The Wandering Devil

  Chapter: 19

  Discimer: I don’t own High School Dxd or any other universe used in this story.

  Note: I’m sure some of you might not be enjoying this, Zephyrion will be going back to danmachi very soon.

  Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance. I'll keep posting regardless. If you have any suggestions you would like to see added, I will try to incorporate what I can :)

  (The Bank Robbery)

  -{Jacob Jenkins}-

  Jacob Jenkins grimly looked across the table at the Minister, who also happened to be his elder sister, Eugenia Jenkins.

  The only sound in the room was the slight ticking of the magical clock above her desk.

  Eugenia was a stern-looking woman with her hair tied back, sharp eyes fixed on Jacob. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she absorbed what Jacob had just told her.

  An attack.

  Specifically, an attack in a shop on Knockturn Alley.

  Normally, Eugenia wouldn’t pay much attention. Knockturn Alley was infamous for its crimes and shady residents. It was a gamble to do business there, and most shops dealt in dubious items.

  However, the shop in question belonged to one of the few respectable owners: Borgin and Burkes. Still, that alone wasn’t enough to bring this to the Minister’s desk.

  Given the location, even a well-secured shop was bound to be robbed eventually.

  Whether that attempt succeeded was another matter.

  No.

  It was the description of the person involved in the robbery that had pushed this information straight to Eugenia.

  The new Dark Lord.

  A wizard who had managed to take on an army of Aurors. A feat perhaps only three others could achieve and that was on a good day.

  Even then, his dispys of magic were raw. Pure magical power. He was a magical Titan no doubt.

  This new threat was a blow to the wizarding world and most of all the Ministry, another Dark Lord Voldemort was already rising. He was already building a following that posed a real danger.

  “So, our new Dark Lord was seen with multiple wands at his back?” she asked, her tone cold and professional. Betraying none of her underlying concern.

  Jacob nodded.

  “Yes, six, to be exact.”

  “So, either, he has been gathering a following long before we noticed him. Which would mean our decision to bel him a Dark Lord was wise,” Eugenia said quickly, “or he’s gained supporters within a single day.”

  Jacob nodded slowly, his gaze downcast. “Either option is unsettling.”

  “Unsettling is an understatement,” Eugenia replied, frowning. “We already have one Dark Lord to handle. Now there’s another. So far, we’ve managed to keep Voldemort’s forces in check. Our Aurors and Hitwizards can still easily counter him, even if he’s growing at a troubling rate.”

  She leaned back in her chair.

  “But this new Dark Lord changes things, he’s becoming a threat to the Ministry. With two Dark Lords who have both shown a stance against the Ministry, that poses a real threat. Voldemort is dangerous, no doubt, but I believe we can still neutralise him, if only we could find a way to predict his random attacks on Muggle towns.”

  Jacob’s face was equally grim.

  They’d been on high alert, but even now, Voldemort wasn’t powerful enough to challenge the Ministry directly.

  Yes, he was dangerous. But the Ministry still had the resources and numbers to defeat him or even get that old fool Dumbledore could step in if needed.

  “What if they join forces?” Jacob asked, voicing his thoughts.

  Eugenia’s face tensed.

  “That’s exactly my fear,” she said. “We need to intensify the search beyond wartime measures. What we’re doing now isn’t enough. If he managed to get access to a Floo network…”

  Jacob nodded.

  “We can’t let this escate,” he replied, already considering the security measures to implement.

  The Ministry hadn’t been x, but there were more options to utilise.

  -{Zephyrion Gremory}-

  Sitting in a reasonably comfortable chair, I turned to the next page of the book in my hands. Reading through the page on magical theory with interest, my eyes looking towards the spell they provided alongside the magical theory.

  I was reading a basic spell book that I had been given. I had come to find out that spell books were pretty expensive. When I had asked Clint to find me some he had only been able to hand me over some basic magical books.

