The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 365

Even until morning, moving my body even a little felt like it would tear apart, but now I’m feeling a bit better.

I’ve improved to the point where it only feels like some severe muscle soreness.

Since my Master said he would block the investigators, I can trust him and focus on the tasks I need to do.

“And so, I have returned.”

[Hisssss…]

[Amazing, you’re still alive, strong human.]

[Are you really moving after getting beaten like that in just one day? I’m starting to doubt you’re human!]

Currently, I am facing the Three Monsters in the deepest part of the Black Forest, wearing patient clothes.

I had personal reasons for being there, but the most important one was that I promised Leah, the Wolf Goddess, that I would show her these three.

However, when I finally arrived, Leah was still asleep and didn’t wake up easily, so I had to poke her a bit, and that got a reaction.

[Hey, why do you keep poking me? What’s the matter!?]

As the golden and shining avatar of the Wolf Goddess Leah rose above my shoulder, the three monsters were taken by surprise.

‘Something feels different…?’

I was surprised too. I had seen this avatar several times, but something felt off.

“You’ve shrunk, haven’t you?”

Wondering what was different, I noticed the avatar was less than half its previous size.

Before, it was about the size of a small dog, but now it looked like a much smaller puppy.

[I had to give you most of my power for the advance payment, and that’s why I ended up like this.]

“Thanks for that back then.”

[Well, since it was your power once it got inside you, it’s not something to be thanked for. Just a little expedited, that’s all.]

Right after that, I was caught up in something bigger and was in a rush, but if I hadn’t woken up and helped with recovery, I might have really died.

I can’t help but be grateful for waking up in time.

[That aside, it’s been a while, rookies. I haven’t counted how much time has passed, but have you all been well?]

[Grrowl… What brings you here?]

As Leah’s avatar spoke to the three monsters, Orthos bared his teeth and threatened them.

It seems they were not on friendly terms.

[Curious about how the grave of that arrogant Typhon, who ruled without knowing fear of the sky, looks like, I came to check it out.]

[Hiss!] [Are you insulting my][Father right now?!]

[I do quite like how extravagant it is. It seems bigger than my temple, though there are no symbolic objects.]

Regardless of the other monsters’ threats, Leah ignored them and continued speaking.

It seems Orthos and Hydra have some bad feelings, but Cyclops just keeps laughing, and I can’t figure out what he’s thinking.

[So, have you all been staying here?]

[We all scattered across the continent, playing the captain, but somehow it weighed on our minds, so we gathered. Orthos got here first, Hydra followed, and I arrived last.]

[I didn’t expect this idiot, who resembles Father the most, to arrive the latest.]

[But anyway, you made it, right? It’s not like there’s a significant time difference, let’s not be petty about it.]

Leaving the monsters behind, Leah’s avatar landed on the ground after hopping off my shoulder and started spinning around.

[I won’t say any words of mourning. It’s the Black Forest after all. It fits you perfectly as a grave.]

As Leah said, the Black Forest was said to be the grave of Typhon, the father of all monsters, made from his corpse, so indeed, the entire Black Forest is Typhon’s grave.

It’s not a lavishly decorated grave with gold and treasures, but this Black Forest, full of life with countless creatures living joyfully, overflows with vitality.

A grave abundant with life—it truly fits the title of being the father of all monsters, doesn’t it?

Once Leah’s avatar finished her mourning and turned back into a golden light, the mood grew solemn, but I decided to resolve the questions I had in mind.

“Hey, you all. You know what I used yesterday, right?”

As soon as Leah’s mourning ended, I asked the monsters.

The power I summoned from the Black Forest yesterday—those guys must know whose power it was.

However, when I asked, the monsters began to act clueless in unison.

[Growl… How would we know what you summoned, human?]

“Are you pretending to not know while actually knowing?”

As I was about to push further, Leah, who I thought had vanished after her mourning, appeared back on my shoulder.

[What’s important about that?]

“Huh?”

Isn’t it important to know since I used it?

If I used something without knowing what it was, that would be unsettling.

And I have a feeling I might have an idea of what it is, so I wanted confirmation on my thoughts.

[He tested your qualifications and recognized you. You used that power well to defeat your enemies, and now you’re almost free from the aftereffects, right? Not many can attempt that, and even fewer can be recognized by ‘that.’]

