Academy Ankle Reaper

34. Survival is Winning

I couldn’t sort out any of the worries that filled my head.

I wanted to stay in bed, put off making indecisive decisions, and burn time meaninglessly, but I had to get up against my will.

There was nothing decided on what to do, but I had to act.

Because I have to kill the devil.

– Dungeon exploration practice is the most important turning point. I can’t give up on this.

My companion said that I had to stop the fanatics of the Devil Church hiding in the dungeon exploration practice.

They said that if a demon appeared in a place full of students, it would be irreversibly dealt a blow.

-The Great Devil will appear. Must be stopped

Once again… If I don’t do something… People will die.

However, I couldn’t really feel the big-scale stories like the beginning of the fall of the empire or the Great Devil.

“…There must be Atlas inside…?”

The fact that Atlas would be there also bothered me the most.

My companion thinks that Atlas, who has become a demon, is the greatest threat.

-There will be. But this time I’m prepared, so I won’t be beaten like before.

“Okay.”

-Don’t blame yourself… What happened has already happened. I couldn’t help it.

I made the necessary preparations to fight, but I wasn’t prepared mentally when I faced them face to face.

I know that I am no longer the old Atlas after becoming a demon, but I still hesitate when I see his face.

It was so different from when a person I didn’t even know his face became Mine.

Students are entering the main gate.

As my companion told me, I entered the dungeon through the back door.

The inside of the dungeon is completely controlled by the academy, but there is a secret passage made before the boss of the dungeon is completely taken over.

It is said that there is a passage that even the academy does not yet know about.

Unlike the main entrance, which is reinforced with concrete and even has lights, the lighting caught my eye at some point as I went through the dark cave-like back door.

A room appeared with concrete only on the floor.

Looking at the corpses of monsters scattered around, it looks like a place the students once passed by.

-The ritual takes place in a hidden room. Go to the indicated location.

As I followed the instructions of my companion, I quickly reached the hidden room.

At first glance, it’s just a wall, but with special manipulation, it becomes a door.

I pressed a few stones attached to the wall, and the door slid open.

At that time, I felt a presence from behind.

“Amy?”

It was River who appeared.

She also had her room-specific equipment wrapped around her body because of her dungeon exploration practice.

‘What if?!’

Now I am wearing all the equipment I need to deal with the devil.

She didn’t say that she was participating because she was sick, but when she ran into her, her hair went blank as to what to say.

“Are you feeling better? When did you come in? What are those clothes?”

“That…That’s…”

River comes this way with a bright smile.

Like a child caught eating cookies hidden in the cupboard by his parents, I just stood still, not knowing what excuse to make in front of River.

Her companion called out in haste as the river approached right in front of them.

-Get out quickly. The door is closing..!!

“No..!! Get out!”

I finally understood the situation and tried to push the river away, but it was too late.

-Koo Goo Goong…

The rock wall that had been open closed again, trapping me and River in a dark cave.

River glanced around, then looked right at me and said,

“…Amy, can you explain what’s going on?”

———————————————————

We were walking through a dark cave.

In River’s hand, the basic magic light was shining brightly, lighting up the cave.

The already blocked entrance is no longer open, and there is an exit on the other side, so I’m walking towards it.

“So… The reason you didn’t come to the academy was because you were beaten up by Atlas…?”

“There are a lot of omissions, but the conclusion is correct.”

River listened to my story, clutching his head and forehead as if he was in trouble.

It would be hard to believe even if I told you about my companion, so I left out that part and continued to deal with the Church of the Devil since I was a child.

And the fact that this is a hidden space created by the Devil Church…

‘…I should have told you in advance.’

After speaking, I feel much more relieved.

I couldn’t even tell my parents that I was fighting the Devil Church.

Because the two of you, who went to the point where their lives were almost completely destroyed by the Devil’s Church, will definitely be worried… My companion told me not to say anything.

But this time he said it would be better if he said it.

Did you tell River that if you lied to him in that situation, he would not be able to work in the future?

River was washing his hair, he said.

“There is one fact that needs to be corrected. Atlas is not a demon.”

“No… It’s a demon. That day I saw… The figure of Atlas who was suffocating with demonic energy…”

Even River didn’t believe that Atlas was a demon.

Those who have seen Atlas in his usual form will surely find it hard to believe.

“Atlas’s sword isn’t that soft. There’s no way he’ll fall for her devil’s temptation…”

“Wouldn’t the devil really get over it when the devil… Promised Atlas to make him taller?”

