From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 659 The Devil's Love
With just one spell, the demons hidden in the city of Juanze were basically wiped out. This can be called an extraordinary spellcasting ability no matter where it is placed.

Unfortunately, the grand spectacle of [Rainbow Judgment] will probably be hard to replicate.

After all, the main force responsible for output was the original true god from Grallion, and not only that, but also the Morning Flower Goddess, whose strength and popularity were among the top tier, that is, the sun goddess of this plane. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the Crusader's attack on the City of Favor, and with the joint prayers of the Dawnblade Knights and the angel captain of the Flame Riders, this sun goddess poured her terrifying divine power into the magical core of [Rainbow Judgment].

This overflowing divine power, guided by the mythical golden dragon that also possessed the divinity of the sun, was entirely transformed from divine power into arcane power that unleashed rainbow light. Even if the experimental war spell [Rainbow Judgment] were to have a complete version, it would likely be difficult to find another true god to power the spell, or a sun god candidate with exceptional magical skill to guide the entire spell model.

Ba Luo Mo Da Ran Zand couldn't understand why his army had been wiped out in just a few minutes. He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried. But if he were told that a true god had intervened, he would understand.

A terrifying demon, as large as a tower and shrouded in thick smoke and flames, roared. Its crimson face, covered in bull horns, was contorted with rage and pain, and its two pairs of narrow, demonic eyes blazed with fury: "Get out of my way!"

A long whip of flames swept across, forcing the warriors surrounding him to retreat temporarily.

Having gained a respite, the Tyrant Demon did not use its teleportation ability to leave. Instead, it flapped its wings and leaped high into the air, preparing to use its right hand, wielding the Abyssal Demon Blade that stirred with blasphemous power, to end the spellcasters who formed a circle in the distance in one fell swoop.

Daranzand could see clearly that the huge glass sphere, which had been flashing with multicolored light from the beginning, had shattered and fallen to the ground, indicating that the dangerous spell had completely ended. As long as all the mages who cast this spell were killed, he should be able to report back to the demon lord Baffom.

However, Darhan Zande's wishful thinking was destined to fail.

As Ivy traced the glass shards with her mithril staff, she sensed something and turned to see the Tyrant Demon already in mid-air, poised for a leaping attack.

With almost no warning or incantation, Ivy simply raised her staff and pointed it into the air, and the roaring Tyrant Demon crashed into an invisible wall.

The Five-Ring Energy-Shaping Magic Wall Technique is simple, efficient, and practical.

The reason Ivy was able to cast such a fifth-circle spell so effortlessly during an enemy attack was because of his mythical ability, Reactive Casting.

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.

[Reaction Casting]: After an initiative check, you may first cast a spell with Swift Action. The spell must be at least two levels lower than the highest level spell you can cast and cannot be a trick.

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.

Simply put, even if the enemy attacks from stealth, as long as Ivy is conscious and maintains her spellcasting ability, she can strike first and complete a spell of level one or higher, or level seven or lower, in a very short time.

The Demon Lord, thinking it had succeeded in its surprise attack, crashed into the force field wall that Ivy had set up in an instant.

Daranzand lost his balance after crashing into the wall mid-air, flailing his limbs and flapping his wings in an attempt to regain his footing. Just as he was about to fully spread his wings and turn his fall into a gliding dive, his four narrow eyes suddenly caught sight of a golden mist blooming in the distance.

A golden dragon, even larger than the Tyrant Demon and exuding majesty, flew out from the mist and roared as it crashed into the Tyrant Demon, which had not yet regained its balance.

The powerful dragon claw pierced through the shoulder of the demon, Daranzand. Daranzand tried to scream, but the wail was blocked in the demon's throat by the sharp dragon teeth. The unparalleled and overwhelming force flung the demon's mangled body into the air. The long, magnificent tail made the demon spin in mid-air like a top. Finally, the holy flames that spewed from the dragon's mouth brought it to its end.

The demon Daranzand died, turning into a handful of insignificant ashes, disappearing from the land of Juanze City, which had been ravaged by demons for a hundred years.

Ivy licked her gleaming teeth with her barbed tongue, secretly deciding that she would never use biting attacks again unless it was absolutely necessary; the demon's taste was just too strange.

The golden dragon's body vanished from the flames once more, and only then did the Crusaders in the inner city square belatedly begin to cheer.

