The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

The blue-winged Apostle fell to the ground with a thud and looked down at his body.

His body had been slashed at an angle, with the wings attached to his left shoulder fluttering separately from those on his right shoulder.

The blue-tailed Apostle was running towards the blue-winged Apostle in shock.

Even after witnessing that scene, the blue-winged Apostle couldn’t quite comprehend the situation he was in.

Why was his body severed?

There was only one possible challenger capable of attacking him here.

Just a small child, around the age of ten.

Though that child seemed to have reached a remarkable genius level in being an Expert, knowing at least how to deal with a Demon, that was it.

He could confidently assert that they could not win against him.

Initially, the blue-winged Apostle couldn’t withstand the ray fired by the child and suffered a severe wound to his abdomen.

How had he managed to rise again after sustaining such an injury?

How could he possibly strike back after failing to defend himself the first time?

“Ha…!”

The blue-winged Apostle looked again at the child who had dealt him that blow.

The child had just fallen and was gasping, unable to withstand the aftereffects of their previous attack.

Thinking it might be a mistake, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the very small body of the child briefly overlapped with the figure of an adult woman.

It must have been due to the violet aura shimmering from her sword.

“Quickly recover and stand up! What kind of shame is this against just a single child?”

The blue-tailed Apostle rushed over, seemingly in disdain, and lifted the blue-winged Apostle, trying to piece together the severed parts.

Although it seemed to have increased in level, it was still only Expert.

For them, as Demons, receiving injuries would just mean recovering once more.

He should have cut down the child directly with that silver-plated sword; using sword qi was basically meaningless.

“No… I think this is it for me.”

However, the blue-winged Apostle instinctively felt the end approaching.

“What are you saying? Don’t be so dramatic. You haven’t finished your great tasks yet.”

“It’s not for no reason that I’m saying this.”

Starting from the severed edge, his body began to crumble.

The body of a Demon, which would not die from any attack excluding three specific weaknesses, was losing its strength.

“Survive and please complete the ritual.”

With those words leaving as his last will, the blue-winged Apostle turned into a handful of ashes.

.

.

.

“Haah… Haah…”

It was good until the point where he had cut down the Apostle with the ray, but after that was the problem.

His body felt overwhelmingly heavy, making it impossible to stand properly.

He had originally been forcing himself to move, but now that he tried to draw up his aura with all his might, it seemed he had reached his limit once again.

While he had managed to stave off the attack for the moment, a Demon could recover from being chopped into pieces quickly.

With pure substances, holy power, and peak Aura Blade all absent, it was difficult for Amy, who had barely any strength, to defeat them right away.

The only silver-plated sword she had and the scripture written on it only worked on low-level Demons, not on Apostles.

Therefore, there was only one victory condition available to Amy right now.

To hold out as long as possible until that someone arrives, wherever they might be in Parker.

Though her body seemed to have reached its limits, she decided she could push through anything.

“Yeah… I’ve used it three times before, after all.”

Amy pulled out another vial from her pocket.

It was a narcotic substance that made it easier to force her body to move.

Her companion had mentioned that the maximum number of times it could be used at once was four, but she had previously pushed through three times during an all-night battle.

She didn’t know if she could endure with her young body now, but if she didn’t try, she’d die for sure.

“Gah…!!”

Using a syringe would have been most effective, but there was no time to make a dedicated injector.

As she consumed the drug, she felt her body lighten instantly, the pain fading away.

However, this was merely borrowing from her future self.

Once the effect wore off, she would surely fall into hell.

So while her condition had improved, she had to cut down their capabilities as much as possible.

‘Huh?’

With her enhanced condition from taking the drug, Amy observed something strange.

One of the Apostles had vanished.

Assuming she wasn’t mistaken, he had disappeared into ashes.

‘Did a Demon just disappear?’

It looked incredibly similar to what happened when a Demon died.

What could possibly have caused this? She pondered, but it seemed the answer was obvious.

“… Was it me?”

It was only then that Amy confirmed the aura rising from her sword had changed.

The blue aura mixed with red, turning her Aura Blade into a violet hue, a color she had never produced before.

Auras typically had a blue tint, but they could change properties depending on the individual.

‘Could it be that a property assigned to my aura caused the Demon to perish…?’

Since she couldn’t find any other reason, she decided to think of it that way for now.

