From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 393 A Corner of the Devil's Conspiracy

"We should go to the nursery immediately! Seek help from Ghustil (Githyanki: medical officer)! Bards and necromancy cannot remove the mind flayer tadpoles, but the purifiers in the nursery can definitely do it!" Laizer was the first to express his objection.

"Ivy has said that the mind flayer tadpoles in our brains will not hatch quickly, which means we have more time to spend exploring." Xie Nian rarely confronted Laizer. "The land where the conch shell crashed is full of secrets. The big devil in hell, the demons in the abyss, the gods high above, think about how many unusual things we have seen in the past few days? It is difficult for you to overcome the obstacles to the nursery with your own strength. You need our help - help each other."

"The Tiefling camp is full of unarmed refugees. They are still troubled by the goblin camp, and these goblins must be connected to the Supreme God who is troubled by us. We should at least eliminate them completely before going to the Githyanki breeding room." The Border Blade has never been able to put aside those in need, and although his power comes from the devil, he has never taken the initiative to step into darkness.

"Just because the Border Blade has horns on its head, it can empathize with those losers? A burden is always a burden!" said Laizer sarcastically.

"Don't you dare say that about him, soldier!" Kalak's body burst into flames, like her anger incarnate. "Will may be the best of us! He is willing to defy the Master's magic contract for a stranger like me! He is much better than you, a cold-blooded reptilian monster from the astral plane!"

"I respect your strength, Nine Hells Warrior, but being soft-hearted will definitely cost you your life! You know this better than I do... It's not indecision that keeps you alive in a bloody battle, but iron and blood... If you insist on getting in the way..."

The atmosphere was tense, and both Laizer and Kalak put their hands on the weapons behind their backs.

The light melody flowed out from Ivy's fingertips, like a clear spring pouring down from their heads, extinguishing the anger in their hearts.

"Calm down, girls. We are comrades who have fought side by side many times. We should not draw swords against each other. The team should use conversation to resolve disputes between each member, rather than bloody duels. We can all understand Laizer's urgency, but rushing for quick success is definitely not the state we should be in now. There are too many forces focusing on the Snail Shell. No matter which side we decide to face, we should not rashly reveal our identity as the survivors of the Snail Shell."

"I can't wait any longer!" Although Laizer didn't draw his sword, his tone was still tough, "If you don't find the nursery, then I will do it myself."

"You know that's just courting death, Laizel." Ivy slowed down her tone and looked into the snake-like pupils of the Githyanki warrior. "Last night's battle consumed too much of our energy. Perhaps we should rest for another half a day, and then immediately go north to look for traces of the breeding room. In any case, you can only take the next step if you know the way to the breeding room, right?"

"The wisdom you have shown these days is intimidating, bard. If I had a choice, I would not want to be your enemy." Laizer just didn't know how to say soft words, "But you must know that the training I received enables me to meet all kinds of challenges and accomplish great conquests."

"Looks like we've reached an agreement? Very good, I'm going to use the tools at hand to help Kalak stabilize the flame in her heart, and by the way, help Xie Nian upgrade her prosthetic arm." Ivy nodded, playing with the hell iron in her hand, "Proper rest is for better fighting, you should understand this."

"I really should have asked you to replace my heart earlier, Ivy. ... Even if I had to replace it with a werewolf's heart..." Kalak looked at the curved horns on Will's head, "Because of this infernal engine in my chest, I became the target of 'no heart' in Will's magic contract."

"It's not your fault, Kalak," Will comforted. "The devil always finds a way to get what they want, no matter what the method."

"So, the body and soul are approaching hell. Is this the punishment Will gets for violating the magic contract?" Ivy raised his eyebrows. He himself is the leader of a magic contract master. He knows very well that for a magic contract master, the power of the leader is almost impossible to defy, not to mention that Will's leader is an evil demon. "In fact, it is beyond my expectation that the devil did not take your soul - this often means that your survival can bring greater benefits to the devil. I think there are not many things in hell that are more valuable than a hero's soul. Can you tell me about your leader, Will?"

"Because of the contract, I can't say much...almost not a word." Will shook his head.

"Mizolla, like Raphael, is a Cambion, but she is proud of her status. Like me, she belongs to the inner circle of the archdemon Zariel, but she chose it while I obeyed it," Kalak said. "I told you before, Ivy, I was like a pet dog to Zariel, and Mizolla was jealous of the attention. I imagine she was thrilled when Zariel gave her the order to hunt me."

"Zariel's half-demon came and went, but didn't take any soul with him?" Ivy's brain was spinning rapidly. "Devils will not easily lose their assets. Taking Will's soul away at least means stopping the loss for Zariel, but she didn't do it. Why? I can only think that she found that she needed to rely on you two to stop the plan of the Supreme God. Because of the mind flayer tadpoles in your brains, there is an irreconcilable contradiction between Tianran and the Church of the Supreme God."

