Chapter 213: Riddle: Why Hasn't This Idiot Voldemort Conquered Hogwarts Yet?!
"Creak."
After feeding Norbert and Coal, Dylan pushed open the door and entered the small wooden cabin.
The salty sea breeze, mingled with the scent of trees from the forest, slipped through the gaps in the door, permeating the cabin nestled between the woods and the ocean.
The afternoon sun was bright. Dylan stepped inside; none of the various lamps were lit. He had set them to illuminate automatically only at night.
Dylan approached his experimental desk. He placed a small box on the scarred wooden surface. Inside lay the unicorn blood diamond he'd acquired from Lockhart's house—its rhomboid surface shimmered with eerie, twisted patterns, like a still-beating heart.
Just as Dylan was about to use magic and his self-made alchemical constructs to study the blood diamond, the diary he'd tossed onto the corner of the desk suddenly trembled. A wisp of black mist slowly seeped from a large crack on the diary's surface. Little Tom's figure gradually coalesced within the mist.
—This fellow, perhaps due to being tormented by Dylan too many times, and Dylan not always supplying enough life force for his recovery, seemed to be getting younger and younger in appearance.
"Where did you get that?"
Dylan glanced at him, his gaze indifferent. "It's been this long, and you still haven't learned how to speak to me?"
Riddle: "..."
Riddle's ethereal body, despite its insubstantiality, showed definite changes in expression. His eyelid twitched. He desperately wanted to retort to Dylan then and there but simply dared not.
Damn it, what is that Voldemort outside doing? Why hasn't he conquered Hogwarts yet?!
Just wait! Once I rule the entire world, I will grab this damned fellow, who's only a teenager but more perverse and sinister than the oldest, most evil Dark Wizards, and torture him mercilessly! Everything he's put me through, I'll return a thousandfold!!!
"What are you thinking?"
Suddenly, a cold voice cut in. Riddle's heart gave a jolt. He twisted his mouth, forcing out a strained smile. "I was just wondering where you got such a thing."
Dylan looked at him. "From what you're saying, it sounds like you know what this is?"
A flicker of light appeared in Riddle's eyes. This fellow brought this thing here, and he doesn't even know what it is? Then I...
"Don't give me any irrelevant rubbish. If a single word you say doesn't match what I know, the result... Heh, you know."
Riddle: (ಥ_ಥ)
"I don't know much either. This thing should be one of the Three Holy Diamonds. I once had one myself."
"The Three Holy Diamonds?" Dylan raised an eyebrow. "Three blood diamonds made from unicorn hearts?"
Riddle's eyes shifted. "The legends say so."
Dylan narrowed his eyes at him. Riddle recoiled further into the diary. "I truly only heard about the Three Holy Diamonds in some legends."
"Tell me the details."
"I can't maintain my spirit form for long..."
"Tell it interestingly, and I won't experiment spells on you for three days."
"—But if I grit my teeth and push through, I can do it."
Riddle paused, trying his best to shrink his spirit form to avoid wasting too much energy. "Legend has it that the Three Holy Diamonds were dark artifacts forged centuries ago by an ancient Dark Wizard, using the hearts of three adult unicorns and the blood of their entire bodies."
"When the Holy Diamonds first appeared, that Dark Wizard was afflicted by a terrible curse and eventually died a miserable death."
"Later, the Holy Diamonds were separated and scattered across the world. The legend says that if all three Holy Diamonds are gathered together, they can grant the owner anything they desire."
Dylan scoffed. "Clearly, that legend must be false."
Riddle nodded. "Exactly. I once found one of the Holy Diamonds in a tomb at the bottom of a lake while searching for materials in an inland sea."
"After my research, while it possesses powerful cursing abilities, it doesn't have the mythical power the legends describe."
"However, this Holy Diamond did give me another direction, showing me the wondrous uses of unicorn blood."
Dylan stroked his chin. "Since you knew the legend of this blood diamond, did you never think of collecting all three?"
Riddle suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "It's not as simple as you think!"
"The legend mentions three Holy Diamonds, but who knows if that legend is true or false? I didn't find any special power in this blood diamond, so naturally, I wouldn't waste time verifying the truth of a legend."
