REAPER SCANS
Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor
[Translator – Maker]
[Proofreader – Leef ]
Chapter 16: Bones! (3)
This all began half a year ago, during the first semester, at the entrance exam for the Black Dragon Division.
Or perhaps it began even earlier, when the White and Black Paths first drew blades against each other, sparking the long-standing conflict between the two factions.
That damn bitch…
Marina clenched her teeth hard.
Half a year ago, the Moon Shadow cadet had narrowly missed the cut for the Black Dragon Division. She had placed eighth, just one spot below Elize.
The worst part? The boy she liked, Kendrake, had made it in.
And ever since then, Marina had hated Elize.
But she kept that hatred bottled up. She swallowed it back down, again and again, as it festered and grew in her heart.
Today, however, was the breaking point. She couldn’t hold it in anymore, not after hearing that news.
“I heard you only got half the points on the written test to join the Black Dragon Division. Is that true?”
Elize blinked, clearly unprepared for the question, but she nodded calmly.
“Yeah.”
“You’re not even denying it? This is exactly what’s wrong with you assholes from the White Path. You use your family’s noble background and power to force your way into high positions, and you don’t even feel ashamed of yourselves!”
“Huh...?” Clearly flustered, Elize shook her head and raised her hands in denial and protest.
“No, I didn’t get in because of my family….”
“What?”
“I did really well on the practical test.”
“How much better could you possibly have performed compared to the rest of us? You think you’re the only one who knows how to wield a blade, huh? Crazy bitch.”
Elize said nothing. She simply stared back at Marina.
“Go on, answer me. You think you’re the only one swinging a blade out here? You think I brought a spoon to the practical test?”
Her friends jeered from the sidelines.
“That’s so bullshit.”
“How dare she talk back to us?”
Eventually, Elize finally spoke, her voice soft and even. “Hm… I don’t get why you girls hate me.”
“You don’t get it?” Marina scoffed. “That’s all you have to say?”
“Yeah. I don’t hate you. We’ve known each other for a long time, haven’t we?”
Marina snorted and stepped forward, jabbing a finger into Elize’s forehead.
“Still pretending to be a good girl. Must be nice, having rainbows, flowers, and sunshine for a brain.”
Elize staggered back a step.
“Honestly, I’m jealous, you know?” Marina’s voice cracked as she went on. “You got into the Black Dragon Division despite your family falling apart, just because you’re from the White Path. Meanwhile, my dad poured so much money into this academy and still couldn’t get me in.”
“Maybe it wasn’t enough money...?” Elize murmured.
“Maybe. But you didn’t even need to spend money. Why is that? Why did you get in while I couldn’t? Is it because I’m the daughter of some no-name assassin from the Black Path?”
Marina’s breathing grew heavier. Her voice was trembling now.
Then she shoved Elize’s forehead—hard.
Smack!
Elize stumbled back.
“Stop it,” she said, her voice quiet but firm.
“No, you stop. Stop acting like you’re so good and innocent. Like you’re somehow above all this.” Marina sneered. “I heard you always play the nice-girl act even when you’re pissed. Let me guess—are you trying to hold back from killing me right now?”
“…I don’t kill unless it’s for a mission.”
Marina burst out laughing, loud and sharp, then immediately snapped back with anger.
“How long are you gonna keep up that facade, huh? C’mon, answer me, bitch.”
She lunged and slammed her forehead into Elize’s face.
Elize flinched and stepped back. “…Stop it, alright? Please.”
“Fine. Keep pretending. Let’s see how long you can keep it up.” Marina continued shoving Elize around as she kept backing away.
And then suddenly—
Snap— Clang!
A trap hidden beneath the floor clicked open under Elize’s feet.
Steel jaws clamped down on her shin and calf. Blood burst from her legs, splattering across the floor.
Elize collapsed backward, landing hard on her butt.
The girls howled with laughter.
“Ahaha! What a loser!”
Elize gritted her teeth, grabbed the steel jaws, and pried them open.
Even as she got back to her feet, they continued mocking her.
At some point, a few professors had gathered nearby.
Elize glanced at them, but to her dismay, they were all neutral professors.
And as always, they simply watched. They never got involved.
“Can’t you just let me go...?” Her voice cracked slightly. “If you keep doing this, I’ll end up hating you too…”
“Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it? Kill me? C’mon, try it! Or did you piss your pants in terror? Can’t do anything other than yap like a bitch? Do it already!”
Elize’s lips pressed together tightly. She said nothing in response to the taunt.
“What, nervous because we’ve got an audience? Let me set the stage for you!”
Crackle—
Sparks flared around Marina’s body. They were mana traces that indicated an ability had been activated.
