The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 143

“Are you kidding me? This won’t work?”

The peak of the Aura Blade was blocked.

The Aura Blade manifested by the Master was the highest level that a human, a mortal, could reach as an investigator, yet it was still ineffective.

Of course, I knew that this wasn’t some absolute technique that could cut through anything.

Even an Aura Blade of the same level couldn’t slice through everything in one go, necessitating a struggle, and there were special substances that were difficult to cut.

But what I felt from this wall and door was something altogether different.

It felt like it wouldn’t even scratch the surface, a sensation that seemed utterly unreachable, unlike anything else I could cut through with enough effort.

It looked just like a wall, but a different concept was at play here.

“To completely block the Master’s Aura Blade… that means it’s not just a material but a perfectly isolated space…! There’s no way to escape, is there?”

If it were a material, regardless of what it was, it would take damage from a peak-level Aura Blade.

The extent of the damage would vary depending on the output, but there is no material that can be completely blocked.

A peak-level Aura Blade distorts reality through extreme mental representation.

This means the wall sealing us off is not a ‘material.’

We’re trapped in a miraculous ‘small world’ that completely isolates us from the outside.

“No way out? I can just slice and run. It’s that simple!”

“An isolated space is the domain of powers that transcend magic. Atlas… you couldn’t even scratch it…”

“No, I haven’t really tried yet. I can cut through it!”

Amy’s mutterings sparked my pride, making me clench my teeth even tighter.

A small world is a power that only immortals can wield, free from the constraints of mortals.

It’s a world that possesses its own set of rules, no matter how small.

Trying to escape from such a world by breaking the designated rules makes it natural that scratching the surface is hard.

But while I can accept that it’s ‘difficult’ to cut it, I cannot accept that it’s ‘impossible.’

So what if it’s an isolated space, it looks like a cheap love hotel, I refused to admit that it managed to block my Aura Blade.

“I can’t accept that I can’t cut through this ridiculous room.”

The idea that I couldn’t slice through a room like this, where nothing would happen if we didn’t have sex, was simply intolerable.

This isn’t some great demon’s lair or the depths of hell, after all.

Failing to cut through this would tarnish my pride as a Master.

“What is Atlas doing??”

I grasped my Aura Blade with my right hand and placed my left hand on my face.

I had not given up yet.

I sank my mind into the abyss.

This was a matter of pride.

I really didn’t want to do it, but if it meant boosting my ‘destructive power’, I would do anything.

I calmed my mind and dredged up the horrific memories of ‘Atlas’ that had been sleeping deep within.

The most terrifying memories for Atlas Titan…

Yes, I recalled my childhood spent in the Titan House.

“Ugh…!!!”

Despite pushing it deep inside and desperately turning away, the wounds that hadn’t faded in over ten years felt as fresh as if they had happened yesterday.

I was excellent in all respects, but just one height always made me derided.

No matter how well I wielded a sword, it was never enough, and I was constantly beaten.

Training until I was on the verge of death, enduring the pain of elixirs that twisted my insides.

I felt like my father, looking down on me with cold eyes, was still standing over me even now.

“Uaaaaah!!”

-Crack!!!

The tremors in my heart manifested through the sword in my hand.

The previously stable form of the Aura Blade twisted violently.

It wobbled and thrashed as though ripples were stirring on the surface of water.

It wasn’t just that my mental state was becoming unstable and causing the Aura Blade to falter.

It was like heating water until it bubbled over, stimulating myself to further amplify the already powerful Aura Blade.

As the Aura Blade frothed wildly, it became so massive that I struggled to control it with one hand.

Just as I was about to reach the critical point, I gripped the sword again with the hand that had been on my face.

“..!!!”

Then, the Aura Blade, which had seemed ready to explode at any moment, stabilized.

Amy watched with bated breath.

To the naked eye, it appeared as it had before, but Amy, who was watching from the side, could sense the swirling power within the blade about 150 lengths long.

“Whoa… if this doesn’t work… I’m done as a Master…!!!”

“Huh???”

Leaving a flustered Amy behind, I struck the wall once again with the Aura Blade.

-Fzzziiip!!!

This time, a different reaction occurred.

The wall, which had seemed utterly impervious, began to respond for the first time as it clashed with the newly formed Aura Blade.

If this was indeed an isolated space, I needed to cut through it as space itself.

Imagine it.

As a Master, I unconsciously manifested a rule that allows me to step on, touch, and fold space.

If I could touch and fold space, then I should be able to slice through even the walls of this isolated realm.

The blazing white aura collided with the wall, unleashing pale sparks, and soon the cracks began to appear.

“It’s working! The wall is splitting!!”

“Ha!! That’s right, this is how it should be..!!!”

Riding the momentum, I pressed harder, and the crack widened further.

Then, Amy noticed new characters appearing on the metal plate affixed to the door.

“Wait! Words are appearing on the door!!”

“Ha, I guess the walls are getting nervous cause they’re starting to tear apart!! Just wait, I’ll split it in half soon!!”

“I don’t think that’s it…!!”

At Amy’s words, I shifted my gaze back to the metal plate in the crack.

