Resurrecting all the Valkyries took Noah far longer than he expected.
Still, the process brought unexpected gains. Through repeated contact with the World of the Dead, Noah gained new insights into its structure. By extension, the System also deepened its understanding of the realm beyond the material world.
Overall, it was a net positive.
That was assuming one ignored the fact that Noah had faced the Gate of Hell hundreds of times-enduring the suffocating stench of death and the endless, piercing wails echoing from within.
By the time everything was finished, nearly a full year had passed without him noticing.
During that year, the magical world underwent drastic changes, just as Noah had anticipated.
The first and most obvious was the matter of Exorcists.
After the Great War, sorcerers across the world finally realized just how terrifying Exorcists were as a group.
Their raw combat power was far inferior to that of true sorcerers. But their value in high-conflict environments and on chaotic battlefields was absurd.
More importantly, Noah's relationship with the Exorcists was unusually close.
He had been associated with them since his youth. Seeing how far Noah had risen, many sorcerers began wondering whether he had learned from Constantine back in the day.
The sorcerers of the Mage Alliance stationed at Hogwarts also performed exceptionally well during the war. Whether in direct combat or strategic coordination, they stood out.
Aside from lacking Noah's sheer power and luck, they were, in many ways, "lite" versions of him.
Taken together, these factors completely overturned long-standing perceptions.
The Exorcists-once viewed as the lowest rung of the magical world-suddenly became one of its most sought-after forces.
After all, what sorcerer wouldn't want a partner who could keep them alive and drastically increase mission success rates?
The Great War had already proven their worth.
High-ranking officials across various Ministries of Magic noticed this as well. While praising Sorcerer Supreme Noah's "long-term vision," they began discussing how to elevate the Exorcists' status.
Hermione, as the British Minister of Magic, acted first.
She sharply raised the standing of Exorcists and formally introduced the Exorcist Equality Act, ensuring they enjoyed the same legal status and benefits as sorcerers.
Having once been part of the Mage Alliance herself, Hermione knew exactly how flawed the old protection laws were.
On the surface, those laws protected Exorcists.
In practice, they only deepened resentment between Exorcists and sorcerers.
So she rewrote them.
Core protections were preserved, but sorcerers were allowed greater participation and cooperation, reducing friction rather than reinforcing division.
The result was overwhelming.
Nearly 80% of the Ministry approved the changes.
All of them were members of the Mage Alliance.
Passing the legislation was effortless.
Most of them had survived real missions alongside Exorcists. Reverence wasn't forced-it was earned.
Compared to Britain, other regions moved far more slowly.
Europe and America, in particular, lagged behind.
That was inevitable. Their Ministries and Magical Congresses weren't like Britain's, which was almost entirely under Noah's influence.
Internal interests were too deeply entangled. Expecting swift reform was unrealistic.
If not for large numbers of Exorcists migrating to the British magical world-and to the eastern superpower, which had never discriminated against them in the first place-those regions might have spent another four or five years arguing without results.
Even so, the outcome was undeniable.
The status of Exorcists rose to unprecedented heights.
Some Ministries even began actively recruiting them into Auror divisions.
No one was stupid.
If Exorcists were that valuable, why not hire the strongest ones directly?
The most amusing example was Constantine.
He received an official invitation letter.
The salary attached to it was borderline unbelievable.
With that, the issue of Exorcists could be considered resolved.
Their future was bright.
Beyond that, another trend emerged after the war.
Magical organizations-large and small-began gravitating toward Kamar-Taj.
This wasn't surprising to Noah.
In fact, it was exactly what he had planned.
Otherwise, there would have been no reason to publicly release Domain magic.
During the war, these organizations fought viciously for mission opportunities. Difficulty never mattered.
If anything, the harder the mission, the better.
They followed the example Noah had set in his early years-respecting Exorcists and listening to their advice.
That attitude was one of the main reasons the coalition survived a five-year war without catastrophic losses.
After the war ended, Wong and the others began evaluating organizational performance.
Originally, this had been Noah's responsibility.
But Noah had vanished.
As a result, the Ancient One temporarily resumed the role of Sorcerer Supreme.
She had no interest in administrative work.
And she hadn't personally implemented Noah's policies. Even if she understood them in theory, she hadn't lived them.
The Archmagi of the High Council quickly realized something uncomfortable.
They would have to handle it themselves.
Fortunately, the Ancient One was reasonable.
Once the Archmagi explained Noah's intentions, she immediately grasped his objective and agreed to personally instruct the leaders of qualified magical organizations.
Still, she made sure to confirm Noah's stance.
"These are your strategies, after all."
"Of course," Noah replied. "Only teach those who pass the Archmagus exam. For the rest, have Wong and Mordo 'adjust' the results-or tell them plainly they need to pass first."
"Is that necessary?" she asked. "It may cause resentment."
"That's fine," Noah said calmly. "They defended Earth. That was their duty. Now I'm offering benefits. If they don't follow my rules, they get nothing."
"...I see," the Ancient One said after a pause. "I'm starting to think you're more suited to be Sorcerer Supreme than I ever was."
She didn't object.
Sorcerers who passed the Archmagus exam were reliable-not just in strength, but in will and character.
Without that baseline, Noah had no intention of trusting them with the future.
Cleaning up the mess later would be far more troublesome.
As for how the organization leaders felt?
Noah didn't care.
If he had known what William Moore once said, he would have approved wholeheartedly.
William Moore had understood him frighteningly well. Nearly all of Noah's intentions had been guessed correctly.
By the time Noah finished handling a mountain of miscellaneous affairs and returned, the matter of magical organizations was essentially resolved.
Wong and Mordo followed his instructions precisely.
The people selected met Noah's standards. Under the Ancient One's guidance, they grasped several key concepts.
But those concepts were only fragments of the whole.
To go further, they would have to rely on Kamar-Taj.
By placing the "future of magic" directly in front of them, Kamar-Taj brought these organizations into alignment without resistance.
As Domain magic advanced, those ties would only deepen.
It wasn't difficult to imagine the future.
Many major magical organizations would eventually carry an unspoken prefix.
Of Kamar-Taj.
That had always been Noah's goal.
He never hid it.
The organizations likely understood how vast the Sorcerer Supreme's ambitions were.
But resistance was pointless.
Either they followed, or they were buried by history.
Their only hope was speed-researching Domain rules faster than their rivals, surpassing other Archmagi, and securing favorable positions before Noah eventually stepped down.
Noah didn't mind.
If a future Sorcerer Supreme was weak enough to lose control, then they deserved the outcome.
After returning and taking a proper rest, Noah finally turned his attention inward.
There was still one unresolved matter.
His own.
"It's time," Noah muttered. "I've put it off long enough."
It was time to settle accounts.