The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 261

I could clearly hear their conversation.

It was a brief snippet, but the important fact remained.

Someone, probably the Demon Church, was searching for the Titan’s eldest son, and Metios was trying to hide it.

Could the sudden change in attitude be connected to this?

‘What a needless worry.’

A hollow laugh escaped me, and my grip around the sword tightened.

No need to stick around— I kicked the door open and stormed into the office.

“Uh… why?”

Metios stood before a man in a black robe, towering at what seemed like two meters. Upon spotting me, he shot a venomous glare.

“I told you to leave the mansion, didn’t I?”

The man didn’t budge, despite Metios’s words, which irked me.

He was definitely not someone who worked in this mansion.

If he were, I would’ve remembered him from the day before.

He wasn’t a member of the Royal Knight Order either; I had never seen anyone like him during my visit to the barracks.

Yet, he seemed familiar.

This guy must be from the Demon Church, the one I heard talking just a moment ago.

I took a furtive glance before shifting my gaze back to Metios.

He used to call me “brother,” but now he had stopped.

Oddly enough, I didn’t feel offended.

That’s because I had just been eavesdropping on something important.

“I just think it’s ridiculous to be treated this way. I’m here to protest. Let’s talk this out.”

“No need for that. It’s an order, so leave at once!”

Metios’s expression grew even more menacing.

It was an unnecessarily intense reaction.

That was a clear signal for me to get out of there.

“I’ve never scolded you before. Maybe that’s why you’re acting like this.”

I had indeed never scolded Metios.

I hadn’t even gotten angry at him.

The reason for this was that he had never done anything to warrant it, but I also just didn’t take care of him much.

Even though we were blood-related, the times I had spent talking with Metios could be counted on one hand.

In this mansion, Metios and I lived completely separated.

Well… I probably talked far more with River or Amy, who I had spent these last few months with, than with Metios.

So, I was afraid of having a genuine conversation.

We knew very little about each other apart from our blood ties.

All of this unnecessary worry stemmed from that.

The fear of being hidden by the Demon Church or something similar.

But there was no need for such worries.

“I’ll punish you for your lies in a moment, so just wait patiently.”

With those words, I drew my Squirette until my hand turned white from the grip, then I slashed through the man in the black robe with a swift strike.

Without even wrapping an aura around it, my slash sliced through like soft butter.

“… Is this how it ends?”

But that was as far as it went.

The massive man dodged my strike with an agility unexpected for his size, and with a single motion, he shifted his weight onto the office desk, landing directly behind Metios.

The voice that came through the mask was distorted.

It was definitely male, but it sounded like an old man’s voice mixed with that of a child.

“Ugh?!”

Then, he wrapped his thick arm around Metios, restraining him.

Metios’s face twisted in pain as he was grasped by the arms that were as thick as tree trunks.

“Let go of him.”

As soon as I saw that, my head began to heat up, and a blue aura flared violently along my sword.

My aura was going wild due to the extreme rage I felt, and I was losing control over it.

The man spoke, noticing my rage.

“Don’t move. You don’t care what happens to your brother, do you?”

He used Metios as a shield.

Seeing Metios’s face, pale from lack of breath, made my body freeze.

“Hey, head of the Titan Family, you can’t lie. How could you say your brother was not here when he’s this close?”

“That guy has nothing to do with this! I’ll face the consequences alone, so please don’t touch anyone else!!”

It was worth coming after hearing River’s warning.

What would have happened to Metios if I hadn’t shown up?

My right arm gripping the Squirette tightened even more.

“There’s no way he isn’t involved! After this ends, you’ll definitely be punished…!!”

“Brother…”

“What a tear-jerking family love, but… we must continue our deal. You are indeed Atlas Titan, right?”

“Yeah. I’m Atlas, so let go of him…!!”

“I’ll let him go, but don’t rage. First, I need to confirm something.”

The man then asked Metios again.

“Head of the family, Metios, didn’t you say that the Titan’s eldest son was not here?”

“That’s right, he’s not.”

“But that’s strange. As far as I can see, the Titan’s eldest son exists just fine.”

“Right now, I am the head of the family. I have no children yet, so there’s no eldest son in the Titan family.”

“You don’t think I would fall for such a wordplay, do you? You know it holds no meaning from your perspective. This isn’t your contract.”

“But I took on that debt. So it’s my contract. Therefore, I can interpret it based on my standards.”

“Ha! I can’t let you slide on your excuses!”

The man behind the mask laughed merrily.

Despite his words, his actions were completely opposite.

He spoke cheerfully yet continued to grip Metios’s neck.

It was clearly a show of force, indicating he could snap her neck with just a little more effort. I couldn’t move easily.

“But… it seems we’ve simplified things. I have a proposal for you, Atlas Titan. It’s a request from your father.”

Suddenly, the man proposed a contract.

If it was something asked of Chronos, it could only mean one thing.

“Are you going to make me grow taller or something?”

“Exactly. That’s what I’ll do. You still seem bothered by it… doesn’t it feel odd that everyone in the family is tall, yet you’re the only short one? If you follow me, I can help you achieve what you desire.”

The prospect of getting taller was incredibly important to me.

I had lived over twenty years with that singular goal in mind.

To join the Royal Knight Order was also not merely out of a desire to grow strong, but because I heard the Vision Swordsmanship trained there could help with my height.

I did get stronger, but in the end, I didn’t grow taller.

My wish to grow taller remained unchanged… but my thoughts had always been singular.

I never trust a demon’s words.

