The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 45

Lucia was still stopping by the private bar.

She had nothing particular to say to them, but the information they shared in their conversations was incredibly valuable.

As usual, she quietly sipped her drink in a corner of the bar when someone approached her.

“Russell.”

It was Edgar Lemnos.

Lemnos appeared with such a serious expression that the other three paused their conversation, curious about what was happening.

“I’m going to duel Atlas again.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I got Atlas’s consent. You should know since you’re ensuring my safety, right?”

It was barely any time since Lemnos lost to Atlas last time; did he have some kind of revelation during that short period?

“… What do you want from him?”

What on earth could he possibly want from Atlas?

A duel is a dangerous act where one can take away what is precious to the other.

Before, Lemnos had pulled Atlas, who Lucia was concerned about, into a duel just to violate a promise made by their families.

If he was doing this out of spite, Lucia was certainly not going to remain silent any longer.

“Nothing…”

What came from Edgar Lemnos’s mouth was unexpected.

“I don’t want anything else from this duel, I just want to win against him using Lemnos’s sword. I want everyone to acknowledge Lemnos as the strongest.”

The fire in Lemnos’s eyes as he spoke was blazing brighter than ever.

——————

“Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!”

…

“Kyahhhhhh!!!!”

…

“Hwaaaahhhhh!!!!”

“Surely things will get better next time…!”

I screamed madly at the blue sky.

I could feel distant glances from afar as those hideous shrieks continued.

Today, I felt really awful, to the point it seemed a lie compared to yesterday’s excitement.

I had taken the newly developed drug again, but there was no change.

“… Yeah, there are always things that block the way…”

Feeling gloomy, I was already well aware that not everything would go perfectly.

‘The data is too scarce. After the detailed examination, we’ll check what areas it influenced and then replenish the materials and try again!’

I believed Professor Praha’s words, who was busy with analysis.

Glancing at my gloomy self, Lucia cautiously spoke up.

“Atlas… Are you really going to duel again?”

“… Did I say that?”

Thinking about it seriously, I seemed to have, indeed.

“I guess I did…”

“Lemnos was acting differently than usual…”

“If he didn’t snap back after getting beaten like that, he should get beaten again… Oh, the boat’s coming.”

Today wasn’t a good day, but time keeps moving on regardless of my mood.

Today was the day Andy, who went to the capital to receive a medal, was coming back.

A few students gathered to welcome the return of the hero who saved the academy from an unprecedented crisis.

Not too many students were out since it was during classes.

Still, those who were out were surely passionate fans who admired Andy… There were some guys, but the number of girls was considerably high.

“Those are all students waiting for the instructor, right…?”

“Ugh… I don’t want to see them.”

I should have been attending class, but I proudly skipped it.

It seemed Lucia had sneaked out to follow me once I said I was going.

As the boat drew closer, Andy Robinson appeared on the deck, waving in his Royal Knight Order uniform.

Seeing Andy waving, his fans gathered at the port erupted in cheer.

Tall, well-proportioned, with blonde hair and a handsome face in that knight uniform, he looked quite impressive.

“Look at him, grinning like his mouth’s going to split open just because he got a medal.”

It’s only natural for Andy to succeed since I’ve passed on everything that required attention to him.

It’s a good thing for me if he’s doing well since he handled what I couldn’t be bothered with.

But watching him be so successful stirred up a slight annoyance in my chest.

He resembled my ideal self—blonde, blue-eyed, tall—so that might be part of it, or perhaps it was just the frustration from the drug’s ineffectiveness surfacing now.

As I crossed my arms and looked at Andy on the deck, our eyes accidentally met.

“Hmm?”

Andy swiftly averted his gaze as soon as ours met.

“Why’s he dodging my eyes?”

A terrible premonition crept over me.

Did something happen in the capital?

Just as I resolved to ask what happened once we docked, chills shot down my spine.

“…Damn it.”

A woman stepped onto the deck, catching my attention.

She was dressed in a neat uniform.

Like Andy, she wore a uniform adorned with the white representing the Royal Knight Order, looking like a beautiful female knight at first glance.

Her ebony hair was tied back neatly, though some strands fluttered in the sea breeze. And with eyes as deep and dark as pitch, she stared directly at me.

No one else; she was looking right at me.

My mouth went dry.

I knew exactly who she was.

I started to take small steps back.

Seeing my reaction, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

That she was here could only mean one thing.

