Chapter 134: Ch 133: Caught in a Web - Part 2

Aiden immediately headed down to the academy grounds, and the students who were struggling against the demons quickly noticed him.

There was no need for Aiden to do anything complicated since the demons were weak, so he simply moved through the battlefield and took them down one after another, making sure that none of the students were caught in the attacks.

"Priest Aiden is here!"

"Thank the gods! We are saved!"

The students who had been struggling moments ago immediately became more relaxed after seeing Aiden arrive, and some of them even started cheering as they watched him deal with the demons.

Aiden did not pay much attention to their reactions as he continued taking care of the monsters, and before long, the demons around the academy had been dealt with.

"Everyone, stay inside the academy for now. I will take care of the rest."

Aiden told the students before looking around the academy grounds.

The students nodded quickly, and although they had originally been divided because of their different beliefs, they were now standing together and helping each other after fighting against the demons.

Aiden could not help but find the situation a little amusing.

’Looks like Goddess Apophis was right about this being a team-building exercise.’

He was about to head toward the damaged barrier when he suddenly stopped.

Something had caught his attention.

There was a strange magical fluctuation somewhere nearby, and unlike the magic being used by the students, this one was being carefully concealed.

Aiden frowned as he focused on it, and he soon realized that there were several magical signatures moving around the academy.

’Demons?’

Aiden was slightly surprised because the demons that had attacked the academy were not strong enough to use magic like this, and yet there were several of them moving around without being noticed by the students.

"Interesting."

Aiden immediately changed direction and followed the magical presence, and it did not take long before he found one of the demons hiding behind a building.

The demon tried to escape the moment it realized that Aiden had found it, but Aiden was faster and took it down before it could get very far.

He then continued searching for the others, following the magical traces they left behind and finding them one after another.

Some tried to hide while others attempted to escape, but none of them were able to get away from Aiden once he had discovered their presence.

"This is strange. Were demons such an advanced race?"

Aiden looked at the last demon he had caught and frowned slightly.

The demons had not been attacking the students like the others, and they had gone out of their way to hide their presence instead. That meant they were most likely here for another reason.

Aiden looked toward the damaged barrier and then toward the academy buildings.

’Could this be related to the Church of Prey?’

The thought made Aiden’s expression turn serious.

He had already dealt with the demons that had attacked the academy, but it looked like this incident was not over yet.

Someone had clearly sent these demons here, and Aiden had a feeling that finding them was going to reveal what the Church of Prey had really been planning.

Since the demons were getting more and more troublesome to take care of, Aiden could not leave the academy. So he was going to leave the situation up to his subordinates.

He could already sense Caelion and Lumi moving outside the barrier, and he trusted them to capture the people that were needed. ℯ

Meanwhile, Aiden needed to reassure the students that everything was alright.

He headed toward the startled group, and they quickly gathered around him. But considering that some of them were older than him, the scene looked a little overwhelming.

Still, Aiden handled it gracefully and signaled for the students to organize themselves properly, which they did.

’These kids are so well-trained. Soon they will even start following your command without you prompting them.’

That...was likely true. Humans were creatures that were easily susceptible to foreign influence. So it was likely that Aiden could influence them if he tried hard enough. But that was a matter for another time.

For now, he had to focus on getting everyone to safety.

"Priest Aiden, what was that? Did those demons use magic?"

One of the observant students asked him in a scared voice, and it was like a dam had broken as everyone started to ask their own questions.

It was a little overwhelming, and Aiden decided to raise his hand to make everyone stop talking.

"Alright, this is enough yelling around. I would like to clarify beforehand that this was not caused by the demons alone. We likely have people aiming for us. You all should get inside where it is safe. Meanwhile, the city guards will check what is going on."

Most of these students were not kids, so keeping them completely in the dark was not possible. But using this opportunity to manipulate the situation was completely normal, and Aiden was going to use it.

The students exchanged a look with each other before they nodded and decided to head back inside. With this, another problem had been resolved.

Now all that was left was the interrogation.

Caelion and Lumi would have already caught the intruders by now, so it was time to go and meet them.

...

"Run! Run as far away as you can—"

The intruders from the Church of Prey tried to shake off their pursuers, but a bunch of jellyfish blocked their way.

Lumi’s power had found them, and they quickly tried to change directions to shake her off.

But what they did not realize was that they were falling into a trap. Caelion stood on the other side, leaving them with only one choice of where to go.

In the end, they were led to an edge and locked behind a barrier.

"Hmm, looks like we caught some rats, Lumi. What do you think we should do with them next?"

Caelion asked with a smile, which Lumi reflected. And their gazes just made the intruders shake even harder.