The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 332

No matter how you look at it, that’s a suspicious circus tent.

What are the odds that it’s just an ordinary tent?

Somehow, it doesn’t seem likely.

“If it’s just a tent, this will clarify everything.”

As I pulled out my Squirette, a surge of Aura wrapped around its blade in an instant.

“Reveal your true form!!”

With a strike aimed at the tent, the Squirette’s pure white Aura burst forth with a thunderous sound, leaving a mark in the air as white as its aura.

– Koo-kwak-kwang!!!

The pure white strike shot towards the tent, smashing through the ancient buildings in its path before colliding with the tent itself.

The force of the strike, capable of demolishing something the size of a small mountain, brutally tore the tent apart.

I knew it would turn out this way.

“Back to normal… I see.”

The fragments of the tent, shredded by the blade, danced in the air before suddenly reassembling back into their original shape.

It wasn’t merely that the pieces came together; it felt as if they returned to their original form from a state of being scattered in the air.

As if it had never truly existed to begin with.

“Is it some kind of mirage?”

I’m not well-versed in magic, but I didn’t feel any Mana.

What’s even more annoying is that I couldn’t sense any Magic Energy either.

If it’s neither magic nor Mana, then what kind of power is at work creating something like this?

“… Powers?”

There was indeed something else.

A third law operating outside of magic or Mana.

Standing at the entrance of a village that was a mess from the slice of my blade, I pondered.

The tent before me felt too bizarre for anyone to just rush into.

“Should I call someone who can analyze this?”

The first name that popped into my mind was Hoenheim, the Master of the Magic Tower.

Even in a state where there was no magical energy, a master who was well-versed in other principles could grasp the situation to some extent.

But even Hoenheim might take time to arrive.

It’s also a problem that it would take time to meet him and bring him here.

In a situation where time is of the essence, I wouldn’t have rushed here if I could afford to take things that slowly.

“… I do have insurance, so I should get in there quickly.”

Lifting my sword, I took a big step forward.

The eerie shadows inside the fluttering tent looked like a monster ready to swallow its prey whole.

———————————–

Contrary to the worries of those who heard the news, the missing people were alive.

For now, at least.

Everyone was alive, but not in good condition.

Many were injured and receiving healing from the holy knights, but the most serious case was Duke Oseong, who was fighting fiercely at the forefront.

“Just die already!!”

Under the spotlight on the dark stage, Duke Oseong was struggling to protect his subordinates, but nobody could see him.

The knights gathered here ranged from intermediate experts to the top ranks, yet Duke Oseong, giving it his all, appeared to them only as a blurred phantom.

Every time he swirled through the air, the eerie sound of the Aura Blade made some knights tremble in fear.

The law awakened by Duke Oseong as the Master was the power to control his coefficient of friction.

He could slide anywhere he wanted or come to a halt whenever he pleased, a simple yet immensely effective law for a swordsman.

Even now, he was engaging in high-speed combat with barely noticeable friction adjustments and without significant physical loss.

– Pachichich!

Once again, as Duke Oseong spun around at almost imperceptible speed, his Aura Blade clashed with the ‘enemy’s’ Aura Blade, sending shockwaves and white sparks flying in all directions.

Normally, shadows should cast over his face from the spotlight above, but thanks to the brightly shining Aura Blade, he appeared illuminated.

A drop of sweat fell from Duke Oseong’s brow.

He was growing increasingly anxious.

While he could stand on both legs for now, it was uncertain how much longer he could endure.

“Still don’t know how to escape this place?!”

“I’m so sorry…!”

As Edmon yelled while struggling, the five wizards behind him were sweating profusely in response.

The wizards weren’t just idly playing around.

They were taking a long time to analyze this unfamiliar structure.

“No matter how great I am… I can’t last much longer! If we don’t find a way quickly, we’ll all die!!”

It was a surprisingly anxious statement from a narcissist who usually boasted of his confidence.

But really, there was no way out for him in this situation.

“It’s truly unavoidable! The opponent is… this body!!!”

As the spotlight illuminated the mysterious swordsman before Duke Oseong, a fighter who looked exactly like him emerged.

It wasn’t just their appearance that was identical.

The Aura Blade clashing with each other was not just any Aura Blade, but one that represented the peak evidence of a Master.

If it wasn’t one side or the other, at least one of the Aura Blades would have been severed by now.

There was only one way to distinguish it from Edmon standing before him.

The only difference was the hand holding the sword was the opposite one.

It looked as if they were looking at each other in a mirror.

“Ghh…!”

In the midst of the endless struggle, Duke Oseong stealthily switched from the gleaming Aura Blade to a cross guard and manipulated his coefficient of friction.

“?!”

“You didn’t see this coming!!”

In an instant, the body of the fake Duke Oseong shook violently as if overtaken by submission, and Duke Oseong took that chance to cleave the fake’s body in half.

However, once more, feeling like he had just swung at the air, Duke Oseong’s face frowned with distaste.

“Run away again, huh? Is that the infamous Demon of Mirrors? I’d only heard the legends, never thought it actually existed.”

Duke Oseong Edmon clenched his teeth.

Though he had never encountered this demon before, he knew of it.

Various demons described in the fairy tales that accompany the empire and kingdom include the ‘Devil of Mirrors’ among them.

The Devil of Mirrors appears before children who don’t listen to their parents, carrying large full-length mirrors in each hand. If they see their reflection in the mirror, the demon becomes a well-behaved, obedient child in reality, while the reflected child gets trapped in the mirror world—a horrific tale.

What Duke Oseong Edmon experienced was similar to this.

While searching in a place presumed to be where the Demon Church’s beggars were located, he discovered a suspicious circus tent in the middle of an abandoned village, and the moment they all entered, they were reflected in the ‘mirror.’

Then the tent’s door closed, trapping Duke Oseong and his group to begin an endless fight.

What was fortunate was that summoning Duke Oseong alone required all the power of that demon, so although the knights were all reflected in the mirror, only one Duke Oseong’s fake had popped out.

If all the knights had faced fakes, it would have been impossible to keep them safe like this.

Now that the enemy was just one, they could block him and save everyone, but if the fakes of everyone appeared… the story would have been different.

Thanks to this, when Edmon was reflected just as he entered this wretched circus tent, he was fortunate that he was not yet trapped in the mirror world and could still battle with his own reflection.

Though, he wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.

‘It follows the laws, but it can’t be used. I can win… yet, in the case of Aura Blade and Physical Ability, it’s somehow identical to me.’

The reflection of Edmon in the mirror reappears no matter how many times he kills it.

He might already be trapped in the mirror world.

Forever facing his own rebirth, he may never return to reality.

“Ha… it appeared again.”

Duke Oseong gripped his sword again, seeing yet another fake version of himself emerge from the darkness outside the spotlight.

———————-

– Clang!!!

“Whoa, that scared me!!!”

As soon as I stepped into the tent, someone shoved a mirror in my face, causing me to jump and slash at it.

I knew it was something that wasn’t human, but seeing a head separate from its body was so absurd that I was left speechless.

“What the hell is that… a demon?”

I was sure it wasn’t human, so I swung my sword, but whatever I thought I had shredded moments ago vanished like a mirage as I approached closely.

“… This place gives me the creeps.”

I should quickly find and return.

For now, I should look for people.