From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 527 Investigation and Preparation

"Hey!" The person who pushed open the door was Xie Nian. Since getting a good night's sleep, she seemed full of energy, even excessively so.

If she's not out adventuring or carrying out tasks assigned by Ivy, she harasses her teammates everywhere. This is the third time Ivy has encountered her today.

“You forgot to knock again,” Ivy sighed.

"Haha, sorry, sorry!" Xie Nian waved his hand, making a gesture of begging for forgiveness.

"You should be glad I'm not researching any highly destructive magic... What's going on this time?" Ivy was already used to it.

“Yingxin told me you haven’t left the house for a while, so I brought this.” Xie Nian pulled out a small cart from behind him, which was filled with various snacks and drinks.

“Thank you.” Ivy nodded in thanks. “Although magical research isn’t a book club or a drama salon, a proper tea break can certainly help restore some focus.”

“That is…” As the evil thought pushed the cart over, it noticed the crystal in front of Ivy. “Baal’s tainted blood crystal? Although my body no longer responds to its call, my mind still can’t help but have some terrible thoughts…”

“Perhaps it’s some kind of inertia.” Ivy reached out and touched the crystal. The bewitching, blood-red crystal shattered into specks of light and disappeared. “Your past is steeped in bloodshed and slaughter. When you’re pulled out of it, it’s inevitable that some things will miss the past. Once it’s all over, find a quiet place and live a few peaceful days, and those things will leave you.”

“With Baal’s help, I have cleansed you of all the filth that originally belonged to Him. You are no longer Baal’s son.” Ivy reached for a small cake on the table, decorated with cream and cherries. Even under the strict lockdown of war, Zong Gui in the upper city could still enjoy fresh fruit and elegant snacks. After all, corruption was the norm in this city.

“Uh…” Evil Thoughts hesitated for a moment, “Actually, I remembered something…”

"About the Order of the Supreme God?" Ivy put the cherry in her mouth. Contrary to its perfect appearance, it tasted rather bland. Apart from a little sourness, the flesh had no other flavor.

Ivy silently spat out the fruit pit: "We already know you are one of the founders of the cult. Is there anything else we need to know?"

When Ivy first learned everything, she was also very surprised. After all, who would have thought that the villain was the real savior?
Evil Thought, Gortash, and Ketherrick were the original founders of the Order of the Supreme Gods and the true chosen ones of the Three Gods of Death. They stole the Crown of Karthus from Mephisto's treasury, captured the Mind Flayer's mastermind beneath the Tower of the Moonrise, and silently spread the Mind Flayer tadpoles throughout the Sword Coast, quickly amassing a formidable army.

If it weren't for Olin's betrayal, perhaps the chosen ones of the Three Gods of Death would have already completed the plan of the Supreme God.

Out of jealousy or something else, Orin, who aspired to be a Baal elector, betrayed her with evil intentions. He not only cut open her head but also threw her into the Mind Flayer colony beneath the Tower of the Moon, where she was parasitized and used as a True Soul to carry out a mission. She was sent with the monarch aboard the Shell Ship to the Githyanki's stronghold to seize the Astral Prism.

Unexpectedly, the monarch, piloting the shell ship, ran into the Shar Cultist squad, who were also on their way to steal the Astral Prism. In the ensuing three-way battle between the True Souls, the Gith Yankees, and the Shar Cultists, the monarch escaped in the shell ship. Shadowheart, the only survivor of the Shar Cultist squad, was captured and taken to the shell ship with the Astral Prism, while the Gith Yankees' Red Dragon Knights chased after the shell ship all the way.

During the days-long escape, the Shell Ship repeatedly jumped between multiple planes, attracting a lot of attention. It not only gathered together adventurers with unique skills, but also freed the monarch who was being controlled by the Mind Flayer's main brain.

When the hull ship entered Avernus, it was during El Toril's sinking. Zariel, preoccupied with dealing with the Blood Demons, the Holy City Guardians, and the various levels of Hell's Great Demons, had no time to spare and could only send a small force of demons to check the situation. It was at this time that Will and Karak were captured by the Mind Flayers.

