From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 576 Liberating the Comet
"I summoned you to discern lies, not to execute the Mind Flayer." Ivy looked at the Mind Flayer Lord, who was now nothing but ashes, and sighed silently.

For a Blademaster like Ivy, with his exceptionally high initiative, reacting before the Bronze Dragon Anzu unleashes its breath is not difficult. However, compared to the Mind Flayer, who could betray him at any moment, this newly resurrected Ancient Bronze Dragon is a more worthwhile target.

"Even after witnessing my fate, you're still willing to believe in a Mind Flayer?" Ansu stared at the spot where the Mind Flayer Lord had turned to ashes, and sneered. "I saved your lives. Mind Flayers and the Mind Beast are all untrustworthy creatures. They don't care about anything but your mind. I only realized this after my death, and now I'm passing it on to you."

"No time for beating around the bush, let's get straight to the point: do you have a plan to eliminate Netherbrain?" Ansu didn't wait for Ivy's answer and asked almost impatiently. As a long-lived dragon, he was indeed quite impatient.

“I originally planned to get some more information out of the Mind Flayers.” Ivy shook her head slightly, indicating her helplessness. “But after observing Nether’s brain up close, I have a general plan.”

“Netherstones remain crucial to our fight against the Mainframe. As a product of Karthus' ascension to godhood, the power of Netherstones is not something that either the Supreme God or the Netherbrain can defy. As the source of the Netherbrain's evolution, the Crown of Karthus is the focal point of its power, but it is merely a failed creation made during Karthus' ascension. Even though its divinity far surpasses that of mortals, the Netherbrain cannot reverse the nature of the crown itself through its own power. Unless it obtains the Netherstones in my possession.” The heterochromatic triangle formed by the three Netherstones still floated before Ivy, silently refracting the light shining through the endless starry sky.

“I have no doubt about that.” Gale, who had also read the Karthus Almanac, nodded and raised his concerns. “But what about spellcasting efficiency? The mind flayer mentioned that the human brain is fundamentally different from a mind flayer’s. The Nether brain may not be good at magic, but such a large mass of brain tissue is far beyond what an ordinary mage can match… Should we consider destroying it directly—you know what I mean, and we have already made ample preparations for it.”

“We will indeed use the Destruction Orb,” Ivy said with a smile, “but not as a trump card, but as a welcoming gift. I will use the power of the Destruction Orb to achieve resonance with the Netherstone and the Crown of Karthus.”

“No, no, no…” Gale shook his head repeatedly. “I’m not questioning your magical abilities, but the Destruction Orb is an exceptionally greedy spell. It only dreams of devouring all the magic in the world, that is, the entire magic network. If you try to guide it, you will only end up like me, having all your magical talents drained by it.”

“I know that very well.” Ivy revealed a sly smile. “The Orb of Destruction is a scourge that wants to devour all magic. It is the manifestation of Karthus’s corrupted and twisted divine power, and the last product he created at the moment of his ascension to godhood. As creations that were also left on earth because of Karthus’s ascension to godhood, which do you think is more attractive to it: the Crown of Karthus or me?”

Gail frowned, pondering for a moment with a strange expression: "The Destruction Orb isn't a living being, but your speculation is indeed very reasonable. Divinity of the same origin will definitely attract each other... However, you must stay away from me."

“No, it’s you who needs to get closer to the Crown of Karthus,” Ivy corrected with a smile. “You just need to break the seal on the Goddess of Magic when you’re close enough, and then let your soul be resurrected under the pull of your spare body. You can leave the rest to me.”

"So, your plan is to have everyone buy you two mages time and space, place the self-destructing mage close enough to Nether's brain, and then buy yourself enough time to cast spells?" Ansu's coppery-green nostrils opened and closed, exhaling two streams of steam with faint electric sparks. "Has anyone told you that one of the great pleasures of a true dragon is watching arrogant mages burn to death because of their own ambitions?"

"Oh, so Karthus's foolishness is the greatest amusement for the true dragons in the world of Toril." Ivy retorted with a smile. Even the kind metal dragons were never easy to get along with. Arrogance was a common trait among all dragons, and the city guardian Anzu was no exception.

