Chapter 296: Unveiling the Truth
by 夜阑妖歌Chapter 296: Unveiling the Truth
The evening banquet was initially meant to probe Wen Ying's intentions further, but with Perseus present, no one dared to push too hard.
They all thought, 'Doesn't this demon have any self-awareness? How dare he still show up so brazenly?'
Angels were supposed to be closer to humans, and now many of them looked down on Perseus. Before they knew that Wen Ying was an angel, they didn't mind; but after learning the truth, they wished Wen Ying would dump Perseus and find a human boyfriend instead.
Of course, they wouldn't express this directly. Instead, they schemed covertly, only to lose the first round.
Some began to doubt if the intelligence provided by Xiao Shengming was inaccurate. They'd been told that Wen Ying liked Xiao Le very much, particularly his COS, but from today's events, it seemed that his armor hadn't sustained any significant damage.
Despite their varying thoughts, everyone maintained a cordial facade.
Perseus sensed the hostility directed at him, but he cared little.
Though their primary objective had not been achieved, they had gleaned Wen Ying's attitude. He did indeed favor humans and would not bind himself to the Demon Realm in attacking the Human Realm. Instead, he would strive to mediate and prevent war.
An hour later, Wen Ying and Perseus left the private room.
The moment they left, sighs of relief filled the private room.
"I have a bad feeling about this. That hellhound, Wen Ying, seems to follow him wherever he goes."
"He wasn't like that before. Could it be that he received a message from the Realm of Magic, preventing him from getting too close to us?"
"It's possible."
"Maybe we should send more of our good-looking young generation to catch Wen Ying's attention lately."
"Not that I'm discouraging myself, but Old Xiao had the psychology team analyze Wen Ying's preferences based on his past interests with Boluos. Boluos almost perfectly matches Wen Ying's preferred type in terms of physique, muscles, and appearance. Among our younger generation, I don't think anyone can surpass him in that aspect..."
"You won't know unless you try."
Boluos left the private room and told Wen Ying, "It seems like they're up to something sinister." Something that made him very unhappy.
"Were it any other scheme, their ultimate goal would still be to win me over," Wen Ying said nonchalantly. "With the Church in turmoil, it's time to eliminate that group of extremists causing havoc."
He spoke as if he was casually mentioning that the weather had turned cold, and the Wang family should prepare for bankruptcy.
Beros: "Do you have enough manpower?"
The enthusiastic and spirited Wen Ying's expression immediately turned grim. Although he was the overall leader of the Human Realm's Judgment Bureau, its members were loyal to different demon races. Even if he issued tasks, he couldn't force them to put in their full effort; they might just pretend to be working hard on the surface. It was impossible for him to check on each one individually to see if they were truly trying.
He probed, "Your subordinates...?"
Beros: "Forget it. Not many in the Human Realm, and not enough in the Demon Realm either."
Wen Ying's brows furrowed even more tightly.
Suddenly, the two demons halted and looked toward a balcony beside the corridor. A gentle breeze lifted the sheer veil, revealing two figures standing behind it.
The extremely wicked bird with dark purple hair raised his champagne glass, his smile bright and enthusiastic. "Need some help?"
Wen Ying's tone was disdainful. "You look like you've dug a hole for me to fall into."
Muershi's eyebrows drooped. "I specifically came here to help you."
Koroy, sitting on a hovering magic wand, spoke up. "I guarantee that, at least this time, he's not here to dig a hole for you."
Wen Ying looked at them doubtfully. "Did the Demon King send you?"
Muershi shrugged. "I came on my own."
"Do they know?" 'They' referred to both his classmates and the upper demon race leaders, as well as the Demon King.
Muershi shook his head honestly. "No idea."
Beros was still puzzled by the Demon King's phone call last time. Seeing Muershi and Koroy's attitude, which was entirely different from ten days ago, he felt both confused and cautious.
Upon seeing the four demons, the people around them glanced over, intentionally slowing their pace.
Koroy hovered on his magic staff and floated to Wen Ying, saying, "This isn't a suitable place for a conversation. Let's change the location and talk in detail."
They changed their location, choosing a private room in the hotel nearby.
Closing the door of the private room, Koroy activated an anti-eavesdropping barrier without waiting for Wen Ying's instruction.
Muershi clasped his hands together and approached Wen Ying with a smile.
Wen Ying: "Your smile looks rather suspicious." It was strangely disgusting, making one wary even if they weren't initially.
Muershi shrugged off Wen Ying's disdainful gaze. "I'm just investing in a promising stock early on. I overheard you mention that you need help. Well, I have some, and Koroy does too. With the addition of those from Beros, it should barely be enough for you to deal with the extremist faction in the Human Realm first."
