Chapter 284
He carried himself with a subtle arrogance, head held high, his voice steady with the tone of someone accustomed to command. He gave off the feeling of a noble from his conduct. He was more mature than kids his age should be.
Too composed. Too measured.
A chill crept up her spine as the inconsistencies stacked higher, her suspicion solidifying with every memory. Everything was fishy about him now that she thought carefully.
The human mind wasn’t this controlled—not in battle, not in near-death.
‘Wait…’ her breath hitched. ‘No. It couldn’t be.’ And yet, every instinct screamed at her—whispered a horrifying possibility.
A possibility she didn’t dare put into words.
‘What if he wasn’t human at all?’
‘What if… he was one of them?’
Could he be one of them—a demon cloaked in human scent? She shook her head, doubting her own senses. Was he actually a demon? Not a pure human?
She had watched exorcists slaughter her kind without a flicker of mercy, their blades relentless even as their own blood pooled beneath them.
Otherwise, no matter what, an exorcist would never spare a demon before them, even if it was at the expense of pushing themselves beyond what they could handle.
That was the natural law—exorcists and demons didn’t spare. They exterminated.
This showed how terrifying Sera’s deduction abilities were; Oliver was right to be cautious about her. She was able to guess so much about him despite them interacting so little.
She was very close to the secrets he was hiding as well. Given enough time and interactions, she might just reveal it all!
Her fingers twitched against the hilt of her sword.
“This has gotten interesting.”
She spoke before turning back, her fingers tracing over the edge of her blade absentmindedly, the cool metal grounding her thoughts.
As for the matter Vasoth was worried about—the one involving headquarters and their penalties?
Sera didn’t care at all.
A slow smirk stretched across her lips.
She dared them to fire her. It was not she who needed them but instead they were the ones who needed her, her expertise, her talent, and her mind.
She was someone with high talent, and few could match her efficiency at the headquarters.
And she believed that they were not so foolish as to let go of a talent like hers.
In fact, chances were that as long as she made some connections, they would instead help her suppress the matter with the city lord and even completely shut him off rather than make her leave.
This was her status, her true influence!
And influence, after all, outweighed rules.
And this was the power of inquisitors; normal city lords were not worthy to make excessive demands of her.
So, even if they went back and reported what had happened and they had not managed to bring back the human who had killed his people, the city lord could only accept it.
What other choice did he have?
He could not rebel, after all, or he would be losing not only his position but also possibly his head.
That was the simple truth of power.
But of course, this did not mean that she felt great about it. In reality, she also felt irritated about this matter of massacre and her promise not being fulfilled in the end.
She clenched her fists, suppressing the quiet sting of failure.
A spark of annoyance flickered in her gaze, but she snuffed it out quickly. There was no use dwelling on failure—it only gave failure more power.
But since the outcome was clear, they could only move on now and prepare to grow back stronger.
And as demons, they didn’t have the same sense of kinship that humans had for each other. What they valued more was the master-subordinate relationship.
If a hundred demons died today, then more could be produced. The cycle of strength continued.
That’s it.
__________
Creak!
“Hey.”
Oliver said as he looked at the curled-up girl sitting comfortably in the small space. The dim light of the sky cast soft shadows on her tiny frame, her form almost blending into the darkness. He noticed the bag of supplies tied around her waist was now thin, signifying she was indeed hungry at that time and had eaten properly.
She stirred slightly and saw Oliver looking down at her with amusement in his eyes.
She quickly stood up and hugged him, her small hands clinging tightly, as if reassuring herself that he was real.
“Teacher!”
Oliver stiffened for a brief moment, unused to the warmth of physical contact.
“Well… let’s move now. The danger has been neutralized, and we can travel safely for some time now.”
Oliver felt awkward; logically speaking, they were almost the same age, yet she always made him feel like a very senior person with centuries of lifespan and experience.
In fact, there was not much difference between them; it was just that he had a lot of firepower and she had less strength, or maybe he had some extra couple of years of experience.
He was more like a brother to her, if anything, but again, he was not a social person and always felt awkward with people.
The idea of being relied on so openly unsettled him.
‘I should work on improving my social skills, or else I might always suffer.’ His eyes darkened with determination.
He should use this opportunity!
‘Come to think of it… what is her name?’
Oliver felt a little speechless; he had never bothered asking for her name so far, and they had been through so much already.
Now he felt embarrassed—a teacher who did not even know his own student’s name?
His fingers twitched at his side.
What was he?
Coughing slightly to reduce his embarrassment, he finally asked her in a straight voice.
“I didn’t ask before, but what’s your name? I can’t keep calling you like this; also, it’s inconvenient for others too, also…”
Oliver paused; he realized he was rambling. He felt he was overexplaining again to hide his awkwardness in front of her. If anything, it made him feel even more flustered.
He internally cursed at himself.