Chapter 280 - 276: What are Demons?

Chapter 280: Chapter 276: What are Demons?

After a long, tense moment, the mysterious man on the sofa finally opened his eyes.

In that instant, the room seemed to brighten, and the oppressive atmosphere melted away like snow and ice.

Qin Xiaoxia looked at the people before him—three young men and two young women, all exuding the vibrant energy unique to students.

"With great power comes great responsibility. The fact that you thought of contributing to the greater good as soon as you discovered you were different... that’s quite rare!"

People change. Without a stable mindset, it’s easy to lose your balance as your power grows. These high school students might not have reached that point yet, but what they’ve done is still commendable.

"However, it was also foolish."

He lightly tapped his fingers on the arm of the leather sofa, making a THUMP, THUMP sound.

"With your level of power and no professional training, you wouldn’t even be a match for a few armed police officers. Your advantage in Perception isn’t nearly enough to make up for your lack of experience..."

At this, Qin Xiaoxia began to laugh.

"Judging from the so-called ’mission logs’ you described, you’re quite lucky to be alive!"

Hanato Doichi, Clooney, and Zuo Zhongqiu also broke into unkind grins.

These five had mentioned they’d been hunting monsters they suspected of being "Demons" all over the country. That was basically the same as hunting Demons everywhere, which was no different from dancing a ballet with the Death God.

Evolvers are also categorized. Although their bodies are generally stronger than ordinary people’s, their strength won’t be exaggeratedly high without proper guidance, training, and sufficient nutritional supplements.

The young karate practitioner, Sato, hesitated for a moment before taking advantage of a pause in the mysterious man’s speech to finally ask the question that was on his mind.

"Are you Demon Exorcists? Can... can you take us as your disciples?"

As he asked this, the other four also stared at the mysterious, gray-haired man with faces full of anticipation and nervousness.

It was clear that in asking to become disciples, they wanted to study directly under Qin Xiaoxia.

After witnessing the scene that the Japan news station had described as the "Sea God’s Fury," the previously freakishly strong Hanato and the others had already been relegated to second place in their minds.

Qin Xiaoxia understood this mentality of deferring to the strong, but he no longer personally took on students unless he found a particularly suitable candidate, so he wouldn’t respond to that question.

He turned his head to look out the window. White clouds drifted in the gentle breeze under a clear, sunny sky.

"Demons? Demon Exorcism?"

His tone was clearly mocking, though it was unclear if he was mocking their ignorance or something else. Doudou, however, sensed something was about to happen. She sat up straight, pulled her potato chips closer, and waited for the "show" to begin.

"Tell me, what do you think a Demon is?"

Being asked this question by a "Demon Exorcist" powerful enough to be Overturning Rivers and Seas, the five of them were all stunned for a moment.

’Is he testing us?’

Meanwhile, Hanato Doichi and the others faintly felt there was a hidden meaning to Master Sage’s words, as if they were about to touch upon the association’s deeper secrets.

In Dawn, knowledge and inheritance were also stratified. With their status as reservists, there were some secrets they couldn’t access yet.

Since the mysterious man had asked, Sato and the others naturally had to answer. Otherwise, they would get a zero on this test.

Xiangnai was the first to speak.

"Demons are Spirits, cultivated animals, or sentient plants that possess special powers, besides humans..."

Sato added,

"Or objects that have developed resentment, or newly born spiritual entities from the natural world."

"And, and, there might also be a Demon Realm outside the conventional world. The monsters inside are Demons, and they come to the Human Realm through passages..."

Once the floodgates opened, the five of them began talking over each other, chiming in and supplementing one another’s points until they had covered every possibility they could think of regarding "Demons."

"Heheheh... That’s basically the same stuff you all discuss in your forums."

The mysterious man began to shake his head slowly. The five of them, feeling nervous, asked themselves, ’Could all of that be wrong?’

But the mysterious man didn’t judge their answers. Instead, he immediately asked another question.

"The Demons you’ve encountered—weren’t they a little different from what you’d imagined?"

The teasing in his voice was blatant, yet they also had a subtle, intuitive feeling that his words contained a trace of unfriendly emotion.

The five of them exchanged glances, unsure what they had done wrong. They could only bite the bullet and nod.

"Demon Exorcism... oh, Demon Exorcism. What a noble cause!"

Qin Xiaoxia rose from his seat. This time there was no earth-shaking illusion, but it still made the five feel as if they were looking up at a towering mountain.

"To equate the heroic martyrs of our ancestors with the Demons that invaded our world... even knowing this is the trajectory of history, how tragic it is..."

A thought flashed through the minds of Hanato Doichi, Zuo Zhongqiu, and Clooney. The first image that appeared was that of a powerful Monkey, followed by the association’s Lord Mumu, the Vermilion Fruit and Flower of Life in their pockets, and even the bizarre plants that were everywhere in the association’s various branches and training Secret Realms.

’Demons!’

The word surfaced in their minds. If judged by the standards of ancient Eastern culture, which of these would not be considered a Demon?

