Riddle's guess was right.
The characteristics of the transformed spell did indeed appear on the card data.
And there really were quality classifications: White, Blue, Purple, Gold.
The maximum damage on the card was the damage in an ideal state after spending 6 points of [Killing Intent].
If more [Killing Intent] was "consumed," the damage would increase accordingly.
The standard damage of a [Shadow] was 49.
Regardless of how much [Killing Intent] Basil "consumed," the Killing Curse from a [Shadow] would always deal 49 damage.
Perhaps because Basil had only killed ants and spiders...
The [Shadow] emitted a deadly green glow, and under its tattered hood was a face with ant mandibles and eight spider-like eyes.
Clearly not something a decent wizard would use.
Moreover, with four [Shadows], while aiming his own Killing Curse, he also had to control where they aimed.
If he didn't control them, they would fire in the same direction he did.
Wouldn't that be a massive overflow of damage?
With the [Heart of Killing] talent, Basil's single-target damage was already overflowing.
Under Riddle's guidance, Basil found a suitable way to play with the [Shadows].
They counted as summons. When he wasn't using the [Killing Curse], they rested on the [Killing Curse] page in the [Magic Book].
After naming them in his mind, he could command them without speaking.
For example, if there were four ants in front of him...
Aside from the one he aimed at himself, he could direct the other three with vague mental commands like "Number 1, hit this one."
Now, the weakness of the Killing Curse not being an Area of Effect spell was compensated for.
The only downside was that when casting the [Killing Curse] and using the [Shadows] to attack simultaneously, having them float behind him looked too ugly and too "Dark Wizard."
But this could be solved by having them hide inside Basil's body.
When they weren't attacking, there was no abnormality.
But when attacking, besides the green light from his wand, green light would also shoot out from random places like Basil's eyes or forehead.
So, the "Ultimate Bladder Sword" wasn't impossible.
Having achieved his goal and mastered his first Level 2 spell, Basil naturally wanted to pick a lucky audience member to test it on.
He could also combine Slytherin's research data on the Killing Curse with the card data.
Basil strongly suspected that the reason his [Killing Curse] reached Level 2 so quickly was because it knew that upon reaching Level 2, it could taste a fresh life.
Coincidentally, today deep underground in London, on the ninth floor of the Ministry of Magic, in the Death Chamber of the Department of Mysteries, an experiment concerning death was about to take place.
It was truly unbelievable; today was Saturday.
The Quidditch match at Hogwarts was starting in an hour and a half, yet the Department of Mysteries was still working?
It was a square room with a sunken center, featuring a massive stone pit about twenty feet deep.
Inside the pit, stone steps circled the entire room, gradually descending like benches in an amphitheater. Each step was very steep.
In the center of the stone pit was a raised stone dais, upon which stood an archway that looked ancient and dilapidated.
The archway had no wall supporting it. A tattered black curtain or veil hung from it. Despite the cold, still air, the veil fluttered gently, as if just touched by someone.
When Basil observed it, he always had the illusion that someone was standing behind the veil, or on the other side of the archway.
It seemed like someone was whispering behind it.
But shifting his gaze, he could only see the other side of the tattered black veil.
Normally, this room was always closed, and almost no one entered.
But today, there was a wheelchair in front of the archway.
Sitting in it was a man wearing Muggle hospital clothes.
This man was today's experiment prop.
The wizarding world didn't have the death penalty, but that was limited to wizards.
Muggles were not included.
This man came from a Muggle prison—a priest who had been caught after silencing a witness who discovered his secret with multiple young boys, then reported and thrown into jail.
The Unspeakables (employees of the Department of Mysteries) had brought him here early in the morning for interrogation.
And then ignored him.
The Unspeakables were currently in other rooms; this experiment wouldn't start until evening.
This was standard procedure; by evening, the test subject wouldn't have the energy to struggle.
The man's eyes were bloodshot.
He muttered words like God and Devil, occasionally shouting, "Who's talking?"
He couldn't understand how wizards who should be burned at the stake appeared out of thin air in his solitary cell, and after a blackout, he appeared here.
Behind the fluttering veil in front of him, someone seemed to be calling his name. The voices clearly belonged to his dead father and Henry, whom he had killed.
They seemed to be discussing horrific things, like how he killed Henry and his secret dislike of women.
"Enough! You are all devils! In the name of God, I command you to shut up!" the man roared uncontrollably.
"God? Does God allow you to sleep with little boys?" A clear voice rang out in the room.
Then, the wheelchair turned on its own, and the man finally saw the boy.
He had golden hair and large lake-blue eyes, like a beam of light shooting into his dried-up heart.
"Hallelujah, Amen. Hello, child. You don't understand, I was instilling positive energy in the children. No need to thank me; this is what we, who remain single and serve God for life, should do. What is your name? Can you introduce yourself?"
"Hmph!" The blond boy gave a light snort, and the man's heart nearly broke.
He wanted to say something more, but then he heard...
"My name? You are not worthy to hear it! Avada Kedavra!"
A massive green shadow behind the boy, enveloping the entire room, lifted its hood toward him.
Inside were eight eyes, a triangular head, and pairs of thick mandibles.
Before he could even shout the word "Devil," a green light struck him.
Then came darkness.
A suction force came from the veil behind him.
A sensation like being in the mother's womb, surrounded by amniotic fluid, began to envelop him.
Basil didn't know what the man felt.
He was still recalling the feeling of killing with the [Killing Curse].
Just now, the four [Shadows] merged into one, becoming incredibly huge.
The cast Killing Curse also overlapped.
The damage was a full 196.
The overflowing damage caused no impact on the surroundings.
It simply killed the man.
But even so...
Although no force was applied, the wheelchair slid backward and vanished into the veil along with the man.
On the other side of the archway, behind the veil, there was no corpse.
Remember, the ninth floor of the Ministry of Magic, the Department of Mysteries, was lit up.
This room was also a part of Basil.
But during the process just now, he felt nothing different.
The man just disappeared abruptly.
"Could the world behind the veil really be the afterlife?"
Basil's expression was uncertain. After taking a deep look at the veil, he vanished from the spot.
Just as the thought of taking a photo to inscribe the veil arose, he was enveloped by a sense of impending doom.
Afterward, the Department of Mysteries didn't make a big fuss over the disappearance of the experiment prop.
They just assumed the Muggle struggled and accidentally fell into the veil.
This wasn't an isolated case, and besides, a Muggle death row inmate wasn't worth much.