Although Arthur had already swept through the Academy of Raya Lucaria once, Liurnia's magical world was still steeped in chaos.
The Carian Royal Family had always been short on manpower. Otherwise, during the Second Sorcerous War, they would never have fallen to the point of needing aid from the Albinaurics. Now, after the war, they were even less capable of reclaiming and governing the Academy properly.
Under these circumstances, Arthur's teacher—Sorceress Sellen, the powerful Graven Witch—seemed like an excellent candidate to lead the Academy.
If handled well, this might even resolve the long-standing rift between star sorcery and moon sorcery. After all, both belonged to the night sky—there was no need to draw such rigid boundaries.
Seeing the look of sudden realization on Arthur's face, Sellen asked,
"So? Figured it out?"
Arthur nodded. "I have."
"Good. Then I need your help with one more thing," Sellen said.
"There were two founders of glintstone sorcery. The other was Master Lusat. Like Master Azur, he was expelled from the Academy and imprisoned somewhere.
My apprentice—can you find him?"
As she spoke, Sellen produced a key.
"With this, you should be able to pass through the barrier imprisoning him.
If we are to revive primeval glintstone sorcery, we cannot do without Master Lusat's body—the one closest to the stars."
Arthur's expression turned strange.
"Master Lusat… wouldn't he be in Sellia, Town of Sorcery?"
"…Hm?" Sellen blinked in surprise.
"How did you—ah, of course. You've traveled the Lands Between for so long. It makes sense."
"Not just 'heard of it'," Arthur said with a wry smile.
He reached into his system storage and took out the staff he used most often—
Lusat's Glintstone Staff.
After giving Ranni the Carian Regal Scepter, Arthur had been using this staff ever since he obtained it in Sellia.
Sellen accepted the staff and examined it closely.
"This is Master Lusat's glintstone staff… I never imagined it would end up in your hands.
Since you already know where he is, there's no need for me to say more."
She returned the staff to Arthur.
"I won't refuse your request, Master," Arthur said.
"But I also need you to agree to something…"
He explained his plan—to have Sellen take control of the Academy and unify the two magical factions.
Sellen accepted without hesitation.
"To fully integrate the two schools of magic?" she mused.
"The Lazuli Conspectus would be delighted to hear that."
The Lazuli faction was a school within the Academy that studied Carian sorcery and viewed the moon and stars as equals.
Among traditional glintstone sorcerers, they were considered heretics—after all, they supported the Carian Royal Family. During the Second Sorcerous War, they were the only faction that stood by Caria.
"If my apprentice needs me, then of course I'll help," Sellen said calmly.
"Then I'll leave Master Lusat to you."
Arthur nodded, but didn't leave immediately.
"Master… is there anything else you haven't told me? For example—this body you're using right now."
Sellen laughed.
"Oh my… So you've grown enough to see through your teacher's illusion already?"
Arthur simply smiled. At his current level as a god-being, seeing through Sellen's projection was effortless. Besides—he'd known this long ago.
"Since you've figured it out," Sellen continued,
"I'll ask you to do one more thing. My real body is elsewhere, restrained by the Academy's magic.
It lies in the south of the Lands Between—on the Weeping Peninsula.
Cross the plains where the walking mausoleums roam, and beneath the Church of Marika, you'll find a ruin. Go there. I have something to give you."
"I understand, Master," Arthur replied.
After catching up with his teacher, Arthur finally departed.
Hogwarts – Quidditch Pitch
In the blink of an eye, it was time for the new year's Quidditch matches at Hogwarts.
Arthur was especially displeased this year.
A violent storm raged outside. He had planned to curl up in his dormitory with a cup of hot tea and a book, enjoying the rain in peace.
Instead, Hermione dragged him out to cheer for Gryffindor.
Arthur found this baffling—Hermione had never been particularly enthusiastic about Quidditch before.
That was, until he saw her greeting Professor McGonagall in the stands.
