A few days later, the materials Victor Wick needed were finally gathered.
Although Victor could provide massive financial support, collecting many of these materials was no simple task.
Even after Snape's refinements, some ingredients remained impossibly rare.
For example, certain materials from magical beasts that were almost impossible to find anymore...
This made Victor determined to find a way to build a ranch in the future, specifically for breeding such rare magical creatures.
He would also set aside a large area for farming—just to grow those rare herbs!
Of course, he wouldn't just call it a ranch; Victor decided to name the place a "Nature Reserve."
These magical creatures were scarce because they had been overhunted by wizards!
Those rare herbs were on the brink of extinction because foolish wizards had no concept of sustainable development!
Protecting nature—it was the perfect justification!
Even a magizoologist like Newt would support him!
After noting this down, Victor went to find Snape.
"Cough, cough..." Snape's face was as pale as ever, but now there was a sickly tinge to it.
"Wait, your injury isn't healed yet?"
"It's healed."
"Then what's with the coughing?"
"Perhaps that blade damaged my lungs. It didn't fully recover during treatment," Snape said, coughing twice more.
"You should go to St Mungo's and have someone check it out. Just mention my name; it will definitely work," Victor said.
"St Mungo's? Are you sure mentioning your name won't make me die faster?" A flash of mockery crossed Snape's face.
"What kind of talk is that! We're the closest of friends! Don't worry! Before you go for your checkup, I'll visit my ex-girlfriends first! I'll let them take out their anger on me so you'll be safe!" Victor clapped Snape on the shoulder with a righteous air.
"'Them'?" Snape looked at Victor in shock. "Didn't you only have one ex-girlfriend at St Mungo's?"
"Let's go. Everything is fully prepared. We just need to conduct a small experiment before we can officially begin!" Victor turned and walked away.
"Heh..." Snape let out a soft chuckle.
'Avoiding the difficult questions again, are we?'
Once Snape finished packing, he followed Victor right out of Hogwarts.
Of course, Victor only left Hogwarts after taking a formal leave of absence.
This forced Professor Slughorn to cover his classes once again...
However, the teaching aids Victor left behind saved Professor Slughorn a lot of trouble.
Basically, he just had to watch the students and make sure nothing went wrong.
Everyone was just a bit surprised—Victor and Snape, who used to be at each other's throats, had suddenly become so friendly.
In the laboratory.
Snape stood before a massive cauldron, meticulously adding materials one by one.
Lily floated nearby, watching silently.
On the other side, Victor was carefully calibrating a miniature model in front of a giant beast...
It was the carcass of a Chimaera, preserved until now by Victor's special methods.
To ensure success, they decided to perform a small experiment on this giant beast before officially resurrecting Lily.
So, Victor had reconstructed a Chimaera model based on the carcass.
Victor pulled out a small box.
Inside was a clump of soul energy he had carefully programmed.
It was an imitation beast soul he had created based on the Chimaera's soul energy, following the guidance of the Great Mage Merlin.
Since it was just an experiment, he obviously wouldn't summon back the Chimaera's actual soul, even if Merlin had confirmed such an operation was feasible.
Otherwise, a reborn Chimaera could easily tear the entire lab apart!
As the final herb was dropped into the cauldron, the potion gradually turned a deep murky green, emitting a peculiar, fresh fragrance.
"It is ready." Smelling the fragrance, Snape breathed a sigh of relief.
The materials were too rare; he couldn't afford to fail. This was why Victor had brought Snape along.
Victor nodded. "Good. Then... the first experiment officially begins. Clear the area!"
Snape flicked his wand, sweeping the cluttered items into the corner of the lab to clear an open space.
Victor stood before the cauldron, took out a small vial of Chimaera blood, and poured it in. The murky green potion instantly turned blood-red!
Victor raised his wand and tapped forward lightly.
A large, ethereal phantom appeared above the cauldron—it was the Chimaera model he had just finished calibrating...
With a flick of Victor's wand, the model landed inside a massive rectangular container nearby.
Snape used his wand to control a heavy lid, sealing the container tight.
Victor tapped the edge of the cauldron with his wand. The potion within transformed into streaks of dark red snakes, floating out and slithering into the pre-made holes of the sealed container...
"Gurgle, gurgle!"
As the potion was continuously injected, the sound of boiling liquid came from inside the sealed container!
Victor immediately threw the programmed imitation soul from the box toward it.
The soul energy met no resistance, passing through the thick container like a ghost before disappearing inside.
The entire container instantly began to tremble!
Victor, Snape, and Lily all watched the container with bated breath.
Time flew by, and fifteen minutes passed in a flash.
The container's trembling gradually subsided...
"Did you hear that?" Lily suddenly whispered.
"What?" Snape asked.
