The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Ollie and Eve knew a little about it, but Hephaestus was hearing about it for the first time and was also the first to know that the secret passage of St. Marian Academy was so special.

　Later, when they heard that Ophelia had actually been transformed into a magical spirit by Dark, they couldn't help but look at Ophelia herself and showed a rather strange expression.

　"Cough!" Even someone as gentle and soft-hearted as "Blood Princess" couldn't help but cough forcefully.

　When the conversation turned to Professor Steven Harvey piecing her soul back into her body, Hephaestus suddenly said, "So, Victoria from our class is your... well, is she a sister or a daughter?"

　Ophelia asked awkwardly, "Victoria... is that the vampire girl's name?"

　She was aware of Victoria's existence and had even secretly observed her. However, because she was still under house arrest, she had not had any concrete contact with Victoria.

　Hephaestus sighed again: "Why? She is from the same source as you, so why didn't she inherit even one of your strengths?"

　"Ahem, let's not get sidetracked yet." Dark decisively interrupted her rant and went on to make inferences about the Demon King's current situation.

　……

　Soon after, Hephaestus, Ollie, and Eve finally understood the whole story, and then the three of them fell silent.

　Although Dak downplayed the whole incident, a closer look reveals it to be a truly cataclysmic event.

　Someone else would probably yell at them, "Hey, that's the Demon King! The Demon King!"

　In short, this incident involves not only the Demon King, but also the Hero, the Holy Church, and the Academy.

　For the Holy Church, both the matter of "Blood Princess" Ophelia Brad and the new Demon King in the west are top secrets that cannot be told to outsiders.

　As for the academy, although the professors did not do it intentionally, they still personally caused the death and resurrection of the Demon King's true form, which is a top secret that cannot be revealed.

　Even Dark was closely involved in this. Although he played the good guy, it's hard to say for sure what really happened.

　In order to shift the blame, the Holy Church will definitely include him in their scheme.

　Because neither "Blood Princess" Ophelia Brad nor the other minor characters involved are enough to stand against the Holy Church.

　Ultimately, they can't take the blame!

　Only by involving St. Marian Academy and the "Valkyrie" faction can the world know that this is not the Church's fault!

　Even our Holy Church can't do anything about it!

　……

　But if we only consider the Easter incident, the Church's responsibility is simply for failing to adequately defend itself.

　Firstly, the defense of Basdia Prison was inadequate, allowing the "Blood Princess," who had been embraced by the Demon King, to escape from the prison, and they were not able to capture her in time.

　Secondly, the defenses against the Demon King were inadequate, and they failed to prevent the Blood Princess from "killing" him.

　But after that, the Holy Church held the "Demon King Execution Ritual"... which was basically putting oneself on a fire to be roasted, and it was lucky that one was not burned to death.

　So all things considered, the best method is to keep it a secret!

　As long as the Holy Church and the Academy reach an agreement, this secret can still be kept.

　The consequences of a leak are unpredictable.

　But what if the secret is actually leaked?

　Therefore, from the Academy's perspective, they must deny the Easter event, deny that Witt Gaudí's second consciousness is the Demon King, and let everyone know that the one in the west is the real Demon King, and that the Holy Church failed in its duties during the "Demon King Execution Ritual," allowing the Demon King to escape.

　The principle of choosing the lesser of two evils also applies to Christianity.

　In the current environment, what people find most unbearable is probably not the escape of the demon king, but being deceived.

　If it is revealed that the "Demon King's Execution Ritual" was a deception, then the Holy Church's towering structure will truly begin to crumble!

　As for the escaped demon king... he will eventually be caught and brought back.

　Even if some people initially criticize the Holy Church for allowing the Demon King to escape, as long as the secret is kept and the escaped Demon King is captured as soon as possible, the Holy Church can still clear its name.

　Even after they capture the escaped demon king, the vast majority of the people will forget the mistakes they made in the past!

　……

　"So, can I ask that question again now?" Ophelia brought up the question that had been weighing on her mind for so long, "Professor Sylph, are you really going to spare that Demon King's life?"

　Professor Sylph turned her head and calmly asked, "What are your thoughts on how you're handling it?"

　Ophelia immediately said fiercely, "I wish I could drink its blood and eat its flesh!"

　Hephaestus leaned close to her ear and whispered, "All you can drink and eat now is your son's blood and your son's flesh."

　Ophelia: "..."

　Her composure was clearly excellent, which is why Hephaestus escaped unharmed.

　"Pfft." Little Lily, with her pointed ears, puffed out her cheeks like a steamed bun, but eventually deflated.

　Dak also wanted to laugh, but his composure was clearly excellent, and he successfully held it in.

