HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity

[Empress Borough—Inside the luxurious villa of Earl Hall]

Audrey stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out with concern.

She watched as the fog at the horizon grew thicker, its pale yellow hue gradually stained with iron-black, inching ominously in her direction.

Susie sat beside her, also peering into the unusual haze.

"This doesn't feel right," she said, her tail swishing.

Audrey murmured, "So this is why Edward was so anxious to get us out of Backlund…A disaster wrought by a high-sequence Witch…"

She suddenly turned to Susie, "Where are Father and Mother?"

Susie wagged her tail. "They should be in the dining room. It's afternoon tea time."

"Let's go."

Audrey stepped out briskly and headed straight for the dining hall.

Along the way, she noticed the maids and servants in the house staring at the distant fog with shocked expressions, whispering to one another.

"Damn factories...That's why Backlund's air keeps getting worse…"

At that moment, a piercing scream echoed through the hall—it was her mother.

"Hibbert, what are you doing? Oh, Hibbert!"

Audrey didn't hesitate. She activated Apparition and teleported into the dining room.

What met her eyes was a nightmare.

Her older brother Hibbert stood beside their father, clutching a blood-soaked dagger.

His face, his clothes—splattered with arterial red—twisted into a disturbing, eerie smile.

Earl Hall sat slumped at the dining table, eyes wide in shock and disbelief, clutching his throat with both hands.

Blood gushed uncontrollably through the gaps in his fingers.

Several fresh wounds on his chest bled like fountains.

The maids had all backed into the corners of the room, frozen with fear.

Only the head maid Annie was quietly reaching for a chair, clearly intent on stopping Hibbert at all costs.

When she saw Audrey appear, she cried out in panic,

"Miss! Run! Young Master Hibbert's gone mad!"

Audrey's heart clenched.

She shouted, "Hibbert!"

But Hibbert seemed completely deaf to her voice.

He raised the dagger again and lunged toward Earl Hall's chest.

"No—!"

The next second, Audrey unleashed both Frenzy and Dragon's Might.

Hibbert staggered, instantly thrown into confusion.

He dropped the dagger and began running in circles like a headless chicken.

At that moment, the two Beyonder bodyguards of House Hall arrived on the scene.

They were stunned by the chaos before them.

As bodyguards, their duty was to protect the Hall family from external threats.

But how were they supposed to handle a case where the son had tried to murder the father?

They rushed forward to check Earl Hall's wounds.

Their expressions darkened.

The Earl's throat was completely slit—a mortal wound for any ordinary person.

Even so, they didn't give up and immediately turned to run for help.

"We'll get someone!"

Audrey knelt beside her father in a panic.

"Father!"

She frantically cast Healing Charms to close the wounds and stop the bleeding.

But it wasn't enough.

Though the injuries slowly mended, the massive blood loss had already thrown Earl Hall into hypovolemic shock.

His face turned pale, his breath weak, his body deteriorating visibly with every second.

Healing spells could close wounds, but they couldn't replenish blood.

If he didn't receive an immediate transfusion, he would be dead within minutes.

"Oh, my God…"

Lady Hall stumbled forward and collapsed over her husband.

Her face was twisted in fear and anguish, tears streaming uncontrollably.

"No, no, my love—you can't die on me!"

She turned to Audrey with a pleading gaze.

"Audrey! Save your father! Please!"

Audrey forced herself to stay calm.

"I…I've already closed the wounds, but he lost too much blood. I…I need to go to the Harvest Church. I have to find Emlyn."

Lady Hall cried out, "Edward! Edward will have a way, won't he? He must!"

Audrey didn't hesitate. Her figure blurred and reappeared in front of Edward's small villa.

"Edward! Edward!"

Inside, Lilith yawned from the sofa.

"Edward went out."

"Where?"

"No idea."

Then she noticed the bloodstains on Audrey's body and immediately sprang to her feet.

"What happened? Were you attacked?!"

"No…it's not that."

Audrey's chest felt like it was being crushed.

She was certain that Hibbert didn't stab their father on purpose.

His behaviour had clearly been abnormal.

But no matter the reason, their father was now at death's door…

If anything happened to him, then—

Lilith shouted, "Summon the big bird! Have it go find Edward!"

"Right—!"

Audrey quickly set up a ritual circle and began chanting:

"In my name, I summon:

"The spirit that wanders about the unfounded,

A friendly creature that can be commanded,

The messenger that belongs solely to Edward."

———

[Outskirts of Backlund—Nofell Church]

Akasha handed Edward a canvas frame.

"This thing of yours is really handy. Even a demigod didn't have time to react before getting sucked in."

She bumped her shoulder against his, grinning.

"Sell it to me?"

Edward raised an eyebrow.

"What's your offer?"

Akasha paused to think.

"What do you want?"

"A Sequence 3 Beyonder characteristic."

"???"

Akasha immediately took two steps back and stared at Edward warily.

"You're after the Marquis Beyonder characteristic I've got, aren't you? No way! I'm scared my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents will all crawl up from the Underworld to drag me down with them!"

Edward shrugged. "Then forget it. I don't need anything else at the moment."

"…Fine," she relented. "If I really need to use it later, I'll just rent the thing from you. That's fair, right?"

