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Chapter 63: The Eye that Watches.
🕑 Added 2025-06-20 07:27:03 +0000 UTCCelestial Ascendancy
Chapter 63: The Eye that Watches.
Underworld, Unknown location. (This is happening before/during Azkaban fight)
Elias Black.
I looked around and sighed. Iris… well, Iris was drained, and it was plain to see her mind was everywhere but here. She was trembling under our care but calming, albeit slowly.
“Lord Beelzebub,” I asked once Iris stood up of her own volition, “do you think you can return the girls to Kuoh or something while I complete my side of the deal?”
Ajuka lifted an eyebrow and glanced at the bundle of girls in the middle of the room. He rolled his eyes. “I’ll do you one better. Keeping them nearby lets you focus, and frankly, I'd rather not have you distracted while handling magic I don’t understand yet.”
With that, he clapped his hands twice, and two humanoid figures appeared from a magic circle. They were some kind of robotic maids, but I just smiled gratefully at the Satan.
“You can follow them,” Ajuka continued. “They’ll take you to your accommodations while we finish. You can rest for a couple of hours, and then I’ll send you back to Kuoh.”
“You have my thanks,” I nodded and gently poked Hermione’s back.
“Love, go… I know I should be there with you, but I need to fulfill the deal. And… well, Iris can have some space for a bit. Take care of her… I love you all.” I smiled sadly at her. “I love you all, and I’ll do anything to fix this. I won’t ask for forgiveness, but I will make amends. Now, go.”
Iris’s shoulders trembled, but she stayed silent. Fleur and Hermione took their time, gently pushing Iris forward and following the maids, not without hugging me first and telling me they understood, even if they didn’t like it.
“And people wonder why I never got into a relationship,” Ajuka muttered, rolling his eyes.
I chuckled weakly. “When you find someone like them, you’d be an idiot to let them go.”
Ajuka didn’t answer. He just turned and walked ahead in silence, and I followed.
Before long, we reached something resembling a training room, with a couple of life-like mannequins and other equipment scattered around.
“How much do you understand about your magic, Elias?” Ajuka asked as he took a seat, motioning for me to step into the center of the room.
“Not much,” I admitted. “It’s… complicated. I use it, and it follows my will, but I feel like I’m not using it at its full potential.”
“Interesting,” Ajuka mumbled as he tapped something on his tablet. “Describe the sensation when you use it. Don’t think like a wizard... think like a scientist.”
I paused for a second and thought deeply. “It feels like I’m channeling the energy through my body. Like… It sort of goes through me?”
Taking a breath, I formed a spear as I always did and twirled it around.
Ajuka stepped in front of me and examined the spear, prodding at it once more.
“My scans show me something interesting,” he murmured, studying it intently. “It’s… mana. Pure, unadulterated mana. In fact, it’s the purest form of magic I’ve ever seen, the complete opposite of demonic power.”
“It’s neutral, too,” he added, eyes widening slightly. “It’s not like light power, even if holy at its origin. Such a peculiar type of magic… and one I’ve never encountered.”
“So… can we cross out the idea of me being part angel?” I joked though I wasn’t sure why the thought of removing that possibility made me feel even worse than considering it.
Ajuka just rolled his eyes and scoffed. “You are no angel; I would've known with a glance. But that leaves the question… where did this magic come from? It’s clearly not wizard in origin, but it’s different from any magic in my database. Even my own magic has trouble analyzing it. Not that I’d try to copy it… I don’t believe that would end well for me.”
“You will show me everything,” he said seriously, removing his robe. I stared in shock as it vanished into motes of light. “And I believe I know how to make you.”
He waved his hand, and I felt useless as I couldn’t stop the magic circle from forming beneath us.
When the light faded, we were standing on a floating island made of something resembling grass. The space beyond it was… weird, like nothingness, if that makes any sense. There was something off about it... like I was weightless.
I moved my magic around, and to my shock, I realized it worked… much better than before.
“Where are we?” I asked, gaping at the green-haired Demon Lord, who was watching me with clear amusement.
“This arena is the perfect place to test your limits,” he said proudly. “It’s a small portion of the Dimensional Gap I managed to carve out for personal use. Perfect for testing high-level magic without destroying everything.”
“And now,” he added with a tiny, eager smirk that made me shiver, “you will give it your all, Elias.”
The look in his eyes made me more uncomfortable than anything else I’d ever seen.
“Fine, fine,” I chuckled, feeling a bit intimidated, but something inside me pushed to make him eat that smug casualness.
