Chapter 69: Ch. 68 - The Great War! [5]
When I received the call from Balthazar about the situation, I wasted no time and abandoned my students and ordered them to self-study before conjuring a portal to Merlin's tower and jumping inside, leaving a bunch of confused kids behind.
'They're finally here! I've been practicing my speech in front of the mirror for the past few weeks.' I whispered to myself, recalling the times when I would make myself too cringe or corny when speaking to the mirror.
Thankfully, days of practice have honed my speech skills and I believe I would be able to successfully convince Merlin's followers to join the Mystic Society.
Once I arrived at my office, my senses immediately picked up hundreds of magical signatures from the first floor along with Balthazar's familiar magic signature.
'So many of them?' I couldn't help whispering to myself in shock. I guess Merlin is greatly respected by his allies.
'Hopefully, I would be enough to fill in his shoes.' For some reason, I grew nervous about this. How can I, who has crossed two worlds, lived to tell the tale, fought with hundreds of Exorcists that are the exact counters against my kind, and even met with God, who is supposed to be an enemy of mine.
But now, I'm being scared that I won't live up to reaching the same status of a dead person?
How laughable.
Breathing in and out to calm my nerves, I faced the mirror and put on the best smile I could muster before leaving my office.
***
While walking downstairs, my ears perked up to eavesdrop on the conversation occurring inside.
"Is he really that great?" I heard someone say, from her voice, I could tell she's an old woman.
"Yes! He has this really convenient spell, he called it Portal. It's like a teleportation spell but its use is more than just for traveling, it can also be used for offense and defense! Here, allow me to demonstrate it to you." This one is familiar. It's obviously Balthazar and by his words, he seems to be praising me and my achievements.
A few seconds later after he finished his words, a small crisp resounded as if something was being deep-fry cooked, and a collective gasp was heard.
Yup, those old wizards and witches are definitely amazed by the portal spell, no doubt.
"Manifico! How breathtaking! Did the so-called Sorcerer Supreme really create this?"
"Well, he's the only one I've seen using this spell, so he's no doubt it's creator." I hear Balthazar respond.
If I were to visualize their conversation, Balthazar would be shrugging his shoulders at this point.
Good job, Baltzy! Just keep lifting your master's image to them!
As if on cue, I decided to show myself to them.
Hearing my footsteps on the stairs, everyone's attention quickly went onto me, their eyes glued on my presence.
"Master." Balthazar, who was showcasing the might of the portal spell, quickly dispelled it and greeted me.
"Nice to see you too, Balthazar. I see we have wonderful guests here." I nodded and replied to him, scanning my eyes on the crowd of young and old people around the room, acknowledging their presence.
"Hello there, ladies and gentlemen. You all look amazing."
Yeah I know I'm being fake here but what else can I do? This is the only way to gather their respect and trust, but doing the same to them.
It's not like I'm being naive or anything. This is what the Ancient One did, why even Odin himself respected her not because of her strength only but also because she knows who and how to put trust in someone.
Of course, the matter of Kaecilius is different. She allowed him to betray her because he would be Dr. Strange's stepping stone to becoming the next Sorcerer Supreme.
"Are you the Sorcerer Supreme?" An old woman approached me, I could see doubt in her eyes.
Ah, I see what's going on. She thinks I'm too youn-
"Aren't you a cute little boy~" Before I could react, as if some kind of force had blocked my senses, the old woman pinched my cheeks as if I were her grandson.
Hey! Hey! Hey! That's the future leader you're pinching!
"Ah! Miss Margaret! Please refrain from pinching Master." Balthazar couldn't help but smack himself on the forehead and tried to stop the old woman now known as Margaret.
Meanwhile, the others on the side simply laughed at this, chuckling out of amusement.
"Margaret is still the same as ever. Pinching all the children she comes across." I hear them talk among themselves.
'Ah, great. Now my reputation is ruined thanks to this old woman!'
"You're right. But I heard it is because before she became a witch, her only family, granddaughter was accidentally killed by one of her village's guards. It's a truly tragic story." The same man from earlier continued his story, earning a collective sigh from the rest.
