For a while, both parties involved were silent, Ron and Dean both looked towards Harry, unsure of what to do in this situation.

Harry looked into Villin’s eyes and after five full minutes had passed, he sighed.

“To think this is the path I will follow, even I had never thought it. I swear my fealty to you, for the next thousand years.” after saying this, he got on one knee and looked downwards, he seemed to be taking it very seriously.

When Dean saw Harry’s actions, he also seemed convinced and took a knee, “I too, swear my fealty to you for the following thousand years.”

The only one left was the green-haired Ron. He seemed to have a lot of trouble deciding what to do, even when Harry, the one person who he respected greatly, took a knee, he wasn’t sure if it was the right call. Villin could see he seemed to be fighting his pride, but in the end, he too kneeled and repeated the other two’s words.

Villin wasn’t foolish enough to unconditionally believe him but was still satisfied with the action of the three. Dean shouldn’t lie and Harry seemed sincere to him, even if he was unsure of Ron, he was unlikely to try anything when the only two people he could call friends decided to follow Villin. 

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“My liege, I found one of the things you have been looking for.” a shadowed figure said to the creature of darkness before him. The creature of darkness still wore no clothes, appearing the same as when Villin had seen her. She seemed to be casually waving her finger but in front of her, a magical fortress was being built in front of everyone’s eyes. A new fully enchanted brick appeared every couple of seconds, it would only take a couple of months for a truly magnificent magical fortress to be built by her alone.

“Oh? You found something, didn't you? What is it?” she responded, not giving him a glance.

“The bracelet of dragons you wore in the war. It was broken when you were assumed dead but it still holds great power.” the shadowed figure said, lowering his head slightly when the creature turned to look at him.

“Hmm, the bracelet of dragons you say. Even if broken, I may be able to repair it in some time, we indeed could very much use it. Who holds it?” she said in a completely neutral tone.

“It’s held by the Goodlaw family. We aren’t sure where exactly it is right now but we believe they’ll try to sell it at the upcoming auction,” he responded, thinking of the reports that had come in.

The dark lady clacked her tongue as she thought about the situation for a moment. “Is it possible that it is a trap? Has anyone guessed my return?”

The shadowed male quickly shook his head, “No. Even though you do have a bounty on your head in your current form since you were seen transforming into a creature of darkness some time ago, nobody had guessed your true identity thus far.”

“Very well then. I wish to remain a secret for a while longer. Go to the auction and take a couple of trusted others with you. If you can buy the bracelet, do so. Otherwise, take it by force.”

“Yes, my lady, I shall do so.” after saying these words, the man hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “But, my lady, may I ask a question?”

The creature of darkness who was just about to return to building the fortress nodded.

“I don’t mean to doubt your judgment but…”

“Don’t waste my time. Ask what you wish to ask.”

Knowing that his leader didn’t like it if he beat around the bush, the shadowed figure decided to ask straight up, “The two people that were there when you transformed back into an intelligent form, why didn’t you just kill them?”

After a few seconds, he got asked a question in return, “Why do you think I should’ve killed them?”

Confused by the question, the man responded, “Because they fought against you, they even hurt you. They also captured Ligma. Even though he was only a minor general, wasn’t he still one of your troops?”

After finishing his words, he was afraid he overstepped his boundaries, but it seemed his leader hadn’t minded.

“When we fought, I was but a savage cannibal. As for Ligma, I do not trust a man who willingly chose to become a cannibal with the hopes of becoming a creature of darkness.”

Hearing her response, the shadowed male continued, it was a savage path to take. The person before him had been forced to do so due to the circumstances but Ligma had been on that path by choice.

A few moments later, the creature of darkness continued. “There is another reason I didn’t kill the two. The girl is from a family that used to be an honorable opponent and has become a trusty follower. I will not kill a girl whose father is one of my most trusted men.

“As for the boy. I sensed something on him. A small piece of metal that proved that my legacy still existed even now. Magic is still evolving and the boy seemed to be contributing to that, how could I kill a person who, most likely, follows my philosophy.”

Hearing her words, the shadowed male seemed unsure on whether she was telling the full truth or not but he didn’t continue to ask. “Thank you for your response, I will go get some others and get to the upcoming auction.”

The female nodded and so he promptly turned around and headed away from the remote location they were at. He had to admit, he was excited. With her return, he would have another chance at realizing and sharing his philosophy. He had seen people grow less and less cautious in the last hundred years, believing they killed their opponent and destroyed her forces. Then, recently, the idiotic schools began turning against one another again, losing both forces and resources that could’ve been used to either fight them or protect the continent, or the world.

He knew that many lives would be lost when she revealed her return, families would be split apart and organizations full of magi would disappear with their members dead.

But he knew that it was for the good of the world. Many would be sacrificed but in the end, the rest would live on, better than before. Magic would advance rapidly again and they would be able to defend themselves when the threat they sensed so long ago appeared.

Some may call him a fool for believing the word of a single person, but he believed her, with all his heart. They would kill for the good of humanity.

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“I think that’ll do,” Villin said as he looked at the flames below consuming the mushrooms he had put to the side. A small bit of them had been collected inside of a vial but he decided to destroy the rest. According to Harry, as long as the vial was airtight, the three of them would dissipate from his senses within a couple of hours and for now, they stayed quiet.

Golmi wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, Villin explained it to him somewhat but still didn’t get it completely. What he did get out of it though was that they shouldn’t try to do the missions that were put up. Villin said that he thought that if they went on guard duty, they’d be approached by someone that worked for the Goodwill family, they would assure they were the right people, and then, a bit later, they’d be sacrificed.

But even Villin wasn’t sure of everything, would the statue actually come to life as it had said on the latest clue Golmi found, or was that just a ruse to cause you to hurry up.

Villin decided to assume it was the latter and hunker down somewhere safe with Golmi until the twenty-four hours were up. Best not to take any risks right now since they were already so deep into the trap.

Villin did think it was curious though that Aurus Goodlaw was following the dark arts with his status. Then again, he was only the third heir so it was somewhat understandable. 

Villin sighed as he and Golmi entered the room where they planned to stay for the rest of the day, it was a small classroom on the ground floor, it didn’t seem like anyone had come here yet and was seen as relatively safe.

A few hours passed and Golmi soon fell asleep with Villin not far from following him when he heard a loud bang coming from the floor above him, it sounded like a powerful explosive spell had gone off. If anyone was hit by a spell like that, they would probably be dead.

Seeing that Golmi was still sleeping, Villin hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he decided to have a quick look upstairs, just to get an idea of what happened.