Rowena gave a quiet "Mm," indicating her agreement.
"As for what that fellow is trying to do, I can more or less guess... He wants to bring back the Age of Gods."
At Salazar's speculation, Rowena remained calm, while Helga's expression changed dramatically.
"How can we allow that? We have to..."
"Not necessarily."
Rowena's voice was very soft, but it instantly silenced Helga.
She could not understand why her old friend would say something like that.
"Rowena is right. Allowing the gods to return now would actually be more beneficial to wizards. We can completely turn a blind eye and let that fellow accomplish it.
"Times have changed. Doing this has its advantages. For the modern wizarding world, it would be an opportunity that might not come again for a thousand years."
Rhys felt that Rowena probably did not want to be the one to openly say it.
In that case, he might as well be the villain who did.
When the cunning foxes in the mountains disappear, the hunting dogs are not far from their end either.
If wizards wanted to integrate into modern society, the best situation would be for there to be a sufficiently threatening enemy standing in opposition to Muggles. Then the Muggles would naturally do everything they could to win over the wizards, giving the wizarding world an opportunity to integrate into Muggle society.
And what could possibly make a better enemy than the gods?
If the four of them had not ended the Age of Gods back then, perhaps the wizarding world would never have been forced into hiding at all.
Whenever an external supernatural threat existed, Muggles needed wizards.
Helga began seriously considering Salazar's argument.
Rhys took the opportunity to speak with Rowena.
"How do you think He plans to bring back the Age of Gods?"
"Most likely by doing something with the Underworld." Rhys shrugged. "Nothing more than an illusion."
"Mm."
Rowena thought the same.
Even if the barrier between the Underworld and the living world were broken, those gods still would not truly return.
The reason the gods had once been powerful was because they had absorbed large amounts of power from magical meteorites.
That power had long since vanished with their deaths.
Where were they supposed to replenish it now?
At most, a few phantoms could return.
"And if my experiment fails, I'll still have to rely on that fellow's efforts to resurrect myself!" Rhys joked lightly.
He was somewhat worried that he might receive special treatment because his own strength was too great.
Ordinary people might be able to reincarnate normally, while he could end up being thrown straight into the Underworld.
If that happened, he really would have to rely on this "Gryffindor" to open a hole in the Underworld so he could escape.
After giving Rowena a few more miscellaneous instructions, Rhys ended their communication.
He needed to start making preparations of his own.
After putting the crystal ball back into his robes, Rhys looked up at the large tree behind him and was surprised to discover that it was actually a snakewood tree.
"Fate really does have a sense of humour..."
Rhys sighed.
Wisps of silvery-white, smoke-like fluid began appearing across the surface of his body.
The "smoke" flowed from his wounds like streams of water before sinking beneath the roots of the tree.
Several hours later, the "smoke" inside Rhys's body had finally been completely drained.
The snakewood tree behind him also seemed to have undergone a subtle change.
Around its roots, a faint silver light seemed to flicker.
Yet when one looked closely, there was nothing there.
Rhys nodded in satisfaction, then fell into a deep sleep.
He needed to rest.
After such a catastrophe, the alchemical world gradually returned to peace, and the competition continued.
As the days passed, the situation on the leaderboard became increasingly clear.
This kind of long-term marathon competition was ultimately a test of each school's overall strength.
Thanks to people like Daphne, Astoria, Cedric, and Hermione, Hogwarts quickly rose to the top of the rankings and opened up a massive lead.
First place was already practically guaranteed.
Ilvermorny, with its larger number of contestants, successfully held onto second place.
The other schools had their own ups and downs, but the gaps between them were not especially large.
Durmstrang, unsurprisingly, was competing with Koldovstoretz for last place.
Those two schools had even been surpassed by several smaller independent factions...
At last, when the deadline for the second stage arrived, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
It was finally over.
Aside from Hogwarts and Ilvermorny, which had secured their positions early on, the other schools had found the entire process exhausting.
The lower-ranked schools desperately tried to climb higher, while the higher-ranked schools constantly worried about being overtaken from below.
Everyone had been tense to the point of paranoia.
Now it was finally time to celebrate.
When the contestants stepped onto Hogwarts grounds again, they were welcomed by a grand reception and celebration.
No one noticed that, at the moment of their return, the expression of the legendary wizard Godric Gryffindor twisted hideously for the briefest instant.
But he quickly regained control of himself and returned to normal, joining the other Gryffindor students in shouting:
"We are the champions!"
Only his gaze kept drifting, intentionally or otherwise, toward a student whose face was wrapped in bandages.
He had caught a familiar stench.
That night, all four Hogwarts common rooms were brightly lit.
It seemed the students intended to celebrate until morning.
Rhys, meanwhile, went to the Astronomy Tower to enjoy a rare moment of peace.
Suddenly, every sound around him disappeared.
The wind blowing across the Astronomy Tower vanished.
Even the distant cries of animals in the Forbidden Forest were gone.
Rhys turned around.
A figure he knew all too well was standing behind him.
"This really is a nice treasure," Rhys praised sincerely. "You've isolated the space around me from Hogwarts?"
"Yes."
"Godric" forced a smile onto his face.
"As expected of Salazar Slytherin. Your knowledge truly is extensive."
"I saw plenty of treasures back in Valhalla."
Rhys waved a hand casually.
"So this is the part where we reveal each other's true identities? Fine by me. Show your true form, Loki."
Loki, still wearing Godric's appearance, did not react.
"This body is my true form now."
Rhys raised an eyebrow.
So that was it.
No wonder there had been no flaw to expose.
Loki narrowed his eyes.
"If you hadn't revealed your own weakness, I wouldn't have recognised an 'old acquaintance' like you either. Salazar, you really have managed to live a long time!"
"And you haven't exactly died either."
The bandages covering Rhys's body suddenly burst apart, revealing the snake scales beneath.
"Enough talk. Let's fight!"
His answer was an overwhelming sea of flames.
...
"Huff.. huff..."
The battle ended.
Loki lightly wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth and raised a scorched mass high into the air.
It was only barely recognisable as human.
"Salazar, hah.. I doubt the you from a thousand years ago ever imagined today would come... Heh. If you hadn't been injured, tonight's outcome might have been difficult to predict..."
The human-shaped piece of charcoal twitched slightly.
"It's over."
Loki could not be bothered to waste any more words on Salazar.
A flash of red light completely extinguished the dying Slytherin's life.
Salazar Slytherin was dead.
____
12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI