*Surprisingly, there's not much difference even for a XXXXX-rated beast.* (TN: XXXXX is the highest Ministry of Magic classification for dangerous magical creatures.)
After poking the unconscious Basilisk here and there, I called out to Hermione.
"Hermione, you can open your eyes now."
"…Already?"
At my words, Hermione cautiously opened her eyes, only to find the Basilisk collapsed and limp on the floor.
She asked in astonishment, "Goodness, Aisen. How did you defeat the Basilisk?"
"That's not what's important right now, Hermione."
Hermione gave me a look that seemed to ask what on earth could be more important, but I ignored it and continued.
"Listen carefully, Hermione. While I take this Basilisk and fight the heir, you need to rescue the people who were kidnapped."
"Me? Rescue the kidnapped people?"
She momentarily recalled the faces of the kidnapped: Harry, Malfoy, Lockhart.
Hermione's expression turned complicated for a moment as she muttered, "Harry is one thing, but will I be able to control the others…?"
"You can do it, Hermione."
In truth, it didn't matter if she couldn't. This was, after all, for the sole purpose of helping Hermione gain experience.
Still, seeing Hermione nod with a determined expression after hearing my words, I had a feeling things would work out one way or another.
Leaving Hermione behind, I grabbed the Basilisk by the scruff of its neck and dragged it inside.
"I'll draw the heir's attention by dragging the Basilisk in. After that, you're on your own. You can do it, right?"
"…Yes!"
And so, it was done.
***
The man, Aisen Knightly, approached with flashing golden eyes.
Was it because of what he'd heard from Harry Potter, or was it due to the sheer presence of the Basilisk he was dragging by one hand?
A strangely overwhelming aura seemed to radiate from him.
Riddle drew the wand he had taken from his pocket—Draco Malfoy's wand.
*THUD.*
When Aisen let go of the Basilisk's hide, a sound loud enough to shake the entire Chamber echoed through the hall.
Aisen casually extended the wand in his right hand toward Riddle. He looked at Riddle for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"You. Your soul isn't whole."
*Flinch.*
For an instant, Riddle felt his entire body jolt at those words.
Ignoring it, Aisen continued. "Ah, I see. I know who you are. So, you must be the Tom Riddle that Albus mentioned."
*'Albus'?* Why did the name, spoken so casually, bring a certain wizard to mind?
Could he be speaking so disrespectfully of Albus Dumbledore? No, that couldn't be. There was no one left in this world who could speak to him like that.
Overcoming a sense of pressure, Riddle spoke. "Yes, Aisen Knightly. I am Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort."
At those words, Aisen's eyebrow twitched.
"What did you just say?"
"If you didn't hear me, I'll say it again. Yes, I am Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort."
Completely unconcerned by Tom Riddle's arrogant declaration, Aisen asked again, "No, before that. What did you say my name was?"
"Aisen Knightly. I heard it from Harry Potter."
"Did you?"
*I see.*
As he muttered something.
—*KRAKOOOOM!!!!*
An immense wave of energy erupted from the man standing before Riddle.
"Wh-what is this!"
It was a power so enormous that even his original self, Lord Voldemort, would surely have been astonished were he present.
And what emerged from within that power was… a person whose black hair had completely vanished, replaced by flowing locks of silver-blue.
He spoke.
"For a Dark Wizard who has heard that name, there is only one fate."
His golden eyes flashing, Aisen Knightly opened his mouth.
"Eternal death. You brat."
"Uwaaaah!"
Instinctively sensing the danger, Tom Riddle let out a yell and fired a spell at Aisen.
There was no need for a probing attack.
The most certain way to take an opponent's life in a single blow.
*Avada Kedavra—!!*
A green spell shot out from Draco Malfoy's wand.
And as Aisen Knightly watched that fluorescent green light, the symbol of death, his eyes were, for some reason, far too calm. So calm it sent a chill down Riddle's spine.
Aisen's response was simple. He didn't even need his wand.
*Thump.*
The moment Aisen stomped on the ground, tiles shot up from the floor, blocking the Killing Curse before shattering.
Only then did Tom Riddle truly feel it. The being before him was an unprecedentedly dangerous existence.
"I didn't expect it to work with just one—!"
As if to burn away the weak emotion that had momentarily surfaced, Tom Riddle shouted and continuously fired green flashes from his wand.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
Aisen's response was always the same. The tiles erupting from the floor defended against the Killing Curses, preventing them from even grazing his robes, as he walked step by step toward Riddle.
Aisen spoke. "Brat, your moves are too predictable. Don't you know any other spells besides the Killing Curse?"
At those words, Riddle raised his wand to the sky and swung it down as if to slam it into the ground.
*Rumble.*
A line was drawn on the floor between Riddle and Aisen, and the ground Aisen was standing on collapsed.
"...!!"
But Aisen didn't move at all. Even though the floor had vanished, he walked through the empty air as if his feet were still on solid ground, calmly approaching Riddle.
