From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 541 Women Troubled by Age

Like a bubble bursting from its limit, the surrounding darkness dissipated.

"Wow—" came the wicked, sour voice in my ear, "Is this some kind of fairy tale about a prince and princess kissing to break a curse? I've been worrying for nothing all this time!"

"Ugh..." Yingxin, who had been in a kissing position with Ivy, let out a muffled groan, but it wasn't from pleasure, but from the pain coming from the back of her hand.

That's the price for offending a goddess.

"Don't stop..." Yingxin gasped for breath from the unbearable pain, reaching out to try and hold Ivy's head. "For so long, I've only been tormented by Shar... That magic gave me a sense of pleasure in being able to take revenge on her..."

But Ivy wasn't planning to continue. Partly because there were quite a few onlookers, and partly because the future was long. As Ivy said, this was a protracted war between gods and mortals.

“We have plenty of time, why don’t we go see your parents first?” Ivy put her arm around Yingxin’s weak waist to support her.

Parents. A neglected family.

These words brought Yingxin back to her senses.

“Yes, that’s right… my parents…” Realizing that her parents were still imprisoned by Shar on the Mirror of Darkness, Shadowheart’s face involuntarily flushed with a charming blush.

“We shouldn’t be a burden to Jennyville…” Shar’s elven prisoner looked at the mage who had just kissed her own daughter with a complicated expression. “She should break free from Shar’s control and fall into the arms of the Moon Maiden. We will also transform into spirits to protect her at all times.”

“Didn’t you hear what he said, Anel?” The aged human woman had loose skin, drooping eye bags, and gray hair, looking more like the elf’s mother than his wife. “Killing parents or suffering every day is a vicious scheme devised by Shar. Our deaths will not bring relief to Little Jane; instead, they will put another shackle on her soul, a shackle called loss.”

“I’ve come this far not to give up at the last moment. We’re going to leave this place together. I’ll take care of you.” Having stopped transmitting lust and desire through the curse on the back of her hand, Shar’s revenge was no longer unbearable. Shadowheart regained some mobility and walked resolutely to her parents.

“You will not be a burden to me, but my strength.” Yingxin stretched out a hand, and pure light shone from her palm. “I have been wallowing in darkness for too long. It’s time to make my own choice.”

That light belonged to the moon maiden Serene, shining from the void, piercing through countless barriers in response to Shadowheart's call.

The purple incantation chains binding Shadowheart's parents to the Mirror of Darkness crumbled layer by layer, turning into a wisp of ethereal light amidst the trembling.

Ivy raised her hand at the right moment and gently caught the two prisoners falling from mid-air using telekinesis.

Having been suspended and imprisoned by Shar's power for too long, Shadowheart's parents had almost forgotten how to move their limbs.

Hufflepuff's golden cup swiftly solidified from a cloud of light, and Ivy handed it to the two old men: "Drink up, it will make you feel better."

Since he had already been targeted by more than one god, Ivy felt there was no need for him to hide any longer. From now on, he would go all out to get his hands on everything he had been coveting before the gods could react.

The holy water in the golden cup not only healed the wounds on the bodies of the two Shar prisoners, but also replenished their strength.

Taking advantage of this time, Yingxin had already given Xie Nian, who had been worried outside for half a day, a general account of the whole story.

"So, you cursed a goddess? Or a true god of Shar's caliber?" The evil thought looked astonished, but also somewhat relieved. "No wonder you were able to outmaneuver Baal so easily... Now that Shadowheart's parents have been rescued, what should we do now?"

"Take everything you can use and head back home." Ivy was examining an artifact at the end of the cell. Its shape looked similar to the Dark Mirror that had bound Shadowheart's parents. Ivy remembered seeing something similar in the Iron Hand Temple beneath the Somme family tomb.

This is a mirror made entirely of obsidian, but it cannot reflect any image, because it is a sacred object used by Shar to reflect the hearts of believers.

