Faced with Dumbledore's invitation, Victor Wick didn't have time to answer before a faint alert chime rang out around him.
"Firewall warning! Unregistered malicious program intrusion detected!"
The voice was Victor's own, though not spoken in the moment; it was a recording he had programmed in previously.
Following that, in Victor's eyes, a transparent red dome enveloped his entire body.
This was a firewall Victor had created using Ancient Runes, a form of protective magic.
Previously, it had been a mere prototype that required manual activation, making it unreliable in an emergency.
Its automatic activation today was due to an inspiration he'd received after his battle with Grindelwald.
By dismantling a defensive spell he had clandestinely learned from the old man, refining it, and integrating it, the protective magic had been brought to completion...
Now, as soon as hostile magic struck, the firewall would immediately deploy its defenses and issue a warning!
With the firewall active, it meant someone was currently attacking him!
Moreover, it was being carried out in such an incredibly stealthy manner that even Dumbledore, standing right next to him, hadn't noticed!
Sure enough, Victor soon discovered a black snake as thin as an embroidery needle pinned against the red light of the firewall.
It seemed to be desperately trying to burrow its way inside!
This type of curse was far too subtle; if he hadn't just perfected the firewall, he might have been cursed without even knowing!
"Professor, you didn't secretly curse me, did you?" Victor asked, his eyes fixed on the small snake.
Dumbledore was taken aback, but before he could speak, Victor shook his head.
"No... if you wanted to harm me, Professor, there would be no need for such an underhanded curse."
"What curse?" Dumbledore asked, puzzled.
Victor reached out and brushed the air, causing the firewall—previously visible only to him—to manifest before Dumbledore.
Revealed alongside it was the hideous, minute black snake!
Dumbledore stared intently at the tiny serpent, his gaze suddenly sharpening with terrifying intensity!
Seeing this, Victor knew Dumbledore must have recognized something. "Professor, is this the curse Grindelwald placed on me earlier? Why is it only taking effect now?"
"No... it's not Grindelwald, Victor... I can now be one hundred percent certain that Voldemort is alive," Dumbledore said gravely. "This curse carries Voldemort's malevolent magic, and more importantly, it holds a sliver of his soul! If he were dead, this fragment of soul power could not possibly persist!"
Upon hearing this, Victor immediately inspected the curse... and as it turned out, Dumbledore was right!
Victor looked at Dumbledore in confusion. "This doesn't make sense. He didn't realize I was a double agent until he 'died,' and I haven't contacted any of you for years. Logically, he has no reason to target me! Otherwise, wouldn't Severus, an openly known double agent, have been killed by him long ago?"
Dumbledore rubbed his temples again. "Victor, it's possible that I was the one who inadvertently 'cursed' you this time."
"How so?" Victor asked, surprised.
"In the years before Voldemort openly waged war, he once applied to me for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. I refused him, as I knew his true nature better than anyone..." Dumbledore paused. "But since then, no Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has lasted more than a year. They all meet with various accidents that prevent them from continuing. Over time, people came to believe the position itself was cursed."
Victor turned back to the small snake. "So, you're saying Voldemort cursed the position..."
Dumbledore sighed. "I've used many methods to investigate, but... I found nothing. I wasn't even sure if the rumor was true. Until today... I must admit, Voldemort's mastery of the Dark Arts is indeed more profound than anyone else's..."
Victor nodded.
Dumbledore couldn't have missed the anomaly of every Defense Against the Dark Arts professor suffering an accident.
But the fact that the problem remained unsolved meant Dumbledore was indeed powerless to stop it.
Such a curse was simply too well-hidden... If even detection was difficult, how could it be broken?
Only an anomaly in the wizarding world like Victor could pull such a stealthy curse out into the open.
"Let me see if I can break this curse. If not... I will have to apply to abolish the Defense Against the Dark Arts course and establish a new one with similar content. Now that we have evidence, the Department of Magical Education should agree," Dumbledore said heavily.
"Is even someone of your stature unsure of breaking it, Professor?" Victor asked.
"Victor, curses are different from other magic... There are many curses in this world that are unsolvable, even by those who created them. For example, the Blood Maledictus..." Dumbledore said seriously.
During his time undercover among the Death Eaters, Victor had read many Dark Arts books and heard of the Blood Maledictus—a curse that blights an entire family line!
The victims are usually female, and once cursed, they and any female descendants will permanently transform into animals after reaching a certain age. It is truly vicious.
Having reached this conclusion, the two of them began to study the curse together.
Ten minutes later, Dumbledore frowned and shook his head. "The curse is not exactly unsolvable, but its root lies with Voldemort himself. The only way to break it is for Voldemort to die completely... He has bound the curse to his own soul."
"Can we find a way to track Voldemort's location through this curse?" Victor asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No. Voldemort's mastery is vast, and he is extremely cautious. He clearly considered this possibility long ago and took precautions. Even I cannot use this to track him."
"Grindelwald is also highly skilled in the Dark Arts, perhaps we should..."
"This is highly likely an original curse of Voldemort's own creation. When it comes to original magic, even someone with equally deep mastery would find it difficult to break or track without knowing the creator's thought process," Dumbledore said helplessly.
Victor understood. In truth, was Dumbledore's research into the Dark Arts really inferior to Voldemort's? Not necessarily.
How could someone who has suppressed two generations of Dark Lords have no depth of research into the Dark Arts?
"