Leah’s tone seemed to say, don’t ask further and just accept that what you think is right.

Alright, it’s already in the past, so I guess I can let it go.

“Do you think I would let it go just because you say so? You know, I found out this morning that there’s a new entity inside me!!”

If it had ended without any curiosity, I wouldn’t have been this anxious, but now I have a legitimate reason to know.

Going back a little, during the day yesterday, while I was checking my condition out of boredom, I sensed some strange energy within me.

Usually, it wouldn’t have meant much, being a slight signal I could brush off, but as I probed deeper, I found out that there was an additional essence inside me that I had never seen before.

It felt so faint that I thought it was nothing, but when I poked it, it was my stomach.

It seemed unremarkably compressed, but internally, it felt extraordinarily powerful.

I wanted to dig deeper, but it trembled as if it would burst if I touched it wrong, so I refrained from doing so. It’s likely what I came in contact with while summoning meridian energy yesterday.

I started to wonder why this was still in my body, reflecting on how I had struggled to contain the boiling power that night. If it didn’t all escape, is that residual power?

Thinking that way felt inadequate since the power felt too formidable to treat as mere residual energy, and I couldn’t carelessly touch it in my current weakened state.

So I need to know.

I must know who has entered my body.

I came rushing here, leaving everything else behind because there was such a direct connection.

[Hmm… If it’s that kind of issue, then you must want to know for sure.]

Seeming to understand my reasoning, Leah’s avatar pondered and said.

[Then I shall give you the answer you desire. The power you used yesterday, as you thought, is the essence of Typhon buried in this land.]

“Is it really true?”

[His physical form is rotting away, but the power he possessed is so immense that it hasn’t scattered and still remains in the earth. When you arrived on this island, it was sleeping, but… your special mind technique awoke it.]

It seems it should normally be in a state of slumber, but it woke up due to the chaos I caused trying to surpass my limits.

“Is this… not dangerous?”

[Don’t the rookies know that? They’re your offspring after all.]

“Huh?”

[This is the first time anyone has ever absorbed Typhon’s power, so I don’t know how it will turn out if something happens. But if anything does happen, I can help, so you don’t need to worry too much.]

“That’s what you say, but do any of you know anything?”

[Hiss…] [There was an attempt][to inherit my father’s power.]

“Really? One of you did that?”

[No…][There was a monster called Cerberus,][who resembles Orthos…]

“…Cerberus?”

As soon as I heard that, a thought flashed through my head.

Cerberus is a famous monster.

Known for having three heads, it’s also renowned as the gatekeeper of the underworld.

However, the infamous tales of Cerberus belong to my first life.

Since my birth in this second life, I haven’t heard any stories about Cerberus.

Hydra, Orthos, and Cyclops are all documented as legendary monsters, yet Cerberus—which must possess immense power by inheriting the colossal power of Typhon—has no record at all.

I could only think of one reason for this.

“Could it be that he died?”

[You’re quick-witted, strong human, grrr… Just like how you struggled to contain Father’s powers, he too struggled with Father’s powers. But… he didn’t give up wanting to inherit all of Father’s power… and in the end, his body exploded.]

Yes, the power of Typhon is indeed overwhelming.

I wanted to devour it all, but I couldn’t handle it and ended up releasing it everywhere, coloring the whole world with a rainbow.

But here’s the crucial difference: I recognized I couldn’t confine it all within my body and released it.

Instead of letting it all out completely, I secured Typhon’s power with the Sword of Taesun, gathering it like scattering it into the air, and used it when necessary.

Since meridian energy is a technique developed to manage excessive power for a single individual, I at least have an understanding of how to control powers without losing control.

However, it seems Cerberus wasn’t able to do the same.

“Wait… it exploded from the inside out????”

[Yeah. But you endured it without bursting, strong human… You’re stronger than any human I’ve ever seen. Amazing.]

I appreciate the praise, but this discussion is altering a bit.

Back then, I merely awakened the power sleeping beneath the island and used my body as a faucet.

If I really felt like I couldn’t bear it, I could cut off the hose and completely block out the power entering my body.

But this power sleeping inside me is a genuine ticking time bomb, unpredictable in when it might explode.

Ah, so that’s what it meant?

Right now, a ticking time bomb is nestled inside my body?