Chapter 195 The Diary is the Real Body
"I want to too!" Aaron said, close to tears. "But I don't have any strength left, and do you think he'd give us a second chance?"
Riddle's face broke into a triumphant smile.
Having personally experienced that terrifying lightning baptism, he wouldn't dare give Aaron another chance to engrave a magic circle.
The future Lord Voldemort had learned what it meant to suffer a setback from an unexpected quarter, and the current Tom Riddle certainly didn't want to experience the same humiliation.
"So that means we have to fight him head-on." Harry's expression was serious. Looking at the wand in Riddle's hand, he suddenly thought of something. "Aaron, lend me your wand."
"What the heck?" Aaron's mouth twitched slightly. "Even if you're crazy, you should pay attention to the occasion!"
"You don't have much magic left, but I do. All I lack is a wand."
Hearing this, Ron also reacted.
His wand was broken, but Aaron's wand was fine. Borrowing it was not out of the question.
"I also…"
"Don't." Aaron rolled his eyes. "Even if I'm in a bad state now, the effect of the wand in my hand is definitely stronger than in yours."
"Ginny's wand," Hermione reminded him. "You can use Ginny's."
Ron didn't think too much and directly pulled a black wand from Ginny's pocket.
"Are you ready?" Riddle completely disregarded the four young Wizards, playfully twirling the wand in his hand. "Today you will learn the meaning of despair."
Roar!
A roar suddenly sounded, and a white figure suddenly flew over, its crimson dragon flame forcing Riddle back several meters.
"That damned dragon."
"Abel!"
Aaron looked at it with relief, and when he saw the black diary in its pocket, he let out a sigh of relief.
Abel jumped in front of Aaron, smiling and mumbling.
The general meaning was that the Basilisk had lost the diary while biting everything in sight, and it had taken a lot of effort to dig it out from under the collapsed pillars.
"Well done. You saved all of us this time."
At this moment, Aaron had no more qualms. He had originally planned to put all his remaining magic points into magic power, and with the rewards from completing two missions, it would be enough to elevate his strength to the peak of an intermediate Archmage.
At that point, he would have the capital to confront Riddlehead-on.
Although he might still not be able to defeat him, as the opponent's accumulation was truly not to be underestimated, with Abel and Fawkes, they weren't without a chance of winning.
A 40-60 split was a bit ambitious, but a 50-50 split was still possible.
However, with the Horcrux in his hand, he had Tom Riddle's life in his grasp, and everything became much less troublesome. No matter how powerful he was, he couldn't turn the tables.
"It's a pity, Tom Riddle," Aaron said meaningfully. "The outcome is decided. You're dead this time."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Riddle frowned. "Although I admire you, both your talent and your character have exceeded my imagination, this doesn't mean I can repeatedly tolerate your disrespect towards me."
Pfft!
Aaron couldn't help but chuckle, then saw the dark lines on Riddle's face. "Sorry, I just think you're too conceited. You don't even know you're on the verge of death."
"What do you mean?"
Aaron shrugged and took the diary from Abel's pocket. "This thing should be a Horcrux, right?"
"Stop." Riddle's face drained of color, and he looked at Aaron with extreme nervousness. "Do you know what this means?"
"Of course, I know. This is your life."
Harry and the others also deduced the meaning of the diary from Riddle's expression and collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Although it felt strange, the situation seemed to have taken a huge turn, and the initiative was in their hands.
"If we destroy it, Riddle will die, right?" Harry asked excitedly. "Hogwarts will be safe, and Ginny will wake up."
"You're not completely hopeless."
Pfft!
Harry felt as if his heart had been stabbed by a sword, a pain that pierced him to the core.
But thinking of the many absurd things they had done, he could only force an awkward smile.
"Horcruxes aren't that easy to destroy," Riddle said confidently, but to the others, it sounded incredibly unconvincing.
"Normally, that's the case. Ordinary spells can't do anything to this diary.
But unfortunately, there are at least four ways to destroy it in this Chamber of Secrets." Aaron chuckled. "Gaius's sword. You've seen its power."
Riddle's face darkened, but Harry and the other two grinned. This was a sure thing!
"Second, the Basilisk's fangs. The venom of a thousand-year-old magical creature should also be able to destroy a Horcrux!
Third, dragon's breath. Abel's dragon flame has a strong suppressive effect on Dark Arts artifacts like Horcruxes."
Riddle couldn't take it anymore. He knew he had to get the diary back, or it would be a dead end.
"Avada Kedavra."
A green, ominous-looking spell shot from the tip of his wand, accompanied by a chaotic sound, its target quite clear.
Although Riddle greatly admired Aaron and hoped he would assist him, a potentially powerful assistant was nothing compared to the temptation of resurrection.
"Fourth, the Killing Curse." Aaron sneered and threw the diary out.
Boom!
The diary was hit by the Unforgivable Curse, turning grayish-white in mid-air, and black ink violently exploded from it, splattering everywhere.
Riddle's body was also covered with white light holes, and he was in extreme pain, turning into ashes amidst agonizing wails.
Clatter!