  They were still good, because apparently the wizarding world considered spells that could levitate objects or put people into a magical sleep as basic.

  Though Clint had also managed to acquire a single spellbook with advanced Hogwarts material, paid for with a portion of the funds we’d recently "borrowed."

  It was wild to think that Hogwarts taught such dangerous, even life threatening spells to its upper-year students but then again, who was I to judge?

  If my own destructive powers hadn’t been sealed, my training would have started long before.

  As I looked through my third book, Clint and the others were out on my orders, working to recruit more forces.

  While we’d managed to secure a respectable collection of rare artefacts, we hadn’t found nearly as many galleons as we’d hoped. Still, the exercise was more of a test than a major heist, an opportunity to observe the wizards of this world in action.

  For our next target, however, we’d set our sights on something far more ambitious and in any normal circumstances a bit stupid.

  Gringotts.

  Naturally, the mere mention of it had sent nervous gnces and cautious whispers through my small circle of supporters. Each had warned me of the dangerous consequences faced by those foolish enough to attempt it in the past.

  But when I raised an eyebrow and asked if they doubted my abilities, they’d fallen silent before reluctantly agreeing.

  That was why Clint and the others were currently gathering more allies. All except Alissa, whom I’d tasked with studying magical defences in preparation for the heist. Just as a back up of my initial pn didn’t work.

  There was also the issue of reputation. I had no interest in being viewed as a tyrannical Dark Lord who killed everyone who was in his path. So I’d leave as many alive as I could.

  It wasn’t an ideal pn and probably needed more thought put into it, but I simply didn’t have time for that. Building a true power base here would require bold action with the little time I had here.

  I’d come back to Gringotts soon, now that I had a sense of what to expect. The heist would go down in the dead of night which was in just a few hours,

  It was strange to think I’d only been in this world a day.

  In the meantime, I needed more loyalty contracts. I hadn’t exactly expected to become a Dark Lord with a steadily growing following, so I hadn’t thought to prepare many.

  Clint and the others whose names I now knew had been baffled by my apparent ck of basic spell knowledge. I’d casually expined it away, describing my perfectionist family who’d only let me work with the most advanced spells instead of the basics.

  Oddly, none of them had doubted me. I’d expected at least one to be sceptical, but instead, they’d listened to my story with awe.

  All of this had led to the present me, who was sitting in a room within one of the houses given to me by my followers, would "subordinates" be a better term?

  I raised my wand. With a flick of my wand and a steady "Leviosa,"

  The cup floated slightly before dropping, I frowned.

  “Leviosa," I focused on the cup before me, this time it worked and I watched as it lifted into the air effortlessly, hovering midair.

  A small, satisfied grin pyed on my lips.

  it wasn’t that hard.

  Curiosity made me lower the cup back down carefully. This time, I tried the spell without my wand, pcing my wand on the table. I pointed my hand zily at the cup, channelling my demonic energy.

  The cup lifted again, though I could feel the strain. a bit more effort and more energy drained than before. It also was noticeably slower. I lowered the cup once more.

  Sensing a potential tweak to this experiment, I uttered "Leviosa" aloud.

  To my surprise, the cup floated up once more, but the energy cost was noticeably lower. About twenty percent if I had to make a guess.

  Interesting. It seemed the verbal component made a measurable difference, even when channelling demonic energy.

  Alissa was peeking over her book, watching me in fascination.

  I ignored her.

  Sitting back in the chair, I continued with the spell experimenting. I thought over the usage of demonic energy with spells. It seemed my demonic energy was more potent than whatever source of magic they had.

  I'd confirmed Leviosa could work without a wand though less efficiently and that even simple words could impact energy consumption. My imagination magic was really overpowered and the magic of this world could be taken to the next level in my hands.

  I could literally learn a spell, then memorise its function and how it operated in my hands to recreate it. Though, it had shown to be less impressive than the real deal. Only by a bit though.

