The rain fell harder and harder, while the wind grew ever fiercer.
Black clouds pressed down upon the horizon. The underground forest swayed wildly; even the massive redwoods struggled to withstand such gale-force winds, rocking without end.
No one had expected the rain to become this heavy.
Though they were not far apart, they could no longer make out the person standing atop the cliff, catching only the occasional silhouette through gaps in the rain.
Mu En stood on the cliff, one hand against his chest as he felt the two heartbeats within him.
Those who practiced Animagus transformation had to point their wands at their chests and recite the incantation at every sunrise and sunset, causing a second heartbeat to emerge.
Now, everything was ready. He only needed to wait.
Wait for a bolt of lightning!
As he thought this, his gaze fell upon the roots of a massive redwood beside the castle. Over the past several days, whenever he had time, he had gone to inspect the integrity of the formation, ensuring that there would be no issue with the potion stored within.
Before the lightning arrived, the potion could not be seen by anyone.
Just as he was thinking of it, the sky suddenly brightened. Lightning flickered deep within the clouds.
Mu En reacted swiftly. He immediately raised a hand toward the redwood, curling his five fingers into a claw and twisting his wrist.
From far away, the redwood was forcibly gouged open, leaving a pit in its trunk.
Mu En drew his hand back, and the massive chunk of wood he had excavated, along with the potion bottle previously hidden inside, tore through the curtain of rain and flew straight into his hand.
Only then did the deafening thunder arrive belatedly.
Rumble—
He took out the potion bottle. His pupils narrowed into vertical slits, and he could see that the liquid inside had turned a vivid blood-red.
Then he raised his wand, aimed it at his chest, and began chanting the spell.
"Amato Animo Animato Animagus!!"
Thump—thump—
The second heart in his chest suddenly began pounding violently. At the same time, intense pain erupted throughout every limb and bone in his body.
It had begun!
Silver-white fur rapidly sprouted from Mu En's arms and fingers. His fingers quickly shortened and thickened, while the ring he wore was swallowed by the growing flesh and vanished from sight.
Not only the ring—even the clothes on Mu En's body gradually folded into his flesh, covered over by the fur that continued to grow.
His nails became thick and sharp, embedding themselves into his flesh. His spine began to curve, and under the immense pain, his body kept bending lower.
Yet this was not enough!!
Unlike ordinary wizards, his body was the supreme creation of his human-body alchemy. What he sought was not merely to turn into some little animal.
Magic power began flowing through the alchemical formations on his body. Streaks of silver light blossomed across Mu En's form, while violent magic radiated outward from him in waves.
The Animagus transformation and the body created through human-body alchemy went from clashing at the outset, to reaching balance under Mu En's deliberate guidance, then gradually began merging with one another.
Mu En's body gradually became smaller and slimmer amidst the rain.
Rumble—
Another bolt of lightning split the sky. The person, the fire, and the broom standing at Moonlight Castle's entrance all saw the figure standing by the cliff.
Even the thick clouds overhead seemed to gather into Mu En's face, enormous and majestic.
Harry rubbed his eyes, staring in disbelief.
"Hehehe."
The sudden laughter beside him gave Harry a fright. Turning around, he saw Lucifer chuckling to himself, the flames around him bobbing up and down as though he were delighted.
"Mr. Lucifer, what are you laughing about?" Harry asked curiously.
Lucifer stretched out a tiny hand and pointed toward the cliff. "Still just a cat. I told you Animagus transformation was useless, hehe."
Harry looked toward the cliff, but there was only darkness. He could not see anything at all.
Just as he was wondering about it, a figure suddenly appeared.
A silver-white body, a thick mane, upright pointed ears—it was unmistakably the form of a large cat.
"Lucifer, why are you so happy?" Mu En said. Seeing Lucifer laugh so happily made him inexplicably irritated.
"I'm not laughing at anything, hehehe." Lucifer covered his mouth, his eyes narrowing into slits.
Harry hurriedly got to his feet. "Uncle Mu En, you succeeded?!"
Mu En nodded. He leaped into the room first, and then a warm whirlwind swept over his body, quickly drying the fur all over him.
It even left it remarkably fluffy.
"Magic?!" Harry stared in amazement, then hurriedly searched his memories. "Uncle Mu En, I remember that Animagi can't cast magic after turning into animals! Did I remember wrong?"
Mu En landed on the table. "You remembered correctly. But clearly, there are many mysteries of magic that were never written in books."
Harry quickly nodded. During the first lesson Uncle Mu En had taught him, he had been told to think dialectically and not blindly rely on books.
Still, he could see just how formidable Uncle Mu En was. He could casually break even the drawbacks of powerful magic described in books.
That was somewhat beyond Harry's understanding.
All he knew was... he was powerful!
Far beyond what ordinary people could ever reach.
Mu En rolled over, then ran and jumped around a few times. After initially adapting to his current body, he leaped off the table. The air was rapidly stirred, and Mu En returned to human form once more.
Only, he still had a cat's face atop his head.
Even with such an advanced transformation spell running through his entire body, he had not sensed anything wrong with his head during the transformation.
It was as though he had always been meant to be a cat-headed man.
"Now you should listen to me, right?" Lucifer said smugly as he returned to the fireplace.
After succeeding with his Animagus transformation, Harry read for a while longer. After mopping up the water trails Mu En had left behind when entering, he bid Mu En farewell and returned to the Dursley Residence.
Mu En sat listlessly on the sofa, one arm propped on its armrest as he supported his cheek.
He could not understand why this curse was so troublesome.
The last world he had traveled to had been Porco Rosso. After that, he had been cursed and turned into a cat-headed creature.
"Of course. In Porco Rosso's world, that was a source-level curse," Lucifer said lazily.
Mu En straightened up and moved closer to the fireplace. "But Porco Rosso's world didn't have magic at all. It didn't even have a history of wizards."
"How would I know?" Lucifer fetched a piece of firewood for himself and stuffed it beneath his body.
"Whether it was Porco Rosso or the flying squirrel owner of the aircraft repair factory, it was said that in that world, anyone who went against their true heart would be turned into an animal as punishment."
As he spoke, recollection flashed through Lucifer's eyes. "Think about how Porco became human again."
Mu En thought back for a moment, then said, "He became human after Fio kissed him, didn't he?
That guy... was just like something from a fairy tale, except the story was about a young girl in the prime of her youth and an old pig."
"No, no, no!" Lucifer stretched out one finger and wagged it. "You missed the important part!"
"What was the important part?"
"The important part was that Miss Gina was right there.
If you ask me, Porco had always been running away from his feelings for Miss Gina, which was why he turned into a pig.
So after Fio expressed her love for him, he finally had no choice but to face his feelings for Miss Gina.
And only then did he turn back into a human."
Hearing Lucifer's words, Mu En fell silent for a long time before finally speaking flatly. "So you mean... I went against my true heart, which was why I suffered that world's curse?"
Lucifer nodded. "That's my guess."
Mu En was somewhat unwilling to believe it. It was simply too absurd. Back in the Caribbean Sea, he had killed whoever he wanted to kill and had never denied himself anything.
He had even declared, "There can only be one Jones on this sea!" before going to kill Davy Jones.
He had always followed his heart.
"A man in the desert will never realize that he has lost his way," Lucifer said lazily. "You know, don't you? The hardest lies to expose are the lies people tell themselves.
If you ask me, you should slow down a little.
This curse won't make you wish you were dead anyway. At worst, you'll have a cat face. What's the big deal?"
Mu En slumped weakly against the sofa and waved a hand. "All right. I'll listen to you."
Before you continue