The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

"Almost? How is that possible?"

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's words, the man paused for a moment before smiling and denying his guess.

"Those three demons are indeed quite powerful. Three against one might be a bit tricky for me, but they're far from being a problem for me. I'm talking about demons whose power surpasses theirs."

"Of course, in terms of their names, they are indeed all ghosts and gods. Just like we are all called exorcists, but our strengths are all different."

"So why didn't they appear?"

Hachiman Hikigaya looked up at the man and asked.

It's not hard to tell from the man's conversation that there are many evil spirits like ghosts and gods from other dimensions. If that's the case, then why has he never heard of evil spirits of this level in reality?

"Because we're here."

The man stroked his chin, a hint of pride and smugness on his face.

"After the five of us fought countless battles with the highest leader of the evil spirits, we got them to sign an agreement that evil spirits of the Ghost King level or above cannot appear in reality at will. So the strongest ghost you can encounter right now is only the Ghost King."

"But apart from me, it must be quite difficult for anyone else to deal with the Ghost King, right?"

Hachiman Hikigaya frowned.

At its peak, Chiba's strongest psychic, Takeda Mie, was probably only at the high-level, while Chiba's strongest evil spirit was the Demon King. This seems like a plot hole.

"This standard wasn't set by me alone. Perhaps the other four people think the Ghost King is already quite weak?"

The man shrugged, indicating that he was powerless to do anything about it.

Chapter 173: The Matter That Only Two Ice Creams Are Needed as an Apology

Is it really that weak?

Hearing the man's words, Hachiman Hikigaya was both amused and exasperated.

The Ghost King, whom he considered a formidable foe, was actually seen by the man as an evil spirit so weak it was practically nonexistent?

I really wonder how those psionicists reacted to what the man said...

"I'll make an exception and help you out tonight."

The man ignored the complicated expression on Hachiman Hikigaya's face and continued talking while looking at the city's night view in the distance.

"According to the rules, you were trained by the guy who governs the Kanto region."

"But considering he hasn't contacted you in so long, you can probably tell how lazy he is."

"The Kanto region?"

"That's right. There are five exorcists in Japan, right? To avoid conflicts of interest, and also to prevent us from passing the buck, we divided up the areas we were responsible for. To put it simply, you can think of it as our respective territories. But none of us really want these territories. After all, apart from the pride of protecting human safety, we haven't actually gained anything."

At this point, the man smacked his lips.

Although it sounded uncomfortable, Hachiman Hikigaya understood the man's words quite well.

Despite possessing strength already at the pinnacle of this world, he is still forced to protect his weaker kind, without even the desired reward...

This is indeed an unpleasant thing.

"Well, living alone outside of society has many inconveniences, so even if it's troublesome, I can only put up with it. Anyway, I'm in charge of managing Hokkaido, and the other four guys are in charge of Kansai, Kanto, Shikoku, and Kyushu respectively."

"What a rather sloppy way of dividing things..."

Upon hearing about the so-called territory allocation, Hachiman Hikigaya's lips twitched.

Completely disregarding the economic situation and population of the territories, it simply divides them according to the four islands of Japan.

"Isn't that right? But I was lucky; I drew Hokkaido when we were drawing lots, a place with relatively few evil spirits. As for that guy from Kanto, his face turned green with rage, hahaha..."

After laughing for a while, the man wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes, and then continued speaking.

"So that's why, after you appeared, that guy completely let those guys in his territory run wild in order to help you improve your strength as quickly as possible."

"However, your strength has indeed improved very quickly!"

The man, who had been all smiles, suddenly turned cold.

"!!!"

Although it was only for a moment, Hachiman Hikigaya clearly felt as if he was being watched by some indescribable terror.

Is this the true power of an exorcist?

Panting heavily, recalling the terrifying feeling he had just experienced, Hachiman Hikigaya gave a bitter smile.

Isn't this too scary?

Even though his strength was already comparable to that of the Ghost King, he was completely powerless to resist for a moment just now.

He even felt as if the system in his mind was about to collapse.

The two are on completely different levels!

"Alright, don't worry, I won't lay a hand on you. I was just checking your identity to reassure the other three."

"examine?"

This inexplicable action left Hachiman Hikigaya completely baffled.

"You should have gotten a brief glimpse of some of my strength just now, right? Do you really think those three great demons who can contend with us don't have any tricks up their sleeves?"

"I don't understand at all..."

Hachiman Hikigaya speaks the truth.

Because his strength was limited, his knowledge was also limited.

Therefore, he couldn't even imagine the tricks the man mentioned.

"These things are still too far removed from your current level. Let's continue discussing those topics when you are strong enough to contend with ghosts and gods."

Seeing that Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't understand, a barely perceptible hint of disappointment flashed in the man's eyes.

Then a smile reappeared on his face, and he steered the conversation toward the ghost king that had escaped earlier.

"Do you know what that escaped ghost king plans to do tonight?"

"What?"

"He plans to attack you and all your friends at the same time."

"!"

Upon hearing the man's words, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately stood up.

One Ghost King, plus five General-level monsters and more than ten Special-level monsters.

If he hadn't come to him beforehand, tonight might have truly been the most unforgettable day of his life.

"Thank you!"

After figuring it out, Hachiman Hikigaya felt a lingering fear, but his heart was also filled with gratitude towards the man.

"It was just a small favor. After all, it's not my style to watch a tragedy unfold in front of me and do nothing to stop it."

"So, do you want to kill that Ghost King?"

"miss you!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Hachiman Hikigaya nodded.

Since the man asked this question, his real intention was probably to get him to deal with the escaped ghost king that night.

After all, according to his own account, the five exorcists are now tired of the task of protecting humanity.

They are working hard to train the next exorcist.

In that case, if he wants to get more help, he must demonstrate corresponding value.

"In that case, I'll help you one more time."

The man was very satisfied with Hachiman Hikigaya's answer.

He clapped his hands, and Hachiman Hikigaya and Yumiko Miura, who were sitting next to him, instantly moved to where Yasutaka Inoue was.

"If I can kill that ghost king while protecting an unconscious ordinary person, then I can barely say that my efforts tonight have been worthwhile, right?"

The man turned his head and looked at the dark corner of the rooftop.

Sometime during this period, exorcists responsible for the Kanto region had quietly appeared there.

"You lowered the difficulty, Key."

The man who emerged from the shadows looked extremely displeased.

He deliberately drove a demon king out of Tokyo in order to make Inoue Yasutaka desperate and plan a surprise attack tonight.

However, Key, the exorcist from Hokkaido, changed the difficulty of the training dungeon without consulting him.

"It's clearly because your task is too difficult, okay? You just need someone to take over as the guardian of the Kanto region, there's no need to make him hostile towards you, is there?"

Key called out listlessly.

"If he can't even handle this little bit of difficulty, how could he possibly take over my position?"

The man stood with his arms crossed in front of him, seemingly unconcerned by Key's words.

"Whatever you want, I've already done it anyway. How about I treat you to ice cream as an apology?"

"You don't think you can bribe me with just an ice cream, do you?"

The Kanto exorcist stared speechlessly at Key in front of him.

Hachiman Hikigaya's strength is already close to that of a demon king. If nothing unexpected happens, he will focus on training him until he reaches the required level and takes over his position.

Such an important candidate cannot be replaced by an ice cream!

"Then, two?"

"make a deal!"

Chapter 174 Amazing Resilience

In a dilapidated abandoned warehouse, Hachiman Hikigaya, unaware that his value is equivalent to two ice creams, is currently holding the unconscious Yumiko Miura and performing a staring contest with Yasutaka Inoue.