I knew it was a stupid dream. He was so far out of my league I couldn’t do a damn thing to beat him at my current level.
But still... my excitement was growing.
With a nod, we both moved. Or at least, that’s what I wanted to say.
I launched a torrent of fire empowered by Power Through Pain, but he remained exactly where he was as dozens of magic circles materialized around him.
I tensed, waiting for an attack, but nothing came. No.
No, the damn things just pulsed with power, and I felt my flames being hijacked, frozen midair. No matter how much I increased their potency, they stayed put while Ajuka looked on with a calm smile.
That smile widened, and in the next second, I lost control of my fire completely. It twisted in place and surged back at me, burning so intensely I could barely breathe.
“Rho Aias!” I shouted, sighing in relief as the petal formed between me and the returning flames, only for my eyes to widen when I felt more and more of my magic being siphoned just to keep it active.
With a disbelieving laugh, I vanished, using the precious seconds the divine shield gave me.
Durindana appeared in my hand, and I slashed toward Ajuka’s back.
He waved his hand, and a gargantuan pillar of crystal erupted between us. I smirked, my weapon cutting through it like paper, the spear elongating and nicking his leg.
I laughed, grinning from ear to ear as his eyes widened slightly at the near-silent sound of blood dripping from the small gash on his left leg.
“How curious,” he mused with bright eyes. “Fire magic with properties similar to the Power of Destruction… a shield spell that withstood my interference… and an unknown holy spear.”
“But that’s not what I wanted to study, Elias,” he added, a tiny scowl tugging at his lips. “I think I’ll have to make you feel despair.”
The moment those words left his mouth, every hair on my body stood on end.
I formed a cocoon of ice with everything I had... just in time.
The terrain shifted. Vines burst from the ground, spiked and dripping with a corrosive liquid that made me shiver just looking at it.
They crawled toward my barrier, wrapping around it. Soon, I felt my reserves begin to drain fast, my ice constantly trying to repair the cracks spreading through it.
Realizing I might not have the luxury of holding back anymore, I would give him what he wanted to see before deciding whether or not to kill me for wasting his time; I let go.
The cocoon began to shine a brilliant gold as I opened the door inside my soul to the Aetherius, more than ever before. A headache started forming, but I didn’t stop.
He wanted to see what I was capable of? Then he’d get it. And we would both find out what happened.
The Dimensional Gap, whatever it truly was, was flooded with my divine brilliance as I cast off all inhibition. I felt the strain in my body as I pumped more and more Aetherius into the world, and my ice shell cracked under the pressure.
The vines were reduced to cinders in less than a second, and I saw Ajuka’s eyes widen as whatever he’d tried to do failed. More and more magic circles formed behind him, all useless.
I felt him try to repeat that bullshit trick he pulled with my fire… but my Aetherius responded with the magical equivalent of a fuck you. A storm began to rise around me.
A sun appeared where it absolutely should not have been.
Pure magic turned to light, bright and raw, and I felt my body slowing.
It was easily twice the size of the one I summoned during my fight with Walburga. And I could feel the dimension fighting against it, rejecting it, like it knew this thing shouldn’t exist here.
But I screamed and forced the gate open wider.
The crack in reality split further, and I felt dizzy.
“Elias, stop!” Ajuka shouted.
I barely registered it, just managed to glance through my blurring vision to see his eyes wide, staring at something only he could see. His magic circles faltered under the sheer weight of Magicka, flooding a world it did not belong to.
And that’s when I realized how much of an idiot I’d been.
Aetherius wasn’t just solar magic. It was magic, pure and absolute. The origin of all magicka in Nirn.
And I was its only conduit. Its vessel.
The sun above, the hole in reality screamed.
And instead of striking Ajuka like I intended, its light turned… and shone down on me.
I felt everything go blank as the Aetherius filled my being. I opened my mouth to scream.
Ajuka Beelzebub
I stared at my Kankara Formula as it failed... utterly failed to comprehend what my eyes were seeing. One of the very few times it had ever come up short. Statistically rare. Practically unheard of. And, somehow, oddly fitting.
Sirzechs's family truly was absurdly lucky.
Funny... it was so known, that people genuinely believed that said family had control over luck.
But I was going off on a tangent again.
Watching Elias tear open a hole in reality wasn’t something I expected to witness today… or ever, really. It made no sense. When I first saw him use his magic in the Rating Game observation room, I was intrigued, very much so. But this? This was beyond intrigue. This was impossible.