The ground shook. Tombstones burst from the dirt around her.
Totem Arts—her specialty. One of the 12 ability types, it created a domain and exerted absolute control over its occupied area.
『Arsenal of Doom』
A top-class Level 6 totem activated. The air split open, and the barrels of a dozen firearms emerged, each aimed at Elize.
“DIE!”
The air roared with thunder as bullets rained toward her.
Despite stumbling on her injured leg, Elize sprang into motion, weaving through the metal storm.
“See?! How much better could your practical test scores really have been compared to mine?!” Marina shrieked as the gunfire continued to roar.
Elize evaded every round using her Movement Technique. But midway through a dodge—
THUD!
A chunk of stone—larger than a human head—smashed into her leg.
The same leg that had been caught in the trap.
Blood splashed out again as her body recoiled in pain.
Even then, Elize didn’t fight back. She merely staggered in place, her eyes cast down, her expression vacant and devoid of aggression.
But then...
“Don’t tell me your Stealth is a scam, too.”
“...What?” Elize’s voice dropped, turning icy and flat.
“Your Stealth. I bet it’s all bark and no bite. Maybe that’s why your dad disappeared! He died a gruesome death, all alone in some back alley, because his stealth was shit!”
And with those words, Marina touched something she never should have.
She should’ve let the sleeping dog lie—or in this case, the sleeping retriever.
Something inside Elize snapped and broke.
The world around her stilled. Sound vanished, swallowed into silence.
Her pink eyes, dull and unfocused, slowly lifted to meet Marina’s furious blue ones.
“Look! The bitch is finally showing her true self!”
Marina grinned, believing she had finally achieved what she wanted: a proper fight.
She pushed her ability even further.
Rumble—
Two more totems burst up from the ground.
This time, three sets of cannon barrels, a staff glowing with mana, spears, and blades emerged out of thin air.
The third totem activated the magic, enveloping the area in a dark, illusory shroud.
『Veil of Darkness』
If the professors couldn’t tell which cadet had killed Elize, their punishment would be lighter.
Marina’s friends joined in, sparks of mana flaring around them.
Crackle—!
Each girl activated her Totem abilities. Now there were a total of five totems on the field.
Elize’s body swayed. Her chest rose and fell with her slow, heavy breaths.
She said nothing. Her face was unreadable and void of emotion. Her hand moved toward her waist...
Shhling—
and slowly drew something from its sheath.
Something invisible.
A weapon of incredible rarity. A Legendary Ⅰ-grade weapon that embodied the unseen desire to kill.
「Formless Blade○」
The reason she avoided fighting people was simple.
She didn’t know how to fight without killing.
In this academy, murder outside of missions could result in expulsion in the worst-case scenario.
But now, all those concerns were gone. Her mind was blank.
Elize closed her eyes, and time slowly came to a halt.
This was a secret skill passed down in her family.
『Walkway Through the Oak Forest』
Sensing an opportunity, Marina’s group drew on their mana to launch a final barrage.
Crackle—!
"Kill her—!!"
A scream, soaked in malice, tore through the air. The fight had reached a point where it would only end with someone’s death.
And just as the battle neared the point of no return…
Huh?
Something had gone wrong.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Maker]
[Proofreader – Leef]
Join our Discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
Something was interfering with the Totem domain.
What’s going on…?
The weapons began to twist, slipping from their casters’ control.
The blade tips, the staff heads, the barrels of guns—all the weapons once aimed at Elize—gradually turned, now pointing back at their wielders.
What—? What the fuck is going on?
Even the thick cannon barrels began to groan and warp with a metallic squeal. Marina and the other cadets froze in horror.
Huuuh?
It was incomprehensible.
This space was within their Totem domain.
Totem Arts were abilities designed to assassinate anything and everything within a user’s designated domain.
The difference in mana inside and outside this zone was more than threefold.
In other words, within this space, these girls were practically gods.
And yet...
Why is my ability…?
It felt almost as if a gun in her hands was being forced into her mouth. A terrifying sense of helplessness overwhelmed her, as if her body had been stolen from her control.
In that fleeting instant, Elize opened her eyes.
And the first thing she saw was Marina’s back.
Shlkk—
The tip of a sword pierced through Marina’s waist and burst out from her stomach.
Blood splattered everywhere. Yet none of the cadets had realized what had happened.
It occurred way too fast. Not even the moment Marina’s abdomen was penetrated had been visible.
A heartbeat later, Marina felt a strange sensation in her gut. She glanced down at the blade protruding from her and froze.
…When did I get—?
But Elize did not stop.
