Indeed.
Even though he clearly could have killed those Hunters and Aurors, Norton chose only to wound them instead.
Even though he could have relied on powerful area-of-effect attacks to advance quickly, Norton instead chose to use his superb combat techniques, moving forward step by step toward the Allied Command Headquarters.
To Newland, this was the most blatant provocation possible!
Yet Link let out a mocking laugh.
He swept Newland with a strange look and said disdainfully, "Provocation? All I see is a pitiful man shamelessly begging me!"
"Begging? How is that possible?"
Newland almost blurted it out.
"Why is it impossible?" Link looked at the battlefield with interest. "Take a look. Does what's happening now look anything like a war? It looks more like a stage performance put on by a dancer trying to please her lord. Grand, beautiful, harmless, and humble!"
Newland couldn't understand a word Link was saying.
But at that very moment, Norton suddenly made an exaggerated leap and flip on the battlefield, firing off a large mass of magic. The magic exploded in midair into dazzling blood-red light, turning into countless crimson petals that complemented the spider lilies blooming across the tidal flats.
Yet there hadn't been a single attack that could have forced him to make such an evasive move.
And those crimson magical petals were far more decorative than practical.
Only then did the anger on Newland's face completely disappear, replaced by confusion.
"B... But why would he do that? What is he begging for? His life? But he should know that's impossible!"
Newland said as if questioning everything he knew.
This time, however, Link and Dumbledore merely glanced at him without answering.
Because by then, Norton had already reached the front of the command headquarters.
Unlike everyone else at the headquarters, who looked as though they were facing a great enemy, Link and Dumbledore displayed remarkable composure.
They didn't even draw their wands before standing up with smiles and walking toward Norton.
As the distance between the three of them grew shorter, the Allied forces also stopped attacking.
They were afraid of accidentally injuring Link and Dumbledore. Even though they all knew their attacks couldn't possibly cause the slightest harm to people like them, they still refused to risk it.
Because that would be a great act of disrespect!
The three finally came together.
The facts proved that Norton hadn't been nearly as relaxed under the Allied forces' attacks as he had appeared.
He had already lost the poise he had at the beginning.
He was breathing heavily, his face as pale as paper, and the hand hidden inside his sleeve trembled constantly.
None of it escaped Link's notice.
He smiled contemptuously, and the giant beast that had formed behind him also split open its enormous bloody jaws as he said,
"You're in terrible shape. Honestly, a performance like this is hard to satisfy me."
"But at least, when watching from a distance earlier, it looked pretty good, didn't it?"
The one who spoke was Dumbledore.
As he spoke, his eyes never left Norton. He wore a smile, but deep sorrow filled his eyes.
Link frowned slightly.
The giant cursed beast behind him sensed its master's mood and roared angrily at Dumbledore.
"You want to let him get what he wants?" Link said expressionlessly.
"After all, I'm still a teacher. Seeing something like this, it's hard not to soften."
As he spoke, Dumbledore didn't look at Link. Instead, he walked toward Norton.
"Tom, I have to admit I was wrong. You truly were a qualified professor. Perhaps I should have let you become Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professor back then. If I had, perhaps none of the tragedies that followed would have happened.
"Of course, I know there's no point in saying any of this now.
"Because I made far too many mistakes in educating you.
"For example, do you remember the first time we met?"
Norton steadied his breathing before saying,
"Of course. Back then I was living in the orphanage. The people around me didn't like me very much because I could move things without touching them and talk to snakes. As it happened, I didn't like those incompetent people around me either, so I took some measures against them.
"Mmm, some very violent measures. And theft. It made my life much easier."
Norton paused.
"Then you appeared. The moment you arrived, you started lecturing me. Of course I wasn't going to listen. I'd already heard those kinds of words far too many times. So I thought you were just like those incompetent people, someone who simply wanted to control me."
"And then I burned the cabinet where you kept the stolen items," Dumbledore said painfully. "That was outright intimidation. I used greater power to threaten and control you.
