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

　But Dark had already associated it with the suspect hiding in the secret room, so he wasn't surprised by the outfit.

　Disguising oneself as a first-year student is indeed the best way to get around the academy.

　He most likely stole a first-year student's uniform and may have even worn it into the cafeteria or library.

　The black mist he used to conceal himself was indeed ingenious, hiding his aura perfectly.

　No wonder the professors couldn't find him. "That's right, the disguise isn't necessarily real..." Dark suddenly realized. "Courage, the hero."

　Meanwhile, Eudora finally saw the face of the "mysterious man" and couldn't help but blurt out.

　"Yes, at least this face belongs to the previous hero—Blackgold!"

　Dark's tone was somewhat solemn, and he was also relieved that Witt wasn't there.

　The "mysterious man" appeared to be quite young, with the height and build of a first-year student. His face was also that of a student, resembling Blackgold.

　The reason Dark was able to recognize him at a glance was because he had more than one photo of Blackgold from his student days.

　But just that face doesn't prove anything.

　He remained vigilant and continued speaking to HolyAngemon, "Check it out."

　Although HolyAngemon doesn't know who Blackgold really is, it can sense Dark's intentions through their spiritual bond.

　It immediately reached out and forcefully tugged at the "mysterious man's" face twice, finally shaking its head and saying, "It's not a disguise."

　"Divine Purification" can purify abnormalities, and even ordinary transformation magic will be immediately eliminated.

　There was no mask on his face for disguise.

　Within the concept of "Angemon," this is undoubtedly its true form. However, if it's magic like a "Transformation Charm" that directly alters the physical body, or modifications made directly to the body, it simply cannot be detected.

　Dark's heart sank further, but he didn't draw a conclusion immediately. Logically speaking, Brightgold couldn't possibly be here. His death anniversary had already passed more than ten times.

　Furthermore, while Blackgold's magical attributes weren't entirely pure, they were indeed biased towards light, completely opposite to the dark power emanating from this "mysterious man."

　Finally, Blackgold was a powerful mage who had already reached the pinnacle of modern magic in that era, so he didn't need to sneak into St. Marian Academy to learn magic!

　If you force a connection, it becomes amnesia. But there's no logic in forcing such an explanation.

　This "mysterious man" is taking hostages and forcing him to submit. He is obviously after the two "Demon King" magic cards. In addition, the dark power all over his body means that he must belong to the demon race!

　On Christmas Eve of first grade, Vlad the vampire was resurrected in a secret passage.

　This "mysterious person" came from who-knows-where.

　But given Vlad's precedent, it wouldn't be surprising if even more demons emerged from the secret passage.

　"The anomaly I sensed in my wallet last night must have been his doing."

　"Judging from his actions today, he must have used some method last night to locate the 'Demon King's' aura, which is why he came to steal it tonight."

　"The motive for the crime is clear, and the behavior is logically consistent; this reason should be correct."

　"But why did he think his plan would succeed?"

　"If it weren't for that face, I wouldn't dislike this act of walking into a trap."

　Darke's gaze remained fixed on the face of the "mysterious man."

　And in that instant, an unexpected counterattack occurred!

　……

　As Dark quickly thought, "Angemon" grabbed at the "Mysterious Man's" left hand, trying to retrieve the two "Demon King" magic cards from his left hand.

　But when the Holy Angel's left hand grabbed the Mysterious Man's left wrist, the Mysterious Man suddenly opened his eyes, and his right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the Holy Angelmon's wrist!

　The "mysterious man" had bloodshot eyes and a ferocious face, and like a wild beast, he bit down on the left hand of "Holy Angelmon".

　With that bite, a large chunk of flesh was torn from HolyAngemon's wrist.

　Then the "mysterious man" suddenly tilted his head back and swallowed the large piece of "angel flesh" into his mouth.

　Immediately afterwards, an extremely dazzling white light was released from its body.

　Then there was a "bang".

　The mysterious man's body actually...self-destructed in that instant! "No, it wasn't a self-destruction!"

