Chapter 160 – Angry Nott
But does this count as becoming a god?
Even without knowing Nott's full plans, Phineas found it laughable. If a mere student like Nott could become a god through some hidden means, how could those ancient and powerful figures in the pureblood council not have achieved it already? No, Nott was absolutely delusional.
"Are you thinking I'm delusional?"
While Phineas was lost in thought, Nott suddenly spoke up.
"You're thinking that even those ancient relics of the pureblood council couldn't become gods, yet I claim I can?"
Nott laughed maniacally.
"Phineas Black, you really are foolish. If you believe the Nott family descends from the Goddess of Night, how could you not consider that she might have left us a path to ascend to godhood? Of course we'd guard that secret until the day we succeeded and I will be the one to rise!"
Staring at Nott, who now seemed fully unhinged, Phineas realized he could delay no longer. He had kept the conversation going, hoping to gather more information and more importantly, to give Professor McGonagall and the others time to arrive.
It wasn't that Phineas doubted his strength, but the aura Nott now exuded reminded him of the oppressive force he'd felt at Black Castle during the ritual to refine his bloodline. Nott wasn't just irrational he was consumed.
"Incendio Maxima!"
With a swift flick, Phineas conjured a great fireball and launched it at Nott.
This wasn't just any flame-conjuring charm—or perhaps it was. The base spell was indeed common, but what Phineas did with it was far from ordinary.
Ever since crafting the Soul Stone, he'd kept it close at all times. He understood well that in real combat, utility and transfiguration magic often proved more effective than raw destructive spells.
So he used the Soul Stone.
The fireball he summoned shifted midair, reshaping into a great phoenix of fire, which swooped around Nott and unleashed blasts of searing flame.
Nott reacted quickly, raising his wand and summoning layers of Protego Totalum to shield himself.
The fiery phoenix, a result of Phineas's transfiguration and animation spells combined with the Soul Stone, circled Nott like a predator, attacking in bursts.
Nott seemed unable or perhaps unwilling to counterattack. He focused solely on deflecting the phoenix, conjuring spells to scatter or extinguish the flames.
But Phineas wasn't idle. He conjured a shield around himself, then began transfiguring objects around the room into animated creatures, sending them charging at Nott.
Finally, he prepared a Disarming Charm. He would take Nott's wand and end this before it escalated further.
But before he could cast, thick smoke enveloped Nott and the surrounding area—firebird, transfigured creatures, and all.
He had no clear target now. The Disarming Charm would be useless.
"Ventus Maxima!"
Phineas cast a hurricane spell, clearing the smoke in an instant.
The sight that greeted him froze him in place.
Nott stood transformed—no longer a wizard, but something unrecognizable.
His wand was gone. He no longer needed it.
Bat-like wings of dark bone stretched from his back, glistening with purple-black scales. Two great horns curled from his head. His eyes were vertical, feline-like slits. His face was adorned with jagged scales and bone spurs, his claws razor-sharp, and a black, serpentine tail lashed behind him.
He looked like a creature out of the darkest legends of the Underworld.
"You forced me," Nott growled, voice low and furious. "If not for you, I wouldn't have used offensive magic. I wouldn't have become this!"
There was no mistaking it—Nott had avoided casting spells before to keep this transformation at bay.
"Because of you, I lost my chance to become a god. But becoming a demon? Not so bad. You'll be the first to fall under my command."
With a sneer, Nott vanished.
Phineas instinctively turned left—just in time to see Nott materialize beside him, claws raised. The blow struck before he could react.
It felt like being hit by a speeding train. Phineas was thrown across the room and slammed into the floor, blood pouring from his mouth.
But he wasn't dead.
Thanks to the Shield Charm he had cast earlier, the impact had been dulled. Few wizards knew the spell could also block physical force not just magic.
Even so, Phineas could barely move, let alone fight again.
Nott looked at him and shook his head in disappointment.
"Still not enough. So even with fragments of all those students' souls, I could only achieve this much."
And there it was the truth behind Sakaski's weekly summons. Nott had used the students not for physical harm, but to siphon slivers of their souls. Just enough to remain undetected even by Dumbledore.
This was Nott's grand plan. To ascend through stolen souls.