From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 567 Creation
“There is no possibility of redemption for souls that have fallen into hell.” Ivy admired the new page in the Grimoire of Destruction, the musical score composed of the souls of Raphael’s debtors. “At least not from me.”

“But…they were just deceived by Raphael…” Yingxin shook her head worriedly. “Of course, I’m not saying they’re all innocent, but you can’t deny that there are definitely innocent people among them, and perhaps quite a few at that…”

“There is no such thing as an innocent person who makes a deal with the devil.” Ivy closed the Grimoire of Destruction, giving its final verdict on the souls within. “The corruption and depravity they suffered will leave a stain on their souls, and every devil has the ability to discern which lord of hell these stains came from.”

“There is a chain of dominion among the demons, starting from the lowest lesser demons and going all the way up to the Lord of the Nine Hells.” Ivy coughed slightly, looking a little tired. His body was still full of energy, but his soul and spirit felt weak. The great symphony of Ainu was not something that just anyone could play.

Ivy flicked a glass ball from her sleeve, and after it bounced and shattered on the ground, the towering Blood Armor Demon Yug stood in the ruined lobby lounge.

“Let Yug explain the more detailed parts to you.” Ivy used magic to pull over a sofa that had been split in two, waved it back to its original state, and then pulled Shadowheart to sit down. “After all, he is the true demon. I need to rest for a bit.”

“You should have already sensed it, Commander. Raphael is dead. From now on, you will serve me for a full hundred years.” Ivy ordered the slightly bewildered Yug. “Your first task is to explain to this lady the whereabouts of the souls of those who have fallen into hell.”

“The pact between Raphael and me has indeed been broken… I will follow your instructions and destroy the lord.” The burly, armored demon knelt on one knee, obediently pledging allegiance to Ivy. In fact, this expert of the Blood Demon Legion had already intended to pledge allegiance to Ivy when they reunited.

Yog had never seen any mortal dare to venture into Hell and challenge a devil in his lair.

"Ivy!" The evil voice came from behind her. The vibrations caused by Raphael absorbing souls alerted her, so she hurriedly dropped everything and rushed towards the door, but she was still a step too late.

More footsteps echoed along the corridors of the Mansion of Hope, as the adventurers, having completed their respective tasks, gathered once more.

"Raphael is dead?" Karak looked at the mess in the hallway and the blood-armored demon kneeling before Ivy. "This is surprisingly easy. I can't believe we're adventuring in Avernas; I feel like I'm going home to visit family."

“Corella! Oh no… See, you still paid the price for your actions… You shouldn’t have become an accomplice of the devil… Even in hell, there is always hope…” The female dwarf Hope, who followed the adventurers into the hall, picked up Corella Heartfire’s body. Even though she had been cut into three pieces by Raphael, Hope could still recognize her sister.

She shook her head weepingly, then rose and warned the adventurers in a loud voice, "We must leave immediately! Raphael's Fortress, also known as the Mansion of Hope, is a castle that flies above the River Styx. Its ability to float is powered by the souls Raphael has imprisoned here. Now that all those souls have vanished, the fortress's power will weaken, and it will eventually plummet into the depths of the Styx like a real stone. If we don't leave before then, we're all doomed!"

“The waters of the River Styx are definitely not good. Even just a little bit can turn a person into an idiot, let alone taking a bath in it.” Gale immediately began to educate the group of uneducated adventurers about the knowledge of Hell. “Mammon’s portal is still there. We should hurry back to Baldur’s Gate.”

“Ahem.” Ivy coughed lightly to draw everyone’s attention. “Don’t worry, all the souls Raphael has collected over the years are with me. Although he has indeed completely digested some of them, the total number is still around eight thousand. Besides, my magic power is enough to keep this flying fortress from collapsing in the short term. We have plenty of time to plunder everything in the Mansion of Hope.”

"You obtained eight thousand souls?" Will, who knew a great deal about demons, asked in astonishment. "By the Trinity! This is an extremely serious act of blasphemy! Just using the soul coins made by the demons could completely turn a person to the evil side. If they used more, they might even turn into the demons themselves! Eight thousand souls! I can't even bear to think about the consequences! Not to mention that this is Aphrodite!"

“You mean Ivy will become…” Yingxin looked at Ivy with concern.

