The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 156

The best thing is to take them down one by one.

Even if they are Holy Knights directly under the Church Country, the ordinary members only possess skills at the maximum Expert level.

It’s a realm that requires talent to reach, but from my perspective, that’s the extent of their capabilities.

However, if they band together, it becomes quite troublesome.

The Holy Knights gathered here are not mercenaries; they are individuals dispatched from a single order.

If they form a proper formation and coordinate like a single organism, their original strength can multiply several times over.

I should have made a swift decision to deal with it, but it seems the opponent took the first move.

As I climbed to the first floor, I found all the exits already blocked.

“You are surrounded. Surrender quietly!”

The chairs that were tightly arranged for worship have all vanished.

It’s as if they anticipated this situation from the very start, neatly stored away on the floor.

And they stood in the central corridor.

Holy Knights cloaked in bright red, the Crimson Feather Knight Order.

They approached wielding powerful, anti-magic cloaks in front and clubs in their opposite hands.

Behind them, the commander of this Holy Knight Order drew his sword and glared at me.

“This is your final warning. You can still surrender peacefully. If you comply and cooperate with the investigation…”

“Ha… really…”

“Don’t be fooled by appearances!! Don’t think of the person before you as just a student! That one has already taken down our comrades!!”

It’s the same words again.

I knew they were hard-headed, but I thought they would still be somewhat reasonable.

At least the Holy Knights I met previously weren’t like this. Is it because they see me as a suspect?

I assessed the visible forces before me.

Five in the front line, one captain in the back, and one Inquisitioner capable of mid-range attacks and buffs.

Based on the troop strength that entered the Academy, it’s as I thought.

Less than ten in number, but well-trained Holy Knights can amplify their strength several times through combined attacks.

Normally, I would bash through them head-on, but my current condition is far from ideal.

It seems best to quickly eliminate one and break through the encirclement.

As soon as I thought of that, I targeted a Holy Knight on the side and charged at him.

The captain quickly noticed and gave a swift command.

“Deploy the Barrier!!!”

“The evil that lies in between shall not pass us!!”

As the Holy Knights shouted their battle cry, holy light erupted from their red cloaks.

Unlike my Aura Blade that shone pure white, their holy power radiated a much warmer light, elevating the Holy Knights about 2 meters high.

The ultimate defensive technique of the Holy Knights, ‘Nehemia’s Barrier,’ was activated.

The holy barrier set up using anti-magic cloth was an impregnable castle wall and at the same time, a net to ensnare the enemy.

It was too late to go sideways, and if I tried to jump over, the Inquisitioner would fire a ranged attack from behind…

Charging straight ahead would lead to being blocked by the barrier and then bashed with a mace, so there’s no option but to leap over.

Before my body touched the barrier, I kicked off the ground and jumped.

A Holy Knight’s club brushed past my nose.

If I had collided with the barrier, the shock would have been shared among all five of them, and they would have somehow managed to block my attack with that club for a counterstrike.

But now, they were all just staring up at me, like dogs chasing a chicken, as I soared into the air.

“Judgment Spear!”

The Inquisitioner activated his prepared spell as soon as I took off.

The light of holy power flashed from his outstretched hand, and a white spear flew toward me.

Normally, I can’t change direction while airborne, making me completely vulnerable in that moment.

Except for me, of course.

With a single step taken in mid-air, my body completely altered its trajectory, avoiding the Inquisitioner’s spell as it sliced through the void.

“?!!”

Having shifted my direction, I dropped right in front of the Inquisitioner.

“What kind of trickery is this?!!”

I took a big step and threw a punch.

It would be easiest to dispatch this guy first.

-Thunk!!

I felt a solid impact.

It wasn’t the soft sensation of a robe, nor the repelling force like the barrier.

‘This is ridiculous!!’

My attack did not reach the Inquisitioner.

In that instant, the captain rushed over and blocked my punch with his gauntlet.

In the meantime, the Inquisitioner quickly retreated, and the other Holy Knights gathered to form a tighter encirclement.

‘Ugh… I feel like throwing up….’

As I lost my momentum, the awful chills and stomach cramps that I thought I’d pushed aside began to resurface.

Realizing my body was in a weakened state, the captain swung his club instead of his sword.

He must have concluded that he could easily subdue me.

Like an injured beast, I struggled desperately to escape their encirclement.

But it wasn’t easy.

If I were at my normal state, I could easily tear through Nehemia’s Barrier with my bare hands, but today it felt like an insurmountable wall.

‘Just a bit… if I can use just a little bit…!’

If I utilize Vision Swordsmanship or Aura or whatever, I might be able to break this situation.

If I apply Titan’s Vision Swordsmanship a little, I could absorb the meridian and then immediately release it to shatter their barrier.

