In the chamber, silver smoke churned and twisted like liquid starlight, gestating something magnificent beyond imagination. Even Ciel, who was attempting to nurture this impossible creation, bore unimaginable pressure that threatened to crush his very essence.
His entire body suffered under mountain-like crushing weight that seemed to compress his bones into powder. The sound of cracking filled the air like breaking glass as his skeleton groaned under the tremendous force. Flesh split and tore with wet, tearing sounds that echoed through the mystical space.
"So this is the price of attempting to use the World Tree as a Patronus?" He gritted his teeth until his jaw ached, tasting copper as blood filled his mouth.
Using Titan Giants as Patronuses was something even the legendary Four Founders couldn't achieve despite their incredible power. The World Tree's collapse was obviously directly related to the end of the glorious Olympian mythological era.
Fire God Hephaestus and Fertility Goddess Demeter had both tried to rebuild the World Tree in their own magnificent ways. But all ended in catastrophic failure, their divine efforts scattered like leaves in an eternal storm.
This indirectly proved one staggering point: the World Tree's level might even transcend ordinary mythical rank. Even Titan Giants worshipped as living deities were far inferior to the World Tree's cosmic significance.
With him using the World Tree as his Patronus foundation, the difficulty was beyond mortal imagination. If not for both Legendary Life and Legendary Strength having undergone sublime transformation once, he probably couldn't withstand such crushing pressure for even seconds.
Moreover, as the Patronus Charm's silver smoke continued its metamorphosis, this pressure showed no signs of retreating. Instead, it slowly increased like rising floodwaters. Probably when the Patronus successfully condensed into full form, the pressure would be even more devastating.
Lady Hufflepuff understood this terrible reality with crystalline clarity. But soon after, her last gift remaining in this world, that silver badger representing Hufflepuff's eternal spirit, showed fierce determination blazing in its ethereal eyes.
The silver badger came before him with graceful, protective movements. Silver radiance blazed more vibrantly than captured sunlight, its luminescence almost blinding in intensity.
Together with him, it resisted this cosmic pressure with everything it possessed. Liquid-like pure radiance burnt more intensely, flowing into his body as precious nourishment, helping him nurture his impossible Patronus against all odds.
With the silver badger sharing this crushing burden, his pressure suddenly lightened to merely unbearable levels. He looked toward the magnificent creature, from which came Lady Hufflepuff's gentle voice, now tinged with ethereal distance:
"My will was already destined to be inherited by you precious children. Departure was predetermined long ago when I first drew breath as a portrait."
Her voice carried infinite maternal warmth. "Focus completely, child. A mythical Patronus's importance doesn't just relate to magic's ultimate limits. Even the entire magical world might desperately need this Patronus. You are our last hope for the future."
He looked confused, his pain-hazed mind struggling to process her words. From Lady Hufflepuff's tone, he heard deep worry and ancient fear. This founder from a thousand years ago seemed very pessimistic about the magical world's future, as if she'd foreseen some approaching darkness.
But now there was no time for pondering these ominous matters. Pressure from the silver smoke continued increasing slowly like tightening chains around his entire being.
He held his hands as if supporting crushing mountains, together with Lady Hufflepuff resisting this force that threatened to grind him into dust. Every minute, every second, flesh cracked inch by inch with sounds like parchment tearing, then continuously regenerated in an endless cycle of destruction and renewal.
On his system panel, the blurred Patronus Charm text constantly showed flowing lights of various colours, shifting like aurora across a night sky.
Meanwhile, in Quirrell's room far away, Quirrell opened his battered suitcase with practised movements, revealing deep stone stairs leading to iron cages that previously held many wizards transformed into monstrous Quintapeds.
Now the number of remaining creatures had obviously decreased significantly. Human corpses stored within were almost completely consumed, leaving only scattered bone fragments and dark stains.
But the remaining Quintaped-like monsters each emanated malice and strange magic that made hearts tremble with primal fear. Especially those still covered in tattered Auror uniforms, monsters transformed from once-proud magical law enforcement, probably no less dangerous than genuine Quintapeds.