A sun had appeared in the Dimensional Gap. Vast, majestic, and burning with an intensity that bent the laws of this space. But that wasn’t what truly unsettled me.
It was what lay behind the sun.
The crack. A fissure in reality. A rift into another dimension.
Elias was a conduit, a bridge to a realm overflowing with magic. Not demonic energy. Not holy energy. Not even light-aligned power. Magic. Pure, unadulterated mana of a kind so clean it might as well be holy. A source of energy that defied classification. And to my knowledge, no one else on this planet knew of its existence.
And Elias? He wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t understand it.
That made it worse.
He was connected to something infinite. Truly infinite if my readings were right. The fact that this power hadn't consumed him yet was... laughable. If it weren’t so terrifying, I might have found it hilarious.
Because I couldn’t do a thing to stop it. Not quickly.
Not the crack, not the flow, not even Elias if he truly lost control. If that gate opened further of its own volition, if that dimension began to bleed into our world... I had nothing that could stop it.
And that was a terrifying realization.
“Elias, stop!” I shouted as I felt my magic circles destabilize under the sheer pressure of the mana now flooding this pocket dimension.
He didn’t respond. I doubted he even could. The only sound from him was a scream as the sun above turned its brilliance on him, not me. I could only watch in stunned silence as it poured into his body… and began infusing him.
Thank Lucifer this was happening inside the Dimensional Gap. If it had happened anywhere else, like in any territory tied to the factions, every significant power would already be on its way. And I wasn’t in the mood to explain this to anyone. Especially not Odin. Or worse, Indra or Shiva.
Elias was Rias’s Gremory friend. He’d likely become more than that from what I had seen, and while I doubted even my best creation, the Evil Pieces, could turn him into a devil… having him as an ally?
That might be the final weapon we need against the Old Satan Faction.
He cared deeply for his girls. If Rias became one of them, or if she made his other girlfriends devils, then he would fight for our favor. I had no doubt. He was simple like that. And I respected it.
Still, I wouldn't interfere. Things were progressing well enough on their own. If I stepped in now, I might ruin what nature was doing better than any of my designs ever could.
The sun began to dim, its radiance settling.
And then I saw him.
I tried not to gape.
Elias stood in the fading light, transformed into something I had never seen before.
And his power…
By Lucifer, his power was going wild.
Elias laughed. A soft, breathless laugh at first, like someone waking from a dream and unsure if they were still inside it. Then louder. Disbelieving.
I watched with crossed arms as he stared down at his hands. At his body. His eyes were blazing white with such intensity I couldn’t even see the gold beneath anymore. He glowed like a star, and every breath he took made the air around him sing with latent mana. His magic… it was twitching. That was the only word for it. Surging in erratic bursts that tried to form something like wings on his back, shifting shapes, collapsing, reforming, like it couldn’t decide what form to take.
And then there was the star.
A small, radiant sun hovering just above his head.
He looked like an unfinished god. A weak one, sure, but a Divine nonetheless.
“This is awesome!” he shouted with his arms spread wide, his body trembling with adrenaline.
Yes. He was high.
High on power.
I sighed quietly and cracked my neck. “Here we go.”
Elias moved first.
The moment he launched forward, gravity around us collapsed. I felt my footing vanish as he twisted the gravitational field with a surge of pure will. Chunks of the floating island ripped upward and then froze midair as he raised his hand and siphoned the light from the space around us. The entire battlefield dimmed as the glow poured into his fingertips.
And then it exploded outward.
A spiral of golden light, condensed into jagged tendrils like whips, slammed toward me, each one moving at impossible angles, bending space to reach me. I didn’t move... there was no need for that.
A single magic circle spun beside me. I rotated it clockwise casually, and a mirror redirected the light. It curved mid-flight and splashed into the air behind me, burning harmlessly into the sky.
Elias appeared again. This time above me. A sword of pure darkness in one hand, light in the other, his right glowing so fiercely it left afterimages.
He brought them both down.
I raised my arm, and a black barrier formed in the air like glass. The impact cracked it, deep enough to shock me, but it held.
“You’re still holding back,” he growled.
“I am,” I agreed.
He roared, and I’ll admit, it was impressive.
The sky above us shattered in a straight line, and dozens... no, hundreds of thin fissures opened above the battlefield. Light poured from them. And then, spears. He really liked those spears.
Hundreds of spears made of pure mana, glistening and pulsing gold, fell like meteors. Each one whistled as it cut through the air.
