"Have I become immortal?" The unfounded certainty surged in his heart.
The ultimate goal of alchemists throughout history had somehow been achieved within his body.
He had a feeling that as long as the balance of Good and Evil within him wasn't broken, his body and soul would recover from any injury, no matter how severe.
Crap! I can't suicide-respawn back to Hogwarts anymore!
Also, he had lost Excalibur. The ability to turn into light and travel instantly, which he had just mastered, was gone.
Unless he spent another 50,000 Gems to create a Summon Card for Excalibur.
Otherwise, that sword would never appear in the world again.
Because it had now merged into his body.
As an extra organ for his [Inspire] talent, it converted the Evil magic (transformed from negative emotions) into Good. Then, it injected the Good magic back into the original [Inspire] core, achieving a cycle of Good and Evil.
However, in this world, he was probably invincible now.
All magic in the Fairytale Kingdom was based on Good and Evil, positive and negative emotions.
And the cycle of Good and Evil within him, far surpassing the quality of this world's magic, could not be harmed by magic born from the shallow Good and Evil of fairytales.
Far beyond the previous [Red Dragon Bloodline] ignition state, which offered 50% damage reduction against this world's magic.
Wait, if I ignite the [Red Dragon Bloodline] now... the defense of my Draconian form and the stats of the [Dragon of Good and Evil] should have changed too.
Sure enough, Basil checked the data.
The original description of [Red Dragon Bloodline]—[Immune to fire and Exotic Magic damage below 100. Fire and Exotic Magic damage reduced by 50%]—now had an addition: [Lesser Exotic Magic damage reduced by 100%].
The high-quality Good and Evil magic within Basil was classified as Exotic Magic.
The original Good and Evil magic of the Fairytale Kingdom was defined as Lesser Exotic Magic.
Spells created by it were completely nullified by Basil.
For the [Dragon of Good and Evil], the [Scale Armor of Evil]'s effect changed from [Ignores damage below 100] to [Ignores damage below 150].
The [Crown of Good]'s effect changed from [Grants 100 and 50 damage bonus to self and allies] to [Grants 150 and 100 damage bonus to self and allies].
The talent [Inspire] was renamed [Core of Immortal Duality].
Its description, originally [Absorbs and contains negative emotions], now included [Generates Evil Exotic Magic, inverts it to Good, achieving a cycle of Good and Evil for immortality].
The talent [True Sight] also gained the ability [Discern Good and Evil].
On the data panel, the Race column changed to [Wizard / Fairytale Wizard].
Luck changed from [4~8] to [6~11].
Far surpassing Harry's [4~9]. Now, in the eyes of the world, am I the true protagonist?
Magic also increased again, changing from [10+9] to [11+9].
But these changes were minor.
The most important thing was that his extra mana bar now appeared on the panel, and the numbers were broken.
[Exotic Magic: 327.5↑]
This was converted from the negative emotions Basil absorbed and the Good magic accumulated by Excalibur.
As indicated, it was constantly increasing.
The [Core of Immortal Duality] would continue to absorb what it deemed negative emotions and convert them into this world's magic.
The only downside was that this world's magic didn't have the "infinite resource" characteristic of Harry Potter magic.
Nor did it function like the 'Magic' bar from the [Appearance Component], which was constant and auto-regenerated.
Once consumed, it didn't regenerate from nothing.
It relied on absorbed negative emotions, Basil's own emotional fluctuations, the Good/Evil cycle, and ambient emotional power to recover.
So, Basil started experimenting.
Under everyone's gaze, Basil's fingertip glowed slightly, and a wisp of bright yellow flame emerged.
His Exotic Magic dropped to 326.5, but a second later, it returned to 327.5.
So, in the School for Good and Evil—a place rich in emotional power—he regenerated 1 point of Exotic Magic per second.
The flame turned into a stream of water, evaporated into mist, gathered into clouds, and summoned lightning snakes.
Blocking the absorption of ambient emotional power and negative emotions, flattening his emotional fluctuations.
His Exotic Magic dropped to 320.5, and it took a total of 21 seconds to recover to 327.5.
"Oh, cutting off everything else. Relying solely on the Good/Evil cycle, I regenerate 1 point of Exotic Magic every 3 seconds." Basil smiled.
This way, even in a desolate, uninhabited otherworld...
He could still regenerate this magic on his own.
Clap, clap, clap. Applause rang out as Basil smiled.
The surrounding crowd didn't know what Basil was thinking. They only saw the Holy Sword merge into the great King's body, after which he awakened magic that was notoriously difficult for Evers to obtain.
