High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 961: Chapter 23: Evil Demon

The excitement ended, and the river’s surface became quiet again, with the onlooking students returning to their cabins in twos and threes.

On the deck, aside from the old boatman who manned the oars, only the figures of Zheng Qing and Elena remained.

Zheng Qing felt a surge of joy in his heart.

”Did you duel with Professor Trudeau?”

Eventually, it was Elena who broke the silence between them, asking first.

At the end of the last semester, because ”Magic Wand” listed Zheng Qing in the new Great Arcana list, Professor Trudeau, who had previously held the title of ’The World,’ fell off the list. This made the petty professor very annoyed, and he even declared that he would duel with Zheng Qing, setting the date for after the final exams.

However, just as the final exams were over, Zheng Qing slipped away and dashed back home, naturally not showing up for the duel.

He didn’t consider his action as an escape—after all, one of them was a senior registered wizard hired as a formal professor by First University, while the other was just a freshman who had been in school for half a year and hadn’t even memorized the basic principles of modern magic.

Not dueling did not affect Zheng Qing’s sense of honor in the slightest.

”I have always respected my teachers and upheld their teachings, so how could I casually open a law book against a professor?” Zheng Qing defended himself earnestly.

Elena rolled her eyes and skipped over the topic.

”I remember you went home for the New Year, didn’t you? When did you get back to school?” she asked, glancing down at the ferry below her feet, ”What are you doing taking a boat today?”

The young cost student was exceedingly happy to find an opportunity for conversation.

”I stayed at home for two weeks and returned to school just yesterday afternoon.” He counted on his fingers, explaining, ”As a cost student, the school requires us to complete a certain amount of charity work during the winter vacation. I came back to school a bit early mainly for this matter... Coincidentally, Xin Fat Man planned to make a survey report on the current situation of North Beta Town and asked for my help. By combining these, I could arrange my charity work in the North District...”

”North Beta Town... The Dent Area, right.” The Gypsy witch lowered her eyelids and spoke softly, ”So, were you taking the boat to the North District today?”

”Bingo!” Zheng Qing, unaware of the witch’s expression, snapped his fingers happily.

”I heard the Tricksters in the North District are not friendly towards wizards. Isn’t it risky for you to go there like this?” Elena reminded him again.

Zheng Qing nonchalantly patted the grey cloth bag at his waist, full of bravado, ”It’s okay, we have our Law Books and Spells... Besides, even if they’re not friendly, that place still falls under Beta Town’s jurisdiction and within First University’s purview. We can seek help from the school at any time.”

The witch said no more, folding her arms and turning to gaze at the calm waters outside the boat.

After a few seconds of silence, Zheng Qing finally realized he could ask questions too.

”Why are you taking the boat today? Those are your companions, aren’t they?” he asked in an upbeat tone, ”But it seems I haven’t seen them around the schools...”

”They are all exchange students from The Gypsy Witch Coven,” Elena turned back and explained with a smile, ”It’s just that they aren’t at Jiuyou Academy... Those two tall ones are from Starry Sky Academy, the slim and petite one is from Atlas, and the most beautiful one studies at Alpha Academy...”

”You’re the most beautiful one,” Zheng Qing interjected without thinking.

He soon realized his rashness, and his cheeks immediately began to heat up.

The witch’s eyes curved with a smile. For a moment, Zheng Qing felt as if the originally gloomy water had brightened up considerably.

”I haven’t seen you for a few days, and your flattery skills have improved!” Elena stretched out her hand, patting Zheng Qing’s shoulder appreciatively and gave him a forthright compliment.

Zheng Qing felt his heart pounding from her pat.

”This isn’t flattery; it’s the truth!” he answered loudly—and this time, he didn’t blush or feel flushed; instead, he felt as if he was floating on air, full of confidence.

The smile on the witch’s face became even more radiant.

”Cough cough...” A sudden cough interrupted the casual chat between the two young wizards.

Zheng Qing turned his head towards the old boatman with a look of dismay.

”Take your romance into the cabin, don’t loiter on my deck,” the old man Xiao Bonar said gruffly: ”The next stretch of water might have demons lurking, so be careful you don’t get swept away by them.”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qing’s expression changed drastically.

”Demons?!” He clutched the grey cloth bag at his waist, his voice rising sharply: ”There are demons near the school?! You’re not joking, are you?”

Like him, Elena immediately tensed up, grabbing the warlock’s arm tightly.

This was not because Zheng Qing was cowardly or particularly sensitive to demons, but for wizards, demons were like oversized stinkbugs; if ignored, they contaminated the environment and were disgusting to squash with a slap—even demons themselves did not consider these aberrations as part of their kind.

If one could say that wizards pursued order and truth, and demons pursued chaos and corruption, then the demons chased after something even beyond these concepts.

They were the redundancies of this world.

Entities rejected by all living things.

They had no fixed form, no unified appearance, each demon was uniquely conceptual, but all of these concepts were contrary to common sense and logic.

A weak demon might just be a string of code, a spoken spell, bodiless and less substantial than air.

A powerful demon could devour the starry sky, drain the river of time, and reverse the cause and effect of all living beings.

In the New World, these life forms were also called ’calamities,’ ’memes,’ ’anomalies,’ and some of the stronger ones were even dubbed ’Old Day Rulers.’

Initially, wizards classified demons as similar beings to common demons due to their shared dark attributes. Of course, with the development of modern magical theory, wizards have recognized that while demons possess an inherent order, demons have a natural chaotic property and are not of the same species.

On the one hand, it was a long-standing habit of classification, and on the other, both demons and demons were enemies of wizards; thus, to this day, except for specialized researchers, most wizards still conflate the two—though in the eyes of wizards, demons are a more abhorrent and repugnant entity than regular demons.

”The First University lacks nothing; if you want to visit the ancient gods, there are places to go.” Old man Xiao Bonar was somewhat dismissive of the young wizards’ shock: ”Not all demons are that dangerous, and they mostly hibernate and don’t bother with wizards. I asked you to stay in the cabin just to be on the safe side...”

Before he could finish, a low croak echoed from the end of the river:

”Qua...”