92 Chapter 92 - A Magical World Tour

After the feast, everyone retired to their assigned bedrooms. The next morning, Asmodeus gathered Tony, Natasha, Odin, the Ancient One, and Loki. Meanwhile, Rowena, Salazar, Godric, and Helga returned to their roles as teachers at Hogwarts. Today was Thursday, and classes were in session.

Standing near Hagrid's house, Asmodeus turned to the group of tourists. "Folks, I believe we should first head to the main wizarding city. My city, Adastra, is not far at all. Then we can decide where to go next. What do you think?"

"I agree, but why did you bring us to the outskirts of the castle?" Tony asked, slightly puzzled.

"And how do you plan to get to the city? Through the Floo Network? Or take a carriage to Hogsmeade? No, no. We'll get someone to give us a lift," Asmodeus replied, whistling towards the forest.

"Whistle!"

"Rustle, rustle, murmur!"

Within minutes, sounds emanated from the forest.

"Roar!"

As the group wondered who Asmodeus had summoned, a massive creature emerged. Wait, not a cat—a dragon!

Black as night fur on the head smoothly transitioned into scales covering the rest of the body. Wings attached to the front paws and a beak resembling that of a wild eagle. A face with red eyes and a predatory gaze.

When Tony and Natasha were about to retreat due to Athena's intimidating gaze, she meowed! Athena spotted Asmodeus and her predatory look turned into that of a kitten waiting for its owner.

She leaped onto Asmodeus, licking him and purring, "Meow!"

"Alright, alright. I'm happy to see you too, but please get off me," Asmodeus said, trying to gently remove Athena.

As Athena's affectionate moment ended and Asmodeus, with a cleaning spell, tidied his clothes, he finally introduced Athena. "This is Athena, my dragon. She's very gentle with friends, and she'll be our transport to the city. Welcome her warmly."

Tony and Natasha were still in awe of the dragon they had just witnessed, while Odin and the Ancient One observed Athena with interest.

"First time I've seen such a peculiar dragon. In my opinion, she looks more like a cat!" Odin exclaimed, circling Athena several times.

"Yes, she looks like a mix of a dragon and a panther, but her combat power surpasses any dragon in this world. Moreover, in the forest or at night, she feels much more at ease than in a head-on battle," the Ancient One remarked.

"A slender body. She's not large; can she really carry all of us?" the Ancient One asked.

"Roar!" Athena replied discontentedly. This bald granny doubts her strength!

"Quiet, quiet. Don't worry; she's much stronger than she seems! Although she's not as good at flying as other dragons, it's still her instinct. But enough talking, let me show you. Let's get on!"

Asmodeus waved his hand and climbed onto Athena using her wing. Odin shrugged and followed suit, with everyone else trailing behind.

Once everyone was settled, Asmodeus commanded, "Athena! Up, take us to Adastra!"

Following Asmodeus's orders, Athena spread her wings and shot into the sky with a whoosh!

Tony and Natasha had to hold onto their seats with all their might, as Athena was, to put it mildly, sharp in her movements. After a couple of seconds of sharp ascent, Athena finally gained enough altitude. Periodically flapping her wings, she could sustain the flight.

When Tony felt that they were finally flying forward rather than upward, and with sufficient stability, he remarked, "I will never fly on a dragon again in my life! My suit is way better!"

"Roar!" How dare you belittle my flying abilities, human!

Athena turned her head almost owl-like and spat a stream of fire a few centimeters away from Tony.

"Tony, it's better not to offend Athena. She's quite vengeful, and by the way, she fully understands the human language," Asmodeus warned.

Tony gulped. "Um, sorry Athena. You just flew a bit sharply..."

"Grrrr!"

"No, no, not sharply. Everything's fine. You fly better than anyone!"

"Meow!"

Tony thought to himself, 'Phew, no more domestic dragons!'

Once Tony and Athena stopped arguing, Asmodeus beckoned the group. "Hey, look to the left of Athena!"

The group looked down as Asmodeus instructed. They saw a small but truly magical city.

A vast hexagonal square in the center, with six very wide and well-greened streets branching out in different directions. If you followed the streets leading northwest with your eyes, you could see them merging into one enormous, broad avenue. This avenue was so crowded with people that not even mice could slip through.