“Memory. It’s calling for a sacrifice.” Yingxin noticed Ivy’s gaze and explained, “Dean… Viconia is using it to constantly erase my memories.”

“Take it with you.” Ivy tapped the mithril staff on the ground, and the rock base supporting the obsidian mirror quickly separated from the ground, becoming a separate object.

"Luckily, we brought a big guy who's good at carrying heavy things." Evil appeared carrying a sack of gold coins. As the only mental health institution in Baldur's Gate, the Mansion of Sorrow is best at squeezing money from the wealthy families in the Upper City who are morally troubled. Even though such people are only a small part of the Upper City's elite, Viconia has accumulated a huge amount of money for the Embrace of Shadows Abbey for a long time.

"I have many ways to empty this monastery." The sound of pages turning rapidly came from the void, and the long-absent Grimoire of Destruction reappeared.

Ivy flipped to a blank page and pointed it at the Dark Mirror, which had already separated from the ground. After a brief burst of light, Shar's artifact became just an ordinary illustration in the Grimoire of Destruction.

"It looks quite heavy, do you need me to help you carry it?" Ivy glanced at the wicked thought with his mouth half open.

"You have a magic book that can store things!" Evil Thought threw down the sack of gold he was carrying and pointed at the Grimoire of Destruction in Ivy's hand. "Why didn't you say so sooner! Think of how much we've missed! The armor of those Supreme God soldiers, all sorts of supplies, and the silver tableware in the Temple of the Iron Hand! My God! I feel like I've missed out on a mountain of gold!"

"It's just some junk, what's the big deal?" Ivy could understand Xie Nian's collecting obsession as a junk collector. Before he transmigrated, he was also keen on searching for every container in various open-world role-playing games, and would even specifically install mods that could increase carrying capacity.

However, the real world has worn down Ivy's enthusiasm for being a member of the Scoia'tael. After all, the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts in the 1890s was teeming with dark wizards who came to poach, and their equipment wouldn't just disappear into thin air after being erased by Ivy's Killing Curse.

At first, Ivy would enthusiastically strip them clean, but soon she would only collect the most valuable items, such as wands or Galleons.

For slightly worn dragonhide dueling gloves or boots, Ivy would simply use a Vanishing Charm to dismantle them on the spot, along with the corpses. Looting the battlefield was indeed quite tiring, especially without the "one-click pickup" feature of video games. Even with the help of magic, Ivy quickly grew tired of the process of looting corpses piece by piece.

He even considered developing a spell that could replicate the "one-click pickup" function, but after mastering true alchemy and acquiring the treasure of Lonely Mountain, he completely abandoned the idea.

Seeing Xie Nian so energetically searching for treasures (read as trash) from a pile of corpses, Ivy felt a strange sense of kinship.

"They're not trash! We can still make a lot of money by selling them to the guild!" Xie Nian said angrily, feeling like she had lost a huge sum of money.

“Alright, then you can completely empty this monastery,” Yingxin said. “Shar won’t mind; she said so herself.”

"Little Zhen." Shadowheart's mother, the human Emily, called out to her daughter, while her husband, the elf Anel, held Ivy's golden cup. After drinking the clear liquid in the cup, both of them felt much better, both physically and mentally.

“Thank you for your help, sir…” Arnell returned the gold cup, glancing tentatively at his daughter, trying to get a more formal introduction.

“Ivy Doom, an archmage from the Astral Plane.” Shadowheart turned and took a breath, unable to hide the shyness on her face, “My love…”

"Ah..." Before she could finish speaking, Shar's curse brought that excruciating pain, as if tearing her soul apart, down once again.

Shadowheart's parents anxiously surrounded their daughter. The white-haired half-elf girl hugged her parents back, managing to explain, "Don't worry... I see this as Shar's jealousy. That goddess knows nothing of mortal love, and has never experienced any positive emotions..."

“Perhaps the Moon Maiden can help us. If anyone can fight against Shar, she is the only one I can think of.” Anel was a devout follower of Serene. Even after being imprisoned and tortured for decades, he never gave up his faith in the Moon Maiden.