Ah. That explained it.
Professor McGonagall might look stern at all times, but she was a die-hard Quidditch fan.
That was why, back in first year, when Harry broke Madam Hooch's rules and flew after Neville's Remembrall, McGonagall not only spared him punishment—she approved his entry into the Gryffindor team.
Gryffindor hadn't won the Cup in years back then. She'd been desperate.
Arthur understood her enthusiasm—but didn't accept it.
He liked rainy days, yes.
He did not like standing outside in the rain.
The Quidditch pitch was engulfed in gale-force winds. Thick storm clouds blotted out the sky, and torrential rain reduced visibility to almost nothing.
Yet the students' enthusiasm remained undiminished. Cheers echoed nonstop from the stands.
Only Arthur stood there with dead, fish-like eyes, calmly maintaining a rain-repelling spell around himself—utterly out of place among the roaring crowd.
He genuinely didn't understand what they were cheering about. At this visibility, once someone flew far enough, you couldn't even tell which house they belonged to.
What impressed him most was Harry.
In weather like this, Harry was still capable of spotting a fist-sized Golden Snitch in a stadium this large.
Protagonist luck really was unreasonable.
Suddenly, lightning tore through the sky—striking a Gryffindor player's broom directly.
Arthur watched as Madam Hooch hurried the injured player off to the hospital wing.
Then he turned back to the pitch.
The match… continued.
Arthur didn't know where to begin criticizing this.
Who was that poor guy? Did he have such terrible popularity that no one even reacted?
Or was this kind of thing so common that everyone had grown numb to it?
With rules this lax—and no time limit—Arthur suspected that even if only one player remained, the match would still go on.
He'd once heard the longest Quidditch match in history lasted three months.
If Hogwarts ever allowed that, wouldn't the players never attend class again?
As Arthur's thoughts drifted, Harry and Hufflepuff's Seeker chased the Snitch high into the sky.
The Hufflepuff Seeker reached it first, stretching out his hand—
The next instant, lightning struck the Snitch.
The Seeker, touching it at that exact moment, was electrocuted alongside it.
Only Arthur and Hermione—both with extended perception—noticed what really happened.
Arthur silently mourned the boy for a second.
That should be Cedric Diggory…
Even now he's unlucky, huh.
Hermione, meanwhile, was far more worried—terrified that Harry might suffer the same fate.
And then her fear became reality.
Drawn by the wild emotions of the crowd, the Dementors, long unfed, drifted toward the pitch from the school gates.
They intercepted Harry mid-flight.
Harry noticed them instantly. He abandoned the Snitch and tried to evade, diving toward the ground to seek help from the professors.
Although he'd trained with Lupin, he could barely manage white sparks from his wand.
Worse—he wasn't even carrying his wand right now.
Harry twisted and dodged desperately as Dementors closed in from all sides. At last, he broke through the clouds and could see the pitch below.
Then—
A Dementor rose from beneath him—his blind spot.
Harry's broom was in a full sprint. The Dementor only managed to take one breath from him.
Had the broom been even slightly slower, Harry's soul would have been ripped out.
Even so, that single touch was enough.
Harry lost consciousness and fell from his broom.
He was still more than thirty meters above the ground.
With his downward momentum—
He would be reduced to a smear of flesh on impact.
"Arthur, help Harry!" Hermione cried.
"Calm down," Arthur said evenly.
"You don't actually need me to save him."
He intended this as training.
Hermione's strength had skyrocketed under his guidance, but her experience in real emergencies was still lacking.
Taking a breath, Hermione forced herself to calm down.
She drew her wand and aimed at Harry.
"Arresto Momentum!"
Harry's fall slowed sharply.
But that also gave the pursuing Dementors time to close in.
Now, Hermione couldn't handle it alone.
She was already fully focused on guiding Harry's descent—and at her current level, she couldn't cast two spells at once.
The real danger… was only just beginning.
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