HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity

Lilith thought for a moment.

"Oh, is the ice cream for that limping kid from the other day?"

"That's right."

"Miss Lilith quite likes that kid. He gave me his ice cream."

As she spoke, she suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I haven't seen Priscilla in so long!"

"I'll take you to see her after I get back."

"Okay then~"

"I'm heading out now!"

"Bye-bye~"

In the next instant, Edward had already arrived at Mr. A's residence.

"You're a bit later than I expected," said Mr. A, who was in the middle of a meal. He held a fork in one hand and used a knife in the other to slice through a blood-red steak, stuffing the still-bleeding meat into his mouth.

"Wasn't Miss D scheduled to arrive in Backlund tonight?"

Mr. A set down his utensils.

"I've decided to meet her halfway."

"What's the plan?"

He brought his hands together and said calmly, "I need to determine whether she'll interfere with my plans. If not, then I'll simply go greet her. But if she will...well, it wouldn't be unusual for a train to derail during transit, causing mass casualties. Miss D tragically perishing in the accident sounds...entirely plausible, don't you think?"

"…"

Edward frowned.

"Must you always drag innocent people into it when you act?"

"There is no such thing as innocence among those who do not believe in our Lord." Mr. A's tone was icy.

"For the sake of the world, the Lord bore sin and pain and hanged "Himself" upside down. Yet not only do these people fail to be grateful for "His" salvation—they even label "Him" an evil god!"

"You don't think they deserve to die?"

Edward tried to reason with him.

"Is it possible that people feel this way about the Lord...because of how the Aurora Order has acted all these years?"

Mr. A shot him a cold glance and didn't respond.

"Let's go."

Sigh. Trying to reason with a religious fanatic...What was I even thinking?

At least he still had his frame—which could carve out its own space when needed. But Edward was beginning to feel that his "friendship" with Mr. A might not last much longer.

"East Tuck County, outskirts of the western district," Mr. A said, leaving behind a location before switching over to his Shepherd-pathway's grazed Traveler spirit. With one step, he vanished into the spirit world.

"Wait—what? I've never even been to East Tuck County!"

Edward let out a sigh and summoned Phoenix.

"Phoenix, do you know where East Tuck County in Backlund is?"

The bird shook its head.

"Nope."

"Can you sense Mr. A's location?"

"I can~"

"Take me there."

"Okay~"

Phoenix spread its wings and grabbed Edward by the clothes. The world around them blurred into intense color—thick, dreamy hues—signalling their entry into the Spirit World.

Unlike the long journey to Calderón City last time, this time they only flew through the Spirit World for about ten seconds before the air tore open again. They emerged just a few meters from a railway track—Mr. A already standing there.

"Thanks. You can return now."

East Tuck County was located west of Backlund. Its latitude was roughly the same, and it also sat near the coastline, so the climate wasn't too different. However, the local environment was notably better. With less industrial development, the region had significantly more vegetation coverage.

Edward walked up, grumbling, "Mr. A, if my messenger couldn't traverse the Spirit World, I wouldn't have made it in time."

Mr. A stared toward the distant end of the tracks.

"Don't you already have some kind of teleportation ability?"

Yeah, but Apparition only works for places I've already been to, Edward thought but didn't say aloud.

"Can you at least tell me something about Miss D? Her Sequence? Pathway? Any sealed artifacts? If things go sideways, I need to be ready."

Mr. A shook his head.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Because the previous divine emissary codenamed D was a Miss D—a Shepherd like me."

He frowned slightly.

"Normally, unless a divine emissary dies, their codename doesn't change. But this Miss D appeared out of nowhere and directly replaced the previous one."

"What happened to the original Miss D?"

Mr. A gave a cold laugh.

"She was killed. Defied an order, clashed with the new Miss D, and lost. The Shepherd trait I mentioned to you? It came from her."

"..."

Goddamn lunatic cult. They really do kill each other at the drop of a hat.

That divine emissary had been a mid-ranking figure in the Aurora Order, and they still just...offed her?

Edward silently mourned the deceased Miss D for three seconds—and then, sincerely thanked her from the bottom of his heart for her contribution to his Sequence 5 advancement.

Mr. A's voice lowered.

"Which is why, in truth, I don't want to fight this new Miss D..."

A pause.

"...If I can help it."

Yeah, I've got a bad feeling about this, Edward thought.

——

Half an hour later—

A distant whistle echoed through the air. The ground beneath the tracks began to shake. The rumbling grew louder and louder until a steam locomotive, belching thick smoke, slowly rolled into view.

Mr. A turned toward Edward.

"Come on. Let's head to the East Tuck County platform."

He handed Edward a train ticket.

Edward blinked.

"What's this for?"

Mr. A smirked.

"What, were you planning to board without a ticket?"

"???"

Edward found himself struggling to keep up with Mr. A's train of thought—his way of doing things really was all over the place.

Clang-clang, clang-clang, clang-clang.

