From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 453 Blood Armor Demon
As the adventure team continued onward, Minsara tugged at Ivy's belt from behind, signaling him to fall behind; she had something to say.

"Are you really going to support her becoming a judge of the night?" Minsara's warm, slightly metallic breath brushed against his ear. Ivy's alchemical knowledge told him that the condiment Minsara had added to breakfast today was a specially made drow poison, both sweet and venomous.

“Undoubtedly, becoming a Night Judge will strengthen the bond between Shadowheart and Shar, bringing greater power, which is beneficial to our team. But for Shadowheart herself, it would be better to get rid of that toxic influence.” Ivy could see the worry for Shadowheart in Minsara’s pale red eyes. If Ivy didn’t know that the traits exhibited by the drow elves were mainly influenced by Lolth’s faith, rather than because they were inherently cruel and evil, she might have been surprised.

“You care about her a lot,” Ivy chuckled softly. “I thought you and Yingxin didn’t get along.”

Minsala narrowed her eyes; she disliked teasing and perfunctory remarks. "If you've already planned her path, then I won't interfere further."

“Shadowheart is a good girl, and I did say I would support her,” Ivy explained slowly. “But this support is for her as a person, not for her Shar faith. As for who she really is, I think we all have our own answers, including Shadowheart herself, don’t we?”

“A Serene follower lost in Shar’s embrace, and already beginning to doubt himself.” Minsara smiled, staring with amusement at Ivy’s eyes that flickered in the shadows. “I’m curious, just how many things are you unaware of? Can those eyes that can see through magic also see through people’s hearts?”

"I can see the magical aura because of my own magic. As for seeing through people's hearts, although I'd love to say yes, I really can't." Ivy gave Minsara a smile and quickened her pace to catch up with the group.

After navigating up and down countless staircases and wandering back and forth beneath the vaulted ceiling and Shar's banner, the adventure team finally encountered something that could move.

It was a large cat with glossy blue-black fur, but its six legs and two flat, barbed whiskers extending from near its shoulders made it clear that it was no ordinary wild animal.

"Shifting Beasts!" Leading the way were Karak and Will. With everyone's unanimous agreement, they believed that the Blood Armored Demon in the temple was the first target to be eliminated.

Therefore, the Border Blade, who had extensive experience hunting demons, and the champion warrior, who had fought for ten years in the Battle of Avernas, took on the responsibility of tracking down the Blood Armor Demon.

The two men arrived at the same conclusion through their senses, with almost no disagreement, and led the group to a corridor that looked very dilapidated.

The falling rubble from the vaulted ceiling shattered the corridor, and fresh blood and bones were scattered everywhere.

“The Blood Armor Demon isn’t far from here.” Will rubbed the congealed blood on the ground with his boots. The shadow magic in the Iron Hand Temple seemed to have preserved its freshness. Otherwise, judging from the time span, the Supreme God cultists who followed Balthazar into the temple should have been dead for a month or two. The blood flowing from their bodies could not possibly be this fresh; it should have dried and stank long ago.

“That big cat is definitely a trap.” Karak stretched his shoulders and took the giant axe from his back. “The Blood Armor Demon is not an easy opponent. I would never face it unnecessarily if I were alone. What should we do, Ivy?”

“Displacement beasts can deflect light, making their actual position different from what they appear to be. We can do that too, especially if we have an archmage in the party who's good at creating illusions. Right, Gale?” Ivy wasn't too concerned about the power of a Blood Armored Demon. Even if it had slaughtered the entire Iron Hand Temple, it wouldn't be a match for her. But saving some energy and making the journey a little easier was always a good thing.

“An eye for an eye.” Gale held up one finger. “I like this strategy. When it thinks it has the upper hand, we’ll catch it off guard!”

“That’s right.” Ivy nodded.

Gale's illusion magic was truly impressive. He could easily weave illusions of Mystra into his hands and admire them, and with just a single incantation, he could create an entire team of illusions indistinguishable from the adventurers.

