HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity

"Leonard, what are you daydreaming about?"

Captain Soest's voice rang out from the entrance of the church.

"Coming!"

He jogged over.

"Hm. This time, the target of our squad's mission is to eliminate a demon hiding in Backlund. You'll be in charge of controlling Sealed Artifact 1-42. Any issues?"

Leonard immediately replied with a serious expression, "No problem, Captain."

"Let's go then—Lord Cesimir is already waiting."

———

While Edward was praying to the Evernight Goddess, Lilith was already dashing out of Empress Borough. Midway, she jumped onto a carriage, hitching a free ride all the way to the subway station. From there, she smoothly entered and boarded a train headed to the Cherwood Borough.

The moment she exited the station, she began weaving through the crowd again, heading toward a specific street with clear intent.

A short figure was standing idly at the entrance of a grocery store, bored out of her mind, kicking pebbles on the ground. Just then, she caught a glimpse of a black cat darting past.

"Huh?"

She instinctively took a step forward, but a hand clapped down on her shoulder from behind.

"What are you looking at, Xio?"

Xio stared in the direction Lilith had vanished. "I think I just saw Edward's black cat...but maybe it just looked like it."

She glanced down at the small pouch of cigarettes in Fors' hand and frowned slightly. "Fors, your smoking's getting worse. Even as a Beyonder, your body's not going to hold up at this rate."

Fors scratched her slightly wavy brown hair and muttered, "You think I want to? I've been pulling all-nighters just to meet deadlines. Without cigarettes, I can't write a single word."

Xio crossed her arms and huffed. "Not normal."

"What's not normal?"

"You suddenly being this diligent is what's not normal!" Xio resembled a nosy elementary school detective. "Spill it! What have you been up to lately?"

Fors immediately averted her gaze, avoiding eye contact. "W-What do you mean…I just want to earn a bit more money, so that next time I come across a formula or material at a gathering, I won't have to regret not being able to afford it."

"Really?"

"Swear on my gold pounds."

Fors raised one hand solemnly as if taking an oath.

It was mostly true—ninety percent, anyway. She really was working hard to save up for formulas and materials. She just left out the part about the Tarot Club.

Seeing that Xio didn't press further, Fors quietly let out a sigh of relief and handed over the small pouch of cigarettes. "Take this home for me, will you? I'm going for a walk to look for inspiration."

"Alright. Don't stay out too long."

Fors lit a cigarette and took a deep, satisfying drag. Then she began aimlessly wandering the streets. She really was looking for inspiration—not just making an excuse.

Sometimes, inspiration just worked that way. You could sit in front of a desk and rack your brains all day to no avail, but one casual walk might be all it took to find it. 

Before she knew it, Fors had wandered back to a familiar place. Diagonally ahead stood the Joseph Clinic—one of the first places she had ever worked. It was a fairly large private practice.

She stared at it for a while, and memories of the old lady who introduced her to the world of mysticism came flooding back. Turning into a side alley, she took a shortcut and ended up on a nearby street.

"Hard to believe it's been three years already."

Thinking about the past slowly sparked some creative ideas.

Just then, she spotted an old man wearing a thick wool coat and a mid-height black top hat standing in front of house number 39, pressing the doorbell three times.

If Edward had been here, he would've immediately recognised the man—it was Lawrence of the Abraham family.

———

Meanwhile, Lilith arrived at a quiet, serene street—definitely one of the best residential areas in the entire Cherwood Borough.

She soon stopped in front of a townhouse and lifted a paw to scratch lightly at the door, creating a soft rasping sound.

A few seconds later, the door opened.

Standing there was a young woman in a long black dress. She looked to be in her early twenties, with alabaster skin as smooth as ivory. Her features weren't exactly stunning, but she carried a serene elegance.

"You're here."

She smiled gently and stepped aside to let Lilith in.

Lilith nimbly leapt onto the sofa in the living room and said in her clear, crisp voice, "I brought you some presents this time~"

"Thank you, Miss Lilith."

"No need to thank me."

Lilith began taking out the items she had stored in the small pendant she always wore. Most were colourful little toys, along with some women's clothing and shoes. Soon, the entire sofa was covered.

"All of these are for you."

The girl stepped forward and picked up one of the thumb-sized paper tubes. With a light squeeze, it burst open with a beautiful, magical firework. She smiled happily. "It's lovely. I really like it."

Lilith nodded. "I'm glad! Keep them all safe~"

"I will."

"Alright then, I'll be heading back now~"

"So soon?"

"Yup~"

Lilith hopped off the sofa and happily dashed toward the door. Then she suddenly paused, as if something had just occurred to her.

"Ah! That reminds me…"

"After Miss Lilith is promoted to Sequence 7, can she really become a human?

The girl nodded with a gentle smile. "Yes."

"You've seen it before?"

"Mm…something like that."

"Oh."

Lilith pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you think becoming human is a good thing?"

"There are good parts, and there are bad parts."

"What are the good parts, and what are the bad?"