  I decided to test out another spell. I flipped to a page on cutting spells and saw Diffindo listed among them. This spell had caught my attention earlier and was something I could see a lot of benefit in learning.

  I had seen it used by Clint, it was basically a spell that created a cut on whatever it impacted.

  The size and power of the cut was dependent on the amount of magic pushed into it, something I had a lot of.

  My eyes scanned through the description that described the spell could slice through cloth and other materials with precision. I found something of interest within the description.

  Apparently, it didn’t work as well on flesh. With the spell having a fifty percent deduction of effect when used on flesh.

  That’s probably why Clint’s spell had only left a somewhat deep cut.

  I raised my wand and focused on channelling my demonic energy carefully.

  “Diffindo.”

  A quick, bright ssh of energy tore across the room and hit a nearby shelf. The entire left side of it split cleanly in half, wood and books falling in a heap. It didn’t stop there, slicing through the wall behind it and into another room.

  Alissa, who had been watching me in favour of her own studies, let out a startled squeak. Her eyes wide as she took in the scene.

  I looked at the aftermath and then at her.

  Oops.

  I think I was going to wait on trying that again in a more safe environment.

  The more powerful spells would need testing, since that had drained a surprising amount of demonic energy. Not a lot, but for a spell that was used for the first time it was considerable.

  The door creaked open and Clint chose that moment to step in, giving me a sharp nod before pausing mid-step. His gaze zeroing in on the massive cut that now split the wall.

  His eyes slowly widened as he took in the wreckage.

  "My Lord... may I ask what happened here?" he asked respectfully, though I could sense the barely-hidden shock in his voice.

  I shrugged, gncing casually at the ruined shelf and the chunk missing from the wall.

  "Just testing a few spells." I replied.

  Clint gave a slow nod, clearly choosing not to press the matter further.

  Good, he was learning.

  "Understood. I’ve managed to find additional men, as you requested. Many were hesitant but they await you. I’m sure once you show them who you are that they’ll easily swear loyalty." He informed me.

  “Perfect.”

  I smiled.

  It was time to get this show on the road.

  -{Clint}-

  Clint stood just outside Gringotts with Alissa at his side, the two of them casting quick gnces toward the bank’s towering marble columns.

  The front was guarded by two armoured goblins who wouldn’t hesitate to sound the arm and attack at the first sign of battle.

  Around them, groups of Aurors paced warily among the many robed figures passing through Diagon Alley, patrolling the nearby streets as they did during war times.

  Clint took in a sharp breath, trying to steady himself.

  They had managed to recruit twelve additional wizards and witches to aid in the heist, a mix of eager and desperate individuals who saw Zeph’s rising influence as something worth risking everything for.

  Along with the original five Clint had recruited including Alissa, who was standing besides him. They now had a small but capable force of eighteen magical users.

  They weren’t exactly made of the best wizards and witches but they would all be trying their best, especially now since they had received the confirmation after meeting Lord Zephyrion that they were serving the real deal.

  He hadn’t been able to find any more willing to join on such short notice. Recruiting for a heist this daring wasn’t exactly something he could do in a few hours.

  Zephyrion’s deadline of four to five hours had forced Clint to work faster than he would’ve liked, reaching out to the few allies who’d committed quickly. Many had been doubtful of his words too and he hadn’t the time to truly convince them.

  As he had said, Knockturn Alley was filled with many who wanted a chance. A chance to be something more but when you had suffered so much pain and adapted to the life of an outcast you didn’t trust people or good situations easily.

  They’d spent part of that time preparing, managing to secure a rough scan of Gringotts’ interior yout. It wasn’t perfect and Clint still didn’t know why Zephyrion was in such a rush.

  It was good enough to give them an idea of where to go and security where some of the wards were located.

  Clint shifted his weight, gncing over at Alissa, who was anxiously fingering her wand.

  It was strange. He who had avoided and feared Aurors to the point he wouldn’t even steal if even an Auror happened to be within Knockturn, was now going to steal in broad daylight.

