"You... how do you still have magic?!"
Tom shouted in disbelief, staring at Ethan as if he'd seen some unfathomable monster!
No matter how fiercely he attacked, the boy could never be killed.
He was always one step ahead, holding all the cards.
"No! Die!!!"
Blood oozed from the massive Basilisk eye embedded in his shoulder.
He desperately drained Arthur's life force.
Unleashing a river of blood to swallow Ethan whole!
"Hmph."
Gazing at the crimson torrent that filled his entire field of vision, Ethan let out a soft snort.
He waved his paintbrush, blending the last traces of extraordinary material—radiance—with his magic, and flicked it sharply through the air!
"Boom!"
The river of blood was cleaved in two!
It cascaded down on either side of Ethan, crashing together with a vile, rotting stench!
The golden pigment Ethan had casually flung out.
Stretched across the air like a taut string.
As if ripping open a curtain in space itself, brilliant golden light seeped from the fissure.
Its razor-sharp tip aimed straight at Tom!
"Ah, ah..."
Tom watched the scene unfold, a flicker of true fear finally igniting in his heart.
The body he possessed crumpled to the ground.
His bloated muscles, deprived of dark magic's support, melted away and sloughed off.
"You... what kind of monster are you, exactly?"
At those words,
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
He flashed Tom a bright, sunny smile—pure 40k wattage—and said,
"Of course, I'm human."
"And among humans, I'm one of the kindest and most honest good guys around."
Then,
Ethan swung his arm and murmured softly: "Dragonflame."
This time, it wasn't centered on himself.
Instead, he wreathed the dragon's flames around the golden light suspended in the air!
Making the glow even more radiant, transforming it into a solid, lethal weapon!
Painting: Spear of Destiny!
Ethan looked down at the shocked, frozen Tom with a gentle smile and said,
"I'm the type who can't bear to see others suffer. I'll send you off now."
His hand gripped the paintbrush and thrust downward!
"Boom!!!"
A streak of light flashed, and the golden spear impaled Tom's controlled body, embedding deep into the earth!
In an instant,
The ground fractured layer by layer.
The hard stone slabs beneath their feet shattered into fragments, jolting upward from the tremendous force.
Water boiled, and statues toppled.
Cracks spiderwebbed up the walls, oozing rivulets of groundwater.
The entire Chamber of Secrets was crumbling under this cataclysmic strike!!
A dark shadow slithered out from "Arthur's" pierced form.
It darted into the diary like a fleeing rat.
"Nowhere to run!"
Ethan reached out and snatched the diary.
He flipped through it, and on page after page of blank, yellowed paper, he saw Tom's figure scrambling in panic!
"Come out, Little Tom!"
Ethan grinned broadly, effortlessly shattering the protective magic, and plunged his hand into the pages.
Inside the diary,
Tom raced frantically through his familiar Hogwarts.
He felt the ground quake violently beneath him, a thunderous roar echoing in his ears.
Then, the ceiling tore open, revealing a massive, cobalt-blue eye peering down.
"No, no!!!"
Tom screamed, sweat-drenched, terror gripping him utterly!
He couldn't comprehend how things had spiraled to this.
Even less could he fathom why his opponent had morphed from a mere second-year student into an ancient, boundless god!!
Hogwarts in the future is way too damn progressive, isn't it?!
"Hehe."
The ancient god's whisper drifted from above.
Creak, creak.
More ceilings and walls were ripped away, and the memory phantoms of students and professors vanished.
Revealing Ethan's demonic, grinning face overhead.
No, no—!!!
He was meant to be the one who conquered death—how could he perish at the hands of this demon?!
Help, help!!!
Who could save him?!
Tom darted about like a headless chicken, his mind and body fracturing.
He could sense the pervert above savoring the chase, watching him with gleeful fascination.
"Bang!"
Tom crashed into a door and locked eyes with the figure behind it.
It was a somewhat younger Professor Dumbledore.
Tom realized then that he'd stumbled into the Transfiguration professor's office.
Dumbledore looked at him in surprise and asked, "What's wrong, Riddle?"
Tom blurted out, "Help, help me! Professor! Someone's trying to kill me!!"
The words escaped before he could stop them, and regret flooded in.
What good would telling a memory do?
They were just echoes of the past, like scripted automatons, wandering this fabricated school, reliving that year's events endlessly.
They couldn't help at all.
Tom despaired.
He turned numbly, gazing up at the face in the ceiling, silently awaiting his end.
But in that moment, a figure stepped in front of him.