And this magic was complex—not just creating fire, but evolving it into natural weather and controlling celestial phenomena.
"Amazing!" Professor Dovey was thrilled. She could already see Rafal being beheaded.
"Truly... incredible." Professor Lesso bit her lip. Her hatred for Evers, her infatuation with the man before her, and her guilt over betraying Rafal made her deeply conflicted. She even forgot that the brooch was still stuck in Basil's finger.
The student currently undergoing the Piercing Ritual turned red, snot and tears streaming down their face, but they clenched their teeth and didn't make a sound.
Surrounded by the crowd, Basil took Beatrice's hand and walked out of the Great Hall.
---
Meanwhile, in the castle at the center of the School for Good and Evil.
Rafal, who had achieved immortality by transcending the Good/Evil cycle through Ultimate Evil, was now starting to decay.
His body shifted from the aged appearance of Rhian back to his original form—bewitching, with red eyeshadow.
But his formerly youthful, flawless skin was wrinkling and fading, making him look more and more like the decayed image of Rhian.
The Storian's narration rang out again.
"Rafal did not expect a new, unprecedented balance of Good and Evil to be born within the Fairytale Kingdom. His Evil no longer transcended the cycle. Thus, he lost his status as the Avatar of Evil. Furthermore, having plotted to destroy the sacred institution of the School for Good and Evil, he abandoned his position as School Master after setting hidden rules, failing to join the macro balance of Good and Evil within the schools to gain immortality. His life was coming to an end."
"Fortunately, he mastered Blood Magic. The blood of his twin brother, Rhian, remained active within him."
"Granting him a temporary cycle of Good and Evil."
"So, he can linger on for another year."
"Or—"
A flash of blood-red light, and a green halo began to shroud the entire tower.
Rafal's face regained its youth, and he spoke in unison with the Storian: "Or recover my peak power instantly. Destroy the new balance within the remaining hour, and everything will return to the right track."
Although he hadn't planned to stop Arthur's Piercing Ritual, he had been watching.
Even from the high tower, as the School Master, he could see and hear everything happening in the Great Hall.
In his view, this so-called new balance of Good and Evil was undoubtedly achieved by the Holy Sword and the body created from his avatar, the World-Ending Red Dragon's blood.
As long as he forced Arthur to pull the Holy Sword out of his body again, the new balance of Good and Evil would be broken.
He didn't need to confront Arthur directly.
So, he stopped holding back. He completely absorbed his brother's blood, destroying the cycle that could have lasted a year.
He regained his peak power, but with only one hour of life remaining.
Green light began to envelop the entire high tower.
As the nexus, when the tower had problems, so did the School for Good and Evil.
Thunder and lightning stormed over the School for Good, dark clouds gathering.
The School for Evil saw clear skies, singing birds, and fragrant flowers.
All the professors noticed something was wrong and looked toward the high tower.
The Piercing Ritual came to an abrupt halt.
Basil, having walked to the center of the garden with Beatrice, looked at the fountain turning murky, the flowers rotting, and the green cloud floating above the distant tower.
A scene from his recent vision flashed in his mind.
The broken tower, the flying red dragon, Rafal's body in dragon fire, and the lake belonging to the School for Good—originally clear, now filthy—seen from an obscure angle.
"So, Rafal dies today?"
Basil narrowed his eyes.
At the same time, Rafal's plaintive voice echoed in the ears of everyone in both schools.
"Arthur, now only you can stop this by drawing your sword."
Hearing this, Basil looked at Beatrice. "Don't be surprised in a moment."
He turned back to face the tower.
His finger glowed white, and the power of the Amplifying Charm appeared directly in Basil's throat.
The essence of Finger Glow was "thoughts becoming reality." So, even though it wasn't the same system, because Basil thought it, the power of the Amplifying Charm manifested.
Exotic Magic: 327.5↑ (-3)
"No, there is another way."
Exotic Magic: 24.5↑ (-300)
Basil's form twisted.
In the next second, a slender, well-proportioned, and devastatingly beautiful red dragon appeared in mid-air.
The large, white horns on his head formed the shape of a crown, giving him a regal air.
The crimson scales, exuding waves of wicked aura, looked surprisingly reassuring under the crown's brilliance.
Everyone realized his identity the moment they saw him.
Although red dragons were symbols of evil, that dignified, kingly aura was something Rafal could absolutely never fake.
Most importantly, Tedros gave the official verification. Looking at the dragon, he blurted out again, "Father!"
