From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 623 The Advance of the Singer of Cerias

Kanaburi had been burning for many days under the ravages of demons and cultists, and even when the heroes believed it was time to launch a counterattack, a large number of demons still lingered in the city.

To avoid making their own forces a target, the heroes chose to infiltrate the Grey Army camp underground under the cover of night. Meanwhile, Iomede's paladin Erabeth, who was also the commander of the Eagle Guard knights, would lead a small number of Crusader warriors to launch an attack from the surface, creating an opening for the underground surprise attack.

"The ceremony was a success!" The members of the Flame Lance Knights cheered as they surrounded the heroes.

They had previously performed a magical ritual that required five highly trained knights to complete. Although this ritual spell had previously existed only in theory and in books, the five mages of the Flame Lance Knights perfectly fulfilled their mission at this crucial moment in the attack on the Gray Army camp.

“Bless Iomede! Heroes, just as we promised at the Iron Guardian Tavern, this unnamed magical ritual has indeed worked as intended, providing a group speed boost for a full two hours without the risk of being countered or dispelled by ordinary magic! With its help, we will surely be able to recapture the Grey Camp and regain the Guardian Stone!” The leader of the Flame Lance Knights nodded to Ilinica.

“I do feel my steps have become much lighter…” The gray-haired Irina took the large machete that she had been carrying on her back and swung it in a series of beautiful and dazzling sword flourishes. The candlelight reflected off the sword flourishes, making them flicker. The others in the basement couldn’t help but take a step back.

"Is this some kind of ritual of Sheryl's followers? I don't know... to pray for good luck or to scare my teammates to death? If my silk coat gets pilled because of your blade wind, I won't give up my claim for property damage." Count Dalan, whose hair and eyes shone brightly, showed no intention of dodging the captain's blade. Instead, he stepped forward, puffed out his chest, and wore a perfect yet unpleasant smile.

Illinika was already immune to Dalan's provocative remarks. She sheathed her sword and slung it at her side, not even glancing at the progenitor who liked to drive impact cars in his private estate: "So you mean to protect my property from damage, perhaps I should cut off your head first? Your ritual spells are really helpful to us, Krem. Don't they have any side effects? Like causing people to fall into a tired sleep after the effect ends? You know, my Blazing Rondo can also achieve a similar group speed boost, but most people will collapse on the ground from exhaustion immediately after the song ends."

“I’m sorry…” The Flame Lance Knight mage named Korem made an apologetic gesture. “Actually, this is the first time we’ve fully cast this spell, and nobody knows what will happen after it ends. So to avoid any potential negative effects, we’d better limit our operation to within two hours.”

“Alright, a two-hour performance isn’t too long. We can take a short break during the intermission—now that preparations for the grand performance are complete, let’s set off and offer the demons a waltz of blood and death!” An unnatural flush appeared on Ilinica’s fair face, and against her velvety gray hair, her face shone like a dazzling ruby. “You can cast invisibility spells now, Ramion. The accompaniment is important, but it shouldn’t overshadow the main performance!”

"Uh... what accompaniment?" The priestess named Ramion blinked in confusion, trying to decipher the words of the self-proclaimed chief singer of Chelias. "Oh! You mean the goddess's lullaby! Don't worry! I'll let them meet their death in their sleep!... But speaking of which, do demons really not dream?"

Illinika gave him a look as if he were an idiot: "How would I know? Chelias is full of devils, and devils and demons are natural enemies—the first time I ever saw a living demon was on the city's founding day, at Descares."

Chelias was once one of the most powerful human empires in Avestan, but after the death of the god Oroden, Chelias fell into social unrest. Families that had long secretly cultivated demon worship within Chelias saw an opportunity to seize power and immediately signed a purgatory pact with the demon legions, using their power to unify the kingdom into a purgatory empire.

You could say that Celias today is a proud and arrogant, yet weakened empire, it still retains a highly elegant, amazing, and sophisticated art form, and its fine wines, operas, and magnificent architecture continue to make this country famous throughout the world.

However, behind this luxury lies the devil's infiltration and conspiratorial rule over the entire society. Ilinica is an idealist and fugitive who abandons her comfortable life to bring truly exciting art to the northernmost country on the continent.

However, to her surprise, her attempt to escape the devil led her straight into his invasion.

“Perhaps this can be considered a kind of luck?” Lann, whose body was half human and the other half like a hybrid demon, said quipped.

"Stop joking, my sword has been itching for a fight for ages!" Ilinica dragged the tip of the sword on the ground and strode towards the door.

The cold steel rubbed against the stone slab, sparking a series of flashes. The dazzling blade light reflected the demon's panic. In just one exchange, the worm-splitting demon blocking the way was intimidated by the Empress's aura and was cut in two in a single blow.

This demon develops from a type of abyssal parasite. They typically fight each other for territory within their host's body, eventually devouring the host from the inside. They then sew the host's flesh onto their segmented worm bodies, like clothing, and control them to fight. However, the host's head is replaced by worm mouthparts that can open like flower petals, making the exposed worm head also a weakness of the worm-split demon.

A faint singing voice echoed in the basement of the Gray Soldier Camp. The other demons in the hall, who had turned around, swayed as if drunk and collapsed one after another onto the rubble.

Having dealt with the demon in the basement, the entire raiding party gathered around a crack in the wall, because their objective—the Guardian Stone of Kanaburi—was located there, or rather, upside down in the Grey Camp.

“This is the Guardian Stone? It’s magnificent…” Ilinica leaned closer to the crack, admiring the sacred radiance of this enormous man-made object.

