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Riddle actually walked right into the trap?
Honestly, Ian had to admit that things were developing far beyond his original expectations. Before entering the time machine, he had simply assumed he would travel back a few decades to the Wool's Orphanage, take a look at what his childhood home used to look like, and then conveniently catch the sly Tom who had escaped.
Who would have thought that not only did the time machin land him two thousand years in the past, in a city doomed to be destroyed by the nature itself, but he also got dragged into a past incident involving that black-robed skeleton.
Each twist was more explosive than the last, but for Ian's big heart, it wasn't exactly unacceptable. For him, it was like witnessing how spectacular history could be. Gods, legends, disasters, doomsdays, once he found the hiding Tom, they'd all simply become part of his life's memories.
His plan was set, he needed to drag Tom out and then figure out how to return to the future. But right now, looking at the handsome "senior" before him, Ian genuinely felt that sometimes plans really couldn't keep up with changes.
Tom Riddle, who had been hiding in the shadows all this time, had actually delivered himself to Ian's doorstep! This was the complete opposite of Ian's imagined scenario where he'd track the man down, fight an epic battle, and ultimately be forced to eliminate him.
Whether or not he absorbed the other's magic power was secondary, what Ian wanted most was to cut the problem off at its roots.
Of course, "upholding justice" was another reason. After all, Riddle's schemes had delayed him for so long, if he didn't give himself that bit of justice, it just wouldn't sit right with him.
Bottling up frustration is bad for the thyroid and his overall health in general .
"You, where did you take Malfoy? You devoured the soul of my kind-hearted classmate to complete your resurrection, didn't you? Damn it! For someone as evil as you, I can never forgive you!" Ian looked over the restored sixteen-year-old Riddle from head to toe. His expression was full of grief and anger, but in truth, he'd just found himself a justifiable reason to take Riddle down.
'What surrender?'
'No it was just another one of Riddle's sly tricks!'
Ian told himself he'd never fall for the Dark Lord's deception!
"I didn't devour him! He's still alive! We're just… separated, that's all!"
Riddle looked at the indignant young wizard before him and his scalp prickled while his back went cold, and seeing the other's wand itching for action, he quickly raised his voice to explain.
"This is impossible, you're just lying." Ian frowned at the reply. Though he expressed disbelief, he did lower his raised wand and the green light at its tip gradually faded.
Riddle secretly let out a breath of relief.
For a moment, he was almost disoriented, unable to tell who between them was really the Dark Lord… 'Weren't Hogwarts students supposed to be all about love and justice? Why did this guy's first reaction seem to be to bite his head off?'
"He cursed you, and now you want to pass that curse on to me, so that we'll be like grasshoppers tied to the same rope, forced to work together to solve the problem. Honestly, Riddle, you really do have quite the calculating mind." Ian, seeing his first plan fail, came up with another.
Of course, he already knew he wouldn't be affected by any mysterious curse.
That much, he had unknowingly confirmed back in the temple. Now, facing Riddle, he had taken out a mirror and found no such mark in his own eyes.
"What curse transmission?" Riddle froze at Ian's words and his expression turned to shock and horror.
"I don't know! Damn it, I only have the knowledge of a sixteen-year-old!"
As if trying to defend himself, Riddle spoke in a slightly panicked tone.
"Oh?" Ian narrowed his eyes.
"It's Herpo's doing! Yes! That despicable Herpo! I know you've definitely heard that name, your knowledge of Dark magic is even better than mine at this age!"
Riddle knew that if he didn't explain the situation now, his safety would be in real danger. He was far too familiar with that look in a young wizard's eyes, it was the same look Voldemort, himself, would have when he was just about to make up an excuse to kill someone.
Putting himself in the other's shoes, Riddle found Ian's gaze utterly terrifying.
"Herpo?" Ian was surprised to hear such an unexpected name from Riddle's mouth. "Are you mocking my poor grasp of history? Herpo lived in 800 BC!"
He pressed his wand right up against Riddle's nose. "And of course, like you, he had a Horcrux. Don't tell me you found his Horcrux and brought him back to life."
It had to be said that Ian's guess wasn't impossible. After all, birds of the same feather flock together. It wasn't out of the question for Riddle to have sought out a kindred spirit, only to end up being betrayed by him.
"How could I possibly do something so stupid?! Do you think I'm the brain-damaged Voldemort?!" Riddle immediately backed up a few steps, clutching his nose as if he valued it greatly.
"Aren't you Voldemort?" Ian sneered.
Riddle, however, corrected him quite seriously.
"Yes, of course I am Voldemort, but the Voldemort you know is not me. I'm only sixteen right now, completely different from that idiot you're familiar with!" He seemed to hold genuine disdain for his noseless future self. Perhaps this was just another form of the old saying, children always grow up to become what they once hated.
"Herpo wasn't revived through a Horcrux. I can't even understand his current state. My knowledge is limited to what I learned up until I was sixteen."
"But there's one thing I can say for certain, he's placed a terrifying curse on me, and he's definitely no longer in any human form. He could completely be considered another kind of creature!"
When Riddle spoke of Herpo, his tone was filled with fear and lingering dread. It was hard to imagine such emotions being so clearly felt from someone like him.
Perhaps, when Herpo cursed him, Riddle had already realized something was wrong, but he hadn't shown it at the time. In truth, being able to hide it like that was already proof of an impressive level of composure and cunning.
"What kind of creature?"
Ian could tell that if plucking out his own eyes would solve the problem then Riddle would likely do it without hesitation. The mysterious brand-like image in his eyes was now very clear.
"I don't know! He calls himself an Angel! And he wields a kind of power that doesn't belong to magic! You can see my current state for yourself, he directly resurrected me and even created a body for me out of nothing!" Even now, recalling that scene, Riddle still found it unbelievable, this had far exceeded the limits of his understanding.
"You were resurrected… so what about Malfoy?"
Ian, hearing this, only asked what might not even be an important question.
(To Be Continued…)