"I reflected on it afterward. At the time, you hadn't really done anything wrong. In that environment, if you hadn't acted that way, those Muggles who hated you might very well have killed you. That could absolutely have happened. Sometimes human beings really are that vicious. They love bullying their own kind and drawing pleasure from their suffering, even their deaths.
"And what I did was clearly wrong as well. It would only lead you to conclude that whoever was stronger had the right to control and hurt others.
"And the facts proved exactly that, because afterward you really did live that way.
"So I've always wondered whether everything might have changed if I had been more mature back then, better at controlling my anger, and more patient with you."
"No, no, no. Professor Dumbledore, you're overthinking it."
Norton waved both hands repeatedly.
"No matter how you treated him, even if you had made him the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, the ending wouldn't have been any better. It might even have become worse. Because from the moment his mother gave birth to him and wished with her dying breath that he would have his father's face, the seed of hatred had already been planted inside him. As he grew up, it seeped deep into his bones.
"I know this better than anyone.
"Because once upon a time, I was him, and he was me."
"And now?" Dumbledore lowered his eyes. "You're no longer Tom Riddle, nor Voldemort?"
Norton smiled happily.
"Of course! So much has happened since I was awakened from the Horcrux. Those experiences completely changed me. I came to understand many things I never understood before, and I experienced emotions I had once only dreamed of having. All of it made me no longer the person I used to be. Now, I prefer people to call me Professor Norton, or simply Norton Beauxbatons!"
Dumbledore closed his eyes painfully.
He believed that at this moment, Norton had truly changed.
Unfortunately, that change had come far too late.
Norton, however, accepted it calmly.
He turned to Link, who had remained expressionless and silent the whole time, and said with complete seriousness,
"You have to trust Number One. You should know who I mean by Number One, right?"
After Link nodded, Norton continued,
"I was the soul fragment that stayed with him the longest, so I understand him better than anyone. For a very long time, just like you, I was full of doubts about what he was doing. I couldn't understand what he was trying to accomplish through any of it.
"Even now, I still don't have a definite answer.
"But thanks to thinking about it day and night these past few days, I've finally come to some conclusions.
"I can only tell you this. Although Number One is always talking about things like 'love' and 'great love,' using all those grand-sounding words, his ultimate goal may not actually be that noble.
"All of us have made things too complicated."
"I suggest you tell us the whole answer at once instead of acting like someone who speaks in riddles," Link said, rubbing his temples. The cursed beast behind him became increasingly ferocious along with his growing impatience.
"Believe me, that's what's best for you.
"After all, you're the one asking me for something."
"No. That's all I can tell you about Number One. If I say any more, something terrifying will happen. You know as well as I do that, fundamentally, my soul is still connected to his. I'm doing this for your own good."
Norton said anxiously.
"But I can throw in a few other pieces of information, like the Deathly Hallows!"
Link's eyebrows twitched slightly.
He raised a hand, signaling Norton to continue.
Seeing that, Norton swallowed before saying,
"Death truly exists! Although They aren't exactly as described in many legends, ruling over the authority of death, They really do exist! If you gather the Deathly Hallows, you'll have a chance to meet Them. But unless there's absolutely no other choice, never do that.
"Because the moment you meet Death, what you receive is far more likely to be death itself, not immortality.
"Only with an extremely, extremely small chance can you defeat Death and fulfill certain wishes."
Link looked toward Dumbledore.
As far as Link knew, Dumbledore seemed to be the only living person who had ever come into contact with all three Deathly Hallows.
Yet Dumbledore merely shook his head.
Link couldn't tell whether Dumbledore was saying Norton was lying or warning him not to gather the Deathly Hallows.
Because at that moment, Dumbledore had fully activated Occlumency.
Even Link couldn't glimpse the slightest trace of his thoughts.
"Then finally, there's only the 'blood' left. Or rather, the 'King's Blood,' right? I heard that's what you call it. But before we complete the final exchange, I still want to give you one piece of advice!"