She replied softly, "The good ones…you'll have to experience for yourself when the time comes. As for the bad…you might end up being unhappy."

"Huh?!"

Lilith widened her eyes in alarm. "Then I don't want to become human!"

"Alright. Then don't."

"But…if I stop at Sequence 8, I won't be able to grow stronger. And if I can't grow stronger, I won't be able to help Edward…"

Lilith looked troubled. "I'll head back now. See you next time."

"Mm, see you. And thank you for the gifts, Miss Lilith."

Lilith lifted her little paw and waved before pushing the door open and scampering off quickly.

A few minutes later, someone knocked at the door again.

"Come in."

Trissy walked in, looking slightly nervous. "Lady Krismona, you were looking for me…"

The girl, while quietly tidying up the little trinkets left on the sofa, asked in a soft voice, "You're investigating the identity of the one who replaced you at Edessak's Manor?"

Trissy lowered her head. "Yes."

"No need to investigate. The one who replaced you is Panatiya."

"My Lady…what exactly are they trying to do in Backlund?"

Chrismona shook her head. "I don't know either. But in the end, it all boils down to the same goal—bringing down Cheek."

Triss's face changed drastically. She already knew what "Cheek" referred to—that was the true name of a deity. And she had just spoken it aloud?

Isn't it dangerous to call a god's true name directly?

"Don't worry. Even if 'She' hears, it won't matter."

After a pause, she looked at Trissy and said, "Edessak is destined to be abandoned. If you continue to concern yourself with him, you might be dragged back into that whirlpool you just managed to escape. And if that happens, even I won't be able to help you."

"I…I understand."

Trissy's face had gone pale.

"I hope you really do. You may go now."

"Yes, ma'am."

———

After leaving Saint Samuel Cathedral, Edward made his way straight to the Aurora Order's base in Backlund and found Mr. A.

When he arrived, the servants were busy—some were cleaning, some were arranging chairs, and some were preparing a blackboard. It looked like they were setting up for a Beyonder gathering.

"Where's the Box of the Great Old Ones?"

Mr. A greeted him with a frosty tone as soon as they met.

"What?" Edward blinked, not reacting right away.

Mr. A stared at him like a venomous snake. "So you do see me as free labour, don't you?"

"Didn't you also say you wanted to get rid of that traitor Botis? We were helping each other, right?" Edward spread his hands. "As for the spoils of war…do you really think any of it landed in my hands? Of course they went to the powerful folks I invited."

Mr. A watched him in silence for a moment before finally looking away. "So. What do you want this time?"

"Two things."

Edward held up two fingers. "First one's small—I want to buy a Shepherd's Beyonder characteristic."

Mr. A narrowed his eyes. "A Shepherd's characteristic? What for?"

"Mm…let's just say the Lord descended into me last time and allowed me to bask in "His" grace. So I decided to change pathways in devotion. Would you believe that?"

"If you swallowed a Shepherd's characteristic whole in front of me, then maybe I'd believe it." Mr. A snorted. "Unfortunately, I don't have one."

Edward looked surprised. "Why not? The Aurora Order shouldn't be short on mid- to low-Sequence characteristics from the Secret Suppliant pathway."

"The Order may not be, but that doesn't mean I'm not."

Fair enough. Mr. A was only the Aurora Order's regional leader in Backlund and merely one of the many Blessed under their god.

"Well, in any case, could I trouble you to keep an eye out? I'm willing to pay a reasonable premium."

Mr. A didn't respond.

"The second thing has to do with the Aurora Order itself."

Edward said, "I want to know how the others in the Order reacted to Botis' death."

During the hunt for Boutis, the Saint Tenebrous Kisma had also shown up. From his point of view, perhaps it was Mr. A who looked like the real traitor.

Of course, Edward wasn't really concerned about how the Aurora Order saw Botis or Mr. A—what he truly cared about was how they saw him. Up to now, he still hadn't figured out the true nature of the True Creator.

"No idea."

Mr. A's expression grew slightly troubled. "I thought for sure that after clashing with Kisma, the headquarters would respond quickly…but so far, nothing. Not a single message."

"Not for me, not for Kisma."

Edward looked thoughtful. "So…it's possible they received divine revelation?"

"Mm."

Mr. A lowered his eyes to his clasped hands. "It's also possible they're still waiting…waiting for the descent ritual I'm preparing for the Lord."

"..."

Edward's brows furrowed. From his repeated interactions with Mr. A, it was clear the man was a devout madman, unwavering in his mission to bring the True Creator into the world.

In the original story, Klein had destroyed his ritual using the Master Key. But now that he possessed the Master Key, what if he didn't give it to Klein? Could Klein still "coincidentally" ruin the ritual?

If not, then the descent of the True Creator would surely spell disaster for ordinary people. Even if the Orthodox Churches could eventually suppress it, countless innocent lives would be lost in the process.

Should he be the one to destroy the ritual, using the Master Key?

…Or would it be better to take down Mr. A before any of that could happen?

———

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