The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 220

A bright flash illuminated the surroundings before a colossal Dragon Undead crumbled to the ground.

The magical essence enveloping the Dragon Undead, perfectly sliced from head to toe, began to disperse.

My hand, which was gripping the sword, trembled slightly.

My vision blurred, and cold sweat dripped down my forehead.

“That’s strange… Why am I so exhausted…?”

It’s been like this for a few days now.

Ever since I took Professor Prague’s new medicine, I feel like my stamina has taken a hit.

But it’s not too late yet.

The Dragon Undead is collapsing, and the situation has stabilized, so I should swing by the capital for a check-up.

Despite staggering, I managed to gather my thoughts and stand up.

-Thump!

In that moment, I felt a heartbeat resonating from the torso of the Dragon Undead.

“…How… is that even possible?”

As the magical essence of the Dragon Undead dispersed, a hidden organ, concealed within its body, came into view.

What throbbed within could only be described as a heart.

I thought turning a dragon into the undead was all there was to it, but it seems this creature intended to be reborn as a demon.

As the makeshift Dragon Heart thudded, the disintegrating body of the Dragon Undead began to piece itself back together.

-Thump thump thump!

The severed bones didn’t reattach, but the magical essence covered them, sealing the wounds, and it moved as if nothing had happened.

It looked similar to a Dragon Heart, but unlike the Dragon Heart that generates mana with just a breath, this one produced “magic energy.”

With dense magical energy surging, the Dragon Undead rose once more.

“Alright, let’s do this again, right? Great…”

The Dragon Undead I thought I had taken down stood back up, but I felt no sense of crisis.

This always happens.

Regaining my breath, I gripped my sword again.

Standing was difficult, but in the face of the task ahead, I could push myself a bit more.

The Squirette shone once more with determination.

[ROAR!!!!]

The Dragon Undead charged at me with surprising speed.

It absorbed my aura from both feet, circulating and amplifying it within its body.

This time, I would slice through its heart in one go.

Just before the collision, the Dragon Undead unexpectedly soared high into the sky.

Arrogantly, it passed me by, climbing higher to avoid being caught before starting to move again.

“Stop right there!!”

That didn’t mean it could escape me.

I folded space to catch up, pouring holy power into the holy artifact above the undead, then dropped down, releasing all the holy energy at once.

The Dragon Undead staggered violently from the explosion of holy power but continued moving forward unfazed.

If it kept this up, it would reach the capital in no time.

As I prepared to use my technique again, a strong presence emanated from the capital.

-Whoosh!

Something shot from the capital at breakneck speed.

Compared to the Dragon Undead, it looked like a toothpick, but as it approached within visibility, it accelerated once more and collided with the Dragon Undead.

Despite crashing into the castle-sized Dragon Undead, it shook it off without a scratch and continued its assault.

Normally, one would assume that’s how it would go.

But I had a feeling it wouldn’t.

What flew toward the Dragon Undead was undoubtedly a sword.

-Boom!!!

The colliding sword caused the body of the Dragon Undead to bend sharply.

It didn’t just lose momentum; it actually started to be pushed backward.

A single long sword soaring through the air stopped the castle-sized Dragon Undead in its tracks.

“What the…!”

I immediately recognized whose sword it was.

There was only one person in this world capable of doing such a thing with a sword using the technique of sword control.

“Commander!”

Following the sword that had sent the Dragon Undead flying, Commander Linda Westharbor ascended into the sky, standing on a small sword as she approached us.

“Looks like you brought something weird along. What is that creature?”

[ROAR!!!!]

The Dragon Undead struggled to shake off the Commander’s sword, but it was no use.

The Dragon Undead was toyed with as its body was sent flying backward, rising higher, then smashing into the ground like a plaything.

A tiny sword, compared to the enormous Dragon Undead, was toying with the creature thousands of times its size.

“Those Demon Church bastards were making this beneath the ground. I don’t know what they reinforced its bones with, but it’s not slicing easily. Even when cut in half, it still moves.”

“I see.”

