The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 142

The principal was quietly going about his work in the Principal’s Office.

“Principal, students are protesting about the Bishop’s Code of Conduct.”

“Huh…”

At that moment, a professor who had the fourth longest tenure in the academy entered and reported the situation to the principal.

It was about the Bishop’s declaration of the Code of Conduct at the academy.

The principal clasped his forehead as if his head was throbbing, then opened his eyes again.

“Do you remember the incident from twelve years ago at the academy?”

“How could I forget?”

“The damage wasn’t great, but it was shocking in many ways.”

“The Dark Magic major professor, Krauser… I thought he was somewhat sane.”

The Dark Magic major professor, Krauser, was considered one of the most sane individuals among dark magicians. He knew how powerful and terrifying the knowledge he handled was and always remained vigilant when gazing into the pitch-black darkness.

He taught dark magic, but he also taught defense against it.

He had a pale complexion like a corpse, and wasn’t popular among students, but he was always sincere.

Then, he suddenly started to fear demons.

It all began with an incident where a fallen human, a Demon, appeared within the academy.

Though quickly resolved by a holy knight, the exorcism performed in the heart of the academy exacerbated his already neurotic and anxious nature, and from that day on, he began researching demons.

And during… his lecture on demons…

“Who would have thought that preparing a lecture on demon defense would lead to summoning a demon…”

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When I opened my eyes, I was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

The sensation of my body floating in space was something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

Ever since becoming a Master, the idea of me helplessly suspended in mid-air was unimaginable.

“What the hell is this…”

I tried to piece together the events that had just transpired.

The old mansion of the dark magician, the symbol of a great demon, the place where the demon appeared, the enchanted wooden floor, and Amy, who was exploring the mansion with me.

Right, Amy also got caught in this trap with me.

“Amy!!”

As soon as I recalled her, I sat up quickly and scanned the surroundings.

Amy was lying next to me, still unconscious.

“Please…”

Fearing something was wrong, I placed my ear against my chest anxiously.

Thud thud.

My heart was beating normally.

Seeing my chest rise and fall, it seemed I was breathing fine too.

“Ugh… thank goodness.”

I had to check further, but it was a relief to confirm the biggest issue was out of the way.

“Ugh…”

She let out a small sound as if trying to awaken.

Turning to her, I saw Amy groggily looking at me with droopy eyes.

“Are you awake?”

Her eyes widened in confusion, glancing back and forth between my face and her body, turning gradually red to a shade matching her hair.

“Wah?! What are you doing??”

Amy’s face turned beet red as she startledly pushed my head away from her chest and scampered back.

Seeing her move so well, she seemed uninjured.

“Thank goodness, you’re safe.”

“I don’t feel particularly safe.”

Having my face so close the moment she regained consciousness would indeed be shocking for her.

Huddled in the corner of the bed, Amy crossed her arms over her chest and began breathing heavily.

“Where are we…?”

“We’ll figure that out now.”

Intrigued by the strange space they found themselves in, Amy looked around nervously.

“I’m pretty sure we were in the mansion, right?”

“Yeah.”

Amy seemed lost in deep thought and was extremely restless.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Ah… no!!”

I thought it was quite natural for her to be anxious, having stepped into a trap and ending up in a bizarre place.

“First… let’s investigate where we are.”

“Yes… let’s find a way out of here fast.”

We had to leave as soon as possible without knowing where we were or how dangerous it might be.

With the same goal in mind, we began exploring the room.

The layout of the room was simple.

There was a large living room with an adjoining bathroom and a small room, all compactly arranged.

But there were no windows or vents.

I was curious how they would ventilate the space.

Wondering if we might suffocate if we stayed still, it was oddly refreshing inside.

In the center of the purple-painted living room was a bed spacious enough for an adult man to jump on.

“There is a door.”

Right in front of me was a generally sized door suitable for one person.

At the top of the door was a metal plate.

“Will it open?”

The door, made to resemble natural wood, felt sturdy as I grabbed the handle and tried to open it, but it didn’t budge.

Each time I tried to pull, the seal on the door flickered ominously.

“It’s not opening…”

“Not an easy task, huh?”

I gripped the doorknob tightly, exerting force, but it remained unyielding.

By this point, I should have been aware that something was wrong.

Stuck in a sealed room, searching for clues to escape felt like a room escape game.

The only difference was that this wasn’t a game.

While Amy finished exploring the living room, I decided to look for another room.

The first place I entered was the bathroom.

It was a separate dry toilet, and interestingly, it was a flush toilet.

It seemed to be connected to water supply.

Next, I explored the adjacent bathroom.

