She was a girl, barely 140 centimeters tall, with pale blonde hair and an air of arrogance.
Her name was Lavinia Birdway, inheritor of the Golden Dawn's knowledge and leader of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, a magical cabal.
Despite being only twelve, she possessed immense magical expertise and strength, undeniably the cabal's top member.
Beside her stood a stern-looking blond man.
Mark Space, the second-in-command of Dawn-Colored Sunlight and Lavinia's aide.
"Morpheus, as the organization's second-in-command, I have an important mission for you!" Lavinia said, waving a stack of documents with a grin. The papers unfolded, floating around them.
"Second-in-command? Isn't that Mark?" Morpheus muttered.
"You're also second-in-command. Mark's more my secretary," Lavinia replied, then addressed Morpheus. "You like working alone, and you've got the strength for it, so you're our special operative."
Morpheus shrugged, saying little.
"This mission involves taking down a group of rogue magician. They possess the original grimoire, the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan, and plan to use it to open a path to immortality, achieving what some call the 'body of an immortal.'"
Morpheus frowned. "Why not go for The Book of the Naturalist?"
Lavinia laughed. "They'd need to get their hands on it first. That book supposedly grants longevity, but at a steep cost."
"Ghouls, right? I know," Morpheus said, shrugging. "But it's not that simple. They'd need to summon ghouls first, yeah?"
"Exactly. They'll turn an area into a special zone, mimicking the grimoire's descriptions to summon ghouls. The bigger issue is that this could attract another kind of phase entity... the Hounds of Tindalos.
"If that happens, everyone in the area might die or turn into ghouls. Our job is simple: stop it before it's irreversible."
"Leave none alive?"
A glint of killing intent flashed in Lavinia's eyes. "None."
"Got it," Morpheus clapped his hands. "Who issued this mission?"
"Who else? The Anglican Church, of course."
"Ugh, what a hassle. Don't they have Saints? Just send one," Morpheus yawned, waving dismissively. "I'm off. If I die, pour some wine on my grave."
Lavinia grinned. "It's not a tough job. You won't die."
The mission wasn't hard, but it was distasteful.
When Morpheus arrived, the small village was under the control of the rogue magician. Their ritual had begun, opening a rift in the ground, as if connecting to another world. Strange creatures emerged.
They weren't human, nor even alive in the usual sense. Faster and stronger than humans, with grotesque appearances, they vaguely resembled people... or perhaps apes.
They could speak human languages, communicate, but their urge to devour and turn others into ghouls was undeniable.
Ghouls, zombies, living dead... call them what you will. These were the monsters humans became after gaining "immortality" through the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan.
Some could even use special concoctions to let their souls wander through time, another ability detailed in the grimoire.
But as Lavinia warned, this risked summoning something far worse... not mere ghouls, but the Hounds of Tindalos, terrifying creatures that hunted across the timeline.
"That's why I hate dealing with magician messing with Cthulhu-style magic!" Morpheus grumbled, sensing a creature behind him. Its attack struck but was repelled by his protective gear, letting out a pained shriek.
It was a monster with a tongue like a suction cup, utterly alien. Called a "hound" for its cries, it bore no resemblance to any canine.
Its presence brought nausea and dizziness, a side effect of the esoteric magical knowledge it carried. Cthulhu entities inherently spread their toxic knowledge, disorienting those who saw them.
For Morpheus, this was no issue. His magical gear, imbued with the Lord's power, shielded his body and soul from the impact. He raised his hand.
A red staff appeared, symbolizing fire's might.
A furious blaze erupted from the ground, engulfing the beast!
The flames were so potent that even a phase entity couldn't withstand them. The Hound of Tindalos fled into a temporal rift, hiding.
Morpheus didn't pause, shifting his focus to the surrounding ghouls.
Phase entities? Weak ones like these were no threat. Angels were phase entities too, but far stronger. Ghouls were pitiful by comparison.
Even a novice magician with a few months of training could take on multiple ghouls.
Facing hundreds, Morpheus felt no pressure. He summoned wind's power, transforming it into blades that severed the ghouls' heads from their bodies!
