The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

In the upper floor of the circular arena, there exists a VIP room for staff and other VIPs.

Three students had gathered in one of the VIP rooms to watch the duel.

Consisting of two male students and one female student, they were each watching the arena with different thoughts.

All three were members of the Five Pillars.

“I don’t like this duel.”

The woman, sipping from a crystal glass, expressed her displeasure.

The graceful posture of her holding the crystal glass was like a delicately painted portrait by an artist.

In the dimly lit room, with the minimum amount of lighting to focus on the arena, her long, well-groomed golden hair shone faintly, almost uncomfortably so.

But in stark contrast, her eyebrows were furrowed in discomfort, her eyes black as if they contained an endless darkness.

At her age of enrollment in the academy, she was remarkably small in stature.

Seated nearby were two tall males, making her seem even smaller, but she would probably feel small even standing with others.

However, her petite frame was not a defect.

She was the daughter of the golden Prigia family, one of the Five Pillars.

Shara Prigia, praised as the most suitable heir to the Golden Ball, which drives the empire’s economy, considered physical stature to be a trivial matter.

She clearly did not like this duel.

“What don’t you like about it?”

The male with long hair like a blue waterfall, Zeek Albion, asked her.

“I gain nothing from this duel.”

“Nothing to gain?”

Prigia weighed the duel on a scale.

Being entangled with the Five Pillars, the actions of other families affected her just as much, which irked her that they acted recklessly, only thinking about themselves.

“Even if you win, Russell and Lemnos will simply rearrange their ranking. If you lose, it will tarnish the image of the Five Pillars.”

“If Lemnos loses? Are you saying Lemnos will actually lose?”

“Don’t twist my words. Winning just brings you back to where you started, losing is loss.”

Prigia’s head throbbed at Albion’s emotional response.

Having not spent much time with them, she was already fed up with their emotional, thoughtless behavior.

The Five Pillars are a brand.

And it was clear that apart from the current heads, they still lacked the awareness that they were the heirs.

“You just have to win, right? Lemnos can’t possibly lose.”

“Yeah, if Lemnos wins, there’s no problem, right?”

Nivas Perda, who had been an observer, stirred the pot.

While she disliked Albion for being emotional while pretending to be rational, she also did not care for Perda, who was just agitating them knowing the truth.

“That’s why this situation is a loss in itself.”

———————————–

A crackling sound echoed through the arena over the loudspeaker.

– Ah, then we will proceed with the duel. The officiant is that Magical Biology professor, Nico Praha.

The voice of a woman sounding quite annoyed.

When it comes to a duel of this scale, an officiant is necessary to ensure things run properly, unlike the informal duels just between individuals.

A third-party officiant checks whether the conditions are met and ensures a fair duel.

Although a referee, it’s a rather relaxed role.

But Nico Praha…? That name sounds familiar…

– The outcome will be determined until one side can no longer act or concedes defeat.

I’ll remember it later.

The victory conditions for this duel are the highest for a student.

The only condition above this would be to fight until one side is dead.

This condition requires them to battle until one side concedes or is incapacitated, which often results in one side dying due to the heated emotions involved, so a medical team is already preparing outside the ring.

It’s expected to be a messy and bloody fight rather than a clean sport.

If one side concedes, it can end cleanly, but in this case, with emotions running high, everyone naturally thinks it will end only when one side can no longer act.

That’s likely why Lemnos brought such an excellent sword.

“You brought a really good sword, is it your family’s treasure?”

The Flamberge that Lemnos was wearing on his waist was anything but normal.

The Flamberge is a uniquely shaped sword with a wave-like or flame-like blade.

Rather than cleaving, it’s more of a saw-like sword, making it awkward to face with regular swordsmanship.

Lemnos’s Flamberge didn’t just have a flame-shaped blade; it appeared to be flickering as though it was actually burning.

I had never seen a steel sword flicker like that in real time.

“A lion uses all its strength even when catching a rabbit. Consider it an honor to be struck down by this sword.”

“Right? If you use that and lose, you can’t be making excuses.”

“What?!”

– To your positions…

With his face filled with rage, as he heard the command to start, Lemnos took a stable middle position like a wolf.

I took my usual low stance as a snake.

– Duel start!

As soon as the command was given, Lemnos surged forward, swinging his Flamberge.

The flickering flame-like Flamberge erupted into real flames.

Lemnos had infused his aura into the sword.

‘So the flaming sword comes, huh?’

The blazing Flamberge started emitting intense heat.

It felt as if the sword was actually on fire.

An aura-infused sword that grants a flame-like transformation to its aura… that was Lemnos’s treasured sword, the Flame Flamberge.

Reading about it in novels was one thing, but seeing it in action was something else entirely; the force was incredible.

The blazing Flamberge wasn’t just visually impressive.

Once activated, being an Aura Blade, it cannot be defended against with ordinary weaponry, and due to its flame-like curvature, it restricts certain grappling motions as well.

Even when coming up against another Aura Blade, the intense heat emitted by the Flamberge drains stamina…

And above all, due to its burning quality, its cuts cauterize wounds, making it especially effective against faster-recovering monsters.

