At this moment, Ciel had no idea that his inadvertent act of collecting dark magical items had actually affected the interests of Borgin and Burkes from the original story. Even the opal necklace that had been used to assassinate Dumbledore in the original was now being used against him.
Currently, he was in the Malfoy family's secret library, searching through correspondence records between Malfoy ancestors and the Robinson family ancestors from the first World Tree expedition—specifically letters to and from Spam Robinson, who had been nailed to the pillar of shame and even expelled.
Unexpectedly, these letters hadn't been damaged or lost due to the passage of time. Instead, they had obviously been well-maintained and preserved. It was clear that even after more than a thousand years, even though the Robinson family bloodline might have been completely severed, the Malfoy family hadn't gone to extremes because of this, still preserving traces from that time.
To have such extensive connections and stand firm generation after generation, the Malfoy family indeed had their survival methods.
Then he opened these letters. The content basically focused on one matter—Spam Robinson begging the Malfoy family patriarch of that time to fund the construction of a large ship for the World Tree expedition.
From between the lines, one could see that Spam Robinson was extremely eager for this expedition, filled with lofty ideals. He even stated directly in the letter that he was prepared to die during the expedition.
To convince the Malfoy family and prove this expedition wasn't a mirage, that he had the ability to bring something back, Spam Robinson had even voluntarily revealed a secret:
"Our Robinson family is not pure wizard bloodline. Not like many pure-blood nobles claim about their ancestors' blood being mixed with phoenix, basilisk and other bloodlines—those absurd rumours."
"Sorry, though the Malfoy clan also claims this, I'm not targeting you specifically. I mean, our Robinson family is different."
"Part of our bloodline comes from the Titans of the Olympian age, those wizards who were once revered as gods!"
"Our Robinson family's flesh and blood has miraculous effects on cultivating any plants, even ancient plants. Because our ancestor is the fertility goddess Demeter!"
"I know you must think I'm insane, but I have ways to prove it to you."
This letter's content ended abruptly here. From the next letter onwards, the Malfoy family had already decided to fully support this expedition, funding the construction of the large ship.
Obviously, the secret Spam Robinson revealed had indeed convinced the Malfoy patriarch of that time, making him believe that while this expedition carried enormous risks, even the slightest benefit would be equally rewarding.
He quickly scanned through the subsequent letters discussing expedition fantasies, finding no more valuable content before setting down these letters.
The tumultuous waves in his heart hadn't calmed for a long time. He never would have imagined that over a thousand years ago, Titan giant bloodline holders in the magical world weren't limited to trolls—there had actually been a wizard family, and the bloodline they carried was from Demeter, the fertility goddess he was familiar with!
"Using flesh and blood could have miraculous effects on herbology cultivation. If they were Demeter's bloodline descendants, this would certainly be possible."
"Like troll priest Sirius, the Hephaestus bloodline it inherited had become diluted and fragmented to an unknown degree, but still gave it alchemy talent that almost any genius would envy."
"Flesh and blood, herbology, ancient plants—herbology exams—International Herbology Association—Robinson, Dolokhov—"
Countless terms flashed through his mind as his sixth sense continued jumping, as if reminding him that a huge secret was hidden here.
He frowned deeply, thinking hard until, in one moment, a flash of insight suddenly connected all these terms in his mind:
"What if the accusations Thompson Dolokhov made against Spam Robinson, one of only two survivors from the first World Tree expedition, were false—or reversed?"
"What if after entering the World Tree area, Thompson discovered the power that Spam possessed due to his Robinson family bloodline, and he tried to monopolize this secret for himself?"
"The Robinson family's destruction and subsequent disappearance might all be related to Thompson. This first president of the International Herbology Association might not have died but could still be alive in this world using the secrets he obtained then."
"This herbology exam's abnormal changes might all have started when that herbologist named Ed published a paper on ancient plant cultivation. What if Ed, who has been hiding his identity, is actually named Ed Robinson?"
"He awakened Robinson family abilities, and precisely because of this, Thompson noticed him and wants to draw him out?"
He took a deep breath. This could explain his persistent subtle premonitions.
But this also left him quite conflicted. Ed's knowledge about using dark magic transfiguration to modify herbs through flesh and blood was quite important to him.
But if Thompson was truly still alive, he felt this would be another wizard as unfathomable as Nicolas Flamel, sharing the same goal as himself. The dangers of getting involved were self-evident.
Should he really get mixed up in this vortex? For the moment, he truly couldn't make a judgement. Fortunately, there was still time before the herbology exam began—he could wait and see.