As they approached, more details of the city unfolded. Somewhere instead of houses, there was a pen with a dragon lying inside. A tower emerged with peculiar fiery clocks on it. A park appeared, featuring a fountain where beautiful mermaids swam. Not far from the park, there was a large field with strange rings levitating in the air above it.

Odin smiled as he looked down at the city. "Asmodeus, I must say honestly, after Asgard, this is one of the most soul-soothing places I've ever seen. You manage your lands well."

"Thank you, but I think someday you'll have to say, 'This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen, including Asgard!'" Asmodeus replied.

"Looking forward to that," Odin responded.

The Ancient One joined the conversation, "Asmodeus, why did you decide to build a new city? Yesterday I learned from Dumbledore that you decided to establish a village here, which gradually grew into a city... Why didn't you build it closer to the cities of ordinary people? Especially considering that modifying existing cities would be easier than building from scratch. Why create an entirely new city?"

"Well... Firstly, at that time, we didn't know exactly how Muggles would react to the news of magic. Also, we didn't know that a magical surge would emerge out of nowhere... Although... Honestly, don't you think this city symbolizes something more than just a gathering place for wizards?"

"Like what?"

"An era... A new era of this world. Magic has become an everyday part of people's lives who never even thought about the existence of supernatural forces in the world before. Though pure Muggles, those without innate magical abilities and the talent of a natural wizard, are also gradually adapting to the new world, exploring magic to find new ways of utilizing it."

"So, Nicolas and I conducted research, and we found that a Muggle turned wizard, even after completing the three rings, cannot reach heights in magic beyond the ceiling of this world that existed before the magical surge. At least, not unless they artificially alter their lineage. And this city, it represents a chance for development for anyone seeking a path to magic, to truth. This city is a place where, in my opinion, the creation of something greater than human civilization begins. No, not just that. This city is a symbol of the elevation of magic itself. Moreover... as someone who has lived through the last two centuries and more, you've seen people throughout history and the last 30-40 years... don't you feel that the world has become somewhat... different? Less vibrant, darker, even colorless... I wanted to decorate it with colors, start painting on the canvas amidst the gray skyscrapers... but it's not my path. I didn't want to begin changing the world from a place that meant nothing to wizards. That's why creating the first city in the magical world, not a village or an alley, but a city of wizards, seemed like a good idea to me."

The Ancient One nodded and said nothing more.

"Alright, Athena. Descending. Fly to the landing field."

"Meow!"

Athena began to gradually descend. They weren't heading towards the city center; quite the opposite. They were heading towards the so-called "Registration and Unloading Station for Transport Pets." This establishment arose due to people's need for "parking" spaces for their magical mounts. It was more of a whim for the rich or traders working short distances. If you transported goods through the transport network, you had to pay taxes; this didn't apply to transporting animals. As for the wealthy, as mentioned earlier, many followed Asmodeus's example and got themselves magical mounts. In addition to being much faster than enchanted cars from "Weasley and Family," many mounts could also move around the city if their size allowed. Driving cars in the city was forbidden, but if you wanted to go shopping while sitting on a hippogriff, that was fine. Dragons were allowed too, but only if you had a certificate of full taming issued by the Wizard Council; otherwise, it was prohibited. Currently, besides Asmodeus, there were only four such certificates, and one of them belonged to Newt Scamander, indicating how challenging it is to fully tame a dragon in the magical world.

Gradually, Athena descended enough for the group to jump down. Athena didn't stick around. She would wait at the Elysium Academy because she didn't like the local dragon, Frank – a green Welsh dragon. Athena complained to Asmodeus that he was trying to court her. How could Athena, with human-level intelligence, be interested in that idiot who only breathed fire?!

Descending to the ground, Asmodeus led the group.

Tony, who was being pulled by Natasha, looked around with interest.

A horse of black color with wings like a bat, a dragon's head, and ribs sticking out in a way that could be counted without straining the eyes.

A giant lizard and a man with burning pants screaming, "Merlin's beard! How did Josh convince me to buy a giant fire salamander as a mount?!"

Lef with the head of a woman?! Ah, that's a sphinx, understandable...

Some oversized rhinoceros...

Several horses of a strange kind, this time with bird-like wings...