I started to step back until the gravity inverted again, and I found myself slammed downward, then leftward, then up. Clever. He was weaving distortions into every layer of the battlefield.
And the spears weren’t mindless. They tracked.
I clapped slowly, forming eight circles around me, spinning like a gyroscope. I danced between the falling lights, each circle intercepting them mid-descent, some absorbing, some redirecting, some teleporting the spears outside of the dimension.
He was learning fast. Too fast.
But he was just a storm. Uncontrolled.
But what happened next? That made me pause.
He vanished again.
But this time, my body froze.
My calculations were twisted. Something was interfering.
Magic itself, his magic, reached out and gripped the very laws around me. Not through pressure. Like it had decided that I shouldn’t move.
My limbs were bound by golden runes. Foreign enough that I couldn’t analyze them. They didn’t exist in any language I recognized.
“Let’s see you tank this!” Elias shouted.
And for just a breath, I considered letting him hit me.
But no. That would be unfair to both of us.
I twisted one hand.
The space around me cracked like glass, shattering the runes.
Another twist and I was behind him. My fingers pressed into his back gently. “I don't need to.”
And I released a shockwave of condensed demonic energy, blasting him across the battlefield like a comet.
He tried to stop midair, his magic coalescing around his feet, but I was already there again. With a flick of my wrist, the gravity tripled, slamming him into the floor. Another flick and a cube of reality folded around him, locking him in a kinetic loop until...
Crack.
He shattered it, panting with feral eyes, wings of magic flaring like living fire.
But his body was trembling.
I walked toward him calmly, magic swirling lazily at my fingertips. “You might get there, Elias. But you’re not there yet.”
I raised one finger.
And Elias collapsed, his energy spent, his knees hitting the floating earth as he gasped for breath. I stopped in front of him, silent for a moment.
He looked up at me with tired eyes, sweat pouring down his face.
“…Damn,” he croaked, laughing softly. “I really thought I was doing something for a second.”
“You did,” I admitted. “A second too long, in my opinion.”
Then I offered him a hand.
“You did well, too well for your age if I’m being honest,” I said, shaking my head with a small smile.
But I froze mid-motion.
Something shifted.
Every single ward, every preemptive measure I had placed around the dimension, was gone. Not bypassed or suppressed. Deleted, as if they’d never existed.
For the second time today, my personal dimension began to unravel.
A hole tore open in the sky above. And within it… a single, gargantuan eye.
My back was instantly drenched in sweat.
Beside me, Elias collapsed again, stiff as a corpse, utterly frozen.
The eye blinked slowly.
But it wasn’t looking at me. No. It was staring just past me, right at Elias, to be exact. Watching him on the way, one might observe a strange insect.
Then, it shifted. The eye glanced toward the fractured edges of the dimensional gap, now glowing, struggling to repair themselves.
It snorted. Or huffed, instead. A deep, rumbling breath of annoyance.
And just like that… the fissures sealed. Instantly.
The eye lingered a moment longer on Elias. A faint shimmer of curiosity danced within its gaze. Another snort, and then it vanished without a word, without a trace.
I turned to Elias mechanically.
He was still frozen on the ground, trembling. His chest rose and fell rapidly, thick droplets of sweat running down his brow. He looked like he had seen a god.
Because, in truth, he had seen something even worse.
“What… what was that?” he whispered hoarsely, his wide, frightened eyes locked onto mine.
“That,” I replied quietly, “was one of the strongest beings in existence.”
I crouched next to him, my thoughts racing faster than I could catch them. “And you, Elias… you managed to draw its attention. I’m not sure if I should congratulate you… or pity you.”
He glared at me, barely mustering the strength to sit up.
I burst out laughing.
What else could I do?
The most powerful creature in the world, the Dragon of Dreams, had just shown interest in a teenager who hadn’t even seen his second decade.
“Let’s leave before he decides to come back,” I said with a sigh, patting his back. Then, almost to myself, I added, “I should destroy this training ground. Just in case.”
Elias Black.
Kuoh, Japan.
I remained silent during our return to Kuoh, and the girls noticed, sharing worried looks between them.
We walked into the cabin’s main hall and took our seats while the rest of Rias’s peerage greeted us, along with Madam Pranitha. But the tension in the air was thick. Everyone could feel it.
“What happened, Rias?” Akeno asked softly, finishing her round of tea for everyone.