Wen Ying sized up Muershi. "You haven't lost your memory, right? You still remember that I'm an angel, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Muershi replied with a smile, his eyes, tinged with amusement, revealing a calm sharpness beneath. "If you don't trust me, you can at least trust Koroy, can't you?"
Beros looked at Koroy and suddenly asked, "What did you see?"
Wen Ying was accustomed to analyzing things based on human common sense, whereas Boreas, a native of the Demon Realm, was quicker to recall the crystal ball divination technique of the Fairy Witch clan.
Upon hearing this, Wen Ying immediately understood.
Koroy smiled and said, "I saw you win."
Wen Ying froze, as if fireworks had exploded in his mind. The aura of the demon abruptly turned sharp and aggressive. He asked in a deep, hurried tone, "Did your mother see it too?" The acceleration of his speech revealed his current anxiety.
Boros's expression also turned somewhat grim.
Koroy's expression remained unchanged, but he simply raised his hand to remove the exquisite black collar around his neck.
Wen Ying and Belos froze simultaneously. Koroy... had a male Adam's apple on his neck?!
"Exactly as you imagine," Koroy spoke at a steady pace, with a hint of resignation yet an air of composure. "In truth, I am male. So rest assured, neither my mother nor any other enchantress will perceive what I witness."
Wen Ying was too shocked, his mind went blank. He could only ask subconsciously, "Why?"
Muershi was highly pleased with Wen Ying's and Poros's reactions. With a barely concealed smile in his tone, he said, "It's because the Fairy Queen related to you is male. We're talking about the one from the war thousands of years ago, who had a specific connection to the angels."
"As males, plus Koroy has interacted with you, he perceives things that other female demons wouldn't," Muershi paused, softening the smile from his earlier astonishment at Koroy's cross-dressing and adopting a more serious tone. "Rest assured, male demons are already rare, and those who cross-dress like you are even fewer."
Wen Ying: "..." No matter how he looked at it, Koroy was entirely feminine in appearance. His disguise was impeccable, and now he began to wonder if there were other female demons in their class who cross-dressed as males, or perhaps male classmates who dressed as females.
"I took a bit of demon potion," Koroy said, reaching up to touch his face. His voice gradually shifted from a feminine tone to a clear baritone.
Perseus spoke with an odd inflection, "Your mother's idea?"
"Indeed," Koroy replied nonchalantly.
Wen Ying muttered, "You're really committed."
He never expected to encounter someone who had also pretended to be a girl since childhood in reality.
No wonder Koroy had avoided his touch before; it was probably to prevent any suspicion.
Koroy smiled and said, "Now that I've shared this secret with you, you should trust me, right?"
Wen Ying's gaze was peculiar. "You should still use your female voice. It's strange for you to have a male voice with that loli appearance." Koroy's natural male voice was somewhat deep and hoarse. Judging solely by the sound, one would picture a robust young man.
Koroy rolled his eyes. "Shall we cooperate?"
Wen Ying nodded. He glanced at Muershi; he was still somewhat worried about the notorious Evil Bird... An idea flashed through Wen Ying's mind, and his eyes lit up. "Toilet."
Muershi: "..." It was an outright threat.
"What toilet?"
Perseus and Koroy asked in confusion.
"There's nothing," Muershi quickly changed the subject. "Let's compile a list. Lately, the Human Realm's churches have been too preoccupied to cover up for the Extremists. In many regions, one can easily find traces of their activities. We should seize this opportunity while it's hot."
Muershi's abrupt change of topic made both Poros and Koroy sense that something was amiss.
Poros glanced at Wen Ying, planning to ask him about it after they left.
Muershi could read Poros's intentions and thought that unless Wen Ying was no longer interested in their deal, he wouldn't disclose anything.
This made Muershi somewhat melancholic. He wished for the matter to be exposed and resolved, yet at the same time, he didn't want it to happen. The looming threat of a brutal punishment kept him tossing and turning at night, unsure when it would strike.
Lost in these thoughts, Muershi's expression turned somber.
The four demons whispered and debated in the private room for hours. By the time they left, the streets outside were deserted.
Amidst the chaos within the Church, the opposition, led by the Pope, who opposed Wen Ying, the half-angel second-generation, was continuously dealing with the proponents. The numbers of the opposition far outweighed those in favor, resembling a vast ocean compared to a small stream. Most of them had ties to the Extremists, who were using this opportunity to eliminate the proponents, firmly holding the upper hand. Aside from some agitation, they weren't worried about any significant unrest from the proponents.
