Emlyn hesitated for a long time before finally giving in. "I mean, if the quality really meets my standards, I wouldn't mind collecting a few more…in exchange for an Apothecary formula."
"I'll bring the dolls to you in a week."
Once he returned to the Harry Potter world, Edward planned to visit Akihabara. Even though it was only the 90s, Japanese anime was already thriving, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find some high-quality dolls.
Hopefully, Emlyn would take care of his health by then.
"Next, I need to make a trip to the Bravehearts Bar."
The house where the descendant of Abraham lost control was also home to a lingering spirit. In theory, spiritual magic should be effective against vengeful ghosts, but just to be safe, Edward planned to get a revolver and some purifying bullets.
He took out the last bottle of Polyjuice Potion, added a strand of Emlyn's hair, and soon transformed into his likeness. Spending another 1 Soli, he hired a runner who guided him to the entrance of the Brave Bar.
"This is the place, sir."
The runner was a teenage boy in ragged clothes, likely from a poor district.
After paying him generously, Edward suddenly thought of something and asked, "Do you know Ian?"
Ian was a little boy from the original novel, working as a detective for a double agent. He was the initiator of the famous "Five-Pound Ambassador" mission.
The boy's eyes flickered for a moment before he shook his head innocently. "Never heard of him."
"Alright."
Edward didn't press the issue. Straightening his attire, he pushed open the heavy black wooden door of the Brave Bar.
A brawny man, nearly two meters tall, stood by the entrance with arms crossed. He glanced at Edward and immediately shifted his gaze away.
Since it was still morning, the bar wasn't busy. Behind the counter, the bartender was polishing a glass while stifling a yawn, clearly not well-rested from the previous night.
Edward walked up to the bar. The bartender forced a warm smile and greeted him, "Good morning, sir. What can I get for you?"
Edward placed a 1-Soli banknote on the counter and spoke like a regular customer, cutting straight to the point. "Your finest beer, and…I'd like to buy a revolver and some bullets."
The bartender's movements paused slightly as he set the glass down. "Sir, I don't quite understand what you mean. This is a bar."
"If I'm asking, it means I've done my research beforehand. Relax, you can keep an eye on me the whole time."
The bartender stared at him for a long moment before finally serving a golden mug of beer. "Follow me."
Edward took a sip as he picked up the beer, the coolness instantly refreshing his mind. Smacking his lips, he made an internal judgment: Not as good as Butterbeer.
Setting the mug down, he followed the bartender to the entrance of Billiards Room No. 3.
The door was open, revealing an elderly man with a prominent nose, dressed in a linen shirt, leaning against the wall with his arms wrapped around a cue stick, dozing off.
The bartender quickly whispered a few words in his ear. The old man's murky eyes opened, scanned Edward, and then gave a slight nod.
"Come in."
"You want a revolver and bullets?" The old man got up, and the enormous scar on his face became even more menacing. "Do you not realize that privately selling firearms and ammunition is illegal?"
"Of course I know. That's precisely why I'm here."
"Ha!" The old man burst into laughter. "Five pounds for a specially modified, high-powered revolver with thirty bullets."
"No problem."
Edward agreed readily. "But I also need some special bullets."
"Oh? What kind of special?"
"Hmm, the kind that can purify vengeful spirits."
The old man's expression froze instantly. He scrutinized Edward from head to toe before saying, "Where did you hear about that? That's beyond my usual business."
Limping back and forth, he hesitated before saying, "I can ask around for you, but I'll need extra gold pounds."
"Much appreciated."
The old man hobbled out of the billiards room, likely seeking out Mr. Zombie and Miss Bodyguard.
About ten minutes later, he returned with a box. "Here are twelve purification bullets. Including my service fee, that'll be 150 gold pounds."
"Deal."
Looks like the amount was too small to warrant a meeting with those two.
It made sense. In the original novel, Miss Bodyguard, Sharon, had only taken Klein's protection job because she urgently needed money at the time. Otherwise, as a Sequence 5, she wouldn't normally bother with such low-paying work.
