The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 255

“The true head of the Titans is someone else. This meeting is to clarify that.”

After hearing Oneiroi’s blunt statement, the heirs were hesitant to speak up.

That statement was way too risky.

“With incidents happening here and there, it’s no surprise that the mountains are angry since an unsuitable person has taken the stage. If a rightful heir appears, the messed up mountain range will surely return to its original state.”

– Thud!

Hera’s fist fell right on top of Oneiroi’s head as he spoke boldly.

“Ow! Wh…what was that for!!”

“It seems this isn’t a place for such careless talk.”

Oneiroi glared at Hera while rubbing his head. Speaking of the Titans’ mansion, calling the current head a fake was something one wouldn’t do even with two lives.

But a thought crossed his mind.

Seeing how a mere noble like Oneiroi, who only cleaned up after the Titans, spoke so confidently, it was clear how little regard people had for the young head of the Titans.

“… I’ll take it as a child’s tantrum. Don’t go say such things elsewhere.”

In the end, Hera calmly advised Oneiroi, deciding this was something for the adults to handle.

“It’s not a tantrum; it’s the truth!”

Oneiroi, however, had no intention of backing down after that advice.

Every time Oneiroi opened his mouth, Cobentry and Richmond turned pale, their expressions frozen as if they were statues.

And there was one person who didn’t understand those words at all.

‘The person who will truly become the head…?’

Lucia had someone in mind.

One person of similar age among the Titans, just like the current head, Metios.

If there’s no one else, no matter how she thought about it, the rightful heir Oneiroi was talking about seemed to refer to Atlas.

Certainly… had he recently been out and about for a similar reason?

That made Oneiroi’s words feel strange to Lucia.

Atlas had returned to the mansion in good health, and Lucia had seen him chatting amiably with Metios.

No matter how she looked at it, Oneiroi’s words felt off.

“Uh… Senior, do the people in the annex not know that Atlas is a Titan…?”

“I didn’t bother to mention it since it wasn’t necessary in this situation. So they probably don’t know. But… now that you mention it, I didn’t tell them for fear they might say something like that, so it’s better to inform them.”

Hera got up to convey that fact to Oneiroi.

And at that moment.

– Rumble!!!

A tremendous thunder echoed from outside the window.

“What is that?”

It was a very thunderous sound.

Everyone felt it certainly wasn’t just natural thunder.

Forgetting the words they were about to say, they turned to look out the window as the sky started to be stained with black light.

The cause was a dragon flying along the ridge of the mountain range, boasting shiny, jet-black scales while spewing black vapor from its body as it soared through the blue sky.

The black vapor didn’t dissipate into the air but instead gathered like clouds, beginning to obscure the blue sky.

“A dragon?!”

“No… a dragon in the mountain range??”

“Ugh?!”

Everyone was flustered.

Hearing that a dragon had taken residence in Blade Mountain was news to them.

“They say the Black Dragon’s nest overflows with virulent poison and curses… Looks like that dragon might be the culprit.”

But what happened next was even more surprising.

“A… another one!!!”

A gold dragon, shining with golden light, burst through the thickening black clouds and began attacking the Black Dragon.

Golden lightning flashed, dispersing the black clouds.

As everyone watched in a stupor at the very rare sight of a dragon fight, Lucia was having a completely different thought.

‘Could it be… Gemma?’

The gold dragon battling with the black dragon looked oddly familiar to Lucia.

————————–

The presence of the Black Dragon, which had emerged from the mountain range, shook the conference room into chaos.

“I’ve never heard that a dragon lived in the mountains!”

“The Black Dragon shows up, bringing black clouds that block out the sun… It’s an omen! The mountains… the ancestors of the Titans are furious!! We must bring it down immediately and apologize!!”

“Are you still spouting that nonsense…!!”

– Thud!!

“Ugh?!”

Some people were panicking.

The Black Dragon was notorious for being a harbinger of ill fortune.

With its presence now, they held Metios, the current master of the mountain range, accountable and tried to force a surrender declaration.

Unable to hold back any longer, Patro knocked out Oneiroi with a fist to the back of the head.

Facing the unexpected appearance of the dragon, Metios seemed at a loss for what to do, and Russell, who had remained silent throughout the discussion, finally spoke up.