However, the cheers only lasted a short while before stopping, because everyone was surprised to find that even after being bombarded by thousands of rainbow lights and attacked by the mythical golden dragon from the sky, there was still a demon in the square.

She was supposed to be a graceful and elegant demon, but now she looked utterly disheveled. Half of the precious jewels entwined on her pale gold horns were missing, and the remaining half looked smoky and burnt. Her fair face was filled with sorrow and anxiety, and her magnificent crimson dress had been replaced with a revealing crop top, even exposing the goat hooves that she had tried so hard to conceal as demonic features.

"Mingna Gu!" Litu screamed his companion's name, digging incessantly into the ruins of the city gate with his claws.

The third gate of Juanze City was collapsed by Ivy, who was standing on it with Stauton's corpse, mocking him at the time. Now it seems that the demon possessing Stauton's body is none other than the demon himself, Litu Mo Mingna Gu. Could this be considered a kind of life-and-death bond?

Finally, Litumo made a discovery: it was a dwarf's arm, but unfortunately, it was only one arm.

Litumo, clinging to the arm of the mummified dwarf, did not stop, continuing to dig at the rubble beneath his feet while wailing.

Ivy had never seen anything like this before. Demons are chaotic and evil creatures. As creatures, they also have the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, and this instinct is even greater than their desires.

The demon lord in the abyss used his power to teach other lower-ranking demons to obey.

However, even with a demon lord watching over them, legions composed of other demons will still have deserters on the battlefield, especially when defeat is already apparent.

But the demon before him was acting out of character. Surrounded by the Crusaders, he showed no intention of escaping. Instead, he tried to dig out his comrades buried under the rubble.

Ivy tapped the ruins of the city gate with her staff, and the pile of stones immediately split apart, revealing the mangled corpse of a dwarf beneath. Upon seeing this, Litumo staggered, screaming, and tightly embraced the dwarf's shriveled head, which had drastically shriveled, its features twisted and hideous. But Litumo seemed oblivious, still trying to kiss the corpse's cracked, oozing mouth.

"Do demons also have a sense of companionship? Or is it that two Litu demons have fallen in love?" Ivy approached slowly, unable to hide her curiosity.

If his guess is correct, then this pair of Litomages would be extremely rare material. The last time we saw such a moving and truly magical love was with Harry Potter, the savior of the British wizarding world.

Love between two demons is truly unheard of.

"Demons don't understand love!" the Litu Demon roared, baring its sharp teeth, and tightened its grip on the dwarf's head. "Of course, it's not the foolish and superficial love that humans talk about! But Mingna Gu and I... we are closer than most demons... passion binds us... sometimes we can't stand each other and we separate, but in the end we always return to each other... like the abyss between us... but after that, she came to the Paradise of Ten Thousand Gardens looking for me... she still carries Lord Baphomet's mark... that mark made him bleed and weakened her..."

"She told me that she suffered an unimaginable defeat in Glarion, lost her original body, and could only return to the abyss by possessing a toy. The mark of Baphomet imprisoned her soul, locking her forever in this ever-fouling and withered body. Unless she could kill the golden dragon that brought her defeat and humiliation, and kill you, she would never regain her former beauty and could only watch maggots take root and sprout on her body..."

“She begged for my help, so I abandoned everything and came to Grallion to help her contact the army and persuade Daranzand…”

Litumo raised his face, and his eyeless face no longer held any anger or regret, only bitterness and sincerity, as if he were making a final confession.

"But everything was destroyed, like a sandcastle on the beach, easily swallowed by the waves... What's even more tragic is that the waves weren't even aimed at the sandcastle. They just destroyed it along with it..."

Litumo hugged the dwarf's head tightly in his arms again and curled up in a pile of ruins.

"Go ahead, I have nothing left to lose."

"Despite the horrific things they did, is it truly possible for two demons to fall in love? People believe demons are incapable of love, but we all know... light is stronger than darkness. Even in the empty heart of a demon, light can sprout and shine brightly..." The one who spoke in a soft, weak voice was the elf Little Ember. This little elf, whose limbs were charred black from the witch trials presided over by Hullun, always treated the warriors in the Crusader camp, and now she too had taken to the battlefield with a crossbow.

Ilinica and her mythical companions gathered around, looking at the huddled-up Litu with curiosity or disgust.

