[But please note!]
[This ancient ruin has been contaminated. If you wish to use it normally, please remove the contamination first!]
As the subtitles materialized, Ethan could distinctly feel that the five-pointed star in his hand, which looked no different from an ordinary rock, was emitting an ancient and profound aura.
He opened his palm and noticed that, at some point, his skin had been stained with flecks of pitch-black grime. Like asphalt baked hot by the sun, it brought a faint, burning sensation.
"A contaminated ancient ruin... Is it because of the curse from the Grim Reaper's remains?" Ethan murmured, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "This just proves that our direction is correct!"
————Onward to the summit! Even if what awaits them is a powerful and cruel curse!
"Heh heh~ Just thinking about it gets me excited." Ethan pocketed the five-pointed star stone and reached out to stroke the sleek, glossy body of the Titan Whale calf.
"Chirp Chirp"
The calf let out a cheerful cry, its wet black eyes reflecting Ethan's silhouette. It affectionately nuzzled its soft snout into Ethan and Luna's arms, the immense force causing the two of them to involuntarily take a few steps back.
Mr. Newt Scamander took the opportunity to conduct an investigation, carefully collecting materials from the whale's nest, looking as excited as a hundred-year-old child. This was the first time in the Magizoology community that anyone had ever interacted with a Titan Whale at such close proximity! An unprecedented, invaluable opportunity!
After all, the vast majority of wizards were mere humans, incapable of taming a thousand-year-old apex beast of nature.
"Hehehe~ This trip was truly worth it!" Scamander's grin stretched wide. Looking at his assistant beside him, he smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you? Ethan isn't someone who wantonly slaughters living innocents. This trip to the summit is actually our golden opportunity!"
The assistant pouted, glanced at Ethan, and muttered under his breath, "It's just an abuse of power. From the very beginning, we shouldn't have interfered with the natural course of creatures..."
After the group took a brief rest in the cavern, they boarded a young, boat-like Titan Whale, and under the escort of the entire pod, they slowly "swam" toward the summit! It was countlessly faster than climbing on foot!
The calls of the Titan Whales echoed through the mountains, like low, lingering notes of a flute, washing over and purifying the listeners' souls, bringing an involuntary sense of peace.
Ethan stood on the whale's back, his black hair and robes fluttering slightly, his cobalt-blue eyes staring directly at the peak that was drawing closer and closer. Outside the magical barrier, a blizzard howled past like flying knives. It was a blinding sheet of white, like a snowy sandstorm; no living creature could survive in such extreme, freezing weather.
Luna leaned in, standing by his side, and said softly, "If you defeat the Grim Reaper, what do you want to do?"
Ethan retracted his gaze, his eyes shining brightly as he replied without the slightest hesitation, "I want to host an unprecedented, unparalleled art exhibition! One that every single guest will never forget!"
—————This had always been his lifelong wish! To shock the world with consummate, peak-level art!
"What about you, Luna?" Ethan asked. "Is there anything you want to do?"
"Me? Well..." Luna clasped her hands behind her back, her eyes crinkling into crescents.
From catching gnomes, trapping flies, and searching for Bicorns together when they were children... to later traversing goblin wars, blasting Gringotts together, and raising dragons... She no longer had to play all by herself like she did after her mother passed away. And the beginning of it all stemmed from that chance encounter in Diagon Alley.
Luna's lips curved upward into a wide, bright smile, and she said lightheartedly, "I hope to stay with you forever! To keep going on fun adventures!"
For this reason, she would not allow anything to stand in their way. A trace of darkness短暂地tinted Luna's otherwise crystal-clear blue eyes.
Ethan smiled too. "Of course. I promise it will be so."
As they spoke, they arrived near the mountain peak. The Titan Whale let out a long cry, carefully letting them down.
"Why aren't we moving forward?" Viktor Krum frowned.
"They say they don't dare approach the summit," Luna spoke up, gazing at the whales that were calling continuously, her blonde hair billowing behind her.
Scamander said in surprise, "You can understand their language?" His eyes burned with such intensity, it was as if he were looking at a once-in-a-generation prodigy.
Luna nodded, listened intently for another moment, and said, "They also said that the injured calf was affected by that very power, which caused it to crash into the rocks. They can't take any more risks."
The assistant shuddered. "That power... could it be the 'curse'?" The bizarre scene they experienced at the foot of the mountain was still burned into his retinas, sending shivers down his spine.
"I hope so," Ethan said, holding the map, squinting as he struggled to look around in the howling blizzard. Then, his eyes lit up, and he raised his hand to point ahead, shouting, "Look! There's a cave entrance over there! According to the map, it might lead us all the way to the summit!"
Wizards possessed magical powers, making things inherently more convenient for them than for Muggles. To explore the ancient ruins, their predecessors had long since mapped out this area, and it was finally coming in handy now.
