From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 525 Death and Rebirth

Melkor, the god of the dead, can descend upon the continent of Faerûn in avatar form through his followers.

The murderous god Baal left behind at Baldur's Gate not just believers, but his offspring who flowed with his sinful blood. In terms of connection alone, they were far closer than the relationship between believers and gods.

Did Ivy really not expect that Baal would be able to descend upon Faerûn by possessing the incarnation of the Divine Child?
He was certainly warned, but he didn't expect Baal to abandon Crimson Orin and Salofok and instead directly target evil thoughts.

The reason why the gods require believers to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly is to prevent believers from being too distracted by their personal emotions. If Melkor were not attached to his loyal general, the power he could display would be very limited.

Even if Evil Thought was a divine child created by Baal himself, forcibly taking over someone's body against their will would definitely cause Baal some kind of trouble.

Similar plots abound in various movies, TV series, and video games. When the main villain attempts to possess the body of his teammates and destroy the world, he is ultimately defeated by a coordinated attack from within.

However, Ivy's current situation is more complicated—he needs to defeat Baal's avatar and free his teammates from Baal's control, preferably freeing them alive.

The blood-curdling wails of evil thoughts still echoed in the hall of the Murder Tribunal, while Baal, reflected in the pool of blood, remained calm. This torment was neither enjoyable nor desirable to him, but simply a task that had to be completed.

"Do something!" Shadowheart shed her disguise as the shield-wielding black knight and looked anxiously at Ivy. "We can't just stand by and watch!"

Ivy took a breath and stopped hesitating.

As a mithril staff crafted by the Lonely Mountain dwarves, essential melee capabilities are indispensable. Therefore, in addition to the ribbed head used to secure the gems, the staff also has a spearhead at the end for thrusting attacks.

At this moment, the spearhead of the mithril staff had deeply pierced the heart of evil thoughts, and a large amount of hot blood gushed out like a spring, flowing out along the blood groove of the spearhead.

The adventurers who had been traveling with Ivy for so long still didn't understand what had happened. They only saw that Xie Nian's originally rosy face quickly turned pale, and his scarlet eyes flickered like a signal light that was running out of power.

As a large amount of blood gushed out of his body, the evil thought's consciousness, which was as if veiled in a scarlet veil, gradually cleared up.

Realizing that the wound on her chest was Ivy's doing, she smiled—to die with a clear mind, as an evil thought, at the hands of her teammates seemed like a decent end, at least better than being manipulated by Baal to fight her teammates and die in despair and pain.

The crimson blood initially flowed out in spurts from the mithril staff, but it quickly turned into a spurt, like a fire hydrant being lifted from the ground, a bleeding amount completely unlike that of a human.

In addition to plunging his staff into his teammate's heart, Ivy also used dark magic from the Forbidden Books of Hogwarts, a flesh magic invented to counter vampires, the effect of which is to create an unhealable wound that bleeds continuously.

After being improved by the black magic master Ivy, the effect of this magic has changed from simply creating wounds to drawing blood and redirecting it.

“Ivy… he’s drawing blood from the evil spirit!” Having traveled with the Son of Baal for a long time and weathered countless conspiracies against him, Jahira was very familiar with Baal’s power. “Like Irenicas… he wants to use this method to cleanse the evil spirit’s body of the malevolent magic belonging to Baal!”

Irenicas was an elven mage who aspired to godhood. He was not a son of Baal, but he was far more brutal and bloodthirsty than those sons of gods who murdered gods.

Through magical experiments that extracted blood and essence from the body of Baal's son, he attempted to taint Baal's divine power and thereby gain eternal life and the opportunity to become a god.

However, a mage with only ambition will ultimately fail to achieve great things, not to mention that he was also a sycophant who was dumped by the former Elf Queen.

The blood gushing from the evil heart spiraled along the mithril staff, as if drawn by a powerful water pump, and was completely injected into Ivy's body.

“Hmph…” Baal’s deep laughter echoed within the Murder Tribunal. “You wish to taint my divine power with your blood? You are not the first mage with such ambitions, nor will you be the last.”

“But compared to my rebellious daughter, you are undoubtedly a more qualified vessel.” The blood gushing from the pool of blood beneath Salofak no longer restrained the evil thoughts that were already half-dead, but instead connected with Ivy behind her through the large hole in her chest.

The filth that permeated the entire Murder Tribunal was dwindling, and even the Salofok, which served as Baal's vessel, began to dry up and dehydrate.

