A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 206 Future Strategies
Boom, boom, boom, boom.

On July 2nd, at noon in the academy, Quinn heard Ankuya knocking on the door.

He had just finished cleaning the dormitory. After sending Xia Dai'er back to the city in the morning, it was time for work. This was Amamiya Nene's first day back from vacation. There were reports and meetings. With Quinn's help, she received her first commendation from the teaching department in three years of employment, for her conscientious and responsible work.

It's a pity that his father's criminal record prevented him from taking the civil service exam; otherwise, Quinn would definitely have become a skilled writer.

After opening the door, I saw Aqua carrying a briefcase, clearly having just finished work.

He was wearing a black suit, but unlike Elon Musk's dignified, formal, and gentlemanly black suits, Ancouça's was very casual. The slightly oversized suit was only buttoned up with the middle button fastened, and he wasn't wearing a tie. His open-front shirt revealed half of his collarbone and chest muscles. This style of dressing resembled that of a Hong Kong gangster from the last century, but Ancouça somehow managed to make it look like a luxury brand runway outfit. It has to be said that being handsome is a kind of charisma.

"Have the cafeteria send two servings of curry rice." He casually hung his briefcase on the coat rack, as if he were at home.

Quinn turned the owl sign outside the door over before locking the door.

I thought you would come last night.

"Something's up." In private, Ankua's first action after sitting down is always to light a cigar, then take a drag with a sour face, like a corporate slave who has been working overtime all night lighting the last cigarette in his pocket while looking at the sunset outside the company.

But now he's changed. He simply takes out an exquisite silver box, slides it open, pops a candy into his mouth, and chews it with a less sour expression.

After Quinn finished the call, he heard Ankuya ask, "How is it?"

"At the moment," Quinn said calmly, "Ike, Elon, and Sysa are all possibilities."

"Anything is possible." Ankuya frowned slightly. "Whom do you suspect most?"

"the same."

Quinn replied, "I don't see anyone with any particularly obvious problems."

“What about Celia?” Ankua popped another candy into his mouth, clearly the situation was so troublesome that he wanted to smoke. “I’ll see her at the party. And her father and brother too.”

“The possibility is very small, extremely small.” Quinn paused, then tentatively asked, “By the way, have you noticed anything unusual about Pepe?”

"abnormal?"

"For example, did you notice something, or something was different from usual, or did you notice a time reversal?"

“Of course not.” Ankuya paused for a moment for no apparent reason before saying, “From what I’ve observed, no one has noticed the time reversal. Not even the boss.”

"Even the Demon Boss didn't notice?!" Quinn feigned extreme shock, lowering his voice as he said, "Isn't He a god?"

"Humanity has managed to survive until today," Ankua sneered with extreme disgust, "isn't it all thanks to the strange powers of the heroes?"

"However, you have also performed a great service. In the six wars of the past 1,400 years, apart from the Sixth Hero's 'immortality,' the abilities of the heroes were all unknown, which was one of the main reasons for the demons' defeats."

Immortal?

Is the sixth hero's cheat ability immortality?

Immediately, Quinn recalled a line from the system's description of Heaven's Gate: 'I have crossed out the Undead, Emperor, let's have a fair fight.'

Could this sentence refer not to Tzeentch, but to the Sixth Hero?
The Gates of Heaven were contained in 1200, which coincided with the time when the most mysterious hero of the previous generation was brought into the picture.
"Did you contact the boss last night?"

Ankua nodded.

"Report on the situation regularly."

"Did she say anything?"

“You know how strong the sun’s blockade of the Demon King’s castle is.” Ankuya saw the fireplace light up and went over to get the curry rice. “I told you, before the natural disaster opened the ‘gate,’ it would be very difficult for them to help us without being detected. Even simple messages couldn’t be sent too frequently.”

"The boss just told me that he hadn't detected any signs of time reversal. Believe me, if even she was affected, then other gods wouldn't be able to escape it either, including the sun."

"So what should we do next?" Quinn was very unmoved by the situation.

"It's business as usual."

"Oh."

The two began to eat, but after a while, Ankuya suddenly asked out of the blue, "Why did you ask about Peipei?"

"I had a dream where Pepe discovered that we stole the Gates of Heaven, and then she slashed us both with her sword," Quinn rambled on.

“Don’t scare yourself.” A complex look flashed across Ankuya’s eyes. “She’s an idiot, no need to worry.”

The two continued eating. Ankua shared the same food preferences as him, and loved to order curry at the academy cafeteria.

“By the way,” Quinn asked casually, without looking at him, “didn’t you just say that it would be difficult for ‘over there’ to provide assistance to us without the Vatican’s knowledge?”

