Today was Sunday. Yes, another Sunday. Because to Louis, class time was just too boring.
The first-year curriculum was uninspiring, and most of it merely tested how convincing his illusions were. The lack of engagement made it even duller than teasing little Hermione every day.
The only class Louis actually enjoyed was Potions.
Thanks to his Qi-based magic, Louis found that not only did he have no trouble brewing potions, but after reading the Half-Blood Prince's annotated version of Snape's textbook, his potion-handling techniques were especially pleasing to Professor Snape.
And since Louis was a Slytherin student, Snape had started shamelessly favoring him.
In just one month, the single weekly Potions class had earned Slytherin over 200 House Points—most of which went to Louis.
Because of the incident where Louis exposed the Slytherins who tampered with broomsticks, the ever-strict Professor McGonagall had followed through with his report and docked 100 points per person, totaling 300 points!
That had driven Snape into a fury. Not only was he giving out points shamelessly, but he had also begun deducting them with ruthless precision.
Louis wasn't sure about how Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff were doing, but Gryffindor, who shared classes with Slytherin, was definitely suffering—especially Harry Potter, who had lost so many points his eyes had gone red. The look he now gave Snape was... quite different.
There was definitely some personal grudge involved.
It was the middle of the day on a weekend, but the school was deserted—even half of Hogsmeade Village next door was empty.
Because everyone had gone to watch the Quidditch match: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.
You really had to admit—wizards had terrible entertainment options. Even Quirrell, who had Voldemort riding his skull, had gone off to join the crowd. At times like these, Hogwarts turned into a ghost town. Of all the things they could be doing... they chose watching sports.
And the worst part? Voldemort even allowed it. Louis had seen enough—these wizards were pitifully narrow-minded.
He had no interest in that kind of match. He'd rather spend the time refining the details on his Hermes statue.
So Louis packed up his full set of tools and headed for the Room of Requirement. Since the Weasley twins were both Beaters on Gryffindor's Quidditch team, they definitely wouldn't be showing up here today.
Which meant the place belonged to him.
Perfect. The Hermes statue was finally ready for completion today—and right here, he could attempt the resurrection and see what kind of legend this so-called god really was.
At the workbench, Louis closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on his Stand: Faceless Phantom.
A small statue was held in one of Faceless Phantom's hands, and in the other, it delicately polished the sculpture with fine sandpaper.
If an outsider saw Louis carving like this, they'd definitely think it was some kind of magic—because the Stand was invisible, they would only see a floating statue and tools.
Unscientific, but magical. Perfectly reasonable.
The statue's pose was dynamic and full of tension. Although it lacked a certain spark of divinity, it was still an impressive piece.
This was Louis's first design for the statue and the version that best captured Hermes's image. The god's essence and expression were perfectly conveyed, even in this fist-sized sculpture.
After completing the final details, Louis placed it on the table to check the proportions.
Everything was spot on.
"Then let's try reviving my teacher... if he's willing to be my teacher, that is."
As Louis spoke, the Volumen Hydrargyrum beside him transformed into a blade of liquid mercury. With a clean swing, he brought it down on the statue's head.
Unsurprisingly, the blade cut through the wooden figure like butter. The thumb-sized head popped off, and Louis caught it midair.
"Awaken, Hermes," he whispered.
A blinding light burst from his hand holding the head.
Then, the wooden head began to tremble—and slowly transformed into a living, breathing human head.
It twitched slightly, then opened its eyes—only to find itself staring directly at Louis's curious face from inches away.
"Where did this giant come from?!" the head shouted, clearly startled, and seemed about to leap away—until it realized it had no body.
"Damn it! When did someone eat my body?!" it roared in frustration. A pair of ethereal wings suddenly sprouted from beneath the neck, and the head tried to fly off as a streaking blur of motion.
So fast! Even faster than the Rabbit Talisman!
Louis raised his brow. Even without a body, this kind of escape speed was terrifying. His earlier caution had been absolutely correct—someone like this couldn't be taken lightly.
As Hermes's head was about to vanish from Louis's field of vision, his Stand instantly shifted into the form of Dio Brando. The golden world of The World appeared behind him.
"Za Warudo!"
The world faded to grayscale. Everything froze—except for Louis and his Stand, who remained in full color.
Faceless Phantom's World variant could only freeze time for two seconds. Louis didn't waste a moment. The Rabbit Talisman glowed in his eyes, and his right hand became a blur as he gently pinched Hermes's head midair.
Time Stop + Rabbit Talisman—no one could outspeed Louis in these two seconds.
Concerned he might accidentally crush the god's head, Louis used a controlled grip. Even so, when time resumed, he still heard a sharp crack.
A visible fracture appeared on Hermes's forehead. There was no blood, but the god was already rolling his eyes.
If Louis hadn't immediately used the Horse Talisman to heal him, Hermes would've been a one-scene wonder—resurrected in Chapter 82, dead by Chapter 82.
"Calm down, sir," Louis said in a low voice. "You don't want your only remaining head to turn into pulp, do you?"
For small beings, loud sounds from large ones were overwhelming. Lowering his voice helped with communication.
Saved from instant destruction, Hermes finally abandoned the idea of fleeing. His head floated before Louis as he asked, "How dare you speak to me this way? Do you even know what kind of noble being you're talking to?"
Louis's face darkened instantly.
"Noble or not, I just have to squeeze a little harder and you'll be saying goodbye to this beautiful world," he said coldly. "So why don't you just start with your name?"
"Alright, alright, just a joke," the head said helplessly. "I'm Hermes. You should know that name, right? A god. Though my condition is... well, off right now, I'm the real deal."
"Condition can be improved, Mr. Hermes," Louis said, suddenly smiling kindly. "But just to be safe, I hope you won't mind if I ask you a few questions—as a sort of exam?"
Though Louis sounded polite, Hermes felt a definite sense of danger hiding behind that gentle smile.
"I suppose... I don't really have the right to refuse, do I?" Hermes chuckled bitterly. "Go ahead, ask."
*
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