High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1382: Chapter 129 Banna’s Study Plan

”If anyone paid close attention, they would have realized that Nicolas had long become a puppet of the Outer Gods,” Mr. Dress’s shocking statement began, ”What people thought was Nicolas, his soul had already been taken deep into the starry sky by the tentacles of the Goddess of Dark Harvest... It is a horrifying type of Black Magic, only used by the Outer Gods.”

”Forty-eight years ago—in 1961—Mr. Roy Likie briefly stayed in Godswode and after being blessed by the great God Pan to become His follower, he visited Dr. James at the Hospital of Mercy Mountain, and then Dr. James was also tainted by the influence from the stars. I have a close relationship with Dr. James.”

”Not long ago, after seeing the report in the ’Beta Town Post’ on May 10th, which featured the interview ’The Half Werewolf Who Picks Blood,’ I recognized the symptoms at a glance. He must have been tainted; black marks, pale face, a soul twisted like a mountain goat’s, and his wool-like hair... These symptoms are exactly like Mr. Roy Likie’s!”

”You think that boy is a fool, but he thinks of you as fools!”

”Fool, fool, just the shorthand for the offspring of Shub! Even misunderstood, he prides himself in being the offspring of the Black Mountain Goat. Who is Shub? Shub-Nicolas, the Goddess of Dark Harvest, the great God Pan, the Mountain Goat of the Forest who begets thousands! Look at their surnames, Nicolas, Nicolas... He even casually used the real surname!”

”I have already written letters to the Professor Joint Meeting at the First University and Trishula, hoping they handle this pollution from the depths of the starry sky promptly... He’s not alone, he will contaminate the entire First University, all of Buji Island!”

”[Postscript of the article: In the interview, Mr. Augusta Dress presented many terrifying concepts from the depths of the starry sky and provided more disturbing evidence. For instance, a suspected outbreak of Outer Gods’ contamination at First University where many students have shown a peculiar obsession with goat milk and even the school’s pet Black Mountain Goat has gone missing. Detailed investigation reports will be published in full in this paper’s ’Direct to the Truth’ section in the next issue—stay tuned]”

...

Zheng Qing read this report with a frown.

After finishing, he even specifically looked up at Nicolas next to Liu Fei Fei—it must be acknowledged, the black curse mark on his forehead did give Nicolas a somewhat gloomy air, and the frogs in his hands turning sporadically into ash only intensified that aura.

But that was all.

Looking at the warlock chatting and laughing with Liu Fei Fei, Zheng Qing found it hard to imagine Nicolas as a puppet follower.

Especially of Shub-Nicolas.

Then he flipped further, spotting another prominently titled piece ”Outer God Outpost: North Beta Town—A Community Flooding with Death and Sacrificial Magic”:

”...Once known as the Dent Area due to the large number of Tricksters residing there, the docks of North Beta Town have lost their former prosperity. Young ’Northern District Wizards’ with faces full of excitement and fervor spread the glory of the Great Sage to every passing mage in this community... Their referred Great Sage, completely named Korama De Gini, had studied at First University and held significant positions in the student union at Jiuyou Academy, an ambitious witch. During her time at school, her most famous act was using blood burst magic to synchronously induce menstruation among a group of witches from Alpha Academy, affecting their practical exam scores—a behavior almost akin to cheating that earned her huge fame at Jiuyou Academy...”

”... As Korma, a student nearing graduation, was unwilling to expand territories for the Mage Alliance in the New World like ordinary students, she performed a dangerous sacrificial ritual instead, accepting gifts from the Outer Gods deep in the Starry Sky, and became a Big Wizard (Regarding the legal risks of this illegal sacrifice, Danghag is already preparing to convene an official hearing)...”

”... To this day, wandering the streets of the North District of Beta Town, we see a different kind of prosperity—false prosperity—that is unlike the true bustling from commercial trade of the past. A frenzied atmosphere envelops the entire district, with signs of danger everywhere... Beneath this seemingly thriving facade, Korma is using her ’Blood Burst Magic’, which she used at Jiuyou Academy, on a larger scale and on more innocents...”

”... Korma’s followers appeared extremely nervous during an interview with journalists. An interviewee, who had arranged to meet us, was followed by members of Gini Cottage (an illegal wizard organization founded by Korma not recognized by the Wizard Covenant), and another informant who told us the truth about the North District—a owner of the Alchemy Workshop—was beaten by a mob, believed to have so-called ’Northern District Wizards’ among them; we have already reported this case to Trishula’s Beta Town office...”

Zheng Qing didn’t finish reading the article.

But even without finishing, he could guess what the headline ’Outpost of the Outer Gods’ meant. It was broadly publicizing the connection between Sister Korma and Satoguya, and might even drag Shub-Niggurath into it, just like the reports they made about Nicolas.

This wasn’t just biased reporting.

This was outright slander! It was fake news!

”Are these reports serious?”

The young cost student shook the newspaper in his hand, sounding somewhat incredulous: ”Since when did Nicolas become a follower of the Goddess of Dark Harvest?! Isn’t he a wizard developed by Korma? Even if related to an Outer God, it would be Satoguya! Also, I remember Gini Cottage is registered with the North District’s Management Committee, how did it become an illegal organization?”

”What report.” Xin Fat Man craned his neck to have a look: ”The Brahman Times? You can’t trust the news on that! Remember last year when the famous singer Nightingale had water from the Ganges thrown at her during a concert in Kolkata... At that time, those Brahmins claimed that the wizard who threw the water was blessing Ms. Nightingale, but Trishula’s investigation confirmed it was a malicious attack! The fact is that some Black Wizards are causing trouble. There are many such examples!”

”They always manage to repackage a messed-up event, perform a Witch Ritual dance, and pretend everything is fine, like nothing happened... Like the recent altercation between the Brahmins of Bihar and monks from Kunlun, which seriously injured a few, and afterward, the Brahman Times dropped a secret manuscript, swearing it was a war trophy from Kunlun... But in fact, according to the Wizard Covenant, that manuscript was just a recipe that had spread from Kunlun Mountain.”

”A recipe can be a manuscript, right?” Li Meng interjected.

Jiang Yu pushed her back into her chair and apologized with a smile to the several warlocks.

Zheng Qing glanced at the unreconciled little witch, then turned to Banna: ”Since you also know that this newspaper is unreliable... Why do you still carry this newspaper with you?”

”For learning.” Xin Fat Man said confidently: ”I just want to learn how they use a feather pen to twist the truth and make everyone believe their nonsense... while the truth I write hardly gets any readers.”