“It’s really strange to see myself from this angle,” Xie Nian said, touching the blood-red tattoo on his face that extended outward from the corner of his eye. “It’s almost like looking in a mirror, but the left and right directions haven’t been reversed.”

Under Gale's control, the adventurers followed the Displacement Beast across the broken corridor, past the makeshift torches standing in the corner, and deeper into the wilderness.

Whoever came up with this strategy of luring the enemy, he was not a clever fellow.

This area of ​​the temple is very different from the other well-preserved places. Anyone who came with the Displacement Beast is not blind and can guess that a great battle took place here, and therefore be wary.

Not to mention that the place where the Displacement Beast disappeared was a room that had been blasted open from above. As long as you stand on the upper level and launch a ranged attack through the hole, very few people can leave unharmed.

Shadowheart, Minsara, and other heavily armored warriors walked with Gale, protecting him as he manipulated the illusions of his squad. Meanwhile, Ivy, along with the agile Evil Thought, Asdalon, and others, bypassed them from elsewhere and launched a sneak attack from behind.

"What are you looking at? A new toy." The speaker was a colossal figure, almost twice the height of the evil thought. His skin was a fiery red, with a rough, slab-like texture, and his massive body was filled with muscles brimming with explosive power. Yet, this enormous demon was a ranged archer, though his weapon was befitting his size: a small siege crossbow, the arrowheads dripping with purulent green poison.

"This place is a bit too new for you. The stench from the ground is so pervasive..." The enormous demon took a breath, trying to make his argument more convincing, but he was surprised to find an even fresher scent coming from behind him.

"When!" Blood Armor Demon Yug exclaimed in shock and anger, quickly turning around and pointing his giant crossbow at the enemy behind him.

But Ivy, who was prepared, was obviously faster. Bright purple magic runes emerged from beneath the Blood Armor Demon Yogg, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Yug wanted to pull the trigger of the giant crossbow in his hand, but the operation, which usually only required the movement of his fingers, now felt as heavy as ten thousand pounds.

Also affected by Ivy's monster immobilization spell was the Displacement Beast that had guided the adventurers here; this was the effect of the super magic feat [Twin Spell].

"Take care of the Legion Demons that aren't affected by my spells," Ivy instructed her teammates. "This guy didn't attack immediately; perhaps we can have a chat."

Although most of the team didn't think there was anything to talk about with the devil, Ivy always managed to surprise them, so they faithfully carried out the orders.

Blood-armored demons are hunters of hell, often serving a specific demon lord. However, when not under orders or with a mission, they may also serve employers who can provide powerful adversaries. Slaughtering an entire temple of Night Judges was perhaps the most challenging mission the Blood-armored demon Yog had ever undertaken, so he brought along a whole legion of Legion Demons, low-ranking soldiers from the Bloodbath, as his assistants.

But these helpers haven't been able to inflict any damage on the adventurers.

As Yog turned and pointed his giant crossbow at Ivy, the Legion Demons, realizing they were under attack, fired their crossbow bolts. However, aside from shattering a few illusions created by Gale, they achieved nothing.

Before the Legion Demons could load the next bolt into their crossbows, the adventurers' counterattack rained down like a storm.

The Legion Demons suffered all sorts of attacks: their bodies were pierced by thorns that suddenly grew from the ground, they were cut in half at the waist by a greatsword burning with flames, they were grabbed by the ankle and slammed onto another Legion Demon by an enraged champion warrior, or their brains were pierced by a dagger from behind...

These things happened almost in an instant, and their commander, the Blood Armor Demon Yug, could do nothing. Facing Ivy, he couldn't even see her and could only guess how his subordinates were slaughtered by the sounds coming from all directions.

It felt like a hundred years had passed, yet it also felt like only a moment had elapsed.

The Legion of Demons was wiped out, and all Yogg could hear was that ethereal song again.

After a loud snap of his fingers, the monstrous immobilization spells on Blood Armor Demon Yug and Displacement Beast were dispelled, and both regained control of their bodies.

