The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 249

I was the first to enter the study, but I didn’t find anything of note.

There was some history about the Titans, but aside from that, it was filled with materials that could be found elsewhere.

There was no other hidden room either.

Naturally, the next place to search was the basement.

Atlas mentioned he had never been there even once during his life.

‘Well, I didn’t have the time to roam around the mansion… but I don’t recall hearing any warnings about staying away from that place. Why was that?’

He spoke as if he didn’t understand why he hadn’t gone there himself.

In situations like this, my companion usually dropped some hints, but they kept quiet.

They shared what they knew but remained silent on what they didn’t.

While they knew a bit about the Titans, they had no knowledge about the mansion’s layout.

It must have been quite a secretive family.

I saw a door tightly shut without a single guard present.

Since there was a storage room nearby, we had to open the door and enter before anyone arrived.

“There’s no lock.”

However, upon seeing the door, a look of confusion crossed my face.

Being locked meant it had been secured, but there was no visible lock; it was simply closed tight.

I wondered if there might be some other magical device, but I could sense no magical energy at all.

It seemed as if it was locked from the inside, making it impossible to open from the outside.

“… I really didn’t want to do this.”

Casey pressed her body against the door and began to channel her magic.

After a moment, the lock unlocked itself.

“Did you open it with magic?”

“There were no traces of other magic, so it’s just physically locked… so we can just open it physically then.”

Since there were no other magical security measures visible, it seemed she just forced it open.

Quickly, we slipped inside and closed the door again.

“It’s okay if there’s no light, right?”

“… Yes.”

It was dark, and we couldn’t see a step ahead, but both of us had learned how to navigate even in total darkness, so we moved about without issue.

The basement wasn’t clearly labeled for any specific use on the blueprints.

It was smaller than the storage room, with a mere note that said it held miscellaneous junk.

If you think about it, it wouldn’t be strange to call it a storage room, but they hadn’t chosen to name it that way.

However, as soon as we entered, the blueprints proved to be false.

This basement… was larger than the storage room.

I still had no idea what it was used for.

“This is… the study?”

Before me were towering bookshelves.

Shelves overflowing with thick books and bundles of documents were stacked high.

In one area, I noticed some materials packed in boxes.

There must have been a separate study or office on the ground floor.

Thinking normally, one might assume they had just stored materials with low priority here.

Right next door, the storage room held furniture and supplies.

So, it wouldn’t be too strange if they wrote it held miscellaneous items.

“Let’s search it first.”

“Okay.”

At first glance, nothing seemed suspicious, but we needed to dig deeper.

What Atlas wanted was traces of demons.

While it looked like just paper stacked up, who knew where any traces of demons might be hidden if we looked closely?

No matter how much one could see the shapes, reading the contents would be impossible without some kind of clue.

As Casey pulled out a small artifact from her pocket, the surroundings lit up brightly.

Under the light, we all began to scatter and search the basement for documents.

– From just this view, it looks like a storage room.

The documents in the basement were layered with dust, as if they hadn’t been touched in ages.

I picked up a bulky binder from the top shelf.

On the cover, “Heir Cultivation Log” was clearly written.

…

…

…

Amy, who picked up the dusty binder, couldn’t believe her eyes.

“May 10th: 10 stems of tall thistle administered; no progress.”

– A toxic plant rumored to increase height. I don’t know if it actually does, but it sure causes unbearable itching all over the body.

“August 2nd: Essence of a three-tailed fox administered; no progress.”

– Three tails might not sound that impressive, but it’s the essence of a mythical beast. Definitely not something to give to a child.

Amy’s hands trembled.

There were records of someone’s suffering written there.

“What… is this…?”

She didn’t want to read any further.

The ‘Heir Cultivation Log’ left underground was a gruesome bundle of obsession.

It was a record of someone’s relentless determination to create the next head of the family.

Detailed plans and executions on what to teach, what to feed, what to inject— all meticulously laid out.

– Human experimentation was conducted here.

“This… isn’t cultivation…”

It wasn’t just that they hadn’t used a knife; there was no way a person could go through this and be okay.

Since it was labeled as a log, one would think it would carry the recorder’s emotions, but it didn’t contain feelings, yet the content was painful enough for readers to feel anguish.

