The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 198

“Ugh… ugh…”

“How does it feel to be looking up?”

Carlos’s condition couldn’t be described as good.

The outcome of the greatsword in the strength contest was tragic.

He was smashed all over like a fly hit by a fly swatter.

Especially, the leg that supported his body was completely broken, twisted in an odd direction.

I looked down coldly at Carlos, now covered in blood.

Only after the position from which I loomed over him changed did Carlos realize who he had matched swords with, and he let out a bewildered laugh.

“Th…that… the sword of stone… is definitely not… huh… huh…”

“….”

No matter how dull one might be, as a nobleman residing in Blade Mountain, they couldn’t help but realize it after being beaten that badly.

Only one family in the Empire can wield such a sword.

“Complaining that you’ve ruined your child-rearing… and look, you’ve achieved greatness…”

“Did that guy go around saying such things?”

“Yeah… seeing it like this, it was really a foolish thing to say.”

Blood flowed from Carlos’s mouth.

A thin aura swirled around him, indicating that the artifact he was equipped with had started healing automatically.

Looking down at the fallen Carlos sent a chill through me.

There had been similar happenings before.

A clash of greatswords, a fallen giant, and me looking down at it,

It was raining then too, it was night, but not much was different for me.

It was still a height comparable to now.

The only thing that changed was that I had grown by 0.4 compared to that time, and the one lying here wasn’t my blood relation.

The image of the man Carlos and I knew overlapped, bringing those thoughts to the surface.

I tightened my grip around the sword spontaneously.

‘Should I kill him like this?’

That would be unacceptable.

If I killed Carlos now, Lucia would forever miss the chance to rise up on her own.

Only when she overcomes the force that oppresses her through her own power can Lucia reach a higher realm.

Whether as a knight or as a human.

The one lying there was Carlos.

He wasn’t my father, so I shouldn’t be deceived.

To do more here would clearly cross a line.

But anger still burned within me.

The rage of losing someone swelled darkly within me.

The boiling impulse clouded my rational judgment.

That day, I couldn’t kill my father.

After I successfully took him down, I wanted to kill him out of anger, but I was hindered, unable to sever the chain of blood relation.

Looking back now, I often felt that it would have been far more relieving to just kill him then.

I never imagined that after saying I could do it later, he’d die alone out of frustration.

He was a mountain of a man, but in the end, he was still human.

Weak and easily swayed, a fragile person.

My anger lost its way.

It was because I missed that opportunity.

I felt my line of sight narrowing.

Just before my reason was consumed by anger, someone stopped me.

“St… stop!”

“Are you okay??”

Lucia’s voice cleared my heated mind a bit.

Behind her were a few knights Carlos had brought along.

“…..”

Seeing me standing there silently, Lucia placed her hand over mine, which gripped the sword handle, her eyes filled with sadness.

Lucia’s hand trembled.

I didn’t need to be told.

What Lucia feared right now was me.

The grip I had tightly maintained loosened slightly.

“G… Head of the House?!! You bastard!!!”

The knights, seeing the mess that was Carlos, clad their swords in aura.

They were the very definition of loyal knights, showing such audacity despite Carlos being down.

“Argh!!!”

With just a light swing of my sword, charged with aura, a storm erupted, and the knights flew like fallen leaves.

“Yikes??”

“Young Master, get away from that monster!!”

“Don’t be afraid, protect the Head of the House!!”

“What can we do with the Head of the House down??”

“You fools! Just buy some time!!”

With a single slash, I sent a dozen knights flying, and they looked at me as if I were some monster.

They were innocent.

This was merely a venting of frustration.

I lowered my sword again and warned them.

“Take that guy and get lost.”

————————

“…..”

Once I confirmed that the knights were rushing Carlos to the hospital at the academy, I sat down in the ruins that were once the annex and recalled what had just happened.

I had wanted to smash him down in a more cheerful atmosphere, but emotions got in the way.

What a terrible habit.

A nasty temper and foolish behavior.

To see another’s father and project my own onto him—what kind of foolishness is that?

“Are you feeling a bit better now…?”

Lucia approached, glancing sideways.