　The topic did not stray from the subject. Professor Sylph said with a stern face, "Blood can be drunk, and flesh can be eaten, but people are not easy to kill."

　Now that we know the Demon King's memories could potentially be restored, there's no way we can let him escape again.

　"We've finally walked right into their trap, how can we let them get away?" Darke shook his head.

　“Then…” Ophelia looked at Dark and said, “Let’s refine it into a magical spirit!”

　Dark repeated Professor Sylph's words in a serious tone: "Under normal circumstances, living things die during the process of being transformed into magical spirits."

　Ophelia immediately frowned, her face contorted in a pained expression, and said, "You can do it, right?"

　The process of creating a magic enchantment is a very meticulous one.

　Even seemingly simple basic experiments actually involve extremely complex internal reactions.

　Those so-called simplicitys are all based on the complexity of the transmutation array itself.

　Therefore, during the process of alchemy, the soul and will of any living being will be obliterated in that extremely complex reaction process.

　If it doesn't succeed, that's fine; but if it does succeed, it means that the creature must have already died.

　But on Easter night, one person defied common sense and made the impossible possible!

　During the magical alchemy that night, Dark added "Elysium" and successfully preserved Ophelia Brad's soul and will!

　But facing Ophelia's almost pleading gaze, Dark remained rational and said, "Auntie, it's not that I don't want to help, it's that I can't. Using the souls of the living as material for magical transmutation is not a field I can delve into. The reason it was successful last time was because of the entire ritual. I only provided some small assistance and changed the course of the ritual."

　After a long pause, he said again, "Perhaps I will be able to do it once I master the method of ritual consecration."

　Ophelia immediately complimented, "That should be quick, right? You're so smart! Witt always praises you in front of me."

　"Ha." Dak still chuckled. "Auntie, you look so clumsy when you pat your butt."

　Ophelia blushed instantly: "You child..."

　“Alright,” Professor Sylph reminded, “We still need to wait for Cynthia to return before deciding on the final course of the Demon King’s soul. My personal opinion is to seal it away, but Ophelia’s example tells me that simply sealing it isn’t enough. Transforming it into a magical spirit card is indeed a very good idea. However, magical transmutation is very risky; no one’s transmutation experiment is 100% successful, even ritual transmutation. Therefore, we need to carefully consider whether we should take this risk. As for what Dark said about not mastering the method of ritual transmutation… that’s not difficult to solve. We can have Kazel give him private lessons, or help him set up the ritual when he wants to transmutate. In short, these are not problems. As long as the Demon King’s soul can be successfully separated from Witt’s soul…”

　Hearing her say this, Ophelia became anxious again. But at this point, she had no other options.

　“We’re all on the same side, so let’s skip the formalities,” Professor Sylph changed the subject. “Let’s talk about secrecy now. You might not know this within the academy, but because of Angus Jeffrey, this incident has already caught our attention. Fortunately, Witt didn’t reveal too much during tonight’s duel, so luck is on our side. In short, we can’t tell anyone about tonight’s events, and we need a plausible explanation.”

　“That’s easy,” Dark said, raising his hand. “Just pin the blame for the whole mess involving Angus Jeffrey and Witt on ‘Netherfire.’”

　"The Fire of the Underworld?" The group exchanged glances, and they agreed with Dark's quick thinking of a solution.

　Professor Sylph couldn't help but sigh, "Let's call it 'Netherworld Fire.' Thinking about it carefully, there's no more fitting explanation. For the past six months, the Holy Church has been in a frenzy over what leaked from the Gates of the Underworld; they'll be extremely sensitive to it. But the signs displayed by Angus Jeffrey and Vittor God are quite similar to those of someone possessed by 'Netherworld Fire.'"

　Dark interlaced his fingers and slowly said, “Although few know it, Angus Jeffrey was possessed by the ‘Netherworld Fire’ a very early time ago. They can’t access Witt, but they can examine Angus Jeffrey. There have always been relatively obvious signs of possession by the ‘Netherworld Fire’ within Angus Jeffrey’s body. Unless their examination can pinpoint the exact time when those signs were detected, they will only be drawn into the trap. Of course, if their understanding of the ‘Netherworld Fire’ is truly that detailed, this explanation will not only be useless but will also expose them.”

　“It won’t be exposed.” Professor Sylph smiled and said, “If it were the Holy Church, they would understand.”

　The Holy Church also does not want anything related to the resurrection of the Demon King to be exposed.

　It's one thing if they don't investigate thoroughly, but once they find any clues, using "fire from the underworld" as an excuse will serve as a warning to them.

　We are not all stupid.

　In this matter, the Holy Church would even help cover it up.

　Professor Sylph said, "To understand the specifics, just look at Earl Jeffrey's reaction in the days that followed."

