The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 33

“Are you okay, Amy…?”

“I think I caught a cold after sleeping a bit too cold yesterday… I’ll feel better after some rest…”

Outside, River was worried about her.

Saying I had a cold was a lie, but it was true that I didn’t feel well.

My face was flushed red.

My bed was a mess with the red coat and gun I wore yesterday scattered everywhere.

Whether it was because of the encounter with Atlas or just how my confused mind manifested in my body, I felt a slight headache and low-grade fever as if I had caught a cold.

“…I’ll come again next time.”

I heard River’s footsteps fade away.

Is he going to see Atlas now…?

I didn’t want to go outside today, so I stayed holed up in my room.

If I go to class, I’d see Atlas again…

I didn’t know how to face him again.

Now that he had become a Demon, Atlas was no longer human.

A fallen human who sold his soul to a Demon was nothing but a Demon pretending to be human.

But when I faced him again, would I be able to kill him?

I didn’t think I could treat him as usual.

Yet I didn’t want to confront him in front of everyone either.

River and the others probably didn’t even know that Atlas had become a Demon.

I thought about informing the professors, but my companions warned me that the professors didn’t know how to deal with Demons and only victims would increase.

They said I had to handle it myself.

“Atlas… why…”

– I told you, if that guy became a Demon, you wouldn’t be able to handle it… Damn it, if there’s a Demon like that during the Dungeon Exploration practice, we won’t be able to cope…

My companion’s voice echoed in my head.

Usually, I was fine, but with this headache, hearing his voice reverberate in my mind made me feel nauseous.

“Should I have… done it beforehand…?”

Once again, my companion was right.

What he said about Atlas becoming a Demon had come true.

I didn’t know what else to do.

Knowing that he was a Demon, he would try to kill me.

But I couldn’t leave the Academy.

I had to graduate and help the territory… According to my companion, it seemed I was meant to prevent an unprecedented disaster from unfolding at the Academy.

‘But… I’ve already lost, so how could I?’

I couldn’t stop the Demon’s descent, and I couldn’t prevent the Demon’s uprising.

He would summon the Demon from the Dungeon, just as my companion said.

Atlas… no, the Demon toyed with me.

I didn’t stand a chance.

I managed to escape using a sandglass, but he was too strong, and I didn’t know what to do.

– It’s okay. You survived. If you survive, you can win anytime. Let’s prepare for something else.

My companion comforted me.

I appreciated his words, but right now, I just wanted him to be quiet.

If I survived, I win, huh…

I, the only child to survive from the territory that day, wondered if I truly was winning.

The clearest memory I have of that day is the blinding light.

Aside from that, I didn’t want to remember much.

When I was captured as a sacrifice, having lost consciousness, all the other children except me were already dead.

When my turn came, someone in a black robe dragged me to the altar.

I remember my body was fixed on the blood-soaked altar, and a sharp knife glimmered.

A pitch-black Demon was watching, grinning from above the altar, and I remember everyone in robes taking pleasure in the knife poised to pierce me.

Then, the hand holding the knife was severed.

The one who cut his hand was a Knight clad in black armor.

Unlike the color of his armor, he wielded a sword that shone brightly even in the pitch-darkness.

In the hazy memory caused by the drug, only that sparkling sword remained in my mind.

When I woke up again, everything had already ended, and I could stand up in the Mansion again.

I wanted to think of it as just a bad nightmare.

But the scars they left on the territory were not something I could dismiss as just a dream.

All the children in the territory were dead, leaving only middle-aged people behind.

Parents who lost their children wailed in anguish, and many people left in shock.

The once lively territory lost its vitality in the blink of an eye.

I, as the last surviving child of the territory, became isolated in an instant.

It was then that my companion appeared.

– This… was an unexpected variable…

That was what he said as soon as he appeared in my mind.

– The damage from the Demon is great. But it’s a relief. Everyone was injured, but they survived, so they can see tomorrow.

– It will be confusing… I came to help you.

– What do you think about Demons?

“… They’re terrifying.”