“Yeah, I said that.”

As soon as the blue-winged Apostle turned to ash, the blue-tailed Apostle closed the distance toward Amy in an instant.

Amy quickly raised her sword.

-Swish!!!

The long, thick blue tail stretched out like a spear, aiming for Amy’s heart, but she blocked it with her Aura Blade.

Though the sturdy tail had collided with the sword, Amy was surprised to hear a sound not of metal clashing but rather one of something being scorched.

‘The output has increased!’

It wasn’t just an addition of properties.

The Aura Blade itself had grown stronger.

Normally, a substance that sturdy would need to withstand the aura and then collide with the sword, but it hadn’t penetrated the aura at all, resulting in that kind of sound.

Having taken the drug, and with her sharpened senses, Amy started recalculating everything in her mind.

‘If my Aura Blade can truly kill a Demon… I can do this!’

Before waiting for whoever might come, she could eliminate the remaining Apostle.

As if in response to Amy’s determination, the Aura Blade blazed more fiercely.

The sword that had severed the tail aimed for the Apostle’s exposed abdomen.

“This is really the end…!!!”

The violet flash split the Apostle’s torso in two.

.

.

.

“Did I actually… do it?”

Amy murmured, looking at the two pieces of the blue-tailed Apostle that lay in front of her.

Her newly blazing Aura Blade could inflict significant damage to Demons.

But it wasn’t like every situation was resolved.

Remaining on alert, Amy slowly approached the Apostle.

If he recovered and got back up, she was ready to strike down her sword at any moment.

-Crumble…

Then the Apostle’s body began to disintegrate into ashes.

Just a few minutes ago, it had seemed utterly impossible to win, and she had thought of stalling for time.

“I did it…!!”

Amy was overjoyed, nearly bouncing with excitement.

The aftereffects of the drug would soon kick in, and she would start feeling intense pain, but that was all pushed to the back of her mind.

She had stopped that dreadful ritual.

“Thank goodness…”

There hadn’t been zero damage.

An unexpected incident occurred, leaving a few casualties, but it had averted a tragedy that could have seen dozens of children annihilated.

Relief washed over her, but behind it lurked a terrible fatigue.

This was the result of pushing herself to her limits.

She wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep right there.

As she thought about it, one by one, the backgrounds and people around her began to dissolve into darkness.

It seemed that by defeating the enemies, the Other Space was starting to unravel.

This world, created by someone, would soon vanish.

“Looks like it’s over… thank goodness.”

Though nothing about what she experienced had changed, Amy felt content in the present.

It felt as if she had overcome the trauma of her past.

Just as she was about to utter a word, a chill of malice crawled down her spine.

“…?!”

What on earth did she sense at that moment as everything disappeared into darkness? Amy grit her teeth and looked around, enduring the pain.

Even now, everything was being consumed by darkness in real-time.

[The humans who entered this time are all amazing.]

Then someone emerged from the shadows.

A being resembling a giant, cloaked in the skins of various beasts, was looking down at Amy.

“Gah… Ugh…!!”

She felt a shiver run through her entire body.

This presence was on an entirely different level compared to the Apostles just now.

Could she win against this?

Still, Amy rose once more, determined.

Surely… she had thought it impossible to win against the Apostles.

But what about now?

Those two had turned to dust, and she remained standing.

If she didn’t give up, a path would surely open.

“Haah!!!”

Amy gathered all her strength.

The heretical god merely raised an arm to strike down at her.

[It’s meaningless.]

The black deity’s attack came down, trampling over Amy’s sword qi.

She felt a familiar sensation, akin to when she was struck in the abdomen by the ray.

Ah, I think I’m going to die.

At that moment, she instinctively slashed through the air.

-Crack!

In an instant, the darkened moonlight vanished, and the black darkness became as bright as daylight.

Like it wouldn’t be defeated by the pitch-black darkness, a brilliant aura suddenly cut through the black deity’s arm.

[How did you get this far…!!]

“Miracles happen when you wish hard enough.”

Atlas, clad in black armor and wielding a sword shining like the sun, appeared before Amy.

“Did I take too long? But it seems I came at a really dangerous moment, so give me some slack.”

Atlas turned to Amy, flashing a grin.

Amy felt as though she had seen that sight ten years ago.