A few minutes later, the steam locomotive slowly pulled into the platform at East Tuck County.

This was Edward's second time riding a train. Although trains in this era were still old-fashioned steam locomotives, perhaps thanks to Roselle's "inventions," the interior layout was oddly similar to the trains of the later generations.

Soon after boarding, the train let out a few long whistles and began chugging away from East Tuck County station.

Edward turned to Mr. A.

"So what's really going through your head?"

Mr. A replied blandly, "Emperor Roselle once said, 'Civility before force.'"

He paused.

"Ah—forgot to tell you. The exact train number, car, and compartment Miss D is in? She told me that in advance."

Edward's eyes widened.

"...So she wanted you to come?"

As they spoke, the two left the bustling-class cars and entered the quieter, more refined first-class section. Here, each car had only three private compartments, and the price of one ticket was dozens—sometimes hundreds—of times higher than a regular one. It was a space reserved for the wealthy elite.

"This is the one."

Just as Mr. A was about to knock, the door creaked open on its own. From inside came a hoarse and unsettling voice, "Come in, Mr. A."

The private compartment was about three to four meters in length and richly decorated. There were leather couches, thick carpet, and even a small built-in stove gently burning.

A short figure, entirely shrouded in a black robe with a hood covering their face, was seated on the couch, extending gloved hands toward the stove's warmth.

Edward blinked in surprise.

So this is the Miss D who took down the previous emissary? Doesn't really fit the image I had in mind...

Without ceremony, Mr. A sat down opposite her. Edward hesitated a moment, then stood silently behind him. Crossing one leg over the other, Mr. A spoke calmly, "Let's get to the point, Miss D. What do you want from me?"

Miss D chuckled hoarsely.

"I simply informed you of my train and compartment number in advance. I never asked you to come. Weren't you the one who came looking for me?"

Mr. A rubbed his clasped hands slowly.

"Fine. Then tell me—what's your mission in Backlund this time?"

"That's not something you need to know," she replied. "Just follow my lead."

"And what exactly does that entail?"

"From now on, all Aurora Order operations in Backlund are to cease. Await further instructions."

Mr. A was silent for a few seconds.

"All operations? Are you including...the Lord's Descent?"

"Of course."

"And if I refuse?"

Miss D said coldly, "The last person who refused me...is already dead."

Mr. A's eyes narrowed.

"You threatening me?"

"You're free to see it that way."

Silence.

Edward stood to the side, absolutely floored.

Should I even be surprised? It's the Aurora Order, after all. No tests, no mind games, no subtlety—straight to the jugular. Two sentences in and they're already about to throw hands.

But in the end, Mr. A swallowed his rage.

"You're abandoning the Lord's Descent plan?"

"That's your plan," Miss D said coldly. "Not mine."

"The Aurora Order seeks to bring the Lord back into this world—to spread "His" light upon all once again. Not some half-baked 'descent' of limited power, just to make a splash in the headlines. All you're doing is helping others get what they want while you get betrayed and tossed aside. What a joke."

Mr. A's expression twisted.

"That was not some half-baked—"

"I know you're desperate," Miss D interrupted, her tone mocking and provocative. "But don't be in such a rush, Mr. A."

"You don't even know what's happening in Backlund. You don't know what's about to happen. And you certainly don't know that the one behind all of this...is the Lord's greatest enemy."

"Yes, that's right. You know nothing."

"So be a good little...mascot, will you?"

As she spoke, she tugged her sleeves up slightly.

"If you're still not convinced, I can kill you right now. Just a friendly reminder: the portion of the Lord's power parasitising your body? It won't intervene."

"…"

The veins on Mr. A's beautiful and demonic face bulged. His pupils burned with fury.

Without the Lord's power, he was nothing more than a Sequence 5 Shepherd—and if a Shepherd like the former Miss D could be killed and turned into a Beyonder characteristic, who knew what this one was capable of?

He slowly turned to look at Edward.

The message was clear.

Edward stared back.

Wait—what!?

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Suddenly, Miss D burst into raucous laughter.

"No way. No way. Don't tell me your last trump card is this guy standing behind you?"

Was that…was that an insult?

Why do I feel like this Miss D…really needs a good slap?

She kept laughing.

"Wanna bet? If a fight did break out, your little backup here would probably side with me."

Mr. A's face froze.

"You...betrayed me?!"

That expression, that gaze—it was like he just caught Edward cheating on him.

Edward felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly raised his hands in protest.

"I don't know anything, okay?! I don't even know her! She's clearly trying to stir things up—you can't see that?!"

"You sure you don't know me, kid?"

Miss D pulled back her hood.

Underneath was a short head of jet-black hair—a youthful face lifted in smug defiance. Her smile was wild, provocative, and utterly at odds with her youthful features.

Priscilla!

———

[Note]: Tho we missed our powerstone goal (by 10), here's the Extra Chapter. Enjoy~ 510 Powerstones for another one tomorrow! Go, VOTE!

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Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]