Bald, with a grotesque, noseless face, if others were to see it, they would surely find it mysterious and powerful.
The basement was roughly circular, surrounded by seven towering statues. Outside the statues was a circular pool that encompassed the entire basement.
And in the very center of the circular basement was a stone pillar stand, about half a person's height.
In the center of the stand lay a ring.
Howl raised his palm, and his flesh and blood surged, gradually transforming into a blue swallow.
"Go!"
He slightly raised his hand, and the swallow smoothed its feathers in mid-air, then flew up with its head held high.
At the same time, Howl slowly closed his own eyes, connecting to the swallow's vision.
After circling once and seeing no abnormalities in the entire basement, the swallow landed on the central pillar, tilted its head, and then opened its beak, intending to pick up the ring.
Dumbledore also raised his elder wand, cautiously observing his surroundings.
Click—
A faint crisp sound echoed continuously in the empty basement.
The swallow simply took it, without triggering any defensive mechanisms.
"Be careful," Dumbledore warned. No abnormality was, in fact, the greatest abnormality.
Howl didn't speak, merely watching the swallow bring the ring back, but he wasn't in a hurry to take it with his hand.
Suddenly, the sound of flowing water emerged from the nearby pool.
Howl turned his head and saw a man with long, flowing hair, a pale face, and a broken body emerge from it.
He was dressed in an ancient, dirty captain's uniform, and his cloak did not become heavy from the water, but still billowed like wind.
"Jones… Ho ho ho, how does it feel to see me again?!"
Howl's eyes became a little more serious, and a smile played on the corner of his mouth.
The person who arrived was none other than.
Captain of the Silent Mary, the Butcher of the Sea—Salazar!
"Salazar, hehe, I didn't expect to see you here. Oh, by the way, there's someone else here with the same name as you, but he's clearly more famous than you."
As he spoke, the surrounding water suddenly surged up like waves.
Another figure appeared on the other side.
Dark green skin, a chin covered in constantly wriggling tentacles like maggots; both his skin and ragged clothes were covered in seaweed, and his tricorn hat was infested with countless tiny barnacles.
His right foot was a pointed claw like a crab's, and his left hand had transformed into a crab claw. In his only intact hand, he held a pipe, taking a deep drag and slowly exhaling smoke.
"That name, Jones, you've taken it?"
The Flying Dutchman, the Devil of the Deep—Davy Jones!
Howl smiled faintly and bowed slightly, like a gentleman: "I'm sorry, I couldn't keep the promise I made to you initially—I couldn't send the Sea Goddess down to accompany you."
As he spoke, yet another figure appeared.
He was also a captain, holding a bottle of rum, dressed in rich black attire, with two small braids in his white beard.
"My good student… How many years has it been? Have you made any progress at all?"
Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard—Edward Teach!
"Do I have to kill you again to shut you up, Blackbeard? Also, your daughter seems to have developed Stockholm Syndrome for Jack.
Oh, and another thing, she got eternal life, and you didn't!"
"I don't care." Blackbeard smiled casually: "I just want to tell you, you never won. You have no ability except for trickery!"
"Across the entire ocean, the only Jones people remember is me," Davy Jones also said provocatively.
The Sea Butcher Salazar also had a defiant look: "Tell me, Jones. Without the Trident, could you really defeat me?"
Howl calmly surveyed them: "So, what are you getting at?"
"One more round."
"Only if you achieve a true victory, otherwise I will forever haunt you."
"You already know the answer, because deep down you are so clear that without those little tricks, you simply cannot defeat any of us head-on!"
Howl's heart felt a little warm.
Honestly, such temptation was a bit much for him.
Howl was itching for a fight!
But—
"Damn it, besides fighting, isn't there anything worth remembering, anything worth tempting me with in my heart?
This damned Resurrection Stone brought these three guys out!!"
The moment he saw these three guys, he thought of the plot in The Tales of Beedle the Bard!
"Get lost, I have no interest in fighting my defeated opponents again," Howl waved his hand.
As for those provocative words, he didn't pay them any mind at all.
The winner takes all—including the ultimate right to interpret the battle!
Besides, he had never seen anyone fight Davy Jones without first going for his heart!
"Are you a coward?"
"You're still as timid as before, and still as fond of putting on an act."
"Weakling, you don't deserve those titles at all."
But Howl merely raised his head, made a fist, and pointed his thumb downwards.
"A bunch of trash! Oh, I forgot to tell you, after I killed each of you, Jack always quietly muttered, 'So Easy' afterward."
Upon hearing this, the captains' faces reddened even more.
However, even though Howl didn't understand how the Resurrection Stone worked, he had to admit that these fabricated images were quite accurate.
Just as he was about to talk more, a trembling arm suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye.
Moving towards the ring.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Dumbledore's eyes were red, his breathing was ragged, and his face was full of remorse.
"It's all my fault that this happened… I don't even dare to face it… Ariana, Dad, I'm sorry…"
Just as his hand was about to touch the ring.
Suddenly, a large hand slapped it away!
The Resurrection Stone ring fell to the ground, clanging as it rolled away, and the shadows and the cursing provocations of the three captains gradually faded.
Dumbledore weakly knelt on the ground, trembling all over.
After a moment, he composed himself and slowly got up.
"You… must be laughing at me…"
As he spoke, he raised his elder wand to the hand that had just been slapped and cast a healing spell.
He could feel that his palm was probably fractured.
"It would have been better if you had been gentler."
Howl squeezed his hand in mid-air, unconcerned: "I wasn't paying attention, after all, I was itching for a fight just now."
Dumbledore heard this, and looking at Howl's calm expression, he remained silent for a long time, then took a deep breath: "What did you see just now?"
"Someone invited me to a fight downstairs," Howl explained: "What about you?"
"You should have heard it…" Dumbledore's tone was heavy: "I know it wasn't real, but—"
"But the suppressed emotions were too long, too intense. Even knowing they were fake, one couldn't help but indulge in them, following their guidance…"
"That's right… I've always… always kept them sealed away. I didn't want to face them… I ran away!
Now, when they are dug out, those things are like a tsunami…" Dumbledore nodded: "Perhaps, this is the price those who are not frank always pay…
I feel this is even a hundred times more terrifying than the Mirror of Erised…"
Howl nodded, then looked at the swallow from before.
It was now lying on the ground, blood splattered around it, its body blackened, and its feathers fallen off.
Like a dried sparrow.
"It seems it was deliberately luring people to wear it!" Howl said: "This poison has a delayed effect."
Dumbledore looked at the ring, feeling somewhat afraid.
Then he waved his elder wand, and the tip of the wand lit up.
However, the ring remained motionless.
"Hmm… not unexpected," Dumbledore said, then re-waved his wand, and a small monster made of stones appeared.
Clearly, this was not a creation of the real world.
Howl looked at Dumbledore in surprise.
The old man turned his head and smiled.
"As a former Transfiguration Professor, I'm still quite good at learning things."
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