…

…

…

Casey was in a similar position.

She too, upon picking up another binder, covered her mouth after seeing the records.

Seemingly entranced, Casey grabbed another book from the shelf.

As she opened it, it contained methods on how to foster someone.

None dared to voice it, but it was obvious who the “heir” written here referred to.

Considering the mentioned timings against my current age, there was only one possible candidate.

“I can’t forgive this…”

In the dark, deep silence of the basement, Casey’s voice rang out softly.

At that moment, a presence was felt approaching from the opposite direction from us in the basement.

“Guests have arrived.”

As soon as I heard the voice, Casey’s hand moved.

She attempted to crush the presence with her telekinetic magic, capable of lifting boulders, but she couldn’t manage.

“… How did you get here?”

“This is my home… I think that’s a question I should be asking, don’t you think?”

The third individual who entered the basement was none other than the current head of the Titan family, Metios Titan.

…

…

…

Metios Titan held a lantern, casting a glance over the scattered materials, then continued speaking calmly.

“Did your brother send you?”

Should I say anything? Amy hesitated, but Casey spoke first.

“Yeah.”

“Not surprising. I thought you were still here looking for something.”

It seemed Metios wasn’t bothered by our rummaging through his home.

“What’s this…?”

However, Casey didn’t seem pleased with his demeanor.

For once, she was openly displaying her emotions.

The name of that emotion was definitely anger.

“Did you know about all of this…?”

Did she know about these horrendous records?

There was no way she wouldn’t know of a place if she knew it existed.

Matching Casey’s riled emotions, her immense magic stirred the basement.

“Yes, I was aware. Even without seeing this, I could tell.”

Metios, having said that, walked steadily toward a certain spot.

There was a large dusty box sitting there.

“Those outdated things aren’t the only thing here.”

He opened the lid of a relatively clean box, unlike the others, and pulled out a small crystal.

It was clearly an artifact capable of storing ‘video’ records.

Taking out a projector wrapped in luxurious cloth, a video began to play.

It looked like a recording left by a third party.

The footage showed Atlas undergoing training with his sword.

Atlas faced off against two people, one dressed neatly like a knight and the other a giant boasting a similar hair color to Atlas, who taught him swordsmanship and sparred with him.

From just this, it seemed like regular sword training, but the methods were incredibly brutal.

Atlas was invariably hit with a wooden sword by the two much larger fighters.

Even as he seemed on the verge of devastation, the strikes were just light enough to prevent him from breaking.

I could finally understand why he introduced himself as the Master of Near-Death.

Though he improved gradually, his small frame faced increasingly fierce counterattacks.

Atlas was knocked down and lost his sword multiple times, bleeding yet continuously got back up.

It wasn’t just endurance.

His expression was wracked with agony unlike anything previously seen.

The footage also captured meal scenes.

Atlas drank a broth that looked poisonously foul, causing veins to bulge on his skin, discoloring it as he vomited blood.

Everyone from the Titan family was present.

From a distance, Metios peered worriedly at him, but he couldn’t move due to his mother watching closely beside him.

Yet eventually, Atlas managed to rein in the chaotic power within his own body.

Though blood splattered everywhere, turning the meal area into a horrid mess.

Watching the one-sided abuse from the recording, Metios continued.

“Isn’t it a truly horrible sight? Yet, Father always treated my brother that way, while I never even received a scratch.”

“It seems you must have loved your brother very much.”

“Do you truly think so?”

Rarely, Metios smiled a bitter smile.

“What’s the point of showing this? It just makes my anger rise.”

“I dislike those records as well, which is why I set them aside here. But it was you who insisted on opening them.”

While he played it casually, the pain echoed in Metios’ eyes as he watched the footage.

“I can’t say I know what you’re looking for. However, what my brother says within this mansion isn’t entirely the truth.”

“Are you saying not to trust Atlas?”

Casey, enraged by Metios’s words, raised her fist.

Reacting to her movement, her telekinesis lifted up the binders in the study.

Metios didn’t seem very strong.

He could very well get seriously injured from that attack, yet he spoke shocking words without a hint of tension.

“Yes. My brother sometimes sees apparitions within this mansion.”