The Pitiful Truth

Sean felt his breathing suddenly quicken, and he even felt an urge to grab the distraught Baron Skinner.

Reaching his hands through the pearly white body felt like plunging into icy water. Sean frowned and withdrew his hands, his tone urgent. "And then? What will happen next?"

Baron Skinner said in a low voice, "I don't know what happened after that, but the book describes how immense, how terrifying, and how... fascinating that power was..."

"But that requires betraying your loved ones, and doing such a thing yourself..." Sean took a deep breath, his gaze toward Baron Skinner filled with contempt.

Originally, whether it was to obtain more information or to gain the other party's trust, Sean should have pretended to be more virtuous.

But Sean didn't want to do that at all. He hated betrayal, and he hated even more the hypocritical remorse and guilt that betrayers put on afterward.

This was one of the reasons why his relationship with Stephanie had so soured back then; Sean instinctively disliked that feeling.

Moreover, the conditions for establishing Blood Pact oath are very strict. Two people who are not deeply in love cannot establish Blood Pact, and even if they do, they will soon suffer the backlash of the Blood Pact because of their own thoughts.

Baron Skinner saw Sean's gaze, gave a bitter laugh, and wished he could bury his head in the ground.

"Yes, yes, I am such a despicable bastard..."

"Why didn't you kill Corinna to gain power back then?" Sean asked coldly.

Skinner clenched his fist. "Because... because memories can only be covered up, not erased, and my control over Memory Charm isn't enough..."

He sighed deeply and explained in a completely dejected voice, "To achieve the true covenant behind the Blood Pact, your love for the other person cannot diminish. Then, you must use the most profound and powerful Memory Charm to deceive your own brain and bury this love deep within."

"At this point, you must hurt the other person... completely destroy their love, plant hatred in their mind, and then the Blood Pact will be broken—" Skinner closed his eyes in anguish, "A new pact will be quietly established when the Blood Pact is broken, and then, go and kill your lover who once deeply loved you but now hates you..."

"Drink your lover's blood, then unscrew your own brain... You will feel regret, you will feel pain, you will feel so sad you can't breathe, but the most painful thing is that your lover's hatred sprouts within your love..."

"You will gain the power of hatred built upon love, and not only that, you will also absorb the magic of your lover... The smaller the difference in magic and talent between the two of you, and the deeper your love, the stronger the power will be."

"According to the book, even I, a not-so-great wizard, after obtaining the true power of the Blood Pact, could rival, or even surpass, the most powerful wizard in the world at that time..."

Skinner burst into tears. "I... I was bewitched by that power..."

Sean's gaze toward Skinner grew increasingly disgusted; he didn't even want to look at Skinner again.

"You are indeed a disgusting traitor, and you're absolutely right," Sean said coldly.

Baron Skinner collapsed, his eyes filled with endless regret and unfathomable guilt.

"I...I did all that...everything went smoothly, yes, how could it not have gone smoothly? We were so in love..." Skinner murmured, tears streaming down his face. "I did something so terrible, so terrible, but at first Corinna was just worried about me, worried that something had happened to me..."

"My heart was completely broken then, and I coldly carried out everything..." Skinner sobbed. "Corinna finally... found out about it all... She must hate me so much, so terribly... The Blood Pact was shattered, and the true covenant began to be established... Corinna was better than me, more talented than me..."

"But I took a step ahead of time; I revealed my memories ahead of schedule... I cried and confessed to her, trying to seek her forgiveness... What a shameful act! How could I even have the nerve to beg for forgiveness..."

Skinner looked up and stared blankly in one direction. "It's understandable that she doesn't forgive me... She turned the tables and took control of the contract, wanting to kill me out of hatred in order to seize the true power of the Blood Pact."

"She did nothing wrong, she should have done it, this is the compensation I should make... But, but..." The ghost named Baron Skinner trembled violently, his pearly white body even fluctuating with emotion.

"Ah—ah—" A hoarse and desperate sound came from his throat, and then he knelt down and cried bitterly.