  His fear wasn’t unfounded. The ministry had a lot to offer those under its registry. Including a lot of training and spells. There was also the fact he was about to attempt to rob perhaps the most powerful magical bank, a bank that hadn’t been stolen from.

  Not… Even… Once.

  The attempts had stopped long ago when it had become apparent that it wasn’t possible.

  Here he was… attempting it.

  Larger and more trained forces than this had tried it before.

  Then again, they didn’t have a Dark Lord.

  He took a deep breath.

  There he was. Lord Zephyrion strolling through the crowd without a care.

  “Ready.” He whispered to Alissa.

  She nodded.

  They had pnned to try to be as non lethal as possible.

  On a robbery of this level…

  Clint simply hoped that his Lord was as strong as the rumours.

  Zephyrion had two witches with him. For a reason Clint didn’t know. He had heard a mutter of ‘A Dark Lord's Fir.’ But that hadn’t expined much.

  The squad of three Aurors took notice and could obviously sense something amiss. Clint didn’t find that surprising. With the way his Lord was walking he was basically screaming trouble.

  His hood raised and his eyes were revealed.

  Clint watched as the Aurors' eyes slowly opened in pure shock. In a sudden, sweeping motion, Zephyrion raised his hand, fingers extended toward the three Aurors.

  The air around him grew heavy and three orbs that bent the air formed, shooting forward in a movement Clint could barely track. The Aurors were barely able to bring their wands up in time only to be bsted into a building.

  Screams rang out from nearby and Diagon Alley was sent into a frenzy.

  They hadn’t been able to cast a shielding charm in time.

  Clint and all the other followers he could see were shocked for a moment. Only to quickly put their masks on as Zephyrion strolled towards the magical bank.

  All the wizards and witches that had been casually shopping were running away. Shouts about the Dark Lord ringing in the air.

  The two goblin guards, dressed fully in metal arms with two long spears moved forward. Their beady eyes were wide and alert.

  Clint snapped his wand towards them, his hand only trembling slightly from the adrenaline running through his body. “Stupefy.”

  The closest goblin blocked with the bded part of his spear and the spell was deflected, the red jet flying into a nearby wall. They proceeded to charge only to get pelted by dozens of spells, the armour taking most of the brunt but the force sending them back into the wall with a crack.

  Their armour was shredded to pieces from the sheer amount of spells sent at them from the numerous masked wizards and witches now following behind Zephyrion.

  Zephyrion himself merely raised an eyebrow, his eyes holding intrigue as he observed the magical armour they wore.

  “Let’s get this done retively quickly shall we?” Zephyrion questioned.

  Everyone nodded determinedly and a resounding “Yes, Lord Zephyrion.” Could be heard in the rapidly quieting area.

  The Aurors would arrive any moment and once they realised who was behind this robbery, they'd deploy a huge force.

  -{Reginald Greengrass}-

  Reginald Greengrass shifted, adjusting his expensive robes as he waited for the goblin teller to return. He had been waiting for a vault manager to take him to his vault for only a few minutes.

  In those few minutes, he thought about events. He had taken a bottomless pouch with him, as he pnned to take his st withdrawal he would be making for a while.

  The wizarding war was starting up, things were starting to get serious.

  Already, many talks in the Wizengamot had taken pce. With more dark families joining the Dark Lord Voldermort. As a Lord of a Noble Family with a magical bloodline there was more pressure on him than the average magical family.

  The tyrannical Dark Lord Voldermort was pressuring families to join him. Which Reginald refused to do. Joining an insane Dark Lord who killed everyone and supposedly tortured his own followers wasn’t appealing in the slightest.

  He also didn’t have the foolish pureblood superiority notion they had going on. A magical bloodline was merely breeding between two magical users strictly over the course of hundreds of years.

  This formed a magical bloodline, meaning that all purebloods had once been muggleborns. The only real statement they had was about bloodlines and even that was just selective breeding. So to go outcasting muggleborns for that reason was foolish.