Bidding farewell to the whales, the group trudged through knee-deep snow and entered the deep, dark cavern.
"As expected, there are traces left behind from before." Ethan traced the carvings on the wall. Below the rockface, there were packages of supplies left behind. However, their surfaces were contaminated by black stains, thoroughly rotted and unusable.
Fleur Delacour cast a Scourgify on herself, sizing up the pitch-black cave with a look of slight disdain, and asked, "If wizards have already been here to explore, why didn't they notice anything strange back then?"
"Perhaps it's because they didn't have the [Key]." Ethan held up the five-pointed star stone and gave a playful wink. "Or maybe... it's because the 'anomaly' hadn't manifested yet back then."
With the revival of the Grim Reaper, some curses that had originally lain dormant were now breaking out.
"As the righteous [Mr. Lamp], I can't just ignore this. I wonder what kind of exquisite inspiration this will grant me next Hehehehe" Ethan hummed a cheerful tune, skipping lightheartedly toward the depths of the cave.
"...Following him around, don't you guys honestly think there's something a bit wrong up here?" The assistant's mouth twitched as he pointed a finger to his own head.
"Only the weak belittle others," Krum said in a deep voice, walking right past the assistant without looking sideways.
Fleur did exactly the same. Her eyes were fixed solely on Ethan as she desperately exuded her charm, completely ignoring the others who were undergoing a constant test of willpower.
Assistant: "..." —————Are these people all lunatics?! Have they been brainwashed?!
"You'll get used to it," Ron Weasley patted the flushed assistant on the shoulder, wearing the weathered expression of someone who had seen it all. "Ethan might be crazy, but he's genuinely powerful."
It's all the beauty of raw stats!
The assistant was left speechless. Glancing at his enthusiastic mentor, Scamander, he suppressed the tension and discontent in his heart and reluctantly followed.
The group walked for a long time. The map had already lost its utility. Under the influence of a mysterious power, the interior of the cavern had split into countless intricate, labyrinthine tunnels. Resembling the throat of a monster, they were incredibly deep and emitted a pungent, foul stench.
From time to time, swarms of bats as large as pony foals would surge out, screeching and clawing at them. Black, slime-like sludge would also ooze down the walls, trapping their feet; the crawling sensation made their scalps tingle with horror. It drastically drained everyone's physical strength and mental endurance.
Ethan flicked his wand, causing golden dust to form the time in mid-air. It showed 9:12 PM.
"Let's rest here for tonight," Ethan turned around and spoke to his pale, panting companions. "Wandering around like this isn't getting us anywhere."
"We must have been affected by magic already," Krum said grimly, "or we've already stepped into a magic array."
Ethan nodded. Gazing at the dark, bifurcated tunnels, he fell into deep thought. No pathfinding magic worked. Although they were following the flow of magical energy, they felt no sense of forward progress. It was as if they were constantly spinning in place.
Ethan was neither discouraged nor impatient. This only meant they had found the right place.
"There must be a way to break this deadlock..." Ethan murmured, playing with the five-pointed star stone.
Just then, the scent of meat broth boiling in the pot wafted into his nose, completely derailing his chaotic thoughts as his stomach let out a loud rumble. Licking his lips, he sat down beside it without hesitation. Food is the ultimate fuel; he would think after filling his belly~
"Mmm~ Delicious!"
Late at night.
The assistant lay awake as well. This Magizoologist named Simon, after tossing and turning for half the night, finally gave up on sleeping and opened his bloodshot eyes.
"What [Mr. Lamp], what Grim Reaper... If you ask me, that kid is just leading us to our deaths!" The assistant muttered, rolling over and sitting up. He stared gloomily at the black-haired youth, who was sleeping like a corpse. ...Just looking at him made one feel as though their soul was being contaminated.
He felt the Portkey in his pocket and breathed a sigh of relief. Standing up, he walked away from the camp and stepped into a dark corner nearby, preparing to relieve himself.
"Good thing I brought a Portkey in advance. If anything goes wrong, I can head down the mountain immediately..."
"How thoughtful. How sweet of you to plan so thoroughly."
A hoarse, soothing voice sounded from the darkness. In an instant, a chill shot straight from the assistant's tailbone up to the crown of his head!
"Ugh, ahh!"
The assistant let out a sharp cry, his hand getting splashed with warm liquid!
When_humans_are_at_their_most_vulnerable.jpg
He hurriedly zipped up, cast a Scourgify on himself, and whipped his head around, glaring at the intruder: "Who—who's there?!"
"Hehe, don't be so tense."
The blurry figure slowly stepped out of the darkness. Before seeing the person's true form, the assistant had momentarily thought it was Ethan. Therefore, when he saw clearly, the assistant's eyes widened instantly, and he cried out in disbelief: "Y-You?! How could it be you?!"
The newcomer had messy black hair that seemed impossible to ever comb straight. Behind round glasses lay a pair of emerald-green eyes, but they had lost their original light of rationality and justice, replaced instead by a chilling cruelty.