Particularly since they retained fragmented memories of their signature magic and combat experience, they might be even more dangerous than naturally born Quintapeds. Twisted intelligence combined with bestial hunger created perfect killing machines.
Quirrell grabbed a severed human thigh with casual indifference and threw it into the nearest cage like feeding scraps to dogs. Soon violent commotion erupted from within, followed only by wet chewing sounds as if every bone fragment would be thoroughly consumed.
He nodded with dark satisfaction, his lips curving into something that barely resembled a smile.
Expecting these transformed monsters to deal with Dumbledore directly was naturally pure fantasy. But if these creatures were scattered throughout the Forbidden Forest, even the legendary Dumbledore couldn't annihilate them instantly.
Besides Dumbledore, Hogwarts professors would need considerable effort and time to handle them properly. If released when innocent students entered the Forbidden Forest for their Defence Against the Dark Arts examinations, it would be sufficient to tie up almost everyone at Hogwarts, including Dumbledore himself, in desperate forest battles.
Unless Dumbledore wanted to watch helplessly as young wizards were devoured alive by ravenous Quintapeds, he'd be forced to remain in the Forbidden Forest handling monsters instead of protecting the Philosopher's Stone.
Then Quirrell's path to claiming the legendary artefact would be completely unobstructed, clear as freshly fallen snow.
As for how many young wizards would die, be permanently injured, or suffer psychological trauma in this process, the inhuman Quirrell didn't care about such trivial matters. To him, they were no more significant than insects beneath his boots.
Like Voldemort, who already possessed such overwhelming magical power yet pursued meaningless goals like overturning the International Statute of Secrecy and having wizards rule Muggles, Quirrell truly couldn't understand such petty ambitions.
For the current him, whether wizards or Muggles, they were just different varieties of food to be consumed. Overturn the International Statute of Secrecy? Have wizards rule Muggles? In his twisted view, this was like two seasonings in a dish fighting each other. It wouldn't affect filling his stomach at all.
Only one thing still bothered current Quirrell like a persistent itch: that disgusting little badger who had dared to humiliate him publicly.
Quirrell wrapped newspaper featuring promotional photos in chunks of unidentifiable bloody flesh and threw them into cages, issuing his command with cold precision:
"When you encounter this young wizard in the Forbidden Forest, kill him at any cost! Tear him apart slowly!"
From the cages came strange, unclear sounds mixed with chewing and satisfied swallowing, acknowledgements from creatures that had once been human.
Days passed one by one like pages turning in some cosmic tome. The silver smoke pouring from his wand tip seemed to have reached the final stages of its impossible gestation.
Vaguely, the silver smoke showed definitive signs of condensing into recognisable form. Even its originally scattered, wispy texture had become incredibly solid, no longer resembling smoke but more like molten silver given supernatural weight and substance.
Lady Hufflepuff's voice came intermittently, reaching him with increasing difficulty: "Hold on, dear Ciel. This is truly the final step. Just a little more."
The silver badger could no longer be seen in its original badger form, completely reduced to a ball of burning silver radiance that pulsed like a dying star. Whether in brightness or volume, it was completely incomparable to the beginning, like only an empty shell remained, just wisps of smoke that would scatter in the gentlest wind.
He now looked as miserable as when wrestling with the North Sea Kraken in crushing ocean depths. His entire body showed white bones exposed under tremendous pressure, with spider web cracks spreading across the skeletal structure like fractured porcelain.
He resembled a delicate porcelain doll about to shatter into countless irreparable pieces. Even though his Legendary Life ability was working at maximum capacity to repair his battered body, the healing felt woefully inadequate.
Especially when Lady Hufflepuff mentioned the final step of Patronus formation beginning, pressure from the unformed World Tree Patronus didn't decrease at all. Instead, it became exponentially heavier, surging far beyond previous levels and crushing down on him like the weight of collapsing mountains.
Sensing this dramatic escalation, even Lady Hufflepuff's voice revealed growing despair: "Ciel, perhaps our speculation was fundamentally wrong. Human bodies truly cannot use mythology as Patronuses without being destroyed."
"You've done far more than your best. Stop now, or you'll die here, and my sacrifice will be meaningless."