Rias opened her mouth, but I beat her to it. I’d kept quiet long enough.
“Iris had a piece of Voldemort in her scar,” I said bluntly. “It’s something the wizarding world calls a Horcrux. Long story short, a Horcrux is a tether to the mortal world, and as long as one exists, Voldemort can come back from the dead.”
“The insane bastard made multiple before he attacked Iris’s parents,” I continued. “His soul was so mangled that a fragment latched onto Iris when she was a baby.”
“Had a piece?” Kiba asked, frowning.
I nodded. “I… found out a while ago but kept it a secret. I didn’t want wizards getting it into their heads that killing Iris would solve the problem. I wouldn’t have let that happen, and I’d been looking for ways to fix it.”
I glanced at Iris. She twitched at my words, and I offered a small, apologetic smile.
“I asked Rias to speak with her brother. She mentioned that Lord Ajuka might be able to get rid of it without any issues.”
“He said no,” I added, scowling at the memory. I get it, I really do, but it still pissed me off. I like Ajuka. I didn’t miss the fact that he stood between me and that fucking dragon. He could’ve saved himself, but he didn't. “So I kept looking into other ways to remove it. But then Beelzebub got interested in my magic after Riser’s little tantrum, and we made a deal. He took care of Iris’s Horcrux, and in return, he wanted to study my magic.”
“Then why are you all so gloomy? Is that not good?” Gasper asked curiously. His voice cracked when everyone turned to look at him.
It was good that he was doing better, to be honest. But I’d make sure Rias talked to him; he still seemed rattled after everything with his Sacred Gear.
I rubbed his head and gave him a pat. “Because I kept it a secret, Gaspy. Relationships are built on trust, and I hid something important. I had my reasons, and I don’t regret them, but it still hurt Iris.”
I glanced over. She was closing her eyes tightly, clearly holding back something. Then, with a long breath, she spoke.
“I’m pissed you kept it to yourself, Elias,” she said at last. “I’m not some delicate flower who needs protecting. You knew what this would mean to me... how much it would affect us, and you still shouldered it alone. We would’ve helped, but you didn’t let us. That’s what hurts me the most. We’re supposed to be in this together, aren’t we?”
Her eyes opened, softer now, and locked on mine.
“But… thank you,” she added quietly. “That said... if you ever keep something like that from me again, I swear to Merlin...” she narrowed her eyes, “... I will kick you in the nuts before you can even apologize.”
Kiba choked on his tea, and my eyebrow twitched before I cracked a smile. It earned a small but honest one from Iris in return.
Work in progress… but I was grateful we were handling this with some maturity.
“And speaking of honesty,” Hermione said, arching a brow, “Spill it, Eli. I’ve never seen you that scared. What happened during Lord Beelzebub’s experiments?”
I shivered just remembering the scene.
“He asked for a spar,” I muttered.
Rias’s eyes widened. “Did he beat you up, Eli?” she growled. “I’ll tell Sirzechs about this.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, love,” I said dryly as everyone laughed.
“I did make him bleed, though,” I puffed my chest out, only to deflate a second later. Yeah… He played with me the entire time. Nothing I did really affected him. The one hit I landed was thanks to my bullshit weapon, and we both knew it.
“We learned a few things about my magic. Apparently, I’m a conduit for it. Still don’t know how it works, and I’ll explain in more detail later. But the scary part happened after he beat me without breaking a sweat.” I grimaced. “Do any of you know about the Dragon of Dreams?”
Rias’s teacup cracked in her hands as she gasped, shooting to her feet. The rest of the room looked confused.
“So I guess you do,” I chuckled. “Beelzebub explained it briefly. He clearly wasn’t in the mood to go into it, but from what he told me… he’s one of, if not the, strongest beings in existence. He’s called Great Red, and he lives in something called the Dimensional Gap. Think about the space between worlds. I don’t fully get it either.”
“He paid us a visit. Just… looked at me curiously and then vanished.”
I paused, rubbing my arms. “Scariest moment of my life. I couldn’t move. Lord Beelzebub didn’t look much better. If just his presence could freeze someone like Ajuka…” I trailed off. “Yeah. I don’t even want to imagine what kind of monster that dragon is.”
Between explanations and a bit of celebration thanks to Dobby, we finished the night in relatively good spirits, and we returned to the Hollow to spend the night. Rias wanted to follow, but I knew that her peerage needed the victory celebration. She pouted but understood that it was for the best. It’s not like we didn’t want her with us. She was welcomed whenever she wanted.