He exhaled softly: "Better focus on the present."
Just then, footsteps came from outside the library—Lucius bringing good news. The pure-blood families had acted with rare efficiency this time. The first batch of dark magical items had been delivered to Malfoy Manor—nearly a hundred pieces in total, with possibly more to come.
Hearing this, his eyes also brightened. Even if the pure-blood families weren't bringing out their treasures so early, under the influence of over a hundred dark magical items, perhaps his Patronus tree seed would be closer to completely reaching Epic level?
Then he quickly left the library, walking toward the room where this batch of dark magical items was stored.
Meanwhile, in Knockturn Alley at Borgin and Burkes, Borgin was leisurely lying in his chair, his face full of triumphant cold smiles.
He naturally knew the first batch of dark magical items had been sent to Malfoy Manor. Among them, Borgin had specially taken out many from his own collection, including that opal necklace he believed could curse-kill even Dumbledore, mixing it into this batch of dark magical items.
Thinking of this, Borgin's smile became even more triumphant:
"This is my proudest serial trigger trap. First, use a relatively easy-to-discover small item to attract his attention, making him lower his guard, thinking retaliation from Borgin and Burkes is nothing special."
"When he solves this small item while laughing at me, it will activate two other dark magical items behind it. Most colleagues would already die at this step."
"But if he truly has some ability and can solve those two triggered items without danger—" Borgin laughed. "He'll definitely be vigilant for a while. After nothing happens, he'll think it's over. 'That Borgin is really sinister'—he'll definitely think this."
"When he lowers his guard, the next wave of my chain trap will trigger the opal necklace. Just one touch—snap—everything ends."
"No one can survive my cunning, sinister, unparalleled chain trap. So far, six colleagues who dared compete with my business have all died under my methods."
Thinking about what would happen next, Borgin's face was full of anticipation: "I can't wait to hear screams from Malfoy Manor."
At this time, in Malfoy Manor, Lucius was also looking at this batch of delivered dark magical items with wary eyes, reminding Ciel:
"Mr Sprout, this time we've blocked Borgin's financial path. He probably won't let this go easily. Though he's a profiteer, being able to stay in Knockturn Alley for so many years without anyone daring to cause trouble in his shop, even monopolising this trade—his abilities have always been mysterious."
"I heard previously others tried to compete with his business, some even notorious dark wizards from other magical communities, but they all ended up mysteriously disappearing. Be careful—I suspect Borgin might have tampered with these items."
Ciel nodded. After Lucius left, the voodoo doll emerged from his chest, pointing inside and saying repeatedly: "There's something very vicious in there."
He slightly narrowed his eyes, instead showing anticipation. Something very vicious? No matter how vicious, could it be worse than the curse magic from Delia Island temple?
After being influenced by the Mythical-level Patronus Charm, this Patronus tree seed's protective ability could resist even near-Epic level curse magic. Moreover, judging from its growth potential, if this Patronus tree seed's potential was fully realised, it would reach Legendary level.
He really didn't believe Borgin could produce dark magical items of such level. As for whatever traps Borgin had left among these items, they were meaningless before absolute power.
He raised his hand, silver light flickering on the Patronus tree seed, instantly refining all dark magic attached to these items!
In moments, the dark magical aura emanating from the chests dissipated by more than half. After all, what the pure-blood families sent in the first wave weren't treasures—just to test whether the Malfoy family could really handle these items completely without causing them trouble.
Under the Patronus tree seed's power, this fragile dark magic naturally vanished at extremely fast speed.
However, there were indeed several items that could still withstand the Patronus tree seed's power. These were equivalent to the treasures he had previously obtained from the Malfoy family—each could make the Epic-level radiance on the Patronus tree seed grow noticeably.
Among these, the one containing the strongest dark magical power was undoubtedly that brilliant opal necklace. Seeing this, he thought of the Death Eaters' plan to assassinate Dumbledore in the original story—this necklace had indeed been their great hope.
But now, under the silver radiance emanating from the Patronus tree seed, even the opal necklace gradually became covered with cracks. The malicious dark magic was being annihilated bit by bit.
The reward lustre flowing on the Patronus tree seed was simultaneously undergoing dramatic changes. Under his gaze, the clear Diamond lustre was reduced to just the final few strands, still continuously disappearing.
The Epic-level purple light occupying the absolute majority, plus a small amount of Legendary-level radiance, was rotating above the seed.
Moments later, as the opal necklace crumbled to powder, the Patronus tree seed also completely shed that trace of Diamond lustre. Replacing it, purple light concentrated to the extreme completely flooded his vision.