Wade looked deeply saddened.
"I risked my life to obtain this power from the senior. You have no idea how much pain I went through at the time. The capsule you just took has already been improved by me to minimise the suffering. If you weren't like a brother to me, I wouldn't even have been willing to give it to you... and yet you still say that about me."
Tom looked suspiciously at Slytherin, waiting to see if the old man would back that story up or stay silent about it.
Slytherin then remembered the screams Wade and Miravia had let out together when Wade released her.
There was no doubt that both of them had suffered inhuman pain at the time.
"Indeed... Tom, you recovered this quickly, but Wade was howling for half an hour back then..." Slytherin said with a sigh.
"Him? Howling?" Tom stared at Slytherin in disbelief. To be honest, he had only ever imagined Wade screaming in his dreams.
"Yes. He nearly died obtaining this magic, and there was only a limited amount to begin with. After purification, even less remained. I had him give you a portion. As for the effect, I think you should already be able to feel it yourself," Slytherin said.
That was indeed what he had witnessed at the time. If Hufflepuff had not happened to be there, Wade might have paid an even greater price.
Such precious magic, obtained at the risk of his life, and Wade had still been willing to give some away in exchange for nothing more than Slytherin helping him raise basilisks.
That was surely because of the deep friendship Wade and Tom already shared. If it were Slytherin himself, he would never have given something like this away so easily.
For no apparent reason, Slytherin suddenly remembered the days when he and Gryffindor had constantly bickered and fought. Their friendship had once been like this too.
Thinking of that, Slytherin felt a little guilty and silently decided that he would definitely help Wade manage the basilisk production line properly.
After hearing Slytherin's explanation, Tom's feelings also became complicated.
Of course he knew about Wade's plan to free the senior, and he roughly understood some of the methods involved.
Back then, when his magic had gone out of control and everyone around him suddenly forgot who Wade was, it had been because of this matter.
Now that Slytherin, who had clearly witnessed everything firsthand, was saying the same thing, the story was probably true.
"Um... I... I'm sorry. I just didn't know what happened..." Tom began apologising.
"It's fine, Tom! No matter what, you're the first friend I ever made in this world! Forget about that. Try casting a few spells first. I want to see how much stronger this magic has made you."
The sorrowful expression on Wade's face vanished, replaced by excitement.
But those words caught Slytherin's attention.
Tom had only met Wade at the orphanage, yet Wade had said Tom was the first friend he had ever made?
It was difficult to imagine what this child had gone through before that.
Dumbledore was right.
This child really was carrying burdens that none of them could see from the outside.
After some testing, the improvement in Tom's strength was obvious.
Spells that had once required intense concentration could now be cast casually, as if they cost him almost nothing now.
The Patronus Charm was one example. If Tom went back to Azkaban now, he would no longer be as helpless as before.
Wade estimated that Tom now possessed strength comparable to an elite Auror.
Having that level of ability at his age meant his potential was practically limitless.
Not everyone who absorbed this kind of purified magic would achieve results as good as Tom's.
Once he fully matured, his power would become even more terrifying.
Slytherin watched Tom's Hydra Patronus race around the Chamber of Secrets, his expression complicated.
Whether in life or death, he had never imagined... That among his own descendants, there would actually appear an oddity capable of casting the Patronus Charm.
...
After personally witnessing Wade give Tom the purified magic and confirming that Tom had genuinely become stronger, Slytherin left for Africa through the Vanishing Cabinet, thoroughly satisfied.
On the way back to the dormitory, Tom was still unable to suppress his excitement. He spent the entire journey waving his wand around and practising every spell that came to mind, unable to leave the new strength alone for even a moment of the walk back.
For someone like Tom, there was almost nothing more enjoyable than becoming stronger.
"Tom, I'm actually planning to give some of this purified magic to other people too. Not just you," Wade suddenly said.
Tom put away his wand. "It's yours, Wade."
His meaning was obvious.
It belonged to Wade. He could do whatever he wanted with it.
"As long as you don't mind. You've already experienced the benefits of this power yourself. I want everyone I trust to have sufficient strength. Right now, all of you are still too weak," Wade said.
Tom asked, "What about you?"
"This magic doesn't increase my strength nearly as much as you imagine, Tom. It would be better to give it to people who need it more."
Tom looked at Wade in astonishment.
He had personally experienced just how enormous the boost from this magic was.
If an improvement of this scale was barely useful to Wade, then... just how powerful has Wade become?!!
And based on what Tom knew about Wade, there was no chance this bastard would willingly give up something beneficial to himself so easily.
Which meant Wade's claim that this magic was not very useful to him was probably true.
Tom, who had been feeling slightly inflated with confidence, immediately calmed down again.
Right...
Wade would only be willing to hand out this kind of power so freely if he was confident he could still defeat all of them without much difficulty.
Wade glanced sideways at Tom.
Seeing the surprise on his face and the thoughtful expression that followed, Wade knew his warning had achieved its purpose.
A stick followed by a sweet reward was what kept subordinates steady.
Wade needed them to feel grateful toward him, but he also needed them to fear him.
So establishing an image of himself as someone overwhelmingly powerful and impossible to surpass was absolutely necessary, and he knew it.
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[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69