Newt Scamander, the famous Pokémon Master—cough, cough, sorry, Magizoology Master.
Compared to extremists like Hagrid, who ended up in the Ministry's interrogation rooms every three days and Azkaban every five, Newt was a bona fide, respectable scholar.
Ethan still remembered when he had used the Silver Key to travel back to the First Wizarding War. That awkward, socially anxious young man hadn't even dared to look him in the eye.
Though, that might have been because a fierce three-headed Cerberus was standing right behind Ethan at the time.
"How nostalgic," Ethan lamented with a sigh. "In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed. I never expected we'd have the chance to meet again."
Standing nearby, Ron burst out laughing. "Ethan, you sound just like an old man! Hahaha, haha..."
Under Ethan's "benevolent" gaze, Ron shrank his neck back and silently retreated behind Albus Dumbledore.
Ethan withdrew his gaze and thought to himself, But if I remember correctly, Newt actually is an old man now, isn't he?
Nearly a hundred years old, and he was going to climb a mountain with them? He was truly risking his life for academic research.
Ethan instantly felt a deep sense of respect. The Ravenclaw soul burning in his chest blazed!
He would absolutely make sure old man Newt's trip was worthwhile!
It was currently the end of the term.
Students were trudging unsteadily toward the pitch-black train parked at the school gates. Every single one of them was deathly pale and hollow-eyed, looking like a horde of unleashed zombies whose life force had been utterly drained by final exams.
Carrying his small leather suitcase, Ethan turned his head to look at the professors who had come to see him off. He nodded and said solemnly, "I am leaving. From now on, I leave the management of Hogwarts in your hands."
Seventh year, his final year as a student. Perhaps it was a twist of fate, but just like in the original story, Ethan had to leave the school and venture into the outside world to find and destroy the remnants of Death.
During this time, he would make absolute, foolproof preparations for the final battle against Death!
"The Alps... I'm really looking forward to seeing what's waiting for me up there," Ethan murmured, his eyes burning bright.
Giving the professors one last look, Ethan tipped the brim of his hat, turned around, and walked toward the train without looking back.
"Oh... Oh...!"
The diminutive Head of Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick, watched Ethan leave. His lips twitched as he let out a tuneless, choked sound.
Professor McGonagall remained expressionless. "Filius, stop holding it in. Laugh if you want to."
After a moment of silence, the corners of Professor Flitwick's mouth curled up drastically, his eyes flashing with unbelievable ecstasy!
The demon child Ethan was finally, finally gone!!
Yes!!!
More than two months later, at the foot of the Alps.
"Over here—!" Newt Scamander called out, waving excitedly as he spotted the approaching crowd.
Although he was now silver-haired and deeply wrinkled, age in the wizarding world defied conventional logic. Decades of field research had kept this little old man brimming with abundant energy and physical strength.
Fully geared up and accompanied by his assistant, he had been waiting at the base of this mysterious, snow-capped mountain since early morning.
"...It's not too late to back out now, Mentor Scamander," his assistant whispered. He was a stern, burly young wizard. "This expedition is too dangerous, and frankly, too bizarre! I've climbed snow mountains with teams several times, but I've never heard of any 'curse'!"
"Hehehe," Newt chuckled warmly, patting his assistant's shoulder. "I believe them."
"But you don't even know Ethan Vincent!" the assistant hissed in a low voice. "How can you trust a complete stranger so easily?!"
This time, Newt didn't answer. He turned his head to look at the tall, outstanding figure amidst the crowd, his grandfatherly gaze turning solemn.
...He still hadn't changed a bit compared to decades ago.
In Newt's mind, the memory of that figure standing amidst a sea of eerie blue fire resurfaced. A young man who, entirely on his own, had utterly crushed Grindelwald at the height of his infamy.
As the youth stepped out of the shadows and the sunlight spilled across his hair and cheeks, illuminating a pair of brilliant, cobalt-blue eyes, the hazy memories in Newt's mind instantly became vivid.
High-spirited and full of vigor. Just looking at him made Newt's heart swell with excitement, as if he himself had grown a few years younger.
"Don't worry," Newt said finally, chuckling. "Though I am advanced in years, I know my own limits. I won't bite off more than I can chew."