The girls were cleaning themselves as I felt the distinct pull of the Grimoire begging for me to take it out.
I finished drying my hair and sat on the bed in only my briefs.
800 CP available.
Bow of the Hydra– 400 Points.
The favoured weapon of the greatest hero of Greece, the Bow of the Hydra, is the same weapon that Heracles would use to slay some of his greatest foes. The Bow itself is not particularly special, as beyond being usable as a nearly indestructible club if need be and somewhat enhancing the power of shots fired by it, it lacks magical traits. The quiver the Bow comes with is very different, holding an endless supply of both exceptionally tough and sharp arrows as well as arrows coated in the Hydra’s poison, a substance capable of quickly and painfully killing almost any being. Only an immortal being could avoid death, should the poison enter their blood, but it would still deliver unending agony unless they could use powerful magic to remove the poison.
400 Points remaining.
Afinar-Bleach- 100 Points.
Although initially a technique, one used exclusively by the arrogant Findorr Calius, we have instead chosen to offer this as an item. ‘Afinar’ provides a Hollow’s mask, which can actively restrict your own power by a significant degree while worn. Should you be an Arrancar, this will instead modify your original mask fragments, expanding them into something much larger and more complete. Additionally, you can fraction and break off pieces of the mask on command to release percentages of your sealed powers. The less mask there is left, the less power it seals. You may remove the mask as desired and restore any damage inflicted upon it at will.
300 Points remaining.
Old Witch’s Ring, Dark Souls- 100 Points.
Old ring from an old witch. Engraved minutely with indecipherable script, but seemingly useless, at least until you speak to others. While wearing this ring, not only will you be able to understand any spoken language you hear as though you were a native speaker, but you will be understood by them in turn.
200 Points remaining.
Speculative Spectacles, Bayonetta – 100 Points.
What a nice pair of glasses! Stylish yet effective in what they do. Even if you already have perfect eyesight, this pair of glasses assists you with memory retention when you're reading various writings and documents, ensuring you will always be a repository of knowledge. You'll even find that while wearing them, you can read significantly faster than normal with no loss of study effectiveness!
100 Points remaining.
Favored Library, Libriomancer – 100 Points.
Attached to your warehouse, you gain a small but well-stocked library filled with all your favorite books, along with a small sitting area and comfortable lighting. They are in mint condition, with authors' signatures, and first editions are available to you if desired. Furthermore, any book you bring in here will be stored, labeled and sorted onto the appropriate bookshelf for easy retrieval. While the library will expand to accept more books, it will not take in duplicates. Any items left in the library will be returned to the warehouse after an hour.
0 points remaining.
I smiled stiffly, feeling the Hollow tremble as what I assumed was the library appeared next to it; right as my girls came out of the bath in various states of undress, all of them panicked.
I ignored their questions for a second, too focused on marveling at the rest of the rolls. The Bow was nice... really nice. I was happy with it because one of my girls could learn to use it.
The glasses? No explanation needed. Hermione was getting them whether I wanted it or not.
I slipped the ring onto my finger, though I didn’t feel any difference. Well, didn’t matter. I doubted the Grimoire would scam me. And finally, the mask… it would help. A lot. Especially since at the rate I was growing, I feared the day would come when I couldn’t go a single day without terrifying people just by using my magic. It would also make training way easier. As careful as I tried to be, I was already significantly stronger than any of the girls.
“Eli. Explain.” Hermione stood with her hands on her hips, pouting, and I couldn’t help but smile at my beautiful girlfriend.
“Just some rolls,” I said, tossing her the glasses. “These are for you.”
Before anyone could say anything else, a sudden wave of worry hit me through my bond with Ash, followed by a series of images that made me shoot upright in alarm.
“Quick, where’s my phone?” I asked, serious now.
Iris darted toward her discarded clothes, patting through them until she pulled the phone out. Her face paled instantly as the notification sounds started going off, like the kind you get when the signal returns after being gone for a while.
“Azkaban was attacked!” she shouted, eyes wide. “They haven’t sent another message since the last one… an hour ago!”
“Ash went there,” I muttered, clutching my head as more flashes ran through the bond. “She just sent me some images. Almost everyone’s injured. Some of the Order are dead.”
I didn’t wait. “Get ready. Grab everything. We’re going back to Hogwarts.”
I threw on some clothes quickly. “I’ll tell Rias, meet me there as soon as you’re done.”
The girls nodded, each one visibly worried, and I ran out.
