-{Zephyrion Gremory}-

  I probably should have used a wand for that.

  The demonic power drain was noticeable at any rate. I had admittedly wanted to make an entrance.

  The goblins were impressive, I had learnt that they crafted their weapons in a way that allowed them to repel magic to a certain degree. The armour they wore had the same properties.

  Pying the Dark Lord was starting to grow on me. It scratched an itch I hadn’t realised was there, and I found myself slipping into the role naturally. It was going to feel strange going back to Danmachi after all this.

  In hindsight, I was rushing things. Gathering followers was mainly about having extra manpower and a network for intel. I didn’t pn to stay much longer. This heist’s goal was to fund the purchase of magical books to expand my spell knowledge.

  Sure, raiding magical book stores might have been a quicker solution, but it would also alert people that I was after magical knowledge and ruin small businesses. A strong financial foundation would help sustain things in my absence. Clint was clever, but he could only do so much on his own.

  In the end, the trip was worth it. The wand alone made it worthwhile and the extra spells were a bonus. I had also been able to get myself a bottomless mokeskin pouch, something that would come in handy for storing Vali along with some interesting magical artefacts. .

  Getting back to the present, I had been watching the battle since its beginning with interest. Mostly to see what potential threats I would be against. I wasn’t stupid. There were threats in this world despite my power.

  Walking around like a Chihuahua thinking I’m the hottest shit around would lead to me dying a foolish death. If I was going to die, it was going to be epic and I was going to take everyone with me.

  I spotted a wizard staring at me in shock.

  He was the st wizards conscious, the rest had been taken out by my followers' assault. I’d make sure to leave them all with some books so they could expand their magical knowledge.

  The wizard possessed blonde hair and cold blue eyes. His skin was pale and his robes expensive.

  “My Lord.” Clint whispered.

  I raised an eyebrow, focusing my gaze on him. Inwardly smirking at his awed and downright worshipping look.

  “That man isn’t an ordinary wizard, he easily took down over seven of our own. If he had opted to kill us instead of stunning us he may have been able to take us all down by himself.” He whispered.

  I had watched him in action, he was impressive and most definitely holding back.

  I walked towards him and the man didn’t even try to defend himself.

  “Are you going to kill me?” He asked, his voice calm.

  “No, needless sughter isn’t needed. Surrender and you’ll be spared.” I calmly replied.

  He stared at me, his eyes looking puzzled. I allowed my gaze to linger on him a bit longer, sizing him up in turn.

  “Tell me,” I said casually, as though the question was hardly worth my interest, “who are you?”

  His mouth curved into the faintest hint of a smile, more a twitch than a real expression. I could see the slight hint of awe in his gaze.

  “Reginald Greengrass,” he replied smoothly.

  He was strong, I could see why Voldermort was so confident with a bunch of purebloods like him.

  I nodded and gnced over to Alissa.

  “Let’s get started, bring me a conscious Goblin.” I ordered. “The rest of you go see the injured.”

  They all sprung into action excitedly. I could see as they all threw less than subtle gnces my way.

  Just as I went to walk away, Reginald Greengrass called out to me.

  “W-wait.” He quickly said. “Aren’t you going to tie me up?”

  I threw a look back to him. “You’re smart enough to know that attacking would be foolish. There’s no need to be dramatic about it.”

  This was a pnned move. My devil instincts could taste his ambition and fear. From what I know, he wasn’t associated with Voldermort or the Dark Families at least not yet.

  His eyes widened, I could see something going through his head. His eyes reflected that he was coming to some sort of idea and decision. He was silent for a while.

  “Tell me, why do you let these people serve you?” He asked, his eyes searching.

  Hook.

  “They want to.” I replied simply.

  He went silent for a moment.

  “Can you tell me your name? The Daily Prophet never announced what name you go by.” He asked, respect evident in his tone.

  I saw some of my followers around me smirk at seeing a Pureblood Lord so respectful.

  Line.

  “Zephyrion Gremory.” I replied.

  His face became resolved.

  “Tell me, would you be willing to let house greengrass serve you?” He questioned, his tone deathly serious.

  Sinker.

  “And why would you want to do that?” I replied curiously.

  His face became grim and I could see him take a few moments to think. “My family is in danger. For too long have we banced ourselves by not joining the dark or light families and it’s become apparent that I have to make a choice soon. Lest my wife and daughter be tortured or killed.”

  “In danger? How so?” I asked further.

  I wanted to understand his reasoning so I could act on it. Gratitude is a wonderful motivation.

  “I will need to pick a side. Voldermort has been pressuring my family and if I don’t he will make us an example. The Dark Lord is a tyrant, he tortures his own followers and I have no doubt that if I was to fail any expectations.”He took a deep breath, his face scrunched up in rage and disgust. His voice was passionate. “He would resort to using my wife and daughter to punish me. Considering the beauty they hold I don’t know they would be used to keeping morale high.”

  I let him continue.

  “Dumbledore would be the only other option but that old man isn’t as innocent as it would seem. I have no doubt his intentions are good but many who follow him have ended up sacrificed one way or another.”

  “That leaves me, a Dark Lord who appeared only yesterday.” I replied, a small smile on my lips.

  He nodded. “This decision has been made faster than I would have liked, but you’ve shown me through action that you aren’t tyrannical. You intervened when your followers were attacked and you aren’t insane…”

  "How fttering," I replied with an amused smirk.