"It sounds like... snoring..."
"It worked!" Victor ran over excitedly. "That's the snoring of a Chimaera!"
*Crash!*
The lid was thrown open, and a massive, hideous head dripping with viscous dark red liquid slowly emerged from the container!
The innate pressure of the Chimaera made Snape and Lily involuntarily take a few steps back.
"Don't worry. Its soul is artificial, a blank slate. It won't take any action until I give the command."
Only then did Snape and Lily realize that while the Chimaera looked fierce, there was no light in its eyes. The beast just held its head up blankly, making no further move.
Victor took out his wand and lightly tapped the massive, hideous head.
As if connecting to a network, the Chimaera finally moved.
It glanced at Victor, then leapt straight out of the container!
The Chimaera truly was a top predator; despite such a massive body, it made almost no sound when it landed!
"Aguamenti!"
Victor's wand acted like a water cannon, washing away the thick potion from the Chimaera's body.
Soon, the giant beast's terrifying appearance was fully revealed to them!
"It's exactly like the Chimaera carcass!" Lily said in pleasant surprise, studying the beast closely.
"Rather, it's exactly like my model!" Victor said with delight.
Snape looked at the giant beast, then at the Chimaera carcass nearby, and suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
He realized that as long as Victor had that carcass and his model, he could continuously create Chimaeras for his own use.
In fact, the thought flashed through Victor's mind as well—he just had to overcome the hurdle of artificial souls.
But... he knew this idea was just a daydream.
Mr. Death, who was obsessed with balance, would never allow him to exploit this bug so flagrantly.
For example, he could only resurrect one Lily, not a crowd of them... even though this successful experiment proved he technically had the ability.
Since the God of Death was willing to turn a blind eye for now, it was better not to test his limits.
Furthermore... the soul he created was artificial, after all; many technical difficulties had yet to be resolved.
The resurrected Chimaera only possessed the same physical body. At most, it was just a fierce beast—it couldn't even be called a magical creature.
Because the magical properties inherent to a true Chimaera could not yet manifest in this one.
Even the materials from this resurrected beast wouldn't have the proper magical effects!
Unless he was willing to summon back the true soul of that Chimaera and resurrect the beast in the truest sense.
Magic originated from the soul; Victor had understood this principle long ago.
However, with the right measures, it wasn't impossible to truly resurrect this beast... Taming a Chimaera would provide quite a sense of achievement!
The thoughts passed in an instant. Victor made a mental note and commanded the giant beast to crawl into a large cage prepared nearby.
"Now then..." Victor looked at Lily.
"I'm ready!" Lily nodded firmly.
"Mm..." Victor looked at Snape.
"Don't worry." Snape walked to the cauldron and began cleaning it, preparing the materials once more...
Victor looked at Snape with some confusion. He felt that the look in Snape's eyes contained a hint of... fear?
He turned around and secretly pulled out his mirror.
In the mirror, Merlin nodded to him, indicating there were no issues with the experiment just now.
Victor finally felt completely at ease. If the God of Death's representative said it was fine, what did he have to worry about?
Snape truly was a Potions Master. He had succeeded again in brewing such a difficult potion.
The familiar fragrance wafted from the cauldron once more...
"Impressive!" Victor gave him a thumbs-up.
Snape didn't speak. He had taken Felix Felicis before coming, and he had even refined the recipe himself. If he failed now, his mastery of Potions would be a joke!
Victor quickly tossed a streak of white light into the cleaned container and closed the lid with a clang.
That was the model for Lily's body.
Then, Victor dropped Lily's finger bone into the cauldron, and the potion turned deep red once more.
The deep red potion acted like snakes again, slowly slithering into the container next to it...
"Gurgle, gurgle!"
The potion boiled again.
Victor and Snape looked at Lily. She struggled to calm her nerves, a small smile appearing on her face. "See you in a bit!"
With a flash of white, Lily's ethereal figure drifted into the container like wisps of smoke!
The sealed container began to tremble once more...
Victor nudged Snape with his elbow. "For an interview—how are you feeling right now?"
Snape glanced at him before speaking slowly. "The materials you collected were just enough. Exactly enough to resurrect two people."
Seeing Snape's sour expression, Victor laughed. "Don't worry... the second person to be resurrected isn't who you think it is."
Snape looked at Victor in surprise. He wasn't going to resurrect James? Although Snape was more than happy to see that, but... why?
"Did you forget? We're on the same side!" Victor said with a grin.
In truth, Victor's second set of materials was prepared for Ariana, but that didn't stop him from scoring some points with Snape.
After all, only when favorability was high enough would a workhorse be willing to toil for love and continue being a drudge for him!
Sure enough, an imperceptible flash of gratitude flickered in Snape's eyes...
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