—He had so many other things to do back then. Who had time to bother with a useless diamond? Did Dylan think he, Lord Voldemort, spent his days idle, only caring about petty romance, finishing homework, and dealing with professors like some mere Hogwarts student?
Dylan didn't deny it; instead, he nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. You must have been a very busy man in your youth. Yet, in the end, you still fell into my hands, enduring humiliation and torment, never to rise again."
Riddle: "..."
Why does this damned fellow always manage to infuriate me so much?! Damnation! Why hasn't Voldemort outside made a move yet? I'm going mad from the torment here!
Riddle found himself cursing his other self again.
Dylan, however, ignored his reaction and continued asking, "Tell me, what do you believe the true purpose of these so-called Holy Diamonds is?"
Riddle paused, eyes flicking upwards. But upon seeing Dylan's wand begin to glow with a divine light again, his expression turned serious.
"Based on my research, I believe the blood diamond's purpose is most likely to curse others and attract unicorns."
Riddle explained, "If the Three Holy Diamonds truly exist, then gathering them to grant wishes is false. Being able to attract large numbers of unicorns and then control them is far more probable."
Seems about what I thought, Dylan mused. This blood diamond most likely came in a set of three. And the one Riddle acquired wasn't the one with the thorn-flower silver setting.
At this thought, Dylan couldn't help but look up. "Where is the blood diamond you possessed now?"
Riddle shook his head. "I'm dead, how could I know where my remaining possessions are?"
Dylan narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?"
Riddle: "...Yes, I'm sure. Perhaps if you find my former subordinates, you might have a chance to find that blood diamond."
Riddle knew that the demon before him was a greater, more deranged psychopath than himself. So, upon hearing that the Holy Diamonds had the power to control unicorns, he would undoubtedly be very interested.
—After all, who wouldn't want unrestricted access to unicorn blood? He had seen this fellow conducting evil experiments with unicorn blood more than once before! What did that imply?
It meant this psychopath must have slaughtered an entire unicorn to obtain so much blood!
—Even he, Voldemort, had never been so extravagant as to use unicorn blood for experiments. Yet this fellow always seemed to pull out a significant amount of fresh unicorn blood.
Although not much pureblood, a single unicorn actually couldn't produce much pureblood, so it was normal.
"Good, your description is somewhat useful to me." Dylan stated blandly.
Riddle's expression lit up with joy. Did this mean he wouldn't have to endure this demon's constant torment for the next three whole days?
Merlin knew, every time he saw this fellow enter the room, he'd be plagued by worry about whether he was there to torment him or do something else. He was utterly fed up with this feeling of having a meat cleaver hanging over his head!
However, Dylan's next words froze his expression.
"But it's not very useful. So, your vacation is over."
"What? No, you can't..."
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Argh!!!!"
A wisp of black smoke drifted from the diary. Riddle could only maintain a fragmented form—missing limbs. Dylan casually flicked his wand. "There's nothing I can't do."
Riddle lay slumped on his side next to the diary, his figure tiny, appearing no larger than a single arm, his eyes fixed on Dylan.
"I don't like your expression."
"I—"
"Crucio!"
"Aargh—!!!"
After two curses, Dylan felt utterly refreshed, body and mind.
"One more question: where do you think the last Holy Diamond is?"
Riddle lay slumped on the wooden table in a distorted posture. His body had horrifyingly shriveled, already the size of an arm, now even further diminished to less than half an arm's length.
Beneath his semi-transparent skin, his spirit body trembled weakly, a network of unseen veins pulsating with his faint breaths. His once piercing eyes were now clouded with a murky film.
Dispersed black mist seeped from the corners of his mouth. Each labored breath was accompanied by a raspy sound of air scraping his throat.
"I... I don't know."
—Damn it, this is what he usually does to his other servants!
Riddle, terrified that Dylan would unleash another Unforgivable Curse, quickly added, "The legend of the Holy Diamonds is little known. Unicorn herds themselves are incredibly rare. Now, Dumbledore, that old goat, is protecting a unicorn herd. Perhaps the last Holy Diamond is in his possession."
Riddle paused slightly, then added, "Or, go ask Grindelwald. He might know about this."