She should have been sporting a ferocious expression due to her nerves, but she walked up nonchalantly.

“… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say that… you were just trying to help, weren’t you?”

No.

I was just angry because Lucia’s situation mirrored my own.

I was only pretending to be nice to resolve my unresolved trauma.

“I tried to kill your father. I’m serious.”

“… It’s… okay.”

Lucia hugged me as I sank into self-loathing.

“Everything’s alright… in the end… you didn’t do it. Even though you were that angry… you endured it for me.”

Lucia acknowledged my anger and my mistake.

The only feeling left in her words was sorrow.

Seeing me in despair, she felt a deep sadness.

I had wanted to make her smile, so why did it end up like this?

“Everything’s alright… it’s okay. Please don’t make such a painful expression…”

————————

“….”

“….”

Carlos and I engaged in a silent standoff, both bandaged tightly.

Carlos had been admitted to the hospital under strict secrecy for intensive treatment.

Maybe because he was at the threshold of a Master, his bones were thick, and with just a bit of treatment, he was fully recovered in less than a day.

I had known the world’s medical technology could recover external wounds at a frightening speed, but this felt almost unreal.

With the last strike, Carlos seemed to deduce something about my castle, wearing an expression that suggested he was somewhat convinced.

“I had seen your height as an obstacle. I can’t compromise on that. Our family needs to be tall.”

“What? Are you saying you want to fight again?”

“Atlas..!”

Lucia grabbed me to stop me from bolting.

I could have shook her off whenever I wanted, but I restrained myself since she’d said something.

It was amusing to see Carlos’s eyebrows twitch every time Lucia hugged me.

“Originally, we were planning to change or eliminate the betrothal selection process. But… it seems that you’re rather satisfied with it…”

Carlos seemed to try saying it emotionlessly, but annoyance seeped into his voice.

“…Lucia, step outside. I need to talk to him alone.”

“Ugh… no way. If it’s just the two of you… you’re going to fight again.”

“That won’t happen.”

“Yeah. We won’t fight, so don’t worry.”

“Ugh… I’m worried…”

Despite her concern, Lucia reluctantly stepped outside.

As soon as the door closed, Carlos turned to me with a question.

“I heard you were missing, but why is the Titan’s firstborn in a place like the academy? Why is your sister in your place as Head of the House?”

“It’s family matters, so mind your own business.”

“Even so, we’re distant relatives, so your manner of speaking is quite troublesome.”

The Titans and Russells are distant relatives.

The founders of both families started from the same school of swordsmanship and split off, and long ago they were even connected by blood.

It’s a relatively close family.

But for someone like me, who had left the Titans, I really didn’t care about that.

“If you’re so unhappy with my manner of speaking, you should’ve won. I don’t have the habit of honoring someone weaker than me.”

It seemed he accepted my reasoning about how I addressed him based on power.

“…Does Lucia know you’re Titan?”

“I haven’t told her yet. And stop bothering me about it. Don’t give Lucia orders.”

“It’s a matter of the family. Lord Cronos wouldn’t have been any less involved.”

“That guy is dead. Why do you want to go along with it under such circumstances?”

Carlos broke a sweat at the killing intent in my voice.

“J… joke…”

“I’m joking. I was elsewhere when those two died.”

Although I said it was a joke, Carlos didn’t seem to relax.

“Stop interfering with Lucia.”

“… Lucia is my heir.”

“I’ll train her strong enough to surpass you, so just let it go.”

“… You’re going that far, are you?”

Carlos’s eyes sharpened at the mention of personally training Lucia.

“I’m going to train her seriously at Blade Mountain. Since she’s a friend, I can do that much.

You don’t need to worry, she’ll certainly become much stronger than a weakling like you, so just let it go.”

“…. If you give access to Blade Mountain, I might be able to trust you.”

Blade Mountain is a mountain with very strong meridians.

The Sword of Stone also uses the meridian style, so training in a place where the meridian is particularly strong would facilitate faster growth.

He seemed satisfied with that, but suddenly Carlos mentioned something else.

“But do you have time to just hang around here? I heard the situation with the Titans isn’t good…”

“What are you talking about?”

What is he saying?

Is the Titan family in disarray?