"Is that all?"
Riddle felt it instinctively. This was a game of some sort.
Like a form of amusement granted by an absolute being to one who dared to challenge him.
If that man, Knightly, reached him, he would die.
Even if he managed to stop his advance, if he couldn't kill him, he would die.
He had to somehow kill this monster that had appeared from nowhere before it reached him.
Gritting his teeth, Riddle once again dragged his wand up from the floor and thrust it down.
From the cracks in the ground, an enormous amount of earth erupted, quickly taking the form of dragons and charging toward Aisen.
Aisen finally raised his wand and gave it a very simple flick.
*CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!*
The dragons' heads slammed into the ground as if struck by falling meteors, and they stopped moving.
"This one lacked creativity, brat."
The remaining distance between Knightly and himself was, at most, thirty paces.
Riddle gritted his teeth and fired all sorts of magic at him.
He summoned water, attempting to flood the cave.
Aisen waved his wand, and tens of tons of water evaporated instantly.
The distance between them was now a mere twenty paces.
He tried to freeze everything with an icy chill.
Aisen blew a breath, and the cave instantly warmed.
Aisen took seven more steps.
He unleashed the most terrible dark curse.
But the curse only pierced Aisen's afterimage.
Aisen took another eight steps.
This wasn't working. Tom Riddle took a step back, but for some reason, his feet wouldn't move.
"Shouldn't we follow the rules, brat?"
Riddle gritted his teeth, and finally, with a complex flourish of his wand, he shouted, "Fiendfyre!!"
From his wand, a sticky substance gushed out like water.
However, it was not water, but a brightly shining—
What some called devil's fire. The flames of a demon.
Riddle, having summoned the flames that only the most skilled wizards could barely control, raised his wand and pointed it at Aisen.
"You won't be able to block this—!!"
Seeing it, Aisen smiled, as if amused. "Fiendfyre. It's been a while."
And finally, Aisen raised his right hand, the one holding the wand, toward the sky.
*Swoosh.*
And from the sky, divine punishment descended.
*Rumble! KRA-KA-KA-KA-BOOOOM!!*
Though they were in a cave with a ceiling, lightning struck from the heavens.
That was the only way to describe it.
The heavens were enraged.
*KRA-KA-KA-BOOOOM!*
Amidst the destruction of the lightning that seemed to burn the very world, the Fiendfyre vanished without a trace, unable to do anything.
Finally, the distance between them was zero.
Standing right in front of Riddle, Aisen said with a playful smile, "Are you done showing me what you've got?"
For the first time in his life, Riddle felt his legs tremble as he asked, "That just now… what in the world was that?"
"Simple Ancient Magic."
*Lies.* The word swirled on Riddle's tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
In the process of becoming Lord Voldemort, Tom Riddle had studied all sorts of magic. It wasn't limited to the Dark Arts; he had delved into all kinds of Ancient Magic.
And yet, no such magic existed. No, could that even be called magic?
At that level, unless Lord Voldemort himself was fully resurrected, there was no one who could…!
Looking at Riddle, Aisen tilted his head with a somewhat disappointed expression and asked, "Tom Riddle. Is this the extent of Voldemort's original power?"
Riddle gritted his teeth and answered, "Of course not. My true self's power is far beyond this!"
Aisen smirked. "Is that so? Then I'll have to wait until we meet next time."
Then, he gave a slight nod and said, "Hmm, then how about I end this with one final lesson."
"A lesson?"
"Yes. Brat Riddle. I'll teach you how to use the Killing Curse properly. What do you think is the Killing Curse's greatest weakness?"
Tom Riddle recalled how easily Aisen had blocked his Killing Curses just moments before. "That it cannot penetrate physical obstacles."
"Correct. So, what is the countermeasure?"
Without waiting for Riddle's answer, Aisen waved his wand.
Magically created insects appeared and swarmed around Riddle.
"What are these insects all of a sudden?"
Ignoring Riddle, Aisen continued, "Watch carefully. This is a truly proper Killing Curse."
*[Avada Kedavra—Chain].*
Following the words of the world's most dangerous wizard, from the world's most dangerous wand, came the world's most dangerous spell.
A green light.
However, this beam of light, a much deeper shade of green than the ones Riddle had used, did not strike Riddle.
It struck a single insect floating right in front of him.
*What is this?*
The moment the question formed in Riddle's mind, his pale pupils dilated.
It was spreading.
The green light that had hit one insect was spreading to another.
And from that other insect, a new green beam spread to yet another.
A continuous chain of flashes.
Like a tightly woven net, a green web connected to every single one of the insects surrounding Tom Riddle.
And, as if foretelling what would happen next, Aisen Knightly said, "The answer is, 'you fire it from all directions at once, so physical obstacles don't matter'."
*What kind of absurd logic is that?*
Before Riddle had time to think, from every single intersection of the green net surrounding him, thousands of green flashes shot down toward him.
***