Phew! A huge spider that speaks human language! "I won't take you until you feed me!"

That's how Tony walked ahead, not looking at his feet until he stumbled and fell. It was strange that Tony immediately felt he had fallen into water. Getting up, Tony looked around and saw Asmodeus and the rest of the group smiling at him.

Looking down at his feet, he realized he had stepped into something like a canal in Venice. Continuing to examine this canal, Tony understood that it extended from the fountain and further along the streets – it was like a divider for movement in the city. People moved in different directions on either side of the canal. But as they approached an intersection, Natasha decided to play a trick on him by letting go of his hand. Tony didn't climb onto the small pedestrian bridge but went a bit to the left, falling straight into the canal.

"Um, Asmodeus. Why is there this canal throughout the city? Sewage?"

"Huh? Sewage!? Ew, no, of course not. This is for mermaids and sea creatures. Southern mermaids recently settled in the city; they are beautiful, nothing like their northern relatives... By the way, just before leaving, I assigned the city planning brigade to dig canals wherever possible. You might think the canal's width of 1 meter is a bit narrow, but the deeper it goes, the wider it becomes, reaching 5 meters in width and 7 meters in depth in certain popular spots. By the way, in some areas of the city, we even had to put columns under the houses because they are the most visited by mermaids, and they asked to expand the space. In short, in some places, another city has started forming beneath this city. I'll tell you a secret – southern mermaids can live here because the water is heated by the magic of fire. Otherwise, they wouldn't last long here. But it's for the best; Nicholas and I hope that under the prolonged influence of warm water, the northern mermaids will become more beautiful."

"Alright... Wait, how did you deal with waste if not through the canals?"

"Oh, that's a very interesting question. Nicholas and I had to invest a significant amount of funds back in the day. Look,"

said Asmodeus, pointing his finger at something like a container standing in the corner of the street.

"This is a micro version of a portal; it sends all the waste directly to the landfill, where one of the wizards who mastered the Fiendfire spell burns it. There are people there who know how to extinguish this fire. Complete waste destruction, super eco-friendly, no smoke or residue. They burn the garbage once a week. The landfill is somewhere in Siberia, Russia."

"Convenient."

"Yes, I know; we didn't spend in vain with Nicholas. Okay, let's move on; I'll open an account for you at the bank. Don't worry, we won't put any credits on you, it's just more convenient than carrying a bag of Galleons everywhere."

Asmodeus led the group.

After some time, they arrived at the entrance of the Adastra Bank.

Upon entering the bank, an elf immediately greeted Asmodeus.

"Master Asmodeus! Good day, please tell me how I can assist you!"

"Lulubus, calm down. These are my friends, and I would like them to open an account in the bank."

"Oh, friends of the master! Please come to the VIP room; we will prepare everything as quickly as possible!"

Lulubus said and disappeared on the spot.

"Come, let's go straight down the corridor."

The group followed the Asmodeuses into the depths of the bank.

As they walked through the corridor, they saw glass windows showing the situation in other reception areas.

One reception area was half-flooded with water, and the elves had to sit directly at the level of the table to avoid wetting the paper. Passing by, they even heard a mermaid shouting, "My Poseidon! Why can't we just write a contract on a seaweed sheet! Why use this inconvenient paper! It tears apart from my touch!"

And the elf who was trying to convince her spoke with an almost tearful voice, "Young lady, please calm down. We mostly use paper, but your situation is different, and we can use a seaweed sheet, but please stop flooding the bank's reception department!"

Turning their heads to the left, they saw a giant sitting on a chair clearly not suitable for him.

"Little elf! Give me money! I give dragon skin!"

And the elf trying to explain that they are not a pawnshop said, "Mister, we are not a pawnshop; I am a cashier in the bank. You should have gone to the trading street to sell your goods there..."

Giant: money!

Elf: (￣ﾊ￣*)

So they gradually reached their destination.

They entered a separate hall adorned in white and gold, practically shouting about its opulence. As one of the elves sitting at a table noticed Asmodeus, he stood up and approached the group.

"Good day, Master Asmodeus. Lulubus has already informed me about your matter. Please, come into my office."

The elf led the group into a relatively spacious office with three sofas, providing ample seating. Once everyone was settled, the elf served tea and said, "Sir, which of your friends would like to make the first deposit?"

