High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2793: Chapter 1014: The Rift

The Fishman Elder Priest asked the guest when he obtained this piece of divination.

The guest replied, ’I want to see it with my own eyes.’

From any perspective, this was a classic case of ’answering irrelevantly,’ but in this smoke-filled fishskin tent, Zheng Qing’s somewhat vague answer did not raise any questions.

No adult wizard present misunderstood.

Everyone’s gaze shifted collectively to the stone altar at the end of the long table—Zheng Qing, while observing the stone altar, also glanced at the small Fishman choir, remembering that their hymns would be required for the upcoming ceremony.

Just this glance sent a chill down his spine.

The small Fishmen weren’t acting out; they were locked in a staring contest with Poseidon, each testing their endurance. What chilled Zheng Qing were the two cats—the Black Gem Cat and White Jade Cat were still playing their paw-stacking game, but now, between their paws, appeared a sudden tip of a tail.

A green, furry tip of a tail.

It was happily slipping into the game between the paws.

The boy didn’t need to trace that tip of the tail to know its owner. More accurately, it was obvious. He subconsciously rolled his eyes and looked at the Big Fox sitting beside him, only to see her maintaining her lazy and composed demeanor, pretending not to know her tail was playing games behind everyone’s back.

The boy quickly withdrew his gaze, focused on avoiding eye contact, wishing for a swift end to this exhausting market day.

”... Want to see it with your own eyes?”

The voice of the Fishman Elder Priest came from across the long table. He patted the pocket he’d just stuffed jade coins into, let out a long breath, and his expression shifted from mercenary to solemn: ”—Yagneg! Yagneg! Our God!”

The words were like a school bell or a professor’s whip.

The small Fishmen, who were in a staring contest with the Little Fox, all stood upright, took small steps to arrange themselves neatly, placed their hands folding in front of their abdomen, raised their heads, straightened their chests, gathered their clean, soft fins, and began to sing with clear, ethereal voices—

”Yagneg! Yagneg!”

”Our God!”

”All knees shall bow to me!”

”All tongues shall confess to me...”

The Old Fishman grabbed the bone staff, struggled to stand up, gasped for breath, and slowly moved beside the stone altar. He then lifted his tattered robe to reveal bony, cyan-black knees and shakily knelt before the altar.

For a moment, Zheng Qing was very concerned that he might not be able to rise again after bowing his head.

Luckily, that tragedy did not occur.

After standing up again, the Fishman Elder Priest caressed the hefty cloak on the stone altar, muttering prayers and shuffling in clumsy, peculiar dance steps. Finally, he took the bone staff handed over by the small Fishmen, lifted the cloak, revealing ’Yagneg’ on the stone altar.

A skull resembling an octopus.

Its upper part was a human skull, while the lower part lay eight octopus tentacles. Once the cloak was lifted, those tentacles, which had appeared ’asleep,’ all ’awakened,’ lazily squirming on the stone altar.

The Old Priest took a few pieces of dried moss from his sleeve.

He tossed them into the stone bowl on the altar’s sides, and suddenly, dark-blue flames leaped up, twisting and dancing in the stone dish, emitting faint crackling sounds.

He then threw in a few pieces of beast bone and bamboo plaques.

Thick smoke immediately rose from the bowl, quickly filling the entire tent.

The Elder Priest took a deep breath, lifted ’Yagneg’s’ skull, and signaled Zheng Qing to come forward. But at the altar, he hunched his back, lowered his head, and did not immediately place the skull on the boy’s head.

He regarded the young wizard standing in front of him with murky eyes appearing somewhat dazed, yet his voice had a sharpness previously absent: ”—Noble guest, I neither know where this divination came from nor what you wish to see, and I have no idea how many lives will be caught up in that vortex of war and blood. But I can see caution, uneasiness, and a hidden yet steadfast anger in your eyes.”

He paused briefly at this point, his gaze sweeping over the other young wizards in the tent one by one, finally resting on the green Big Fox. Then he bowed his head again: ”—As everyone knows, ’beauty’ has the magic to heal the soul. Just like ’love.’ Beauty and ugliness, love and hate, these old and simple words all possess very powerful magic. An angry heart can destroy the world, but a joyful and forgiving heart can dispel all sorrow and conflict...”

The young wizards in the tent exchanged uneasy glances.

No matter how mercenary this Old Fishman had appeared, he was still a famous diviner, a spokesperson for a totem deity. No one knew how much spiritual sense his deity had granted him, what terrifying visions he had seen, prompting such a serious yet subtle reminder in front of a Big Wizard.

”Tch—”

The Big Fox slightly opened her eyes, her tone carrying a hint of disdain: ”Do you know whom your speech reminds me of? Those crows causing trouble in the school a few days ago.”

As soon as the word ’crows’ was uttered, the expressions of all wizards in the tent, except for the small Fishmen engrossed in the hymn and Poseidon, turned serious. Some individuals, like Zheng Qing, even held their breath.

Unfortunately, the Big Fox did not continue discussing that term but changed the subject slightly.

”—There are always those in the Alliance who consider themselves saviors. For hundreds, even thousands of years, new organizations and new groups of believers keep emerging... Men, driven by foolish yet simple beliefs, think they’re unique. But in truth, everyone is the same.”

She gave the Fishman Elder Priest a deep look, twitching her ears slightly: ”... The same foolishness, the same obstinacy, repeatedly making the same mistakes. Do you know what mistake that is?”

She suddenly tilted her head to look at Zheng Qing.

The boy decisively shook his head.

”It is arrogance.”

The green Big Fox stared into the boy’s eyes, speaking softly: ”Denial, atonement, and seeking forgiveness are all acts of arrogance by the perpetrator. Like the old saying, weakness and ignorance are not reasons to despise; arrogance is.”

The Old Priest sighed heavily once more.

”Please sit down.”

He said to Zheng Qing.

The Warlock, following his memory of Xiao Xiao’s actions, climbed onto the stone chair on the altar, took the ’Yagneg Essence’ offered by the small Fishmen, and pinched his nose to gulp it down—the fish roe tasted surprisingly acceptable.

Jiang Yu sat with a stern expression the same as last year, without making a sound. However, unlike last year, this time she did not need to cover Poseidon’s eyes, as several large furry tails took over this task.

The green Big Fox squinted, casting an annoyed look at the Old Fishman.

Before Zheng Qing could put down the small bowl, the Old Fishman skillfully placed ’Yagneg’s’ skull on his head.

The octopus skull’s eight tentacles convulsed as if electrified, stretched taut, then went slack, and shook again. The whole process didn’t last long until a contented sigh escaped from the pitch-black mouth of the octopus skull:

”Ah...”

”Crack...”

Two completely opposite sounds occurred almost simultaneously.

In the stunned eyes of those present.

A subtle yet profound crack appeared on the skull of Yagneg, the deity worshiped by the Fishmen. The crack rapidly spread until it became a web of fractures.