The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 219

As the Dragon Undead broke through the ceiling, the already anxious square showed signs of collapse.

“Is… it collapsing!!!”

“Gemma, get up!!”

“U… urgh.”

“You need to wake up fast! Can you fly?”

The collapse was centering around the hole in the ceiling, with large rocks falling everywhere.

If we stayed still, we’d be buried under the rocks and debris.

I urged the staggering Gemma, who seemed weak from being beaten by the Dragon Undead, but she wasn’t in good shape.

Then, a thought flashed through my mind like a light.

“Wake up already!!!”

Thwack!!

“Y-Yes!!!”

When I took a step back and gave Gemma’s butt, covered in tough scales, a firm smack, she let out a loud roar as if she snapped back to consciousness.

“We don’t have time for this. Can you fly?”

“I’ll try flying!!”

As Amy and I grabbed Gemma’s shoulders, she spread her wings wide and soared powerfully toward the hole where the Dragon Undead had escaped.

In just a few seconds, we emerged from the dark underground into the bright surface.

In the distant sky, I could vaguely see the Dragon Undead scattering black darkness.

In an instant, we had traveled quite far.

“Well, I’m going ahead.”

“What?!”

As I stepped off Gemma’s shoulder, the scenery warped, and I reached the very top of the Dragon Undead’s head in an instant.

From the dying words of the Devil Worshippers, it seemed that Dragon Undead was headed toward the capital.

We couldn’t let this well-groomed toothy Dragon attack the capital.

A monster with that kind of power near the capital would be a disaster.

Just releasing thick magic around would take lives from ordinary people.

So, I had to take it out right here.

“It feels like our business isn’t over yet, you little brat!!!”

I swung my Aura Blade with all my might.

—————————

The Lord hadn’t been able to sleep well lately.

Strange incidents had been taking place in one of the villages near his territory.

In just one night, a peaceful village had been reduced to ashes, and the people inside seemed to have vanished without a trace.

He was scared that such events might also occur in his own territory, so he couldn’t even get a good night’s sleep, even in the darkest of nights.

Tonight, thinking he wouldn’t be able to sleep either, the Lord was going over his paperwork when he realized the ground was shaking violently.

An earthquake?

If it’s severe, it would cause significant damage to the territory.

Just as he was trying to assess the situation by looking out the window, a scream escaped his lips.

“[Kyaaaawww!!!!]”

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!”

A pitch-black terror was cutting through the sky and flying towards his territory.

He didn’t know how a skeletal dragon was flying with only bones, but it had its wings spread wide, releasing black auras from its entire body as it soared toward us.

‘I’m gonna die.’

Not just him, but the entire territory would be finished.

That village had surely been burned and destroyed by that skeletal dragon.

He didn’t know the details, but he was certain it would have happened that way as soon as he laid eyes on it.

Even from a distance, it was terrifying enough to drain the strength from his legs.

“Uh?”

But something was chasing after it.

Behind the black darkness, a shooting star was shining brightly.

———————

In the blue skies of the Empire, the game of tag between the Dragon Undead and me was escalating in scale.

The Dragon Undead, the size of a castle, spread its bare skeleton wings, and thick magical energy fanned out like a film between them, causing the plants affected by its magic to wilt and turn yellow just by flying low.

Merely existing in this world was causing destruction, its presence trying to taint the world into a hellish environment—it felt like a Great Demon had descended.

“Get down…!!!”

The fact that it was flying in the sky was what annoyed me the most.

With a monster that size soaring overhead, it moved swiftly across the vast sky, almost as if defying the laws of physics.

So, I decided to take the first step of crashing it down to limit its mobility.

An invisible forcefield was created centered around the Squirette filled with aura, crushing the Dragon Undead.

Thud!!!

“[KAOOO!!!]”

The giant Dragon Undead was struck by the field, bending its body.

Though it staggered, it regained its posture and resumed flying quickly.

I didn’t even need to try hard to catch up.

Just by holding my sword and running through the air, the sight of the Dragon Undead appeared right in front of me.

“Just… come down already!!!”

Swish!

I struck again at the bones, but it only penetrated the surface without cutting all the way through.

What had they done to those bones to make them so tough?

I had delivered countless blows to the Dragon Undead’s massive body, but all I managed to do was scratch the surface; I couldn’t cut through them completely.

“[KAOO!!!]”

The Dragon Undead, flying at a meager height, swiped at me with its claws.

Naturally, I dodged it.

While dodging, I managed to slash it three more times, but I only split it in half, again unable to cut all the way through.

I decided to fire the magic energy as a spike.

Since it was flying around continuously, I figured it was time to use it.

“Take this!”

I was just about done charging it.

After falling into hell from a pitfall, I hadn’t let go of this item for a moment.

It was none other than a Holy Relic from the church.

As the slick surface of the sphere cracked with a white light, the immense aura I had converted burst forth in all directions.

“[Kyaaakk?!!]”

That holy power wiped out all the magic energy shot out by the Dragon Undead and struck directly at its body.

I could feel the thick black magic dissipating upon contact with the concentrated holy power.

The Dragon Undead, traveling at high speed, suddenly stopped.

