High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 137: Chapter 61 Campus under the Night Sky (Part 2)_1

Under the moonlight, Lin Zhong Lake was tranquil and serene.

The shimmering surface of the lake saw about a dozen Ze Meng boats quietly passing to and fro. From these boats, vibrant spells rose and diffused.

This was the patrol team of the university’s workers’ committee, performing a dragnet-style check.

The abundant fireflies released by the workers had almost enveloped the entire Lin Zhong Lake. The lights of various colors - white, cyan, blue, and green - fused together, shining as dazzlingly as the aurora.

If this wasn’t during the curfew, the sight would have certainly attracted a large crowd of students for sightseeing.

To some magical creatures that earned their livelihood around the lake, this swarm of fireflies was a rare feast.

On the bank, several bald Kappa were continuously hopping about on their short legs, catching a few fireflies to stuff into their mouths. Then, baring their sharp teeth, they brazenly mocked the discomfited wizards.

Compared to their wild counterparts, the tree elves living within the university were apparently bolder. They hung in groups from the slender branches of weeping willows, curiously watching this rarely seen spectacle of light and shadow. Occasionally, they would swing on the branches like on a swing, catching a few fireflies as a snack.

From the shadows under the trees at the lakeside, there were even more secretive creatures continuously ambushing the flying snacks.

If it were a normal day, some of the more lively assistants might have pulled out their Law Books and toolboxes to collect some rare samples.

However, today, the busy wizards clearly had no regard for these snack-stealing little creatures.

The torn space that Victor created was slowly smoothing out under Gaia’s power, leaving only the occasional distortions of light that spoke of the trauma this space and time had just endured.

A few mutated fireflies happened to fly over the folds of that space, silently transforming into streaks of streaking light.

Hilda caught a glimpse of this scene; his eyes twitched and he murmured, ”Damn violent man.”

”What did you say?” Professor Montreya glared at him sternly.

”I meant to say that there indeed seems to be a demon’s aura here,” Hilda quickly corrected himself.

Pointing to his swarm of mutated fireflies that were flying about, he conscientiously explained, ”See? The color of the fireflies, centered around this artificial hillstone, is spreading outwards... um, my mutated fireflies emit a red light when they encounter demon aura. This is different from the color of normal fireflies.”

The surrounding assistants nodded in agreement.

Normal fireflies radiated white light, and the occasional ones that absorbed other forms of energy might emit blue or green lights, but their main hue was still cool-toned.

For fireflies to emit red light was indeed unusual.

”The closer to this artificial hill, the redder the color; as we move further away, the color fades. By the time we reach the other side of the lake, all the colors of the fireflies revert back to normal... We can deduce that this little creature encountered a demon, and the demon’s active spot is somewhere near this artificial hill,” Hilda confidently concluded.

Professor Montreya glanced doubtfully at him but did not continue the conversation.

”So if this demon was active around here, where has it gone now?” one assistant questioned as he stroked his chin, curiously surveying the surroundings. ”It couldn’t have just vanished into thin air.”

Hilda fell silent.

”Thomas,” Professor Yi spoke again.

”Yes,” the blue-eyed interviewer quietly walked up to the kitten. From his briefcase, he took out various types of bladed instruments, tweezers, bone saws, straws, and vials of different sizes.

Then, he pulled out his pair of earthy yellow gloves from his pocket, about to put it on.

”Don’t use it,” Professor Montreya abruptly stopped him.

He pulled out a pair of gloves as thin as cicada wings, almost transparent, and handed them to Thomas.

”Don’t dissect this cat completely for now... just take some samples.” Professor Montreya glanced at Professor Yi and added, ”These are gloves made of frost silkworm skin, which are more suitable for you to do some delicate operations.”

Thomas’s hand, holding the scalpel, paused for a moment, then he nodded quietly, stuffing the clay-colored gloves back into his pocket and putting on the frost silkworm gloves instead.

Whether it was a misperception or not, the onlookers all let out a collective sigh of relief.

”Zhang Yu, go fetch Uncle Ferna, we need to discuss something about the lakeside with him.” Professor Yi seemed not to notice the change in atmosphere, still giving orders in a leisurely manner.

”Yes,” a gentle voice complied, nodding slightly. However, the majority of his face was obscured by his high collar, allowing the surrounding wizards only to glimpse his somewhat graying hair shaking slightly.

”No need to call, I’m here,” came an elderly voice from behind the crowd in a deliberately slow manner: ”If you all were to go get me, this lake would have been completely stripped.”

A few young wizards were clearly taken aback by this sudden voice, with their law books already flipping open, making a rustling noise.

”Ahem!” Professor Montreya coughed awkwardly twice.

”Each generation is worse than the one before it, hmph.” The old man stood with a cane in one hand and a Deadly Wind Lamp in the other, rolled his strange eyes, and muttered a phrase. By his feet, an old dog named May was gasping for air, shaking with wrinkles that could strangle a man and hobbling along.

The young wizards lowered their heads in shame.

”They are still young, don’t draw conclusions so readily.” Professor Yi finally turned around and said to the night watchman in the Lakeside Cabin of the Temporary Clock: ”Give them some time.”

”For a wizard, the most precious thing is time,” the old man Ferna said, poking his cane and staring hard at the two professors head on, suggestive of something: ”Always giving them time, when an accident occurs it will be too late!”

Professor Yi turned around again and gazed at the cat lying on the white stone, remaining silent.

Professor Montreya also didn’t respond, maintaining a stern expression.

The lakeside fell quiet once again.

”Its eyes have mutated, and there’s no possibility of residual images.” Thomas used tweezers to pry open the cat’s eye socket, carefully manipulating the eyeballs that looked like an emerald with a long slender probe, and quietly reported to Professor Yi: ”Do we still need to collect samples from here?”

”Yes,” Professor Yi expressed his opinion concisely.

”Not only do we need to, we need to do so thoroughly,” Professor Montreya’s stern voice sounded by his ear: ”Take both eyeballs out directly. One should be given to the school work committee for archiving, and one should be given to Professor Yi for extrapolation and analysis.”

Thomas nodded silently.

”No need to bother, let everyone go rest.” After pacing a few rounds along the lakeside, old man Ferna waved his hand, ordering the patrol team hovering over the lake to retreat.

”You all should go back too after you’re done collecting the samples,” the old man lifted his eyelid, glanced at the busy robed figures and muttered: ”Leave the cat here.”

”Don’t we need to protect the physical evidence?” Hilda asked, looking curiously at the old man.

”Anything out of the ordinary is a demon, disobeying rules is magic. Cases caused by demons can’t be handled by a wizard’s regular methods,” the old man leaned on his cane, patiently explaining: ”If that demon is still in school, then it will definitely return to the lakeside to admire its trophy tomorrow during the day... that’s the nature of the demon.”

”But this is the Lakeside of Bell Lake!” Hilda’s voice was a bit dramatic: ”More than half of Jiuyou Academy students will pass by here tomorrow!”

”That means the remaining half can already be excluded from being abnormal,” Professor Montreya’s gloomy voice rang in his ear: ”If I were you, I would keep my mouth shut right now and go back to the surveillance room immediately!”

Hilda stuck out her tongue, shrank her neck, and along with a few departing companions, she fled in a wisp of smoke.