Ankuya glanced at him.

You said it's 'difficult,' not 'completely impossible,' right?

"What do you want to do?" Ankuya said with a sneer, "The commotion you caused by sending you here hasn't been completely resolved yet. I need to take that idiot out of the trash every day to play house."

He emphasized the word "idiot," as if he harbored countless grievances against Peipei.

"Your Majesty could indeed send some demons who could easily deal with the current heroes, but it's already so difficult to send just one human. When the Demon King's army arrives in Temuran, do you think the first thing they'll see will be the Holy See's saints, or all the Adventurers' Guild's trump cards?"

“I don’t want some super thug,” Quinn shrugged, indicating that you were overthinking it.

"I've been studying divine magic lately. I was thinking, didn't you teach me about demon totems?"

Quinn gestured to the interlocking triangles forming a ring.

Ankuya immediately understood his meaning, "...You want to use the demon's prayer?"

“Since the boss is also a god, he should be able to do it, right?” Quinn continued, “Some minor divine spells shouldn’t be easily detected.”

"Indeed. In the early stages of the war against demons, not many demons will arrive in Temuran. Divine magic is a crucial means for them to fight against the encirclement and suppression by top human superhumans."

Quinn's eyes lit up when he heard that it could fight against top-tier superhumans.

"Can I use it then?"

According to Yu Amamiya, if the gods so desire, even a dog can bring about miracles and divine magic; all that is needed is prayer.

"Of course not." Ankua poured cold water on his enthusiasm. "Are you trying to tell the whole world you're a demon spy?"

"Uh, is it that obvious?" Quinn asked, somewhat puzzled.

Since Amamiya Yuu hinted at it, it means that the Demon Clan's divine magic should be feasible to some extent.

Although he didn't understand the principles of divine magic before, he did know the logic behind its activation. This could actually be seen as a kind of arcane magic, essentially using mental power to mobilize force, except that it mobilized the will of a god instead of mana.

The will of the gods can directly alter the rules of this world. When the gods say there is light, fire pours down from the sky; when they say there is grace, flesh grows from bones. So-called divine power is the supreme mystery that human intelligence cannot comprehend.

Miracles go a step further. Compared to a simple will, a miracle is a more direct form of divine power. Very few people in history have been able to trigger a miracle, but the scale of such miracles is far beyond what ordinary divine arts can match.

Quinn doesn't need earth-shattering miracles, but surely some divine magic would be alright?

"Since His Majesty can transmit divine thoughts to you without being detected by the Holy See, why can't he use divine magic?"

"No."

"Tsk." Quinn expressed his dissatisfaction with the Demon King, a boss who only gave orders but did nothing.

The demon guard Aqua immediately hissed and said coldly, "Hey, be more respectful."

"If you think I'm disrespectful to your god, then you can also insult my god—"

Quinn argued vehemently:

"Original God."

Ankua was too lazy to engage in abstract discussions. "Once you use demonic divine magic, it's like branding yourself with the demonic mark. You won't survive more than three days under the Holy See's pursuit." "That exaggerated?"

“If I could use it, I would have done it already.” Ankuya warned sternly, “Remember, under no circumstances, not even in a crisis, do this. It’s tantamount to suicide.”

"Ha, is the Holy See some kind of patriarchal society? They're still obsessed with the demons."

After a pause, Quinn tentatively asked, "By the way, can I use the divine arts of other religions?"

This time, Ankua didn't object as vehemently.

"It's difficult. You're not a priest. If you want to gain the power of divine magic, you must join the cult and work for them."

Is there a risk of being discovered?

“Normally, no. The cult’s oath-taking test doesn’t include anything about demons, provided you genuinely believe in their god. And,” Ankuya gave Quinn a strange look, “are you sure you want to contact the cult for divine magic?”

"If you have the chance, then give it a try."

"Don't take that risk."

"okay."

“Once you advance to Sequence Seven, you won’t be so lacking in combat skills,” Ankuya said, offering a rare moment of comfort.

“Uh,” Quinn scratched his head, “Actually, I’m already a Sequence 7 assassin.”

"That's good, huh??" Ankua looked up abruptly, nearly dropping the spoonful of curry in his hand. "What did you say?"

"I don't know the reason why, but after time reversal, my thief traits were completely absorbed."

"So fast?" Ankua exclaimed in surprise. "How did you make that potion?"

"Given by Hermes."

Ankua fell silent, his gaze, deep and unfathomable, fixed on Ankua's face.

"The old man found out that you were the one who got me into the academy."

Quinn was prepared and simply repeated Hermer's conversation with him outside the school.