It was Professor Dumbledore.
This elderly professor, the shrewd White Wizard who'd foiled his schemes time and again, now stood protectively before him, arms spread wide, blocking the path in silence.
Even though Dumbledore saw nothing.
He couldn't perceive Ethan, who loomed above in a higher dimension.
Ethan watched the scene unfold.
Seeing Tom—first stunned, then wailing in frustrated rage like a child—he let out a leisurely sigh:
"Repent, Tom Riddle."
"No—!!!"
The next second,
Ethan extended his palm, engulfing the despairing, howling Tom.
He clenched his fist.
"Pop."
This diary-bound soul fragment, the haughty 16-year-old Lord Voldemort, was crushed amid a brief, piercing scream.
Along with this Hogwarts, along with all its memories, he was obliterated.
Then, a painting materialized before Ethan's eyes.
It depicted Tom, clutching his face, his features twisted in horrified agony as he screamed.
[You have obtained a commemorative painting: "The Scream of Tom"!]
[When displayed to specific individuals, it can inflict a profound mental shock, unsettling their minds.]
[This painting has been added to the gallery. You can see this painting on the wall when you visit the gallery.]
He'd gotten a souvenir.
Ethan nodded in satisfaction, resolving to visit home more often.
Ethan withdrew his head, pulling back from the diary.
He watched the name on its cover fade away.
[You have obtained an extraordinary item! An Ownerless Diary!]
[Properties: Regeneration, Indestructibility]
[It is now yours. You can use and modify it as you wish.]
So, the Death Note is real?
Ethan pondered thoughtfully.
He glanced up at "Arthur" nearby.
The man was unrecognizable now.
His face, once chiseled and handsome like a marble sculpture, was now twisted—features askew, teeth jutting out as if under a curse, utterly grotesque.
His once powerful build had been sapped of all vitality, withered like a mummy.
One arm dangled unnaturally, bones and muscles contorted.
He resembled a monster straight out of a wanted poster.
"This is the fate of those who devote themselves to the Dark Arts."
Ethan shook his head with a tsk-tsk.
"If only everyone followed the path of light and justice like I do—wouldn't the world be a better place?"
With that, Ethan casually cast a healing spell.
He saw Arthur's desiccated chest rise and fall faintly—he was still breathing.
Still alive.
Though sometimes, living is worse than dying.
"I tried my best to talk him out of it from the start," Ethan said innocently, "but you can't save a fool hell-bent on self-destruction."
"Sigh~ I even healed him. I really am a magnanimous good guy. Even old Dumbledore would hail me as a true White Wizard."
Ethan couldn't help but sigh.
All around him,
Water seeped from the walls everywhere, the chamber reduced to rubble like after an earthquake—shattered walls and ruins.
[Hiss, hiss?!]
The Basilisk, jolted awake, stared blankly at the devastation, three massive question marks practically forming above its head.
What happened?
How had its home been demolished in the blink of an eye?
What kind of destructive force was this!!
—It seemed that when its Little Master had touched it earlier, he'd still been holding back.
[Congratulations! You have successfully hosted an unforgettable art exhibition for an existence not of this world!]
[Your feat has been deeply imprinted in the other party's soul, and even death cannot erase it!]
[Promotion Condition One Achieved!]
[Soul Fusion has been unlocked!]
[Soul Fusion: 60% → 68%!]
He'd surpassed 60% in one leap, boosting his fusion by 8%!
A massive breakthrough!!
In an instant, a sacred radiance enveloped Ethan!
His eyes widened as a tingling numbness swept through his body, followed by a scorching heat erupting like molten lava!
So hot! So exhilarating!!
It was like a blocked nose from a cold suddenly clearing.
Ethan felt as if his entire being had become a pure channel for magic.
Utterly unobstructed from head to toe!!
"Whoosh!"
His black hair whipped in the magical surge, and Ethan's cobalt-blue eyes gleamed like twin stars, radiating brilliant light!
[Hiss!]
The Basilisk beside him gaped in astonishment, its eyes bulging.
Sensing the magic pouring from its Little Master, it even felt a instinctive urge to cower!
It was as if a towering mountain loomed before it.
Its Little Master's presence—had grown even mightier. It even caught a faint whiff of its original master, Salazar Slytherin's, aura.
And its original master had been ancient by then.
—Its Little Master truly was an unparalleled genius.
The ethereal blue subtitles reappeared before his eyes:
[Now, you can merge the five great snake paintings into one.]
[Unleash their true power!]