The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

[I am Belphegor… the Great Demon ruling over the swamps of Hell.]

A low voice, like a massive rock rolling, belonged to the Great Demon Belphegor.

His voice echoed throughout the cave, so low it felt like it was pressing down on my chest.

– Thank goodness it’s Belphegor… He’s known for being lazy and not really active… Thanks to the incomplete Descent Ceremony, he’s not fully here yet. There’s still a chance.

Despite having the Great Demon right in front of us, my companion showed no signs of fear.

They were calmly analyzing the situation, thinking of a way to survive.

But I, on the other hand, was incredibly frightened.

‘This… is the Great Demon?’

Even though he wasn’t fully descended, the Great Demon emitted an overwhelming aura.

The demons I’d faced until now were nothing compared to him.

My companion said we must thwart the schemes of the Great Demons and that a moment would come when we would have to fight them.

‘I have to… fight something like that?’

– Pull yourself together, Amy Parker…!! If you crumble now, you will definitely die!!!

It felt impossible.

There was no way I could fight something like that.

I felt like I would just break apart any second.

– Thud

“Uh..? Why am I…?”

Before me, River had already dropped to her knees.

Her face was pale as a sheet.

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and although she hadn’t dropped her sword, her hands were shaking violently.

– Oh no…! You’re resisting thanks to the Anti-Demon Coat, but Shimoa is unprotected. There’s no way a regular person can withstand the aura of a Great Demon…!

That snapped me to attention.

I couldn’t break now.

Right now, I wasn’t alone in this place.

If I broke here, it wouldn’t just be my death.

Steeling myself, I stood up again.

[Truly… you called me to such an uninteresting place. Summoning me in a cave… Are they trying to revive some ancient tradition from a thousand years ago?]

The Great Demon Belphegor began rambling on about absurd things as if he had no intention of killing us immediately.

Seeing his attitude, my companion shouted as if they had caught an opportunity.

– He doesn’t seem to want to kill you yet. This is our chance. Use the hourglass now!! It’s an incomplete descent, but he’s not someone we can handle right now!! Run away quickly!!!!

The hourglass was a special artifact.

Even if the Great Demon has cast a spell to prevent Space Movement, the hourglass would still work.

This was our chance because Belphegor was lethargically talking instead of trying to kill us.

Right, the hourglass! If I use it, I can escape.

Then an important thought popped into my head.

‘Then… what about River…?’

The hourglass only allowed one person to move.

If I used the hourglass and disappeared alone… what would happen to River who would be left here?

– It’s an inevitable choice…!

I sneaked a glance at River.

“….I have to… get up… I have to….”

River, who had shown no fear even in front of a Demon Evangelist, was trembling.

While she wasn’t in a panic, she still couldn’t get up on her own.

I couldn’t just run away alone like this.

‘No… there’s still one more option left.’

– Are you seriously going to use that now?! It’s a powerful tool, but it won’t be enough against a fully descended Great Demon!

‘But that one isn’t fully descended either!!’

Fortunately, I still had one trump card left.

I needed to wait for a moment when Belphegor was off guard.

I raised the gun I held in my left hand and aimed it at Belphegor.

“Saint McKinto’s flame…!!!”

– Whoosh!!

As I pulled the trigger, another dazzling, sacred flame poured toward the Great Demon Belphegor.

The bright white flames erupted from the trigger point, endlessly pouring forth.

The wave of blinding flames swept away the dark magic and engulfed Belphegor.

No matter how great a demon he might be, he wouldn’t remain unscathed after receiving the breath of a dragon imbued with Holy Power.

To survive, we had to fight.

“I’m… going!!!”

Since silver bullets wouldn’t work, I put away my pistol.

The aura from the raised mithril greatsword burst into an extravagant flame.

—————————————————

[Unpleasant.]

And then, all the flames were extinguished simultaneously.

“Ahhh!!!”

As a black storm erupted, the Saint’s flame scattered, and River and I were hurled against the wall.

I was aching all over, but I could still move.

That was my condition; River, on the other hand, was crucial.

“Ugh.. River… are you okay?”

“……”

“No….”

River lay still, not moving.

It seemed she hit her head when we were tossed.

[How unpleasant. How dare you splash that filth on me… while graciously allowing me to visit from Hell.]

Although Belphegor had sustained burns, he walked out unscathed.

It must not have been enough to face the breath of a Dragon with Holy Power… it seemed that’s all it was worth.

“Instead of shooting at the Evangelist… you should have shot me while I was still here..”

[How insolent.]

As a flicker of black light shone from the Great Demon’s finger, a black stake pierced his left leg.

– Thud!

