[Congratulations! You have successfully captured the key figure—Naga the Serpent Woman!]
[You have hosted a relaxing little tea party for Aurors from various nations.]
[Soul Fusion increased by 0.02%!]
As the subtitles faded, a subtle sensation of clarity washed over Ethan, as if a cool spring were being poured over his head.
In his mind's eye, Ethan caught a blurry glimpse of the gate at the apex. That door to the summit, pouring down a cobalt-blue radiance, shimmered with a hidden, surging blackness at its edges. It felt within reach. Yet, the moment he moved to touch it, it vanished like a fleeting dream.
"Almost there... I can almost reach the top," Ethan murmured. A spark of hunger flickered within his cobalt eyes.
However, to open that door—the gateway to ascending as a "God"—he still required a key. According to what his high-level servant, the Girl in the Mirror, had said previously, the key was hidden.
It was a key tucked away within the mind of a wise man.
"Phew, there's still so much to do," Ethan thought to himself.
There was no impatience in his heart. Instead, he felt a soaring confidence, like an eagle banking toward the heavens.
"First, let's find this piece of Death's remains."
Just as Ethan was about to clear the room to focus on Naga, the German Auror who had been set down by the dolls, Andre, suddenly spoke up.
"Boy... have you ever thought about joining Grindelwald's Saints?"
The room went still. The other Aurors whipped their heads around, staring at Andre in absolute shock.
Who would have thought this thick-browed, straight-laced fellow was actually a remnant of the Saints?
"No wonder he's so radical and got shipped off to Britain for field duty," one Auror whispered, a realization dawning on him. "His political leanings are compromised!"
To put it simply, he'd failed his background check.
"Grindelwald?" Ethan turned his head, arching an eyebrow with a look of genuine amusement. "You want me to annex the Saints? How interesting."
"I am... I am serious," Andre choked out.
A manic fervor bled into his eyes as he stared at Ethan. He spoke cautiously, yet with growing intensity. "Your goals don't actually conflict with Lord Grindelwald's! You both want to lead the world toward a better future!"
"I've heard of your past. Born in Spinner's End, persecuted by those disgusting, lowly Muggles... you must be furious, aren't you?"
Hearing this, the British Aurors exchanged bewildered looks. Their eyes screamed a silent conversation:
—Are we reading the same file? Ethan's first 'great achievement' was nearly triggering a massive Dark Arts incident, wasn't it?
—He almost went to the Wizengamot before he even stepped foot in Hogwarts.
—Did Ethan beat that German guy so hard he started having hallucinations?
—Who knows. Can we clock out yet?
Andre couldn't have cared less about what those "human-shaped idiots" were thinking. He reached out a hand toward Ethan, his voice raspy.
"Well? Will you join us? If we break Lord Grindelwald out and work together, Germany—no, the entire world—will be ours for the taking!"
"We, the chosen wizards, shall be the masters of this world!!"
Tap. Tap.
Ethan's finger drummed rhythmically against the tabletop as he watched Andre in silence. After several seconds of dead air, cold sweat began to bead on Andre's back again. His manic, excited smile grew stiff.
...Has this kid always been this oppressive?
He looked up at the tall, slender figure. Under the flickering light—which swayed like the lure of an anglerfish—Ethan's shadow stretched out long and jagged across the floor.
Ethan looked down at him. It was the look a God might give an ant crawling ignorantly across the dirt—a look of profound, silent pity.
So much pity, in fact, that he didn't even feel like speaking.
A second later, a pitch-black door manifested behind Ethan. It radiated an endless, chilling aura, like a tunnel connected directly to the abyss. A light began to glow from behind Ethan's white mask, shining like a beacon in the dark, exuding a sense of supreme holiness and majesty.
It seized Andre's gaze, leaving him wide-eyed and breathless.
"Give my regards to Grindelwald," Ethan said curtly. "I'm quite looking forward to his reaction when he hears your plan."
Ethan reached out, his hand moving toward the ridiculous fanatic.
—I'm going to die!