'Oh. Maybe this isn't that bad at all.'
After Balthazar had successfully pulled the gremlin away from me, I sighed in relief and wiped off the sweat that had accumulated on my forehead.
"T-There's no need for such greeting….I appreciate it though." I forced a smile and said, making sure not to look annoyed at her.
As I proceeded to introduce myself to them, I used my magical senses to see how would they fare against Balthazar.
Hmm, this is great. Though most of them are Low-class, there are at least 7 Mid-class among them like Balthazar.
As for High-class. I don't sense any. Perhaps Merlin's half-sister would be one, considering she's also a famous legend like Merlin.
Could I recruit her to the Mystic Faction?
Probably not, her reputation would just taint me, and her atrocities are foretold by the old wizards who have seen her themselves.
She's cruel, manipulative, cold-blooded killer, and finally, thirsty for power. Even making a deal with the devils, as the rumors around her say.
No way I'm pulling someone like her to my side.
As for if I can fix her? I'm a Sorcerer Supreme, not a fucking repairman, I ain't fixing anything!
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Chamber, I'm the current Sorcerer Supreme and as you all already know, Merlin's successor." I made my voice louder for everyone to hear.
Oh and now that I've taken a look at it, I'm surprised the first floor of the tower which can only fit around fifty people has managed to accommodate hundreds of wizards and witches, as if the very space itself has stretched just for them.
'So Merlin knows a space expansion spell that can stretch space. Good, if I have the time, perhaps once the Great War is done, I'll spend an entire year hiding in the tower's library, absorbing as much knowledge as it can provide.'
"May I know everybody's name here?" Once I'm done with my introductions, I asked for them.
"Let me go first." As the society used to say, Ladies First.
Margaret, the old woman who pinched his cheeks earlier was the one who stepped forward to introduce herself first.
"First of all, I hope the Sorcerer Supreme would forgive this old woman. It's just that you remind me of my granddaughter, she would've been delighted to meet you." I can see her sad expression as she apologized for her earlier action.
Just when she wiped a tear from her eyes, she continued, this time, introducing herself for real.
"My name is Margaret Solis. I was 34 when I joined Merlin's band of wizards like me. I was really sad when I heard about what happened and since then, I've dedicated myself in eradicating Morgan Le Fay's acolytes to avenge Merlin."
"And how old are you now?"
"Hoho~ young man. You shouldn't be asking a lady that question, silly!~."
'For fuck's sake. Such excuse already existed during this time? What else, there are more than two genders?'
As if on cue, another wizard stepped forward, he was middle-aged and unlike the others, this man looks like a beggar, ripped apart shirt full of dirt, his face smudged with the same substance and he was bald.
"Cough! Cough!" Then there's also that.
"It's finally nice to see that Merlin's successor has finally appeared in this world! My name is Edward Orton, just call me Ed. Merlin was the greatest friend and teacher I ever had. It's unfortunate his sister is the exact opposite of him." He shook his head and stepped back, allowing others to take a step to introduce.
The introduction went on for about an hour before I finally memorized each of their names.
"I know everyone must be confused about why Balthazar called you all here. You see, I'm not only Merlin's successor, but also not a human." Finishing my words, I then unfurled my wings, the entire one, meaning I'm showing a feathered purple colored two pair of wings from behind.
Gasp!
"A devil?!" They all backed away in both shock and fear.
Yeah, I could understand. Their worst enemy, Morgan Le Fay, has made a deal with a devil to get strength.
"I know what you're all feeling and I won't hold it against you if you decide to leave right now. But before all that, allow me to explain."
"I may be a devil but I'm different. I don't live like one, see myself as one and I love humans unlike them. To me, I don't judge people by their race. Only by their personality, so please. Give me a chance to prove myself." After finishing my words, I stood still, staring at each and every one of them, gauging their reaction to my speech.
That's right. This is the speech that I've been working on for an entire week.
Hopefully, it will work because if not, I would have no choice but to simply let them go.
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[Next Chapter: Ch. 69 - The Great War! [6]]
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