Like a hatchling breaking through its shell, light cascaded down from the dome.
A biting wind howled inward, dispelling the stuffy, sticky air inside the cavern. Within moments, everything was coated in a layer of white frost.
"So this is the summit!" Hermione cried out.
The deep, gray-white dome was reflected in her dark brown eyes, and she felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of trepidation. It felt as though something far beyond the laws of nature was drawing near.
[Veeem!!]
The giant brain unleashed another silent drone, sending shockwaves rippling through the air as cascading snow and mist erupted like a bursting dam. Massive tentacles surged forth from the towering mountain, making it look as though the entire peak had become a part of its monstrous body!
"Whoa!"
Everyone cried out in panic, scattered and tossed through the air like beans shaken on a blanket. Enveloping themselves in magic, they desperately tried to stabilize their bodies amidst the violent tremors.
"It's no use."
Viktor Krum looked up, his expression grim as he watched Ethan's avatar locked in combat with Death's brain. "The thing is too massive. Our magic alignment barely scratches it!"
"We can cast a combined spell!" Hermione said. "I read about it in a book—if multiple wizards cast the exact same spell together, the effects are amplified exponentially!"
Krum shook his head. "Just standing up is hard enough. There's no stable ground to cast from. Unless... there's a creature powerful enough to match the sheer catastrophe of this mountain."
No sooner had he spoken than a deep, melodic call echoed through the valley, as if in direct response. Like a train slowly rolling into a station, several colossally massive silhouettes materialized through the dense fog.
Wooooo—!
The figures breached the thick fog like giant whales surfacing from the ocean, revealing sleek, streamlined blue-gray bodies.
"Titan Whales!" Hermione cried out in delight, staring at the ancient creatures that stood as tall as the mountain itself.
She also noticed the whale calf they had previously healed, safely protected by its pod, cheerfully waving its tail fin toward them.
"Hoo!"
With a great rush of air, the Titan Whales sang out, plowing through the wind and snow like icebreakers. Opening their massive jaws lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth, they bit down viciously on the tentacles flailing in the air.
Snap!
[Veeem!]
The brain convulsed in agony, thrashing its tentacles wildly!
Yet, while these tentacles were colossally thick to humans—capable of rupturing a person's internal organs with a single direct hit—to the Titan Whales, whose hides were thicker than city walls, the blows felt like mere tickles. They clamped down on the tentacles and dragged them back with immense force. The taut tentacles acted like anchors securing a sail, pinning the mountain firmly in place.
Within just a few breaths, everyone felt the tremors beneath their feet subside significantly!
Krum's eyes lit up, and he immediately bellowed, "Seize the chance to bind it! Let Ethan deliver the final blow!"
With that, he slashed his wand through the air, pointing the tip directly at the grayish-pink brain looming high above. "Incarcerous!"
Flash!
A beam of golden light erupted from his wand. However, compared to the mountain and the giant brain, it looked remarkably frail.
But then, right after.
"Incarcerous!"
"Incarcerous!"
Incantation after incantation rang out as streak after streak of golden light shot forth. Members of the Enlightenment Society, the Order of the Phoenix, and wizards from all over the world...
Even the former Dark Lord, Tom Riddle, temporarily surviving within Harry's body.
Every single person raised their wand, squeezing out every last drop of their magical power! Golden light surged up from the ground like a brilliant display of fireworks, illuminating a corner of the bleak, darkened sky. The beams thickened and twisted together into a single, massive cord, gradually extending and weaving itself together.
Ultimately, it condensed into a neural-like binding network, completely and tightly enveloping the entire brain!
The brain pulsed with fury, slamming against the binding golden light. Yet, at this crucial moment, its movements ground to an unstoppable halt. Its tentacles froze mid-air, and a crack finally appeared in its thick, seemingly impregnable defense!
"Now's the time!" Viktor Krum roared, looking up at the figure shrouded in black mist suspended in mid-air. "Go! Deliver the final blow, Ethan Vincent!!!"
"...Understood."
Ethan's lips curled into a smirk. In his cobalt-blue eyes, the giant brain's weakness lay completely exposed! It was like a head of cabbage pinned to a cutting board, waiting for a single slice—
Ethan raised his hand high, his lips parting slightly. "[Shatter]."
In the next split second, he swung his arm down heavily!
[Roar!!!]
The Asura avatar unleashed a thunderous roar as raging flames erupted from its various weapons, blazing all the way up its arms. Following Ethan's motion, it hacked down ruthlessly toward the brain on the chopping board!
Splat!
Swords, sabers, halberds, spears, staves... countless blades plunged into the thick cerebral cortex. A fountain of dark red blood sprayed instantly, pattering down upon the snowy mountain like a sudden downpour.
[Veeem!]
The brain struggled desperately, shattering the golden chains inch by inch. However, its struggles only forced the blades to sink even deeper!
