Now.
The box hasn't been opened.
But Rowena Ravenclaw still knows that what lies inside is her own possession.
"Isn't that enough to see? She's... already passed away." Ian blinked, and his response made Rowena Ravenclaw feel amused.
"Do you want to use it to gain wisdom?"
Rowena Ravenclaw walked toward the spot where the box had fallen.
"Gaining wisdom doesn't matter to me; I value its symbolic significance. It needs to return to Ravenclaw College; it is the treasure you left us."
Ian shook his head, answering righteously.
However.
After picking up the box, Rowena Ravenclaw looked at Ian with eyes that seemed to see through everything, a faint smile on her face that seemed not to believe him.
"I want to hear the truth," she said.
Ian chose to avoid Rowena Ravenclaw's gaze.
"Then... just consider that I want to gain wisdom." Ian's voice lowered a bit, as if he lacked confidence, and in front of Hogwarts' former Wise Founder, he found himself difficult to handle.
No choice.
This is the founder of Ravenclaw.
The symbol of wisdom.
Nobody ever questioned whether Ravenclaw's Crown could bring wisdom, which only speaks to the convincingly high regard given to Rowena Ravenclaw.
"You're still not telling the truth; many people seek this crown, pursuing the wisdom it bestows, but most likely, you are not among them."
"The crown only brings two kinds of people before me: one is my blood kin, and the other is... the truth I desire to know." Rowena Ravenclaw opened the box.
She reached inside with her hand and pulled out an already shabby crown.
"Inside hides an evil wizard's spirit..."
Ian was just about to issue a reminder when he saw Rowena Ravenclaw extend another hand and directly pluck out a dark, twisted form from within.
It twisted and writhed, yet Rowena Ravenclaw held it with one hand as if it were a lump of mud, continuously angry and malice-filled faces surfaced from the black mist.
"Let go of me! You despicable vermin! Daring to steal my Soul Artifact! I am the great Black Demon King! I will kill you all! No one can stop my return!"
Voldemort's remnant soul howled and roared, sharp and piercing, like claws ripping through the air, making Ian instinctively cover his ears.
"Anyone who calls themselves a Black Demon King is a fool; what legitimate entrepreneur refers to themselves as a Black Demon King?" Ian couldn't help but comment on the clearly unstable Voldemort remnant soul.
He had brought this Soul Artifact into the Misty Illusion Realm intending to have Teacher Mara deal with Voldemort's remnant soul, never expecting the crown would return to Rowena Ravenclaw instead.
"Tsk, tsk, Helbo has really caused a lot of trouble." Rowena Ravenclaw merely pinched Voldemort's remnant soul's mouth, and it was as though his mouth had been sewn shut. It struggled but could no longer make a sound, and the environment around them became peaceful and quiet again.
"Who is this guy?" Rowena Ravenclaw held Voldemort's remnant soul in one hand, looking at Ian, and no matter how the terrifying black mist churned, it couldn't escape her grasp.
"Tom Riddle, currently a scourge in the entire Wizarding World... Black Demon King? He had introduced himself, yet you didn't hear it clearly?" Ian looked at the creator who had effortlessly handled Voldemort's remnant soul.
He had a sudden whimsical thought, wondering who was more powerful, the reclusive Witch Mara or Lady Rowena Ravenclaw, the Ascetic Monk?
Lady Rowena Ravenclaw should be more powerful, right?
After all, the Four Founders.
"This can be called a Black Demon King? I thought he was trying to trick and intimidate me... In our era, no king would believe the lie of a Soul Artifact." Rowena Ravenclaw looked at the black mist in her hand in astonishment, and she rather disdainfully threw Voldemort's remnant soul to the ground.
The expression was filled with disgust.
And a hint of... complexity.
"Times are regressing, it's normal, normal." Ian marveled at Voldemort's remnant soul, which, after arriving at the Misty Illusion Realm, was reduced to just a mist and a head.
The sewed mouth of the head couldn't make any sound.
His eyes filled with humiliated hatred, and the wisps of black mist behind him couldn't form into a body, causing him to roll around like a ball.
"He's glaring at me! Probably still cursing you!" Ian noticed the hateful Voldemort remnant soul staring at him and walked up to step on Voldemort's face.
Originally in the form of a nose.
Instantly stomped into a "limited edition" noseless face by Ian.
"Tom, you really are a born bad seed! I kindly took you on a voyage, yet you didn't appreciate it. I haven't even asked you for the fare, and your other soul pieces surely won't help you pay."
Ian kicked Voldemort's head like a soccer ball several times.
"Kick him into the Black Sea, the water of the Black Sea will take him away," Rowena Ravenclaw said while caressing her damaged crown, looking like she felt no distress over it.
Just a bit of regret.
"Where will it take him?" Ian kicked Voldemort a few more times, then stepped on his head, curiously looking at the vast Black Sea beyond the island.