Harry looked at Tom, his face showing not the slightest trace of fear. Listening to Tom's words, he couldn't help but sneer and say, "The greatest wizard isn't you. You've never been the greatest wizard—not in the past, present, or future!"
Tom, occupying Marcellus's body, suddenly turned to stare at Harry. A handsome but ethereal face emerged from Marcellus's features as he stared intently at Harry and said in a low voice, "If I'm not the greatest wizard, then who could be?"
"Dumbledore! Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard in this world! He not only has outstanding academic contributions but has also taught countless excellent wizards at Hogwarts. He's infinitely superior to you, a destroyer who only knows killing and creating terror. Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard in this world!"
Listening to Harry's words, Sean realized that Dumbledore's biggest fanboy wasn't anyone else, but Harry himself.
At this moment, Marcellus's face was visibly distorted under Tom's influence.
He looked at Harry, pacing back and forth, nodding continuously, speaking in what seemed like mockery yet also like muttering to himself: "Yes, yes, that's right, that's right, a fanatical believer of Dumbledore...
Harry Potter, your ingratitude, your ignorance, truly infuriates me. It seems I need to give you some lessons, some lessons you'll never forget, to break your arrogant spine and make you understand...
Who!!
The!
greatest!
wizard!"!
Is!
As his roaring words fell, Tom turned to look at the massive Slytherin statue behind him, making hissing sounds from his mouth. Both Sean and Harry could understand the meaning of his hissing.
"Speak to me! Slytherin... greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"
As Tom's Parseltongue rang out, the mouth of the massive Slytherin statue behind suddenly opened, growing larger and larger like a black hole, opening a gateway to another space.
A roar echoed from the black hole, and a giant serpent seventeen to eighteen meters long, dark green all over, with dull yellow snake eyes and a bright red feather on its head, emerged from the statue's face that had become a black hole. It quickly slithered down the statue to the ground, coming to stand behind Tom.
The moment Sean saw the Basilisk appear, he immediately reached out to grab Harry's arm, quickly retreating backward at full speed. By the time the Basilisk reached Tom's side, they had successfully retreated outside the massive hall.
"Tom, I've prepared gifts for you and the Basilisk long ago. Now I'll give them to you!"
Pulling out the bag from his chest, Sean opened it and pointed his wand at the interior. Immediately, shadows flew out from the bag, scattering throughout the hall.
Only then did Harry see that what Sean had released from the bag were boxes and tape recorders!
As Sean waved his wand, all the tape recorders simultaneously pressed their play buttons, while the boxes instantly burst open, revealing sleeping Mandrakes buried in flowerpots inside!
Sean waved his wand again, and the Mandrakes were pulled from their pots as if grasped by invisible hands. At that moment, after a brief period of static, the tape recorders successfully began playing their recordings.
In an instant, the crowing of roosters from the tape recorders and the piercing cries of the Mandrakes intertwined, like a deadly symphony echoing throughout the entire hall.
Sean and Harry had already put on their earmuffs, blocking out the deadly cries of the Mandrakes.
But Tom and the Basilisk weren't so fortunate. Although the recorded rooster crows weren't as deadly as real rooster calls, there were so many tape recorders, and combined with the Mandrakes' wailing, the Basilisk writhed in agony on the ground while Marcellus, possessed by Tom, also collapsed, wailing continuously with blood flowing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
"Harry, stay here and don't come closer. This is an excellent opportunity—I'm going up to deal with them."
"Sean, be careful!"
"Don't worry!"
Putting his wand behind his back, Sean tore off his robes, revealing the athletic wear underneath, then pulled from his bag the tower shield and chain hammer that had been reinforced and repaired by elven alchemists before the school term began!
Compared to last time, Sean's tower shield had become thicker with more ancient runes, while the chain hammer had a larger diameter with many more spikes added to maximize its destructive power!
Watching Sean lift a tower shield as tall as himself in one hand and carry a chain hammer that could smash half his body with one blow in the other, Harry couldn't help but swallow. This was the first time he'd seen Sean like this. He'd heard that Sean was very strong, but Harry really hadn't expected it to be this much.
This kind of strength was probably comparable to the troll he'd encountered last year, wasn't it?
At this moment, Sean couldn't care about what Harry was thinking. Tom over there was already making moves to destroy the tape recorders and Mandrakes—Sean had to act quickly. Taking a deep breath, he charged directly at the Basilisk, leaping up without hesitation. Avoiding the Basilisk's gaze, Sean swung his hammer and struck the Basilisk directly, instantly shattering scales, tearing flesh, and spilling blood.
The Basilisk, already suffering from the rooster crows and Mandrake cries, took a solid hit from Sean's iron hammer. Its body struggled even more violently as it roared frantically.
"Hiss hiss hiss... (Kill him, use your eyes!)"
The command from Slytherin's heir immediately restored three parts of the Basilisk's rationality as it raised its head to look at Sean.
Seeing that their gazes might meet, Sean immediately raised his tower shield to block the Basilisk's line of sight. But just then, Sean saw a shadow whipping toward him, striking his tower shield hard—it was the Basilisk's tail!
Hit by the Basilisk's tail, Sean immediately flew backward, his body crashing hard into the wall behind him, also destroying two nearby tape recorders.
With the tape recorders destroyed, the rooster's crows immediately weakened somewhat. The Basilisk sensed the change in situation and began sweeping its massive tail continuously, crushing tape recorders into fragments and destroying some Mandrakes as well.
Seeing this scene, Sean's expression changed slightly as he hefted his chain hammer and tower shield, charging at the Basilisk once more.
Just then, a high-pitched cry rang out as Fawkes the phoenix, like living flame, flew in from outside. It dropped the tattered Sorting Hat at Harry's feet, while Fawkes itself became a streak of fiery light, rushing toward the Basilisk!