"Arthur!" Rafal was furious, his voice losing its magical disguise.
It no longer sounded like it came from everywhere at once.
Anyone with functioning ears realized its source—the high tower!
"You dare—" Rafal gritted his teeth.
Wearing the same outfit isn't scary; whoever's ugly is the one who's embarrassed.
Same Red Dragon body, but Rafal's was an ugly giant lizard.
Basil's was beautiful, majestic, with a slender and proportionate build.
And using his power to deal with him... what kind of NTR humiliation was this?
Adding the old grudge of being beheaded and the new grudge of his love being stolen, Rafal completely lost his mind.
The green cloud above the tower grew even more vibrant.
It began to condense, forming Rafal's ugly face.
Professor Dovey looked worried. "Professor Rhian."
Professor Lesso hesitated to speak. Facing this ugly face, she really couldn't go against her conscience and say "My love."
Sophie, livestreaming all this, was puking her guts out.
She couldn't help but complain in the public chat: "In the original plot, I kiss him? Was I blind?"
Madison didn't even bother mocking her: "Maybe you were hypnotized?"
"Basil described how you were taught Blood Magic in detail."
"His crimson blood poured directly from your index finger into your body and soul."
"In that state, it's normal for you to see him as a hunk."
Sophie: "Madison!"
Their relationship suddenly got a lot closer.
Meanwhile, facing Rafal's hatred and the vomit-like swarm of bees spewing from the green ugly face's mouth, Basil didn't dodge.
The Draconian form's skin immunity to Lesser Exotic Magic damage applied to the [Scale Armor of Evil] as well.
Not to mention the armor's immunity to damage below 150.
And it was all-encompassing. The weak points of a physical body—eyes, mouth, nose, throat... even the anus—were fully protected.
But it was disgusting.
"It is rude not to reciprocate!" the giant dragon spoke.
The [Magic Book] in his mind flipped pages. The [Boggart] card, looking like a mass of shadows, lit up.
In this state, his eyes could easily pierce through walls and see Rafal.
He could also easily discern that the giant face atop the tower was just condensed energy.
The power of the [Boggart] activated.
The number in its [Transformation Library] quietly changed from 1 to 2.
Behind Rafal, who was clenching his fists and wanting to rush out the door but kept chickening out, a figure suddenly appeared.
He had short black hair and wasn't particularly handsome.
White armor with blue undertones.
He was smiling, with an earthy, rustic quality.
At his waist hung a shining sword.
The Storian's voice rang out.
"No one expected it. The Savior of the Fairytale World, the King of the Good, suddenly appeared inside the high tower. Behind Rafal."
Rafal's body froze.
He turned his head slowly, like stop-motion animation, stepping back half a pace while swallowing hard.
The Holy Sword, which should have been inside the dragon's body—the sword he wanted to force out—was right there at King Arthur's waist.
His voice trembled. "So the balance of Good and Evil isn't within your body, but a balance between the Evil Dragon avatar and you? It seems... I cannot stop it?"
In the shadow behind 'King Arthur', a smear of crimson began to appear.
Suddenly, Rafal by the door turned into a puddle of blood, splashing apart and vanishing into the air.
"No! I can!" Like history repeating itself. That smear of crimson turned into Rafal himself. He leaped high, a dagger in his hand.
He plunged it viciously into 'King Arthur's' back. Just like he had plunged it into his twin brother's back all those years ago.
"Arthur, you are weakness itself!" He twisted the dagger. "Your biggest mistake was giving up the invincible dragon body and appearing before me in mortal flesh!"
"Ah!" Just like in the past, he held the dagger high and screamed in triumph.
"Huh?" Three seconds later, his face was written with confusion.
Because the status of his Avatar of Evil still hadn't returned. His life was still draining away.
This meant the balance of Good and Evil hadn't been broken.
He looked at the corpse.
The 'King Arthur' who should have been dead smiled and said, "How did you know... that this was me?"
He turned into a mass of shadows and vanished into the air.
Rumble!
The roof of the tower shattered. The dragon's head replaced the dome, golden beast eyes staring coldly down at the clown holding a dagger.
In this state, he was magic itself. He saw through the essence beneath the clown's youthful skin at a glance.
"Oh, your life is draining away?"
"How foolish. Once, you and your brother were inseparable, achieving a perfect balance of Good and Evil and gaining immortality."
" yet you destroyed it yourself. Status is just an external object; the balance of Good and Evil is the true path to eternal life."
---