High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2659: Chapter 880: Mask, Nameless, and Immortality

When Hilda was chattering by his ear.

Zheng Qing was gradually starting to remember the results of that ’Firefly Transformation’ project he mentioned — in the first semester of his freshman year, not long after he had entered the school, Zheng Qing had captured a Kappa Wild Demon during a night patrol at Lin Zhong Lake. Amidst the chaos of that night, the fireflies modified by Hilda left a very deep impression on him.

Unlike other fireflies, Hilda’s fireflies were extremely sensitive to demonic energy; the denser the demonic energy, the brighter the light emitted by the fireflies. Conversely, the thinner the demonic energy, the dimmer the light. In addition, they could actively arrange themselves into neat formations for searching, ensuring that no suspicious targets were overlooked.

”I don’t have Great Elf specimens to provide to those old men.”

Zheng Qing muttered, and the mere thought of that review committee wanting to turn the beautiful, adorable Great Elves into mummies made him shudder uncontrollably, leading him to firmly reject such a possibility.

”That’s why I said you should thank Su Councilor.”

As he spoke, Hilda once again lifted a corner of his mask and leaned closer to Zheng Qing, quietly asking, ”The review committee’s application materials are very limited... it’s said that your Great Elves evolved from a bunch of ordinary Green Sprites? What transformation ideas did you use? Was it from an alchemical perspective or a magical creature perspective? Did you mix the nutrient solution for them yourself? How strong is the Magic Power of those Great Elves? Have they developed self-awareness? Self-awareness is the fundamental difference between an Alchemy Puppet and an Alchemical Creature... Do they still need your nutrient solution now? If they cannot break free from the Potion bind, then these Great Elves ultimately aren’t perfect transformative entities.”

A barrage of questions came forth both densely and quickly, clearly indicating that these queries had been swirling in his mind for more than just a day. Considering Hilda had once modified the fireflies, it wasn’t surprising that he would be interested in this matter.

However, his questions were so detailed that it was difficult for Zheng Qing to explain them clearly in a short moment, especially as they were maintaining a battle formation traversing through the Silent Forest at night, and it was very unwise to be too distracted at this time.

”We can discuss this later.”

The young assistant tutor gave an earnest reply, and in an effort to shift Hilda’s attention, he reluctantly thought of a new topic: ”...By the way, I’ve noticed that when Wizards execute tasks or gather privately, they seem to like wearing masks?”

Merlin Above, Zheng Qing brought up the topic purely because he saw the sleek mask on Hilda’s face, which reminded him of the mask he used when serving as a Sin Bearer at Seven Sins, and subsequently of the cat mask used by the Yuzui Hunting Team during the Trident Sword task over winter break, causing him to instinctively sigh.

Honestly, even if Hilda didn’t react, Zheng Qing wouldn’t find it strange, as it was such a simple question, even a three-year-old would know that wearing a mask is the simplest way to conceal one’s appearance and avoid being cursed by Black Wizards.

Yet, the speaker unintentionally provoked intrigue in the listener.

Hilda gave a completely unexpected answer, taking the originally simple question to a very complex and profound level.

”Oh, this tradition is said to be related to the God of Death.”

The practice class teacher raised a finger, tapping the edge of his mask, completely unaware of the chaos this response caused his student.

”The God of Death?”

Zheng Qing was entirely unclear on how the topic jumped from masks to the God of Death.

”Yes, related to the God of Death... to be precise, ’it’s said’ to be related to the God of Death.”

Hilda was unaware of the boy’s momentary confusion and took up the teacher’s duty with patience, explaining: ”As the saying goes, ’appearance forms from the heart’, ’there is heart but no form’; a person’s features determine his ’true form’, which is the characteristic of the soul. Covering the features prevents others from seeing the soul. The God of Death reaps a soul through its name and appearance. By concealing the face, the God of Death neither knows the name nor sees the soul, substantially increasing the chances of passing off as dead and being reborn...”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qing suddenly felt a clarity similar to the feeling after a blocked nose suddenly clears up.

”This theory has logical flaws.”

The young Warlock shook his head confidently, looking at the dark trees in the distance and the mottled shadows swaying Under the Moon, feeling an unprecedented mental clarity:

”If the God of Death reaps souls through names and appearances, doesn’t it mean that as long as I don’t have a name, the God of Death can’t reap my soul? Anyone could easily think of this. Logically speaking, throughout history, many must have tried using this method to ’live forever’; why have we never heard of such individuals?”

”Because they have no names... without names, naturally, you wouldn’t know they exist.”

Hilda provided a reasonably logical answer, directly stifling the boy’s subsequent doubts, and he added meaningfully: ”As it is said, ’the immortal have no names, those with names are on the ledger of life and death’, take our principal for example. Actually, for a long time, people have suspected whether he truly is ’Nameless’, or he became ’Nameless’ because he lost his name... Many privately speculate that our principal is the first Wizard to evade the God of Death by being ’Nameless’, but no side has ever confirmed this.”

Zheng Qing had never imagined that one day, merely from casually talking about masks, he would accidentally come to know such obscure knowledge related to their teacher. Although most likely based on hearsay and conjecture, it felt rather odd.

Hilda hadn’t perceived the boy’s complex emotions at that moment.

He now spoke avidly: ”So, the best way to avoid the God of Death is not to take on a name; without a name, the soul cannot be taken. Because there are too many Nameless on the life’s annex book, it becomes very difficult for the God of Death to discern who is who—this is also why, for Wizards with high mana seeking to escape Death, they might forbid others from calling their name. Of course, this escape method has no magical theory support, as once you have a name, it will always follow you... From a certain perspective, the God of Death is no more than a very powerful Wizard who can perceive souls through names, something many Wizards can achieve...”

Pop!

A black paper crane darted from the night and landed accurately on Hilda’s shoulder, craning its neck to fiercely peck his ear twice.

The crane’s small beak moved slightly, emitting the Jia Character Wizard’s cold voice: ”Ding character causes disruption, another two points deducted... if you intend to submit a three-foot-long reflective report after this mission ends, by all means, continue chatting.”

”He spoke too, why not deduct his points?” Hilda irritably gestured at Zheng Qing.

The paper crane glanced at the boy, who shrank his neck with a docile expression: ”... because you are his teacher.”