"Exactly. Divine power requires faith to be converted... In this world, we can no longer perform many of the abilities we once mastered." Crowley grinned as he took the glass of wine poured for Victor and drained it in one gulp. "Perhaps that's the price of freedom. Everything comes with a price, doesn't it? But personally, I think it's worth it! No more wasting energy on boring orders from above, and no more worrying about the idiocy of both Hell and Heaven! I just need to live well in this world with Aziraphale... just live well..." Watching Crowley's smile, Victor felt a sudden pang of envy for their freedom.
"What exactly is the price?" Victor asked softly, picking up a glass and pouring half a cup of Invigoration Draught into it.
"Besides the necessary power of faith, it requires a flawless soul... a life for a life. It's only fair." Crowley looked at the potion in Victor's cup with a hint of disdain.
Victor's gaze narrowed slightly. "A soul... how sinister."
"I'm a demon, Victor. And in this world without Heaven or Hell, even Aziraphale, an angel, can only use this method." Crowley looked at Victor with drunken eyes.
Victor sighed softly. "I have to say, you really are good at leading people astray..."
He didn't know if bringing back the dead was the right choice.
And Crowley hadn't forced him to do it.
But... knowing there was a way to make up for his past regrets... could he really turn a blind eye?
After all, he, Victor Wick, was just an ordinary man.
"How do I accumulate this power of faith?" Victor asked after a moment of silence.
"Heh heh..." Crowley looked at Victor, as if he had long anticipated this question. "It's simple. Go create a god... or, go to those churches and tamper with those crosses... though Aziraphale certainly wouldn't agree to that."
"Regardless of what you say, I'm still going to talk to Aziraphale." Victor stood up and drained the Invigoration Draught in one go. "You are a demon, after all, aren't you?"
Watching Victor's decisive departure, Crowley's smile froze.
"Tsk... this guy is no fun at all!"
Victor walked slowly along the path back to Hogwarts. The moon had already risen...
The moonlight cast a long shadow behind him, keeping his face hidden in the darkness.
It felt like two small armies were warring in Victor's heart.
'Resurrecting the dead is a desecration of life,' one side argued.
'This is to make up for past regrets! To settle your own peace of mind! You aren't a saint!' the other side countered.
However, before a winner could emerge, Victor stopped in his tracks.
His gaze fell precisely on the nearby bushes.
The bushes were quiet; there seemed to be no one there, and even the sounds of insects chirping could be heard...
But in Victor's vision, several rune sequences appeared vividly, even more prominent than during the day.
"Stop hiding and come out." Victor sighed softly. "It's almost winter; where are the insects coming from? I'm not in a very good mood today... so if you have something to say, you'd better say it quickly."
In the blink of an eye, five people stood surrounding Victor.
They were men and women, and though they wore cloaks and masks, Victor could tell from their movements that they were quite young.
Moreover, the Shield Charms they held in reserve seemed to have been modified, lacking that bright, conspicuous glow.
Those uniform rune sequences gave Victor a key piece of information: these people seemed to have undergone standardized training... or at the very least, they were taught by the same teacher.
None of the five spoke, watching Victor silently like five emotionless puppets.
"Since you have nothing to say, I'll be leaving." Victor said softly.
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure flickered like a phantom, reappearing fifty meters away!
Victor's movement seemed to flip a switch for the five puppet-like figures.
They moved simultaneously, vanishing from their spots. When they reappeared, their wands were already in motion.
Suddenly, the ground trembled as a giant snake made of earth burst from the soil, snapping viciously at Victor's head. This was the Transfiguration of one of them!
Simultaneously, a fire bat streaked across the dark night sky, coordinating with the giant snake to attack Victor's back.
Hidden behind that fire bat was a violent bolt of lightning as thick as a barrel!
By the side of the path, the grass suddenly transformed into thick vines, shimmering with strange rune sequences, lashing out to entwine Victor's legs!
A glint of admiration flashed in Victor's eyes.
These young people were unexpectedly powerful...
And if he wasn't mistaken, these spells had all been appropriately modified.
At the very least, those vines created through Transfiguration were very special; once entangled, the strange runes on them would prevent the victim from using Apparition to escape!
"Interesting..." Victor didn't draw his wand. He simply raised his hand and traced a line in the air.
Streams of shimmering rune sequences were injected into those spells.
Instantly, the originally orderly rune sequences on those magnificent spells turned into garbled code!
The menacing spells vanished abruptly before Victor.
Only a light breeze remained, brushing against Victor's face and lifting a strand of his hair...
Under the powerful computing power of the Magic Operating System, Victor's level was far greater than when he had fought Grindelwald.
Although these young people were strong, they were completely unable to do anything against the current Victor.
"How... how did you do that..."
Someone finally couldn't help but speak. Just as Victor thought, the voice sounded very young.
"It's nothing special. I just wrote a few temporary trojan programs..." Victor looked at the young people with piercing eyes.
"We don't understand what you're talking about!" another person said.
"I also have some things I'm confused about... Is this how you treat someone wearing this ring?"
Victor raised his hand. On his right index finger, a black ring with an 'M' rune reflected a hint of eerie color under the moonlight...