“You betrayed me, Andy…!!!”

“… Atlas, what’s going on?”

She fiddled with the sword hilt at her waist, keeping her eyes on me.

There were about five minutes until the boat reached port; if I ran now, escape was possible.

‘What happens to the newly developed Elixir of Growth if I run away…?’

Professor Praha was currently analyzing its issues.

Should I leave right when I discovered a hint of growth?

Sure, I could come back later to collect it, but now that I’m on their radar, both sides would keep an eye on me.

In the brief moment I hesitated, she made a move.

‘No sword…!!!’

The sword she had been holding was suddenly gone, leaving only an empty sheath at her waist.

There was no need to ponder where the sword had disappeared to.

It seemed she had no intention of waiting for the boat to dock.

Just in case, I pulled out the sword I had brought with me.

I heard a swift slicing sound coming from afar.

It was a piercing sound, like a bird of prey diving from the sky to hunt.

It came closer.

I immediately raised my sword.

-Clang!!!!

“Ugh!!!”

And then my body was flung away.

“Eh? Atlas??”

I was thrown nearby, and a bewildered Lucia could be seen from a distance.

Though she was right next to me, the reason she looked so small was because I was soaring in the air.

Something was latched onto my sword.

I had managed to deflect it with my cross guard, but it was a sword thrusting fiercely towards my chest.

A cold and hard metal blade was lifting me into the sky.

It must have been a pretty absurd sight for a third party to see.

Just a solid-looking sword seemingly carrying a person through the air at high speed.

In the rear, I spotted the familiar shape of the hilt.

It was the one that she had been fiddling with on the deck just moments ago.

She had thrown it away in an instant.

In mid-air, I struggled with the flying sword, which eventually slammed into the academy grounds somewhere.

-Boom!!!

With a thunderous noise, the earth erupted like a bomb, but I felt no shock.

The sword, which seemed poised to pierce my heart, fell away from me and launched high into the sky.

Though I was tossed aside, I felt no injury, but dirt got into my mouth, which was unpleasant.

“Pfft!! What a fancy greeting…!!”

Spitting out the dirt in my mouth, I looked up to see she had picked up the sword that had lodged me somewhere unknown on the academy grounds.

Somehow, she had followed me here; the woman from the deck picked up the sword that had so obsessively flown towards my heart and swung it down at me with incredible speed.

The sword in her hand was surrounded by a blindingly bright light.

“!!”

Once you speak and act, it’s already too late.

No exception for me either.

I enshrouded my sword with a dazzling light and met her attack head-on.

The two brilliant lights clashed with each other, sparkling as they collided.

-Szzzzt

Before the two Aura Blades, pushed to their extreme, clashed in the air, something tore in the atmosphere.

I couldn’t tell if it was the air shredding or the space itself, but something was certainly torn apart, and the vast power gathered in the two Aura Blades exploded, sending a heavy shockwave in all directions.

-Thud…!!

The shockwave flew into the air, ripping the sky apart and splitting the earth.

That day, just the single clash we had was measured as a magnitude 3.0 earthquake across the entire academy island.

——————

“Sigh..!! I smashed it again!!”

The sword I was holding turned to black dust and crumbled away once more.

I swung with all my might, and I would have been thankful if it had lasted even once.

How long could I hold out against the person standing imposingly before me without a proper sword?

Dusting off the dirt, the woman walked over gracefully.

Despite that explosion, neither her outfit nor her neatly tied hair was disheveled at all.

She carried no sword in her hand.

The sword she had been holding a moment ago quietly hovered around her.

It was her sword control technique, effortlessly manipulating the sword in the air without using mana.

Only one person in the Empire has the ability to wield this technique freely.

The commander of the Royal Knight Order, Linda Westharbor, one of the individuals I find most uncomfortable.

“Take it.”

At her command, another sword fell from the sky.

It wasn’t just one; it seemed she had two levitating.

The one that landed right in front of me was a sword I was incredibly familiar with.

It was the sword I received as a gift when I officially joined the Royal Knight Order.

From the way she tossed the sword, it could only signify she intended to fight me fairly.

Reluctantly, I picked it up, not wanting to die in a place like this.

As I drew it, the black blade made of rare metal, Adamantium, absorbed the sunlight, giving it a deep obsidian sheen.

“Commander, how have you been?”

“Not well, you troublemaker.”

As soon as I drew my sword, the floating swords around the commander swiftly charged at me.