However, as his savior, Ansu might say a few sarcastic remarks to Ivy, but he would never betray his faction.

"Hmph." Ansu's dragon head twitched, reminding Ivy of a horse that likes to twitch its ears. "I just think you'd better know what you're doing."

"Thank you for your advice, Ansu. I will not forget our common goal: to save our comrades and to save Baldur's Gate." Ivy easily delivered a straight shot. In fact, besides the common goal, Ivy also had a little bit of personal ambition, or perhaps not just a little bit.

“Magic and psionic energy will influence each other, and although the effect will be weakened as a result, the Netherworld Brain is undoubtedly capable of preventing me from opening the portal directly on its head. Therefore, flying there in my physical body is the tactic with the highest success rate.” Ivy began to formulate the battle plan.

The quick-witted Gale once again spotted a blind spot: "Netherworld can block teleportation spells... then how did you escape before?"

“The tyrannical god Bane did me a little favor,” Ivy said with a shrug. “He wanted me to give him the whole world after I had control of the Netherworld, but I escaped while he and the Netherworld were locked in a struggle.”

Hearing this, Ansu was filled with awe, even the tentacles and scales on the dragon's head became subdued: "Not many people have the courage to refuse a powerful god. I am beginning to believe that your plan will work. I will break through the mind flayer's blockade and send you all to the top of Netherhead."

“Don’t feel too much pressure, Ansu. You only need to transport two people. The others can stay in the Astral Prism and wait for us to land on Netherhead before coming out to provide support.” Ivy’s gaze swept across the crowd and landed on another prisoner.

When Gale first heard Ivy say "two people," he thought she was referring to him. But when he noticed Ivy's expression, he immediately understood her intention: "Won't the Netherworld's psychic energy suppress your magic? Then how can the Astral Prism—oh! You're planning to unleash the Comet Prince!"

“Orpheus’s power can both prevent the mind flayer tadpoles in your brains from transforming and counteract the psychic power of the Nether brain, freeing our support from the Astral Prism. Naturally, he is the second passenger.” Ivy slowly approached Orpheus, who was bound by the chains of hell. This thin, bluish-brown Gith Yankee was covered in tattoos, and various silver ornaments hung on his pointed ears and beard. He looked more like a priest or chieftain of some primitive tribe than a prince.

After the death of the Mind Flayer, the psychic power that had been suppressing Orpheus gradually weakened. The prince, who had once ignited the entire astral plane like a comet, opened his eyes and listened attentively to Ivy and the others' battle seminar. Although his hands and mouth were still sealed by the prison Mephistopheles had created, his mind had been restored, and he had not been crushed by the endless constraints.

The crimson crystal hammer, personally crafted by Raphael, was taken from the Grimoire of Destruction by Ivy and raised towards the only Gith Yanki among the adventurers: "The son of Gith should be freed by another son of Gith, Leezel?"

As the core figure who destroyed the Mind Flayer Empire, Geese was regarded as a mother by all Geese Yankees. Therefore, Lyezal and her people often referred to themselves as the Son of Geese. However, standing before Geese's biological son, this self-proclaimed title carried a stronger sense of following. The female warrior from Star Bay immediately stepped forward, kneeling before Ivy and raising her hands: "You led us into Hell, personally slaying the demon Raphael, and entrusted me with the honor of liberating the Comet Prince. I will never forget your kindness to the Son of Geese, and to me."

“We are adventurers together, and I’m so happy to see you grow from a clueless warrior into a master fighter.” Ivy placed the Hammer of Orpheus into Lyezel’s hands and pulled her up from the ground. “Go and embrace your destiny, truly noble Githyanki warrior.”

Leezel rose from the ground without a word, carrying the Hellhammer, and strode quickly to the crimson Hell Crystal, taking a deep breath.

In fact, back in Raphael's House of Hope, Lyezal had already freed a prisoner of hell by wielding the hammer of Orpheus, so she should have felt quite adept at doing it a second time.

But after feeling the gazes of the Comet Prince and his companions, she inexplicably felt a burden. However, for the proud Gith Yankee warrior, this burden was not an obstacle, but rather a driving force propelling her forward.

The crimson crystal on the hammerhead was swung in a perfect arc by the powerful swing of the Gith Yankee warrior, colliding heavily with another large crystal of the same origin.