Qin Xiaoxia’s gaze turned sharp. The air seemed to freeze in an instant, and even the sunlight outside was obscured by a passing cloud.

"Let me tell you what Demons are..."

"They are our world’s extraordinary beings who have awakened to wisdom and power. They are the guardians of this world who fought alongside humanity against the Demons during the Dark Tide."

The power in his voice began to unveil a corner of a distant historical scroll, revealing just the tip of the iceberg.

In the shadows of a dark, ancient past, the world was on the verge of destruction. The pressure was so immense that just hearing it described was suffocating.

Resist? With what?

The fragile flesh and blood of humanity? The ignorant and feeble struggles of the world’s plants and animals?

Perhaps the world, under the strain of erosion, underwent a change in its Laws. Or perhaps the Mother of the World herself was unwilling to face such a quiet annihilation.

The awakened power first appeared among humans, and then some gifted creatures, both animal and plant, also began to erupt with miraculous power.

This was the prototype for the origin of this world’s Demons.

Constrained by their original instincts and later experiences, not every plant or animal’s Demonization or awakening would have a positive outcome, much like how the quality of character varies among humans.

Qin Xiaoxia waved his right hand in the air, and vivid illusions of light and shadow, both ethereal and real, appeared before their eyes.

Some had horns growing from their heads, some were covered in long fur, some had sharp beaks and fangs, some had steel tails and sharp Claws... Some wore clothes and armor while others were completely wild; some wielded weapons while others fought with their own bodies, fangs, and claws...

"Among them, those powerful Spirits who fought alongside us..."

Xiangnai and the others saw the mysterious man’s gaze return to them.

"We call them Demons!"

"ROAR~~" "AWOO~~" "MOO~~"

Within the illusions, they could faintly hear soul-stirring, ferocious roars.

A wild bull charged at a dark, chaotic monster on a mountainside; a ferocious, towering great ape roared at the heavens from amidst a foul sea of corpses and blood...

Makino Xiangnai and the others were already breathing heavily, sitting on the sofa at a complete loss.

’So these are Demons?’

"Unfortunately, after we vanished from the historical record, later generations lumped all monsters that brought evil to the human world into the category of Demon!"

Qin Xiaoxia walked up to the five of them and leaned down to look at them.

"So, from now on, don’t say anything as ridiculous as ’Demon Exorcism’!"

First, shatter their conventional understanding to create a violent impact on their original worldview. The more violent the impact, the stronger their sense of agreement would be when they were finally convinced.

Doudou tossed a whole chicken leg into her mouth, crunching it bones and all, and recalled something her older cousin had once said.

’Seeing the five looking lost, and even blushing with embarrassment, it should be about time.’

Then she glanced at Hanato Doichi and Zuo Zhongqiu, who also had looks of sudden realization.

’Those guys are already a lost cause...’

...

In today’s society of information overload, the public’s attention span for any given news story or topic is only as long as the time it takes for the next big thing to appear.

Aside from the news explaining away the natural phenomenon, a sex scandal involving a tycoon’s yacht party successfully became the next hot topic.

All to divert the public’s attention away from the "Sea God’s Fury."

The Japanese government departments investigated that group of people relentlessly, uncovering a string of sordid dealings involving politicians, celebrities, artists, and certain schools.

They successfully pulled the public’s focus to another level. Even the internet was flooded with this news, and the previous natural phenomenon was only mentioned on some astronomy forums and niche social networks.

「By the third day.」

Asakura Palace, the Director-General of the Special Affairs Division, breathed a sigh of relief as he looked over the report from his subordinate.

"We’ve finally steered public opinion away!"

Hearing the Director-General’s words, everyone present relaxed.

This was a conference room. Besides key members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Incidents Division, there were also high-ranking members of the military and government.

"The people from the United States barely touched on it. It seems they’re unwilling to say more, and there’s a sense of apprehension..."

Hearing Asakura Palace’s words, Kumamoto Taro—whose right to speak had greatly increased due to his successful handling of that night’s situation—also spoke up.

"But that’s enough to show they have far more intelligence than we imagine..."

Kumamoto Taro was now Asakura Palace’s gun. He looked directly at the high-ranking officials and dignitaries attending the meeting.

"Judging from the previous ’Sea God’s Fury,’ do you still think that the matters we’re responsible for have little impact on our country’s overall situation?"

"Right now, we’re like someone renovating their villa right before a flood! It’s both ignorant and pathetic..."

Asakura Palace and the Special Affairs Division were in unanimous agreement: Japan needed to place greater importance on special incidents and deepen its communication with the international community.

They had previously thought certain incidents were just matters of biological mutation or the paranormal. But after experiencing the events of that night and morning three days ago, they were increasingly, belatedly, realizing how far behind they might be.

In the past, the incidents that occurred within the country’s borders seemed to be "minor events" of no consequence at the national level. But would they always remain "minor events"?

Especially the Sea God’s Fury incident.

Asakura Palace emphatically summarized the matter.

"There’s no way the United States was behind it, but they definitely know far more than they’re telling us!"

P.S. Tuesday’s first Chapter.