"Why would Zariel want to destroy the plan of the Supreme God?" Xie Nian couldn't help but ask.

"Because if she does nothing, her own interests will be harmed; or because other devils will benefit from it. Cambion Raphael knows everything about the Supreme God and the Mind Flayer Tadpole. It's hard to believe that there are no devils involved in this church. In addition, I don't believe that selfish devils would want to coexist peacefully. Even if there is a supreme king in the Nine Hells, the devil dukes under him must be secretly plotting how to overthrow his rule. Therefore, inciting these devil dukes to be hostile to each other is the simplest and most effective check and balance strategy." Ivy decided to look for places similar to the current situation from past memories. Fortunately, a country on Earth with a long history has almost experienced all possible political conspiracies, so it is not difficult to find scenes that can be compared to devil politics.

"Even if the Lord of the Nine Hells didn't personally participate in the conspiracy of the Supreme God, there must be the handiwork of a certain devil duke. Even if neither of them happened, it is impossible for Zariel, the Grand Duchess of Avernus, to sit back and watch an unknown little character sit at the table. In addition to Raphael who has already appeared, and Mizora who represents Zariel's interests, we must also be mentally prepared to face other devils."

The great devil Zariel, and the unknown devil lord hiding in the dark.

Ivy discovered two new players sitting at the table, behind the Three Gods of Death, Jergal the Recorder of Fate, Shar the Lady of the Night, Selune the Silver Mother, and Mystra the Goddess of Magic, and they were hiding deeper and more covertly.

The Three Death Gods and Jergal the Fate-Recorder are in direct conflict, while the focus of the fight between Lady of Night and the Silver Madonna is Shadowheart and Nightsong. The Goddess of Magic wants to take back the part of the magic web that Karsus separated when he ascended to the godhood...

What is the purpose of a devil lord like Zariel in opposing the Supreme God?

Devils often offer promises of power or material possessions for mortal souls, but archdevils demand more souls—Zariel caused the capital of Elturgard to fall directly into Avernus.

Thinking of Altoriel, a bright light suddenly flashed through Ivy's mind, like the dawn light breaking through the darkness.

Zariel's interests are focused on Baldur's Gate, perhaps hoping to replicate her success in El Toril.

Will is the only son of High Duke Ravengard and a warlock of Cambion under Zariel. So Will is likely to become the High Duke buried by Zariel in Baldur's Gate in the future... If the crisis of the Supreme God can be successfully overcome, Will will almost gain the admiration of the whole city with his deep involvement... It is possible to replicate the fall of Eltoril from top to bottom.

To the devil, Will is just a mortal who is sinking deeper and deeper. As long as he breaks through his bottom line step by step, he will be completely corrupted one day. Corrupting mortals is the main business of the devil. The great devil Zariel certainly doesn't think he will fail...

And Mizorah is just a half-demon with no ambitions, and must rely on Zariel's power to protect herself in Hell, which means she is the perfect power projector - to project the corruption of the Archdevil through the future High Duke and onto the Pearl of the Sword Coast.

No wonder Zariel wanted to stop the Supreme God's plan.

Whether the Three Death Gods succeed or the Mastermind breaks free from control, it means that Zariel's soul income will be greatly reduced.

It is true that the world is bustling with people, all for the sake of profit; the world is bustling with people, all for the sake of profit.

Even the devil is not immune to this.

But if Zariel’s core interest is Baldur’s Gate, does the unknown big devil that Ivy speculated about still exist?
There is too little relevant information and no conclusive evidence.

However, Zariel's achievement in dragging Eltoril into Avernus is obvious to all. If there are demons who want to emulate her, there will definitely be demons who will choose to hinder her.

The probability of the Devil Archduke, who is hostile to Zariel, getting involved is still very high... Ivy decided not to waste his brain cells anymore, and began to think about the possibility of modifying Kalak with the Purgatory Engine.

Such a large piece of hell iron is more than enough to make a spark plug and a combustion chamber. Ivy believes that the alchemist's magic can make this piece of hell iron yield and shape it according to his will.

After saying hello to his companions, Ivy went into the blacksmith's workshop and started his work.

However, just as he lit the furnace, an uninvited shadow appeared behind him.

"Are you going to taste the blood of the bard?" Ivy summoned a wizard's hand to operate the blower. "I'm sorry, Asdaelon, I'm not in the habit of donating blood."

“No, no, no!” The vampire spawn behind him hastily denied, “I am not here for blood… but for another thing… the knowledge in your head.”

"Are you planning on becoming a mind flayer? That sounds even worse." Ivy turned and looked at him.

