HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity

"Third," Edward wrote, muttering to himself, "according to Bernadette's previous prophecy, the catastrophe in Backlund should occur during this return trip. Though it's unclear whether killing Botis in advance would alter the outcome, it's still necessary to prepare in advance. For this, perhaps I can start with Mr. A and the soon-to-arrive Miss D."

"The Great Smog wasn't exactly something dictated by the tide of the times—it served more as a catalyst. It gave George III an excuse to 'reluctantly' implement the New Order and laid the groundwork for the war that followed."

"Hmm…So maybe the New Order itself isn't the point. Maybe the real goal is the war."

At that thought, Edward sighed.

He didn't have hero syndrome, but the idea of countless ordinary people being dragged into the suffering of war due to a few individuals' ambitions still filled him with a sense of helpless regret.

But from the broader perspective of the coming apocalypse, the Russian priest's ascention to godhood was undeniably necessary. Whether for the sake of protecting more common folk or to ensure someone taller stood at the front lines ahead of him, Edward had no reason to stop the war—nor the power to do so.

"Ugh, thinking about this now is pointless. I should focus on surviving the upcoming disaster first."

He put down his pen and stopped writing.

"Fourth, if time permits—and if the conditions are safe—I want to try to figure out why He wants me to rescue Mr. Door."

"I've had a feeling…ever since I met Christine, it's like I've been subtly led step by step toward that goal. It's just that I suddenly revealed myself to the Twilight Hermit Order, forcing them to change strategies and bait me directly with the Blasphemy Slate."

Rip—

He tore off the page he had just written, reduced it to ash in a small flame.

Lilith sat squatting to the side, watching with curiosity.

"Edward, why do you always tear the pages and burn them after you finish writing?"

"Hmm, because I'm writing down some very important things—things no one else should see. Putting it on paper helps me sort out my thoughts, but once I'm done, the notes have to be destroyed."

Lilith nodded in sudden realisation.

"Oh~ Is that what they call…destroying the evidence after the deed is done?"

"...?"

Edward looked at her in stunned silence.

"What kind of nonsense is that? Where did you even learn this?"

Lilith didn't hesitate at all.

"Su…Susie! Susie taught me that!"

"Is that so? Lying cats' noses grow longer, you know~"

Lilith took a small step back and looked away.

"It was…something I overheard while acting outside."

Edward thought for a moment, then picked her up and cradled her in his arms.

"Well, to be honest, what you said isn't entirely wrong. If you're dealing with bad people and don't want to leave any trace, this is a good way to eliminate potential threats."

Lilith blinked.

"What's a bad person, then?"

"For you, Lilith," Edward replied seriously, "anyone who tries to hurt you is a bad person—and an enemy. It doesn't matter what their background is, what their position is, or who they are."

"When it comes to enemies, forget destroying evidence—cutting them into a thousand pieces wouldn't be too much. But you should also remember: if you meet an enemy too strong to defeat for now, it's okay to back off. As the saying goes—'a cat's revenge can wait a thousand years.' As long as you're alive, there's always a chance for payback. Got it?"

Lilith nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh~ I got it~"

"Smart girl!"

Lilith lifted her chin proudly.

"Of course! Miss Lilith is—"

"The smartest cat in the world. Right?"

That last part came from Audrey's voice, coming from the leather pouch at Edward's waist.

"Eh?"

Lilith poked her head toward Edward's side.

"Audrey, you're here?"

"Yup. First thing I heard when I arrived was Lilith praising herself. Open up."

Before Edward could move, Lilith grabbed the pouch with her mouth, hopped onto the bed, and unfolded it with her paws and feet.

Audrey climbed out, only to find herself sitting right on Edward's bed. She kicked off her shoes before stepping out of the pouch and sat down.

She must've just woken up. She wore a simple long green dress, and her feet were still in soft slippers. Her toes were a soft, pearly white—almost comparable to Lilith's pink paw pads.

Lilith leapt into her lap.

"Morning, Audrey."

"Morning, Miss Lilith."

Edward looked at her curiously.

"What's the matter? Dropping by so early in the morning?"

"One piece of good news, and one piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Audrey hugged Lilith, smiling with her eyes narrowed.

"Uh…the bad news?"

"My father has invited you to attend the Hall family's evening banquet this weekend."

"Ah."

Edward's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained calm.

"That's supposed to be bad news? Then what's the good news?"

Audrey continued smiling as she repeated, "Father has invited you to the Hall family's banquet this weekend."

"?"

Edward was momentarily baffled—his mind practically popped up a question mark. But he quickly caught on and cleared his throat.

"Ahem…well, I suppose that does count as good news."

Audrey shifted her legs closer. "Do you know why I called it bad news?"

Edward froze.

Don't tell me…it's one of those old-fashioned noble drama tropes?

The Earl Hall starts by looking down on him. The Countess delivers sharp, scathing remarks. The noble heirs mock him with thinly veiled barbs. It escalates into conflict. And then—bam! The return of the dragon king...

Audrey had no idea what melodrama was playing out in his head. She simply explained, "Because when the banquet comes, someone's bound to ask me to dance. That 'someone' could be anyone—or it could be you."

"But…can you even dance?"

That question caught Edward off guard.

His physical agility and flexibility had significantly improved upon advancing to Trickmaster, so learning ballroom dancing would naturally be much easier than for the average person—but that required actually learning.