"Rassell, I think it will be this not-so-young gentleman. By the way, there's no need to deposit money; just transfer 10,000 from my account to each of theirs."

Before Asmodeus could finish, Odin said, "Hmm, do you take us for paupers!? I was prepared. Do you accept gold?"

"Oh, yes, sir..."

"Odin, Odin Borson."

"Very well, Mr. Borson. Please, tell me the amount you wish to deposit in our bank, or the volume of gold you intend to place in the bank. Don't worry about the minimum deposit; you are already a VIP client, and you don't need to accumulate points to reach a high card level—you will immediately receive our VIP card."

Odin didn't quite grasp the concept of a VIP card, and he didn't really care. In Asgard, they had their currency, and being a king, he never bothered with the financial affairs of the realm.

"Here..."

Odin pulled out a small pouch from under his cloak. This pouch was blessed by the Tesseract and essentially functioned like a magically extended wallet. He reached into the bag, rummaged around for a while, and began pulling out items.

A gold ingot measuring about 1x1x1 meter, some kind of golden shield, and a statuette of a woman in full height made of gold with rubies for eyes.

Seeing Odin reaching into the bag again, Asmodeus decided to stop him.

"Um, I think you've shown enough. What you've already displayed is more than enough to buy anything you could wish for... Possibly even a small European country. Alright, Russell, you can start counting."

Russell happily went around the items, applying various detection charms to each one.

"Um, Mr. Morningstar, we have a problem..."

"What is it, Russell?"

"Well... your friend. We can't exchange the entire amount he provided. According to my calculations... it's"

Russell took the bills in his hands and began counting how many galleons would need to be issued if Odin decided to withdraw them from the account.

"Mr. Morningstar, the 999 gold cube in our bank is valued at 60,000,000 galleons. We can manage with that, but your friend also brought out a statuette... It is also valued at 35,000,000 galleons, bringing the total to 95 million."

"So, what's the problem? Is there not enough funds in the bank? Surely the bank should have sufficient resources?"

"Mr. Morningstar, two months ago, you withdrew around 30 million from the account. Since then, the Wizard Council increased the production of galleons to replace the Muggle currency. However, it keeps circulating, and there's currently no more than 80 million galleons in the entire bank... So, if we consider the sums in the deposits, there's more than a few billion here. But right now, we won't be able to give Mr. Odin more than 20 million; otherwise, we won't have funds for emergency situations."

"What? Is that the problem? Insufficient cash in the bank? Odin, did you not think about carrying the entire sum in our world's currency with you?"

"Well, I planned to take a bit with me, but the rest could stay on the card."

"Excellent, excellent, Mr. Odin. Just confirm the amount you want to deposit and how much cash you'd like to receive."

"Asmodeus, how much does a dragon like the one we saw in the parking lot this morning cost?"

"????"

"Well, five thousand, maybe six."

"That's it?!"

"What did you expect?"

"Well, I thought I'd have to give at least half of what I brought..."

"You old man, you have no idea about the value of money, do you?"

"Ahem, ahem. Okay, give me 500k in cash, and the rest put on this card of yours."

"Alright, Mr. Odin. Please, take and drop some blood on this card; it will bind you to it, and no one else will be able to use it. And here's your 500k."

Russell said, handing Odin a black card and an inconspicuous cloth bag.

"Okay."

Odin nodded and stepped away. At that moment, Asmodeus wanted to say that the next would be Ancient, but she seemed to anticipate his words, stepped forward, and said to Tony,

"Stark, you are considered a member of the Kamar Taj. Therefore, it's an honor for you to help your master financially."

Tony: 'I think you're just poor!'

But he couldn't do anything about it, so he also took out the bag that Dumbledore made for him before the trip.

Approaching the table, Tony unloaded 50 gold ingots from the bag.

"Tony Stark, 50 kilograms of the highest-quality gold."

"Oh, Mr. Stark. We'll exchange 50 kilograms for 628,000 galleons. How much do you want to deposit into the account?"

"Put 300,000 on my account, 300,000 on the bald woman behind me, and 28,000 on this girl."

"Oh, alright, Mr. Stark. May I ask you to approach, dear ladies?"

Ancient and Natasha approached the table and also dropped some blood on the cards.