However, Shadowheart simply smiled and shook her head: "I am grateful that Serene was able to help me when I betrayed Shar... But I have been trapped in blind faith for too long. Shadowheart is also a part of me, just like Jennyville. Besides, Shadowheart is more suitable for me, after all, there can be no shadow without light... Of course, I am also your daughter... if you are still willing to accept me."

Emmeline looked at her husband: "You want us to call you whatever we like, right, Arnell? Time is crueler to mortals like me than it is to Shar. I know I'm not going to get any better, but I want to make the most of what I have left to spend with my family."

"The Moon Maiden will guide us and help us find our true selves. Shadowheart, my daughter." Anel gently savored the name he had chosen for his daughter under Shar's tutelage, his heart filled with complex emotions.

As an elf, his lifespan is longer than that of his human wife and his half-elf daughter, and perhaps in the not-too-distant future, he will witness their passing one after another.

It doesn't matter whether their daughter is Yingxin or Jenny Violet; what matters is that the family is finally reunited.

“I have a gift I want to give you.” Ivy gently interrupted the touching atmosphere of the family reunion, pulling out two vials of potions from the Grimoire of Destruction.

Meeting the gaze of the family of three, Ivy explained, "The Elixir of Youth, one of the greatest masterpieces of alchemy, can make people young again. However, it does not increase the corresponding lifespan, but the body and energy can indeed be restored to the level of youth. Two bottles can reduce the physical age by about thirty years. It's a tragedy that we can't enjoy the good times together in the best condition after finally reuniting with our family."

Rejuvenation is one of the effects of Ivy's Philosopher's Stone, and it's definitely one of the effects that women would love to have. However, with the treasure of Lonely Mountain, Ivy no longer considered profiting from the youth potion.

“This is too precious…” Every woman can understand the value of youth in an instant, even Emily, who had been imprisoned for decades, was no exception.

“Drink it now, Mom.” Yingxin wiped the makeup off her face from her tears and smiled as she took the potion from her mother. “Ivy has a castle in the east and a large estate. We’ll live there together.”

At the coronation ceremony in Gortash, Ivy introduced Shadowheart to many nobles in the Baldur's Gate Upper City as the Lady of Morningstar. Although a formal ceremony was still needed, the Alliance documents drafted by Duke Dillard Porter clearly established their legal marital status.

After all, in this fantastical medieval world, wives shared the titles and power of rule with their husbands.

After Emmeline drank the elixir of youth concocted by Ivy using the Philosopher's Stone, her dull skin and gray hair immediately began to reverse.

In the blink of an eye, she looked as young as her own daughter, only with an even more maternal glow.

"Everyone's happy, everyone's happy!" The evil thought put the looted sacks at his feet, clapped his hands, and said, "Let's go out and loot some other places! Jahira and Minsk will definitely be willing to help!"

In fact, Jahira and Minsk were too busy to help.

Even in a two-on-one situation, the two were at a disadvantage against their former teammate Viconia.

Minsk, a ranger with only eight points of perception, was suffering terribly from Viconia's bewitching spells, and most of the time he could only swing his two-handed greatsword to slash at the air.

As a druid, High Harpist Jahira possesses spellcasting abilities, but under the threat of Priest Shar, who wields a heavy shield, she finds it difficult to help dispel the control spells on Minsk.

Not to mention that the decline in strength brought about by age is faithfully reflected in her physical body. In close combat, her two scimitars were also suppressed by Viconia's heavy shield and spiked mace combination.

"Breaking into my temple was the biggest mistake you've ever made!" Viconia's golden shield glowed with a red light, which formed a shell that returned the projectile that Jahira had thrown to the ground intact.

The broken grease bottle left a large oil stain on the ground, and Jasira had to perform several difficult maneuvers to maintain her balance: "I've never hated my age so much! Ah! Ivy!"

She saw Ivy coming out of Shar's cell and called out, "Come help me!"

(End of this chapter)