“Ugh… AAAAAH!!!”

Then, just as if it were intended, someone dove down from above, grabbing the Dragon Undead’s wings and plummeting toward the ground at an incredible speed.

It was Gemma, the Gold Dragon, shining like gold.

Although she was smaller than the Dragon Undead, the moment I had held the Dragon Undead’s ankle just for a brief second from above was her opportune moment to strike.

Crash!!!

The massive Dragon Undead slammed into the ground.

A gigantic crater formed, like a meteor striking the earth.

“Ugh…!”

Gemma, who had crash-landed alongside the Dragon Undead, was not in great condition either.

“AAAARGH??”

And then, from the sky where Gemma fell, Amy was descending in a hurry after her.

It seemed the saddle and reins were lost after making a sharp descent, falling onto her shoulder.

I rushed over to catch her.

“Did you come this far because of other kids?”

“Gemma said she couldn’t just sit still and let that skeletal owner rest.”

“Stubborn when it comes to such things.”

She must know she can’t win, yet she’s willing to face the risk of being mocked by the heretics for the dead kin, holding back her fear for a shred of dignity.

“Sleep now!!!”

Gemma pounded the Dragon Undead while unleashing golden lightning with all her might.

“How in the world did you prepare something like that right near the Imperial Palace? It’s hard to believe you managed to stay hidden the whole time.”

“Seems someone stopped the reports from reaching above.”

“Huh??”

It wasn’t surprising.

There are indeed connections of the Demon Church lurking within the royal palace.

“AAAARGH!!”

A scream echoed.

In an instant, it seemed Gemma was in danger again.

Just like before, she was blocking Gemma’s lightning with magic.

I landed quickly to set Amy down, then ran out again holding Squirette to slash at the Dragon Undead’s body.

With the Aura Blade, I struck at the Dragon Undead, causing it to stagger back.

“I’m sorry… but… as a fellow dragon… I can’t forgive this…”

“Just rest already.”

Upon stepping back to scrutinize the Dragon Undead, something felt off.

“What is this…?”

The Dragon Undead looked strange now.

Down in the depths, it had just been bones loosely connected, but now the magic energy around it had intensified.

The black magic had begun to cover the white skull, writhing like muscle.

Up until that point, it had seemed like bones controlled by magic… now it looked as though magic had become flesh on the bones.

The magic was turning into blood and flesh… like a demon.

‘What the heck is that?!’

The Evil Dragon God—the heretics had surely referred to it like that.

Could it be that this guy is not just a Dragon Undead but a resurrection of a dragon as a demon?

While I was preoccupied with that thought, it was growing stronger and stronger.

If the magic that was now undulating on its bones fully covered it, taking on the shape of a real dragon… what would happen then?

‘I need to wrap this up quickly.’

I wondered how the Demon Bishop of Satan had prepared something like that.

I didn’t know the methods, but knowing that it was the product of that person made my anger boil.

It felt like he conjured a chaotic monster with a weird size.

I felt sick.

I wanted to get rid of that right in front of my eyes.

To cut through it, I had to concentrate the Aura Blade even more.

I harnessed the anger bubbling deep inside my chest to light up the Aura Blade.

“[KYAOOO!!!]”

The more dragon-like the Dragon Undead became, the wider it opened its mouth, charging toward me.

Just then, Amy darted out from the side and fired a bullet.

“Take this!!!!”

As flames erupted on the Dragon Undead’s body, it screamed.

If it were just regular fire, it wouldn’t cause any damage, but this flame contained holy power capable of driving a demon insane.

It was the breath of a legendary Red Dragon or the chosen one of Saint McKinto.

The flames of Saint McKinto began to burn the magic that composed the Dragon Undead’s flesh and skin.

“I can’t… hold this much longer!!”

What Amy was using was ultimately a heat-type artifact.

In a short time, she got used to it, and compared to the original, its power was significantly reduced.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Amy mobilized all the various artifacts she had prepared to use against demons, launching an assault on the Dragon Undead, but it couldn’t hold out for long.

Before long, it seemed Amy used up all her artifacts, and the Dragon Undead began to thrash desperately to escape.

It almost leaped away, but since Amy had asked me to trust her, I held back and endured it.

In the meantime, Gemma teamed up to protect Amy, then attacked the Dragon Undead once again.

And then it was completed.

The aura bursting forth from the Squirette filled the entire sky, turning it all white.

“Wow….”

“Is all this glowing the aura…?”

Immediately afterward, the aura, which had flooded the sky white, contracted to gather on Squirette’s sword.

What was just formed appeared far too small and meager to cut through the gigantic Dragon Undead.

It seemed so plain that one could mistake it for a common Aura Blade devoid of any techniques.

Crunch…

But upon seeing the Aura Blade shrunk to the size of a sword, the Dragon Undead took a step back, visibly afraid.

“[K… Kyaooo!!!]”

Yet, as if it wouldn’t permit itself to retreat, the Dragon Undead regained its confidence and roared.

“That’s right… now you’re showing your spirit.”

With all my might, I swung the sword, which was thrashing like a storm in my hand, down at the charging Dragon Undead.