High School of Demon Hunting
Chapter 1031 - 93: Despicable People

Chapter 1031: Chapter 93: Despicable People

The sunlight outside the window was bleak, and the atmosphere inside the lounge was oppressive. The white ouroboros patterns on the black wall tiles seemed to particularly enjoy this atmosphere. Initially motionless on the tiles, they now silently began to spin.

In the center of the lounge, on the coffee table, within the chessboard,

Mike Gold Cypress Plano had just moved a knight diagonally by one step, which faced an opposing cannon across a pawn. Cole swallowed hard, looking somewhat terrified at the cannon.

It was less that he was staring at the cannon than he was staring at the Bible he was holding.

With terror, Cole discovered the ouroboros mark that had been branded on his wrist was crawling off, little by little, following Sepulano’s speech. It didn’t take any flesh with it but left an empty ouroboros mark that crawled down from the warlock’s wrist and plunged into the cover of the Bible beneath his right hand.

Outside the chessboard, Sepulano was still leisurely explaining his chess strategy:

"...as a knight, it cannot run too far; like this, running under the opponent’s cannon, separated by a pawn, and facing a blast—it all turns to nothing, nothing at all."

"But, but, sir, I haven’t done anything," Cole’s lips quivered, his voice trembled as he stammered. He noticed that only half of the ouroboros mark remained on his wrist, the tail still hanging there. The rest had already disappeared into the cover of the Bible.

Sepulano seemed not to see the eerie occurrences on the Bible and ignored Cole’s explanations altogether.

"As a knight," the leader of the Auspicious Order stopped Cole from speaking with his gaze and then emphasized slightly, "according to the rules, this piece cannot move in ’L’ shapes or straight lines because that’s not its path; the rules do not allow it, nor do the players. Just like me, when I play chess, I absolutely do not allow my pieces to run amok on the board."

While talking, a pawn at the edge of the chessboard moved sideways by one square. Sepulano’s cheek twitched; he flicked his finger, and that unruly pawn shattered into dust.

Cole gulped heavily.

At the same time, his right hand pressed on the Bible, gradually sank more and more as Mr. Sepulano spoke methodically. It was as if what he was pressing on was not a hardcover book but a pile of soft mud.

Or perhaps it was a black hole.

"Let’s talk about what happened at Lin Zhong Lake last weekend," the leader of the Auspicious Order finally stopped tormenting the other ’player,’ his icy smile withdrawn, his face expressionless as he looked at Cole, "I want to know why, when the Auspicious Order was negotiating exclusive rights with the Fishman Tribe, Friedman appeared at the meeting with his men... You were in charge of representing the Auspicious Order in these negotiations; I suppose you must know something."

Cole’s face scrunched up as if it were a tightly wrung rag, squeezing out a pool of snot and tears: "I swear, I don’t know anything, I definitely didn’t tell anyone from 3A about this... The meeting arrangements were completely confidential. The time, location, number of participants—it was all kept secret until the last minute before it started. I only told Iseni about it!"

Iseni was the young leader of the Fishman Tribe, the main negotiator in the dealings with the Auspicious Order, and an unofficial member of the Ouroboros Hunting Team.

Standing in a corner of the lounge, Andrew Taylor shuddered when he heard Cole mention Iseni’s name; his head hung even lower.

Sepulano frowned.

Because the Bible in front of him remained calm and did not react violently to Cole’s response, it meant that what Cole had said was probably the truth.

Given that, it was very likely that those stinky Fishmen were up to mischief. This was not hard to understand. After all, playing both sides for profit often yielded much higher returns than putting all one’s eggs in one basket.

"A bunch of rats," Sepulano muttered under his breath, crushing the knight chess piece in his hand.

"Should we warn those Fishmen?" a high-ranking official from the Auspicious council asked quietly.

Sepulano hesitated for a few seconds.

"No, let’s wait and see," he shook his head, picked up another pawn, and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke, "First University has only one Lin Zhong Lake and only that one Fishman Tribe. Having set such a close trap for so long, turning our backs now could easily backfire."

"What we need to warn is not the Fishmen, but that guy Friedman."

...

...

On the same night, in another room filled with an oppressive atmosphere, two groups were engaged in an unpleasant conversation.

One group was cloaked in black robes with hoods covering their faces, making it hard to see their features. However, the silver trilateral insignia on their robes clearly marked them as representatives of First University.

The others in the room were a group of large mice around a foot tall, wearing various colored vests, carrying a litter. On it sat a corpulent but aged rat, which, by the looks of it, was none other than the Rat Immortal.

"After the Black Tide, the Five Poisons proliferate, just within a fortnight," the representative from First University said in a rigid tone that carried almost no emotion, "First University demands that the Buji Island Mouse Clan do everything possible to eradicate those pests."

"Hmph," the Rat Immortal’s whiskers trembled slightly, revealing a mocking smile, "If certain people from the Alpha Academy hadn’t recklessly used bloodline magic during the Black Tide, the calamity of the Five Poisons wouldn’t have come so early this year! Is Alpha not planning to take its share of responsibility?"

The representative from First University turned a deaf ear to the Rat Immortal’s words and continued in the same cold, rigid voice, "...Because the related projects were not included in the annual budget planning, the Mouse Clan must independently gather the necessary resources and must not disrupt the normal teaching order and environment of First University."

"Understood," the Rat Immortal agreed weakly, drooping his eyelids, devoid of his former mocking vigor, and appearing to have no intention of advocating for the interests of the Mouse Clan.

"One last thing, regarding the recent unusual activities of the Mouse Clan, the relevant departments hope that the Mouse Clan can provide a written explanation and submit it to the school for review," the school representative said, his tone revealing a hint of hesitation for the first time but quickly covering it up, adding, "Vice Principal Shi believes that the Mouse Clan needs to control their range of activities and their contacts with external forces."

"Vice Principal Shi," the Rat Immortal corrected sharply, "that Nameless old man isn’t dead yet! She may lack other skills, but she is quite adept at fighting for power and profit."

The school representative ignored the Rat Immortal’s shriek and continued, "...In these matters, Vice Principal Shi considers that there is a consensus between you and the school."