In that instant, a bone-chilling terror spiked through Andre's skull! Staring at the hand enlarging in his vision, alarm bells screamed in his brain. In decades of service as an Auror, he had never felt a terror this absolute.
Run! Get out of here!!
Obeying his instincts, Andre spun around and bolted for the exit. The door they had entered through was shut tight—proven to be unopenable by any standard spell. But it didn't matter; he had a one-time-use scroll that could open anything.
Rrip!
The parchment, covered in intricate runes, was torn asunder, and a brilliant light burst forth. Andre felt a pang of regret in his heart; even for him, using such a rare, non-renewable artifact was a heavy price. But right now, survival was the only thing that mattered.
A rule-based spell snaked into the keyhole. With a sharp click, the sealed door creaked open just a crack.
"Hey!" Ethan raised his eyebrows and shouted, "Don't go out there—"
Ha! Only an idiot would listen to you!!
Andre sneered and threw himself through the threshold.
And then... he fell into a kaleidoscopic void.
It felt as though he were floating in deep space... no, perhaps he was floating in space. Andre lost all sensation in his limbs. The crazed smile on his face froze as he stared at the scene before him in utter bewilderment.
Where... where is this?
Hadn't he just run out of a room in Hogwarts?
A hallucinogenic mist filled the surroundings, with multi-colored spheres—resembling a string of bubbles—drifting through it. It looked as if stars were wandering through the cosmos.
Then, very quickly, Andre realized something.
These "stars" were alive.
The colors shifted, and a colossal skull slowly emerged from the fog.
Gurgle.
A massive, jewel-like deep blue eye embedded in its forehead contracted and rolled, reflecting Andre's stunned expression. It was so close that he could see the fine, intricate patterns on the orb.
Blood began to leak from Andre's eyes, his nostrils, and every pore on his face. Amidst the overwhelming terror and confusion, his mind simply shut down. He stopped thinking.
"—Oh dear, didn't I tell you? Don't open the door."
A clear, bright voice sounded from behind him.
"With the upgraded Sealed Wardrobe, even if you step outside, you can't return to where you started."
Once you entered, there was absolutely no escape.
A hand reached out, grabbing "Space Junk Andre" and hauling him back in.
Thud.
The door slammed shut. Ethan looked at the now completely catatonic German Auror with an expression of mild annoyance. He decided to dump this trouble on someone else.
As per the original plan, he'd toss him to Grindelwald.
The kind-hearted Mr. Lamp was more than willing to provide some free entertainment for Grindelwald's dull retirement years.
"Off you go!"
Ethan cheerfully tossed Andre into the Anywhere Door. He turned back, smiling at the remaining Aurors.
The Aurors: "...Please just give us an Obliviate. Thanks."
Sob, QAQ.
A flash of light followed. The Anywhere Door swallowed several more unconscious wizards, including Miss Connie, who had helpfully cast Stupefy on herself. Their destination: the Ministry of Magic.
Before they left, Ethan thoughtfully tucked a few little gifts into their pockets—courtesy of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
Once the room was cleared, Ethan stood in the empty space and waved the dolls away. His gaze fell upon Naga in her cage.
A white light manifested in his hand, forming a slender thrusting sword. It was the Crescent Rapier—the same blade he had used on Neville's parents, capable of piercing the physical shell to enter the soul.
"This term, I'll settle things with the Ministry," Ethan murmured. "I will completely suppress the British magical world until the name Mr. Lamp becomes the only guiding light in the chaos!"
To achieve that, he needed greater power.
"I hope I can get a piece of Death's remains this time!"
The words had barely left his lips when Ethan lunged with the rapier!
Crack!
Accompanied by a sound like shattering glass, a powerful suction yanked Ethan's consciousness directly into the serpent's body!
The world spun. Darkness took over.
When Ethan opened his eyes again, his eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sight before him.
Standing in front of him was a tree crafted entirely from flesh and bone. Black hair draped down like weeping willow leaves. Nestled among them was a tilted, grieving face—eyes closed, constantly dripping tears.
It was a face Ethan knew well.
"—Nagini?"
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