"Big D, you finally came!" Neville cried out joyfully, staring at Dudley with little stars in his eyes.
So... so cool a pose. I want to be like Big D in the future too.
As for Harry, whether it was because the protective charm consumed a lot of energy when activated, he had fallen unconscious when Voldemort's remnant soul rushed out, missing this classic moment.
'Escape'
This was the only thought in Voldemort's remnant soul's mind. If he couldn't win, couldn't he at least run?
With only a tiny bit of remnant soul left, Voldemort had no intention of fighting Dudley at all. Without even a physical body, he couldn't get close. Once Dumbledore appeared, he'd be dead for sure—and taking another slap from Dudley would be the same.
Anyway, he was just a mixture of vapor, shadow, and soul—ethereal to the extreme. Running should be simple—just phase through walls. Unless it specifically targeted souls, even ordinary protective charms couldn't stop him.
Voldemort's remnant soul circled around Dudley and slammed hard toward the wall.
BANG
Something unexpected happened. The wall that should have been easily passable seemed to have an invisible barrier added to it—one that could prevent Voldemort from passing through. The soul that had been painstakingly assembled shattered again, with faint black gas scattering in all directions.
"Esteemed Mr. Dark Lord, leaving without even saying goodbye is rather impolite, wouldn't you say?" Dudley raised his chin, looking at the reassembling black gas with slight mockery, patting the closed door behind him: "From now on, this is a one-way passage."
Snap! Dudley lightly snapped his fingers.
The walls around them began to emit a faint glow, and symbols gradually appeared on the walls one after another. Those were all transmutation circles. Dudley had begun drawing them when he first entered the underground—these rooms had long been covered with transmutation circles.
Extending his right hand toward Voldemort's remnant soul, his spread fingers slightly closed together. Those transmutation circles began contracting at extreme speed until they trapped Voldemort's remnant soul within less than half a meter.
Though Voldemort's remnant soul didn't know what Dudley intended to do, nor did he recognize what these transmutation circles represented, instinct told him it was definitely nothing good. He couldn't just sit and wait for death.
So he slammed into the wall again, unsurprisingly turning to fragments once more. After reassembling again, Voldemort's remnant soul appeared very panicked, constantly darting around within the space Dudley had compressed.
"What are these things? Spells? Dark Magic? Ancient Runes? No! I've never seen anything like this."
Voldemort continuously searched his memory, but found nothing. He couldn't recognize these symbols and characters, much less understand what they were. There were still things in the wizarding world he didn't know?
As a certain philosopher once said: "Mankind's oldest and strongest fear is fear of the unknown. Unless you have enough firepower."
Before becoming the most terrifying Dark Lord, Voldemort still belonged to the human category—even now, neither human nor ghost, he could still barely be considered... a partially incomplete person.
Seeing that he couldn't escape, the remnant soul could only try to extract information from Dudley. As long as he knew what these things were, there would be ways to deal with them.
"Alchemy."
Dudley slowly uttered these words. Even telling Voldemort didn't matter—a product from another world. Could he understand it? Even if he understood, could he use it?
"No, this cannot be alchemy."
Voldemort screamed, making no effort to hide his inner panic and unease. As the Dark Lord who had dominated the wizarding world eleven years ago, how could he not recognize alchemy? Even when facing Dumbledore, he had never been as panicked as he was now.
"This is alchemy."
Dudley said as such, turning to look at Neville, who had fallen into a dazed state: "Look, this pitiful creature who doesn't even have a body—do you know who he is?"
Though Neville had some guesses from Harry and Voldemort's earlier conversation, nothing had been definitively confirmed.
"He is the Dark Lord who dominated the wizarding world over a decade ago—Voldemort. Now... survival or destruction rests on my word alone."
When mentioning the name Voldemort, Neville unconsciously shrank his neck—not because he feared Voldemort's power, but as a conditioned reflex. He was a child who had grown up hearing Voldemort stories. To him, Voldemort was no different from childhood bogeymen.
And this figure from his childhood fears was now being toyed with by Dudley. Neville's worship of Dudley had reached an incomparable level.
If Harry were awake, he would definitely tell him: That's Big D—there's nothing Big D can't do.
Actually, if it came to direct confrontation without close combat, Dudley might not necessarily completely defeat Quirrell possessed by Voldemort. However, with Harry's protective charm of 'love' and Ripple (Hamon) as backup—double insurance—Voldemort's remnant soul had lost the body he'd worked so hard to find.
He thought he had chosen wrong, but actually, if he had chosen Neville, it would have been the same. Neville wore an item Dudley had specially prepared for Voldemort. Ripple (Hamon) would still damage him—perhaps not as severely as now, but the remnant soul would still be expelled.
Voldemort's remnant soul could no longer care about dignity. As long as he could survive, he was willing to do anything. He continuously begged Dudley, throwing out tempting conditions one after another, trying to use words to seduce Dudley. When he was alive and not yet powerful enough, this was what he was best at.
And it usually succeeded. For example, Quirrell, who had just died from the protective charm, had been 'convinced' by his threats and enticements in Albania.
In his view, Dudley was just a young wizard—with him personally taking action, wouldn't it be easy?
Unfortunately, he was disappointed again. His so-called verbal seduction was, simply put, making empty promises. Dudley completely ignored him. Having experienced enough false promises in his previous life, Voldemort's offers seemed rather naive to him. Probably only pure wizards who hadn't experienced society's harsh lessons would believe his nonsense.
He even pointed out the contradictions and shortcomings in Voldemort's 'big promises,' explaining them to Neville. Neville said he learned something new.
Seeing that Dudley remained unmoved and had no intention of reconciliation whatsoever, Voldemort's remnant soul changed from promises to threats. Quite exasperated.
By this time, Dudley had completed the final process. Directly below Voldemort's remnant soul, a pattern composed of a circle and regular heptagon appeared.
He had specifically drawn transmutation circles to trap Voldemort's remnant soul for only one purpose. He had a bold idea.
Turn Voldemort into a Philosopher's Stone.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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