Squelch, squelch, squelch!
Ethan's eyes burned like torches, ablaze with two cobalt-blue fires as he stared down fiercely at the brain. Gripping his hands tight, he yanked upward with immense force!
"Shatter... for me!!"
Splat!
Blood splattered everywhere as, under the watchful gaze of the crowd, the countless blades cleaved the giant brain clean in two! A massive, crimson mist exploded outwards.
[Aaaagh———————]
The piercing, death-throes drone of the brain penetrated everyone's eardrums, forcing them to collapse to the ground in sheer agony. The golden chains shattered completely, dissolving into thousands of specks of light before vanishing.
Boom!
The two halves of the brain slowly plummeted down like falling stars, their once-plump surfaces rapidly withering and turning a ghostly white. Devoid of control, the thick tentacles went limp and melted into pools of sludge, painting the pristine white summit with a garish, macabre hue.
"...Is it over?" everyone murmured weakly, looking up.
"No," Hermione whispered, her brow furrowing. "I'm afraid it's only just begun."
[Congratulations! You have defeated the final remnant of Death: The Brain in a Vat!]
[Obtained Extraordinary Material: Chaotic Brain Mist]
[Death's Weakened State increased to: 50%]
[Warning! Death has completely broken free of all mortal constraints! The entity is about to descend into the mortal realm. Please prepare yourself!]
Ethan reached out his hand, catching the "gray mist" gathering in his palm. It spun slowly like a miniature vortex. Within the dense gray vapor, tiny sparks resembling neural firings flickered from time to time.
——This was the final remnant of Death, a divine and extraordinary material: the "Chaotic Brain Mist"!
At the same time, the tides ebbed and flowed.
Like a literal tide of destiny, the sky began to shift. Dark clouds rolled and surged, spreading an indescribable, suffocating pressure across the atmosphere. Death itself was about to descend!
"Activate the altar quickly! There's no time!" Tom Riddle shouted. He flew over frantically, throwing himself onto the altar flanked by three stone pillars. His blood-red eyes were filled with urgency and stark resolution.
"Wait a minute!" Ron's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered something. "Don't we only have one of the Hallows?! We only have Ethan's Resurrection Stone!"
Ah! Even if Harry had the Invisibility Cloak, no one had ever heard anything about the Elder Wand being here!
Instantly, like someone caught with their pants down and no toilet paper, everyone's gaze snapped uniformly toward Tom.
"Heh, a bunch of idiots."
Tom smirked with malicious mockery as he reached into his robes. What he pulled out turned out to be a heap of translucent fabric and an ancient wand adorned with spherical nodules! With just a single glance, everyone instinctively recognized them as the other two Deathly Hallows: the Invisibility Cloak and the Elder Wand!
Ron gasped in shock, "W-Where did you get those?! No, how on earth did you manage to get your hands on them?!"
Tom grew even more smug, smiling mysteriously without uttering a word.
Ethan spoke up, "So, you borrowed the Elder Wand from Dumbledore specifically for this moment."
Tom's smile faded. He gave a cold snort, silently confirming Ethan's words.
At the end of the previous term, after Death's avatar was completely destroyed, Tom's consciousness had awakened inside Harry. Relying on his enhanced magical sensitivity, he had recognized Dumbledore's wand as the powerful Elder Wand—one of the three Deathly Hallows he had spent so long searching for!
Thus, using Harry's body, he had borrowed the Elder Wand from Dumbledore.
...Naturally, Dumbledore must have obtained Ethan's permission first; otherwise, even if it were "Harry," he wouldn't have just handed it over so easily.
——As a side note, nobody knew who had ultimately become Death's mortal "avatar." Nor did anyone care. Because that person had completely discarded their own self, reduced to a sludge-like existence, dying nameless and faceless.
Tom barked, "Stop wasting time! Start the ritual now!"
A manic frenzy flared in his eyes as he cast the two Hallows aside and slammed his palm heavily onto the raised altar!
Splurt!
Blood welled out, trickling along the fine grooves of the altar and staining the intricate runes one by one.
Ron roared, "Harry!!"
"Don't worry," Tom said coldly, his face rapidly draining of color. "This body won't die. What is being sacrificed... is my soul!"
With that, he let out a low growl. His eyes burst with blinding red light as his magic, carried by his blood, poured straight into the altar!
[Veeem!]
The three stone pillars lit up. As if a dormant life force had been awakened, the pillars began to shake, shedding loose bits of dirt.
A cluster of crimson light enveloped the Invisibility Cloak and the Elder Wand on the ground. They rose slowly, hovering in the center of the pillars, spinning tightly against each other as if they would fuse together at any second!
"Hurry!" Tom screamed at the top of his lungs, red light leaking from his ears, nose, and mouth.