The assistant clenched his fists and finally let out a heavy sigh, saying in a deep voice, "If any real danger arises, my priority will be getting you out of here safely. I won't care about anyone else."
Newt raised an eyebrow, letting out a meaningful smile without saying a word.
Crunch.
His boots stepped onto the grey, rocky ground. Ethan offered a smile to the frail, elderly man before him, extending his hand. "Long time no see, Newt."
"...Yes, long time no see." Mr. Scamander's eyes flickered with emotion as he clasped Ethan's hand. For a brief moment, it felt as though they had returned to that dreamlike, unimaginable moment decades ago.
A moment later, they let go. Ethan turned around to introduce the group. "A total of twenty-one people are participating in this operation."
"We have Durmstrang led by Viktor Krum, and Beauxbatons led by Miss Fleur Delacour. From Hogwarts, we have Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, along with several members of the Order of the Phoenix."
Most of them offered polite greetings, though a few merely nodded perfunctorily.
Viktor Krum, who was built like a bear, stared unblinkingly at Ethan. It looked less like he was here to combat the forces of darkness and more like he had come to duel Ethan.
"Ethan~ I hope you finish up quickly." Fleur casually examined her fingernails, her face as proud and beautiful as a royal lily. "I'm still waiting to buy the new arrivals from The Fashionable Witch~"
The assistant grew angry and couldn't help but snap, "What kind of attitude is that?!"
"Now, now, that's enough." Mr. Scamander placated his student, smoothing things over. "We have Portkeys buried at the foot of the mountain that can take us directly to the base camp halfway up. If everyone is ready, let us depart now."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Aside from the good-natured Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the rest followed Ethan, walking past the furious assistant without a sideways glance.
Even the members of the Order of the Phoenix only gave him a fleeting glance before looking away. Having been thoroughly conditioned by Ethan, they had long since understood the true essence of keeping their mouths shut and just following along.
"...What an unprofessional bunch! Not a single one of them is reliable..." the assistant muttered under his breath, reluctantly raising his feet to follow his mentor.
...There was no such thing as a "curse" at all. This entire operation was an absolute farce. And for the sake of this farce, everyone was actually willing to play along with that guy!
The assistant shot a wary, fearful sideways glance at Ethan's retreating back. He made up his mind right then: if danger struck, he would take his mentor and run first, leaving these madmen to their own devices!
Right at that moment, the assistant suddenly shuddered. As if the strings of his primal instincts had been plucked, he snapped his head around and met the gaze of a group of Muggles standing behind them.
They were residents of a nearby village who made a meager living through herding. They were clearly just ordinary, insignificant Muggles. Yet now, locking eyes with those wide, staring gazes, the assistant felt an inexplicable wave of horror wash over him!
The herders' mouths moved open and closed, seemingly saying something, but no sound could be heard.
"...Creepy place," the assistant muttered, turning back around and continuing to follow the group. He listened with disdain to the others' speculations about the mountaintop. But when he caught a certain word, he froze mid-stride.
He suddenly realized what the herders' lip movements meant—
Curse.You.Have.Transgressed.The.Curse.
A powerful surge of chilling dread shot straight up his spine!
"Ah!" the assistant couldn't help but gasp aloud, causing everyone to turn and look at him.
"What's wrong?" Mr. Scamander asked with concern.
The assistant's eyes were wide with panic. He couldn't help but look back at the herders again. However, this time, a thick fog had rolled in, completely obstructing his vision.
...They're just a bunch of ignorant, superstitious Muggles, the assistant thought to himself. Taking a few deep breaths, his cheeks burning hot under everyone's stares, he stiffened his neck and lied, "It's nothing. I just tripped accidentally."
Mr. Scamander didn't suspect a thing and merely advised, "Be careful, and watch your step."
This minor, insignificant interlude quickly passed. Aside from the assistant's expression turning a shade darker, no one paid any heed.
Only Ethan cast a deep, lingering look at the assistant. His gaze shifted, landing on the churning fog behind them. He spoke softly, "What do you think, Luna?"
"There are magical fluctuations," Luna said.