　……

　They continued to discuss the topic for a while, scrutinizing the details of the argument, and finally reached a consensus.

　As for the handling of Witt Gold, that will be put on hold for now.

　Professor Sylph and Sister Carlian will escort him to Professor Steven Harvey's dormitory.

　In the absence of Professor Cazell, they can only rely on Sister Caryan to conduct collaborative research with Professor Steven Harvey.

　In short, let's look at Professor Harvey's diagnosis first, and then discuss other things.

　But as they talked, they inexplicably reached a consensus and decided to all go to Professor Steven Harvey's dormitory together.

　"We're all just bystanders..."

　Dark sighed inwardly; no one wanted to be left out, and everyone wanted to know how things were developing as soon as possible.

　In the end, they all didn't want to leave!

　Of course, there are also people like Ophelia Brad who genuinely care about Witt's condition.

　In any case, they concealed their movements and soon arrived at Professor Steven Harvey's dormitory.

　It was nearly midnight, and the night was incredibly deep. But for Professor Steven Harvey, it was just the beginning of a new day.

　He looked very energetic when he opened the door.

　Those who meet Professor Steven Harvey for the first time are usually surprised. No one would expect that the short old man in pink pajamas and a nightcap would be the necromancer who plays with corpses and souls.

　But Dark was already very familiar with him.

　Professor Steven Harvey was as kind and approachable as ever, even somewhat endearing. Aside from his jokes being a bit corny, he was extremely easy to get along with.

　"Dimon, what's up? Hmm, there's a little guy over here who looks like he's in trouble. Oh, isn't that the little bat? What are you doing here again? This little guy over here, oh, it's a tiny bat!"

　Ophelia Brad looked slightly embarrassed and quickly said, "Professor Harvey, I'm no longer a vampire."

　“I know you’re a vampire, so there’s not much difference.” Professor Harvey waved his hand, his gaze completely drawn to Vittor God.

　Although Witt Gold was still encased in the Cocoon of Wind, that obstacle was nothing to Professor Harvey.

　“Choose three people to come in. You used ‘invisible needles’ to pin his soul down. Is something wrong? Has his soul grown legs and is trying to escape?” he said, turning around.

　“It doesn’t have legs, but it has an extra head.” Darke walked into the room.

　Professor Sylph then crossed the threshold—but after a moment's thought, she handed Witt God to Sister Carian and went back.

　Sister Kallian nodded slightly and led Victor into the room.

　Then Ophelia Brad followed immediately.

　After the three entered, Professor Sylph closed the door and waited outside with the others.

　Professor Steven Harvey's bedroom was his laboratory, and too many people entering would make the laboratory crowded and messy.

　As he walked inside, he asked Dak about the specific situation.

　In just a few words, Dak gave a rather abstract description of how Witte grew a second head.

　Professor Steven Harvey, who was quite experienced in this area, always treated the symptoms rather than the underlying cause: "I see, the two souls have merged? So, do you want to save the smaller one or the larger one? I mean, it's unlikely you can save both. I have a lot of experience with cutting off souls; the overlapping part cannot be cut off. Otherwise, whether it's the larger or the smaller one, it will result in paralysis. Do you understand this situation? It's like a person having two heads growing on their neck; you can only choose to cut off one head from the neck, not divide the body in half. This should be easy to understand."

　Because it was so easy to understand, Ophelia Brad froze.

　Sister Kallian paused for a moment before asking, "Professor Harvey, can that severed head breathe?"

　Professor Harvey chuckled, "Hey, just having a head doesn't necessarily mean it's dead. We can just put it in a jar. What? Such low expectations?"

　Dark interjected helplessly, "The basic requirement is that he doesn't die. If possible, he should be able to speak, and ideally, his brain should still be functioning. We need him to guide us. Also, don't get it wrong, the one outside right now is the one that needs to be cut off."

　Professor Harvey said, "Don't worry, I'm not an executioner. I'll check beforehand. Put him on the bed first. I need to do a thorough check and see what's going on before drawing any conclusions."

　……

　[I fell asleep and couldn't finish writing before midnight, but thankfully it wasn't too late, so it's not a big problem. I wrote less in the first few days of the month, but I made up for it in the middle. I hope I can hold on for the second half of the month. The reward for updates is for the monthly settlement, and the final reward will be calculated by deducting 4000 words from the number of days in the month. I've already surpassed 100,000 words, and one more update will almost complete my minimum requirement for this month (28 days). After that, it'll be time to make up for lost time, ヽノ.]

　[Also, I have a very pressing problem that needs to be solved right now: what should the Demon King's name be?]

Chapter 732 10k votes needed, Demon King x2

　Comrades bearing the same fate?

　Darke exchanged a quick glance with Professor Sylph, his expression unchanged.