Due to the relentless pursuit of the Gith Yankee Red Dragon Knights, the severely damaged Shell Ship finally succumbed to its strain and crashed in Sword Coast, the land of death east of Baldur's Gate, in the verdant woodlands adjacent to the Cursed Lands of Shadows after its final phase shift.

And that was the beginning of the whole story.

Afterwards, Ivy found Gale, who had lost an arm, and obtained a scroll of complete resurrection. She also encountered other adventurers in the tomb of the Herald Jergo, and embarked on an epic journey.

Now that Evil Thoughts has broken free from the influence of Baal's blood and become a completely reborn person, her life began on the crashed shell ship and only two days ago did she bid farewell to her past. Ivy doesn't think she has any secrets she absolutely has to tell her teammates.

“I am not an ordinary son of Baal.” Evil thought stared into Ivy’s eyes, a blush flashing across his face. “I have no mother. I am a special individual created by Baal with his own flesh and blood. Therefore, even though his tainted blood has drained from my veins, I still retain some of his characteristics.”

"For example...?" Ivy had never heard of this secret before. The evil thought was a daughter that Baal had conceived through asexual reproduction.

“For example—my reproductive desires are extremely strong. Like some kind of instinct, Baal hopes that his offspring can find excellent mates, thus giving birth to an even more powerful bloodline of murderers…” Evil Thoughts’ face flushed, but Ivy keenly sensed that it wasn’t entirely out of shyness and embarrassment, “…Just like murder, Baal’s son’s courtship is… extremely ruthless…I’ve tried to break into your room several times already…”

Whether in this life or the previous one, there were many who lusted after Ivy's body, but only Evil Thoughts put it so elegantly and purely. He composed himself slightly and asked, "Am I the only potential target?"

“Because you are the strongest,” the evil thought said without hesitation, “in every aspect… I heard it all from outside the door back at Dawnstar Keep…”

“…Thank you.” Ivy felt a little suffocated. He never considered himself a gentleman, but the frankness of his wicked thoughts did give the illusion that all the air was being sucked away. “…Does Yingxin know about this?”

“Shadowheart… probably doesn’t know, right?” Evil Thoughts said cautiously, the expression on her face a stark contrast to the manic smile she wore when she ripped open the enemy’s tendons. “But Minsara knows… she saw it all.”

“I didn’t ask Sarah… never mind.” Ivy felt it was time to end the conversation; he really didn’t understand what was going on in that wicked mind. “What exactly do you want?”

“I want to…” Noticing Ivy’s suspicious expression, Xie Nian quickly waved his hand, “I want you to check my body and see if there’s any way to suppress this urge…”

“Okay.” Ivy nodded in agreement. As a necromancy master, he had a great understanding of human anatomy, and the current state of evil thoughts reminded him of those upperclassmen who drank love potions at Hogwarts.

"Great!" Xie Nian looked around happily. "Right now, right here?" "Yes..." Ivy was about to start preparing the spell model when she saw Xie Nian's nimble, white fingers undo the belt around her waist in the blink of an eye. "What are you doing?"

"Take off your clothes?" Xie Nian looked up in confusion, but his hands didn't stop moving.

Ivy reached out and grabbed her waistband, which had fallen halfway down, concealing her clearly defined abdomen once again: "I'm a mage, you don't need to take off your clothes."

"Oh, okay." For some reason, Ivy could hear a hint of regret in her wicked tone.

Just as the wicked thoughts were slowly buttoning up his shirt and fastening his belt, the study door was knocked on once again.

"Please come in." Ivy pointed to Xie Nian's waist, and the belt that was dangling in Xie Nian's hand immediately wrapped around her waist.

The person who pushed open the door was Floric. For the past two days, she had been busy contacting the Flame Fist Commander of the Lower City, who was none other than the Duke's niece, Liana Porter, whom she had met once before.

"Lord Doom." Floric gave a simple bow, while subtly and emotionlessly glancing at Xie Nian's still flushed face.

Ivy used magic to move an armchair from the wall: "Sit down, there are some snacks here."

Once Florick was seated, Ivy asked, "How's the situation? Can we get her to join our side?"