Ivy raised a hand to stop her teammates' argument: "Commander Yug is about to explain this to me, let him finish first. You can continue, Yug."

“If a soul enters Hell, it means that he must have been corrupted by the devil in his previous life, and that a stain of depravity has been created in his soul.” The Blood-Armored Demon rose from in front of Ivy and explained his plan to Ivy’s teammates. “This stain of depravity will take the soul to the beginning of the River Styx, a small rocky islet known as the Rack of Despair. It is always soaked in blood. The Barbed Demons who serve the devil dukes will sail small boats to the Rack of Despair and determine which devil duke the soul belongs to by examining the stain on it.”

“It’s unusual for the demon lords to personally corrupt mortals, so this is usually done by their subordinate demons or through demonic churches in the mortal realm. Through the chain of demonic rule, a soul corrupted by a lower-ranking demon will pay its taxes to its various superiors along the chain, up to the demon lord. However, even the demon lord must hand over a certain number of souls to Asmodeus, the lord of the Nine Hells,” the Blood-Armored Demon concluded. “This is a rule established by the Primordial Covenant, which even the gods must abide by. Every soul, once it enters Hell, already belongs to the demon lord. Therefore, taking them out of Hell would be seen by the demons as stealing assets.”

“But Raphael is dead, utterly reduced to ashes.” Shadowheart asked with a hint of surprise, “Shouldn’t those souls that once belonged to him be considered ownerless?” “When Raphael captured these souls, he definitely paid his dues to his superiors—Zariel or Mephisto. Now that he’s dead, those souls are indeed ownerless,” the Blood-Armored Demon Yug affirmed Shadowheart’s judgment. “Ownless souls entering Hell are extremely rare, and each one causes a massive uproar. Because to every demon, these ownerless souls are like pieces of gold fallen from the sky, and none of the great demons’ names are engraved on them. Negotiation leads to bargaining, bargaining leads to arguments, arguments lead to battles. Only the demon who wins the battle to decide the ownership of an ownerless soul is qualified to dispose of it.”

“But that only happens when a few unclaimed souls accidentally enter Hell. Eight thousand unclaimed souls are enough to start a war between the demon dukes.” Yog cast his gaze toward the broken wall of the hall, a huge gap revealing the fiery red mountains of Avernas before everyone. “All the demon dukes who know about this, or might know about it, have certainly begun preparing for a war. Zariel, Mammon, Mephisto, those three are definitely indispensable.”

“You’re missing the point, Yogg.” Shadowheart frowned in displeasure. “If they are unclaimed souls, why can’t Ivy take them away?”

"'Ownerless' only applies to demons. They simply don't belong to any particular demon, but they still belong to Hell." Yug stared intently at Ivy, his fanatical expression barely concealed. "Any act of using or redeeming these souls is enough to turn a mortal into a demon in Hell. I would be more than happy to serve such a great demon! Perhaps you could even usurp the rule of one level of Hell from a demon lord."

Souls that fall into Hell belong to Hell, a covenant made by Asmodeus, the lord of the Nine Hells, with the gods of order when he established the Nine Hells. Asmodeus, originally a member of the gods of order, became tainted with too much evil blood while fighting against the chaotic and wicked demons, causing his allegiance to shift. Growing increasingly disgusted with the gods of order, he declared a separation through a primordial covenant. The demons of the Nine Hells thus assumed the responsibility of fighting the demons of the abyss alone, but this covenant also stipulated that demons could strengthen Hell by tempting souls to corruption.

Therefore, even the gods cannot save souls that have fallen into hell without paying any price.

Eltoril, who was dragged into Hell by Zariel through contracts and conspiracies, returned to the Prime Material Plane before the terms of the contract were fulfilled. Otherwise, even if the four great gods of the Trinity of Justice joined forces to invade Hell, they would not be able to pull the holy city of Eltugad back.

"What do you think of the sixth level, Marbogi?" the Blood-Armored Demon offered his military advice. "Many years ago, after the purge of Hell, Marbogi's lord became a fickle Night Witch. However, she was too arrogant, even dreaming of ascending to godhood like the Lord of the Nine Hells. After her failed self-destruction, Marbogi was taken over by the Lord of the Nine Hells' daughter, the Lust Queen Gracia. She has a weak foundation in the Nine Hells, originally just Mammon's wife, and was neglected by her own father for attempting a rebellion. She is a relatively easy lord to deal with in the Nine Hells."

