The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 325

Siana screamed at the sudden appearance of a human.

But the only one reacting was the human in front of her; the shrine was too far from the sanctuary for such a scream to be heard.

“Hey, clean up a little! Look at this mess in your room, ugh.”

The little human ignored the delicate path Siana had crafted with impeccable balance and stepped all over the pile of junk, making it a complete disaster.

It was a shocking act to have someone recklessly mess up her secret space, worthy of a scream, but the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth.

“How… how did you get in here?! No one is allowed to enter here!!”

“Did you forget? I always find a way.”

“What… huh??”

Only then could Siana see the human’s appearance properly.

A much shorter height than her own, with glorious blonde hair like sunlight, and an expression that looked quite displeased.

Siana definitely remembered seeing that human before.

“… Atlas?”

“Yeah. It’s been a few years, huh? It’s been about four years, I think. Glad to see you’re doing well.”

For an elf who lives for centuries, four years might as well be four months. It was hardly any time at all. Siana certainly remembered Atlas vividly.

“You said you were part of the Empire’s knight order. This is a sanctuary! Are you really allowed to just waltz in here?! This could become a diplomatic issue.”

Siana shouted at Atlas, full of suspicion.

To the elves, the sanctuary was the most sacred place, one that only those chosen by the World Tree could enter.

It wasn’t a place where an unauthorized person, especially an Empire human, could recklessly step in. If the forest lodged a formal complaint to the Empire, it would surely escalate into a major issue.

No matter how much Atlas was respected, Siana believed he wouldn’t overlook international disputes.

“Are you really going to do that?”

“What??”

She had made quite a heavy threat, but Atlas showed no signs of panic whatsoever.

Instead, he just laughed, as if daring her to try.

Where the heck was all this confidence coming from? Then, from his mouth came the horrible words Siana wished she’d never hear.

“Who was it that wet themselves and cried like a baby after losing to a demon without any consequences?”

“Ahhhhh!!! Enough, enough!!”

Siana’s face turned bright red.

The shameful memories that she desperately wanted to forget flooded back in an instant.

How embarrassing it was that the first human she ever encountered witnessed her making such a catastrophic mistake during her most inexperienced period.

Was it a blessing in disguise that it was a human instead of another elf?

If news had spread among her kind, she might have been too humiliated to live with herself.

“That’s so cowardly of you to bring that up!! If you agreed to keep it a secret once, you should just keep it up!! This is why I can’t trust humans!!!”

“Cowardly? That’s you. You’ve been spreading quite the interesting rumor about me. Didn’t I hear… that I’m your step-brother??”

At those words, Siana felt her head spinning.

How did that even get into that human’s ears?

Sure, she had said it once to her family, but that was it!

The face of her cousin who had overheard that flashed through her mind.

But now, more than how that rumor even came about, she needed to think about how to explain herself.

“Ah… no, that was a misunderstanding!”

“Of course, it has to be a misunderstanding. If I’m your brother, then you must be my sister. So… let’s have a little chat as family.”

Seeing Atlas approach with a smile made Siana’s legs go weak, leaving her trembling before the human who was drawing closer.

.

.

.

The first time Siana met Atlas was five years after being appointed as a Grand Warrior by the World Tree.

There was a report of a suspicious human acting near the forest, so she was dispatched, and she ended up crossing paths with Atlas, who was hot on the trail of demon worshipers.

At that time, Siana was impressive.

Having ascended to the most glorious position and bursting with eagerness, she took on many challenges fueled by her overflowing vitality and ended up failing.

She was just a naive child who had recently completed her coming-of-age ceremony, completely unaware of how the world worked; she could only become a target in her naïveté.

Just because she completed her coming-of-age didn’t mean she instantly became a seasoned adult, and becoming a Grand Warrior didn’t give her stature either.

But back then, Atlas was super impressive.

Having just become a Master, Atlas had begun taking on solo missions, and compared to now, he was incomparable.

Outside the forest, where the World Tree’s powers were weakening, Siana got into a quarrel with Atlas and ended up getting trounced.