– Hmm… Yes, they are scary… But from now on, you will kill that scary Demon.

My companion showed a hint of disappointment when I said I was afraid of Demons.

– You can prevent Demons from tormenting people any longer. You can stop them.

“Why me…?”

– If you don’t, many more will die.

“More people…?”

– Right now… they’re alive, but your parents… and all the others who survived will die. If you don’t fight the Demon, everyone will perish.

“… Can’t I ask someone else…?”

– So did those people come rushing when they made your friends into sacrifices?

“…. One person.”

– But your friends have all died.

“…..”

– Trust me. I am your ally. I can understand you the best.

I never wanted to fight Demons…

But there were no choices.

From that day onward, I became a being with no choice.

He informed me of death.

He made me face the impending doom of those who would soon perish at the hands of Demons.

He showed me the people dying near me due to Demons.

And I had to witness their deaths.

– You could have saved them.

As if it was my fault they died because I didn’t fight the Demon.

There were advantages too.

He accurately told me the things I needed instead of having me battle Demons.

He informed me about a dungeon that held enough mithril to settle the territory’s debts… about when someone who could help with administrative tasks would come, and more.

He always made the right choice.

Even if I didn’t understand it at the time, it turned into the right choice later.

Before I knew it, I was being led by his decisions.

– From now on, you will become a Demon Slayer who kills Demons.

That’s how I began to fight Demons.

—————————————-

I couldn’t find Amy.

When a day passed and she still didn’t come out, I slipped into the dormitory, but there was only evidence of her.

Yet, I didn’t worry too much.

Because if she really was a Demon Slayer… she wouldn’t be able to leave the Academy.

If she was destined for this, she would eventually have to appear in the Dungeon.

Thus came the day of our Dungeon Exploration practice.

The Dungeon wasn’t hidden deep in a forest nor perched on a shallow hill.

The way there wasn’t rugged, and it looked like a nice hiking trail.

Students who arrived at the Dungeon were all in awe.

“This is a Dungeon?”

“Isn’t it amazing?”

It was beginning to seem odd to call it a Dungeon.

The entrance, which should normally resemble a cave, was reinforced with iron pillars, and the walls and floor were smoothed with concrete.

Inside, the pillars supported the structure, and the interior, which should normally be dark, was maintained at a dim level thanks to the light from magical orbs.

They had only painted the floor in the monster spawn area with concrete to give it a dungeon atmosphere… and all the originally deadly traps had been removed, replaced with safe and easy-to-understand structures.

It was basically a large escape room.

Originally, dungeons didn’t get fixed just because people remodel them.

Dungeons, made like anthills around the Boss Room, continuously spawn monsters as long as the Boss is alive, consuming intruders like a huge monster.

This was made possible because the Principal sealed the Boss Room and stripped away the Dungeon’s control, turning it into a can with its strength merely drained.

Knowing that it was already weakened, everyone looked forward to entering the Dungeon like they were visiting an amusement park.

“At last, I’ll get to use this axe!!”

“That was a weapon?”

“Just wait and watch, I can split monsters like cutting wood.”

Students were joking around, polishing their gear.

There was even a graduate who attempted to develop this into a local tourist attraction.

Though that plan went bankrupt.

“Well then, I’ll go in first.”

“Be careful…!!”

While students were lining up, I slipped past my senior and entered the Dungeon.

The other students were so busy dispersing in different directions that they didn’t even notice I went inside.

It was a plan I agreed upon beforehand with Andy.

‘There might still be zealots inside, so I’ll go first and check things out. You have any issues with that?’

‘No, no way that could happen. Go ahead and turn three times if you want.’

I had to remove any potential threats like the zealots of the Demon Church that might be hiding inside.

No matter how many times the Boss Room is sealed and altered, a Dungeon is still a Dungeon.

As long as the Boss is alive, the Dungeon can morph in countless ways.

Even if the Boss no longer has control, I remembered the Demon Church managed to seize control and create hidden rooms within the Dungeon.