“Or perhaps the fifth layer, Stygia?” Every demon has considered how to seize more power; it’s not just a political pursuit, but part of their very nature. Interfering in the politics of the Nine Hells is clearly not something a Blood Armor Demon, who has always served the Blood War Legion, should do. However, he now belongs to Ivy’s private armed forces, so he naturally has no such reservations. “The current Grand Duke Levitus and the former Grand Duke Geinyong are waging an endless war on that frozen land, one that will not stop until one side is completely destroyed. A peaceful hell only breeds rebellious plots. The Nine Hells Lord’s scheme to consolidate his power also represents an opportunity for others! Especially for someone like you, who possesses both strength and wisdom! If you intend to fall into demonhood, I believe the name of the Lord of Destruction will soon spread throughout many planes of the multiverse!”

After Yug finished reporting his military suggestions, the adventurers all looked at Ivy, not daring to even breathe loudly, for fear that Ivy would actually agree to the suggestion and become another great devil entrenched in hell.

Based on their time together, all the adventurers felt that Ivy, as a demon, was far more terrifying than Raphael or anyone else. Even among other demon lords, he might have a chance to put up a fight.

“Thank you for your advice, Yug. But I’m quite satisfied with my current body.” Ivy slowly shook her head. “You’re right, any use or redemption of these unclaimed souls could potentially turn me directly into a demon by the power of the Nine Hells, and with them entangled, my teleportation spells can’t be easily activated. But you’ve overlooked something, Yug. What are those barbed demons who travel across the River Styx, capturing souls for the Grand Dukes, most afraid of?”

"What is the barbed demon most afraid of?" The blood-armored demon hesitated for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "You mean the soul falling into the River Styx? Having all personality or memories washed away? That would undoubtedly greatly reduce the value of the soul... But I can't think of any reason for you to do that—if a soul has no value, what's the point of preserving it? It's just a piece of white paper that can be found anywhere, and I can't think of any other use for it except for wiping your butt."

“Whether a soul that falls into Hell belongs to the devil or to Hell itself can be considered the same thing. Because the ultimate purpose of these souls is to strengthen the devils and then fight against the demons in the blood war.” Ivy chuckled softly, speaking with a hint of pride about her biggest plan, “It’s just that the specific devils and Hell themselves use souls in different ways. The devils choose to use souls to strengthen themselves, while Hell uses these souls to give birth to new devils on the edge of the River Styx. The power used to strengthen the devils and to give birth to the devils is obviously the same: the personality and memories of these souls, or more accurately, their past existence.”

“Before Raphael returned, I made a pact with the souls trapped in the Soul Pillars. They helped me deal with Raphael, and in return, I would grant them new life and freedom under my protection after everything was over. However, the condition was that their memories and personalities be completely washed away in the River Styx.” The Mansion of Hope trembled slightly as Ivy spoke. Looking out from the crack in the foyer, the distant mountains of Avernus were no longer visible, but the River Styx, which had previously been below the Mansion of Hope, was clearly visible. During the previous conversation, Ivy had used magic to ensure the Mansion of Hope landed smoothly on the banks of the River Styx.

"Resurrect a bunch of empty souls? I even doubt their ability to take care of themselves..." Gale scratched his head, completely baffled as to what motive Ivy had for proposing such an agreement to the souls who were the property of the devil.

“Not resurrection, Gale. It’s rebirth.” Ivy rose from Raphael’s sofa, waved her hand gently, and the gates of the Mansion of Hope immediately swung open, revealing a greasy, foul-smelling, black river to everyone.

Ivy tore a symphony composed of over eight thousand souls from the Grimoire of Destruction and threw it into the murky waters of the River Styx without a second thought.

As a multitude of colors, resembling sunlight reflecting off oil stains, emerged from the Soul Symphony, Ivy softly announced her plan to Toril: "I will combine those blank souls with the constructs' intelligent cores to create a brand new, sentient construct race—the Omnic. They will become the second inhabitants of Dawnstar City, proclaiming their existence to the world."

(End of this chapter)