The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

The Sword Master’s Aura Blade soared high into the sky, and Atlas’s Aura Blade, which was merely the length of a longsword, created a scene reminiscent of the battle between David and Goliath.

River trembled in fear as he witnessed the Sword Master’s Aura Blade once again.

The aura that stretched up towards the heavens filled his line of sight, providing a terror akin to peering into the depths of the ocean.

At that moment, a bright flash illuminated beneath the Sword Master’s blade.

It was Atlas’s Aura Blade.

Atlas was incredibly hesitant to display the Aura Blade in front of others.

Though he didn’t use the Aura Blade, he was still capable of cutting through rocks as if he did, making it a bizarre situation.

I wondered if he was unable to use aura due to some physical limitation, but that wasn’t the case.

He only said he wouldn’t use it because his opponent was unworthy, and now I finally understood what that meant.

The Aura Blade, that rose like a sun in the sky, was smaller than the Sword Master’s, but the pressure it emitted was far greater.

He looked at the Sword Master and condemned him as not even a master.

How could he make such claims, and how could he utter such words regarding that level?

Against the Sword Master’s Aura Blade, which struck down like divine punishment, Atlas swung his own Aura Blade.

– Whoosh!

It sounded negligible, but the effect was tremendous.

The aura that the Sword Master unleashed vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed in the first place.

————————————————

With the Titan’s Vision Swordsmanship invoked through the Master’s Aura Blade, it effortlessly suppressed the meaningless Aura Blade of the Sword Master, who was bulked up through the ritual of heresy.

The Sword Master’s aura, which had soared high, now showed no signs of ever existing.

“Kahak?!!!”

The Sword Master collapsed, spitting blood from his mouth.

A straight line marked his body from his chest to his abdomen.

My strike didn’t just erase the Aura Blade.

The blow that sliced straight toward the Sword Master shattered both his heart and lower dantian.

He would no longer be able to act as a swordsman… nor as a human.

“…I can’t die like this…”

On his knees, clutching his chest as blood spurted out like a fountain, the Sword Master gathered the last of his life force to utter his final words.

For a master of a country, it was an extraordinarily pitiful end.

“Is this how McKinto has protected someone like him as a master? I should go and ask him.”

The Sword Master was beyond imagination.

He was a warrior caught in the vague boundary between expert and master.

Though I can’t say for sure now, he might have been a proper master in the past.

Considering the techniques he used, he likely could fly and apply laws to suppress his opponents.

However, it seemed that after his defeat to the Commander, his spirit was broken.

He couldn’t think that he could accomplish anything with just his own power, leading to the fall of the Sword Master, who was supposed to be the master of the kingdom.

Unwilling to admit his downfall, perhaps he enhanced himself with artifacts, even borrowing knowledge from demons.

“… If the church hears of this, they’ll surely summon all the masters for a meeting.”

What a head-splitting notion.

Thanks to the flashy techniques he used, the previously stuffy, windowless room burst open at the ceiling, providing a refreshing view.

Looking around, it seemed I was in a city near the Clover Kingdom.

The once lack of presence had now drastically surged, indicating that special rituals had been placed throughout the entire building to block outside interference.

Without my spatial movement, I surely wouldn’t have made it this far.

“It’s all over, so let’s get out of here quickly. It won’t do us any good to stick around.”

Turning my back on the now-cold corpse of the Sword Master, I looked towards the dust-covered River.

Just when I thought I’d have to scold him thoroughly when I returned, I noticed that River had an incredibly shocked expression.

Given that he was holding an Aura Blade, it made sense that he would be surprised, but it seemed like he was startled by something else.

“Atlas, watch out behind you!!”

“Behind?!”

– Clang!!

At River’s warning, I swung my sword backward, only to find someone swinging their sword toward me.

“The Sword Master?! How is this guy moving when his heart has stopped??”

The corpse, which emitted no sensation, was wielding a sword.

