Killing with a smile, maintaining elegance throughout the act—Rey could never pull that off.
But for Terence Barrow, a born aristocrat, it came effortlessly. To him, killing could be an elegant affair, especially when the victim wasn't a person, but merely a ghost.
As for the ghost's dying curse, Terence dismissed it entirely. His teacher, Salazar Slytherin, had also been cursed by a ghost when he slew one in the Valley of Evil Spirits years ago: "Your life's greatest wish shall never come true."
The curses of evil spirits were notoriously vague and nonsensical. His teacher's greatest wish was to build the first magical school in the wizarding world alongside his three best friends.
In the magical world, aside from Merlin himself, the Four Founders were the greatest wizards in history. Terence refused to believe they couldn't build a single school.
It was practically a done deal, a foregone conclusion.
However, what was Salazar's true wish?
Perhaps only Salazar himself—and Rey, the outsider from the future—knew the truth. Terence thought he understood his teacher, but he couldn't be more wrong.
A person's wishes change with time and experience. As a child, you wish to grow up quickly to escape parental control. But once you grow up, your experiences change, and so do your wishes.
If Rey knew what Terence was thinking right now, he would have scoffed. Because Salazar's current wish wasn't just to build a school with his three friends; it was to walk alongside his best friend, Godric Gryffindor, forever.
When that first wish failed, a second wish formed: to purge the school of Muggle-born students and make Hogwarts a haven for pure-blood wizards only.
Undoubtedly, both wishes failed.
So, the curse from the Valley of Evil Spirits was very real. The moment the Specter Bead entered the body, the curse was branded deep into the soul.
Throughout history, every wizard who came to the Valley of Evil Spirits to kill a ghost and claim a Specter Bead received a curse along with their prize.
Practicing Dark Magic without side effects comes with a price. There is no such thing as a free lunch, not then, not ever.
Curses are subtle things. The wizard often doesn't feel them; events just seem to unfold naturally. So, Salazar ignored it. And Terence Barrow ignored it too.
As for Rey, he had no idea the curse even existed.
---
Rey still had the chubby dragon sitting on his shoulder. He was nowhere near his destination.
His earlier shout of frustration hadn't just been heard by Terence. It also reached the ears of the sexy, self-proclaimed queen of the spirits.
Drifting rapidly across the Gobi-like wasteland, she now held a withered vine staff, thick at the top and tapered at the bottom.
The moment she heard Rey's roar, she pinpointed his direction. Transforming into a cloud of black mist, she surged forward.
She moved fast. Wherever she passed, other spirits scattered, terrified of getting in her way and suffering her wrath.
Rey had no idea his vent of frustration had attracted a king-tier evil spirit. He continued to trudge forward under the direction of the chubby dragon on his shoulder.
Barren hills, canyons, towering rocks. Rey had been walking through this wasteland for what felt like forever.
Fortunately, in this world, he didn't feel hunger or the passage of time. The sky remained frozen in a perpetual burning twilight.
The wasteland was ending. Ahead lay an endless desert. As far as the eye could see, there were no living creatures or vicious spirits on the horizon.
Rey turned his head, staring resentfully at the cute pet on his shoulder. "Tell me, are you playing with me?"
He thought they were close, but there was still no sign of the main body. Rey had psyched himself up for a heroic death, gathered all his courage, and ended up... walking. It was anticlimactic, like holding in a massive sneeze only to let out a tiny squeak.
Staring at the endless desert merging with the horizon, Rey was speechless.
The dry, scorching desert wind hit his face. Rey suddenly had the urge to grab the chubby dragon and grind its face into the dirt.
However, the little guy didn't notice Rey's resentment at all. It raised a stubby wing and pointed enthusiastically toward the depths of the desert, looking high-spirited.
Its firm expression and undeniable aura made it seem like a king commanding a slave to carry him forward.
"Fine. I'll walk."
Suppressing his anger, Rey decided to trek into the desert for a while longer. If they still didn't reach the destination, he was going to beat the chubby dragon senseless.
Right foot forward. Left foot followed. One step crossed the line between the rocky wasteland and the sandy desert. Rey was now fully in the desert.
But that single step changed everything. The world transformed instantly, without transition or warning.
The setting sun turned blood-red. The yellow sand turned into black sand that reeked of blood. The endless, empty desert became a hellish battlefield.
Corpses of every race littered the ground as far as the eye could see. It was clearly the site of a horrific ancient war, frozen in time at the moment the fighting stopped.
There were humans, dragons, elves, giants, and monsters from hell—creatures with狰狞 horns, bulging muscles, and blood-red skin.
Humans, dragons, and elves were on one side. Giants and the hellish monsters were on the other.
Walking into this transformed world, Rey was stunned. He forgot to breathe.
Especially in the center of the battlefield. A massive black dragon stood roaring at the sky, locked in combat with a gigantic demon. Even in death, their immense bodies exuded a soul-crushing pressure. It felt like they could wake up at any second and resume their slaughter.
---
"Haa... ah... haa... ah..."
Gasping for air, Rey instinctively started hyperventilating as the lack of oxygen hit him.
Where was this place? Rey didn't know. And he wasn't in the mood to find out.
Inhaling the thick scent of blood, Rey backed away in terror.
He took several steps back. Suddenly, his vision blurred. The ancient battlefield vanished, replaced once again by the endless yellow sand.
He was back in the wasteland, just across the line from the desert.
I shouldn't be here.
Horrified, Rey turned and sprinted back the way he came.
One hundred meters. Two hundred meters. Rey ran for over five hundred meters before stopping, heart pounding.
Taking several deep breaths, he barely managed to suppress his panic. But just as he prepared to continue retreating, a sharp pain shot through his right leg. The chubby dragon was biting his calf, trying desperately to drag him back toward the battlefield.
Rey's eyes went cold. He grabbed the little guy by the scruff of its neck, lifted it up, stared at it for three seconds, and then threw it.
"I am not going back there. If I stay in that place any longer, I'll be eaten by some monster that isn't quite dead yet."
It wasn't cowardice. The bloody, dark aura of that battlefield was overwhelming. Rey feared that if he stayed, he would go insane.
In just those few moments, he felt his mental state crumbling, replaced by violent, irritable urges.
Rey made up his mind and started walking back.
The chubby dragon panicked. After landing on the sand and rolling over, it scrambled back and bit Rey's calf again. This time, it bit harder.
It had no teeth, so it was just a painful pinch. Rey sighed, picked it up, and threw it again.
Once. Twice. The little guy wouldn't give up. Tears welled in its big eyes as it let out wailing cries.
"Sorry. I'm sorry..."
Rey shook his head as he walked, letting the little guy hang off his leg. Its weight was negligible, and no amount of biting would shake Rey's resolve to leave.
---
"My, my! Finally found you."
A sultry voice, breathless and alluring, drifted down from atop a high rock formation as Rey passed beneath it.
Rey, still shaken from his earlier fright, jumped at the sudden voice. His wand was in his hand instantly.
A sexy beauty in a tattered cloak, holding a withered vine staff, stood atop the high rock. She was half-crouching, leaning forward to look down at Rey.
Rey's pupils contracted. From this angle, looking up, the tattered cloak revealed... everything.
Women think with their upper bodies (hearts). Men, especially mature men, often think with their lower bodies.
Fighting the urge to take another look, Rey retreated several steps warily. His visible struggle not to peek made the sexy creature on the rock giggle, her body trembling with mirth.
"Oh my, oh my. Big sister thought she sensed wrong. Turns out, you're not very big physically, but your soul... well, it's certainly grown up fast, hasn't it?"
---