"Yeah, I felt it too. Extremely well-hidden and faint, but definitely there." Ethan withdrew his gaze, his cobalt-blue eyes scanning his chatting companions as he said slowly, "I believe we are still a very long distance from the peak. Even the remnants of Death shouldn't be able to exert an influence all the way out here."
"Which means... if it isn't a curse, then it must be 'man-made'."
The corners of Ethan's mouth curled upward as he enunciated each word: "It seems someone among us... has been replaced by a 'ghost'~ Things are getting interesting."
On the other side, Ron asked, "Harry, what's wrong?"
Harry's eyes were wide as he stared intently at the Order of the Phoenix member walking ahead of them—the dark-skinned Auror, Mr. Kingsley Shacklebolt. Swallowing hard, Harry eventually shook his head. "N-Nothing..."
For a split second just now, he thought he saw Mr. Shacklebolt casting a spell with his wand. But they hadn't even entered the mountains yet...
Maybe it was a protective ward, Harry thought to himself. For some reason, his heart was pounding slightly.
Via the Portkey, it took the group less than a second to arrive halfway up the Alps. The base camp of the Magizoological Society was built inside a natural cavern.
Beyond the protective barrier, the howling wind blew like a stark white curtain, whistling past as if the mountains themselves were wailing.
"Look over there!" The assistant leaned half his body out of the barrier, pointing toward a nearby snow-blanketed slope, and yelled at the top of his lungs. "The nesting grounds of the Titan Whales are right there! They usually bury themselves in the snow to sleep at night!"
"That slope is the only path to the summit. Titan Whales have been extremely irritable lately, so we must seize the chance to cross while they're away during the day! And let me warn you, if you don't want to get Splintered, don't even think about Apparating in this freezing gale!"
Ethan nodded slightly. He had already tried it—his Anywhere Door didn't work here either. The mountaintop seemed to be severed into a different spatial dimension by some magical force, blocking even the passage of the Anywhere Door. They had to rely on their own two feet to climb up bit by bit.
For wizards, while it wasn't a walk in the park, it wasn't nearly as grueling as it was for Muggle mountaineers. In fact, some wizards who sought a thrill would intentionally eschew magic entirely, blending into Muggle expeditions to tackle high peaks.
The assistant shouted, "If you understand, follow me—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, a faint, piercing sound like a sharp whistle cut through the howling wind.
The assistant's face paled. He hurriedly pulled out a pair of magical omnioculars! A glowing ring lit up as he adjusted the knobs, peering toward the snow-covered slope.
In shocked disbelief, he muttered, "That's the cry of a Titan Whale... Wait, why are they still there? It's clearly daytime! They usually love roaming around during blizzards!"
After a long while, the assistant let out a startled gasp. He raised his head, his face deathly pale, and said grimly, "A calf is injured. I see it."
Mr. Scamander nodded, entirely unsurprised, and added, "No wonder they've defied their usual habits and stayed behind. Titan Whales are a species that fiercely value their pod. If a calf is injured, they absolutely will not leave until it recovers."
Hermione frowned, asking anxiously, "How long will that take?"
Mr. Scamander shook his head. "For a calf to be unable to leave the nest, the injury must be quite severe. Furthermore, long-lived species perceive time differently... According to historical data, the absolute fastest would be a month. The longest recorded instance was a staggering fifty-eight years."
"What?!" Hermione cried out. "But—but we can't afford to wait that long! Can't we just go and help them?"
"First of all, our policy is to avoid interfering with wild species unless absolutely necessary." Mr. Scamander paused, then added, "Moreover, even if we wanted to help, we couldn't. Titan Whales are fiercely xenophobic, let alone during such a sensitive period. They only submit to powerful entities. I can guarantee that the moment we step close, we will be ruthlessly slaughtered!"
A heavy silence fell over the cavern. The members of the Order of the Phoenix exchanged uneasy glances.
No one believed they could triumph over those colossal primordial whales that could blot out the sky and treat towering mountain ranges like mere ocean waves! In front of them, humans were truly nothing more than tiny pebbles. It was doubtful any spell could pierce through their dozens of meters of blubber.
Even Ethan couldn't possibly take on an entire pod of Titan Whales single-handedly!
