From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 456 Shar's Shadow

Convincing the Displacement Beast named Nisha was no easy task; Halsin went to great lengths to convince her that his love stemmed from an unnatural magic.

The evidence is the food of the Displaced Beast, which is the corpse of a spider monster. However, the bodily fluids seeping from it indicate that the spider monster had been injected with succubus saliva before it died, which caused the entire corpse to have bewitching power.

The Displaced Beast, having consumed the spider monster's corpse, fell in love with the Blood Armor Demon who fed it such a large piece of meat, thus creating this absurd combination.

Fortunately, this is not a permanent effect. As long as she does not consume the highly rotten spider monster corpse for the next few meals, the Displacement Beast Nissa will be able to get rid of this mental effect.

Halsin generously shared a portion of his rations with the Displaced Beast in exchange for the right to become its "servant who provides food."

“Nisha agreed to show us around the Blood Armor Demon’s lair,” Halsin said. “I think she treated that Shadow Orb, which belongs to the Temple of Iron Hands, like a toy or a ball of yarn.”

The lair of the Blood Armor Demon Yogg was littered with corpses, and the stench of dried blood and highly decomposed flesh polluted almost every inch of the space.

If only the Night Judges of Shar had been killed by the Bloodarmored Demons in the past century, their corpses would have long since turned into piles of bones. However, the cultists of the Supreme God brought in by Balthazar filled the void. These relatively fresh corpses, after several months of decomposition, transformed the Bloodarmored Demons' lair into a miniature version of hell on earth.

Moreover, the devil's unique aesthetic sense even led the Blood Armor Demon Yogg to find a way to preserve many of the corpses belonging to the Night Judges and piece them together into a bed that resembled the head of a ferocious beast.

These corpses, having lost a great deal of moisture due to the high temperature on the surface of the Blood Armor Demon's body, resembled tanned leather, telling everyone who saw them of the devil's evil.

Even Asdalon, who once planned to sacrifice seven thousand vampire offspring like himself, and Minsara, the eldest daughter of the Banri family from the dark city of Mosobry, felt that the Blood Armor Demon's actions were too cruel and evil.

Driven by wicked thoughts, she remained extremely excited in this space. Not only had she tried to sample the food of the Displacement Beast, but she had also enthusiastically cast the Talk to the Dead on the Blood Armor Demon's corpse bed.

Even more unexpectedly, the bed that the Blood Armor Demon built from countless corpses actually responded to the evil spell as a whole!
The corpses began to writhe under the ghastly green magic of necromancy, and a crack appeared from the pile of corpses, like a giant beast opening its mouth full of ravenous teeth.

From these former judges of the night, the adventurers learned exactly how they were slaughtered, just as they had previously guessed.

A Blood Armored Demon, leading a legion of demons, defeated the Night Judge in the Iron Hand Temple with a single surprise attack.

"...Did anyone survive? Or leave the temple?" Xie Nian asked curiously. Although everyone guessed that the reason why the Blood Armor Demon failed to complete the contract was because Raphael interfered, the specific form of interference was still unknown.

“…There was one,” the Blood Armor Demon’s bed groaned lifelessly, “it shattered into many pieces…”

"Is he still in the temple?" the evil thought continued to ask.

"...Always here." This was the last question the dead man asked in his conversation, and after he answered, the Blood Armor Demon's bed fell silent.

"So, Raphael's trick was to turn the last Dark Judge into many insignificant little creatures?" Since entering this space, Yingxin's eyebrows had been furrowing incessantly. "This must be some kind of evil demonic ritual!"

“It’s rats.” Halsin continued to act as Nisa’s translator. “She said the temple is full of rats that chatter all the time. If they weren’t so small that they wouldn’t even be enough to fill her teeth, she would have picked them out and eaten them all long ago.”

“Uh…should we save this follower of Shar?” Karak glanced at Shadowheart and asked in a very hesitant tone.

For anyone who is not a follower of Shar, this group hidden in the shadows is not someone to be trifled with, and of course, it is best not to lend them a helping hand.

Shar is a goddess of loss, and one of the twin goddesses at the birth of the world of Toril. She can contend with other powerful pantheons without needing believers. Therefore, to worship Shar means to embrace loss.

After death, you will be plunged into eternal darkness and gain nothing.

Even a good person like Karak didn't think saving a Dark Judge belonging to Shar was a good thing. In fact, the reason she could ask such a question was entirely because of Shadowheart, whom she usually affectionately called "Little Braid".

“Let him be alone.” Yingxin shook her head. “He has been in Lady Shar’s temple for over a hundred years, but the lady has never shown him any pity. It must be because his behavior has angered the lady.”

“I’m starting to change my opinion of you a little, girl.” Minsara smiled slightly. “Ruthlessness is indeed the most needed quality of a matriarch. Even if he shares the same faith as you, it’s not a reason for you to help him, especially when he worships a goddess like Shar.”

“I have no intention of arguing with you, Minsara.” Shadowheart picked up the Shadow Orb from the ground and carefully wiped away the dust and bloodstains. “I can stand in this temple entirely thanks to Lady Shar’s guidance. As long as I am sure that she still loves me… that is enough.”

“The experience of betraying Rose taught me the most important lesson, and I would like to share my experience with you, girl.” Minsara’s smile did not diminish, but rather widened, a look that was a mixture of pity and contempt. “The gaze of the gods is never a blessing to mortals… Even if you cannot understand it now, I think you will soon agree with my teachings.”

Yingxin paused for a moment, then continued forward without turning back or arguing.

“We don’t have much time. The Harpists of the End of Light and the Flame Fists are all making their final preparations. We need to break Katheric’s immortality magic as soon as possible.” Shadowheart looked up at Ivy as she approached him. “Next is Balthazar. Maybe we can find another Shadow Orb there.”