It wasn’t just a loss; it was an utterly humiliating defeat.

She had never met a human before, and the first impression being that way sowed a deep-seated fear in her heart.

Determined to get her revenge, she ran into a trap set by demons and nearly lost her life, only for Atlas to save her.

Now, she would never be caught off guard like that again, but back then… emotionally and in terms of skill, she was quite immature.

“Ow ow ow ow ow ow!!!”

“Say that again, who said what about whom??”

Atlas wrapped his left arm around Siana’s neck and started to mercilessly mess with her head with his right fist.

As pain shot through her skull, Siana screamed, but Atlas paid her no mind, continuing to cause her agony.

‘Why… why am I being dominated??’

While getting thumped by Atlas, Siana began to question her situation.

Her stature and build were both much greater than Atlas’s, and she was in the sanctuary, a place where she could exert maximum strength; yet, she couldn’t understand why she was the one being overpowered.

She was sure she was trying to resist, but before she knew it, she was completely subdued, left to be tormented.

“As for that matter… I couldn’t help it! I found out you were there, and you told me to ask Cindy! Do you know how surprised I was when you suddenly asked me??”

“So that’s why you brought up ‘brother’?”

It wasn’t unprovoked.

When she went back home for a family gathering, her cousin, who was studying abroad in the Empire, suddenly mentioned Atlas, and she was completely taken aback.

Thinking about what to say, she ultimately blurted out ‘step-brother.’

“Come on, I think ‘brother’ was a pretty good thing to say. It saves both our faces!”

“I didn’t tell you to absolutely obey me! Couldn’t you just say we’re acquaintances, or at least say something like ‘benefactor’?!”

She could have said that.

But… ironically, Siana was the Grand Warrior of the forest.

In the past, she might have spoken more frankly, but with her head clouded now, she fully understood it.

Lowering herself as a Grand Warrior wouldn’t just demean herself; it would undermine the dignity of the entire elf community.

And even if she thought that way, Siana felt she could only say it like this.

“That’s… I’m sorry, but… It was in front of the elders, so I had no choice!”

There were two elders from the Le family present at that time.

“You mean the Grand Warrior of the World Tree is afraid of what the elders think?”

“What could a 150-year-old, who has lived for thousands of years, do against them?”

Hearing a 150-year-old elf lamenting their youth made Atlas give a look of disbelief.

To humans, 150 years old is an impressive elder, but for elves, it was akin to a child, yet Siana’s remarks didn’t justify her feelings.

Atlas’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Right, you’re so great. I’m the one who killed the demons trying to mess with the roots of the World Tree, not expecting anything in return, and rescued the Grand Warrior, yet all I get is this cold shoulder? What elder’s gazes are you worrying about? Do you think I don’t know you twisted my words in your favor?”

Siana’s face flushed at his sharp critique.

“Okay, I get it… just enough already!!”

Unable to endure the continuation of their conversation, Siana eventually shouted, causing Atlas to bounce away from her.

“Don’t think I’m as inexperienced as I was back then! Do you really think I’ll just let you win?!”

Siana shouted fiercely at Atlas, who landed again without a care.

A refreshing energy like phytoncide circulated through Siana’s body.

It was power of a different nature than mana or aura, a sign of the powers of the World Tree that only a Grand Warrior could wield.

Yes, this was the sanctuary; unlike the outskirts of the forest, it was a place where Grand Warriors could exert their strength to the fullest.

“…Should I really give it a shot?”

Magically, Atlas, who had been standing against the wall at a right angle, returned to standing on the ground normally.

As Atlas confirmed that Siana was using her powers as a Grand Warrior and gave her a somewhat displeased glare, chills ran down Siana’s spine.

Surely within the sanctuary, she should be the strongest, but Atlas’s gaze had a power that drew forth fear from deep within her heart.

‘This is… my weakness. There’s no reason to be afraid, yet here I am, frightened…!

If she backed down now, it would be the end.

As the Grand Warrior, her dignity… no, it was a matter of the dignity representing the entire elf race.