High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 151: Chapter 75 Horus_1

The door to the study slowly creaked open.

A cool breeze swept through, carrying away the remaining burnt smell in the room.

The hung cloth curtain at the window fluttered faintly.

’Creak,’ the door was shut again, leaving a ripple of unease outside.

The old servant, Constantin, cradling a delicate silver tea set, slowly entered the study.

After serving two guests a piping hot sweet tea, he finally could not resist sniffling a bit.

”Master,” he said, looking at the doctor with a puzzled look, but refrained from speaking further.

”It’s alright,” Doctor Du Zemu reassured him, gesturing that he could step back.

The old servant hesitated for a moment, respectfully made a farewell gesture, and then withdrew.

The young Red Robe Wizards were still immersed in the shock brought by the flame just now.

A bug that, for survival, can metamorphose into a dried husk and endure great hardships, only to be consumed in a sea of fire on their day of resurrection.

This sense of helplessness brought about an inexplicable melancholy.

Zheng Qing took a sip of his tea; the rich sweetness mingling with the scorching taste made him involuntarily gasp softly.

”Therefore, as you saw at the end, sacred scarabs love dry conditions and sunshine, but they fear flames the most. It must be said, this is a massive paradox,” Doctor Du Zemu gently stirred the ash in the bowl with a glass rod, wrapping up in a strange tone, ”However, the wizarding world is always filled with such contradictions...or paradoxes.”

”Thank you very much for your guidance.” Jiang Yu put down her tea cup, and slightly nodded in gratitude.

”You’re welcome; I believe you’ll need these pieces of knowledge sooner or later,” The doctor tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a pleased smile, ”My little darlings...”

With that, he tapped on the side of the thick aquarium with his glass rod.

The carrion beetles, which were previously cling tight on the skull, scattered in the sharp tap, scurrying to the deeper crevices of the aquarium. But in such a narrow space, this proved to be futile.

”They told me that the school has some unwelcome guests.”

”Unwelcome guests?” Zheng Qing asked, slightly confused.

”A group?” Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow.

”Every cluster of carrion beetles has a strong sense of territory,” Doctor Du Zemu dropped the glass rod, spread his arms, and explained, ”Within this range, any foreign invaders make them uneasy...just like now.”

Zheng Qing turned his head to take a good look at the aquarium.

The scattered carrion beetles, startled by the noise, once again formed a group, settling on the skull.

”If it were just some creatures from the silent forest passing through the campus, they wouldn’t be this nervous,” Doctor Du Zemu lowered his arms, giving a solemn look at the bugs, ”Only invaders from outside the island would make these natural predators feel uneasy, huddling together and trembling.”

”Invaders from outside the island.” Zheng Qing licked his lips, asking hesitantly, ”Could it possibly be demons?”

”Demons?” The doctor shook his head, apologizing, ”Perhaps I didn’t explain clearly just now. To the carrion beetles, every creature is food...except for themselves. So regardless of whether it’s a powerful wizard, a sea demon king, or some other strange creature, they merely provoke their appetite.”

”The invaders in their eyes could only be fellow carrion beetles,” the doctor concluded.

”Are these bugs picky eaters?” Jiang Yu asked after a moment of silence, ”For instance, do they only eat the eyeballs of animals?”

Zheng Qing gave her a careful look, sighing inwardly.

”No.” The Doctor very decisively denied this possibility: ”To these insects, anything other than bones on a creature’s body is edible.”

”Are there any creatures that take the eyeballs after killing an animal?” Zheng Qing added his question: ”On the island, for instance, in the school laboratory, or deep within the Silent Forest, might these creatures exist?”

Jiang Yu pursed his lips, watching him gratefully.

”There are indeed few creatures with such peculiar preferences.” Doctor Du Zemu paused, lost in thought for a moment, then shook his head: ”To be precise, I only know of one, the ’Horus’, a group of Fallen Wizards who gave up their normal lives for power. They are even considered odd amongst demons. Because they stare at darkness all the time, they lost their vision and can only regain it by eating the eyeballs of animals. Horus loves spiritually heightened eyeballs the most, the best ones being those of wizards, and if not available, eyeballs of animals with a high spiritual intensity, like black cats, white foxes, yellow dogs, are an excellent choice.”

Zheng Qing listened in silence, feeling his mental resistance to these peculiar creatures growing.

At least he would not get easily horrified anymore.

”Are such creatures present in school?” Zheng Qing asked, glancing worriedly at Jiang Yu.

”School?” The Doctor’s lips twisted into a sarcastic smile: ”How would those traditionalist, conservative ones ever allow such dirty creatures to leave even a trace of their presence in the school grounds. Even the Black Prison would not hold any sight of these fallen... These wizards at the school believe the only place these monsters belong is in oblivion.”

”Are there any other possibilities?” Jiang Yu queried: ”Creatures that specifically remove eyeballs.”

”Of course.” Doctor Du Zemu blinked: ”The wizard is a creature who specifically removes eyeballs... They love gouging out the eyes of demons in the lab.”

Zheng Qing gave a dry laugh.

He felt that this doctor was really not a good occupational choice for a comedian.

”That aside,” the Doctor seriously looked at the two young ones in front of him: ”If in not too distant a future, you come across a swarm of Sacred Scarabs, running alone won’t help you escape their pursuit. In such a situation, fire is more effective than any spell.”

Jiang Yu sighed faintly without saying a word.

An unusual silence fell upon the study.

Zheng Qing could only hear the ticking of the clock.

Following the sound, he saw a black-cased wall clock embedded in the room wall.

Under the silver-white face, the brass pendulum swung left and right at its own leisurely pace, its mechanical movement precise.

It looked as if nothing could stop its movement.

”Dang! Dang! Dang!...”

Regardless of the dehydrated beetle turned into ashes or the eye-eating ’Horus’ he learned about later, these horrifying creatures, which initially gave Zheng Qing the creeps, unexpectedly got interrupted by a continuous bell ringing sound in his ear.

It genuinely startled him.

”Oh! Damn it.” An exasperated exclamation from Doctor Du Zemu came from behind: ”It’s time!”

Zheng Qing looked back at the wall clock, just to catch a glimpse of a big rooster, sporting a blue comb, fluttering out from a little cabin at the top of the clock.

”Mealtime! Mealtime! Time for your meal, doctor!” After fluttering its wings, the rooster opened its mouth and started crowing: ”Twelve o’clock! Mealtime! Time for your meal, doctor!”

”Shut up, you stupid thing!” Doctor Du Zemu showed a rare hint of embarrassment.

He grabbed a piece of paper from the mess on the table, crumpled it and threw it at the rooster on the wall.

The crumpled paper hit the rooster’s head with precision.

The rooster let out a mournful cry and hastily retracted back into the cabin atop the clock.