"This smoke uses spices from Uagadou..."
Dumbledore turned his head toward N'Dulu.
"Professor N'Dulu, is there anything you'd like to explain?"
"Huh? This... I don't know..."
Halfway through speaking, Professor N'Dulu raised his arm.
But before the wandless magic he was casting could take effect, he was blasted backward.
He rolled all the way down from the spectator stands onto the duelling platform below and lost consciousness.
Dumbledore's expression remained calm and composed.
Instantly defeating the Headmaster of another magical school, someone theoretically equal in status to himself, seemed no more significant than dealing with a trivial matter.
The next second, more than a dozen incense burners hidden throughout the Quidditch stadium exploded at once.
The spices inside scattered across the ground and could no longer release the white smoke that induced sleep.
While Dumbledore dealt with these "minor matters," Voldemort showed no intention whatsoever of stopping him.
Just as Dumbledore finished dealing with the immediate problem, a dull thud came from the duelling arena below.
Astoria had slammed Hide Yamashita into the ground like a piece of rubbish.
Defeating him was not enough.
She clenched her fist sharply, and a huge cloud of red mist burst from Yamashita's body.
His entire body shrivelled almost instantly.
Astoria had actually extracted all the blood from his body!
She raised her head, her beautiful eyes filled with coldness.
She could barely suppress the bloodlust in her heart.
These reckless fools had truly dared to cause trouble during such a grand ceremony.
Today, she would make them understand what Hogwarts' younger generation was capable of!
"Miss Greengrass..."
Professor Flitwick was stunned.
He had never expected this young Slytherin girl to possess such strong bloodlust .
Faced with an enemy who had already lost the ability to resist, she had killed him without even the slightest hesitation.
"Professor Flitwick, Hogwarts is being invaded. Are you really going to stand by and watch?" Astoria turned to look at him.
Flitwick's words immediately caught in his throat.
"I..."
"Please go support Professor McGonagall. As a member of Hogwarts, I also have to do my part to defend the school."
Astoria gathered Yamashita's blood in front of herself, forming a crimson shield.
Then she raised her head, stamped both feet against the ground, and shot straight into the air, flying toward the faculty stands where the fighting was fiercest.
Professor Flitwick felt a headache coming on.
After two seconds of silence, he looked down at Yamashita's dried corpse and sighed.
"You could at least have cleaned up after yourself..."
He drew his wand and pointed it at Yamashita's body.
"Reducto!"
Yamashita's corpse instantly exploded into powder, leaving no remains behind.
Now there was no evidence.
It was practically foolproof.
A satisfied smile appeared on Professor Flitwick's face.
Even if the Ministry investigated after the battle, as long as Astoria kept quiet, no one would be able to prove that she had killed Yamashita.
If Astoria knew what Professor Flitwick was thinking, she would only have laughed disdainfully.
Anyone who dared invade Hogwarts while Dumbledore was guarding it was no ordinary Dark Wizard.
Such people needed to be dealt with harshly!
If someone like that was killed, then so be it.
What explanation was needed?
After Astoria and Flitwick left, the duelling arena was empty.
Dumbledore glanced at the vacant platform, then simply leapt down from the faculty stands.
He landed lightly in the arena.
Voldemort followed close behind, sweeping through the air like an enormous bat before landing there as well.
As far as he was concerned, the Society's plan could already be forgotten.
All he wanted now was to defeat Dumbledore here, before the eyes of countless witnesses.
In the past, he had never been confident that he could defeat Dumbledore.
But now, he was terrifyingly powerful.
Dumbledore could not possibly be his match.
Voldemort seemed to have forgotten the agony of being brutally defeated by that mysterious powerhouse and having his ability to cast magic stripped away.
In any case, that person definitely was not Dumbledore.
He would deal with Dumbledore first, then find that person later and take revenge.
"Tom, seeing you here today truly is unexpected."
On the duelling platform, Dumbledore did not immediately begin fighting Voldemort.
Instead, he spoke to him like an old friend.
"There are many things you never expected."
A mocking smile appeared on Voldemort's face.
"Today's little 'celebration' was outside your expectations too, wasn't it?"
"It was."
Dumbledore nodded.
"I really have grown somewhat lax."
He glanced around at the same time.
Professor White and Professor Arius were nowhere to be seen.
That Godric had disappeared as well.
Clearly, the Quidditch Pitch was not the only battlefield.
"You're simply old."
Voldemort mercilessly pointed out Dumbledore's greatest weakness.
He was too old.
His energy had declined badly.
Even if his magical ability remained, he could no longer keep track of everything the way he had when he was young.
"If I were you, I would never have allowed so many suspicious people into Hogwarts."
Voldemort tried to shake Dumbledore's state of mind and force him to reveal an opening.
But he miscalculated.
"You don't understand at all, Tom. Whether these people entered or not makes no difference. Your conspiracy was impossible from the very beginning."
Dumbledore tightened his grip around his wand.
"It's time for the two of us to settle things."
Whoosh!
A ring of fire surrounded the duelling platform.
Dumbledore used a wall of flames to isolate the battlefield, determined to deal with Tom Riddle here and now.
It was a duty he had delayed for many years.
"Exactly what I wanted!"
A cruel smile appeared at the corner of Voldemort's mouth.
The shadow beneath his feet turned pitch-black and unfathomably deep, while its range rapidly expanded.
"Professor Dumbledore, it's time you learned what death truly feels like!"
Voldemort took the initiative and attacked Dumbledore.
...
Loki had already reached the depths of Hogwarts' dungeons.
A wall blocked his path.
After staring at it for a while, the stone gradually disappeared.
He had successfully opened the seal placed upon it.
'Ahaha~ Good thing I used that fellow's body back then. Otherwise, this would have taken much longer.'
While congratulating himself on that old decision, Loki quickly made his way deeper into the dungeon.
After walking several hundred steps, he abruptly stopped.
Beneath the stone wall ahead sat the corpse of a woman dressed in sky-blue robes.
Hmm?~
Loki carefully examined the dead woman's face for a moment, then his expression brightened.
Yaay!~
She looked very much like Ravenclaw!
So she had died beneath this seal?
Loki felt an enormous sense of relief.
Three of the four could now be confirmed dead.
Hufflepuff's corpse had not been found, but she was most likely dead as well.
Now there was truly no one left who could interfere with his plan!
At that moment, the dried corpse on the ground suddenly twisted its neck and looked in Loki's direction.
Loki: ???
The next second, several terrifyingly powerful blades of wind swept toward him.
Loki: !!!
Painful memories from a thousand years ago immediately resurfaced.
Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and sprinted deeper into the dungeon.
Ravenclaw's corpse followed closely behind him, making him curse aloud.
"Fa fa fuckkkk! Why is the dead Ravenclaw still chasing me?"
____
12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI