HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity-Chapter 720: Blind Stupidity

"!!!"

Roselle froze for a moment, then exclaimed in shock, "Have you lost your mind?!"

The Evernight Goddess looked steadily at Edward, then gave a slight nod. With a gentle wave of Her six arms, She withdrew the fine threads formed from the River of Eternal Darkness.

Edward did not answer. Instead, he took out a semi-transparent mask engraved with the symbol of "The Fool" and placed it over his face.

That was right—this was the Uniqueness of the Fool pathway, which he had demanded when he last sent the Goddess of Evernight back to the world of the Lord of the Mysteries. As for the contributor, it was naturally the 'Half-Fool' Antigonus.

Next, he put on the crystal monocle he had "borrowed" from Amon.

Edward then spread his arms and loudly recited:

"The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings;

The Sky Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings;

The Exalted Thearch of Heaven and Earth for Blessings;

The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."

Ancient stone pillars rose from the ground, and archaic, majestic palaces emerged in rapid succession. The phantom of Sefirah Castle descended with a thunderous crash into the Astral World. As the massive, ancient gear behind Edward rotated clockwise, he once again ascended to Sequence 0.

At that moment, Grisha Adam gripped the cross in His hand and said calmly toward the rift in the barrier, "Open."

The oil-painting-like sky was immediately traced by a golden arc. Wherever the arc passed, the crimson rift was enveloped by golden radiance. Chaotic dark currents evaporated within that light, transforming into countless tiny motes that scattered across the Astral World's land.

The sky of the Astral World was split apart.

The left side of the firmament was like a lifted curtain, revealing the boundless depths of space, where countless stars flickered in the darkness, as though silently observing this confrontation between gods.

The right side of the sky, meanwhile, was encircled by the figures of the Outer Deities. Their twisted silhouettes prowled along the edge of chaos, like a pack of starving beasts.

This sudden turn of events caused every Outer Deity to lapse into momentary confusion, their movements halting mid-action just as they had been preparing to leave.

With the combined amplification of Sefirah Castle, the Uniqueness of the Fool, the Uniqueness of the Door, and the Uniqueness of Error—a supercharged "3+1" stack—Edward instantly attained a pillar-level status.

Yet he did not take advantage of the moment to advance into the position of Lord of the Mysteries.

He had no confidence whatsoever in overpowering the Celestial Worthy's will, nor did he harbour any delusions of using this fleeting power to brutally beat down the Outer Deities.

Instead, he unleashed [Fooling] after [Fooling], repeatedly applying a tactic best described as "blindly throwing rocks in a river."

In an instant, the astonishment and vigilance in the Outer Deities' eyes cleared into pure, crystalline stupidity. That stupidity rapidly transformed into greed and desire.

In the very next second, they threw themselves forward without hesitation, frantically squeezing toward the completely split interior of the barrier.

Edward's body began to tremble violently. Cracks rapidly spread across his skin, as though he might shatter at any moment. Yet in his eyes burned a light of manic exhilaration, like a gambler standing at the brink of ruin, determined to stake everything on a final throw.

He brushed his hand across the pattern of the Uniqueness of Door Pathway on the back of his hand.

Instantly, the countless illusory doors densely covering the area beneath the barrier merged into one, transforming into a single, colossal beam of light.

Almost simultaneously, the deranged Outer Deities surged forward without the slightest hesitation, scrambling over one another as they plunged into the gigantic door of light, vanishing from the Astral World—

And on the other side of that door lay none other than the Harry Potter world.

Since the Outer Gods aren't stupid enough to jump into a trap…then I'll make Them stupid—and let Them jump in themselves!

———

The Harry Potter World

Under Professor Flitwick's instruction, Amon was racking his brain in utter confusion, desperately trying to recall—

Was the wand supposed to flick upward or downward?

Should it be a forceful flick, or a gentle one?

And just how large was the required motion, exactly?

After an intense struggle of mental effort, concentration, and sheer physical exertion, he suddenly swung his wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa."

Bang!

A small cow fell from the sky and landed squarely on the desk in front of him.

The chubby Neville was so frightened that he stumbled backwards, crashed into the desk behind him, which then toppled over and knocked into Harry and Ron, triggering a chain reaction that sent an entire row sprawling flat on their backs.

Professor Flitwick stared in shock.

"Merlin's beard!"

"Hahahahaha!!"

Malfoy burst out laughing without the slightest restraint. "Brilliant! Gryffindor's got another idiot even stupider than Longbottom. Classes are going to be so entertaining from now on."

"..."

Amon instinctively adjusted his monocle and narrowed his eyes at Malfoy.

Very good. Another annoying person added to the list.

Just wait. I'll steal your intelligence one day and make you dance a naked cheek-to-cheek tap dance with Snape in front of the entire school.

As he indulged in these malicious thoughts, Amon suddenly sensed something.

He turned toward the window and looked outside.

A few seconds later, his pupils contracted into needle-thin slits.

"…You're really playing it this big?" he murmured. "From this moment on, even I, Amon, have to say one word to you—respect."

———

One Outer Deity after another dropped from a tear ripped open in the sky, like dumplings falling into a pot. Still trapped in their "blind stupidity" state, their intelligence suppressed, they flailed about in utter panic—

Like landlubbers drowning after falling into water.