Harry's wand fell to the ground, splashing a few drops of water.
"It should be completely over now, right?" Harry asked, somewhat uncertainly. "Riddle won't come back to life again, will he?"
"Unless he has a life-or-death friendship with Death, otherwise…"
Ginny suddenly moaned, opened her eyes, and sat up blankly. "Where is this?"
Aaron shrugged and said, half-jokingly, "It seems Death is still quite fair."
"You're finally awake." Ron happily gave Ginny a hug. "It's over, Ginny.
Riddle is dead, and his Basilisk was also killed by Aaron. Everything is over."
Ginny looked at the grayish-white diary and the Basilisk cut in two, her eyes red and streaming with tears from fear.
"I'm sorry, I did it, but I really didn't mean to.
It was Riddle, he controlled me."
"No one will blame a little girl who almost died," Aaron comforted her. "Besides, the Mandrake has already grown, and the victims will soon be un-petrified."
"I won't be expelled, will I?" Ginny cried. "Mom and Dad would be so sad."
"You can rest assured about that, you definitely won't be expelled." Aaron said with great confidence. "Dumbledorewill be back at school soon. Although he always messes up at critical moments, it cannot be denied that he is quite good to his students.
Fifty years ago, Myrtle died, and Hagrid was wrongly accused of being Slytherin's heir. It was Dumbledore's persistent protection that allowed him to stay at Hogwarts.
This time, you are also a victim, and more importantly, no one died, and we found the Chamber of Secrets and killed the Basilisk, eliminating a huge hidden danger for Hogwarts.
In any case, the merits outweigh the demerits. He has no reason to punish you."
Hearing this, Ginny's expression improved considerably. "Thank you, Aaron."
"You're welcome." Aaron waved his hand. "But in the future, you still need to be more careful with magical artifacts that have their own consciousness. If there's a next time, I might not be able to save you."
"Let's go wait at the entrance first!" Hermione reminded them, then carefully helped Aaron up. "You're really not looking well right now."
Harry also hurried to support Aaron on the other side, treating him like a delicate piece of porcelain, afraid of bumping or scratching him.
Ron, meanwhile, comforted his sister, telling her what had happened while helping her towards the entrance.
"Wait, my ring." Aaron suddenly stopped. "That's very important. Has anyone seen it?"
"Is that it?" Ginny pointed to a puddle, where a medieval ring reflected a faint glow.
Abel immediately ran over and brought the ring to Aaron.
Hermione picked it up, preparing to put it on Aaron, but the next moment she felt a wave of weakness throughout her body and stumbled before recovering.
"You…"
Hermione looked at Aaron with a bewildered expression. Having personally felt the ring's magic, she finally understood why Lord Voldemort valued Aaron so much.
Geniuses are also categorized. She considered herself far superior to ordinary peers, but compared to geniuses like Aaron and Lord Voldemort, she was simply insignificant; there was an unfathomable chasm between them.
"Don't tell anyone," Aaron said meaningfully as he put on the ring.
Hermione nodded blankly and continued to help Aaron forward.
After climbing a ladder and passing through a narrow tunnel, the group once again saw the grayish-white barrier.
"Professor, we're out!" Ron shouted.
Professor McGonagall saw Ginny Weasley also emerge and felt a huge sense of relief, exclaiming excitedly, "Thank goodness, Ginny, you're alive!"
With no loss of life, the situation wasn't beyond repair.
Hogwarts could handle the aftermath more easily, and there would be an explanation for the Weasleys.
"Professor, don't just look at her!" Aaron said weakly. "I need a doctor."
The four Professors then noticed the extremely weak Aaron and their hearts immediately sank.
The barrier was too obscuring, and if they didn't look closely, they could only see a few figures.
And since Harry and the others were all fine, they subconsciously assumed Aaron must be fine too, but they didn't expect that the most powerful one was actually the most severely injured.
"Gaius, are you alright?" Professor Snape immediately walked to the barrier and decisively cast a spell, but the curtain wall only trembled slightly, with negligible effect.
"Minerva, when will Dumbledore be here?"
"Don't worry too much, I won't die anytime soon." Aaron said with relief. "It's just that my whole body feels especially numb, and I can't exert any strength."
"You…" Snape saw the flush on Aaron's face and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "How did you get into this state?"
"This should be normal, right!
After all, the opponent was a giant snake tens of feet long, plus a sixteen-year-old genius Wizard."
"I know, but how are they completely fine?" Snape's face was grim. He knew Aaron was highly talented, but it would be foolish to act like a hero and put himself in danger.
"We couldn't get involved at all," Harry explained awkwardly. "Riddle disarmed us very easily. If it weren't for Aaron, we might not have made it back."
"Exactly, that giant magic…"
Hermione immediately coughed and gave Ron a warning look, stopping him from continuing.
"What giant magic?" Professor Flitwick couldn't help but ask.
"Uh… nothing." Ron gave Aaron two sheepish smiles, almost exposing the magic circle.
Aaron's mouth twitched slightly. Actually, there was no need to be so nervous; a trump card that had been played was no longer a trump card.