Silver radiance burnt fiercely, as if determined to burn out the last afterglow and bear this final wave of pressure for him, protecting him with her fading essence.
But now he took a deep, shuddering breath that sent pain lancing through his ribs. On his system panel, the Unyielding Strength trait derived from Legendary Strength grew brighter than captured starlight.
The closer to absolute crisis, the higher Unyielding Strength's power enhancement became. At maximum potential, it could directly cross one complete sublimation boundary, elevating his physical strength to second sublimation levels.
Even the massive North Sea Kraken with its ancient power still felt genuine terror when facing second-sublimation Legendary Strength in full manifestation.
Now, though his body swayed precariously like a tree in hurricane winds, as Unyielding Strength flowed through him like liquid fire, he rediscovered that incredible feeling from the ocean depths. As if truly omnipotent.
Even if it were genuinely a mountain, perhaps he could lift it above his head?!
With a low roar that shook the chamber's foundations, his broken body actually began standing up slowly against the Patronus's cosmic pressure, defying every law of physics and magic.
This impossible scene made even Lady Hufflepuff gasp with shock and renewed hope. During the Four Founders' era of establishing Hogwarts, enemies they faced weren't imaginable by current wizards' limited understanding.
Then there were still giant tribes roaming the earth, unlike now with just a scattered few giants no longer posing meaningful threats to anyone. Even so, in Lady Hufflepuff's extensive memory, beings with such overwhelming physical strength were extraordinarily rare.
How concentrated was the supposed Titan Giant bloodline flowing through this remarkable child?!
Then hope reignited in Lady Hufflepuff's fading heart like phoenix flames. Perhaps there really was genuine hope for success after all these centuries of failure?
Now, as his body gradually straightened against impossible odds, silver smoke accelerated its condensation speed dramatically. Originally scattered smoke gradually began forming some massive, recognisable outline that defied easy description.
Lady Hufflepuff's ethereal eyes couldn't hide mounting excitement as destiny seemed within reach.
But the next second, the ball of light she'd been burning as nourishment for his Patronus scattered like a candle flame in arctic wind. Power supplied to him began completely depleting at an alarming rate.
His Patronus, that massive outline struggling to achieve final form, began showing signs of delayed formation as energy starved the process.
Even having experienced countless magical battles to establish Hogwarts against impossible odds, Lady Hufflepuff's voice was now filled with crushing self-reproach:
"Just a little more. Just the very last thread of power. But I can't squeeze out anything more. If only I could hold on a little longer..."
He bore tremendous pressure, turning to look toward where Lady Hufflepuff's voice emanated with increasing weakness. That ball of silver light had dimmed to barely candlelight level, ready to extinguish at any moment like breath on glass.
Lady Hufflepuff was about to dissipate forever from existence. Hufflepuff's founder would completely leave this world, her final gift spent.
Realising this devastating truth, he took a deep breath and looked at the World Tree Patronus with its emerging outline, so close to completion it was maddening.
He could feel it with absolute certainty. Just one thread, truly just the final thread of power. Cross this step, and this mythical Patronus that even the Four Founders had desperately pursued would completely form in all its glory.
But now, without Lady Hufflepuff providing crucial power, how could he possibly nurture such an impossibly high-level Patronus with just his ordinary magical talents?
Delay another moment, and as Lady Hufflepuff's power declined further, even the current precarious level might become unmaintainable. The Patronus condensed at such tremendous cost would collapse back into meaningless silver smoke.
Cold determination churned in his eyes like steel being forged. He couldn't accept such a devastating outcome after everything they'd sacrificed.
"Power. Still need just a little power that can enhance the Patronus. Just a tiny bit would be sufficient, just to cross this final step."
Instantly, his mind flashed to the Patronus Trees growing in his greenhouse with sudden inspiration.
After Dumbledore's magnificent phoenix Patronus had circled and perched among them, the Patronus Trees gained additional reward types, including Silver-level Patronus Charm enhancement effects.
Now those trees should be fully mature, their fruits heavy with accumulated magical potential, right?
Though he didn't know if Silver-level rewards stacked together could provide sufficient effect, now this represented his last desperate hope.