Alternatively, using aura to cut through both the barrier and the club is also possible.

Yeah, if I use anything, I might be able to end this situation.

If I end this as quickly as possible, even if I use techniques as a Master, they won’t understand what happened.

‘Then… ugh?!’

But the moment I tried to draw power from my dantian to use a technique, I felt a tearing pain sweep through my body.

Due to the injuries inflicted by the Power of the Great Demon, I should have been lying down, but now I was fighting like crazy, and the serious side effects were kicking in.

I think I should abandon the plan of using a technique.

At this moment, if I try to do something, my body won’t hold up.

“I can’t sense any magic energy… To achieve that level without borrowing the power of a demon at such a young age, surely it must be divine grace upon you.”

And without realizing this fact, the captain began to preach calmly.

“Therefore, I cannot forgive you even more. Why were you born with such a blessing, yet why do you act like this?”

A migraine struck me, feeling as if my head might burst.

Was I born blessed?

Memories of the past began to resurface.

My body, which was horrifically frail, could hardly be said to be the firstborn of the martial artist. My height that never increased.

And the abuse inflicted upon me at that young age to change those things.

The shadow of a giant always looking down on me.

Were all of those blessings?

Was it all part of his plan?

“That’s right, the reason you wield such power at such a young age is entirely because our heavenly father looked down upon you with pity.

He embraced you in love, yet what have you done? You merely wield their love without a single thought on how to repay that grace.”

Grinding my teeth at the captain’s arrogant judgment of me based on nothing but a superficial understanding made my blood boil.

How much pain I endured to obtain this power, how many times I nearly died, and despite knowing nothing, he calls it a blessing?

If you were going to give me a blessing, why not start by making me grow?

The captain’s club was aimed at my shoulder, swinging down.

I packed my rising anger into my fist and swung back at the club.

“This is ridiculous…!!!!”

-Smash!!

As my fist and the club collided, the club shattered into pieces.

As the sturdy wooden club shattered, pieces flew in all directions, and the captain instinctively turned to avoid the shrapnel.

And in that moment, I seized hold of his collar and threw him to the ground.

-Thunk!!!

“Ugh?!”

“Who do you think you are lecturing me!!”

Standing over the captain who I had thrown down, I raised my foot high.

Let’s end this right here, I thought as I drew on the aura from my dantian.

I would absorb from one foot touching the ground and release through the elevated foot.

He was wearing armor that looked pretty sturdy, but this one blow would destroy it all.

I wouldn’t be able to control the force, so there was a risk of making a huge hole in his belly, but since there are plenty of Holy Knights around, they would probably save him.

“Gah…?!”

At that moment, a sudden surge of pain halted my movements for a moment.

I must have forgotten the pain that coursed through my entire body just when I was about to use aura.

In terms of time, it was merely about a second of hesitation, but that was more than enough to change the outcome.

“Grand Cross!”

The captain, who had fallen to the ground, cast a high-level spell.

The ‘Grand Cross’ spell, used only against supreme demons.

A blinding flash enveloped me.

——————–

The captain’s spell illuminated the corridor brightly.

The student, who was suspected of heresy and attacked the investigators, lay charred and helpless on the ground.

Justice has triumphed.

“Ha… it’s over. Brothers, you all worked hard!”

“Haha, I never expected a bigshot like this to be hiding! He’s at the level of a Demon Bishop, isn’t he?”

“Whoa, Captain, I was shocked when you shattered that club!”

“Haha, you all did well.”

As soon as the job was done, the Holy Knights relaxed and laughed together.

When facing heretics, they were more serious than anything else, but in their daily lives, they were just normal folks, always joking and smiling.

“Captain, what should we do with this heretic?”

“We’ll keep him in prison… yeah, we should have him transported to the Church Country as he wished, but we need the Bishop’s permission.”

The captain looked down at the charred Atlas.

He must have been a promising young man.

But why he had fallen into this bad path, he couldn’t understand.

He claimed to be innocent, but if he was truly above reproach, why couldn’t he speak out?

He must have thought there was something wrong with him, which is why he couldn’t say anything.

“Hey, he looks small… isn’t he about the same size as my 10-year-old son?”

“True… The Academy only allows adults to enter, right? Did he lie about his age?”

The two Holy Knights grinned as they took out restraints to bind him.

At that moment, the captain caught a glimpse of Atlas’s body, which had been lying still, suddenly twitching.

“…Huh?”

“Captain, is something the matter?”

“No… I think I saw wrong. That student seemed to move…”

“Haha, you worry too much! Things can twitch; even bugs twitch when you step on them!”

Hearing that, the fallen Atlas suddenly shot his upper body up, and right after that, a thunderous explosion erupted in the church.