"How could Corinna be dead? How could she be dead!"

Desperate cries filled the entire basement, even prompting Sean, who had been observing coldly, to turn his head.

There is nothing more despairing than this...

Baron Skinner will never forgive himself.

Even if the other party didn't say it, Sean guessed why.

The true covenant of the Blood Pact is built upon the two infinitely extreme emotions of love and hate, and there is only one reason why Corinna failed and even died from her body exploding.

Her hatred wasn't pure enough.

Yes...

Sean glanced at the ghost, who had completely lost his mind and was so desperate that he could not speak.

"Even after you did such a thing, deep down in Ms. Corinna's heart..." Sean began slowly.

Baron Skinner looked up as if he had gone mad, pleading with Sean, "Please, please, don't say it, don't say it..."

"You know that yourself," Sean replied calmly.

Skinner floated on the ground, trembling as he knelt down, his eyes filled with endless pleading, despair, and regret, clear tears streaming down his face.

"Please! Please! Don't tell me! Don't tell me!" he screamed.

Sean slightly raised his chin, looking down at the other person.

"She still loves you."

Baron Skinner's screams and cries stopped abruptly, his tears streaming down his face, his eyes completely unfocused.

This statement is even more powerful than the Imperius Curse.

The ghost's hands trembled as he clutched his clothes, pressing against the massive wound on his chest as if a heart were still inside.

"Ah—ah—ah ah—"

A mournful cry echoed quietly in the room.

This is all you deserve... Sean thought to himself.

He didn't speak again, nor did he try to comfort the other man; he simply watched calmly as Baron Skinner tormented himself in pain and guilt.

Skinner had studied the Blood Pact for so long; he couldn't possibly be unaware of Corinna's true cause of death.

However, he kept trying to ignore this undeniable fact. Perhaps, if Corinna truly hated him and no longer had any love for him, it would make him feel a little better.

This allows him to keep deceiving himself, using the identity of a ghost to continuously repent.

Sean couldn't help but sigh, and he understood why Baron Skinner had become a ghost and remained in the real world.

It's not an obsession, but cowardice.

He was afraid; he dared not go to the other world, fearing he would encounter Corinna, who had also died.

However, repentance and forgiveness were matters for Skinner and Corinna to handle; Sean was merely an observer, unable and unwilling to do anything more.

He now needs to face another reality that is even more terrifying to him.

Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

Has their Blood Pact truly crumbled?

If it breaks, then...

Sean sighed.

Who could be the traitor?

Judging from the current situation and what Andros said earlier, he was telling Grindelwald: Dumbledore already knows your evil secret with our help, otherwise he wouldn't have helped us. You two are doomed.

From this perspective, it seems that Grindelwald knew the truth about the Blood Pact long ago, while Dumbledore only learned about it recently. In other words, it was Grindelwald who was preparing to acquire the true power from the very beginning.

However, Sean didn't forget that Andros had also said that the supreme power was no longer available to Grindelwald.

So it seems that Dumbledore who can obtain supreme power... Does that mean that Dumbledore may have already chosen to establish the true covenant after the Blood Pact?

Sean had previously wondered what the supreme power was, but now it seems very likely that it was the immense magic brought by the Blood Pact.

Imagine, Baron Skinner was once bewitched by this immense power, which led to his current state as a weeping, agonizing ghost.

Skinner was just an ordinary wizard at the time, and according to Sean's research on history, an ordinary wizard in the 13th century might only have the strength of a Hogwarts graduate, and even be much less well-rounded.

The defining characteristic of these wizards from centuries ago was the power of their spells. Because Ancient Runes were not yet relegated to historical study as they are today, wizards who were proficient in Ancient Runes were adept at using powerful spells.

Skinner said that if he could master the power of the Blood Pact, he would be able to directly rival, or even surpass, the world's strongest wizards.

This speaks volumes.

