At Death's words, mockery churned within his scarlet eyes. His deep voice rang like an ancient bell coated in frost, carrying the unique pressure of a Dimensional Demon God as he casually looked Harry over.
"A price?"
He deliberately drew out the words, his voice dripping with undisguised derision.
"A insignificant creature like you dares speak to me about paying a price? What does it matter if I stole the Deathly Hallows?"
Death stepped forward. The invisible aura surrounding him instantly distorted the nearby space, and his voice overflowed with arrogance.
"In this world, life and death are both mine to command. Those three insignificant Hallows are nothing more than toys I can take whenever I please.
"Besides, that power originally belonged to me. The three brothers acquired it through deception, and now I merely wish to reclaim what is mine.
"You are the one who dared turn your schemes against me. You should be worrying about the price you will have to pay!"
Harry did not become angry in the face of Death's arrogance. Instead, he gave him a mocking smile.
"A Dimensional Demon God? I take it you've never encountered any other Dimensional Demon Gods.
"Do you believe you are the only exceptional being in existence? Do you think every Dimensional Demon God is absolutely invincible?"
The freezing air surrounding Death abruptly became still, and his scarlet pupils contracted. His previously casual demeanor disappeared in an instant.
His hovering form sank slightly. Two clusters of ghostly blue fire flared within his eye sockets, concealing a deep and smoldering anger.
"You dare question me?"
His voice no longer carried its leisurely mockery. It became sharp and icy as his invisible aura erupted outward, sending loose stones rattling across the ground.
"Demon Gods from other dimensions? They are nothing more than defective creatures trapped inside lower-dimensional prisons!
"I can cross the dimensions of life and death and control the cycle of souls. How could those worthless mongrels possibly compare to me?"
He suddenly teleported directly in front of Harry. His bony fingers nearly touched the tip of Harry's nose as he spoke with the unrestrained arrogance of a deity who had been personally insulted.
"Do you think a few empty words can shake me? In my eyes, both you and those other Demon Gods you mentioned are merely souls waiting to be harvested.
"You dared bring them up because you wish to experience complete spiritual annihilation before those failures do?"
Death slammed his scythe into the ground. Black cracks spread through the earth like a spiderweb, and countless tiny fragments of souls writhed within them.
Their gazes remained fixed on Harry. It seemed that the moment Death gave the order, they would surge forward and tear him to pieces.
Harry ignored Death's provocation. The entity's words had already revealed a great deal of useful information.
As far as Death knew, other worlds did not exist.
Even within the wizarding world, the dimension of the dead appeared to be the only true dimension. There were several smaller pocket dimensions, but none of them were genuine dimensions capable of giving birth to a Dimensional Demon God.
While Harry was absorbed in thought, Death mistook his silence for fear.
A triumphant gleam flashed through Death's scarlet eyes. The distorted aura surrounding him intensified, and the dark scythe spun through an arc in his palm as he looked down at Harry with contempt.
"What's wrong? Have you finally understood? Do you now realize that opposing me is nothing more than suicide?"
He advanced another two steps, his shadow completely engulfing Harry. The contempt in his voice was almost tangible.
"You were bold enough to question my authority a moment ago. Why have you suddenly fallen silent?
"Stop clutching that worthless piece of wood. Even if it allows you to cast spells, it cannot change the fact that you are merely a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
"The three brothers deceived me and escaped with the Hallows, yet even they could not evade my pursuit.
"What makes a child like you, who does not even possess a complete set of Hallows, believe you will be any different?
"Kneel and beg me now, and perhaps I will grant you a painless death.
"After all, it is rare to encounter a child brazen enough to speak back to me."
Harry's expression became strange as he watched Death's arrogant display.
He had already confirmed that the entity before him was indeed a Dimensional Demon God and that he shared many similarities with the Dimensional Demon Gods of the wider multiverse.
Because the wizarding world was fundamentally composed of chaos magic, Death's power was relatively unusual compared to that of most Dimensional Demon Gods in the wider multiverse.
However, he was likewise incapable of projecting too much of his power into the wizarding world.
The portion of Death's strength that had managed to penetrate this world was nowhere near enough to contend with Harry.
After recognizing the true nature of the Dimensional Demon God before him, Harry no longer hesitated.
Scarlet magic gathered around his body, enveloping him like a long coat of flowing energy.
Harry calmly mocked him.
"Death, do you know why I dare ridicule you?"
Death studied Harry with visible interest, focusing particularly on the magic covering his body. Even Death could not afford to treat that power carelessly.
He now understood that this wizard was far stronger than he had anticipated. Even he would have to confront Harry with caution.
Still, as the only Dimensional Demon God he knew to exist, Death maintained his outward composure and answered with a cold sneer.
"Is it not simply because you are hopelessly ignorant?"
Harry smiled disdainfully and revealed the answer.
"It's because you're far too weak."
The moment he finished speaking, a brilliant green disintegration beam shot toward Death.
Death roared in fury.
"You wretched creature! A god is not something a mortal like you is permitted to insult!"
He swung his scythe, releasing a decaying slash capable of ripping the soul from any living creature.
The attack carried a gray-black aura of death and carved a distorted arc through the air. Everything along its path was drained of vitality. Even the dust floating in the cavern instantly crumbled into powder as the slash hurtled toward Harry's face.
Harry kicked off the ground. Scarlet magic exploded beneath his shoes, releasing a blast of air that propelled him backward and to the side like an arrow leaving its bow.
He narrowly avoided the attack while three rotating spheres of scarlet magic formed above his fingertips. With a flick of his hand, he hurled them toward Death.
The magic projectiles collided with the lingering energy of the decaying slash, producing a piercing explosion. As the gray-black and scarlet energies clashed, three deep trenches were ripped through the ground.
Death's grip tightened around his scythe. His scarlet eyes burned with furious disbelief.
"You are nothing more than a wizard! How could you possibly withstand my Death Slash?"
He stomped one foot against the ground, and dense black mist surged around him. Countless tiny phantoms of screaming souls spiraled within it.
In the blink of an eye, the mist condensed into more than a dozen slender death chains that rushed toward Harry from every direction.
The scarlet magic covering Harry's body suddenly brightened, gleaming like a layer of flowing armor.
He raised one hand and seized the first chain that reached him. Magic erupted from his palm, directly burning the soul-forged chain into wisps of smoke.
At the same time, Harry raised his wand with his other hand. Brilliant green light blazed at its tip.
"Expelliarmus!"
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