Even Baal, who witnessed this scene, couldn't help but show some surprise and astonishment. He never thought that the mage in front of him would be such a "capacity" vessel, and even the evil thoughts that were an extension of his bloodline had never contained so much murderous blood.

“I will always be watching you, you ambitious man…” The pool of blood reflecting Baal’s avatar was dwindling, and Baal’s voice was becoming increasingly faint, but the heavy evil pressure that enveloped the Murder Tribunal did not diminish in the slightest.

"Bring me a blood-red yet pure world... Hehehehehe..."

Salofok's body turned into a dried-up corpse, and his heavy armor immediately broke the bones, which were even more fragile than dry tree branches.

Having lost its vessel, Baal has completely departed, but Ivy's act of drawing tainted blood from the evil mind's body has never ceased.

His black hair turned blood red, and his eyes, which always shone with wisdom, became bloodshot. Anyone standing in front of him would think that he was the true son of Baal, the murderer of the chosen one.

Jashira was the first to come to Ivy's side.

"Baal is gone!" she cried, trying to stop Ivy from continuing to draw blood. "If this continues, she'll die!"

“He knows what he’s doing.” Minsara stopped Jasila before her hand could touch Ivy. “We have no choice but to trust him.”

“What if he becomes Baal’s lackey?” Jahira asked again. “Those who plot against Baal’s power never have a good ending; I’ve seen far too many of them…”

“Then let’s work together to send him to hell.” Shadowheart’s expression was pained, but there was no hesitation on her face. “He saved me from the darkness of Shar, and I will save him from the bloodshed of Baal.”

“Death doesn’t mean the end for me.” Ivy’s voice rang out with a hint of a smile. His magic had ended, and the evil thought that had lost all its blood had become a dried-up corpse.

Ivy carefully removed the mithril staff from the evil thought's chest and reached out to support the Son of Baal, who was as light as a feather.

"She's dead?" Karak asked in disbelief.

“Temporary.” Ivy gasped for breath, each breath carrying the sinful, sweet scent of Baal.

“Give me some space…” he pleaded, “Let me finish what I need to do next… Shadowheart, prepare a healing spell for me.”

“Okay…” Yingxin nodded, pursed her lips and stepped back, leaving space for Aiwei and the evil thoughts he had placed on the ground.

None of the adventurers understood what Ivy was trying to do, not even Gale, who was also an archmage.

Ivy stood there, leaning on his mithril staff, the tainted blood of Baal surging in his veins. Every second, every moment, the sins and toxins contained in the filthy blood buzzed in his ears like insects, burning his sanity and gnawing at his bones.

He pulled aside the magnificent mage's robes, revealing the fair skin and well-proportioned muscles of his chest. He ran his hand over his chest, feeling the beating of his heart within his chest cavity.

Taking another deep breath, the crimson color that represented Baal, the god of murder, on Ivy's body suddenly dimmed.

His fingers glowed faintly as they traced lines across his chest, slicing through skin, fascia, and muscle—his hand reaching into his own chest.

Bypassing the hard bones, Ivy felt her hand grasp a hot, soft object, its surface sticky, yet radiating a vibrant life force.

At the same time, his body involuntarily shivered. In contrast to the heat in his palm, he felt a cold, foreign object inside his chest, a driving force that seemed to want to imprison his limbs and bones.

Hesitation and doubt were nonexistent; this was a strategy Ivy had devised beforehand. The pain and nauseating abnormality at this moment were merely the most insignificant parts.

The sound of a blood vessel rupturing was barely perceptible, but to Ivy it sounded like thunder. The heart in his hand was beating faster and faster. He could no longer see or hear anything except the sound of blood rushing through his veins.

His fingers clenched suddenly, and he forcefully ripped the hot, throbbing mass of flesh from his chest, along with a large patch of thick, gel-like blood and twisted, convulsing, purplish-red veins.

The heart pounded and struggled violently in Ivy's hands, as if it were an independent organism trying to escape the cage made of steel.

With his fingers digging into his atrial muscles, Ivy resisted the darkness before him and the buzzing in his ears, silently chanting a spell in his heart.

The Baal blood that he had previously inhaled surged out again through the ruptured artery in his chest, rushing into the heart he was tightly clutching in his hand.

The heart, glowing intensely like embers, seemed like a wounded person struggling to breathe and groaning. Each beat made it appear weaker, but the surrounding blood-red light grew ever deeper, from scarlet to crimson, from crimson to deep purple...

The change gradually stopped only when Ivy's magic lifted it from her hands, and instead, clusters of crystals began to sprout on the surface of the heart.