With a crisp cracking sound, the hell chains binding the Comet Prince collapsed and disintegrated along with the hell crystal, instantly turning into a cloud of fine powder that drifted into the starlight of the Prism Space.

The chains of hell, while binding Orpheus, also provided him with the strength to support his body. The moment he was freed, the thin Githyanki immediately knelt down.

Lyezal, leaning on his Orpheus hammer, reached out to help, but was refused by the comet prince, who had never lost his pride. He waved to stop his kin, and with a flick of his wrist, a sword embedded in a rock flew straight out and landed in his hand.

“The stench of mind flayers permeates this space…” Orpheus said in a low, hoarse voice of disgust, holding his longsword horizontally. “But you made the right decision in the end, executing the mind flayers and freeing me. Even though you used my power to slaughter my honor guards and have lived without honor with the mind flayer tadpoles in your brains to this day… we must still form an alliance.”

The mithril staff slammed into the ground, and three large stones flew out from the remains of the giants that formed the ground. They landed on the ground and transformed into human form, which were the Comet Prince Honor Guardians who had been sealed in a petrified state by Ivy.

Ivy waved her hand to dispel the petrification spell on the three honor guards, and said with a smile, "Consider it a small apology, as a basis for our mutual understanding."

The Comet Prince lowered his sword, calmly approached his honor guard, and nodded smugly: "I allow you to address me as Your Majesty."

He paused slightly, looking around at the warriors who almost filled the entire demiplane: "Of course, I will also address you as sir."

“Mutual respect is the cornerstone of the alliance, Your Majesty.” Ivy nodded politely. “I believe you are fully aware of our plans. Is there anything else you would like to add?”

“Lord Doom.” The Comet Prince, standing beside the Guard of Honor, turned around, looking with slight worry at the endless starry sea of ​​this demiplane. “I can sense that the Netherbrains you speak of have already issued a call throughout the astral plane, summoning every brain-eating mongrel here to build a new Mindflayer empire. I believe my followers will be just as perceptive. Even though Vyrakis has ruled them with lies for countless centuries, she can never stop people’s pursuit of the truth.”

“The skies above this city will soon become a battlefield, but we must unite everyone to have even the slightest chance of victory.” Orpheus floated back and turned. “This battle is almost certain to end in certain death. Even I am not confident that I can completely stop the Netherbrain’s psionic power. It is more powerful than any other mainframe I have ever seen, and our chances of winning are slim. That dead Mind Flayer was right about one thing: perhaps only by becoming a Mind Flayer can I have a chance to stop the Netherbrain’s plot. Unfortunately, we no longer have any Mind Flayer tadpoles capable of transforming instantly… I am willing to give my freedom, my soul, for my people, for my compatriots…”

“Become a mind flayer?” Ivy frowned. “That’s a path I never considered… but we can certainly think of other ways to remedy the situation. Magic itself is a technology that turns the impossible into the possible.”

“Then, what if there were two of you who could shield your Netherworld psychic powers, or I could use magic to temporarily transform you into a Mind Flayer?” Ivy offered an alternative. “I also have some experience with Polymorph, and I can even perfectly transform into a dragon, so turning you into a Mind Flayer shouldn’t be too difficult.”

"Use magic... to become a mind flayer?" Orpheus's eyes widened as he scrutinized the seemingly young mage before him once more. "It's certainly worth a try, but the other option... two of me? What does that mean?"

“After my first encounter with a Githyanki psychic, I began to consciously study psychic powers. We captured a Githyanki leader before that, and it was from her that I truly learned how to use psychic powers. To me, psychic powers are like another form of magic; with enough study and practice, there's nothing I can't master.” Ivy succinctly introduced her recently acquired psychic profession, [Psychic Scholar].

“That’s impossible.” Orpheus shook his head decisively. “Even if you could learn it, we don’t have much time to waste. If the Ness brain escapes from here, it will cause an even more terrible disaster!”

“This is also worth a try, and it will only take a very short time.” Ivy gently stroked the Grimoire of Destruction that had appeared in her hand at some point, the metal encasing the grimoire reflecting a dazzling magical light. “Some people are born to defy the norm.”

(End of this chapter)