However, They were still Outer Deities of Great Old One standing. Even without taking the initiative to act, the pollution that spilt from Them was enough to plunge the world into a twisted apocalypse in an instant.

Fortunately, Edward had long been prepared. He erected a barrier to block Their aura, then repeatedly opened an illusory door, transferring all the Outer Deities into the starry depths far away from Earth.

The moment he finished doing so, Edward forcefully tore off the mask and monocle from his face. He returned the monocle to Amon, while the mask was tossed into Sefirah Castle and placed upon Mr. Fool's chair, allowing him to rapidly fall back from the status of the Lord of the Mysteries.

The instant his shattered, decaying body entered the Harry Potter world, it rapidly repaired itself, and his depleted vitality swiftly recovered. This should have been good news—but at the same time, Edward felt a terrifying consciousness within his body awakening at great speed, its will rising little by little.

That was the consciousness of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings!

The initial consciousness isn't even settled yet, and the old trickster is already here again!

Edward's will weakened rapidly, a powerful urge to fall asleep surging forth:

"Give up…"

"Hand everything over to me…"

"I will help you resolve all difficulties."

"I will help you stop the awakening of the Oldest One."

"I will merge with your consciousness—"

"You are me, and I am you."

That murmuring voice circled endlessly within Edward's mind, further eroding his will. At the same time, the countless scenes and voices of the Harry Potter world that he had seen and heard when he suddenly advanced to Sequence 1 flooded back into his consciousness.

Edward jolted awake.

Without the slightest hesitation, he fully exercised his authority as a "Creator", forcibly interrupting the revival of the Celestial Worthy's consciousness and sending It back into eternal slumber once more.

[The half-asleep Celestial Worthy had, in an extremely short span of time, experienced two awakenings and two "sudden deaths," then promptly fell back into sleep, utterly confused and unable to understand what had just happened.]

"Huff…huff…huff!"

Edward gasped violently for breath. An overwhelming wave of exhaustion swept over him, leaving his entire body weak and heavy, yet he still forced himself to remain conscious.

After confirming that Celestial Worthy's consciousness had completely dissipated, Edward took a single step and arrived in the starry void. By then, the Outer Deities had already recovered from their intelligence-suppressed state. The instant they saw Edward, they surged forward, carrying world-destroying auras.

Each of these Outer Deities represented an ultimate rule and authority—existences above Sequences, above gods themselves.

As a low, seductive voice echoed through the void, the Mother Tree of Desire was the first to strike. Its voice carried an irresistible allure, as though it could stir the deepest cravings hidden within the heart.

The Mother Tree of Desire's form gradually manifested. It resembled a colossal tree, its trunk covered in fruits that shimmered with seductive light. Each fruit embodied an extreme desire—so tempting that merely touching one seemed enough to fulfil the deepest longing of one's heart.

Countless vines extended out from the void, radiating lethal attraction as they attempted to entangle Edward. This seemingly straightforward attack was, in truth, a concrete manifestation of authority itself. Once touched, even a Sequence 0 god would suffer grievously.

Fortunately, this was Edward's territory.

Edward spread his fingers and clenched them toward the oncoming vines. They immediately twisted and curled in upon themselves, and the Mother Tree of Desire was likewise compressed to an extreme degree.

At that moment, Primordial Hunger opened its enormous maw. Endless darkness and void surrounded it. That mouth seemed capable of devouring everything—its power distorted even space itself as it lunged forward with irresistible greed, attempting to swallow Edward and the surrounding space in a single bite.

Edward used [Exploit] empowered by "Imagination", flinging a single gold coin that transformed into a blade piercing through the void. It struck straight at Primordial Hunger's core, instantly punching through its mouthparts. Immediately afterwards, another distortion compressed it once more, tangling it together with the Mother Tree of Desire.

In that brief interval, the remaining Outer Deities also made their moves. The void began to warp as countless chaotic symbols and patterns appeared in midair—this was Uncertain Mist, born of the Son of Chaos, the embodiment of disorder itself. Those chaotic symbols seemed capable of twisting everything; even time and space fell under the influence of Its power.

Before Edward could act, an invisible chain quietly locked him in place, binding not only his body and spirituality, but even his fate itself.

At the same time, the Supernova Dominator directly transformed into a massive star, radiating annihilating energy, as though it were about to explode and reduce everything to ashes.

The Inextinguishable Ravings murmured beside Edward's ear, its low voices piercing straight into his soul, attempting to drive him into madness.

The Monarch of Decay advanced with an aura of rot and death, surrounded by endless corrosion and extinction, seeking to strip Edward of all life.

Faced with these planet-sized Outer Deities, Edward—floating in midair—was as insignificant as a grain of sand.

Yet he merely gazed calmly at the torrent of authorities surging toward him and lightly snapped his fingers.

Snap.

In the very next instant, all the Outer Deities froze.

Then, without exception, they stopped their previous actions and began dancing the tap dance—

Regardless of whether their current forms even possessed legs. Legs were forcibly "created" for them, and they danced uncontrollably in the vastness of the starry sky.

———

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