Characters were appearing on the previously smooth metal plate.

[‘Failure to meet the “criteria” may result in death.’]

“Oh great, now there’s a risk of death. It’s not like we won’t die just sitting here…!!”

Ignoring the warning on the metal plate, I continued to widen the hole in the wall.

The hole, which had started the size of a fingernail, grew larger according to the direction of the Aura Blade until finally becoming large enough for a person’s head to fit through.

That’s when we caught a glimpse of what lay beyond the hole.

“Uh…?”

Inside the hole, there was nothing at all.

No space, no objects, only an endless void of darkness stretched out before us.

“It’s Tartarus…!! Damn it.”

I withdrew my Aura Blade and stepped back.

The crack rapidly sealed itself up as soon as I put the Aura Blade away.

“Haah… haah…”

It looked shabby, but it was truly a terrifying place.

The pitch-black darkness that seemed like a hole in the void was a monstrous abyss that devoured everything it touched, an endless prison from which one would fall infinitely the moment they stepped into it.

“This… doesn’t seem like something you can escape from through shortcuts…?”

It seems this place is connected to Tartarus outside.

The wall and door that bore Asmodeus’s symbol felt more trustworthy than ever.

With a Great Demon, creating such a space is more than possible.

‘It’s not like they’d waste their power to make something like this…!’

It was absurd to think that while other Great Demons used their powers to build their fortresses or hide precious treasures, someone would use it to create a room where you could only escape through sex.

As I calmed down, my anger began to rise.

Why can’t I escape after achieving the feat of cracking the space with a mortal body?

I thought it might be a Gordian knot to cut, but this was not a rope; it was the wire of a time bomb.

If I cut it, the bomb would go off.

Why the hell was that sitting in the middle of the Academy?

The more I thought about this nonsensical revelation, the more enraged I became.

——————————–

Amy was also aware of what kind of place Tartarus was from her studies.

An infinite space that supposedly existed since the world itself came into being, a prison from which one could not escape once they fell in.

Outside this room, which looked like a cheap inn, lay Tartarus.

I began to understand what kind of rules governed this space.

When I noticed that the same symbol was engraved on both the door and the storage room wall, it seemed that a ritual was in place: if the conditions were met as written on the wall, the door would open, and we could return to the original world.

If I were to forcefully tear down the wall like Atlas was attempting to do, then I would just fall into the Tartarus that lay outside.

There was no way to escape this place through shortcuts.

No, there was no way out otherwise.

To escape… do we have to follow what’s written on the wall…?

Fortunately, the actions the wall instructed were doable.

[You cannot escape this room without sex.]

The phrase popped into my mind again.

If two lovers were trapped here, they might just laugh and get through it without a care.

But what about us?

“…”

I stole a glance at Atlas, who had put down the sword and was deep in thought.

He seemed to be contemplating something similar.

“Ah.”

Our eyes met.

Atlas didn’t turn away and continued to stare at me intently before finally speaking.

“… I’ve thought a lot about it,”

Atlas’s eyes were very serious as he began to speak.

“I can’t come up with any other solution.”

“No way?”

Atlas fell silent.

That heavy silence felt too burdensome.

“That’s… not the case, right?”

It was then that I realized the presence of the artifact hanging around his neck.

“Right! Atlas, I have an artifact that can get us out of this situation! With this, we can definitely escape..!!”

“I’ve heard about that before. But they said only one person can leave. If one person goes out, the other has to stay here. So even if one can get out, what happens to the one left behind? Are they just going to wait for a rescue alone in a place connected to Tartarus?”

Hearing that made me speechless, and I just clutched the clock-shaped artifact tightly.

This artifact was a very special item and could allow someone to escape.

But only one.

One person must remain behind.

If I left, there was no guarantee that I could return, and thus the one who remained would have no choice but to wait.

I had also heard that time flows differently in Tartarus.

Even if I somehow got out and came back to rescue them, who knows what could happen in the meantime?

“It’s Asmodeus’s magic. If we perform the actions written on the wall, we can be freed.”

Atlas’s hand rested on my shoulder.

“Don’t.”

I instinctively shrugged off the touch.

With my eyes tightly shut, memories of the forest scene came rushing back.

The sight of two people I adored entangled together.

“Atlas… you have River, right?”

At my words, Atlas’s eyes widened.

“When did you know?”

“With how blatant you are, did you really think I wouldn’t know?”

He seemed to understand and smiled wryly, almost as if he wasn’t surprised.

I couldn’t believe he thought no one would notice that.

“No way!! I can’t go with someone I don’t like just because of a demon’s temptation!! That’s just weird!!”

Even so, this was unacceptable.

Atlas is in a relationship with River, and I’m going to form a bond with him just to escape? That was too much.

I felt terribly sorry for River.

But as Atlas listened to me, he laughed, unconcerned.

“Saying you didn’t like him… but I do!”

I was taken aback, shocked despite knowing what that meant.

“What about you?”

Atlas placed his hand on my shoulder once more.

This time, I couldn’t brush it off.

To say I didn’t like Atlas would be a complete lie.

“That’s not fair…”

I couldn’t see myself but was sure I was blushing like a tomato.