain the Minds, allowing students to escape in a frenzy.

Suddenly, someone spoke up.

“Wait… does that mean all those guys have turned into demons… could it be…?”

“… There’s no way, right?”

It seemed everyone shared similar thoughts without voicing them aloud.

The Sword Master must have orchestrated this terror.

Nothing could be more frightening than that.

“I can’t say for sure… If it weren’t for their own agenda, the Sword Master would already be out there cutting down the demons by now…”

Having this many Minds is chaos, and the thought of the Sword Master being involved was unnerving.

Everyone hoped it was a baseless suspicion.