　Dark suddenly raised his hand to shield his eyes; the white light from the explosion was too blinding, and his vision was now completely white.

　When the white light disappeared, the "mysterious man" vanished without a trace. Darke suddenly opened his eyes and scanned the ground.

　The remaining magic cards on the ground had already been ejected in the explosion. With a thought, those magic cards automatically flew into his card pack. But apart from that, there was nothing else on the ground.

　There were no uniform fragments, nor card pack fragments. And not a single one of the "Mysterious Man's" magic cards was to be found. "This is a bit more troublesome than I expected."

　Dark attached the "Fairy Puppet" to his body and said to Eudora, "Eudora, I'm leaving Angie in your care."

　Eudora immediately jogged over and quickly replied, "Okay."

　Dak nodded slightly and quickly ran out of the classroom.

　“Death—!”

　The "Coffin of Death" lay on the floor, opened the coffin lid, and carefully lifted Angie out with its tentacles.

　Eudora opened her "Eye of Truth" and, while observing Angie's condition, drew out a defensive magic card from her card pack.

　Caution is paramount; first, set up a protective barrier to prevent the enemy from returning. As the defensive barrier rapidly unfolded, Eudora began healing Angie's arm. A broken arm—an injury that seemed terrifying—was actually quite easy for a mage to heal.

　The key issue is the dark power that has invaded her mind; it must be completely eradicated.

　Eudora frowned.

　Dark ran swiftly down the corridor. The use of "Greed IV" was not in vain.

　He could clearly sense the "mysterious man's" greedy emotions, as accurately as radar positioning.

　However, the "greed" had clearly diminished, and it was unclear what method the "mysterious person" had used just now.

　"It looks like a secret ritual."

　The thought flashed through his mind quickly, and Dark continued the chase with Draco and Angemon.

　The "Fossil Pteranodon" and a group of magical elves flew around the castle, searching for its interior.

　Logically, the "mysterious man" triggered some kind of ability by "consuming the flesh of an angel." Not only did he escape to heaven, but he also replaced all the "abnormalities" within his body.

　However, the effects of "Greed V" are like a persistent ailment that is difficult to remove before the time limit expires.

　The "mysterious man" must be desperately trying to escape, suppressing his greed. But where can he possibly run to within this castle?

　The moment this thought crossed his mind, Dak was startled. He realized that his emotional connection to the "mysterious man" had suddenly vanished!

　However, he knew quite a bit about the castle, and after a second or two he realized that it was because the "mysterious person" had entered the "secret passage"!

　He quickly caught up and then, without hesitation, slipped into the entrance of the "secret passage." Instantly, the sensation of that "greedy" power returned. Dark frowned and began running through the "secret chamber." As he ran, he rapidly switched magic cards; magical spirits disappeared from the back of the "Fossil Aerial Dragon" and reappeared beside him.

　First is "Magical Book", then "Devimon", followed by "Sword Sheath" and "Luna Soul II".

　Neither "Single Sword Sheath" nor "Moon Goddess Soul II" are weapon forms, and summoning them takes a lot of effort.

　After acquiring "Moon Goddess Soul II 1", Dark immediately "armed" it, and then... armed evolution!

　As he ran out of the silver light, Dark had already transformed into the "Moon Goddess".

　His running speed increased dramatically in that instant, and the distance between him and the "mysterious man" closed rapidly.

　His body almost transformed into moonlight as he sped through the "secret passage." The "mysterious man" entered the "secret passage" first, but his escape was rather disarrayed.

　He pressed his hand against half of his face while hiding the two "Demon King" cards in his card pack. Then he drew a magic card from his own pack and quickly incantated it.

　An eyeball shaped like a bat's wing

　The magical spirit was summoned.

　But suddenly he opened his mouth wide, revealing fangs, and swallowed the magical elf whole.

　Then, a pair of bat wings sprouted from his back. His feet left the ground, and he began to fly.

　Black mist gradually re-emerged from his body and adhered to his body surface.

　Given a little more time, he could regenerate the black mist, envelop his entire body, and completely disappear from everyone's perception.

　A moment later, a temple appeared before him.