He looked toward Lady Hufflepuff's remaining glimmer of light with fierce determination: "My Lady, can you send me to the greenhouse? Perhaps I still have one final way."
Hearing his words, Lady Hufflepuff didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat. Her time was truly running desperately short, like sand through an hourglass.
Him holding on until now was already a miracle beyond all expectation. Trusting him one last time, what did it matter?
The next moment, the already precarious silver radiance swayed violently like a dying flame. Then a mystical door opened in the chamber wall before him, revealing the familiar greenhouse scene beyond where hope might still bloom.
Under tremendous pressure that threatened to pulverise his bones, he forced his battered body upright with sheer willpower. Bones cracked throughout his frame like breaking branches, existing cracks spreading further like spider webs across glass.
Even his vision blurred now, the world becoming hazy around the edges. But he wasn't experiencing such absolute limits for the first time. He'd walked this razor's edge before.
Step by agonising step, blood dripping steadily to mark his path, he stumbled through the door into the greenhouse with desperate purpose.
What met his failing eyes were heavy reward orbs hanging above the Patronus Trees like clusters of captured starlight. Dozens upon dozens of Patronus Trees, all perfectly mature and ready for harvest.
Now he ignored all other tempting rewards completely, his gaze locked with laser focus onto the Silver-level Patronus Charm enhancements among the countless orbs.
With tremendous difficulty, he reached out with trembling hands and roared with everything he had left: "Harvest!"
The next moment, dozens of orbs surged toward him like a constellation coming to earth.
Now Lady Hufflepuff's remaining will, that precious ball of fading light, completely dimmed and became ethereal as morning mist. No more power could be squeezed out to provide nourishment for his World Tree Patronus.
From the dying light came what seemed like Lady Hufflepuff's regretful yet resigned gaze, filled with maternal sorrow.
Reaching this point yet still unable to condense a mythical Patronus, though deeply regretful, she harboured no resentment or anger. Perhaps this truly was an unbridgeable chasm between mortal ambition and cosmic reality.
She just felt immense guilt toward him, making this precious child suffer so tremendously yet seemingly gaining nothing. As Hufflepuff's founder, she felt truly ashamed of her failure.
But soon after, in Lady Hufflepuff's regretful, guilt-ridden gaze, she suddenly seemed to witness something completely incomprehensible unfolding before her ancient eyes.
Without her power supply and his Patronus embryo not yet truly formed, it should have dissipated in an extremely short time like smoke on the wind. After all, this wasn't something his current magic power or Patronus Charm mastery could possibly support.
This child's magical talent was indeed just an ordinary little badger by any measure, not approaching top-tier levels at all.
But now, the Patronus embryo that should have scattered like autumn leaves not only didn't dissipate but began becoming more condensed and substantial with each passing second?
He also watched all this unfold with growing amazement. Power from reward orbs spread throughout his body like warming honey, suffusing every cell with renewed energy.
Among the flowing magic, Silver-level [Patronus Charm Enhancement] seemed to truly affect the World Tree Patronus embryo in ways he could feel but not fully understand.
Originally, he was just one crucial thread away from Patronus formation, balanced on a knife's edge between success and devastating failure.
Now, under the cumulative effect of reward orbs flowing into him one after another, this final thread was rapidly approaching completion.
Then, as the last reward orb flowed into his battered form, his [Patronus Charm Enhancement] fixed its lustre at a brilliant golden colour that blazed like captured sunlight.
[Patronus Charm Enhancement (Gold Level)]
Precisely as golden radiance spread brilliantly across his system display, the thread separating the Patronus embryo from full formation was finally crossed!
A magnificently vast tree, its upper canopy completely shrouded in swirling silver smoke with only the bottom root layers clearly visible in stunning detail, appeared before him and Lady Hufflepuff with earth-shaking presence.
Lady Hufflepuff widened her eyes in absolute wonder: "This is... this is truly..."
His gaze fell on the system panel with trembling anticipation. The [Patronus Charm] text still showed as technically unmastered, but the radiance covering this text represented something even he had never witnessed before in all his magical studies.
Mythical-level brilliance that pulsed with the heartbeat of creation itself!
[Patronus Charm (Mythical Level, World Tree)]