“The situation is complicated.” Floric carefully chose his words. Ivy’s instructions to her were to win over Liana Porter. Whether as Duke Porter’s niece or the leader of the Flame Fist in the Lower City, she was very powerful. Moreover, if they could peacefully rescue Zaris of the Zantalin Society through her, then the High Harpists and the Leathermans wouldn’t have to wander around the Lower City like headless flies.

“She’s not quite the same…” Floric glanced in the direction of the evil thought, “It’s like she’s suffered a head injury. Liana Porter seems a bit out of it, talking incoherently, and at one point even forgot I was there, as if—”

"Is it implanted with mind-stealing tadpoles?" The wicked thought, who was very experienced in this matter, took over the conversation.

Floric nodded: "Of course, we can't rule out other charm or mind control spells. Liana Porter's position is just too important; it wouldn't be surprising if she attracted a lot of attention from the shadows."

"So you've come seeking help." Ivy nodded knowingly, casually pulling out a ring. "A Mind Protection Ring. But it's the active version; when activated on a target, it can remove any mental effects currently in effect."

Since gaining the ability to create the Mind Protection Ring, a passive defense mechanism, Ivy has been trying to turn the tables. However, considering that the Mind Flayer Tadpoles reside within the minds of the True Souls, this ring might only keep them conscious for a very short time. To completely break free from the Mind Flayer Tadpoles' influence, perhaps only Prince Githyanki within the Astral Prism can be relied upon.

After Floric received the ring, Ivy looked at Evil Thought beside him: "You go too, Evil Thought. As for your physical problems, I think 'compensation' is an effective solution. Vent your energy in adventures, vent it on enemies. Just like you did before."

“Alright.” Xie Nian nodded in disappointment. She had no intention of disobeying Ivy’s instructions, from every angle.

After Evil Thought and Floric left together, Ivy breathed a sigh of relief. There weren't many adventurers left in the Kazador Palace; most of them had been sent out by Ivy on missions.

Minsara and Halsin returned to Morningstar City via Ivy's teleportation spell to coordinate the food needed by the vampire clones in their territory.

Will and Asdalon are monitoring the Iron Guardian Foundry, with Karak serving as their bodyguard. It is the foundation of Gortash's rule over Baldur's Gate, and also Ivy's next target.

Once Gortash's Iron Guardians are eliminated, obtaining his Netherstone will become much easier. Ivy plans to launch the raid after Gortash's coronation, so thorough reconnaissance is absolutely essential.

Shadowheart was given an address by Jahira, who hoped she could help take care of her children and persuade them to go to the Qazador Palace in the Upper City.

Yes, the High Harpist actually owns a property inside Baldur's Gate, hidden in the most bustling part of the Lower City, and she has also adopted several orphans of different races.

However, judging from Jashira's expression when she asked Shadowheart for help, her children are not easy to deal with. Otherwise, the High Harpist should at least have the courage to face them instead of hiding behind the Leatherman and his hamster friend.

Minsk was forced to separate from his spiritual mentor, while Jahira reunited with the Guild's Nine Fingers, supporting their surface allies through underground activities.

"I can't even tell whether you or Little Bu is more like a mouse." This was Minsara's sneer after the morning meeting. Before Jasila could refute her, she stepped into the teleportation array and disappeared.

Therefore, apart from the Flame Fist soldiers on standby, the Gur monster hunters, and a small number of harpists, the new gathering place for adventurers was only occupied by a pair of passionate lesbian lovers, Gale who had fallen into despair after losing a piece of her soul, and Leezel who was guarding her compatriots.

After carefully putting away the two Netherstones on the table, Ivy began her next activity for the day: to find the captured Githyanki master and learn psionic abilities.

As a naturally gifted psychic race, the Githyanki are very talented in using psychic powers. However, Ivy, who is skilled in Occlumency and Legilimency, is also a potential psychic, but he has only been exposed to this power for a short time and cannot yet truly activate his psychic abilities.

However, Ivy believed he had seen the light at the end of the tunnel. As his understanding of psionic energy gradually increased, he felt that he was just one step away from opening the door to psionic energy.

(End of this chapter)