“Rias!” I yelled as I entered the almost-dead party room. Gasper and Koneko were asleep on the couch, and Kiba was already dozing off. Only Rias and Akeno were still awake.
“Eli? What’s wrong?” Rias asked, concern flashing across her face as she saw my expression.
“War’s started in Britain,” I said quietly. “We’re going back.”
“We’ll come with you,” Rias said immediately, Akeno nodding beside her.
“No,” I said firmly. “This is our mess. You can’t act openly, not unless you want to poke the wrong people. I’ll call you if Voldemort’s side crosses a line and breaks the pact, but until then, you can’t be seen with us.”
I paused, meeting her gaze. “Your brother is Lucifer, Rias. If you act, the wrong people will use it as an excuse to start trouble for all of Devilkind.”
The rest came running, Asia in tow. Iris was clutching the phone, and Mione had my trunk slung over her neck.
“Eli, did Ash see Sirius and Remus?” Iris asked tightly, her knuckles turning white.
“Both injured but alive,” I nodded. “Are you all ready?”
“Let me take you to Grimmauld Place, at least,” Rias sighed. She was clearly upset; I could see it all over her face, but she knew I was right.
“I’ll go with you… I fear it’ll be a while before we see each other again,” Akeno added quietly, her usual smirk gone.
With a nod, Rias teleported us straight to Grimmauld Place, and we rushed into the living room.
Everyone left was there, with Bill Weasley doing his best to calm the panicked group.
“Elias, Iris!” Ginny shouted when she saw us.
“Bill, what happened?” I asked after hugging the distraught redhead.
“Voldemort attacked the prison,” Bill said grimly. “Took everyone with him, followers, non-followers, all of them. It was a mess. Diggle and Vance are dead… Mum took a nasty curse, but I managed to counter it before it killed her. Remus and Sirius both have a broken leg and some busted ribs.”
“Was it Voldemort himself?” Iris growled.
Bill shook his head, his expression heavy. “Bellatrix went after Sirius and Remus. Diggle got done in by a pair of vampires. Vance died to the Dementors. Dumbledore faced Voldemort… but he wasn’t a match. Of the survivors, he’s in the worst shape. The new guy Alaric saved him.”
“We’ll heal them,” I said firmly, looking Bill in the eyes. “We’re heading to Hogwarts now. Stay here with the rest. Keep them safe.”
Bill raised an eyebrow but nodded without argument.
Turning around, I gave Rias a sad smile. She didn’t hesitate; she just jumped at me and wrapped her arms around me tightly.
“Be careful, yeah?” she murmured. “We’ve got so much ahead of us… and this war keeps taking you away from me.”
“Always, Rias,” I said, brushing her cheek with my thumb before stealing a quick kiss. “I promised I’d be there after you gained your freedom… and you did. If you’ll have me, I’ll always come back for more.”
Rias giggled, her eyes lighting up as she gave me another soft peck. “You have no idea how much I want to keep you.”
She let go and said her farewells to the girls while Akeno walked up to me.
“What’s with the long face, Miss Sadist?” I teased with a small grin when I saw how genuinely sad she looked.
She smiled that small, rare smile of hers before she stepped closer. There was something different in her eyes... no teasing, no mischief. Just sincerity.
“You always tease me for being a sadist,” she said softly, reaching up to adjust the collar of my shirt, her fingers brushing against my chest for a second longer than needed. “But I only realized that it doesn't feel the same when anyone but you does it.”
I blinked confusedly, then stilled as she leaned in.
“I don’t want to be just one of your friends, Elias,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the buzz of conversation in the background. “I want to be someone who waits for you… and someone you come back to.”
Then she kissed me.
When she pulled back, her cheeks were flushed, but her eyes held that tiny glint of challenge I knew so well.
“Come back alive,” she murmured. “Or I’ll kill you myself.”
Hogwarts.
We arrived at the Hogwarts infirmary with no fanfare, thanks to Ash. Madam Pomfrey had cleared the entire wing, leaving only our wounded and a handful of exhausted staff. The candles were dimmed, and the only sounds were shallow breathing and the occasional soft groan of pain.
I moved quickly, my girls at my side.
Sirius was unconscious, arm in a sling and face pale. Remus had bandages wrapped around his torso and leg, his breathing ragged but steady. Dumbledore lay in the far bed, almost unrecognizable, his beard scorched, skin blackened along one side, and magical suppressors humming faintly around the bed.