  Unfortunately, he couldn't join Dumbledore's little mounting resistance and the Ministry would at best sign some Aurors.

  The situation was worsening, with the gathering Voldermort was building up and the appearance of an entirely new Dark Lord, things had become serious.

  No one even knew anything about this new Dark Lord that appeared other than the fact he raided the Ministry alone and took on dozens of Aurors with ease.

  So here he was, coming to withdraw a sizeable amount of money before going into lockdown.

  A bang rang outside but he didn’t pay much attention to it, nor did anyone else. It was common for explosions to happen around, either from malfunctioning potions or an accidental bout of magic.

  There was also a squad of Aurors patrolling around along with more nearby. It was one benefit of being in a wizarding war Reginald supposed.

  The rge doors that allowed entry into Gringotts suddenly exploded open. There were immediate shouts of arm from the dozen or so other witches and wizards. With two armoured guards moving forward in arm.

  Reginald’s eyes widened and a wave of shock passed through him, his hand immediately going down to finger his wand almost instinctively. That proved to be a good move, as through the smoke spells began shooting through.

  Most of them he noted were stunners and non-lethal spells.

  ‘Protego.’ He thought, a dome of magic forming to protect him.

  The witch next to him wasn’t as lucky, falling to the ground as she wasn’t able to react in time. This happened to the few others who weren’t able to raise their wands in time.

  The armoured Goblins charged, attempting to deflect the spells with the enchanted weapons they carried. They had limited success but the spell-fire proved to be too much.

  They made some good ground but under the massive chain of spells their armour began chipping away and gaining dents at a rapid pace till they were both sent flying back, unconscious.

  It wasn’t long till the remaining witches and wizards were firing back out of principle.

  The masked magical users had the number advantage as they were still entering through the entrance to the magical bank, making it hard to fight back.

  He hurriedly ducked as a red jet shot past, the red glow close enough to reflect on his face. He was able to note that the attackers weren’t aiming to kill but rather incapacitate.

  Reginald quickly deduced that this wasn’t the work of Voldermort. Something that gave him no end of relief.

  The spells cked precision and strength, signalling to Reginald that they had limited training. He suspected that if they had been fully trained he doubted the remaining few that were still conscious and fighting with him would be conscious.

  He flicked his wand, sending a bzing stunner toward a masked wizard. The man in return hurriedly cast a shielding charm just in time to block the spell.

  Reginald sidestepped quickly, swatting a few incoming spells to the side. One of the witches that was fighting on his side let out a gasp, her body dropping to the floor unconscious.

  A wizard close by was able to send one of the attackers back with a ‘Depulso’ only to stumble back as he was riddled with spellfire in return.

  Reginald waved his wand, sending a bolt of red brighter than the rest of the spells being shot around zipping towards a masked wizard and sending the figure sprawling across the marble floor.

  ‘Arresto Momentum.’

  The amount of magic needed for this spell wasn’t ideal but it worked, the man’s shielding charm couldn’t block the bubble that formed around him. All his movements slowed down into a snail's pace.

  Reginald couldn’t do much more but let the spell remain there as he was forced to block more incoming spells, it would st for another thirty seconds.

  He conjured a thick wall of ice, frosty mist swirling up from its surface that was rge enough to cover him and the people who had decided to form a formation around him, his show of magical ability naturally electing him as the default leader.

  Reginald knew the block of ice wouldn’t st long as spells began rapidly chipping away at its surface.

  ‘Flipendo.’

  The block of ice bsted through the air and into one of the masked attackers.

  He was forced to immediately sidestep another hex and countered with a swift Expelliarmus, his wand waving through the air in fast precise movements as malicious intent filtered across his narrowed eyes.

  ‘Bombarda maxima.’

  He pushed a massive amount of magic into it, the maxima on the end of the spell making his output much faster.