The heart, which had absorbed all of Baal's tainted blood from the murder trial and had swelled several times its original size, finally stopped beating and ceased emitting its bloody glow.

It completely transformed into a translucent, heart-shaped purplish-red crystal.

Ivy caught it again, turned around and smiled at Yingxin, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and save me."

The moonlight belonging to Serene flashed from Shadowheart's palm, quickly healing the huge gash in Ivy's chest and repairing the missing parts in his body.

Only when Ivy felt the tremor in her chest again did she finally feel completely at ease.

Besides the clones left in Streihaven and her private demiplane, Ivy has many other ways to resurrect herself from death. But if time allows, why bother dying once?

For a normal person, losing their heart is an extremely serious injury. Once blood stops supplying the brain, a person will instantly begin to lose consciousness and experience limb convulsions. But for a mage like Ivy, who is skilled in elemental magic and necromancy, the process of death is not like that.

Transforming one's body into an undead creature with no vital organs, or even losing vital organs without endangering one's life, is a good way to avoid attacks that exploit weaknesses.

Throughout the entire process of absorbing Baal's blood, the only thing Ivy needs to maintain is her spellcasting ability; everything else can be temporarily sacrificed. Let alone a heart, even if her head were cut off, Ivy has ways to continue surviving in the world for a while simply by relying on dark magic or negative energy.

"You..." The experienced high-ranking harpist was speechless. She pointed at the heart-shaped crystal in Ivy's hand and stammered, "What exactly did you do?"

Ivy tilted her head: "Simply put, I absorbed the essence of Baal's blood and then sealed it away."

Having finished casting the healing spell, Yingxin threw herself into his arms, reaching out to grope his still-naked chest.

"Ivy... are you really okay?"

Noticing her lover's trembling and disbelief, Ivy took her hand and pressed it against her cheek: "Of course I'm fine. But if we had waited any longer, the evil thoughts might have been different."

"Friends!" Ivy raised his voice, making sure every companion could hear him clearly, "The evil thought is dead, and it has been forever rid of the malice of the god of murder in its bloodline. It's time for us to welcome its rebirth together."

"Are you willing to offer your blood to help our comrades be resurrected?" Ivy raised her arm slightly, and a cloud of ice mist appeared in front of each adventurer. Then, the ice mist condensed into a translucent dagger, which slowly fell into their hands.

"I will guide the blood from your wounds to bring our companions back from the Misty Realm. At that time, the evil thoughts of Baal's Son will die forever, and our companions, who are of one mind with us and share our life force, will be reborn!"

“I’m willing! But… I’m a vampire clone…” Asdallen was the first to raise his arm, then asked hesitantly, “What if my blood turns her into a clone too…”

“We all know that derivatives don’t have the ability to create new derivatives.” Ivy nodded to him. “And I will do my best to prevent that.”

"Then what are we waiting for? I can't wait to hug my old friend!" Karak had already slashed open his palm with his ice blade, and the steaming blood dripped onto the ground with a hissing sound.

Ivy made a few gestures, and a stream of blood gushed from Karak's wound, floating in the air and turning into a bright red liquid mass.

With one person setting an example, the others followed suit, and more and more blood joined the blood clump in the air.

Guided by Ivy, the blood contributed by the adventurers swirled in the air, gathered the dried-up corpses of evil spirits on the ground, and then all of it burrowed into the hole in her chest.

Just like blowing up a balloon, the evil thought's pale and withered skin began to turn rosy and shiny, the muscle texture reappeared, and even the arm that she had cut off herself gradually grew new bones, nerves, muscles and skin.

"I... I've been resurrected?" the newly born evil thought asked, slightly bewildered.

Karak, who had been waiting impatiently, gave her a big bear hug to celebrate the return of her companion.

"My God..." Evil thought rubbed his temples, "My mind has never been so calm, it's like I'm dead!"

“You did die once, young man.” Grandma Jashira hadn’t seen such a reunion in a long time. She wiped her eyes and smiled.

The adventurers gathered around Ivy and Evil Thoughts, expressing their joy through laughter and patting.

A skeletal figure, even more withered than a dried-up corpse, stopped outside the gates of the Murder Tribunal.

Looking at the harmonious and joyful scene, resembling a dumpling-making party on a Spring Festival Gala stage, even the gravedigger's eyes, which had witnessed countless deaths, couldn't help but reveal a sense of confusion and doubt.

I'm such a prominent voter... and I was... stolen?
(End of this chapter)