Voldemort said, "Fine. The Death Eaters were meant for you anyway! Now that the wizarding world is under your rule, you've fulfilled my original dream. That's enough!"
Erwin knew, of course, that Voldemort was indirectly passing the torch to his only disciple. After all, Voldemort's true dream should have involved eliminating certain groups. But clearly, Voldemort couldn't do that now. Erwin wouldn't let him launch another campaign of terror. The wizarding world was now under the control of the Cavendish family. Let Voldemort pull that stunt, and the consequences would be his to bear.
Erwin said, "I'll handle the Death Eaters. Let's go back and see the students' progress."
Voldemort nodded. "It's time to go back. I also want to see my old friends!" A smile touched his lips, and Erwin felt the same anticipation. He really wanted to see what would happen when Dumbledore met Voldemort.
They Apparated directly to the stands in the arena. Erwin's appearance caused an instant sensation. Some young witches immediately turned their gazes toward him.
"It's Erwin! He's back!"
"Sure enough, every time I see him, I'm blown away!"
"Who's that next to him? He's quite handsome too—maybe even rivals Professor Snape!"
Dumbledore and the others immediately focused on Voldemort. Dumbledore even stood up abruptly. "Tom!"
Snape remained calm. He had already been informed that Voldemort would be making an appearance today.
Voldemort looked at Dumbledore with a smile. "Long time no see, Professor Dumbledore."
Dumbledore frowned. Grindelwald gently patted his shoulder. "Erwin is here, which means he has his own plans. Don't cause trouble. These matters are no longer our concern; let Erwin handle them."
Dumbledore's brow slowly relaxed. "Yes. It's been a long time, Tom."
Erwin said, "I'll explain these things to you all later. For now, just focus on the match."
Dumbledore and the others didn't say much. Only Karkaroff huddled to the side, trembling. He hadn't recognized Voldemort at first—after all, he'd only joined after Voldemort's appearance had changed. But hearing the name "Tom" and seeing Dumbledore's reaction, he knew exactly who was standing in front of him. As a traitor to the Death Eaters, how could he not be afraid?
Voldemort found a seat, then glanced casually at Karkaroff. Karkaroff felt a chill run down his spine.
Erwin found it amusing. "Alright, don't scare him. You'll make our Headmaster Karkaroff cry. He's the headmaster now! He needs to maintain some authority."
Voldemort scoffed. "A lowly traitor. If it weren't for his past usefulness, he wouldn't even be qualified to join the Death Eaters."
Erwin didn't argue. It was true—compared to the other Death Eaters, Karkaroff was genuinely weak.
Erwin looked at the screens projected in the air. Krum, Harry Potter, and the others had all rejoined their teams. The four houses had begun a fierce competition, each using its own methods to find a way to activate the pillars.
Erwin focused his attention on the exchange students' side. If nothing unexpected happened, they should be the first to find the item. And indeed, Erwin predicted correctly. The specialized tools gave them a significant advantage. Therefore, the exchange students were the first to find their first activation item.
After finding the item, the students released their unique signal. Sunny Finch and the others rushed over. The student who found the item handed a wooden box to Sunny Finch. Sunny Finch opened it and examined it.
"That's right, this is it! Have you found the stone pillar?" Sunny Finch asked a student.
They had specifically assigned a group to search for the stone pillar to save time.
The student nodded. "Found it! But that stone pillar seems a bit special."
Sunny Finch frowned. "Special? Never mind that for now—lead the way. Let's go take a look."
The student nodded and led the way. The main force headed toward the stone pillar they had found.
Erwin turned to look at Tom Riddle beside him. Tom nodded and walked aside, communicating through his purple lotus mark.
Meanwhile, far away on a mountaintop, several members of the Cavendish family looked at the purple lotus mark that had lit up on their arms.
"Let's begin!"
Everyone nodded. They took out containers from their bags—yes, these were also filled with blood—and poured the blood into indentations already drawn on the ground. The blood flowed slowly in the indentations, drawing patterns on the ground. Once the patterns were complete, the group spread out, each guarding a spot on one of the patterns. They looked at each other and inserted their wands into the ground, waiting, holding their breath.
Meanwhile, Sunny Finch led the group to the stone pillar. Looking at the dark stone pillar, Sunny Finch was puzzled. Where did these things come from? She had never seen them before.
At that moment, a sharp-eyed student approached the stone pillar. She crouched down and gently rubbed the end of the pillar, then held it to her nose and sniffed. "Sunny, it smells like blood."
Sunny Finch's brows furrowed even deeper. She walked around the stone pillar. The more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. She began to rapidly recall all the texts she had read in the archives.
Soon, she found her answer! The Dragon-Locking Array was a containment formation, generally used to imprison enemies. However, the Dragon-Locking Array in the archives was incomplete. It was said that a complete Dragon-Locking Array could be used to manipulate natural forces! The archives stated that in ancient times, practitioners of magic used the Dragon-Locking Formation to contain and control powerful entities!
But why was there a Dragon-Locking Formation here?
Sunny Finch looked at the stone pillar before her. She hesitated, wondering whether she should activate the pillar. What would be the consequences if it were activated? But then, she shook her head. She felt that thinking about these things was useless. If there were any consequences, the school wouldn't stand idly by. Most importantly, she believed Erwin wasn't reckless! After so many years of observation, she knew Erwin too well!