Countless sickly green energy serpents materialized out of thin air, hissing as they slithered toward Louis.
Each snake's body was as crystalline and translucent as glass, yet wherever they passed, the space itself seemed to be corroded by virulent poison, producing sizzling noises and acrid white smoke.
They were unbelievably fast, reaching Louis almost instantly, surrounding him on all sides as they opened their jaws and lunged to bite him.
Calmly, Louis wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth. The vicious curse was completely erased by his overwhelming vitality and healing power.
Let alone a curse—even the gaze of Death itself could not harm Louis in the slightest.
Space suddenly twisted.
Salazar Slytherin's eyes went vacant for a split second. Before he could recover, sharp pain exploded across his face.
"Ahhh—!"
Salazar Slytherin let out an earth-shaking scream. The sickly green crystal venom snakes that had just been surrounding Louis, moments away from biting him, had somehow turned around and sunk their fangs into Salazar Slytherin himself.
Louis couldn't have cared less. If that opening curse hadn't been so silent and sneaky, he would have gladly let Salazar Slytherin taste the flavor of his own curses.
Root—Law: Distortion, capable of twisting anything below the root level.
And a few magically created venom snakes were clearly nowhere near the root level.
Louis had merely twisted their target.
[You have used rules to deceive Salazar Slytherin (special state)]
[Deeply Impressive Deception]
[You have gained Trick Points: 5,000]
[Current Trick Points: 136,800]
[Because the target's state is special, no special reward can be obtained]
So when distortion was applied to an enemy, it was directly judged as deception?!
That realization sparked a sudden flash of insight in Louis. He felt like he had grasped something important—yet not quite fully understood it.
Salazar Slytherin's face was instantly flooded with that sickly green color as his own snakes bit him.
In panic, he cast spell after spell, desperately trying to dispel the magic afflicting him. Fortunately, the vitality Louis had given him provided extraordinary life force; otherwise, Salazar Slytherin would have been forced to disgracefully send himself off on the spot.
Louis gave the green serpents a cursory glance and realized that this spell was actually a fusion of the Transfiguration Curse and the Killing Curse.
Or rather, an ancient version of the two combined.
The transfiguration didn't act on matter—but on pure magical power itself.
In other words, Salazar Slytherin was directly manipulating his own magic and transforming it into venomous snakes imbued with the effects of the Killing Curse.
"Playing it fancy—worthy of Slytherin," Louis praised with a smile. "But you really went too far. I kindly woke you up, and you try to kill me?"
As for the fully deployed Gate of Babylon, Louis didn't mention it at all, as if he hadn't been the one to set up an artillery formation first.
Salazar Slytherin had no time to deal with Louis's words. His venom-snake magic was even more vicious than the Killing Curse and naturally had no counter-curse. All he could do was desperately suppress the cruel magic that was relentlessly tearing at his soul.
"Oh? Ignoring me now?" Louis chuckled. Raising his hand, the golden ripples surrounding Salazar Slytherin trembled slightly, and countless Noble Phantasms—each radiating either crushing weight or razor-sharp menace—slowly extended outward. "I'd say you're asking to die."
"Wait!"
At such a critical moment, Salazar Slytherin no longer cared about purging the curse within himself.
The magic didn't look like it would kill him immediately anyway—but if he hesitated any longer, he was afraid the brat in front of him would kill him first.
Those unknown, terrifying weapons—and the golden ripples that carried them—filled him with deep dread.
"Didn't you come to the Chamber of Secrets for my legacy? I'll give you everything. Behind me are the notes and journals I left behind—guaranteed to make you the most powerful wizard in this world!"
It was clear that Salazar Slytherin truly wanted to live. Even after realizing that he was clearly in an abnormal state, he still wanted to cling to life.
Throughout history, dying has never been easy—especially for geniuses who dream of changing the world.
Salazar Slytherin was exactly such a person. In his era, he had been one of the four greatest wizards, leaving behind the Chamber of Secrets—a place that would later give rise to a Dark Lord.
What he had done after leaving Hogwarts, and how he vanished without a trace, remained unknown.
Now that Salazar Slytherin realized he was alive again, his first thought was to continue his grand cause—to let pure-blood wizards rule over Muggles!
But right now, his first step was surviving at Louis's hands. That was why he had lowered himself so completely.
More than that, Salazar Slytherin had taken a fancy to Louis's power. He hoped to use his ideals and ambitions to move him, turning Louis into an ally.
This wasn't the first time Salazar Slytherin had done such a thing—his silver tongue had never failed him before.
"All the legacy in the Chamber, plus your handwritten notes?" Louis gave Salazar Slytherin a strange look.
"That's right! Those are the crystallization of my wisdom—of the great Salazar Slytherin! The most precious treasures in the world!" Salazar Slytherin said excitedly. "Now just give me a bit more power to awaken fully. I can feel it—once I have it, I'll be able to break free from the threat of magic!"
"Sorry, but your deal doesn't seem to stand," Louis said, flicking his fingernail. "Your legacy has already been packed up and taken away by someone named Tom Riddle."
"Taken away?" Salazar Slytherin paused, then immediately continued, "No matter! I'm still here! I'm the greatest wizard of all—under my personal guidance, you'll definitely become the next strongest wizard!"
"Heh." Louis smiled coldly. "I don't trust someone who opens with curses and attacks."
"And besides…"
"And besides what?" Salazar Slytherin asked nervously.
"And besides—you're senile. If I kill you, all your stuff is still mine."
With a cold snort, Louis gave the command to the Gate of Babylon.
In an instant, the golden ripples filling the space trembled violently. One devastating Noble Phantasm after another slammed into Salazar Slytherin's oversized face. Amid his furious curses and agonized screams, it was pulverized into a pile of gore that really ought to be censored.
Not only was Salazar Slytherin's massive face obliterated—even the passageway behind him was forcibly widened by more than half.
Seeing this, Louis took out Soul-Stealing Scroll and opened it. A surging suction force tore a wildly struggling, terror-stricken Salazar Slytherin's soul straight out from that censored mess.
---
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