[Double Monthly Passes] Year-End Summary

　The 2023 year-end review activities have begun again.

　But upon closer reflection, aside from topping the overall rankings and becoming the undisputed number one for Hedgehog Cat, there's not much else to summarize.

　I've been pretty laid-back this year, and I haven't been asking for monthly tickets much. Apart from the usual end-of-month bounty, I've basically let things happen naturally.

　The reasons for this, besides his deteriorating physical condition, are also that he has been unable to make further breakthroughs in his academic performance.

　When I wrote this first book on Hedgehog Cat, I never imagined that I would so easily reach my limit.

　But if you encounter it, there's nothing you can do. If you get the benefits of a small website, you have to bear its drawbacks.

　Without Hedgehog Cat, I probably wouldn't have written this book, and I wouldn't have spent these three or four years with everyone.

　In short, it's year-end review time again. From 0:00 on December 25th to 24:00 on December 31st, the monthly pass cap will be lifted, allowing unlimited voting. Moreover, one vote counts as two votes – isn't that a great deal?

　Raise your little hand, click to confirm, and cast your monthly vote to help "The Villainous Young Master Just Wants to Live a Buddhist Life" become the best work of 2023 (five-star rated work).

　Finally, thank you Hedgehog Cat, thank you Garlic Editor, and thank you to all the angels who subscribed to the official version. I love you all.

　(3——)mua——（

Chapter 1354 Although it wasn't quite satisfying, there's no need to apologize (4k)

　Not long after that.

　Dark Dimon also caught up to the temple.

　For him, discovering a temple in a "secret passage" was nothing new.

　But since temples involve "gods," unknown dangers may lurk before we can fully understand them.

　Dark slowed his pace and stepped forward in the air, half a meter above the ground.

　He could sense the aura of "greed" within the temple. If the temple had no other exits, it meant that the "mysterious man" was trapped inside.

　But the temple he was looking at was much larger than the Moon Temple he had found before.

　The temple is square in shape and has three levels from bottom to top. At the four corners of the top of each level, there are stone carvings resembling ox horns protruding. The stone carvings of ox horns are engraved with dense patterns, but only a few lines are faintly glowing.

　The temple walls were adorned with countless bizarre creature patterns, but only one pattern—a giant eye—appeared repeatedly. The subtle divine aura emanating from the temple also gave off an extremely strange feeling, lacking the purity of the moon goddess's divinity.

　Dark's eyes closed and opened again, and golden light emanated from them, activating the "Eye of Truth".

　Besides aiding in seeing, the greatest function of the "Eye of Truth" is to measure the value of matter.

　However, the value of not all things can be easily discerned. Some spiritual substances will instinctively resist the prying eyes of outsiders, which will lead to increased consumption.

　With prolonged use, the "Eye of Truth" will become overloaded.

　Therefore, if the goal is simply to assist in seeing, it is best to turn off the "measuring value" ability and only turn it on when needed.

　Dark opened the "Eye of Truth" mainly to "break through concealment" and "break through illusion".

　He slowly walked into the four-sided area where the temple was located, and finally stopped at the entrance of that area, pondering for a moment.

　From the sudden appearance of that "mysterious person" to his escape here, the entire time frame was short, but enough for the academy professors to react.

　In particular, the triggering of "Blessing of the Wind Spirit" will definitely wake Professor Sylph up.

　He had expected Professor Sylph to appear immediately, but she didn't.

　In retrospect, the fact that the "mysterious man" stood still after being corrupted by "Greed IV" seems somewhat unusual.

　That was likely done on purpose, to lure him closer.

　After all, magical spirits are inexhaustible, and the fastest and most effective way to kill a mage is to attack their main body.

　However, out of caution, Dark never approached the past, only sending "Angemon" to investigate.

　Then, just when "Angemon" was about to retrieve the two "Demon King" magic cards, the "mysterious man" could no longer continue his act and finally used a secret technique to escape.

　As a result, the situation has now evolved into one where one side is chasing and the other is fleeing, with a clear distinction between the superior and the inferior.