Norton looked extremely anxious, because more than ten minutes earlier, he had watched several teams of Hunters and Aurors rush into Beauxbatons Castle.
"The King's Blood isn't some perfect treasure. In fact, it could even be called the most evil and terrifying power in this world. If possible, I hope you'll avoid touching it.
"Of course, I know you won't listen, so I'm only mentioning it."
As he spoke, Norton gripped his wand in reverse and stabbed it into his own heart.
Then he pulled it out violently.
A huge amount of blood gushed from the wound.
Mixed within it was a large amount of King's Blood that existed almost as pure energy.
As though it possessed its own consciousness, it clearly knew the body it had once inhabited was dying. It eagerly fled from it and hurried through the air toward Link.
Before that mass of King's Blood could even get close, the beast behind Link lunged forward, opened its jaws, and swallowed it whole.
The next moment, Link felt a wave of dizziness.
This influx of King's Blood was the same as every previous one.
Link received no clear system messages.
The status panel inside his body appeared uncontrollably.
Every value on it fluctuated wildly, changing so quickly they became afterimages.
The crack-like patterns covering the panel spread and widened rapidly, making the entire status panel resemble a beautiful porcelain vessel on the verge of shattering.
Yet even though the panel was nearly unusable,
Link could still feel his own strength increasing.
His magic, mental power, spell mastery, proficiency, and even the strength of his soul all rose dramatically.
The tremendous surge of power even overflowed from the pores of his body, forming a small magical storm around him.
The beast behind him, which had previously been blurry and indistinct, became almost completely solid.
It transformed into a jet-black lion wearing a crown and clad in armor, clinging tightly to Link's back.
This degree of improvement had almost pushed Link into the realm of a High-Tier Legendary Wizard.
Link had once discussed the so-called High-Tier Legendary Wizard realm with Dumbledore, so he knew exactly what it meant.
It was a realm that existed only in legend.
Throughout the long history of magic, not a single wizard had ever reached such a level and had it clearly recorded.
Because, in a sense, once someone reached the realm of a High-Tier Legendary Wizard, they were no longer human.
They became a god.
A nearly omnipotent god.
Thud.
Norton dropped heavily to his knees.
Blood poured continuously from both his wound and his mouth and nose.
With injuries this severe, he should have died within seconds.
Yet not only was he still alive, he even dragged his gravely wounded body forward on his knees until he reached Dumbledore.
He wrapped his arms around Dumbledore's legs and murmured,
"Please... please... please..."
Dumbledore also knelt down.
His trembling hands embraced Norton as he gently stroked his hair.
At the same time, he turned to look at Link.
It was the first time in Link's life that he had seen pleading in Dumbledore's eyes.
At the same time, Newland, who had come with Link, also received intelligence gathered by the Aurors inside Beauxbatons Castle.
Only then did he finally understand what Link had meant earlier by "begging."
His pupils trembled.
The emotional impact of the truth was simply too great.
At last, he took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and knelt on one knee.
"My Lord Flamel, our people have searched Beauxbatons. The students inside had all been controlled by the Imperius Curse. The man before us is clearly the one responsible!"
Link looked at Newland in surprise.
He seemed surprised that Newland actually dared to speak up for someone else at a time like this.
The black lion behind Link was even more direct.
It immediately roared at Newland.
The overwhelming, terrifying pressure surged toward him, forcing him from one knee onto both knees as he shook violently from head to toe.
Even so, he still did not retreat.
Link sighed.
He looked slowly across everyone before finally saying, "Since they committed those crimes only because they were controlled by the Imperius Curse, then they are declared not guilty.
"After all, they too are the blood of magic."
As soon as those words fell, Norton's arms, which had been wrapped tightly around Dumbledore, finally loosened.
His body leaned backward, only to be caught in time by Dumbledore.
Only then did everyone realize
that he had already died, and a happy smile remained on his face.