"I'll guide you." Ian could barely contain his eagerness as he spoke.
He pointed his hand at the moonlit ground beside him, where a knight's longsword lay quietly, its blade reflecting the faint glow of the moon.
"Transfiguration has always been one of the arts we wizards are most proud of." Ian softly explained to the little girl, Morgan. As he channeled the magic power within him, it was as though an invisible force began to ripple through the air. The gleam of the sword's metal faded, and its form began to twist and change.
Yes.
It was a wandless spell.
This was a technique Ian could already wield with proficiency. For wizards, a wand was more of an amplifier and stabilizer. As long as he wasn't fighting at full strength, he no longer needed to rely on it.
Before their eyes and under Morgan's gaze of astonishment, the sword's hilt gradually contracted, while the blade shortened bit by bit, until it finally became a wand nearly as tall as Morgan herself.
Or rather, something that should indeed be called a wand.
Ian's studies in alchemical history weren't bad, so he knew what was fashionable in this era. Sure enough, the little girl Morgan recognized the object immediately and gasped in wonder.
"You turned an ordinary longsword into a priceless wand!?" The astonished voice of little girl Morgan overlapped with Riddle's sharp intake of breath.
"A monster… truly a monster…" He muttered while sprawled on the ground.
Compared to the Legendaryary witch who had yet to truly touch magic, he could better sense the magical power the wand held. This kind of operation, which blatantly defied the laws of transfiguration, never failed to strike him as unbelievable, no matter how many times he witnessed it.
"It's just a small trick." Ian rarely enjoyed showing off this much.
"Come."
Ian handed the wand to the little girl Morgan. While she was still curiously examining the wand in her hands, Ian raised his palm and gave her a meaningful look.
"Huh?"
Somewhat bewildered, Morgan also raised her hand to press her palm against his.
"This is my improved version of oath magic. It requires no witness, only destiny itself to bear witness. It is a truly unbreakable vow. And for that reason, its power will last for a very long time, until the very end of eternity." Ian carefully explained the stakes, rather than tricking her into signing the contract.
His ability to refine such a spell was thanks in no small part to The Blood Pact, which was mentioned in the book Aurora had given him.
"All right."
Morgan's response was crisp and decisive. With that, Ian also drew out his wand and aimed it at his palm. Morgan immediately imitated him, lifting the heavy wand with her other hand.
"W-What should I do next?" She asked nervously.
"Just feel it." Ian said softly.
The next moment, he spoke the words of the oath and had the little girl, Morgan, repeat them once. Immediately, a thin golden stream of light began to coil and bind itself between their palms.
"This…"
Morgan's eyes widened in shock. It wasn't only because she could feel the magic with her own body, but also because she sensed the magic power within her begin to flow, guided by Ian himself.
Such a method made the young girl realize once again that the teacher she had stumbled upon was anything but ordinary. As the oath concluded, it was as though an invisible power filled the air.
The destinies of the two became intertwined in a special way… It was a strange, wondrous feeling. Morgan was still savoring it, but Ian had already let go of her hand, denying her any chance to take further advantage.
"Good."
At last, he could secretly breathe out a sigh of relief. With this layer of safeguard, he felt far less anxious about his next journey into the Twilight Zone.
Looking at the little girl in front of him, still buzzing with excitement, Ian couldn't help but sigh with emotion. As expected, children were always easier to deal with, like in those Marvel films, where the easiest way to kill Thanos would have been to strangle him when he was still a baby.
"You'll call me Teacher, and I'll address you as Miss Morgan. Each in our own way." With the contract's protection, Ian finally dared to show a bit of backbone, though clearly not all the way.
"Why not Lady Morgan?" Little Morgan was somewhat displeased with the title he chose.
"Fine, then Lady Morgan it is."
Ian didn't argue, if she wanted him to change how he addressed her, then so be it. Instantly, the little girl's eyes curved like crescent moons in delight. As a child, even the future villainess carried a trace of undeniable cuteness.
"Let's find us a place to settle down first." Ian rubbed his brow, craving some time alone to sort out his thoughts. He was still marveling at what had just transpired.
He had become his teacher's teacher.
So then, the so-called "cheap Queen senior-sister" wasn't really a "senior-sister" at all, but his own grand-disciple? That was too much of a mess. Even with the Paradox Authority in his hands, he still struggled to make sense of the paradoxes caused by time travel. Of course, that was likely because he hadn't held that authority long enough to master it.
"No problem!" Little Morgan patted her still-flat chest, brimming with energy. She glanced at the gradually fading wand in her own hand, then cast her gaze toward the wand in Ian's hand.
"I actually like these small spell-casting items too." She seemed to be hinting at something.
Ian rolled his eyes.
Of course.
A woman's words are full of tricks. The Morgan of the future despised wands the most. This Morgan didn't truly "like" them either, she merely thought that smaller wands seemed more advanced.
He had already begun to read her mind.
And his courage was steadily growing.
"I'll make you a proper wand, after I've had a good rest." Ian dropped the hint clearly enough, and of course, Morgan understood right away.
"This way!" She eagerly moved to lead Ian out of the farm.
But, as they reached the doorway, she still showed some concern for her own guards.
"My two knights… are they dead? If they are, please allow me to bury them in the pigsty."
"I think I'll continue with my experiments. Perhaps their heroic spirits can reincarnate into my experimental Pigwidgeon's belly."
One could only say that such wild ideas weren't something just anyone could come up with.
Little Morgan did care about her guards. But clearly, not that much. This bad woman had never possessed a truly kind or virtuous heart, even from childhood.
"You want to make a boar pregnant?" Ian's expression turned a little strange. He truly could not comprehend what the purpose of such an experiment could possibly be.
Little Morgan saw through her teacher's confusion.
"No, actually my goal is to discover a way for men to get pregnant. If men can also bear children, then I will become the greatest slave master in the world."
"Here, slaves are the same as gold coins." Her answer seemed to carry a twisted sort of logic, but the more one thought about it, the more sinister it felt.
"A true get-rich-quick secret… impressive!" Ian could only give her a thumbs-up in response. He was genuinely curious whether such a method would ever actually be discovered.
And just then, Riddle's voice suddenly sounded.
"I actually know of an island filled entirely with the gold coins you want." Clearly, he was trying to make up for the terrible impression he had just left behind.
Only dark wizards truly understood how miserable it was to be hated by a Legendaryary dark wizard.
"Shut up, will you? Has dark magic fried your brain?" Ian had no intention of altering such a massive historical course. He glared fiercely at the Riddle crouched on the ground.
Riddle immediately shrank his neck back.
(To Be Continued…)
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