"Ha! You're so humorous!" Asdeln forced himself to laugh, but then his expression turned serious. "You come from a magic school that no one has ever heard of, and you are proficient in necromancy and various types of magic. Even the archmage of Waterdeep, the old lover of the goddess of magic, has never seen your way of casting spells... So I think you must have spent a lot of time in the library of the magic university - perhaps, you know some forbidden knowledge..."

Ivy looked at Asdaelen with some fear, unbuttoning his white shirt with a ruff collar one by one...

“Stop, stop, stop! I do know some taboo knowledge, but it’s a bit too taboo! Maybe my sexual orientation is not ordinary, but it definitely does not include men, especially male vampire spawn…”

“Hahaha!” This time Asdeln was really laughing. “I really don’t mind having a heart-to-heart talk with you in bed, but now we are talking about serious matters, which concern my life and death, and my freedom.”

The laughter echoing in the blacksmith's workshop soon stopped, and Asdeln unbuttoned all the buttons. He turned his back to Ivy and tore off his shirt.

"Oh..." Ivy looked at the circular mark on Asdaelon's back, "The devil has appeared, and he came to me on his own..."

"What?" Asdeln tried to twist his neck, but it was obvious that the structure of a vampire derivative was very different from that of an owl. Even though they were both active at night, Asdeln could not see his back. "I think there is still a big difference between vampires and demons... Can you understand what it means?"

"These words are in Infernal language, the same as Kalak's tattoo." Ivy took a closer look, "The words are very confusing, mentioning 'oath' and 'the flame below'..."

"What else?" Asdaelen's breathing began to become heavy. "What does it mean to connect them together? Have you seen something similar anywhere? In the library of the magic school?"

"I haven't seen anything like it..." Ivy rubbed his chin.

Asdaelon took a deep breath in disappointment, but controlled himself not to exhale.

"However, I can make a little guess..." Ivy's tone was a little more relaxed and cheerful, "Putting 'Purgatory Language' and 'Oath' together, what can you think of? Hint: Think about our companion Will."

"Devil's contract?" There was a strong sense of doubt in Asdeln's voice. "Although Kazador is indeed as terrifying as hell, I have never seen a devil in that mansion... at least not before."

"Hmm, what about linking 'the devil' with 'the flame below'?" Ivy continued to guide.

"Uh... down? To hell? 'Hellfire'!" Asdeln was obviously very smart. At least after Ivy's guidance, he quickly understood what he meant. "Oh my God! You are such a genius! But what does this mean?"

"These patterns together form a magic circle from hell, and it is also part of a large magic circle." Ivy speculated, "Usually, this means a devil's contract, and you are the carrier and sacrifice of this contract. Once all the conditions are met, you will be offered to the devil who controls the 'flame below' along with other sacrifices. Kazador should be the beneficiary, and he regards you as a bargaining chip for the deal with the devil. By the way, how many vampire spawn does he have?"

"Seven... no... maybe seven thousand..." The white shirt held in Asdaelen's hand had fallen to the floor covered with cobwebs and coal dust.

Absolutely a big devil.

The common people in hell can't handle such a big soul transaction.

Ivy was just troubled by the possible existence of the Devil Duke, and now his companion brought his information to him.

Things in the world are so coincidental that Ivy almost feels that there is a huge hand controlling everything.

Among the seven origin characters, half are entangled with the forces of hell, and the other half are unclear with the gods. Only the naive female college student from the star realm who just graduated from the military academy has a clean background.

Could it be that Laizer is the heroine of the whole story?
Thinking that this Githyanki female warrior did occupy the center position on the game's promotional poster, Ivy couldn't help but feel that he had indeed grasped the truth.

But when he thought of this fool's stubbornness, Ivy became unsure again.

"The devil who controls the fire of hell..." Asdaelon muttered to himself, "Damn it! It's the devil Duke Mephisto of Carnia, the Frost Secret Hell!"

With a sigh, Asdeln picked up his shirt from the ground, turned around and said in the most sincere tone: "Thank you, Ivy. Whether you believe it or not, this is very important to me! I never thought that I would be a delicious delicacy stuffed into the devil's mouth, just waiting for the other party to close his mouth to swallow me... If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have been kept in the dark for many years. No matter how many words of thanks I say, it is not enough to express my gratitude. But I still don't understand, what can a devil provide for a vampire? He has power, wealth, countless servants and time to squander at will... I can't imagine what Cazador wants to trade with the devil, let alone use seven thousand souls as bargaining chips."

"Whatever the devil promised, I believe that's the beginning of another trap," Ivy said. "We've learned a lesson from Will."

"You're right..." Asdaelon's tone was erratic, and his mind had completely drifted away from the conversation.

After a few seconds, he shook his head and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to be distracted...it's just that my mind is too confused...I don't think you will refuse me to visit you again on this issue, right? Ivy?"

"Of course." Ivy nodded, because he also wanted to see the true face of the big devil's contract, especially as the leader of a contract magician.

(End of this chapter)