Fifteen days later, in the basement of the Foley family manor.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Carl pointed his wand at the fat man tied to the cross. An evil green light flew from the tip of his wand and struck the fat man directly.
The fat man didn't even get a chance to scream when the Killing Curse hit him; he died instantly, with a look of pure horror still frozen on his face.
"What a terrifying spell!"
Carl walked forward to check the body and found it completely unharmed physically, yet its soul had been snatched away in an instant.
Perhaps due to the foundation laid during the past two months of training, combined with the hard work and guidance from Old Manu, Carl had mastered a great deal of powerful black magic.
This included the Unforgivable Curses — the killing curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Imperius Curse — which the Ministry of Magic forbade under pain of a life sentence in Azkaban.
Because the Cruciatus and Imperius Curses were less immediately lethal, he often practiced them on the few people who were still alive in his basement. But the Killing Curse was a different story — this was the first time he had used it directly.
The result was indeed terrifying. He even felt that if it were turned against him, there would be no chance of survival.
Because after his research over the past few days — and his practice today — he had come to realize something crucial about the curse. The killing curse attacks the soul directly; it disregards physical resistance.
Therefore, no matter how strong a person's body is, it's powerless against it. The only way to survive is by having a soul strong enough to resist its attack.
The soul of a normal wizard isn't much more robust than a Muggle's, which is why a single killing curse is enough to destroy them instantly.
He asked himself honestly whether his own soul was strong enough to resist it and decided it probably wasn't — at least not yet.
Fortunately, although the killing curse is fatal, there are ways to deal with it.
The simplest tactic is to dodge it. The casting gesture traces a Z-shaped path in the air, and a piercing green light emits from the wand. If you can predict it in advance, you can avoid it fairly easily — a piece of cake for someone with his physical prowess and chakra. Unless a large number of dark wizards were to attack him with killing curse after killing curse, there'd be little chance of him failing to avoid it.
The second way to deal with it is physical cover. Although protective charms like the Iron Armor Curse are powerless against it, a thick wall, a large stone, or something sturdy can block it — although whatever it struck would be destroyed instantly.
The last, and most dangerous, option is a showdown — pitting his Disarming Spell directly against the killing curse. If his magic were strong enough, and their beams connected accurately, it might overwhelm his opponent's attack and disarm him instead.
But this is a huge risk. If your power isn't greater than your opponent's, or if you miss the timing by even a fraction of a second, you're finished.
For Carl, the first option — simply avoiding it — seemed safest and most reliable.
"Mr. Foley, I have taught you everything I can. You can let me go now!"
Manu spoke up quickly when he saw Carl destroy another life with the Killing Curse.
He had already passed on all the black magic knowledge in his possession. All that remained was for Carl to practice and consolidate it on his own. His role was finished.
So now Manu hoped that the other party would keep his promise and let him go.
As for what would happen afterwards…Manu already made up his mind to make this man pay. As a dark wizard with a certain reputation, how could he let this insult pass?
The key was that if it hadn't been a sneak attack, given the magical prowess displayed by the opponent, Manu knew there was no way Tom would be able to match him.
"Oh, of course. I swear in the name of the Foley family that I will let you go."
Carl put away his wand and nodded with a gentle smile at Old Manu, who remained bound nearby.
This old wizard was indeed of no further use to him. A master can lead you to the door, but it's up to you to step through it yourself. He'd gotten all the black magic knowledge from Manu that he was going to.
"Everything is forgotten, memories filled in… then unconscious!"
He raised his wand and struck Old Manu with a Forgetfulness Charm, a False Memory Charm, and a Stunning Spell in quick succession, sending him into oblivion.
He then called for Barry to dispose of the bodies in the basement, bury them in the back garden, and scrub away all traces. With that done, he Disapparated directly into the Ministry of Magic in London.
Of course, Manu Angel would be freed — but it would be in the Ministry's hands.
During his two months of training, Carl had been thinking hard about a key question: should he become involved in the global wizard war between Dumbledore and Grindelwald?
If he chose not to, then under Tom Foley's identity, he could safely live a comfortable, peaceful life — running his shop and quietly developing his power.
But by staying neutral, it would be hard for him to grow quickly or gain much knowledge. His progress would be slow.
So after much consideration, he decided it would be smarter to become involved. Risk brings opportunity.
Then the question was: should he side with Dumbledore or Grindelwald?
Siding with Dumbledore seemed simpler; Dumbledore was destined to win in the original story, and staying close to him seemed safest. But Dumbledore was not someone who rewarded loyalty lavishly — and if you crossed him, or did something he disapproved of, you'd find yourself on the receiving end of his wrath.
Furthermore, from Dumbledore's view, black magic was pure evil — there'd be little opportunity for a dark mage to grow under him.
On the other hand, Grindelwald was a different story. His methods were ruthless, and if you were useful to him, you'd be rewarded — not discarded afterwards.
Of course, this meant putting oneself directly against Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the age, and also against powerful people like Newt Scamander.
But overall, the opportunity seemed worth it.
Then yesterday, a new thought struck him — a third path. Why align himself with either side when he could conquer it all?
He isn't the real Tom Foley; he's Carl — a person who can travel across worlds, from the Marvel universe to Naruto and now to Fantastic Beasts. His future power will surely surpass both Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
So… why not aim to become ruler of the entire wizarding world himself?
Then all resources — knowledge, magic, influence — would be at his disposal.