Because the power levels of wizards are not progressively higher. The most powerful wizards throughout history have one thing in common: their power far exceeds the so-called average power, and even far exceeds that of elite wizards.

Yes, the gap in power among wizards is extremely serious.

Just like now, Sean is already among the top students and can even defeat elite wizards outside. However, if they were to fight head-on, it would be difficult for him to quickly defeat multiple elite wizards without paying a price.

But for Dumbledore or Grindelwald, the only significance of ordinary wizards was their numbers; if they really wanted to, taking on a hundred would not be difficult for them.

And the Blood Pact was able to provide Skinner with such powerful magic.

Another point worth noting is that when the final ritual of the Broken Blood Pact is completed, the leader will not only gain immense power, but will also be able to absorb all of their lover's magic!

All this magic will merge and expand, and the smaller the difference in magic and talent between the two sides of the Blood Pact, the greater this expansion will be.

Grindelwald and Dumbledore were the two most powerful and talented wizards of their time.

Sean could not imagine what would happen if one of the two gained power at the cost of the other's life.

How powerful will this magic be?

Perhaps, simply by being a wizard, he could directly rival the Sin within Sean, or... be even stronger!

Upon closer reflection, Sean was horrified to discover that his hands were going numb from this terrible thought.

Because he thought of something even more terrifying.

Why would the Returners be so comfortable cooperating with a cunning and scheming old man like Dumbledore?

Is it merely an Unbreakable Vow, or is it the Phoenix Ariana, whose whereabouts remain unknown to this day?

Sean asked himself honestly, if he were the Returners, he wouldn't be so at ease with Dumbledore.

So how exactly did Dumbledore gain the other party's trust?

And then, recalling the election of the president of the International Confederation of Wizards, it's clear that someone as fearless as Grindelwald was disturbed by something Marshall pulled out.

What could move Grindelwald so deeply?

Sean discovered that his suspicion before coming here seemed to be coming true...

Why weren't the Returners worried that Dumbledore would team up with Grindelwald? Why were they so certain that Dumbledore and Grindelwald had parted ways?

Why is Grindelwald acting so strangely?

Sean took a deep breath, his fists clenching unconsciously.

Could it be that what Marshall showed Grindelwald that day was...?

A broken Blood Pact?

Only Blood Pact has been broken, Returners see this, can they truly put their minds at ease!

Blood Pact are more than just vows; they are an extremely ancient form of magic!

The broken Blood Pact is proof enough!

Yes, yes... only a broken Blood Pact can explain the irrationality of everything.

So, who is the betrayer between the two?!

Did Grindelwald have this idea all along, or did Dumbledore realize it later and decide to strike first?

"Damn it..." Sean couldn't help but swear.

Whoever that person is, this will have extremely serious consequences!

Especially now that Grindelwald's time travel over a century has been exposed, Sean also needs to confront the issue of the awakening of the World Will.

In an instant, a whole host of images flashed through Sean's mind, all of them depicting the world burning in flames.

My head hurts so much... Sean gritted his teeth and pounded his temples.

Over there, Baron Skinner was completely lost in thought, and Sean strode over to him.

"Everything has already happened, and it was all your choice. Your regret, your guilt, your betrayal—it was all your choice! You deserve to bear it all!" Sean said coldly.

Skinner did not react.

Sean continued in a deep voice, "Similarly, Ms. Corinna's love was also her own choice... although I feel sorry for her."

Skinner finally reacted; he looked at Sean with a trembling gaze, his mouth wide open, but no sound came out.

"Right now, I'm trying to avert another crisis that this Blood Pact might cause," Sean crouched down, looking intently at the other man, his voice incredibly serious. "I need your help. Tell me everything you know."

"I don't know what Ms. Corinna is thinking, but I can be sure of one thing: she absolutely does not want your tragedy to happen again."

Skinner's tears flowed again, and he raised his head.

Book recommendation: "In This Hogwarts Without the Chosen One".

Author: Da Hai Chuan Lao HP (a high-quality author), directly guaranteed!