  The man flinched slightly. "Ah—apologies...my Lord?"

  I let my gaze linger on him, enjoying his discomfort. "No worries. You're in luck . I have one contract to spare," I said, drawing out the second-to-st demonic contract.

  "Contract?"

  "Yes. It'll ensure your loyalty, if you're serious about joining me."

  He hesitated, eyeing the parchment. "I'm guessing this is magically binding?"

  "Precisely."

  "Do I have to sign it?" he asked.

  "Only you need to sign. In return, I’ll protect your family. If I lie, they’re free to walk away. Fair?"

  He nodded, signing the contract, which glowed softly in his hands. I smiled.

  He knelt before me. "I'm at your service. Lord Zephyrion.”

  If no one was watching I would have a shit-eating grin on my face. I had known he would be useful, beyond his wealth he had shown he was powerful with his magic usage.

  That explosion had been powerful, that bubble that had slowed down time had many uses I could see it being used for.

  The entire point of this trip to another world was to gain something. Since I had nded myself in a world primarily focused on magic. That was what I was after above everything else.

  Magic.

  I observed as Clint and Alissa returned, hauling an injured yet conscious goblin teller. The goblin’s beedy eyes gred at me with hatred.

  With a flick of my fingers, I forced the goblin into a kneeling position.

  “I have an offer,” I said, extending a fresh demonic contract. “This will bind you to serve me during the period of this robbery, after you will be free to go”

  The goblin scoffed, eyes narrowing. “And why in all hells would I ever serve you, wizard?”

  I looked towards Clint and he nodded.

  He drove a punch into the Goblin's stomach, making the Goblin bend over slightly. Its face scrunched up.

  Okay… not exactly what I had meant. I had only looked towards him to see what he would do.

  “You will sign the contract, or I'll tear your limbs off with cutting charms. Maybe your fellow associates will feel more open after seeing what’s left of you.” Clint said, threateningly.

  Reginald’s eyes were raised slightly.

  Jesus…

  I went to tell him to rex only to see that his words had struck a chord with the Goblin Teller.

  He spat on the ground, clearly enraged. But despite his anger, he grabbed the contract with his scowl intensifying as he read through the terms closely.

  The reluctance was pin in his every motion, as if each stroke of his quill was a betrayal to everything he stood for. The contract glowed faintly as he finished, sealing the binding magic around him.

  His eyes were practically burning through my skull

  My eyes nded on a sheepish Clint who was looking at me like a puppy, wanting praise for his success.

  “Well done…”

  “Thank you my Lord, the only way to reason with Goblins is through force.” He replied proudly.

  “Perfect. Now, you’ll be guiding us to a vault worthy of my time,” I ordered, watching as he grimaced but obeyed, leading us deeper into the bank.

  My masked followers who had now all recovered rallied behind me. Keeping a few at the door would be pointless if the Ministry attacked, since they wouldn’t stand a chance.

  With each step, my followers exchanged gnces of eager anticipation. while Lord Greengrass trailed next to me, observing me with a mix of caution and intrigue.

  The situation was different with him. Unlike my other followers who were simply happy to be around, I could see he was trying to figure me out. I could sense Greengrass’s calcuted respect.

  His gaze followed my every move, assessing me with a quiet intensity. We didn’t take the tram as the goblin informed us that a special vault y on the top floor, accessible only by goblin hands.

  Unlike the bank’s opulent front hall, adorned with vish decor and polished marble. The hidden corridors were stark and utilitarian.

  We encountered many more armoured Goblins but I let my little entourage deal with them as they only came in forces of two or three.

  The goblin teller revealed that going down the Tram would lead into the goblin kingdom down underground and that we would be forced to face an army if we took that path.

  As we followed the goblin I turned to Reginald.

  “Reginald?”

  “Yes, my Lord?” He questioned, his tone a bit more rexed.

  I pulled out a summoning parchment. “Take this, it’s a summoning parchment. You can activate it if you’re in dire need of help. Don’t use it in any other case.”

  His eyes widened, I could see his mind racing and his respect growing deeper.

  “Thank you, my Lord.” He replied, tucking the parchment away carefully.

  I could see Clint narrowing his eyes at Reginald.

  The reason I had given him a summoning contract was due to my incoming departure. If he truly needed me, I would get the signal and make a hasty trip to this world.

  I could see my action had sped up the loyalty process by a considerable amount.

  The concept of having people refer to me as a Lord wasn’t foreign, considering I had been raised as a devil noble from a very powerful devil house. So, I wasn’t as uncomfortable with the whole experience as I probably should be.

  We finally came upon a vault the goblin teller had told us about and all of us watched as he went through a very complex process of opening up the vault that made me gd I hadn’t stubbornly charged in.

  It would take a considerable amount of demonic energy to smash through the thick enchanted vault door.

  The vault door creaked open, the goblin teller struggling to move the rge door. As it opened we were greeted with massive piles of gold and galleons.

  I smiled.

  “Take what you can carry.”

  The simple order caused a flurry of movement, all my followers rushing to obey with excitement. I could see the worship for me in their eyes grow considerably.

  Only Reginald seemed retively unimpressed.

  I grinned as the Galleons and gold were put into bottomless pouches.

  Today has been an interesting day.

  -END-

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