They began to dissolve, returning to their phase, likely to reemerge from the rift.
But Morpheus wouldn't give them the chance.
"Come out!"
With his shout, wind blades blasted a distant house, reducing it to rubble.
Among the debris, several figures appeared.
Clad in black cloaks, they exuded mystery. Their leader held a book... clearly made of human skin.
The leader sneered at Morpheus. "Didn't expect Dawn-Colored Sunlight's second-in-command to deal with us personally. Should we be honored?"
"Honored? Whatever. Is this all of you?" Morpheus scanned them... seven in total. Beneath the rubble lay a magic circle, the core of the area's ritual.
Confirmed, Morpheus stepped forward.
"Your actions endanger countless innocents, and your magic's consequences could turn this place into a ghoul domain. By the Anglican Church's request, I'm here to eliminate you!"
The leader's eyes dripped with disdain. "For immortality, for the path of magic, a few deaths mean nothing. Don't you get it?"
"Sorry, I don't," Morpheus scoffed. Beyond his staff, daggers, a chalice, and an astrolabe materialized, orbiting him.
Anger flared in his eyes.
"We don't need to understand each other. We just know we can't coexist. One side must destroy the other!
"I declare my magical name: Veritas000, Seeker of Truth!"
Boom!
With Morpheus' cry, terrifying angelic power descended, enveloping him. The magician paled... summoning angelic power directly? This was no ordinary magician.
Blazing flames erupted around him, fueled by Michael's might, burning like the sun!
They formed arrows of fire!
The ferocious power swept everything... magician, ghouls crawling from the rift, even Hounds of Tindalos peeking from temporal gaps. None survived the onslaught.
The magic circle shattered, the half-completed ritual dissolved, and everything returned to normal.
All that remained were the magician' ashes and the house reduced to slag.
"Job's done. Time to rest… and maybe figure out how to get stronger. Should I visit Academy City and chat with Aleister? Nah, he'd probably kill me…"
Muttering, the youth left as casually as he arrived.
This was England, 21st-century England.
…
"A dream?" Olga Marie opened her eyes, recalling a vivid dream about Morpheus... an odd one.
She was dead, a ghost akin to a Servant, with no need for sleep. But after working so long, she'd taken a nap, and dreamed.
A dream she couldn't quite grasp.
It was clearly Morpheus' past, yet unrelated to the Morpheus she knew.
Not Morpheus McRemitz, but just Morpheus, surname unknown!
It was Earth, England, but not her Earth, not her London!
The Clock Tower? Nonexistent.
The Church? Present, but utterly different from the one she knew.
"The Anglican Church, Necessarius… Golden Dawn, Dawn-Colored Sunlight… using special magic for immortality, nearly succeeding… If it's that easy, why need a Holy Grail?
"And what are Hounds of Tindalos? Ghouls, I get, but those hounds? Such bizarre creatures!
"Phases? Phase entities? From the dream, Morpheus sees angels and Hounds of Tindalos as phase entities… So, is a phase like a divine realm, and phase entities its inhabitants?"
Olga Marie's mind raced, trying to unravel the dream's secrets.
She always knew Morpheus had many mysteries, but this was the first time she realized how strange, terrifying, and fascinating they were.
"It's a completely different world! They don't practice magecraft... just magic…"
The more she thought, the more shocked she became, yet the more excited.
The greater Morpheus' anomalies, the stronger Chaldea's ability to face crises!
"What are you thinking about?"
A sudden voice. Without thinking, Olga Marie replied, "Nothing, just wondering about that weird world of yours. I'm curious."
Only then did she realize she was talking to Morpheus!
And he'd barged into her rest room!
"How'd you get in?!" she glared, stammering as he casually sat nearby.
"For me, doors might as well not exist. Hermes or Raphael's power can bypass them."
"That's no excuse for barging in!"
"I was worried! I sensed strong fluctuations from you, thought something was up, so I checked," Morpheus grinned. "From what you said, you found my secret?"
Olga Marie stepped back. "W-What are you gonna do?! It's not my fault... we have a contract!"
***
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