The Blood Grape was an inherently dangerous plant, even more dangerous than the miniature man-eating flowers and parasitic pods Leonard had obtained through Midgard's channels.
The miniature man-eating flowers lacked the ability to spread far, so they had little impact on wizarding society. As for the parasitic pods, although they were the aggressive type, that very aggressiveness made them easy for wizards to notice and destroy.
By comparison, the Blood Grape, which still tried to lie in wait after parasitizing a living host, was far more dangerous. And in Leonard's hands, once strengthened, this already dangerous plant displayed the potential to destroy the world.
The direction Leonard chose for its enhancement was simple. Anything the Blood Grape devoured could be recreated with perfect fidelity and brought under its control.
This thing practically screamed villain-exclusive ability. If it did not get half the martial world to unite and besiege it, the effect would be wasted.
The Basilisk's huge body was knocked aside by the giant serpent formed from roots. Before it could recover, a mass of roots used the momentum of that strike to wrap themselves around the Basilisk's body.
Stunned by the collision, the Basilisk had no chance to break free from the frenzied roots. They crawled wildly over its body, desperately drilling into the gaps between its scales.
The Basilisk let out a hiss of agony. The more triumphant its charge had been a moment earlier, the more miserable it was now, trapped in the endless tangle of roots.
And as those relentless roots kept searching for weak spots, they gradually broke through its defenses and stabbed into its flesh.
Faced with such a lethal threat, the Basilisk forgot Voldemort's orders. It began retreating, trying to escape the endless entanglement.
But when it had charged in, its enormous mass had given it overwhelming momentum. That made it too fast for the roots to latch onto properly, which was why they could not erode and injure it then.
Now, though, the Basilisk was already caught in the roots' grasp. And with the giant serpent of roots nearby blocking its movement, it could no longer build up momentum, much less break free of this deadly sea of plants.
Gradually, the Basilisk's hissing grew weaker, and its struggles grew smaller.
Those vicious roots embedded in the Basilisk's flesh sucked greedily at its magic-rich blood, feeding the sea of plants and causing even more roots to grow.
Those new roots climbed higher along the bodies of their own kind, targeting the places the Basilisk's scales could not protect, its eyes, its mouth.
The dense mass of roots, enough to become the nightmare of anyone with trypophobia, nearly wrapped the Basilisk up like a mummy. Huge numbers of roots forced their way through its jaws and burrowed into its body, wreaking havoc from the inside.
Blood sprayed out through the gaps between the roots. The Basilisk let out one long, wretched scream, then finally collapsed into the sea of roots, dying with its eyes still open.
The Blood Grape's roots did not spare it even after death. A skin-crawling chorus of tearing and slicing filled the chamber. Before long, the enormous corpse of the Basilisk lay on the roots, and a pair of lantern-sized eyeballs were delivered to Leonard.
Looking at the dull, lifeless Basilisk eyes, Leonard was extremely satisfied with the Blood Grape's first real battle.
The Basilisk had never been weak. Its lethality was such that even legendary wizards would not challenge it lightly. But its instant-death gaze was useless against a plant's senses.
If Leonard had not specifically instructed otherwise, even those eyeballs would probably have been lost.
"Your Basilisk has failed. Now it's your turn, Voldemort." Leonard opened his eyes, green light and silver light twisting together in them.
Not far away, Voldemort, standing cautiously at the edge of the sea of plants, could not help but shiver.
He had been considering whether to help the Basilisk, but he had not expected it to die so quickly.
Damn it, what kind of monster had sprouted up in an instant like that?
Voldemort's pupils trembled. He looked as if he had been frightened stupid, but in reality he was searching for a way to survive.
Yet when he saw the green vines streaked with blood nearly carpeting the entire Chamber of Secrets, he let it go.
To hell with survival. This was obviously a dead end.
But Voldemort was still Voldemort. Even though the situation was beyond saving, he still maintained the bearing of a Dark Lord.
Of course, that was mostly because he knew this was not his true body. As long as the original lived, he had nothing to fear.
"You've won this round." A trace of admiration mixed with the complicated look in Voldemort's eyes. "Your power has left a deep impression on me."
"Oh? Really? Thanks for the compliment." Leonard sounded perfectly polite, but the vines still pressing closer showed no sign of stopping.
Voldemort's face twitched. "I'll remember you. I hope next time my true self gets the chance to face you."
The words carried a faint threat.
Hearing that, Leonard could not help looking puzzled.
He looked at Voldemort and said calmly, "But you're only a fragment of soul inside a Horcrux. It's useless for you to remember me. Your true body can't remember me anyway."
It was the plain truth, and it made Voldemort's face tighten.
"Hmph." Voldemort gave a cold snort. On the surface he looked noncommittal, but in reality he was just changing the subject. He looked at the vines beneath Leonard's feet and said, "Still, your power is no good thing. If Dumbledore were to see it... heh."
His tone dripped with insinuation, and his eyes were full of pity.
Leonard walked right up to him, completely ignoring the strange look and tone.
"As expected of you. Even at death's door, you're still trying to make trouble for someone else." Leonard waved a hand, and a large mass of vines wrapped around Voldemort.
"But that's none of your concern. I'll deal with my own problems myself," Leonard said.
"Heh heh heh..." Voldemort's cold laughter came from within the human-shaped mass of vines. He raised his voice and said, "It doesn't matter. Sooner or later, you'll come into conflict with Dumbledore. Your power is even more dangerous than mine. I'm looking forward to the day the entire wizarding world can no longer tolerate you."
His voice gradually faded. Then the vine-wrapped figure collapsed, and there was no sign at all that Voldemort had ever been inside.
The current Voldemort had not fully awakened yet. He was only a somewhat unusual ghost. Once the Blood Grape had drained him completely, it naturally left nothing behind.
But Voldemort's words remained, as if they were still echoing in Leonard's ears.
"This guy... There wasn't even a trace of begging in his last words. He was just trying to make things difficult for other people. He really is a villain to the core," Leonard said with feeling as he looked at the place where Voldemort had vanished.
"Though of course, it's also possible he was just putting on a brave front."
Still, it was probably because he knew that dying now did not really count as dying. So he could afford to be stubborn.
Leonard was a little curious whether Voldemort would still have this same fearless spirit when all his Horcruxes were gone, his true body cornered, and there was nowhere left to run.