“… We need to prepare for a fight. Patro, will you help me?”

“It’s my first time hunting a Black Dragon; will that be alright?”

“You’ll do well, I know it.”

The nobles who had been pressuring Metios fell silent at Patro’s swing.

It was almost an equivalent statement that Russell was declaring to join the fray against an enemy that threatened the mountain range.

Only someone with a strong stomach could continue talking nonsense at this point… and that person was just knocked out by Patro.

“If it’s coming this far, it must be in its adult form. It’s not an opponent to take lightly; the Black Dragon emits deadly poison and curses… I hope a capable clergyman with strong holy power can join us.”

“I’ll send people from the Holy Knight Order and the Church.”

“We should get them here fast. The clouds that dragon is creating is probably filled with poison and curses. If it reaches Narni’s fields… we can forget this year’s harvest.”

Recognizing the shift towards capturing the dragon, Metios caught on.

“What’s everyone doing? This meeting is adjourned. After dealing with that dragon, we can continue.”

At that moment, Richmond, who was trembling while looking at the dragon, shouted.

“W-what?? Isn’t that heading this way??”

Everyone was startled by that statement and looked out the window to see the Black Dragon growing larger.

The Black Dragon, which had been fighting the Gold Dragon in the sky, began its descent.

“Watch out! It’s going to fall nearby!”

– Crash!!!

Right after Patro shouted, the massive body of the Black Dragon crashed close to the mansion, shaking the ground with a heavy roar.

“… No need to go up now. Perfect timing.”

Russell gripped his sword at his waist and hurried out of the conference room.

.

.

.

Those who stepped outside the mansion were the first to be shocked by the size of the dragon.

The colossal dragon, appearing more than twice the height of the three-story mansion, created a large crater in the earth from the impact.

“I’ve requested support, so they’ll be here shortly.”

“First, I’ll try to buy some time.”

Carlos and Patro stood ready with their swords, tense.

The distinctive features of the Black Dragon were its deadly poison and curse, turning its nesting place into a pit of poison, prohibiting the survival of other creatures—a terrifying dragon indeed.

It was evident that the ground of the crater where the Black Dragon had fallen was already becoming contaminated with black venom.

No matter how strong the top-tier experts were, it was questionable how well they could fight while facing that toxicity head-on.

“Father, I will fight alongside you!”

“You kids can’t deal with this. Step back!”

Behind them, Patro was arguing with his child.

He had gone monster hunting multiple times but couldn’t bear to let his father fight the dragon alone, insisting on joining the fight.

“Father…”

“… You too, step back. You’re just going to be a hindrance.”

Carlos had a fleeting hope, but Lucia approached Carlos as well.

Ah, they both want to fight together, huh?

But raw passion won’t have any effect here.

He accepted his child’s resolve to face injustice but what Lucia said was quite different from Carlos’s thoughts.

“Father, I think that dragon is probably the same one that fought Atlas.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Carlos was baffled, wanting to ask what she meant, but Lucia was already stepping back, distancing herself from him.

[Roar…. AAAAAAAAA!!!]

A loud roar erupted from the fallen dragon.

The Black Dragon Kruikeker had awakened.

.

.

.

The fallen Black Dragon Kruikeker staggered to its feet.

[Gra…. AAAAAKK!!! I won’t forgive you…!!!]

His voice was filled with rage, and his body was covered in countless wounds.

These injuries were not simply burns from the lightning emitted by the Gold Dragon.

Had they been such wounds, there would have been charred marks left, but all the scars remaining on his body were from being cut by sharp blades.

[You insignificant humans… how dare you…!!]

The wounds stung.

Scales had been sliced, and muscles were torn.

His right arm was barely functioning, held together by sheer desperation after having been amputated once.

Rage, pain, humiliation—many emotions tormented Kruikeker.

‘I have to run… I don’t know who these humans are, but I can’t win right now. I need to prepare better…’

The fact that he had to run from mere humans weighed heavily on Kruikeker, but he ultimately came to that conclusion.

The most dangerous thing wasn’t even the rookie Gold Dragon claiming to be the Dragon Lord’s daughter that he had initially focused on.

No. The greatest threat was the human right next to her.