Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 232
Chapter Title: Announcement (2)
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Let’s rewind time a bit.
Back to the moment when I was talking about the announcement.
Right to the point when I said we’d tame demons, and both Walter and the Emperor’s faces soured simultaneously.
“...Dawood.”
Dean Walter tilted his head and tossed out that line.
“What on earth do you mean by that?”
His voice carried none of its usual eccentric vibe—just a touch of seriousness.
As if he genuinely couldn’t comprehend what I was saying.
“...”
Uh-oh.
You’re breaking character.
Where’d all that chuunibyou speech and mannerisms go?
“...No, I mean.”
In other words, my statement was so absurd that even Walter reacted this way.
He probably never expected someone to slap “demons” right in his face, especially since our club was literally called the Exorcism Division.
And the idea of “taming” them? That had to be even more baffling.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. The Exorcism Division will research ways to harness demonic power to ‘suppress’ them.”
“...”
Dean Walter’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“...Care to explain?”
“Rather than explain, it might be easier to show you.”
With that, I pulled out the item I’d prepared.
A wooden staff, roughly shaped. It looked like someone had hacked at the wood without bothering to smooth it properly.
Then, I grabbed the wrist of Liru, who was hanging back hesitantly, and pulled her forward.
She looked a little reluctant, but when I arched an eyebrow as if to say, “You’re not backing out, are you?” she let out a deep sigh.
“...Fine, you idiot.”
Liru took a deep breath and channeled her energy.
Blue demonic qi. The seal embedded in my chest reacted, and the air around us vibrated faintly.
The two in the audience seats had probably already figured out what it was.
“-!”
While the Emperor’s eyes widened in shock, Dean Walter’s reaction was even more intense.
He gripped his holy artifact and shot to his feet. Holy power surged around him in an instant, conjuring multiple miracles and spells simultaneously.
He must have realized this was genuine demonic energy. He was ready to suppress it with force if needed.
After all, the blue demon’s authority was “Pulverize,” which destroyed anything it touched. If the Emperor got hurt even slightly due to mishandling, all hell would break loose.
So, before things escalated, I moved quickly to the next step.
I reached out with my bare hand and snatched the billowing demonic qi like clay.
“...What.”
As Dean Walter’s eyes bulged in astonishment, I kneaded the blue qi in my hand, molding it like putty.
‘...Ever since the seal strengthened, this is a piece of cake.’
My body could now handle the sculpted demon form without issue. Demonic qi? I didn’t even need to borrow its power anymore—just shaped it barehanded, easy as pie.
With that thought, I compressed the blue qi into a baseball-sized orb.
Then, I refined the shape further. Added a handle for a better grip and sharpened one end slightly.
And then.
I pressed it against the prepared wood.
Blue demonic qi would normally shred anything it touched.
But molded into a “tool” like this, it let me carve precisely where I wanted.
I smoothed the stump. Made it all clean and polished.
“...”
I heard Dean Walter let out a hollow chuckle.
It was almost comical.
Using demonic qi that pulverized anything it touched.
To sand unfinished wood.
As if to prove it wasn’t a “harmful power” at all.
“Demonic qi.”
As I worked, I locked eyes with Dean Walter and continued.
“Can be handled ‘harmlessly’ like this.”
While saying that.
I let my gaze linger briefly on the Emperor, whose eyes were wide as saucers.
He sat rigidly, as if deeply shocked by my words.
“...”
He probably still didn’t know he himself was a vessel for a demon.
But instinctively, he sensed it.
That what I was saying related to him too.
With that in mind, I pressed on calmly.
“It’s different from common beliefs, right? People think even touching a demon curses you.”
“...”
“The Exorcism Division will research ways to ‘beneficially’ harness demonic power like this. It all depends on how you wield it.”
I smiled and held out the now-polished wooden staff to Walter.
Despite touching demonic qi, it was just an ordinary staff, devoid of any energy.
An everyday object you’d never believe was tied to one of the continent’s most malevolent omens—a demon.
The kind any average old man could use to make his life a bit easier.
“...Dawood.”
Dean Walter spoke in a slightly subdued voice.
“Do you realize how sensitive a topic this is?”
“Yes.”
I met his gaze without hesitation.
“Wouldn’t it make for an intriguing research subject?”
“...”
“I figured someone like you, Dean, would be interested, so I chose this topic.”
And it wasn’t a lie.
Showing this to him—the continent’s top brass would flip out over it—was half about “recruiting” him.
Dean Walter. Excluding the Pontifex, he was Elpante’s strongest priest.
Also the foremost demonology researcher of our era.
He was the one I needed as our club’s advisor moving forward. He’d be a huge help, and if I couldn’t even share this much, I’d be the one in trouble.
“What you just did was perfectly control demonic energy in the way ‘you’ wanted. There’s no historical precedent for that.”
Walter’s eyes gleamed sharply as he continued.
“...That means those who’d turn it into ‘weapons’ will come after you bloodthirsty. What you’re proposing could ignite a continental war.”
“I know, Dean.”
“...”
“And announcing it so openly might actually prevent fights.”
“...What?”
I just smiled at Walter’s baffled tone, offering no further explanation.
You’ll see.
In time, they’d understand what I meant.
