"Moral blackmail? That won't work."
The bolt of light before Damon grew brighter, the magical power within reaching a terrifying level.
"Of course I know." The snake-man fixed his orange gaze on Damon, who had closed his eyes. "You've learned my flight? You've even broken Gamp's Law of Transfiguration, and yet you're young enough to intimidate anyone."
"But in my eyes, you're still just a gifted child.
You have power, but no ambition, no vision. You have the power to control the world, yet you're just sitting here as a student."
"Ha!" He scoffed disdainfully. "These dull wizards, who at your age haven't even achieved one-tenth of your accomplishments, what do you expect them to teach you?"
"You're wasting your gifts, your talents. You were born to rule, not coexist with these lowly half-blood mudbloods!"
"Oh, so?"
The bolt of light continued to grow in brightness, the magic in the air practically solidifying.
Voldemort clearly noticed this, but he paid no mind.
Damon also noticed his attitude and quietly stopped infusing the light bolt with magic.
"Cooperate with me, Damon! I can give you half of the magical world!" The snake man hissed, his two small arms spread wide. "You have enough wisdom, enough power, and the potential to surpass many adult wizards. You no longer need to be subject to the rules of this world."
At this moment, he keenly sensed a presence lurking in the corner.
"Dumbledore, how long are you going to stand in the corner and listen?"
"..."
A white light emerged from the shadows in the corner, and Dumbledore's figure appeared in the middle of the scene, his expression serious.
"You call him out, we're going to have a just two-on-one fight, okay?"
"No, you won't! Damon White, I know what kind of person you are! With such talent and power, are you willing to be inferior to Dumbledore forever, and always do things according to his wishes?
Look at this disgusting old guy, he talks about love all the time, but in fact he doesn't even have the courage to face me, he only dares to sneak behind you and let you take the lead!
He still doubts you, he doesn't trust you at all, boy, do you dare to say that he has never tested you?"
Dumbledore's expression became calmer even though he had gripped his wand tightly.
Damon looked at Dumbledore and teased:
"Teacher, have you ever tested me?"
"I can only say that I have never doubted that you are a good boy."
"Hahaha, here you go again! Good boy! Dumbledore, you are always so naive and disgusting!"
The snake man hissed and looked at Damon again:
"You call him teacher? Don't be fooled by him, he is just supervising you in the guise of a teacher, just like he did to me before - seemingly guiding you, but in fact forcing you to follow the path he prescribed.
Why should I love those who are weaker than me? Why can't I use my strength to conquer others when they insult me?
Love will only make people lose awe and become more and more demanding. Only fear can dominate people's hearts!"
Voldemort approached Damon step by step, and the air around him became heavier and heavier.
"Damon White, give me your answer!"
Damon's expression was 'moved'. He turned his head to look at Dumbledore, then looked at the snake man, and murmured:
"If I accept your invitation now, and fight Dumbledore with you, and then help you get your body back, maybe the two of us can really rule the wizarding world.
Compared to Dumbledore's restricted way of doing things, maybe this is really a better choice."
The snake man grinned 180 degrees, with a proud expression.
But what he didn't notice was that Dumbledore simply watched all this calmly, without a trace of pain.
"Very well, Damon, come to me—"
"But—I refuse!"
As soon as the words fell, the arrow of light before Damon's eyes instantly shot towards its target!
???
The snake-man's expression held a hint of confusion, but it was quickly replaced by a more sinister look!
"Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra)!"
The green death ray precisely met the arrow of light. What should have been a devastating blow was continuously devoured by the green light, completely failing to achieve any effect!
Watching the arrow of light annihilated along with the green light, Voldemort breathed a sigh of relief—as expected, using the Killing Curse to negate this kid's attack spell was feasible. Now, there was nothing to worry about!
"I'm sorry, Voldemort, but I love to say no to those who think they have it all figured out."
"How dare you toy with me! Damon White, you will pay!"
"If you can do it, then try it, Tom."
Dumbledore took a step forward, firmly standing beside Damon, wand in hand.
Voldemort's expression changed instantly—why was this old man so eager to attack right away?
"Professor, didn't you say you'd help me? Why are you jumping right in?"
"He's slandered me so much, am I supposed to let my students fight this devil? I think we should attack together and finish him off quickly. Maybe that way we can still make time for the Christmas party."
Dumbledore patted Damon's shoulder, with Fawkes on his shoulder, acting as his eyes.
"Very well! Dumbledore, you're even more shameless than I thought!"
The snake man's eyes widened. He had never expected the situation to turn out like this—his plans were completely disrupted.
"Then let's all attack! It makes no difference to me anyway!"
Voldemort's expression was grim as he chanted the spell without hesitation!
"Fiendfyre!"
"Ignis Aeternus!"
Blue Fiendfyre and orange-yellow flames erupted in the air, instantly transforming into a vast expanse of blazing flames that exploded throughout the ground!
"Boom!"
The entire Hogwarts castle trembled violently. As all the teachers and students watched in astonishment, two streams of flame, each of different colors, erupted from the ground, shooting straight into the sky!
"This is... Oh my God!"
Professor McGonagall's expression changed drastically. She immediately ordered all students to evacuate to the main gate while she herself rushed to the interior of Hogwarts. Although few students would be inside at this time due to Quidditch, she still had to check.
Thankfully, the flames were now shooting straight into the sky, showing no sign of moving away. Otherwise, even the slightest contact with the Fiendfyre could have killed any student.
Inside the underground Chamber, the entire crypt trembled violently, countless iron spikes erupting from all directions, biting directly at the snake-man in front of them!
The students above, who had been trying to move, fell to the ground under the shaking. Only the Quidditch players with flying brooms could quickly scoop them up and fly them to the school gate.
"What the hell is going on! Is it the Chamber of Secrets?"
Harry, stunned, carried Finch-Fletchley to the
room and carried him to the gate.
Professor Lockhart actually had such power? Or had Voldemort truly returned?
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(End of this chapter)