The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 344

The professor and instructor at the café stood up after having a quiet conversation.

“It can’t be anything serious, so everyone just stay calm.”

“Honestly, trouble right from the first day…”

If the repercussions from the port were felt all the way here, it couldn’t be ordinary.

The café is located in the Academy’s Main Building, so it’s quite a distance with the garden from the port to the Main Building.

Sensing a strange presence coming from the port direction, I started to run.

If left unchecked, the incident would certainly be handled by them.

“Isn’t it time for the regular ship to depart?”

“Those people we saw at lunch—could they be involved…?”

The images of people who came to Atlas earlier, venting their frustrations, flashed in River and Amy’s minds.

But among those people, there were not even any Experts, so they wouldn’t cause such a commotion.

Yeah, it must be something else.

“How could it be anything? We’ve been caught up in strange things all vacation long—today’s no exception.”

River tried to pretend he didn’t care, but Amy’s gaze had already drifted towards the port in the distance.

“If you’re curious about what’s happening, let’s go take a look. Just looking isn’t a problem, right?”

“…You can’t stop thinking about it, can you?”

“Yeah…”

Although they were a bit behind, the two of them started running towards the port.

—

When the professors of the Academy arrived at the scene of the incident, they were utterly shocked.

They immediately understood why people were fleeing in panic.

In the middle of the port, dozens of people lay sprawled, with broken limbs.

“Wake up, snap out of it!!”

“Ugh… a… giant…”

“A giant? What nonsense are you talking about! Get a grip!!”

The victims were all battered to the point where it was a miracle they were still alive.

What business could non-students have gathered like this at the Academy?

Why were they all collapsed together? Were they involved in some brawl?

It seemed strange since they were all down, looking utterly bizarre.

Some looked as if they could stop breathing any moment, and while the professor wanted to conduct an incident hearing, not a single one could speak, leaving them at a loss.

The only course of action was to recover them and then investigate.

“Oh, professor, what about ground crawlers like me if you just go flying off alone!”

“Initial response is key; it’s the slower ones who are at fault.”

A swordsmanship instructor who arrived first followed the professor and stopped abruptly with great urgency.

“Wow, what is that? They’ve been thoroughly beaten up!”

“We need to move them to the hospital… and hear witness testimonies… Ugh, why do I have to deal with this? It’s not even my field.”

With the need for investigations that weren’t part of his specialization, the professor frowned.

Most professors had contracts to respond if a serious threat arose to the Academy, so they rushed over, but this investigation was another matter altogether.

Such things should be left to the holy knights or Inquisitioners in the church.

But it worked out, as they needed recovery too.

So, the two didn’t see it.

Amidst the panicking crowd, the true perpetrator was calmly passing through, unaffected.

—

“Wow… what’s going on here?”

By the time River and Amy arrived at the port, it seemed everything was already over.

People from the hospital began transporting those lying down, and whether they caught the culprit or not, those fleeing from the port gathered around, watching the injured being taken away.

“Looks like the situation’s resolved.”

“Looks that way.”

There were people being carried away, but no one being apprehended.

Does that mean one of those being taken was the culprit?

“Yeah… it’s those people we saw at lunch.”

“Did they have some internal conflict or something?”

Since Atlas hadn’t returned yet, it could be a completely different incident, but seeing the faces they recognized in such a mess made them uneasy.

“…They’ve been smashed to bits, and yet they’re alive.”

“Ugh… bits?”

Amy spotted limbs dangling unnaturally from one person being carried out.

It was not just broken; it seemed crushed into a horrific wound, showcasing the perpetrator’s brutality.

“Those kinds of wounds aren’t something you’d get from a squabble.”

Curious, Amy decided to ask one of the seniors watching the wounded being taken away about the situation.

“Do you guys know what happened there?”

“That? Well, hey, did you see it?”

“No? We came to watch from the dormitory; there’s no way we could have.”

“Why would outsiders come to the Academy?”

“Apparently it’s related to that new student, Atlas.”

It seemed these people had no idea.

Amy asked a few more onlookers, but no one had a clear understanding of what was happening.

There weren’t many students around the port to begin with, and they showed little interest in the commoners from outside.

Most of those present at the port were either a few students who just arrived on the regular ship or some outsiders doing business with the Academy.

And many of them reportedly quickly boarded the regular ship and fled when things kicked off.

“Since nobody’s dead, they can recover and give testimonies, right?”

“Well… it might be late. If the culprit hasn’t been caught yet, it means someone capable of doing this is hiding in the Academy. I don’t know; I have a bad feeling about this incident.”

Nothing was leading them to answers.

As River said, given time, the collapsed would regain their senses, and the incident would be resolved quickly.

But Amy’s instincts, and a voice only she could hear, warned that this incident appeared to be a sign of a larger event to come.

Just then, a highly familiar figure zipped past the corner of Amy’s eye.

“Uh…? Isn’t that Atlas?”

“Looks like he’s back!”

As River turned his head toward where Amy’s finger was pointing, he saw Atlas’s back.

He seemed to be heading from the port to the Academy Main Building.

Since he said he would come back today, had he just arrived?

If it were Atlas, he would likely know something about the situation.

Though his front was out of sight, the silhouette was unmistakably Atlas.

With that height and those blond locks, there was only one Atlas in the entire Academy.

“Atlas, is that you just arriving?”

River, delighted, chased after Atlas, reaching out for his shoulder.

Having been apart all day, he planned to stick together for the evening.

But something felt strange since Atlas didn’t seem to react despite hearing him.

In the next instant, River’s body twisted sharply.

“Ah?!”

‘Atlas’ had grabbed River’s wrist as he reached out, twisting it sharply.

“Ow! Atlas, what’s the deal?!”

This wasn’t how Atlas acted unless they were sparring; River was flustered.

Had he been in a bad mood since going on that investigation?

Confused, River felt a crushing sorrow when he saw Atlas’ face for the first time.

“Do you know me, little girl?”

With eyes colder than ever before, ‘Atlas’ glared at him.

—

River felt as if the sky had fallen.

And why wouldn’t he? The ‘Atlas’ he had fully trusted had just twisted his wrist.

Though it hurt less than their usual sparring, the pain was overwhelming.

“Why… why are you doing this? Did something upset you? We could just talk it out… There’s no need for this…”

“Let go of me!!”

Amy forcibly pulled River’s wrist away, separating the two.

The unexpected intervention of the third party twisted ‘Atlas’s’ demeanor into a wild grimace.

He glanced at the brooch on Amy’s blouse and spoke harshly.

“That brooch says you’re just a new student. How dare a lowly bloodline touch me? Do you want to be expelled?”

“Why are you saying such things! This isn’t even funny!”

Taken aback by how different ‘Atlas’ had acted, River was astonished as Amy stated firmly.

“That’s not Atlas. We heard today. He may look similar, but he’s a fake. An impersonator!”

Unlike the confused River, Amy had firmly recognized ‘Atlas’ as an enemy.

“What…? He looks just like him!”

No matter how he looked, River couldn’t reconcile that ‘Atlas’ was a fake, so he scrutinized ‘Atlas’ once more.

As he considered it, he began to notice slight differences.

A hunched posture, a much thinner frame, and most notably, the staff he held in one hand.

“Me, a fake?”

But ‘Atlas’ got angrier upon hearing Amy’s accusations, swinging his staff in fury.

– Thud!!

“Ugh!”

With fierce momentum, the staff aimed for Amy’s head, but she managed to block it.

It appeared lightweight and sturdy, made of high-quality wood, but the impact felt as if she had been struck by a rock.

The weight emanating from the slender and seemingly light staff reminded Amy of someone.