“The love of a demon.” Dahlan glanced at her cousin, the stern Queen Godfrey. “It sounds like some terrible disease, and very demonic. I wonder what else in the World’s Sorrow hasn’t been turned into a disease or a disaster by them.”

“Our battle is not over yet.” Godfrey remained the embodiment of responsibility. “The Vanguard is still somewhere in the fortress. If you tell me its exact location, perhaps I will consider giving you a quick death.”

“I’m afraid this demon is plotting something else in his answer… However, considering the possibility of enemy reinforcements on the way, taking some risks is worthwhile.” Regil stared at the Litu Demon on the ground with a grim face, seemingly choosing a place where he could easily strike and get him to tell the truth.

“Let me handle this, Your Majesty,” Ivy said with a smile. “I have some special methods that I can use on him.”

Gophery nodded, straightening the crown on her head, which had tilted due to the fierce battle. The queen's demeanor was always important: "Then I'll leave it to you, Lord Doom. Come, Commander, let's think of a way to get into the Fortress of Favor. Irabes just told me that the main gate seems to be blocked by demons with stones."

Ilinica blinked regretfully, turning back every few steps as she left the ruins. Although she was a singer deeply immersed in art, she could still discern priorities and understand the atmosphere and occasion. After all, the development of art cannot be separated from official support, and even she wasn't that crazy as to write a drama depicting a sincere love between demons in a holy war country like Montevideo. But this was still something even rarer than a demon falling in love with a mortal, and Ilinica was very curious about what would happen next.

"I possess a kind of magic, you Litu Demon," Ivy's voice drifted on the cold wind, "that can extract and preserve the love between you and the Minna Gu. What do you say?"

Annievia, the chief secret agent of the Divine Eagle Guard, seemed startled: "By Goddess! How could such a noble dragon as you wish to preserve such a thing? The love of a demon?"

"Mortal jewels mean nothing to me. I prefer to appreciate a moving legend, a noble sacrifice, a deep-seated hatred, and a clean and decisive revenge... And a true love may be more dazzling than many jewels," Ivy replied earnestly. "As for whether it belongs to a human or a demon, I don't really care. Besides, it is precisely because it was born between two demons that I have the opportunity to preserve it."

“Oh—” Annievia hesitated and scratched her face. “Considering that this is a dragon’s preference, I’d better not say anything more.”

"...Can I stay with Mingna Gu forever?" Litumo asked, lying on the ruins.

“I can’t guarantee that.” Ivy shook his head regretfully. He couldn’t say that he was an expert in the study of emotional magic, but he had mastered many applications that ordinary people dared not even think of. “However, I can guarantee that your feelings will never fade.”

“Come on, Golden Dragon Lord… but don’t expect me to thank you,” Litumo whispered.

“That will be a great help.” Ivy raised her hand slightly, then clenched it tightly. An indescribable magical force immediately burst through Litumo’s face, poking two holes in his smooth eye sockets, as if drawing a pair of eyes on him.

Litumo didn't wail or scream; it simply stared calmly at the head in its arms with its empty eyes and said, "Eyes are the windows to the soul, and Litumo, who can never have his soul looked at directly, actually has eyes... So, this is the last toy of Mingna Gu? How truly ugly..."

Litumo's body disintegrated like fine dust, and the love extracted from his soul transformed into a slightly pinkish-purple crystal in Ivy's palm. The crystal continuously emitted a dangerous, corrupt, yet alluring light until Ivy sealed it in a small jar and placed it into the Grimoire of Destruction.

Exhausted, even his golden armor seemed somewhat dull, Erabes stepped forward and whispered to Ivy, "Lord Doom... could you leave Stoutton's body to me? After all, he served in the Condemned Army for so long..."

"Ah." Ivy looked at the lonely dwarf head on the ground and suddenly realized that even now, he still didn't know what the name of the lover of the Minna Gu, the Litu Demon, was.

Ivy shook her head, then remembered the corpse of another dwarf in the prison of Juanze City: "Stoutton's brother, Joran Weihen, is also in Juanze City, but he has been imprisoned by demons and has little will to live. You can put their two corpses together for now, and as for what to do with them—we'll talk about it after we've completely recaptured Juanze City and paid our respects to the other Crusader warriors who sacrificed their lives in this battle."

“Your will, Lord Doom.” Erabes tapped his breastplate and retreated back into the Crusader ranks that were resting.

(End of this chapter)