Go on, go capture that old bastard Grindelwald too. Why should I be the only one to endure the torment and abuse from this psychopath? Why doesn't he just drag Dumbledore, that old coot, in here too?!
"It seems you genuinely don't know any more information." Dylan's gaze at Riddle was akin to looking at useless refuse. The latter was barely able to move, his face flushed with humiliation and pallor, yet he was utterly helpless against the one who so casually tormented him. He seethed with hatred!
Dylan waved his hand. Immediately, in another part of this world, a swarm of cockroaches and snakes exploded. Blood and flesh became fertilizer, while vital essence was drawn by Dylan and then injected into Riddle's body—into the diary itself. The diary's shattered form slowly healed.
Dylan didn't bother with him anymore. Instead, he began researching the blood diamond himself. He worked late into the night. By then, he had a basic understanding of the blood diamond's properties.
Indeed, it was filled with cursing power, but its specific uses were actually quite limited. And they were primarily effective against pure creatures.
Yes, Dylan's research revealed that the blood diamond could affect not only unicorns but likely other pure creatures as well. The principle was simple: the blood diamond itself was an alchemical construct, made from a unicorn's heart and the blood of its entire body. Simply holding the blood diamond near a unicorn could disturb its sanity.
However, Dylan had no interest in this ability. After all, a casual casting of his 'Eye of Cthulhu' could make anyone's sanity plummet. Forget unicorns, even a phoenix with old Dumbledore would likely be affected. Even without the 'Eye of Cthulhu,' his 'Serpent's Eye of the End' possessed strong mental attack capabilities.
Of course, beyond this ability, Dylan also discovered that activating the blood diamond with magic could create a blood mist. Dylan didn't experiment on Lockhart; instead, he found some rats and ordinary creatures. Creatures affected by the blood mist would immediately go mad, tearing at their own kind indiscriminately.
Furthermore, wounds inflicted by the blood diamond would be enveloped by a cursing power. Ordinary magic couldn't heal them. Dylan estimated that if a unicorn were wounded by the blood diamond, it probably couldn't heal itself even with its pure magic.
Dylan hadn't discovered more abilities yet. After all, this blood diamond was specifically for unicorns, and he had no unicorns in his world to experiment on. Thus, he could only get this far.
After leaving the suitcase space, Dylan didn't see Harry. However, he walked out of the dorm and entered the Gryffindor common room. He saw quite a few people there. Many young wizards were gathered, chatting excitedly.
It was almost time for the Halloween feast. Percy organized the students into lines, preventing a chaotic rush, and then led all the Gryffindor students, one by one, through the Fat Lady's portrait. They descended until they entered the Great Hall, which had been meticulously decorated by the professors.
Dylan glanced around. He couldn't help but nod. This year's Halloween decorations in the Great Hall were truly outstanding. Hundreds of pumpkins carved with grotesque faces were neatly arranged along the four walls of the Hall.
Candlelight poured from their hollowed-out eyes and grinning mouths. Warm orange glows cast dancing shadows on the stone walls, looking like countless tiny goblins winking.
Silver-grey bats, conjured by Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration, swirled around the carved vaulted ceiling. When their wings flapped, they would scatter tiny specks of starlight, reflecting off the hanging gilded chandeliers. This sprinkled flecks of light onto all the House tables.
A dozen vibrant orange velvet banners hung from high above, their edges embroidered with snarling ghosts and shimmering wands in dark gold thread.
Numerous burning blue flames floated in the air, seemingly inextinguishable. The flames constantly shifted shape with the magical currents.
For example, they would sometimes transform into screaming banshees, drifting among the students. At other times, they would twist into cackling pumpkins, bobbing up and down.
For a moment, candlelight, bat shadows, and flickering tongues of fire intertwined, creating a flowing magical tapestry that transformed the entire Great Hall into a mysterious and vibrant Halloween wonderland.
Dylan took a seat with the others. The long tables were laden with a magnificent feast. Giant roasted turkeys, their skin glistening with enticing oil, sizzled invitingly.
Mountains of special Halloween pumpkin pies, with golden, crispy crusts encasing rich, sweet fillings, were topped with freshly picked mint leaves for garnish. Plates of sizzling sausages wafted savory meat aromas.
"Hungry," Dylan mumbled, smacking his lips.
....
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