There were nearly three hundred wizards gathered at Vatoum Temple. They possessed vast collections of secret tomes and communicated frequently, playing a pivotal role in the advancement and exploration of the entire magical world. Nearly every leader of a magical school recognized by Kamar-Taj on Earth stood here, and the Kamar-Taj Library also preserved some of these schools' spells and works on magical philosophy.
They wore black cloaks and hoods, yet the Emperor could make out the faces hidden in their shadows. Some had enjoyed long conversations with him over drinks, while others were merely acquaintances. But whether he knew them well or not would not affect the outcome of today's events.
Compared to the illegal wizards and cultists who stirred up trouble, this group was already quite law-abiding. Even so, they had caused no shortage of problems. They lacked both the ability and the will to purge the fallen members within their own schools. These schools continuously produced cultists and even maintained lingering ties with certain fallen wizard organizations and Dark Magic Creature groups. Worse still, some of their experiments were outrageously dangerous—for instance, binding Extra-dimensional Beings inside human bodies, then torturing the humans to force those beings to reveal knowledge and secrets. Such experiments had been banned centuries ago, yet people still tirelessly repeated them, driven by curiosity and desire.
Whenever a cultist devoted to an Outer Dimension Evil God emerged, unimaginable disaster befell the whole Earth. Yet Kamar-Taj could not directly interfere with or inspect these schools, cutting off the source of corruption entirely. As the Emperor had said, the Feathered Serpent God was not the first Extra-dimensional Being summoned to Earth, nor would it be the last. The best solution was to eliminate every possibility of summoning Extra-dimensional Beings.
Count Kouzi, built like a bear, stood