The Guardian Stone is a massive, four-sided stone pillar. Its golden frame firmly binds the rocks that make it up together, and its four dark blue facades are covered with runes that radiate golden light. It is the magic formed by these runes that transmits the sacred power of the Guardian Stone, illuminating the basement through the cracks in the walls.

“It still looks radiant…” Desna’s priestess also tiptoed to look inside, “but the inside is already rotten to the core. The divine power that Iomede left inside can no longer play its role in driving out the demons in Kanaburi. It’s too far from the Guardian Stone; we can’t reach it.”

Because of its cone shape (smaller at the top and larger at the bottom), the guardian stone, which was inserted upside down into the gray army camp, was still quite a distance away from the heroes. If they didn't want to fall into the pit during the purification ritual, they had to go up and find a place that was close enough and had enough space to begin the purification ritual.

"Then let's keep going! The show hasn't even reached its climax yet, how can we stop abruptly!" Ilinica shouted, raising her arm and leading the group forward. The absurd acts of demons and cultists were commonplace in the Gray Army camp: filling the pools used to create holy water with flesh and blood; bewitching the Crusader knights with magic, making them believe succubi were the goddess Iomede herself descended to earth, and even hoping for a blasphemous physical relationship with her; filling the library, which contained countless files and documents, with gunpowder barrels, then accidentally burning themselves and the cultists and demons to ashes…

However, even amidst such chaos and blasphemy, some sacred objects were fortunate enough to escape unscathed.

The heroes discovered a portrait in a basement depicting an angel clad in golden armor, radiating the divine power of heaven.

"The Hand of the Successor!" Paladin Sheila in the group recognized the angel in the painting and shouted joyfully, "He is the messenger of the goddess Iomede! This is an omen; perhaps we are being watched by the goddess herself!"

Count Dylan let out his usual unpleasant laugh: "Come on, Sheila, we all know this is just a boring and lucky angel who means nothing. Even if you put my nude portrait here, it wouldn't be desecrated by demons. They might even hang it in the most conspicuous place in the hall to admire it!"

"I'll sew his mouth shut sooner or later..." Sheila muttered, rolling her eyes. "No, tonight."

Ilinica intervened early, preventing a conflict from breaking out: "Irabes is leading his soldiers in battle in the hall. We must join them as soon as possible. Let the portrait of the Hand of the Successor remain here. As long as we complete our mission, he will eventually reveal his divine glory to the world. But to be honest, I'd rather see Dalan's naked body being admired by a large crowd. After we recapture Kanaburi, how about we strip him naked and hang him at the city gate?"

“Then you’d better keep your word.” Sheila nodded seriously and locked the storage room door again.

Many of the staircases in the Gray Camp broke when the Guardian Stone fell from the sky, forcing the heroes to take detours to reach their destination—a loop-shaped corridor on the third floor.

"Can we go through here?" Irina pushed open a wooden door, muttering uncertainly to herself. Behind most doors were demons and cultists; only a few rooms were empty and contained resources worth looting.

But in the room before them, a figure dressed in a wine-red noblewoman's long dress was standing inside.

Her fluffy curly hair cascaded over her fair shoulders, and the curved horns on her head and the succubus wings on her back revealed her identity—the creator of the world's tragedy, the incredibly dangerous Sakorri witch, the half-succubus Arelu Woresh.

"So many plans and hopes have vanished with this city. There are still many that haven't been burned yet... but they'll be soon..." There was no intelligence indicating that Arelu had also participated in Descari's raid on Cannabri, so no one could have predicted that she would appear here.

Before Illinika could declare war, the creator of the world's tragedy vanished in a puff of smoke, as if it had just been a collective hallucination. But everyone knew that just seconds before, they had faced the most wicked witch among their enemies.

“Ariru escaped without leaving anything behind.” Ilinica tried to find any clues in the room, but found nothing except a demon’s heart. “Never mind, the Guardian Stone is still waiting for us. Let’s move on.”

After passing through the rooms on the second floor of the Grey Soldier Camp, Ilinica led her team around a completely collapsed corridor and finally arrived at the stairs leading to the third floor, where they witnessed a scene they had never imagined.

Stouton Weihen, who had served in the Condemned Army for many years, lay on the ground with a beautiful demon in a red dress standing in front of him. Her face was devoid of eyes, and she was none other than Litu Mo Mingna Gu, who had once bewitched Stouton to leave the City of Favor with the Heroic Blade.

“I took you away from the battlefield to save you.” Litumo stroked Staunton’s cheek, the soft light of healing magic soothing his wounds. “My dear, you don’t belong in this filthy city that everyone hates. Come with me! You know I’ve always loved you!”

Staunton rose from the ground, looking at the monstrous Litu with a strange expression. A mountain might have wept before him, but at this moment his eyes were brimming with tears.

“We will never be apart, my love. Let’s go together. I will crown you in the City of Grace, where you will be the king and I will be your queen.” Litumo coaxed, trying to paint an exciting picture.

"Back off!" Stoutton struck the face of the blind man with his weapon, then rushed up the stairs with astonishing agility.

"Damn it!" Litumo touched his face, his delicate, noblewoman-like fingers stained with blood. "Stubborn mule... but it doesn't matter, you will eventually kiss this scar and beg for my forgiveness. You will be mine—completely, forever, willingly."

Litumo completely ignored the heroes who had invaded the Gray Army camp and opened a portal to chase after his chosen plaything.

"This is our chance!" Ilinica's eyes lit up, and she immediately announced, "The demon guarding the Guardian Stone has left! We can take this opportunity to go to the bottom of the Guardian Stone and hold a purification ritual there!"

As Illinika said, only some relatively weak demons remained on the road to the Guardian Stone, which were no match for the Litu Demons who had once conquered the City of Favor.

(End of this chapter)