The opposition, led by the Pope, now fretted over how to bring Wu Mixiu, the legitimate angel who promised to extend their lives, to the Human Realm, as well as how to dispose of Wen Ying. With Wen Ying present, a war between the realms would never occur. Wu Mixiu's only option to descend would be a forced descent, but the crucial issue was... his vessel had no hands, which was quite awkward.
One arm was destroyed by a demon, while the other was severed by Wu Mixiu himself to merge with a fallen stone. He had planned to retrieve it from the Ant Queen's body once his scheme succeeded, but all that was ruined by Wen Ying, this unforeseen obstacle.
Wen Ying seemed to clash directly with their church; they could never welcome back an angel with such inharmonious ties to their teachings! They could never serve him!
The opposition didn't take the proponents seriously. Suddenly, they discovered that the extremist factions they had dispatched to deal with the proponents had gone silent. Initially, this wasn't a major issue since the extremist demons weren't entirely aligned with them. However, when all the extremist factions worldwide lost contact, it became a significant problem!
A force was relentlessly hunting down and eliminating extremist demons across the globe. Amidst the chaos caused by the ants, the extremists took the opportunity to stir up trouble, acting openly and being easily traced.
What was even more terrifying was that these hunters were also exposing some of the church's deeds!
Collaborating with the extremist demons to harm ordinary people and exorcists, the church's covert actions were brought into the public eye by those with ulterior motives.
The church secretly covered for the extremist demons as they captured humans for sustenance, even actively participating in these atrocities. They also targeted exorcists, using them to extract demonic energy to prolong the lives of their upper echelons!
Each incident, backed by evidence, was presented before the online masses.
In an instant, public outrage erupted.
"Who would've thought the church could be so dark? After they had the audacity to claim that the second-generation angels, tainted by demonic blood, were impure and unworthy of their worship? Pah! Normal demons are far more righteous than them!"
"How despicable! To extend their own lifespan, they treat others' lives as mere trifles!"
"I knew the victim mentioned in the evidence. They said he was devoured by ants, but it turns out he was captured by the Church for experimentation."
"Recently, my neighborhood was attacked by an extremist group. The local church responded slowly, and dozens of people died. Now I realize they were already in cahoots!"
"All major nations should unite to impose sanctions on the Church!"
The Flower Country took the lead in responding and taking action, vowing to thoroughly investigate the matter. Half of the nation's investigative forces were deployed, from the grassroots church branches in rural towns to the heart of power in the capital city.
Although many members of the group were apprehended, many more remained at large. As soon as the Disaster Countermeasures Department of the Flower Country began its investigation, numerous new cases emerged, promptly plunging the entire nation into a state of severe martial law.
With the scope of the issue being so vast, the department issued a public announcement, urging those with unexplained deaths in their families to come forward and report to the investigators.
As people from across the country came forward to report, the leader of the newly formed investigation team watched the accumulating data with a chill running down their spine.
Each entry represented a human life!
Individuals were continually taken in for questioning, and some investigations led straight to the capital's prominent families, resulting in the arrest of a few direct descendants. Some, due to their high social standing and lack of concrete evidence, were not arrested but were placed under close surveillance.
During this period, the once-arrogant Church factions in Huaxia had all become as quiet as chickens, afraid that their wrongdoings would be exposed. Even if they hadn't colluded with the extremist faction, there were still some skeletons in their closets that they didn't want to come out.
The major families had intertwined interests, and few of them were truly innocent.
At the Exorcist Academy, students with "non-noble bloodlines" walked with a newfound confidence, while those from self-proclaimed pure-bloodline families held back their arrogance. The former enjoyed their new status, while the latter felt frustrated.
Although the former group was delighted, they were also furious that the Church could engage in such acts. Perhaps those privileged students who usually acted arrogantly on campus were aware of it; their gazes toward these individuals were filled with hostility.
The top echelons of the Church headquarters were in disarray, holding several meetings in an attempt to extricate themselves from the quagmire or sacrifice limbs to save their lives. However, their efforts yielded little result.
In a long hall, an old man tentatively suggested, "What if we pretend to welcome that Devil Mirror?"
Another person scoffed, "Do you want us to sign our own death warrants? He's probably the one behind all these recent incidents."
"How does he have so many people at his disposal? With such a vast Human Realm, he's somehow able to eliminate the extremist faction across the world. I've been told that Wen Ying doesn't fully control the Judgment Bureau stationed in the Human Realm, so he wouldn't have that many subordinates to do his bidding."
"According to firsthand accounts, those who attacked were Devils, well-trained and efficient in their work, like the personnel nurtured by those Devil families."
"Hellhounds?"
"Not just that."
Silence ensued, punctuated only by the elders' curses at the useless Devil King for tolerating an angel.