And there, they would perform the summoning ritual for the Demon… sacrificing everyone inside the Dungeon to have the Great Demon descend.

But this time, that wouldn’t happen.

Firstly, most of the participants in the ritual had died at my hands the previous day.

Secondly, even if a few survivors were preparing the ritual in a hidden room, they would have to face me now.

—————————————————————

About an hour later.

“Phew…”

I emerged from the Dungeon.

Outside, professors and students who finished early were gathered, sharing stories about what they encountered inside.

My clothes were drenched in blood, but fortunately, no one thought it belonged to a human.

Even the Goblins that appeared within the Dungeon had red blood, so everyone else’s weapons and gear were smeared with it too.

“Hey, Atlas…”

Andy, confirming I was out, approached me cautiously.

He seemed curious if everything went well.

“Senior, this is how much I got out after everyone went in?”

“Yeah, about half have come out… But how did it go inside?”

“There were about four survivors, but I killed them all.”

Just as described in the novel, there really was a hidden room.

There were some traps inside, but I smashed them all, killed everyone preparing for the ritual, and checked if there were any more hiding behind, even confirming if it was the kind of ritual that activates after death like last time.

Fortunately, it wasn’t.

After checking the Boss Room, the seal was intact… it should be fine now.

“Are you sure it’s really okay now?”

“Only one dangerous element is left now.”

“What’s that?”

“What if some fool suddenly opens the Boss Room? That would be risky, but the Principal did it, didn’t he?”

“Right… Then it should be fine.”

The area around the Dungeon started getting busy again.

River still wasn’t visible.

He seemed to be exploring the Dungeon.

And come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Amy inside either.

Was she really not coming out because she didn’t know?

I started to feel uneasy as the two people with the most important destinies were nowhere to be seen.

Did I miss something…?

No, at least the Dungeon was safe at that point.

… I still felt uneasy.

“…. I’ll head back in.”

No matter how I thought about it, it felt like something was still inside.

“What, going back in now? Should be almost over, huh… How lucky it’s all going to end without a hitch thanks to you…”

“Stop! Don’t jinx it!!”

Even though I was already anxious, the moment Andy said something careless, a massive earthquake began.

“Whaaat?!! What’s going on here!!”

“It’s an earthquake!!”

Fortunately, the Dungeon was reinforced well enough to not collapse, but an immense aura of magical energy was erupting from inside.

‘Magical energy?! Is a Demon being summoned??’

Though the Dungeon wasn’t collapsing from the earthquake, rocks began to surge up from the ground, blocking the entrance to the Dungeon.

With the entrance blocked, students began to panic.

“You all hurry and go get the professors!! Get the Woodville kids down here!!”

“Y-yes!! Now all the Academy students should elegantly head down together in haste!”

Andy swiftly directed the students down the hill.

It was better to have fewer people in sight.

I drew my sword.

– Clang!!!

The sword bounced back.

Though it had no aura to it, I used Vision Swordsmanship.

It should cut a normal rock with ease, but seeing that it remained intact suggested it was more than just a rock.

I tightened my grip on the sword.

I didn’t know how they could come crawling out again.

They were truly like cockroaches.

No matter how many I killed, they kept crawling out, and it was unsettling.

I confirmed once again that only Andy and I remained after all the students had left.

“Hey… what are you going to do?”

“I have to break through. There are people inside.”

I put mana into the sword I held with both hands and temporarily manifested the Aura Blade.

Mana exploded around the sturdy steel sword.

– Boom!!!

The rock blocking my path vanished in the shape of the sword strike.

The sound of the sword striking wasn’t quite what I expected.

– Fwoosh…

The iron long sword I was holding was reduced to ashes, leaving only the hilt.

Andy looked at the hilt left behind, breaking into a cold sweat.

Regardless of that, the Dungeon started to rise up rocks from the ground once more to try to seal the entrance.

I had to enter now.

“What are you doing, Senior? Aren’t you going in? We have to save the students inside!”

“N-no… Oh, right! We have to go in!!!”

Pulling my bewildered senior, I re-entered the Dungeon.