The next thing to catch her eye was another girl’s arm. Elize’s forearm blurred and soon enough…
Thud—
With a soft, clean slice, the cadet’s arm dropped to the floor, severed at the shoulder.
Again, Elize did not stop.
The third and final cadet’s thigh came into view.
Shlakk—
With a dull snap, the thick femur was cleaved clean through. The cadet’s body began to crumble sideways.
Still, Elize did not stop.
Now, Marina’s head entered her field of vision. Her blue eyes stared directly into Elize’s.
Everything so far had happened in less than two seconds.
But then, Elize faltered.
She didn’t hesitate because her final strike had been aimed at someone’s head. That didn’t matter to her.
No, the reason she hesitated was that she had recently grown fond of the person suddenly standing before her.
Her heart sank. She looked up at the pink eyes staring down at her, like a puppy caught doing something terribly wrong.
"Professor,” she whispered.
She finally came to a full stop.
Time, which had halted around her, began to flow again. A sharp scream rang out as Marina collapsed, clutching her stomach.
Elize stood still. Yet she couldn’t fully suppress the surge of adrenaline and excitement. Her hands trembled uncontrollably.
"Please move. Just a little bit," she asked quietly.
Dante’s eyes narrowed.
"That’s enough," he said.
But Elize shook her head. "I… I can’t. I can’t stop myself anymore. You have to move, Professor."
Her trembling hands, the quivering pupils, her ragged breathing. Even her legs were restless, preparing to lunge at any moment.
Drip—
Blood trickled from Elize’s nose.
She was far from calm. The girl was a furious wild dog, restrained by a single thread that could snap at any moment.
Elize knew this about herself.
Once she entered this state, she couldn’t prevent herself. Only her father had ever been able to stop her. And after his disappearance, no one else had ever managed to.
"Please, Professor. Move… Please…" she begged.
Before that single thread of reason snapped.
Before she lost her mind.
Before she killed the person she had grown fond of.
But what came back from Dante’s mouth was neither agreement nor retreat.
It was a single, chilling command.
"Sit."
Immediately, Elize’s emotions and excitement shut off.
She couldn’t believe it herself.
The trembling in her pupils ceased. The twitch in her eyelids stilled.
Strength drained from her fingers. The invisible blade clattered to the ground.
Her body, stained with blood, slowly lowered as Elize dropped to her knees.
Like a loyal dog before her owner.
Meanwhile, Marina was wiping away the blood rising in her throat and spurting from her lips.
Her head spun like crazy. Too much had happened much too fast.
But her gaze locked onto one man.
Isn’t that…?
She’d seen him multiple times before.
It was that new professor.
Even Kendrake—someone she considered stronger than every professor and secretly admired—had shown visible insecurity around this professor.
Somehow, their eyes made contact.
“Hic…”
A hiccup escaped from a friend’s lips. Marina gritted her teeth and tried to stem the bleeding with mana.
Fuck. What the hell is this? What the fuck is going on?! What is this?!!
This couldn’t be how it ended. Elize was a Black Dragon cadet and an assassin of the White Path.
Marina had already crossed the line by laying a hand on her.
She couldn’t give up now. There was too much at stake.
She forced herself to hold on, to wait for a chance.
Then the professor who had calmed Elize stepped toward Marina and gave a cold, cutting order.
"Dispel your totems."
His voice alone was enough to send chills down her spine.
That voice completely pinned her down even within『Veil of Darkness』, a space meant to obey her will.
"…Why? This wasn’t my fault,” she muttered
But the professor didn’t relent. He kept his eyes locked on hers.
"That bitch, she started it! She looked down on me first! She’s a Black Dragon cadet! She’s from the White Path! And she takes advantage of her noble status! That bitch was—!!"
Marina’s voice cracked as she tried to justify herself.
But the professor ignored her excuses and replied with the same low, deliberate tone.
"Dispel them."
Those pink eyes… She couldn’t dare confront them.
Eventually, Marina lowered her head in silence. The『Veil of Darkness』surrounding them faded, like soap bubbles, one by one.
The powerful totems she had summoned to serve her ambitions crumbled to dust and dirt.
Only then did Professor Dante turn away, shifting his focus to the neutral professors gathered at the side.
"Please clean up this mess,” he said.
Most remained frozen, but a few newly appointed professors with sharper instincts and stronger zeal started to take action.
They called for medics and disciplinary enforcers, notified both the Black Path and White Path factions, and isolated the cadets involved.
Fortunately, no one had died today.
Even the girls with severe injuries were in recoverable conditions.
And so, the midday scuffle, born from uncontrolled emotions, finally came to an end.
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