The Pope's face darkened. "We have no choice but to request the aid of Lord Angel."
Of course, the influential demons of the Demon Realm were well aware of the significant events unfolding in the Human Realm. Not only were the extremist factions in the Human Realm being relentlessly pursued, but the same was happening in the Demon Realm, albeit at a slower pace, suggesting a shortage of manpower.
While it was more challenging to investigate in the Human Realm, a diligent pursuit in the Demon Realm would reveal the composition of the lurking force.
The conference hall within the royal castle had been frequently utilized lately, with the demon chieftains attending more often than in previous years.
Lai Yehua stood beside the Devil King, who presided over the meeting, and used a gust of wind to distribute the documents in his hand to each chieftain.
"Yan Yujing, Wu Yi, Lennach," the Devil King called out their names one by one, his gaze enigmatic and his tone devoid of anger, as if they were merely engaged in casual conversation. "Are you aware of this situation?"
He had specifically mentioned the leaders of the three tribes: Wicked Birds, Witch Fae, and Hellhounds.
Lennach had grown accustomed to such situations, but the other two clan leaders were in less than ideal moods. They had been informed beforehand, but not with much notice – at least, they hadn't known before the young ones started their squabbles. It was only when the situation escalated that they became aware.
Observing their expressions, Lennach noted that one was usually sly and mischievous while the other was serene and unflappable. Now, their faces were unusually grim, and Lennach was relieved that he wasn't the only demon bearing the brunt of the Dark Lord's questioning.
Yan Yujing gritted his teeth but forced a smile. "That troublemaker is probably just looking for ways to irritate me for amusement." Any Extreme Evil Bird was capable of such antics.
With an excuse at hand, the Demoness Fairy hesitated before quietly remarking, "Koroy and Muershi are friends, and she enjoys causing mischief too."
Yan Yujing: "…" Birds of a feather flock together, it seemed.
The Dark Lord let out a long sigh, his headache worsening.
Seeing that the surrounding demons showed no interest in hearing his explanation, Lennach ignored them and felt a sense of relief.
The robust merman king with fish-like tails asked, "Your Majesty, what is your plan now? Will you allow this or intervene?"
The Dark Lord, whose eyes concealed a hint of weariness after several setbacks, replied, "The Extremists' initial purpose has been fulfilled. Now, they're merely a group of individuals indulging their unchecked ambitions." The underlying message in his words was that there was no real need to keep them around.
However, he felt that letting Wen Ying off the hook would be too lenient. If Wen Ying's life continued to proceed smoothly, Lennach would find it unbearable.
The Demon Prince's voice was lazy as he said, "My little pawn, who I've planted beside the Disaster Department's upper echelons, informed me that they wish for Wen Ying to find a human and replace Berlos."
Lennach slammed the table in anger. "They dare!"
The Demon Prince chuckled. "Isn't the decision ultimately up to Wen Ying?"
Confusion appeared on the handsome, statue-like face of the Merfolk King. "Why do you say that?"
Many of the Demon Clan leaders present shared the same confusion as the Merfolk King. Only a few wore enigmatic expressions, and one of them—Lennach—felt his eyelids twitching wildly.
But he failed to stop the Demon Prince from revealing something that stunned even the Devil King—
"The extent of Berlos' affection for Wen Ying surpasses that of Wen Ying's for him," the Demon Prince said with a light smile, his alluring voice spreading subtly. However, none of the demons present were affected by his charm. "Essence told me this. I discreetly observed them for a while and found out that he was right."
The Devil King's face paled. More than ten days ago, he had called Berlos and, even earlier than that, sought out Berlos to ask if Wen Ying truly liked him. Berlos had answered affirmatively, but hadn't mentioned the matter regarding the Demon Prince.
The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan leader looked at Lennach in astonishment, her tone skeptical. "Berlos is actually the passive party?"
It was truly unbelievable given Berlos' personality. She suspected that Berlos might have known about Wen Ying's true nature all along.
Lennach's lips twitched as he said, "I discovered last year that he has a preference for demons with a white appearance."
"..."
This did explain why Beros had made those arrogant, single-for-life remarks earlier. Demons with a white appearance tended to be weaker, and it was rare to find one as powerful as Wen Ying. It made perfect sense that Beros would become infatuated with him.
One could say that without Wen Ying's presence, Beros might have truly ended up alone. His peculiar taste in aesthetics, coupled with his demand for strength, was almost like a fantasy.
"Cough," the Mermaid King cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, it seems your plan..." had encountered some issues. Looking at the volcano-like anger that the Devil King was suppressing, the Mermaid King didn't dare to continue.
"The little brat!" the Devil King muttered softly, his voice barely audible.
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