As the Commander listened to me while manipulating the sword, she kept her keen gaze on the Dragon Undead.

“I understand its level now.”

As she said this, the Commander made a subtle gesture, and the sword was pulled free from the body of the Dragon Undead.

[KIYAAAA…. ROAR!!!!]

Once the Dragon Undead finally realized it had been freed, it gathered its black magical energy and prepared to unleash its breath attack.

The Commander’s sword glimmered with pure white light.

“Strike down. ‘Astrafe.'”

The sword, glowing incandescently, shot down like thunder without hesitation, piercing through the Dragon Undead’s breath attack and then impaling its torso.

It didn’t just leave a small hole like the size of the sword; instead, it created a massive opening the size of the Commander’s aura.

[ROOOOAR!!!]

-Rumble!!

The Dragon Undead, now with a large hole in its body, adjusted itself and charged toward the Commander.

However, once again, Astrafe pierced the body of the Dragon Undead.

“I’ll commend you for being sturdy; it makes for an interesting target.”

-Rumble!!!

The once sturdy body of the Dragon Undead quickly turned into a honeycomb.

The magical essence that had covered its wings, thick arms, and torso was shattered by Astrafe, leaving only bits of bones barely held together by magic.

It resembled a golem made from scraps.

“There’s something like a heart in that Dragon’s body. It seems to be its weakness.”

“I’m aware. I just wasn’t doing it for fun.”

With a playful smile, the Commander once again sent her sword flying at the Dragon Undead.

With a cutting sound that split the air, the skull shattered into pieces.

“Looks like there’s nowhere left to strike. This has been quite the entertaining play.”

As I gestured toward the Dragon Undead, which had become barely recognizable due to its battered state, Astrafe crushed what was left of the twisted Dragon Heart.

What had been such a troublesome Dragon Undead was unexpectedly brought down with ease.

“I thought you’d be playing around, but it turns out you were fighting something unexpected. Well done.”

“If you hadn’t, I would’ve finished it.”

“Really?”

Perhaps out of pride, the Commander smiled and approached me, ruffling my hair playfully.

“Hehe, cute… Of course, you would’ve handled it. That’s how it’s always been with you.”

“But that Undead, you mentioned it didn’t come from far away; it appeared near the capital, right?”

“Yes.”

“What did you see? Please give me a statement.”

.

.

.

.

I decided to provide my statement later.

I said I’d bring the others back first, and the Commander told me to finish quickly since she would be waiting in the Imperial Palace.

When I mentioned I would pick up the others and that it would be light by the time we arrived on the Dragon Wagon, the Commander clicked her tongue.

“What? You’re telling me you’re going to take your time riding some Dragon Wagon when time is of the essence? Here, take this teleport scroll so everyone can come at once.”

“Yes…”

Holding a high-performance teleport scroll capable of transporting up to 20 people, I decided to gather those I had missed while chasing the Dragon Undead.

The first ones I encountered were Amy and Gemma.

“What… happened to that person…?”

“They’re in pieces.”

Gemma, having taken a beating from the Dragon Undead, wasn’t in great shape herself.

She was injured in various places and had blackened spots where magical energy had affected her.

As a dragon, she’d recover quickly with just a little care, but it must have been painful for her right then.

“I see… Returning to nature in the wind… that’s what he would have wanted.”

Despite the pain, Gemma seemed somewhat satisfied to hear the Dragon Undead had been smashed.

While Amy was tending to Gemma’s wounds, she turned to me with a serious expression.

“Atlas, I need to talk to you.”

“What is it?”

“You definitely charged out as soon as you saw something back then. What exactly did you see?”

Amy’s question stirred memories I had almost forgotten.

The moment the Demon Bishop of Satan showed his face in the underground, what I saw was utterly impossible.

“I must have misseen.”

Yeah, I definitely misjudged it.

I was probably too tired to see straight.

“That person can’t possibly be alive.”

Seeing my father, who had already passed away and been buried, would be out of the question.

I was eager to head to Blade Mountain.

There, I could uncover the truth.