Records remain that Lemnos’s ancestors ended those monsters that could regenerate infinitely with this sword.

The nickname alone, “the sword that burns like fire,” defines Lemnos’s pride—the swordsmanship of flames.

Lemnos was competing with all his strength.

Not wearing any special armor was partly to avoid being labeled a coward, but also because ordinary armor is useless against such Aura Blades.

Naturally, it was clear that Lemnos regarded me as an expert capable of using Aura Blades.

That’s true, but… there was one thing.

“Why aren’t you using your aura?!!”

Contrary to Lemnos’s thoughts, I still hadn’t used my aura.

The longsword I was holding was still an ordinary longsword.

If it made contact with the blade of the Flamberge now, it would probably split like a piece of candy floss.

But I had no intention of using my aura.

“Why would I?”

Certainly, the Flamberge is a fearsome sword.

But if I didn’t engage, isn’t it just a flaming club?

“You need to reach a level worthy of it to invoke it.”

“How arrogant… That arrogance will cost you your life…!!!”

The flaming sword, the Flamberge, swung with fearsome energy.

If I took even one direct hit from that attack, I would be incapacitated instantly, but the Flamberge couldn’t touch me at all.

I felt like a matador controlling a charging bull.

Each strike was an unstoppable deadly blow, but just as he tried to close the distance, I evaded. And when I felt distance was widening, I narrowed it down again.

Having slipped into the blind spots a few times with painted movements, this was the result.

I really needed to grow a pair of eyes in the back of my head… at least I hadn’t reached that level yet.

“You talk about taking lives, are you trying to kill me?”

“Just saying!”

“Go ahead, you’re inside my range and haven’t landed a hit yet. Is there really a need for me to use my aura?”

“Grrr!!”

Seeing that he kept failing to land hits, Lemnos’s attacks grew more reckless.

That flaming sword surely has a time limit on how long it can be sustained.

The ferocious flames must be devouring some of Lemnos’s energy.

“AAAAAAAH!!!”

Dodging the wildly swinging sword, I analyzed Lemnos’s condition.

He had used up a lot of stamina showcasing his family’s Vision Swordsmanship, and now not one attack had landed, making him much more excited.

With him getting overly focused on attacking and wasting energy, now was the time for me to strike.

‘This is it..!’

A clear opening appeared.

Swinging the longsword, which I had previously kept like a mere ornament, towards Lemnos.

Lemnos’s eyes widened in shock.

He hadn’t seen anything like this before.

The tip of my sword transformed into a cross shape.

This wasn’t a sudden transformation of the longsword into a hammer-like structure.

Just inverting the grip on the longsword, swinging it with the cross guard and hilt.

From the beginning of using Aura Blades, these techniques are dismissed as minor techniques not even taught.

“What… what is this??”

What advantages did wielding the longsword in this way have…?

First off, it had a strong cross guard, which made it great for snaring things.

As I swung the inverted longsword, its blade struck Lemnos’s hand, causing the cross guard to lock together with the cross guard of the Flamberge below.

The blade’s impact on his hand loosens his grip just slightly.

Seizing that brief moment of looseness, I tugged at the locked cross guard.

“Eh?!!”

Suddenly, the Flamberge flew into the air like a fish caught on a fishing rod.

Gasps erupted simultaneously from the audience.

Edgar Lemnos’s face was a whirlpool of emotions.

Confusion at losing his sword, embarrassment, and anger… But it was already too late.

The treasured sword, Flamberge, had slipped from Lemnos’s hand.

“Right… still!!!”

Despite that, Lemnos quickly focused his gaze on me rather than the Flamberge, which had left his hand.

He clenched his fist instead of disappearing with his sword.

However, as soon as I snatched the Flamberge, I swung my longsword down in a smooth motion like a club against Lemnos’s head.

– WHACK!!

“Gah!!!”

Lemnos, struck on the head, toppled sideways.

The second advantage of the halved sword technique is that it allows a longsword to be wielded not just for cutting and thrusting, but also like a club.

He must not have expected me to strike back immediately like that.

“Grapple… technique…!!”

“But it worked, didn’t it?”

Perhaps the impact to his head was significant; Lemnos staggered, unable to stand straight.

Leaving him behind, I moved towards the Flamberge that had fallen behind me and kicked it lightly.

As I tapped the treasured sword, Lemnos’s expression grew even more menacing.

“This doesn’t end here, does it?”

Then, I kicked the Flamberge.

It spun through the air and landed perfectly in front of Lemnos.

His passing skills weren’t dead yet.

“What’s your ulterior motive?!”

Lemnos shouted as he stared at the Flamberge before him.

It would make no sense to him… If he couldn’t wield his weapon now, I could win without any issues.

He likely thought I’d thrown his weapon away for that reason, and now it was back in front of him; it must’ve left him dumbfounded.

“Why would I concede defeat?”

“Like it would happen.”

“Then pick your sword back up, get up, face me again, the duel isn’t over yet.”