Iris let out a shuddering breath. “Merlin…”
“They’ll live,” I said quietly. “But they’re not getting up anytime soon. Not without our help.”
Without waiting, I raised my voice.
“Madam Pomfrey, is everyone injured here, or is someone missing?” I called out. The ones who were still conscious stirred at my voice.
“The worst ones are here. I have others in the next wing,” she answered tiredly, her face slick with sweat.
“Everyone who can move, bring them here. Quickly,” I ordered. Something in my tone must’ve said enough because nearly everyone obeyed without question.
McGonagall, Tonks, Flitwick, my girls, and a few others rushed toward the door.
Two minutes later, the room was filled. More than I expected. I felt my eyes widen at the sheer number of wounded... and who they were.
Not just professors, Order members, or Aurors. Civilians too. People I didn’t recognize and some I did.
Including Cedric’s father.
Amelia Bones walked toward me with a stiff posture, her left arm in a sling. “Everyone’s here, Mister Black,” she said firmly.
“You have my thanks,” I replied with a grateful nod.
I turned to Asia and gently ruffled her hair. “Care to help me with this?”
She was staring at the wounded in horror, but she nodded quickly.
“Give it your all,” I told her softly. “I’ll handle the rest.”
I closed my eyes as she activated her Sacred Gear. I felt the pulse of her healing and let my own magic follow it, wrapping around hers like a second layer. Flowing together. Amplifying each other.
Asia moved fast. My magic filled the gaps, reinforcing and repairing what it would take too long for her.
Within minutes, the groans of pain began to fade. Eyes opened, chests rose evenly. The worst of it was over.
“You stupid mutt! I told you to be careful!” Iris shouted, throwing herself onto Sirius just as he stirred awake.
He grunted under her weight but wrapped his arms around her tightly. “Pup… thank Merlin, you all made it back.”
“Not in time,” I muttered, my voice drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “We’ll explain later… but we’re staying here now. This is where we fight.”
“Allow me,” a silky voice said from near Dumbledore’s bed.
I turned to see the new guy again, helping the Headmaster sit upright. “You dropped this during your battle, Headmaster,” he added, holding something out.
My eyes widened.
The Deathstick.
Dumbledore’s face shifted as he took it. For a moment, a flicker of pain crossed his features, but he quickly masked it with composure.
“Thank you, young man,” Dumbledore said tightly, gripping the wand. “But I believe it’s time I speak with Madam Bones about the war.”
“You are right, Headmaster,” Alaric nodded, then turned to glance at me and the girls behind me. My eyes narrowed.
“I’ll leave the planning to you and the Ministry,” he said with a polite smile. “But if you need support, I’m sure you know how to contact me. I suspect this war will be bloodier than the one it separated my family.”
And just like that, he turned and walked out of the infirmary without looking back.
Comments
InfinityReads99
It was in the middle of battle with many, many more enemies still active, with Voldemort’s battle heating up and chaotic all around. Also… not to sound racist or anything, it if I believe all dementors look the same lol And they are gone for a bit, retreated with Voldemort
InfinityReads99
Awful, awful luck lol.
Adam Daw
Seriously could Alaric be any more sus 🙄
The Renrag
Jesus, those rolls. Serious questions, did you decided to switch to the Celestial Reliquary for a while, or was that just awful luck?
Gr1ffin
I'm still finding Vance having her soul taken by a Dementor before Sirius could even move a little weird. Books and movies have had people in the arms of dementors and/or in process of their soul sucked out and still being saved... plus, if they saved the bodies (the bodies usually still live for sometime wothout their souls; few days/weeks), could Elias killing the dementors release the souls back to the bodies?
LothWolf
Thanks for the chapter 👍😁❤️ and I am glad that he used his noble phantasms I wonder if Ajuka Beelzebub will take note of their special conceptual existence especially considering that the Spear Durindana is basically the holy sword Durandal but from a different universe and is conceptually stronger then the Highschool DXD version [ https://highschooldxd.fandom.com/wiki/Durandal , https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Durindana , https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Rho_Aias , https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Durandal ]
LothWolf
Magic so pure and clean that it might as well be Holy that makes me think that God/YHWH/Yahweh and Jesus and all their different aspects would have something similar to Aetherius and it makes me think that with enough practice that the MC will be able to do pretty much anything with Aetherius since it’s infinite and also seems to have infinite potential it makes me feeling like he could create stuff with it like creating a living being or create another dimension or world
Cody Boyd
Wooo let's go