“I can’t guarantee that…”

When we talked about height, River also changed his complexion.

Those who long for something cannot be free from the devil’s temptation.

Atlas is definitely a man with a straight core… But his strong will is against the background of a complex about his height.

His mental strength to not lose to the pressure around him for his height is his foundation.

It is Atlas himself who pays the most attention to his short stature.

It is a fact that you can know if you stay by his side even for a little bit.

Every morning when you do gymnastics, you hang upside down from a tree saying you need to stimulate your joints…

Pretending not to be and drinking only milk every time I drink…

Be sure to consume liquids with a bad smell, such as health supplements, and dark medicinal materials before exercising.

If you give 10 million won… Even if you give 10 million won, it will quench the unquenchable thirst, but can you refuse?

“It’s true, but it’s hypothetical after all. I don’t believe it. I’ll look again and judge.”

Reaver understands Atlas’ fundamental aspirations.

But that’s why I’m well aware of the fact that he’s still fighting that complex.

He would not succumb to the devil’s temptations, River believed.

She decided of her own will to trust the Atlas she had seen so far.

“I see… I see.”

I envied those unwavering eyes that believed in Atlas.

“It’s dangerous inside, stay behind. I’ll take the lead.”

My companion said there were traps set up ahead.

As for the position, he told me to, so I first made Reaver back.

River meekly stepped back.

It seems that she decided that it was not her major and left it to me.

“Yeah.. But Amy..”

River stood behind me, pondered a bit, then opened her mouth.

“Yes..?”

“Is the thing you’re wearing on the back a real mithril?”

My greatsword seen from behind… I was staring at the sword made of high purity mithril.

“Yes, I made it with mithril..”

“Wow… I’ve never seen such an amount of mithril… How much did it cost? Maybe all of them?? If the situation is resolved, can I swing it just once…?”

I wonder if it was surprising that a precious rare metal like mithril, which is expensive even if it goes into an alloy a little bit, is clumped together in such an ignorant lump.

“As long as it works well.”

—————————————–

-This too…? Who the hell is this?

Something is strange about the dungeon.

My companion kept muttering that it made no sense.

“Whoa.. What happened…”

The hidden space in the dungeon… Was smashed.

The traps installed here and there were all smashed and the monsters were slaughtered.

The further down you go, the more complex and dangerous the traps are, but all of them have been destroyed.

I didn’t attack the trap after knowing the structure, but destroyed all of them.

But thanks to that, I was able to come down very comfortably.

That’s how we reached the altar needed for the ceremony.

“The altar… Is also destroyed.”

The altar was also destroyed.

The magic circles for rituals are all messed up as if they were scratched by demons, and the stone altars are smashed beyond recognition.

And there were 4 decapitated corpses in black robes lying around them.

“I only cut my head at once…”

River was surprised to see the bodies lying there.

I was also surprised.

The corpses whose heads were blown off with a single knife are identical to the ones Atlas found when he became a demon.

‘No way… Atlas…?’

-Why did he build this place… Were they from different factions…?

‘What do you mean?’

– There are several factions in the Devil’s Church. Several factions are formed according to the archeemons they worship each other…

If the demons contracted with Atlas were not the faction of the Prime Evils summoned by this ritual, they might have done this to interfere with each other.

That’s a good thing.

“So I don’t have to worry anymore?”

Nothing about Atlas has been resolved, but I haven’t encountered him, and it seems like it’s difficult to revive the summoning circle anymore.

Then did this work go smoothly?

At that time, a grotesque voice rang from afar.

“I hurriedly ran to it, and wow… It’s messed up.”

I pulled the trigger on the handgun I was holding in my right hand at the eerie voice that sent chills down my spine.

-Bang!!

“Ouch… That’s too much to shoot something dangerous like that.”

A gunshot rang out and an unpleasant voice approached, slightly hurting.

It’s different from Atlas.

This time it definitely hit.

A dented silver bullet landed in front of him in a black robe.

His body looked fine.

He was wearing a mask unlike the other fanatics who had fallen.

It was a clown mask with two large horns protruding from it.

Seeing this, the companion’s cry became urgent.

-A mask with horns…A demon evangelist!

Devil preachers wearing horned masks are demons who have contracted with the devil to deliver the teachings and doctrines of the devil church.

A key combatant of the Devil Church has appeared.

“Then… Who is it that messed up our consciousness?”