She had just finished speaking when her brow furrowed. She turned to glance in the direction of Backlund.

"That is…"

Edward followed her gaze and saw that a layer of pale yellow fog, now tainted with an iron-black hue, had enveloped the skies above Backlund.

Just the sight of it from a distance gave him a powerful sense of foreboding.

His heart tightened.

"That's the plague released by a high-sequence Witch, isn't it?!"

Akasha chuckled, "Oh? You actually recognise that?"

Why was this happening?

In the original storyline, the Great Smog was meant to cover up the mass disappearance of trafficked people.

But now, the human trafficking scandal and the mausoleum conspiracy had already been exposed with those photos—so why was the smog still happening?

Why continue the smog at all…?

"Sigh—"

A heavy sigh sounded.

It came from Archbishop Anthony of the Church of Evernight.

He stared intently at the rapidly spreading fog, his eyes dimmed.

He understood now.

Everything he had done…had been meaningless.

As a devout follower, he didn't dare question whether his god was wrong, but at this moment…he truly no longer knew what was right.

"I must return to the city. I'm worried my friends are in danger."

Akasha waved lazily.

"I still want to stick around a bit. The show's just getting good."

Edward stepped forward and opened a Traveller's Door.

As the world around him darkened and thickened with spiritual hues, a red shadow shot toward him.

Phoenix flew straight in, voice trembling with panic.

"Edward! Come back quick! My dad's in trouble! Hurry—save him!"

Then, almost like flipping a switch, her tone shifted to normal.

"That girl named Audrey said that just now."

Edward's face changed drastically.

Without hesitation, he sped up and stepped out of the spirit world—appearing inside Earl Hall's villa.

The first thing he saw was Earl Hall, covered in blood, lying on his back on the floor, seemingly lifeless.

Lady Hall sat beside him, completely dazed, her face pale and eyes vacant.

Hibbert lay off to the side, apparently unconscious.

"Edward!"

Audrey was sitting on the floor, devastated.

The moment she saw him, tears poured from her eyes. She held her father's hand and murmured,

"I…I went to the Harvest Church, but Emlyn wasn't there. I tried Mr. White's clinic too…but they were all gone.

Dad…Dad's already…"

Lilith and Susie sat to the side, both visibly shaken.

The moment Lilith saw Edward, she ran up to him.

"Edward! Edward!"

Edward's thoughts were a mess.

He took a deep breath—blood and fear hung thick in the air.

"Don't panic. Don't panic. There's still a way."

In eras of primitive medicine, death was judged by lack of breath, pulse, and heartbeat.

But in modern terms, a person was only considered truly dead after brain death.

Which meant—Earl Hall might not be completely gone yet.

Edward stepped forward and took the Ring of Resurrection from his own finger, slipping it onto Earl Hall's.

Then he pulled a paper crane and a pitch-black doll from his coat pocket and whispered:

"Either one of you…please…Give Earl Hall a bit of luck—please help him."

He pulled out a gold coin, gently flicked it, and asked, "Is Earl Hall still alive?"

Audrey's eyes followed the spinning coin, her gaze flickering with hope.

That's right—Edward could reverse the outcome of a divination!

Dad still had a chance. He wasn't dead!

The coin landed in his palm.

The number facing up was "no"—a negative.

Edward didn't hesitate. He invoked [Madman to the Right], reversing the result.

Almost immediately, the seemingly lifeless Earl Hall suddenly gasped.

The next moment, he coughed violently, spewing out bright red blood.

Audrey rushed forward to cradle him.

"Dad! Dad!"

But only a few seconds later, Earl Hall collapsed again.

His eyes widened as his chest heaved rapidly—then his breath began to fade once more.

Weaker and weaker…

A final bloody wheeze gurgled up from his throat, his body convulsed, and then stiffened.

His pupils dilated, glassy and unfocused.

"Dad…sob...Dad…"

Audrey collapsed onto Earl Hall's chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

Edward stared hard at the once again lifeless body of Earl Hall.

His fingers clenched tighter and tighter as he repeated to himself:

It'll work. It has to work. It HAS to work.

Crack.

Suddenly, the ring on Earl Hall's finger let out a faint snapping sound.

A fine fracture split across the surface of the embedded Resurrection Stone.

Audrey, immersed in grief, didn't notice at all.

She continued to sob quietly.

Then—a large, warm hand gently touched the back of her head.

A familiar voice rang out beside her ear, hesitant and confused:

"Sweetheart…what's wrong?"

"Dad?"

Audrey trembled.

She jerked her head up—and saw her father's vibrant blue eyes staring back at her.

"Oh heavens…why am I covered in blood?"

He sat up in shock, lowering his head to examine his clothing.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell just happened?"

Lady Hall rushed over in disbelief.

How could someone who had clearly died just moments ago—now be alive and well again?

Earl Hall looked at the blood all over himself, then at the floor.

A string of fragmented memories began to surface.

His expression turned to bewilderment.

"Hibbert…just now, he…stabbed me?"

"…Yes. I should be dead," he murmured.

"So…I came back to life?"

He suddenly looked toward Edward, eyes filled with astonishment.

"It was you…you saved me?"

———

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