Still, Edward added, "Please pass my thanks to your friends. By the way, if I have other commissions, can I contact them through you?"
"That, I can't say. But I do hope a straightforward buyer like you comes back often." The old man seemed in good spirits. He grinned and winked. "I recently got some mummy powder—said to be excellent for, uh, that sort of thing. Interested?"
"…No, thanks. Goodbye."
Everything was ready. Now, all that was left was to act at night.
———
[Midnight—South Bridge District, 32 Verdi Street]
Two figures suddenly appeared in the shadows of a house—Edward and Audrey, both dressed in wizard robes.
"Why did we have to put on wizard robes?" Edward asked, puzzled.
This was Audrey's first time actively participating in a supernatural event (aside from Tarot Club meetings). She was doing her best to suppress her excitement, but her heart was still racing with exhilaration. "It's called a ritual! We're the only two Hogwarts wizards in this world. When we act together, of course, we need our own exclusive ritual."
A ritual?
Well, it was an "old tradition" of the Tarot Club, after all.
"The house ahead is our target for tonight. There's a vengeful spirit inside—it seems to have the ability to make people strangle themselves."
Audrey twirled her dragonbone wand, full of confidence. "I have my wand's supernatural protection. It won't be able to control me."
That was precisely why Edward had dared to bring her along for some "real-world experience."
"Open."
Grabbing Audrey's wrist, the two of them passed through the wall and entered the house.
Crimson moonlight spilt in through the window, illuminating the mess inside. The place was in complete disarray, showing clear signs of being searched multiple times—probably by more than one thief.
"Lumos."
Both of them cast the spell simultaneously, and a bright white glow dispelled the darkness.
Audrey curiously scanned the room but still clutched Edward's robes tightly—showing that she was still a little nervous.
Tap, tap, tap.
A strange set of footsteps echoed through the house. At the stairway ahead, a dark silhouette staggered forward. Its head wobbled unsteadily on its neck as if it had lost all support and could drop off at any moment. Its eyeballs bulged unnaturally, and its facial muscles were frozen in an expression of sheer terror.
Even though Edward had mentally prepared himself, the sight of this thing still made his stomach churn.
"Petrificus Totalus! Diffindo!"
Before Edward could react, Audrey had already raised her wand and unleashed a deadly two-hit combo.
Snap! The thing shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor.
First Blood!
Edward gave her a thumbs-up.
"That was it?" Audrey asked, slightly surprised.
"That was just a burglar who got caught and killed by the wraith inside. He's been dead for a while. What we saw was just his body being controlled by the lingering spirit. The real main event hasn't even started yet."
As he spoke, a sudden chill swept in from behind. It transformed into a frigid wind that rushed straight for Edward's neck—an attempt by the wraith to seize control of his body.
Reacting instantly, he grabbed Audrey's wrist and flashed several meters away. At the same time, he swung his wand.
"Revelio!"
This spell was originally used to reveal the true form of a target—whether it was someone under a transformation spell, an Animagus, or disguised with Polyjuice Potion. Now, infused with spirituality, it forced the hidden wraith into visibility.
With its cover blown, the wraith shrieked and lunged straight at Audrey.
Boom!
A surge of crimson flames erupted from Audrey's mouth, engulfing the wraith. The instant it made contact, the spirit burned like a puff of cotton, disintegrating into nothingness.
Double Kill.
Edward lowered his right hand, which had been gripping his revolver. Something felt…off. Wasn't I supposed to be the one showing her the ropes? Why does it feel like she's the one carrying me?
Audrey patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief. "Phew, that was terrifying."
Yeah, sure. You looked really scared.
At this moment, faint golden dragon scales shimmered across Audrey's skin. Her emerald green pupils had turned into golden slits. The elegance of a noble lady was still there, but now, she carried an exotic and almost bewitching aura.