This was a wet room with tiles, a faucet and shower installed on the wall, and a pretty large shelf attached.

When I opened the shelf, I saw robes, towels, and some essential oils.

At the center was a huge bathtub that could comfortably fit four people, surrounded by various additives scattered around.

“Wow… there’s really everything here… Blue slime powder, bubble bath, rose scent…”

I searched each item hoping to find a clue, but found nothing useful.

Finally, I entered the small storage room attached next door.

At first glance, the room appeared quite ghastly.

It looked like a prison, filled with restraints, ropes, and various torture devices.

However, upon closer inspection, they were not torture devices at all.

Torture tools are meant to cause pain without killing, requiring tools that could adequately break a person.

But everything in this room seemed to be prepared for something else.

The ropes were all neatly arranged, soft to the touch, and restraints came with a soft material over the parts that made contact with the skin.

‘This is… definitely something else.’

Though I averted my gaze, I began to understand what this room was for.

As I rummaged through all the lewd items, I found something behind the shelf, on the wall of the storage room.

It was the same metal plate I saw on the door.

But this plate was different.

This one had the symbol of a goat engraved on it.

“With the goat’s symbol, this is Asmodeus’ domain.”

Simply seeing the symbol of Asmodeus, the Great Demon of Lust, who was adorned with a chaotic blend of animals, confirmed my worst fears.

If this was the realm of that lustful demon, it made perfect sense for this room to be filled entirely with such lewd items.

Underneath the symbol, the following was inscribed:

[The room can only be escaped through sexual acts.]

“Are you kidding me.”

I couldn’t help but curse instinctively, even though I tried not to.

.

.

.

Amy was staring blankly at the inscription beneath the goat symbol.

She looked utterly drained, and I felt the need to snap her out of it.

“Amy, are you okay…?”

-Tap

“Yikes?!”

I lightly tapped her shoulder, causing her to jump back in fright.

“No… no!!”

“Amy, get a grip.”

Her face was flushed, and she waved her arms frantically, backing away from me.

What kind of strange thoughts was she having?

Did she think I planned to strip her and force myself upon her, considering that I barely had any other options?

Of course, I could do it without hesitation if that were the only way.

Though, it would require her agreement, of course.

“Amy, behind you…”

So disoriented, Amy didn’t even notice where she was backing up to, and tripped over a pile of ropes on the floor of the storage room.

-Thud!!

“Ugh…”

As Amy stumbled over the ropes, she fell onto the restraints behind her.

The restraints, made to unlock simply and readily available for use, snapped shut the moment she landed on them, binding her hands and waist.

“I… can’t move… Is this really a trap?!”

“No way, right?”

I approached the tearful Amy who looked like she was about to cry, freed her from the restraints, and comfortingly stroked her back.

“It’s okay… It’s probably not a big deal.”

“Uuugh… Atlas… Can we go back…?”

We could likely go back.

If we followed what was written there… that is.

With my hand gently stroking her back, Amy’s breathing gradually returned to normal.

.

.

.

Eventually, the real Amy regained her spirit.

“There’s gotta be another way than that, right?”

“We’ll have to look for it.”

The first thing I attempted was ‘Spatial Folding.’

As long as I could fold space and move regardless of distance, I believed I could escape.

I envisioned the coordinates of the academy and took a step forward.

“… It didn’t work?”

The magic activated, but space didn’t fold.

“That’s strange…”

Out of curiosity, I tried the basic version of stepping on air, and it worked just fine.

There was no issue with spatial folding within the room.

It felt as though this room was somehow disconnected by a special method.

“Then..!!”

Amy pulled out a gun.

“Hey!! If you shoot in here, the ricochet will hit us!!”

“It won’t ricochet if it penetrates!!”

-Bang! Bang!

“Not a scratch?”

Even though it was made with silver, designed specifically to harm demons, it was still a handgun.

It should have been enough to smash through the wooden door, but there wasn’t even a dent.

I should have realized it when I tried to force it open, and the doorknob didn’t budge at all.

“I really didn’t want to resort to this.”

I grabbed the Squirette slung over my back.

“Let’s see if this can break through!!”

Light burst forth from the Squirette, drawing a bright white line in the air.

It was a Master’s strike that could rend even the sky itself.

Surely, it’d tear through a wall like this…

-Crash!!!

It couldn’t break through.

What a rare sight this was.

The augmented Aura Blade was being blocked by something.

“… It holds up even now?”

My strongest means was ineffective.

The assumptions that I’d get through with either spatial folding or Aura Blade were dashed.

The gravity of the situation suddenly escalated.

What the hell are we going to do now?