He stared fixedly at Ethan, watching the ink-black clouds behind him gradually swallow the entire sky like the opening gates of hell. "Quick... put the final Deathly Hallow, the Resurrection Stone, on it! We're out of time!"
Ethan looked down at Tom.
Even though the boy bore Harry's face, the memory of the diary's soul remnant—weeping and howling behind Dumbledore's phantom in the Chamber of Secrets all those years ago—flitted through Ethan's mind.
Ethan descended slowly. He reached out his hand, where the pitch-black Gaunt ring on his finger gleamed with a dull luster. One of the seven split pieces of Voldemort's soul residing within it was roaring in fury and despair.
If it were the Voldemort who had already split his soul into seven pieces, he certainly wouldn't mind clinging to a pathetic, lingering existence. After all, how deeply he feared [Death]!
Ethan asked, "Are you ready, Tom Riddle?"
With a sharp snap, Tom grabbed Ethan's hand—and the Resurrection Stone ring cut off the soul remnant's ridiculous roaring.
In this single moment, the past, present, and future of the sinful, pathetic life named "Tom Riddle" seemed entirely condensed before them.
"Don't forget what you promised me, Ethan Vincent!" Tom hissed through gritted teeth. He stared dead at Ethan, his eyes filled with an instinctive horror of death.
"I never break my word." Ethan nodded slowly, then added out of nowhere, "Now, you will truly 'go beyond death' in every sense."
Voldemort. In French, it meant "the one who flies from death."
Tom's pupils dilated, his mind drifting for a fleeting second. At this moment, as all his soul fragments burned furiously, he seemed to see himself sprouting wings, soaring unhindered into the high heavens toward the goal he had pursued his entire life—"immortality."
Yet, freedom was a mere illusion.
Countless hands reached up from below, grabbing his body, wailing and roaring as they dragged him down into the abyss. Tom looked down and saw face after familiar face. The faces of the people he had murdered.
Tom snapped back to reality. Terror sent tears streaming down his face, and his body slumped pathetically to the ground, shaking like a leaf.
...Yet, he felt no regret. Love had never flowed through his chest; the deaths of others remained entirely inconsequential to him. This time, he had merely eliminated a wrong answer on his quest for immortality.
[Haah...]
Tom reached out a hand toward Ethan in agony, watching as his own soul drifted out through Harry's arm. Amidst the roaring flames, Tom forced open his burning throat, squeezing out each word:
[Give me... rebirth...!]
In the next second, thud!
Harry's body collapsed limply. Ron, Hermione, and their companions immediately rushed forward, holding Harry tight and administering healing magic to his body.
[Veeem————!]
A brilliant crimson light exploded. The Invisibility Cloak, the Elder Wand, and the Resurrection Stone spun in mid-air, drawing closer and closer together until, finally, they fused into one!
[Congratulations! You have successfully activated the true effect of the Deathly Hallows!]
[Obtained God-Slaying Weapon: The Black Knife of Midnight]
An oddly shaped scimitar, resembling a twisted branch of thorns, materialized in mid-air. Its blade was a distinct pitch-black, like meteoric iron, its surface etched with ancient, primitive fractures. It drifted down slowly into Ethan's hand.
The moment he touched it, Ethan hissed sharply, his body instinctively flinching.
Cold! It was so cold!
It felt as though he were holding the entirety of the Veil in the palm of his hand. This bizarre black knife emanated an aura of death that was entirely on par with Death itself!
[The Black Knife of Midnight: Upon striking, inflicts irreversible damage. It can pierce any form of existence, making it a true, bona fide god-slaying weapon!]
["Give God a grand funeral!"]
Ethan's eyes flashed as he tightened his grip on the ice-cold hilt.
"It can inflict true damage on Death! This is the final showdown. Death, you better not run away now!"
No sooner had he spoken than a massive rumble echoed through the air. Rumble!!!
Their surroundings plunged into sudden, absolute darkness!
Shadows cascaded down from the sky, and the Titan Whales wailed as they fled. Like a backwards-flowing flood, the darkness eroded everything in sight into pure blackness. The three-pillared altar toppled over, swallowed by the rising black tide. The mountain itself vanished, and everything turned into a flat, pitch-black expanse, resembling a colossal mirror.
Within just a few breaths, it felt as though only Ethan and his companions were left in the entire world. It was as if they had entered a point-of-no-return colosseum!
"It's coming."
Everyone gripped their wands tightly, standing on high alert.
Right at that moment, a figure suddenly stepped out from the crowd.
Tap, tap, tap.
Light footsteps pressed onto the black tide, sending ripples spreading outward. Everyone's eyes widened, watching in sheer astonishment as the figure walked over to the opposing side.
Then, with a sudden swish, the figure spun around, raising their wand level and pointing it directly at the crowd!
In the darkness, a full moon that occupied most of the Veil slowly manifested like a lunar eclipse. The cool, crisp moonlight spilled downward, illuminating the figure's face—