Himalayan Great Avalanche

"Wuu~" The Snowman Chief who could spray water raised his head and let out a mournful cry. The surviving snowmen limped toward their chief.

The Snowman Chief led the snowmen to kneel before Moriarty, their eyes full of gratitude. They made "gurgle gurgle" sounds and gestured back and forth between Moriarty and Snowman Baby.

Lockhart scratched his head. "Uh, I think the snowmen are thanking you for saving their child."

Moriarty watched coldly for a moment before looking away. If he had not taken the Ice Moon Necklace, he might have used these snowmen to practice the Killing Curse.

Of course, the fact that the Dark Wizards had killed so many snowmen was also crucial. The Snowman Tribe had already paid a terrible price.

Moriarty merely repaid grievances; he was not a murderous lunatic.

The snowmen wanted to ask about the Ice Moon Necklace, but the Serpent Tongue that came from Moriarty's mouth frightened them away.

The terror brought by the Twelve Ice Serpents was far more frightening than death.

The moment Lockhart heard the hissing, he wet himself. He collapsed onto the ground and stared at Moriarty in disbelief.

"Y-you never told me that you were a Parselmouth!

"And you killed three people! Are you a Dark Wizard?

"And those spells? Oh, Merlin... who exactly are you?"

Lockhart let out a scream and lay stiffly on the ground. With his vivid imagination, he believed Moriarty was going to kill him to silence him.

Moriarty snorted and pointed his Wand at Lockhart.

"Oh God! Please don't kill me! I won't tell anyone a single word about what happened today!" Lockhart knelt at Moriarty's feet, weeping bitterly. "Please, I'll tell you all my secrets, just don't kill me!"

"Your secrets?" Moriarty smiled mockingly. "You mean the fact that you're actually a fraud, and all your books plagiarized other people's adventures? Or that you don't know any advanced magic at all, and your best spell is just a Memory Charm?"

"How do you know everything!"

Lockhart looked at Moriarty as though he were looking at an alien, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"It's a talent, Mr. Lockhart!" Moriarty put down his Wand with a smile. "It's normal that you don't understand. But I'm curious—why didn't you use a Memory Charm on me while I was resting?"

"I was very weak then. I might not have been able to resist your powerful Memory Charm." Moriarty analyzed it for Lockhart. "Think about it, Mr. Lockhart. With one wave of your Wand, you would have another bizarre story!

"Rescuing Snowman Baby from an evil Dark Wizard and earning the friendship of the Snowman Tribe! I guarantee that book would be a hit!"

Moriarty looked down into Lockhart's lifeless eyes. "So why didn't you do it?"

"I didn't dare," Lockhart said with a miserable, bitter smile. "You're too powerful and too mysterious. I told you before, I was afraid you'd kill me."

"I see." Understanding dawned on Moriarty, and he smiled at Lockhart. "Years from now, you will be immensely grateful that you didn't cast a spell on me today."

Lockhart sensed a glimmer of hope for survival, but he was quickly startled again when Moriarty raised his Wand once more!

Lockhart closed his eyes...

"Scourgify."

"Huh?" Lockhart came back to his senses and discovered that all traces of battle were gone from his body, and his trousers were dry.

"Moriarty, why didn't you kill me?"

"What good would killing you do? To me, you're far more useful alive than dead."

Moriarty changed his tone, making himself sound less frightening.

Lockhart slowly nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

"What? It's not that simple!" Moriarty used his Wand to lift Lockhart's chin. "I want you to submit to me and be loyal to me!"

"Y-you want to become the third Dark Lord?" Lockhart asked timidly.

"Dark Lord?" Moriarty's laughter was full of disdain. "Don't let Grindelwald and Voldemort scare you out of your wits. They were unqualified wizards!"

Moriarty said seriously, "The sky of magic is boundless. A qualified wizard must spend his entire life pursuing magic.

"The European magical world produced two generations of Dark Lords. With their talents, they could have had a chance to reach the position of God of Magic, but what did they do?

"One deluded himself into raising the status of wizards, while the other tried to rule the magical world.

"Once they became bound by worldly matters, they were no longer pure wizards.

"But I am different. I can clearly see the sky of magic, and I want to soar freely through it.

"Power, status, wealth, fame... these are merely platforms that will help me take flight smoothly."

Moriarty grabbed Lockhart and lifted him up, looking into his eyes. "Think about it, Lockhart. The one you will serve is the future God of Magic."

"I admit that your words have moved me." Tears welled in Lockhart's blue eyes. "If I follow you, perhaps I can also glimpse the sky of magic! Just a glimpse would be enough."

Moriarty nodded understandingly. More than once, Lockhart had revealed his envy of Moriarty's terrifying talent.

Deep down, this fraud longed to become stronger. Moriarty's appearance had allowed him to see hope.

"We can make an Unbreakable Vow." Lockhart knelt down and extended his right hand, looking earnestly at Moriarty. "I swear that I will be loyal to you!"

Thinking of how cumbersome the Fidelius Charm was, Moriarty shook his head lightly.

"I have a spell more reliable than an Unbreakable Vow. When the time comes, I will have you prove your loyalty. I hope you won't back down."

Lockhart rose without complaint and said as though it were only natural, "I will, Master. What do you need me to do next?"

"Don't call me Master. Call me Young Master!"

Moriarty suddenly smiled. "I remember that I only told you my given name, not my surname, right?"

"Yes, Young Master." Lockhart's eyes widened, and he was wildly excited. "Young Master can speak Parseltongue. You must be a descendant of Slytherin."

Moriarty nodded lightly. "My surname is Slytherin! I am the sole direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, one of the great Four Founders of Hogwarts.