“Ahhhh!!!”

I knew that showing my pained expression would only please the Demon, but I couldn’t help but scream.

The black stake was no ordinary stake.

I could feel agony radiating from the flesh touched by the black stake.

The Great Demon was not someone incapable of killing me.

He simply chose not to.

Just like watching ants crawl in the sand without a care, the Great Demon Belphegor was simply deciding not to kill us yet.

A being positioned as an overwhelming force, deciding whether to spare or take a life depending on his mood—that was the essence of a Great Demon.

The black stake wouldn’t loosen from my leg.

“Ugh…!! My leg won’t move…”

In the end, I was unable to do anything.

I should have used the hourglass to escape the moment I saw him.

Once again, my companion’s words rang true.

– You’ve taken some heavy damage, but you’re not dead yet. Belphegor thinks killing you is too much effort. This is our chance..! If you use the hourglass now, you can survive.

My companion was right.

To survive, I had to use the hourglass right now.

I could live for now.

‘But what then?’

They say the one who survives wins, but if I run away now, I would be without Atlas and River.

Would I have to fight the demons alone again…?

Is that really winning?

“I don’t want to….”

It wouldn’t be strange to have that feeling.

After all, that was how I had lived until now.

Surviving on my own, fighting the demons.

I would eventually be able to face such a terrifying Great Demon someday.

I was sure of that because my companion had assured me.

Yet when that day comes, I would still be alone.

How much longer had I to live like this?

Until every demon in the world is gone…?

Could I really hold on until then…?

“What is this..”

Something hot was flowing down my face, and when I wiped it thinking it was blood, it turned out to be tears.

I hadn’t cried in years, so I thought I was all dried up, but it seemed there was still regret for the world left inside me.

So I made a decision.

I took off the hourglass hung around my neck and placed it around River’s.

And when I turned the hourglass once, her form vanished like a mirage, as if she had never been there.

– You… what have you done!!! Do you really want to die!!!

My companion was shocked by my act of giving away the hourglass.

They had every reason to be shocked; I was essentially giving up my own life.

“I’m sorry… I just… couldn’t live like that.”

Coming to the Academy was such a joy.

After all my friends in the territory died, I had rediscovered something I thought I had forgotten.

“It’s scary to be alone…”

Atlas reached out to me..

River saved me when I got caught by bad people..

Even without showing much ability, both of them treated me with kindness.

The warmth of human contact I felt after a long time was incredibly comforting.

I wished these moments would last forever.

And then I regretted it very much when Atlas became a Demon.

If I ran away, abandoning River to save myself, would I be able to live with my head held high?

What if the open space where the three of us used to gather in the morning became empty?

Could I bear that?

“Rather than letting my friend die while I survive alone… I’d rather just die myself…”

Tears streamed down my face.

Though I cried at the thought of my life ending like this, I was also glad River survived, smiling through my tears.

A jumbled mess of emotions that were neither this nor that twisted within me.

-…I see… such an ending could exist too.

My companion spoke in a resigned tone.

– In the end, I couldn’t understand you at all…

Belphegor, looking down at my fallen figure like a bug, sighed.

[This is rather boring melodrama. I’m getting tired of it. I should go outside.]

Once again, black magic condensed on Belphegor’s finger.

My leg, pierced by the black stake, wouldn’t move, and I had no strength left in my body.

Though I had lived a life of being swayed by someone else’s words, I could still choose how to meet my end.

I didn’t close my eyes.

Even if I died, I would remember the face of the demon who killed me.

I had killed many demons so far, but… this time I had failed.

“Even a demon like that… can die…?”

– Yes, every demon is not free from three weaknesses. Even the Great Demons…

Do you still remember?

I recalled the three methods my companion had told me about to kill demons.

That was crucial information I had to engrave into my mind.

The first was Holy Power.

The second was pure substances.

And…

“Th… third is…..”

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y!!!”

At that moment, a frantic shout echoed from somewhere.

I heard the sound of rushing footsteps.

Then suddenly, the footsteps disappeared.

– Whoosh!!!

[Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!]

Something gleaming flew in like an arrow and struck Belphegor in the side.

It was a sword shining as brightly as the midday sun.

I had seen a radiant Aura Blade like that before.

It was the very thing that had ended my nightmares as a child, and later, I learned what it truly represented.

The Aura Blade mastered to the point where its blade could not be seen was expressed by its wielders as follows.

“‘Having reached the ‘extreme’… the Aura Blade……..”

Belphegor, with the shining sword embedded in his side, screamed in agony.

“What the hell did you do to my Canary!!!!!!!!”

The one who had pierced the shining sword into Belphegor’s side… was Atlas.