“Don’t listen to him, brother! What he’s ultimately after…”

Seeing me hesitate, Metios shouted anxiously.

“You’ve lost your voice to speak!”

“Uck?!”

At that, the man squeezed his hand, silencing Metios.

Metios desperately tried to free himself with both hands, but he didn’t budge an inch.

“Right… you say you’ll make him taller?”

“There’s someone waiting for you. With that person’s powers, your fate can be twisted. If you want, I can even help you take the position of head of the family.”

Upon hearing my words, the man’s voice rose considerably.

He must have thought I was saying something promising.

In contrast, Metios’s expression darkened.

“If you want to go with me, take my hand.”

“Huuh….”

The man extended his opposite hand toward me.

Looking at the magic swirling around him, I felt a spell that would move us to another location at a mere touch.

I took a deep breath while holding my sword in position, gathering the energy coursing through me once more.

What I needed now wasn’t overwhelming destructive power, but refined skill and speed.

“Don’t you know how much I’ve wanted this?”

“Brother, don’t do it… please…”

As I spoke, the man began to lower his guard slightly.

He must have thought I was about to follow him immediately.

But contrary to my words, the aura burning along my sword was becoming more defined.

“But, you see…”

And just when everything was ready, my legs folded to jump through space again.

In less than a breath, the distance that had stretched over two meters shrank to less than an arm’s length.

“The problem cannot be solved by you.”

The purpose of closing the distance was simple.

In an instant, I had to cut the man’s fingers and wrist holding Metios’s neck while rescuing him without him noticing.

It was impossible with a greatsword that dominated by surface area.

I had to use the Vision Swordsmanship, crafted directly by my mentor, who had taught me tirelessly before I became a Master.

My master’s sword struck like a bolt of lightning—quick, nimble yet powerful.

Fast and light, but precise and strong; one tiny mistake and Metios’s neck would be cut too.

In terms of difficulty, it was like speed painting on a grain of rice in three seconds—ridiculously tough, but I could do it.

No, I had to do it.

As a Master, how could I live with myself if I couldn’t pull off something like this?

‘It’s been years since I’ve done this… please work…!!’

I accelerated my reflexes to the utmost limit to move faster than anyone.

With my nerves on edge, a violent headache began to throb in my head as blood rushed to it.

This excruciating headache was why Atlas avoided using this technique after learning it.

Everything looked like it was moving in slow motion, as if time had truly slowed down.

It wasn’t that time was actually slowed, but my mind was racing at dozens, if not hundreds, of times its normal speed, making everything appear sluggish.

This was the foundational technique of my master’s Vision Swordsmanship.

However, my body was also slowing down.

I somehow used the Spatial Technique to come before him, and raised my processing speed to make time seem stopped, but my own body continued to move slowly.

Naturally, my master’s Vision Swordsmanship came with training that allowed one to move quickly in this slowed-down world.

It felt like swimming through a thick, viscous syrup, a dreadful kind of resistance.

Yet, I managed to move.

With flawless precision, I severed the man’s wrist, cut off his fingers, confirmed Metios was free from his grip, and finally finished by slicing through the masked face.

After that, I seized Metios by the shoulder and activated the Spatial Technique once more.

The accelerated thoughts began to return to normal.

“Ugh?!”

“Aaaah?!”

The man’s right hand was completely severed, and his face was split cleanly in two.

In the instant he held Metios, she had switched places with me.

I wondered if she felt any pain during that acceleration; her shoulder was swelling a bit.

This all happened in the blink of an eye.

“Ah… this hurts like hell…”

I gritted my teeth to suppress the urge to buckle over.

Just that brief movement had made my whole body ache like I had run a marathon for hours.

I had expended all my strength controlling the movement so that Metios wouldn’t be harmed, so this was my limit… but the immediate goal had been accomplished.

“O… brother? How did you…?”

“This…!!”

I grabbed Metios by the ear, who appeared bewildered at being transported away from the man’s grip to my side.

“Y-y-y-you…!! What’s the point of doing something so useless?!!!”

“Uck?!”

I was furious and wanted to lecture him more, but seeing the swelling red marks on his neck made me pause.

The faint red bruises etched into his thin skin would likely leave deep marks.

“…Alright, that’s enough.”

Seeing that, my heart softened, and I quit my scolding.

“I told you before, brother. I’m far stronger than you think.”

Metios still wore an anxious expression.

I had much more to say, but I decided to leave it at that.

I still had the enemy right in front of us.

“I’m surprised.”

Even though I split his arm and head open, the massive man was still able to talk.

No red blood oozed from the sliced-off head.

Instead, dark steam poured out like blood.

“Teleportation? No… could it be that it was done so fast I didn’t notice?”

The mask that had concealed his face fell away with a clatter.

The first thing to fly out from behind the mask was his hair, matching the golden hue that Metios and I shared.

When the pieces of the mask fell away, the man’s face was revealed.

“Whoever you are, looks like you can’t mess around with me.”

A voice that was both deeply authoritative and aggravating sent chills down my spine.

“You… who the hell are you?”

“Who am I? You already know, don’t you?”

When he wore the mask, I thought he looked much younger.

His words lacked any weight, after all.

But once the mask was off, a completely different person emerged.

A middle-aged man with a solemn deep voice radiated an oppressive air.

And that figure looked very familiar to both Metios and me.

“… Father?”

Metios said to the man, disbelief etched on his face.

Yes, this guy is definitely Chronos. The massive man was someone I had clearly seen in the capital’s underground.