Suddenly, a strong pulsation began to resonate from the lifeless body that had felt soulless moments ago.

“GAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

“Magic?!”

Black tattoos began to form all over the Sword Master’s body, and his shattered heart began to beat once more.

He began to spew forth magic from the holes in his body, cursedly clinging to life.

“Did you really think I would die from something so trivial?!!”

Shedding a dark liquid instead of blood, the Sword Master swung his sword once again.

No longer did the pure glow of aura flow from his blade.

Only the thick, dark magic flowed in accordance with the grim aura.

“What kind of Named Zombie is this…!!!”

As Aura Blades clashed, a thunderous roar erupted.

The collision of the two Aura Blades, both infused with tremendous power, was a disaster in itself.

Even as a demon, the Sword Master remained a Sword Master.

No, it seemed that his techniques had become even more refined than when he was alive.

The sight of him spewing magic from his eyes reminded me of the students who became demons at the Academy.

I thought he might have planned this, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Could it be that the Sword Master was merely a pawn?

“Is this what they call a master, selling his soul to a demon? Are you out of your mind?!”

“Did I sell my soul to a demon? No, I’m wielding the power of a demon!!”

The bloodless skin, tattooed like veins with black markings… It was utterly horrific to behold.

I couldn’t believe that this was once a master.

“Ah… I can feel the power…!! It’s like I’m back at my prime…!!!”

What I hadn’t seen just moments ago was his swordsmanship.

What he displayed was a blade commonly known as the Emperor’s Sword.

When wielded, it transformed the formidable aura into a heavy greatsword, delivering a surface attack rather than a linear one.

The greatsword technique, infused with tremendous power, was a formidable threat.

Just moments ago, he was only using basic swordsmanship to a minimal extent, but how weakened must he have become after having his will broken?

“This is truly… unbearable to witness…!!”

Determined to stop seeing such a thing or risk losing my mind, I refused to take any more hits and countered, severing the Sword Master’s left arm.

“That much is nothing.”

Despite having one of his arms cut off, the Sword Master smiled and tried to swing his sword with the remaining one.

Dark magic spewed forth from the severed end, attempting to reattach the lost arm, but…

“Wait…?”

Confused as my Aura Blade did not allow the severed arm to recover, the Sword Master hesitated, stopping his attack.

“It seems that the Sword Master’s Aura Blade, which has reached its peak in madness, is debilitatingly fatal to demons.”

The face of the undead Sword Master, devoid of vitality, appeared even paler.

“W-Wait!!!”

Realizing the situation, the Sword Master could no longer charge forth and hastily fled backward.

What a laughable situation it was.

Having lost the power of a master, he had just latched onto a demon…

Wasn’t he just desperately struggling for his life?

“W-Wait!! Just a moment!!! This isn’t right!!!”

“Hey, old man!! Stay right there!!”

The Sword Master took to the sky once more.

He fled above the city of Clover Kingdom, and seeing the dazzling lights below, it looked like they were having a night market.

“Where do you think you’re going…!!”

At that distance, he couldn’t create much space between us.

“Spatial Movement!”

In an instant, I closed the gap with a single step and swung my sword behind him.

“GAAAAHH!!!”

A large gash opened on the Sword Master’s back, causing him to plummet like Icarus, losing his wings, crashing into the city amidst the festival.

“Whoa?!”

“A- a person just fell!!”

“Is… is this a suicide?? Where did he come from??”

People gathered around the fallen Sword Master.

“That was easy…!”

Initially, I had planned to slice his body in half instantly, but he managed to dodge just in time.

However, with the wound he now bore, he wouldn’t be able to move easily.

If he were still alive, he could recover with a healing potion from that state, but that guy was already undead.

His dead body was being forced to move by the magic, and the Master’s Aura Blade cut through the demon’s power.

The severed left arm and the gash on his back would continue to obstruct his movements.

I planned to descend immediately, but due to the crowd, I rewrapped myself with the armor of interference.

Then, a larger commotion erupted below.