The Displacement Beast let out a low growl and leaped a few times to reach the Blood Armor Demon, baring two sharp teeth at Ivy.

"No! Nisha... my little beauty." Yug's deep, rumbling voice echoed across the bloody slaughterhouse. "We are no match for him."

"What do you want from me, human?" The Blood Armor Demon Yug exhaled a breath full of sulfurous stench, his bright eyes' vertical pupils almost shrinking to slits.

“It’s just a chat, don’t be so nervous.” Ivy casually crossed her arms. “Then I’ll get straight to the point. You know Raphael, right? That Cambion.”

“A perfume-wearing fraud, a coward!” Yug growled. “He lied to me and trapped me here!”

“Very well. I might as well tell you in advance that we were hired by Raphael to kill you.” Ivy nodded.

"Then what are you still hesitating for? Come on!" Yug looked like he was about to pull the trigger at any moment, but he didn't. Although he was all muscle, he was still a devil, not a brainless demon.

“We only have a verbal agreement with Raphael, so we’d be happy to share our experience dealing with him with you.” Ivy crossed her arms. “Tell me about yourself first. How did you end up trapped here?”

“A contract, a genuine contract!” Perhaps because he had been trapped in the darkness for too long, or perhaps because he had succumbed to Ivy’s magic, Yug answered the question without much hesitation, “Either I fulfill the contract, or I voluntarily give up my freedom and become Raphael’s slave.”

"If I'm not mistaken, the content of this contract is to kill all the Dark Judges in the Temple, right?" Ivy continued to ask.

“Not just the Night Judge, but everyone who has heard that song of the covenant,” Yogg complained. “I fulfilled the covenant—filling this great hall with ghosts—but that bastard went and played other tricks, including leaving me here!”

“What bad luck.” Ivy shook her head sympathetically. “There’s an even crueler truth: you were just a subcontractor for Raphael’s debts. He first made a pact with a desperate Serene believer to eliminate the Night Judges in the temple. Then, by making a pact with you, he’s trying to trick his way into adding another item to his collection.”

"What a brilliant plan, killing two birds with one stone and getting two fish from one fish!" Ivy clapped her hands, her sarcasm deepening.

"Ah!" Knowing the truth only enraged the Blood Armor Demon Yug even more. He roared angrily, "What else do you want to know, human!"

“Let’s talk about that Cambion’s father.” Ivy had been wanting to know the answer for a long time. As a Cambion, Raphael’s power was obviously beyond the average level of this group, and even more powerful than some powerful demons.

However, Raphael always acted like a rich young master, so this power must not be the result of his own efforts; the only answer is that it came from his father's legacy.

“I have indeed heard the rumors… that the liar’s father is Mephisto, the chief mage of the Nine Hells, the Lord of Hellfire, the Demon Grand Duke of Kania, and one of the oldest demons.” Yog chuckled in a low voice. “Do you really dare to go against him, human?”

“See what I told you?” Ivy turned to Asdalon. “Raphael is a pathetic fellow who craves his father’s approval yet also longs to rebel against his father’s authority. He’s hoping to get his father’s attention by causing trouble for him right now.”

The hellish pact behind Asdalon points to the devil Mephistopheles. How could a devil be so kind as to sell his father's secret to someone else through a verbal agreement?
From the very beginning, Raphael longed to cause trouble for his father, and sabotaging the seven thousand souls his father was about to receive was one of his methods.

Ivy was even willing to bet that, regardless of whether the Blood Armor Demon Yug would die here, he would reveal the entire contents of the Hell Pact behind Asdalon. To some extent, this even became a means for Raphael to win the adventurers' trust.

“You’ve proven yourself right once again, Ivy.” Asdallen sighed. In every respect, his relationship with Kazador was exactly the same as that with Raphael and Mephistopheles—both wanted to prove themselves by replacing their fathers.

"So what do we do now? Should we still kill this Blood-Armored Demon?" Asdell asked, frowning. "Demons that die will rise from hell; killing him will undoubtedly strengthen Raphael..."

(End of this chapter)