As of now, his dance experience still sat at a solid zero.

Realising this, Edward reached out his hand toward her.

"Well then…from today onward, I'll be counting on Miss Hall to teach me how to dance—daily."

"Mhm. There are still three days left until the banquet. For the first two days, I'll teach you the steps and rhythm. On the third day, we'll rehearse specifically with the music that'll be played at the ball. Work hard, alright?"

"How about we start now?"

Audrey pursed her lips.

"Who dances this early in the morning? Besides, I've got plans later."

"What kind of plans?"

"It was arranged before I returned to Hogwarts. At noon, I'm visiting the mental hospital in Backlund to comfort some of the patients."

Ah.

Comforting the patients was just a cover—the real goal was acting.

"How much do you have left to digest for the Psychiatrist potion?"

"Just the final segment."

Audrey frowned slightly, troubled.

"I've found that the further I go, the slower the progress becomes."

In the original storyline, most of Audrey's digestion of the Psychiatrist potion had been aided by treating Klein. Back then, Klein was only Sequence 5, but thanks to the bonus granted by the Grey Fog, his influence made the digestion much easier.

Now, however, due to her accelerated Sequence advancement, Klein wasn't even remotely at the stage where he needed psychological help. If not for this return to Hogwarts—with its large number of students and the presence of Azkaban prisoners—Audrey might have ended up stuck at Sequence 7 for a considerable period.

She went on, "But actually, there's no need to rush. The formula for Sequence 6 isn't something I'll be getting my hands on anytime soon anyway."

The formulas for mid- and high-Sequences in the Spectator pathway were firmly controlled by the Psychology Alchemists. Although they had started reaching out to Audrey, even if she managed to pass the screening and join them, getting the Sequence 6 formula in a short time would be difficult.

Edward thought for a moment and said, "In the coming days, I'll try to ask a few high-sequencers."

By high-sequencers, of course, he meant people like Bernadette and the Saints of the Church of Steam and Machinery.

"If you finish digesting the Psychiatrist potion and still haven't found the formula, I'll find a mid-sequence Beyonder from the Psychology Alchemists and pry the formula out of them."

Audrey hesitated.

"Isn't that a bit risky?"

"Don't worry. I'll always prioritise my own safety." Edward snorted softly.

"Hmph. The old man who attacked me during the Botis hunt was almost certainly a demigod from the Psychology Alchemists. I haven't even started repaying that debt."

"Alright then. Just be careful. If you ever need gold pounds, you can always come to me."

"No problem."

After a few more reminders, Audrey finally left. Lilith followed her, saying she wanted to play with Susie.

The room instantly fell quiet.

Edward felt oddly unaccustomed to the silence.

After a pause, he recited silently in his heart the summoning phrase for his messenger bird.

A moment later, the crimson-feathered bird tore through space and descended from the spirit world. It had grown larger now, and hovering mid-air by flapping its wings would make it look more like a giant electric fan.

So, it simply landed on the desk, keeping its long tail feathers suspended mid-air. It looked at Edward and asked, "What do you need?"

"I want you to take me to the spirit world."

"Where to?"

"Uh…the same place you took me last time."

"Okay~"

It flapped its wings, ready to take off—when Edward suddenly asked, "By the way, do you know about Shadowless Demonic Wolf?"

The messenger bird nodded.

"Yes."

A flash of disgust briefly passed through its eyes.

"They're an unwelcome species in the spirit world. Nomadic, invasive, and constantly causing trouble by intruding on others' territory. But because they're fast and capable of short-distance teleportation, most creatures can't do much about them."

"And you?"

"They're no match for me!"

It sounded confident at first but quickly added, "But if they flee, I can't catch them either."

"Do you think your headless friend could catch a Shadowless Demonic Wolf?"

"Yes."

The bird hesitated.

"But creatures like that never provoke someone like her."

So they were just typical bullies who only picked on the weak.

"I see. Thanks. Let's go."

The bird flew to Edward's side, gripping his clothes in its talons.

The world around them suddenly turned vivid and intense, melting into a whirl of surreal hues.

A moment later, Edward arrived in a realm filled with dreamlike, semi-transparent entities of ungraspable form. All the colours were vivid and distinct, yet they layered over each other in a strange harmony. A grey mist diffused subtly, enveloping everything.

In the distance, in the sky above, seven radiant streams of light slowly floated. They seemed to possess sentience, each holding within it infinite, arcane knowledge.

These were likely the Seven Lights of the Spirit World.

Although they hovered high above, painting the "sky" with their glow, Edward could also see them beneath his feet, to his left and right, ahead and behind—an apt reflection of the spirit world's intrinsic chaos and disorder.

As they travelled forward, Edward could constantly feel countless vague gazes falling upon him. He wisely avoided eye contact.

Klein had warned that making eye contact with certain spirit world creatures might be seen as a challenge, leading to unnecessary trouble.

He didn't know how long they had been flying when the scenery began to shift. The creatures populating the area grew fewer and fewer—until a massive city outline appeared in the distance, and all around fell eerily silent.

A city?

Edward froze.

He suddenly remembered that during his last visit to the spirit world, he had indeed passed through crumbling walls—like the ruins of some grand structure. Back then, he hadn't given it much thought.

But now that he considered it…in the entire spirit world, there was really only one place that fit this description.

Calderón City.

———

[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.