  The bright spell erupted with explosive force, shaking the entire room. A blinding fsh followed by a deafening boom sent three of the masked attackers flying backward, smming them into the stone walls with a heavy thud.

  Dust and debris scattered and the briefly ground trembled under the impact. A fire was created by the spell, sending more ash up into the bank.

  The two remaining witches who were fighting on his side fnking Reginald stared at him in slight awe.

  Reginald never omitted that having a magical bloodline didn’t come with its perks.

  Unfortunately, there was only a moment's dey before masked figures poured through the shattered entrance, wands already raised and spells flying.

  He could only put a shield up as spells came firing at him, one of the masked figures going around and reawakening some of the magical users who had been stunned.

  That was the disadvantage of pying nice. If he truly used some more wicked spells he knew or even started aiming to kill, it would end badly for him with the ministry and even worse if captured.

  Another masked attacker tried to trap him with a binding charm but Reginald reacted in time, casting ‘Protego’ to deflect it and following up with a powerful ‘Petrificus Totalus’ that exploded through the air, leaving the masked witch rigid and motionless on the ground.

  One of the witches besides him was caught off-guard and stunned, her body colpsing.

  Spells began raining down on him and as skilled as Reginald was he could only handle so much. He grit his teeth. A loud arm bred through the bank, echoing off the stone walls. Reginald flinched at the noise.

  A second ter, twenty armoured goblins charged in from a hidden side corridor, armed with enchanted weapons. They quickly stormed into the room, their disciplined formation cutting through the masked intruders with ruthless efficiency.

  The attackers were forced back in panic, they tried to fire back but the Goblins who were diverting their attention. Easily deflected most of their spells.

  Another thing Reginald noticed, the attackers didn’t seem to know a lot of spells.

  Reginald took advantage of the chaos, firing more spells while the goblins pressed the masked attackers back toward the shattered entrance.

  Realising they were outnumbered and outmatched, the remaining intruders retreated, scrambling to escape the overwhelming force.

  Together, they unched a barrage of spells but it wasn’t enough.

  Reginald grinned.

  The masked attackers quickly drew back.

  As they went to press the advantage the attacking Goblins stopped in their tracks.

  Reginald felt a nce of shock go through him as everyone paused. An unsettling abrupt silence descending over the bank that had been turned into a battleground.

  Two piercing, multi-colored eyes could be seen through the rapidly clearing smoke. Through the lingering smoke, a crimson-haired teenager stepped forward.

  He looked about eighteen, his gaze cold yet amused as he took in the scene.

  ‘This is the dark Lord?’ He thought.

  He recognised the unique coloured eyes that everyone had been warned about.

  Reginald almost considered the notion that maybe the Daily Prophet had exaggerated, only to shake his head. The teenager was faced with twelve armoured goblins, with more slowly joining the lineup and yet he was rexed.

  “An impressive showing. I can see why no wizard has been able to successfully steal from you before.” He said, looking around.

  One of the goblins snarled. Apparently, they all regained their confidence as they took in his appearance.

  “Surrender, Dark Lord. You’ll look good on our reputation and I don’t think the Ministry will mind if we take lethal action.” The Goblin cackled.

  The teenager raised his hand, flicking it boredly and the Goblin was blown back. It’s armour crumbling and its head making a sickening crunch as it impacted the wall.

  The masked wizards and witches who had opted to stand behind him, watched in awe.

  Reginald looked uncertain at the miniature army of Goblins that had formed.

  They roared, charging the teenager.

  He raised his wand, preparing to aid the Goblins.

  A massive dome of air appeared in front of the teenager in one moment, the air becoming thicker and visibly bending the space around him before it exploded out.

  Everything that touched the expanding dome of air was obliterated and all the Goblins were sent flying back. The Goblins nded in heaps. The only ones who were conscious were those who had been at the back of the attack.

  Even they could barely stand up.

  Reginald lowered his wand, mouth open.

  That had been wandless.

  He was the real deal.