Edward stared at her, intrigued. Audrey, feeling a bit self-conscious under his gaze, quickly retracted her dragon-like features. "These changes happen when I use my abilities. I can't control them."
"That's pretty cool."
"Hehe~"
Though the original records only mentioned a single wraith in this house, they still carefully searched every room just to be safe. Once they confirmed there were no more threats, they headed to the basement, where they found an aged brown notebook on a long wooden table.
Edward flipped through it quickly, tore out the page containing the potion formula, and handed the rest to Audrey.
"I didn't expect to find Fourth Epoch secrets recorded here—mentions of the Abraham family, the Antigonus family, and the Zaratul family. It even says that during the War of the Four Emperors, gods personally intervened!" Audrey exclaimed as she skimmed through the pages.
"To be precise, the War of the Four Emperors was orchestrated by the gods themselves."
"It's a shame that while the owner of this journal documented their life experiences, they never recorded the exact location of the Abraham family."
Edward chuckled. "Getting the Sequence 8 and Sequence 7 potion formulas is already a huge win. The next step is gathering the ingredients and advancing. I'll work on this from two angles—searching on my own while also commissioning others to help."
He gently ran his fingers over the page containing the potion formula. "Aside from asking The Hanged Man and The Sun at the Tarot Club, maybe I should check with Xio and Fors too? They've been around Beyonder circles in Backlund for quite a while. They might have connections."
Audrey nodded in agreement. "And we can also ask them about The Hanged Man's commission for Qilangos. Oh! Speaking of which—did you see anything about Qilangos in your premonition?"
"Let me think…"
Edward closed his eyes. "It seems that…you encountered him at some kind of ball. He was disguised, but you saw through it and reported it to The Fool. Then, The Fool's subordinate—an angel—took him out."
Wait…does this mean I can use this information to join the hunt for Qilangos? His bounty is a staggering 30,000 gold pounds! Even if I only get a tenth of that, it would still be a huge windfall. I can't just 'mooch' off others forever.
And the best part? I wouldn't even have to take any risks—just report his whereabouts and cash in!
"Wait, you said The Fool has an angel under his command?"
As The Fool's biggest fangirl in the Tarot Club, Audrey had never doubted The Fool's greatness. But the sudden mention of an angel still caught her off guard.
"Of course!"
Edward cleared his throat and recited with dramatic flair:
"Seated beside The Fool are six angels—Angel of Mercury, the embodiment of fate; Angel of Death, the enforcer of the underworld; Angel of Redemption, the messenger of divine will; Angel of Life, the source of wisdom; Angel of Retribution, the judge of the divine realm…But the most powerful of them all is the Angel of Time, the ruler of ancient ages and the bell ringer of the divine kingdom!"
Audrey's eyes sparkled. "Wow!! That's so fitting for The Fool!"
Cough. "Back to Qilangos—he came to Backlund to assassinate…let me think…ah, Duke Negan. So, if you ever receive an invitation to a ball at Duke Negan's estate, let me know immediately."
"Got it! Then…do we still need to commission Xio and Fors for this?"
"Hmm, maybe not. If they actually ran into Zilingus, it could put them in danger."
With their next steps decided, Edward escorted Audrey back home before Apparating to his own place. As he washed up, he mentally reviewed his upcoming plans.
"Knock, knock, knock…"
Someone was knocking on the front door.
"…Who would come at this hour?"
With his toothbrush still in his mouth, Edward walked over to his bedroom's bay window and glanced outside.
A lone figure stood at the entrance, knocking in a slow, mechanical rhythm. Their movements were stiff and unnatural.
Why do they look so…off?
Then, as if sensing his gaze, the figure slowly lifted their head, locking eyes with Edward.
Bathed in the crimson moonlight, a face that made Edward's hair stand on end came into view—
Megose!
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.
P.S—From tomorrow, you guys can have extra chapters in exchange for powerstones. I'll set the goal in the upcoming chapters.