———The original Savior of the Wizarding World, Harry Potter.
The assistant began to tremble. He didn't know what had happened, but the moment he looked into those eyes, he associated them with the incomparably evil aura from before they ascended the mountain. The aura of the "curse".
"Mr. Potter, what are you trying to do...?"
The assistant backed away slowly, only for his back to thud against a solid "wall." Turning his head to look, it was the dark-skinned Auror from the Order of the Phoenix, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Right now, this Auror's eyes were dull and unfocused, his face entirely expressionless. Like a manipulated puppet, wand in hand, he blocked the path of retreat.
—————The Imperius Curse!
The assistant was horrified and immediately bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Eth—"
Bang!
A flash of red light zipped past, hitting him squarely in the chest! Instantly, the assistant felt his entire body shudder; his voice caught in his throat, unable to make a single sound! As if a bronze bell had been struck right next to his ear, his consciousness reeled violently and turned into a muddy blur.
What on earth... is going on...
A voice seemed to drift in from far away: "Thanks to your distrust of Ethan, I was given the perfect chance to strike."
No... No... Ethan—!!
The assistant collapsed to the ground with a thud, his features twisted in a mask of ultimate terror and regret.
"Irredeemable fool."
"Harry" looked down at him coldly, without a shred of emotion in his eyes, as if staring at a slaughtered swine. "As long as I absorb this guy, I can recover a portion of my power...! Afterward, I'll just use the Portkey to dump him down the mountain."
With that, "Harry" impatiently reached out toward the unconscious assistant—————
"I knew you were the one behind this."
Whoosh!
A spell suddenly shot toward him!
"Harry's" pupils contracted. He ducked low to avoid it, and the spell hit the wall, instantly emitting a sizzling, corrosive sound. "Harry" raised his eyes and saw a tall figure slowly walking out.
Curling his lips, he rasped, "Aren't you afraid of damaging this body, Ethan Vincent?"
Ethan loosely held his wand, responding casually, "I can always heal it afterward. On the other hand, I truly didn't expect your life force to be so resilient————"
"Voldemort—or should I call you, Mr. Tom Riddle!"
Hearing his name called, "Harry's"—————or rather, Tom's—————cheek twitched, revealing a trace of displeasure. Evidently, he did not like being addressed that way.
"Hehe... I really can't hide anything from you, can I? But I'm still curious—how did you know?"
That's right. The one currently occupying Harry's body was none other than a remnant soul of Lord Voldemort!
"It's simple," Ethan shrugged, saying nonchalantly, "Harry is also one of your Horcruxes, isn't he?"
Tom: !!!
A casual sentence, yet it made Tom's eyes widen abruptly, his pupils shaking violently! ...Because, prior to waking up, even he himself didn't know when he had turned Harry into his Horcrux. How could Ethan know something that even he didn't know?
Staring at Ethan, who wore a "mysterious smile" ahead, Tom swallowed hard, the admiration in his heart growing even deeper. This man was truly profound and unfathomable!
Tom: "...Since you've found me out, there's no point in hiding it anymore. Correct. Not long ago, my consciousness awoke in this body, dazed and chaotic. Because the one who awoke was the sixteen-year-old me."
Hearing this, Ethan's brow arched slightly. The one who awoke wasn't the complete version of Lord Voldemort, but Tom Riddle from his school days during the Chamber of Secrets period. It seemed the Grim Reaper's power had thoroughly blended Voldemort's soul into a mush.
Tom continued, "The memories after that are all fragmented. Horcruxes, Hogwarts, the Grim Reaper... Ha, I had no idea my future life could be so splendid. And I find it even harder to believe that I actually lost to a student so much younger than me."
Ethan raised his wand. "I can help you reminisce one more time."
Tom: "...Anyway, I discovered that although my mind is unstable, I still possess a fraction of powerful magic. So, I attempted to occupy this body and wait for an opportunity to recover."
He pointed at the blankly standing Auror, Kingsley, curling his lips into a smirk: "Your person was quite sharp and noticed something was off about me. But I was still one step ahead and seized the initiative. I can't control it for very long. I originally intended to recover slowly, but since you've caught me, I might as well lay my cards on the table."
Tom paused. If one looked closely, they would notice a streak of irrepressible tension and dread beneath his facade of calm composure. ...At this moment, he didn't feel like he was facing a peer. Instead, he felt as if he were facing a terrifying "Evil God"!
Tom took a deep breath, staring firmly into those icy cobalt-blue eyes, and said syllable by syllable:
"Let's cooperate, Ethan Vincent. Not only can I lead you out of this cavern labyrinth and find the ancient ruins carrying the aura of the Grim Reaper... But I can also tell you how to use those ruins————the ancient altar that can activate the true power of the Deathly Hallows and forge a god-slaying weapon!!"
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