Faced with Voldemort's recruitment, Kael felt absolutely no emotion.
Just look at how the "big villain" from sixty years ago put it... For the greater good.
It sounds high-end and thrilling.
Now compare that to Voldemort... offering nothing concrete, just promises of power and status as empty as a hot-air balloon.
Honestly, this old trick might only fool someone naive like Quirrell.
But upon further thought, Kael quickly came to terms with it.
After all, whether it was Slytherin's pendant box or Hufflepuff's golden cup, all those valuable items collected by Voldemort had been made into soul artifacts, so of course he couldn't offer them.
And if he had a slogan that could stir the blood...
For instance, shouting "I am the chosen one and the only one" before a great battle, or "Fighting for a better tomorrow," then perhaps the Hogwarts' headmaster today wouldn't be Dumbledore, but Riddle.
Kael criticized silently in his heart.
Thanks to the protection of Occlumency, Voldemort didn't know what he was thinking. Seeing Kael's lack of reaction, he assumed the offer wasn't good enough.
"What a greedy little brat..."
Voldemort continued in his raspy voice, "What if I could grant you immortality... like me, free from the pains of aging, no fear of death, becoming eternal in this world?"
This temptation finally seemed somewhat appealing.
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask." With his head down, Kael pondered for a moment and said, "Mr. Voldemort, can you tell me how a soul artifact is made..."
"Kill him!"
Before Kael could finish speaking, Voldemort's furious and surprised scream rang in his ears.
The soul artifact was his greatest secret, and it didn't matter how this young wizard found out about it. The boy had to die!
Quirrell seemed to have wanted to do this all along. He immediately turned and raised his wand.
A faint green light began to emerge...
"Avada..."
But Kael was quicker. At the same moment Voldemort gave the command, he opened his own suitcase...
A three-headed dog rushed out instantly, biting Quirrell's arm.
"Crunch..."
The clear sound echoed in the room.
Quirrell's hand was broken, and the wand fell to the floor. He reached to grab it, but the next second, a scorching flame swept over.
The Norwegian Ridgeback Norbert flew behind Kael, spewing dragon flame recklessly.
Due to being parasitized by Voldemort for so long, and having lost most of his life force to a chomping cabbage, Quirrell was already on his last leg.
Under the dragon flame's burning, his screams lasted only a moment before fading away.
When Kael dispelled the dragon flame, Quirrell had only a single breath left.
He lay motionless on the ground, only his chest slightly heaving.
If it weren't for drinking unicorn's blood beforehand, he might have been long dead by now.
Fluffy opened its mouth and bit half of Quirrell's body, while Norbert flew nearby, ready to unleash more dragon flame at any moment.
"I meant to say earlier..." Kael walked over, shaking his head slightly, "Pointing your wand at others indiscriminately is very dangerous, Professor Quirrell."
"Who exactly are you!" Voldemort's eyes shone with murderous intent.
If looks could kill, Kael would probably be dead countless times over... Alright, Voldemort's gaze really could kill, but unfortunately, he was too weak now to even perform wandless spellcasting.
Quirrell's condition couldn't support him extracting life force again.
"Mr. Voldemort, your time is precious now, so let's skip the unnecessary chatter."
Kael asked again, "How exactly is a soul artifact made?"
At this point, Voldemort seemed to accept the reality in front of him, gradually calming down.
"How did you know about the soul artifact?" he asked.
"It's a funny story; you must know the Room of Requirement, the magical room on the eighth floor."
Kael said with a smile, "Guess what I found inside..."
"Tsk, I have to say, that bust is really ugly."
"Ravenclaw's diadem..." Voldemort said dryly.
"Exactly... of course, since you placed it there yourself, you must know."
Kael said, "When I first found it, I was ecstatic, but soon I realized something was off."
"Then I spent an entire school year combing through all the books at home to confirm the diadem was made into a soul artifact."
"I'm very curious about it, but the records in those books were too vague, providing no details on the crafting process."
"I even checked the Restricted Area of the library, but found no clues there either..."
"It's Dumbledore..." Voldemort sneered, "Maybe he hid all the books related to soul artifacts, that hypocritical guy."
"That's why I had to come ask you." Kael shrugged, "After all, I can't exactly ask the headmaster for those things."
"And why should I tell you." Voldemort mocked, "You can kill Quirrell right now, he's just a waste, an inefficient tool. Even if he dies, it won't affect me at all."
"So you're not planning to tell me." Kael said in disappointment.
"No, I've changed my mind. I've decided to tell you. As a reward for discovering that diadem, I'll tell you everything about soul artifacts!"
Voldemort suddenly laughed, maniacally, "Ah hahahaha... Dumbledore, my dear professor, you surely wouldn't agree to me teaching these things, but I insist... what can you do about it, great... Dumbledore?"
"Listen well, the creation of a soul artifact requires killing... but before that, you need to master a special charm, one that allows you to touch your own soul..."
Kael was slightly stunned. He had intended to threaten Voldemort by handing the diadem over to Dumbledore, never expecting Voldemort would agree so inexplicably.
All just to spite Dumbledore?
What is this, love-hate relationship? Dumbledore is certainly popular...
But none of this mattered to him.
Kael glanced cautiously at Voldemort, then took out his speedwriting quill and parchment.
The room instantly felt like a classroom, though the professor in front of him was a bit dangerous, and could be deadly at any moment.
Truth be told, Voldemort did possess the qualities of a professor; he always pinpointed the crucial issues and succinctly summarized lengthy content in just a few sentences.
Even something as complex as a soul artifact, he explained in just a few minutes, without any wasted words, all substance.
"I look forward to it..." Voldemort sneered, "If you get caught by Dumbledore while making a soul artifact... his expression will definitely be priceless... hehe."