"How can this be..." Hermione's face drained of color, her teeth biting into her lower lip with frustration.
"I am truly sorry." Mr. Scamander sighed. Turning to look at Ethan, he said hoarsely, "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do, Mr. Vincent."
The subtext was clear: What bad luck. Please turn back.
Ethan fell into deep thought. His cobalt-blue eyes gazed far out toward the snow-covered slope, the mournful cries filtering through the howling wind and reaching his ears.
After a long pause, Ethan spoke slowly, "Newt, you just said that the Titan Whales only submit to a powerful entity. How do you define a 'powerful entity'?"
Mr. Scamander blinked in surprise. While rare, he had encountered this sort of unfortunate setback once or twice before. Yet, this was the first time someone had questioned him so seriously about it.
"...I suppose for apex beasts, a 'powerful entity' is an existence that instills primal, instinctive terror within them."
"I see." Ethan nodded.
Then, he took a step forward and walked right out of the barrier!
Everyone: ??!
Mr. Scamander froze before shouting in a panic, "What are you doing?! Quick, pull him back!!"
The Gryffindor trio reacted first, instantly lunging forward! However, just as their hands were about to grasp Ethan's billowing robes, swish!
In the next split second, Ethan vanished entirely into an Anywhere Door and reappeared right out on the snowy slope! Although the Anywhere Door couldn't be used to teleport straight to the summit, short-range warping at this altitude was perfectly fine.
"Ethan—!!!" Hermione screamed at the top of her lungs, staring at the small, moving black figure in the distance, but her voice was instantly swallowed by the raging blizzard.
"Madman!" the assistant yelled in shock and fury. "Does he really think he's omnipotent?! His opponents are primordial Titan Whales! And they're an endangered protected species!!"
Mr. Scamander also knit his brows in profound shock. He didn't know if Ethan possessed the raw power to defeat the Titan Whales, but they were an incredibly rare protected species; he couldn't just stand by and watch Ethan run amok. To make them submit without harming them? That was absolutely impossible—a complete pipe dream, entirely out of the question.
Left with no alternative, the group could only rush out of the barrier, battling the howling blizzard as they struggled to run toward Ethan.
Harry was in the pack, squinting hard. Everything before his eyes was a blinding sheet of white, and the fierce winds felt violent enough to tear his facial features right off.
Just as he was gritting his teeth and focusing entirely on moving forward, a massive, palm-like hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder from behind!
Harry's heart skipped a beat. He whipped his head around, only to look straight down the barrel of a wand pointed directly at him by the dark-skinned Auror, Mr. Kingsley Shacklebolt!
At the exact same moment, Wooooooo—!
Having detected the intruder, the pod of Titan Whales instantly let out sharp, echoing bellows! Like a massive flute blowing through an empty valley, the cries of the adult whales were long and resonant, vibrating deep within everyone's chests.
Rumble!
Snow cascaded down like a waterfall. As if the scene had suddenly cut to a futuristic sci-fi movie, colossal, snow-white whales rose into the air like hovering starships, looming over the sky as they looked down upon Ethan! Their swaying tail fins seemed to ride the wind and snow, lending their mammoth bodies an eerie sense of "lightness."
Wooooooo—!!!
A majestic, overwhelming aura erupted from them! Snow billowed outward in massive waves in every direction. Everyone was forced to halt, hastily casting defensive barriers! The sheer hostility felt almost tangible!
"Merlin's beard..." Ron stood frozen in place, feeling his body tremble under sheer instinct. "I knew Ethan was crazy, but I didn't know he was this suicidal! How can anyone defeat this many giant beasts?!"
Up ahead, faced with the intimidating might of the Titan Whales, Ethan didn't budge. His hair whipped wildly in the gale, and his cheeks were stung a bright red by the biting snow.
Yet, his cobalt-blue eyes locked onto the giant whales completely devoid of fear. A sharp grin tugged at the corners of his lips as a rectangular card materialized in his hand.
"Only a 'powerful entity' can make you submit? Then how will you fare when facing a God?!"
Ethan thrust his arm high into the air. The card in his hand suddenly erupted with a torrential black mist that instantly suppressed the wind and snow!
"——Rank 5 Painting: Asura!"