Does the girl's pale green eyes convey absolute confidence and unwavering faith?
Ivy doesn't think so.

Although Ivy had been swamped with work since arriving at the End of Light and rarely had time to meet with his teammates, Shadowheart's bedroom was just above his lab. The girl sleeping alone in the shadows was not at peace; she often talked in her sleep and cried out.

Ivy even knew that she was dreaming more and more frequently about the forest where she met the gray wolf as a child, and the headmistress who took off her mask.

The closer they got to Shar's sacred site, the more questions arose for the half-elf girl.

Although she could still act like the most devout believer, her heart was constantly searching for the truth, which was precisely what the teachings of Shar did not allow. Ivy held Shadowheart's hand and said gently, "We can do it, and I'm right here beside you. Whether you're trembling and whispering in the shadows or struggling and screaming in your nightmares, I'm here."

Yingxin instinctively looked away, and tried to pull her hand away from Ivy's grasp: "I...I know, but..."

Ivy squeezed the hand covered by the chainmail one last time to make sure she could feel her pressure even through the interlocking metal rings before letting go: "I respect your choice, Shadowheart."

Having said that, Ivy no longer waited for Shadowheart's response and turned to his teammates who were watching the commotion, ordering, "Let's kill Balthazar and end the tragic life of this Melkor follower."

There is no doubt that Basazar was one of the driving forces behind Ketherrick's renewed betrayal of the followers of Shar and his turn to Melkor.

According to the diary found by adventurers in the Somme, Balthazar was already serving Katheric when his daughter Isabella had just died.

Even the magical ritual that draws the power of the goddess Serene, imprisoned beneath the Temple of the Iron Hand, to provide protection for Katheric, was performed by this necromancer.

However, a hundred years ago, this ritual had some unknown flaws and could not share the almost infinite life force of the daughter of Selenne with Catherine.

However, after being dug up by Balthazar and resurrected through Melkor's unclean ritual, Katheric achieved incomplete immortality through some unknown means.

Although Ivy doesn't need this kind of low-cost-effective ritual magic, it's never a bad thing to learn more.

Just like when Ivy made a pact with the Blood Armor Demon Yogg, it wasn't because he actually needed a Blood Armor Demon to serve him. Or perhaps a Blood Armor Demon could truly be a factor in tipping the scales of victory in the battle against Raphael.

Rather, it's because the Blood Armor Demon is a subject worthy of study.

As native species of Hell, demons are beings completely different from those of the Prime Material Plane.

Although demons may appear vastly different, they are in fact all of the same species. As living manifestations of specific cosmic laws, demons possess completely illogical physiological structures. However, since they are still biological beings, Ivy believes they have value for study.

Lesser demons and Blood-Armored Demons share very few similarities in appearance, but they can actually transform into each other. This relies on a special procedure among demons called Ascension and Demotion.

As a hierarchical order of beings, the hierarchy of demons is like a pyramid, but this hierarchical pyramid is fluid.

Lower-ranking demons can be transformed into higher-ranking demons through promotion rites, while higher-ranking demons may be punished by the Grand Duke for incompetence, transforming from a powerful form into a more humiliating new form.

The reason why demons can change into multiple forms lies within their bodies. All demons have an organ called an "oosac," which contains dozens of finger-sized fluid sacs, and within these fluid sacs are the embryos of different demon forms.

When a demon is promoted, the corresponding embryo in the new form will rapidly develop and mature, replacing the old body.

In other words, if Ivy's technology advances enough, she might even be able to clone an entire Hell Legion from the Blood Armor Demon Yogg.

However, before the Blood Armor Demon Yogg actually begins to serve Ivy, we need to find a way to change some of his bad habits. Using corpses as beds, which is a significant form of environmental pollution, must be completely prohibited, not to mention that he is also wasting necromancy materials.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Living people leave traces in their environment through their activities, and so do the dead.

In addition to the footsteps of adventurers, other, fainter footsteps echoed through the corridor.

They are skeleton soldiers wearing rusty armor, and because they lack a physical body, they are often frighteningly light.

This meant that even though they were all wearing iron boots, the noise they made was not easily noticed, especially when these skeleton soldiers were patrolling slowly.

"Minsara!" The skeleton at the front suddenly spoke, a decaying soul fire igniting in its empty eye sockets. "You've infiltrated my battlefield! Why? General Som's orders were to find weapons, not to interfere with my work!"

"I have done my job!" Minsara crossed his arms, displaying utter arrogance, like a general who had just been commended. "But unfortunately, that bastard Nine has failed and shut his mouth forever. I think you will soon follow in his footsteps."

"What did you say?" Basazar's deep voice echoed through the stone chamber. "My progress is going very smoothly. It will only take a little while to successfully complete General Somme's mission!"

Purple magical flames undulated around the chandelier, and shadows, like tides, washed over the hall occupied by the undead, gradually converging into deep, dark vortexes.

Warriors shrouded in heavy shadows emerged from the vortex, each clad in the armor of the Night Judge. Some wielded scimitars, while others gripped spiked hammers, launching attacks on the undead soldiers standing beside them.

“Shadow of Shar!” Basazar screamed. “Your mission as messenger is over, Minsara! Take your soldiers and clear the way for General Som’s plans!”

"An opportunity!" Ivy heard Shadowheart whisper. "Lady Shar's power is cleansing the necromancers' blasphemy! We should cooperate with her power to completely drive the lackeys of the Supreme God out of her sanctuary!"

Elise's magical longsword, imbued with the holy power of her oath, slashed down, turning a shadow encased in the armor of a Night Judge back into a pile of shattered metal.

Minsara's slightly mocking voice came through: "Your lady may not be cooperating with you, little girl."

(End of this chapter)