Chapter 163: Dumbledore Returns
The system's selling function had been activated. Phineas could now sell unnecessary magical items in exchange for gems. Once sold, these items would be listed in the system's shop—at a much higher price than their original purchase value.
Without hesitation, phineas chose to sell both the wand and the demon's heart he had recently acquired.
Once the heart was sold, a corresponding entry appeared in the system shop.
This was one of the main reasons phineas had chosen to sell the heart: it allowed the system to appraise it. The price difference between selling and buying back essentially paid for that appraisal.
He opened the item's description and read carefully. The barrier conjured by the demon's death still lingered—he couldn't leave, and others couldn't enter. Now was the perfect time to determine whether Richie had spoken the truth.
Demonic Heart:
The heart of a recently deceased demon, containing the full power of a demon, though that power fades over time. Demons are the mythical beings most compatible with wizards (or warlocks). Consuming a demon's heart significantly enhances a wizard's power and purifies their blood. Furthermore, due to the thin boundary between demons and gods, consuming such a heart carries a small chance of awakening a divine spark. With proper cultivation and a clearly defined divine domain and authority, this spark may evolve into a godhead seed.
phineas's eyes narrowed. Richie hadn't lied, but he had been misinformed. What Richie believed to be a guaranteed method of gaining a godhead seed was in fact just a chance—a vague and uncertain possibility.
It was clear now that the wizard who passed this information to the Rich family had done so with bias. After all, demons were not easily acquired. To kill a demon, especially a newly formed one, required immense power—far beyond the reach of most wizards.
The Rich family's insight had enabled them to deduce that the Nott family, descended from gods, had a divine legacy. Since godhood and demonhood could transform into one another, any attempt to reclaim the divine seat would force the ritual subject into becoming a demon—because the god's seat had already been filled.
This allowed the Rich family to create a self-renewing supply of weak demons. While they were powerless against true demons, they could easily defeat these newly formed ones.
Still, in an odd twist of fate, Sakaski Richie's plan had unintentionally helped phineas.
Now, phineas understood the path to godhood and had acquired the first key component needed to pursue it.
He decided to buy the heart back.
There were two reasons for this. First, Nott's corpse remained—but without its heart. That would be difficult to explain.
If Richie had taken it, phineas would never have stood a chance. He could try to argue that Richie had died after consuming the demon's heart, but Professor McGonagall and the others had no real knowledge of gods and demons. However, phineas doubted that Dumbledore—a legendary wizard—was equally uninformed.
After all, the earliest saints had been wizards seeking godhood, and Dumbledore had once been among them.
Thus, keeping the heart untouched could help phineas justify the scene and avoid magical scrutiny.
The second reason was more personal. phineas still wanted to consume a heart. But if his magic increased suddenly, suspicion would naturally fall on him. That would risk an open feud with the Nott family.
Now that Nott had died at Richie's hand, if Black also destroyed Nott's body, it would cast more doubt. Giving the demon's heart to Dumbledore, however, would clarify matters. Then, if phineas consumed a different heart later, no one would suspect him—because the original had been turned over.
He placed the newly bought heart beside Sakaski Richie's corpse, returned to his former position, and cast the Severing Curse, Sectumsempra, over Richie's body.
After all, the Killing Curse was an Unforgivable Curse. Richie's death bore its clear mark, and while phineas's wand showed no record of casting it, suspicion was still a risk.
To prevent that, he needed to create the illusion that Richie had been killed by a powerful slashing spell instead.
With everything in place, phineas closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious, waiting for the demonic barrier to lift.
As expected, the moment the protection dissipated, a flash of flame erupted in the chamber. Fawkes had arrived—bringing Dumbledore with him.
Dumbledore surveyed the room grimly, his gaze falling on the body of the demon—once Nott. His pupils contracted sharply. Clearly, he recognized Nott and understood the truth about the divine bloodline in the Nott family.
He examined the ritual chamber and sighed. If only he had looked for Richie here sooner, perhaps this outcome could've been avoided.
Approaching Richie's corpse, he crouched down, glancing at the blood-soaked right hand and the fallen heart nearby. His expression grew thoughtful.
But his frown deepened when he studied Richie's body.
Though the wound resembled one inflicted by a powerful severing curse—his head having been severed cleanly—Dumbledore could sense soul remnants clinging to the area. It was the lingering residue of an Unforgivable Curse.
He turned toward phineas's unconscious body and looked at the wand still clutched in his hand.
It was, unmistakably, the only wand in the room. phineas's shredded clothing left no room to conceal a second wand, and the Killing Curse could not be cast without one.
Taking phineas's wand, Dumbledore withdrew his own and muttered,
"Prior Incantato!"
From the tip of phineas's wand emerged the last spell cast.
It was Sectumsempra.