However, the background was slightly altered, attributing the reason why Hermes noticed him to the journey to the Abyss.

Seeing Quinn's open and honest demeanor, Ankuya's expression gradually softened, and he even poured him a glass of water.

"Don't be nervous, he can't possibly find out who we're loyal to. If Hermes really wants to investigate, it's perfectly normal for him to find out that I gave you the interview qualification."

Ankua frowned, trying to suppress a laugh: "...He actually thinks you're a hero?"

“That seems to be the case at the moment,” Quinn added. “At least that’s what he suspects. I don’t know about the other higher-ups at the academy.”

Ankua pondered for a long time, then slowly nodded: "...Good thing."

"Is this a good thing? Should I just admit it and take all the benefits of being a hero?"

“That won’t work.” Ankuya shook his head. “You can only maintain the status quo, neither admitting nor denying it. There are still five years until the natural disaster, and the academy won’t be in such a hurry to force you to reveal your identity.”

"why?"

“Although the Academy and the Vatican are at odds, they will still cooperate on issues like heroes that concern the future of humanity,” Ankuya said calmly. “Only the Vatican can verify the identity of a hero. If you try to negotiate, the Academy will send you to Saint Camelot to verify your identity first, and then you’re finished.”

"No wonder no one impersonates the hero," Quinn suddenly realized.

How should identity verification be done?

The Vatican says "an encounter in another world," while the hero says "to enjoy the delicious food"?
"It's certain that the hero is in Aishwell. If the academy suspects you are the hero, they will focus more on observing you, which will actually buy them more time. Be careful."

"Of course, I won't just run to the cafeteria and shout 'Your Majesty the Demon King is here!'" Quinn wasn't worried about being exposed unless he encountered something like the Vatican's method of swearing an oath before the gods.

Ankua smiled warmly. "Not only that, you need to be careful about playing the role of someone who 'might be a hero,' you know what I mean?"

"You're the worst, aren't you? Pretending there's no ward in the bush to waste jungle time, huh?" Quinn understood.

"There are always some benefits. For example, the extraordinary characteristics of Sequence Seven saves a lot of trouble."

"It has to be earned through labor. What kind of bullshit ultimate weapon plan is this?"

"That was proposed by the principal. This is the highest level of confidentiality research in the academy, and Hermes actually let you participate?" Ankuya actually knew about it.

The principal proposed it?
This research project is clearly related to the anime "Evangelion" on Earth. Given the principal's relationship with Lord Cavendish, could this research be related to the fortune teller from the same hometown?

"I haven't looked at it yet, I don't know if it will be of any help."

"Half of the academy's commercial revenue over the years has been burned by this research, and it's said that the results are still a long way off. What use is he to you?"

Quinn pointed to the folder on the table. "The documents are here. Want to see them?"

Ankuya is very stable.

"I won't look. It would be troublesome if there were any secret arcane techniques. Tell me after you've looked and remember to collect all the details of this research. It's very likely related to the demon race."

"it is good."

"The recipe for Sequence Six tells me, I'll figure out the materials."

Ankua has never been ambiguous when it comes to improving its strength.

"From now on, focus your efforts on Ekko and Elon. I'll handle the investigation into Golden Wind and get you infiltrated."

"No rush, take your time. We still have five years."

Quinn nodded and slowly mixed his curry with rice.

"Don't you really want to go back to Earth?"

Ankua was somewhat surprised by the change in his attitude.

“But we have to be able to go back first.” Quinn smiled. “If we can go back to the past, it doesn’t matter if it’s later or earlier. If we can’t, it’s not urgent to visit a grave in these five years.”

"Be careful." Ankuya didn't say anything more.

Do you feel like you're losing control?

"Not at the moment." Quinn was doing very well, having had one or two bowel movements in the morning, feeling refreshed and energetic.

"Becoming an assassin has indeed given me many more ways to attack, and there's been a very useful change."

"what?"

"You don't have anything private in your pocket, do you?" Quinn pointed to Ankuya's suit pocket where he kept his nicotine candy box.

"No."

Quinn reached into his pocket and made a loose fist, saying, "Now I don't need to chant a spell to use the 'Theft' skill anymore, and the range and accuracy have improved a lot. For example, I want to steal your nicotine gum."

Quinn then opened his hands with some confusion.

In the palm of her hand lay a hair tie, with a thin strand of golden hair wrapped around it.

"You stole the Bull Demon King."

Ankua's face darkened, and he snatched the hair tie back without any hesitation.

"Uh, I was actually thinking about things related to nicotine nicotine gum."

(End of this chapter)