“Of course, spilling everything now would cause chaos. I trust the Chairman and Dean will adjust the public announcement appropriately.”
I was blatantly asking them to tweak the info, but I felt no guilt.
After all, I’d been rolling around entangled with demons, racking up insane achievements.
This much was fair to ask, right?
“And one more thing.”
To Dean Walter, now glaring at me like a hawk, I continued.
“If a demon has particularly high ‘cooperation’ with me, things like this are possible too.”
With that, I sent Liru back and pulled Seras forward by the wrist.
She stared at me with eyes spinning wildly, swirling like whirlpools, as if asking, “Are you really doing this?”
“For example, like this.”
I grinned casually and kept going.
We’d already agreed on this, hadn’t we? That vibe.
“...U-uu...”
With a snap of my fingers, Seras squeezed her eyes shut, placed both hands on her chest, and bowed forward.
It was nothing much. Just releasing the energy she always kept suppressed, for a moment.
Unlike Liru, she’d had almost no chance to bond with the demon inside her, so she clearly wasn’t used to handling qi.
But it didn’t matter. Once released, it acted on its own, regardless of the vessel’s will.
[Masterrrrrr-!]
With that cry, a purple energy took “form” and popped out of Seras’s body—poof.
It looked just like Seras, but it charged at me with shining eyes, like a pet reuniting with its long-lost owner. Pure lapdog.
[You called? You called me?]
“...Yeah, yeah, you rascal.”
I ruffled its head vigorously as it clung to me, and its eyes narrowed in bliss as it rubbed its cheek against me.
A sign of affection, no doubt.
“For now, head back inside Seras, okay? Pretty please?”
[Yes! You’ll praise me more if I do?]
“Yeah.”
At that, it whooshed back into Seras’s body.
But though the appearance was Seras, the behavior was pure purple demon.
“...Like this.”
Pointing at Seras nuzzling my hand like a spoiled pet, I turned to Walter, whose expression had gone from baffled to utterly detached from reality.
The earlier demo with Liru was just flair.
The key was that this thing had “obeyed” me.
Like I was its master. A demon following a human’s command.
“It can even obey human ‘control’ directly.”
...Well, only I could pull this off. And probably just with the purple one, at a high success rate.
Niche info, but worth sharing.
Given Walter’s nature, showing him this much meant he’d handle the rest helpfully.
He’d dive into researching what I’d demonstrated like a madman.
Soon enough, he’d bring me piles of useful intel on his own.
“...You.”
Dean Walter groaned as he spoke.
“You’re an absurd existence, Dawood Campbell.”
“...Am I?”
“Yes. And this isn’t even a completed ability, is it?”
“...”
“That chest seal reacting to the qi seems central. From what I sense... you’ve barely hit half potency. Yet you already control demons this well?”
I smiled at him.
Look at that.
I hadn’t told him much, and he was already deducing high-level details.
Plenty of value in recruiting him.
As I thought that.
The auditorium door burst open.
“Excuse m—”
The person who entered was strikingly familiar.
A girl I’d never seen before.
But she looked almost identical to Seras.
If Seras cut her hair a bit shorter and looked a few years younger, it’d be exact.
“...Seras?”
That voice came from her direction.
Seras snapped to attention, and the qi swirling around her dispersed in an instant.
“...Victoria?”
Seras blurted it out in bewilderment, glancing between her current state and Victoria.
“...Uh.”
Then.
Her face flushed crimson. The kind where a poke would draw red juice.
Not just embarrassed—her mental state had clearly crumbled, plain as day.
Her pupils shook not like an earthquake, but a full collapse. She barely managed to open her mouth.
“...N-no, it’s not.”
At that, Victoria instinctively backed away.
Her eyes brimmed with contempt. Like she’d seen a bug.
“...N-no, wait, Vicky, hear me out—”
“You’ve got the wrong person.”
“...”
“I don’t know anyone like you. Don’t talk to me.”
As a tear of humiliated shame welled in Seras’s eye, Victoria slammed the auditorium door shut and left.
“...”
“...”
A devastating silence fell.
Eerily quiet. Everyone was dumbfounded by what just happened.
“...Hey. You okay?”
Surprisingly, Liru—who usually clashed most with Seras—spoke first.
She approached cautiously, peeking at her.
It must’ve been bad enough to worry even her.
“...Who’s that? You know her?”
“...”
Seras clamped her mouth with both hands at the question.
Her body trembled. A tear rolled down her cheek.
“...M-my...”
Seras’s voice quivered.
Full of self-loathing, like she’d crawl into any mouse hole if one appeared, she forced out the words.
“M-my... little sister... We separated when we were kids...”
“...”
“It’s been... over ten years since I last saw her... and the first time... like th-this...”
“...”
“...”
Unable to continue, another long silence stretched on.
This was, uh.
Hmm.
Yeah.
Showing your long-lost little sister—over a decade apart—your first impression like this.
“...”
Even with my morals long gone to hell, I couldn’t help thinking maybe I’d gone too far.
[Classic Dawood Campbell.]
“...”
[Ruthless.]
“...”
[The best damn villain I know. Not a shred of mercy in you.]
Well.
Even I had nothing to say this time.
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