“AAAAHH!!! A-A demon!!”

“A demon!! The Sword Master surface as a demon!!”

“The demon is draining blood!! Run away!!”

The undead Sword Master began to bite the Clover Kingdom’s citizens as they approached him, killing them.

As he tore into necks and drank their blood, the dark magic surged from him, recovering some of his injuries.

“Y-You ungrateful wretches!! How dare you call me a demon?!!!”

The Sword Master, drenched in blood, sought out other victims as he frantically chased down fleeing citizens.

“What a madman!!! He’s eating people??”

Descending from the sky in a single step, I severed the dark magic spewing from the severed arm that was holding a helpless woman.

“GAAAAHH!! You…!! How are you still following me…!!!”

The Sword Master’s complexion turned pale as I appeared right before him, no matter how hard he tried to escape.

He was already pale from being dead, though.

Again, the Sword Master took to the sky and fled in desperation.

I began to chase after him, stepping into the void.

Just moments after he reluctantly accepted the power of a demon, he realized his place and put all his efforts into escaping.

“Don’t come near me..! I said don’t come near me!!!”

The Sword Master indiscriminately fired off magic.

Each one held enough power to obliterate entire buildings.

Though utterly pointless as a deterrent, I couldn’t forget that we were in a city full of people.

“Come on!!!”

I repelled the incoming magic with my Aura Blade.

If I didn’t stop them, I’d be haunted by the aftermath.

Instinctively blocking them drew a bitter smile on the Sword Master’s face.

“Now, I see you’re still human. If that’s the case, try to block this…!!!”

Pointing his sword toward the sky once again, he unleashed an even greater torrent of magic.

The initial attack had already been massive, but now it was over three times as powerful.

He must have thought I would have to block it over and over again.

Did he forget that I neutralized that attack in one blow just moments before?

“Running away… seems impossible now. Then, at least I shall crush you with all of my power…!! Don’t think I’m the same as a mere human!!”

What was it about this that was so impressive, continuously making such a scene? I found his behavior rather pathetic and matched his tone.

“Having given everything to a demon, you still didn’t get any more powerful.”

Raising my sword high into the sky, I unleashed my aura.

At that moment, the dark night sky over the Clover Kingdom brightened ominously.

It wasn’t that the sun had risen.

Even though the full moon still shone in the night sky, the darkness was brightened enough to trick the eye into thinking it was day.

“What… what is that…?”

“You’ll soon understand, it’s what you’ve been doing.”

The light that filled the sky was Atlas’s Aura Blade.

The aura Atlas had unleashed, just as the Sword Master did, filled the sky completely.

The Sword Master looked incredulously at the sight before him.

What he had created was just a mere waterfall of aura, and now that he had sold his soul to a demon, he had only made it slightly larger.

“Aura that fills the sky…?”

The Sword Master gazed in contempt at the sword in his hand.

It seemed he felt that the overwhelming aura erupting from his hand was as insignificant as a twig.

“Such display of power means nothing; swinging it is merely a chore, isn’t it?”

At Atlas’s gesture, the heavens began to cave in.

The light that could turn the night sky into a radiant day was rapidly being sucked towards a single point.

And it was forged into a single sword.

The aura that could fill the sky concentrated and focused into one solitary sword, known as Squirette.

Had it been an ordinary steel sword instead of adamantium, it would have long been reduced to ashes.

The length of aura I could concentrate was limited to 150, the same length as the longsword I frequently used; anything shorter couldn’t be condensed.

Power swirling in my hand felt as if it could slip away at any moment.

With that Aura Blade, I swung downward with vigor.

The belief that I would wipe out anything larger than myself during my tempestuous youth culminated in an all-out strike, and its name was…

“Giant Slaying.”

A white line was engraved in the sky.

The Sword Master’s Aura Blade, which had soared to great heights, was severed along with him.

It wasn’t just those two that were cut asunder.

The sky itself shattered into two pieces.