"Next, I need to return to Britain and reclaim the Castle left behind by old Salazar."

Lockhart knelt for the third time and forcefully knocked his head against the ground twelve times before Moriarty. He did not know why he had to do it twelve times; he simply felt that the number suited Moriarty.

But Moriarty disliked the gesture.

He shook his head. "Oh, Lockhart, true loyalty is never found in appearances. I am not a tyrant, either. You don't need to prove your loyalty through gestures."

"You are far too kind, Young Master." For once, Lockhart insisted. "Since I have decided to serve you, I should become a qualified servant. Once we return to Britain, I will speed up my studies in servant duties."

"No, no, no." Moriarty waved his hand and said seriously, "After returning to Britain, you will continue writing books. I've even thought of a title for you: In East Tibet with Slytherin."

"You mean you don't intend to expose me to the British Wizarding World?" Lockhart was overjoyed. This meant he could still enjoy the attention and cheers of wizards.

"Everything will follow my arrangements, Lockhart."

Moriarty left him in suspense. He had chosen Lockhart to be the one who attracted attention on the stage, and he had long prepared a series of plans for that purpose.

Boom!

A violent tremor suddenly shook the earth and mountains. Lockhart's cowardly nature could not change overnight, and he panicked. "Young Master, is that an earthquake? Or did a mountain collapse somewhere?"

"I think someone is fighting."

Moriarty narrowed his eyes. He could sense several waves of Magic Power in the air.

Following the Magic Power, Moriarty fixed his gaze on a snow-covered mountain not far away.

Moriarty realized something. "This is bad. There's another Snowman Tribe on that mountain!"

As though confirming his words, clusters of flames ignited on the mountain, especially conspicuous in the night.

A seven-meter-long Fire Crow cawed as it circled through the air. Then came two, then three!

Even Lockhart understood now. "They're the accomplices of those Dark Wizards! Young Master, can your Magic Circle still be used?"

"More than that, I'm concerned about who the other side in the battle is." A glint flashed through Moriarty's eyes. One Ice Moon Necklace had actually triggered a contest between three groups of wizards. He became even more curious about it.

The battle on the snowy mountain erupted swiftly. Just as an Undead Fire Raven tried to attack its enemy, a dragon's roar struck it!

Moriarty heard it clearly. Now he somewhat understood who the third party was.

Chinese Wizards.

"Lockhart, do you know anything about the Chinese Wizarding World?"

Lockhart answered honestly, "Not much. Chinese Wizards rarely interact with foreign wizards. Wizards from Europe, America, and Africa are also reluctant to come to China. I heard it's because their Magic Power weakens after they arrive in China. There's another explanation too—"

Lockhart's narration came to an abrupt halt. He pointed into the sky and shouted, "Oh no! Young Master, those Fire Crows are coming for us!"

"They're coming for the Snowman Tribe! They want to wipe out the East Tibetan Yeti."

Moriarty looked behind him, where the snowmen had fallen into panic.

"Lockhart!" Moriarty said. "Go evacuate the snowmen, then give me the Flying Broomstick!"

"What?"

"Idiot! Don't tell me you came traveling without bringing a Flying Broomstick and Floo Powder! Think carefully—you must have put them in your suitcase, right?"

Moriarty kept his eyes fixed on the Fire Crows flying overhead. He could not allow the snowmen to be exterminated.

For now, the Ice Moon Necklace seemed to conceal a great secret. Before Moriarty began investigating it, it was best that no one connected to the necklace died!

Lockhart remembered that his suitcase had been knocked away by the Gnome. He hurriedly pulled out his Wand. "Accio!"

After pulling a Flying Broomstick from the suitcase, Lockhart did not immediately hand it to Moriarty.

"Young Master, no matter what you plan to do with the Flying Broomstick, I must urge you to be cautious..."

Before he could finish, Moriarty snatched the Flying Broomstick away, gripped the handle with both hands, kicked off with his feet, and flew into the air!

"Be cautious, Young Master! You should know that China prohibits the use of Flying Broomsticks!" The second half of Lockhart's warning came from the ground.

"What kind of rule is that!" Moriarty's body tilted, and he nearly fell off the broom, but he still rode it higher into the sky.

Drawing a Magic Circle was troublesome, but the Undead Fire Ravens would not wait for him to finish.

Moriarty did not know any long-range magic either, so he could only rely on the Flying Broomstick to approach the two Fire Crows.

His first flight went unexpectedly smoothly. Moriarty maintained his balance and tried to use Magic Power to make the broom fly faster.

The two Fire Crows noticed Moriarty and accelerated with eerie human-like intelligence.

From the air, Moriarty fired several Full Body-Bind Curses, but found them difficult to land on the Fire Crows. They were simply too fast.

Moriarty gritted his teeth and shouted toward the ground, "Lockhart! Stop evacuating the snowmen! Run! Run now! Leave this place!"

"What?" Lockhart sensed that something was wrong and covered his mouth. "Oh, Young Master, what are you going to do?"

Moriarty ignored him. Watching the Fire Crows' flight path, he aimed his Wand at a mountaintop above them!

"Sectumsempra!"

Surging Magic Power transformed into a tremendous force and struck the mountaintop.

Rumble!

The snow atop the entire mountain surged downward like ocean waves. The whole landscape collapsed under the avalanche, and the two Fire Crows were already buried beneath ice and snow.

The snowmen no longer had to worry about being burned to death, but they ran even faster. Moriarty's strike triggered a chain avalanche, sending massive chunks of snow and ice crashing down.

However, the snowmen's ancestors had lived here for thousands of years. Deep in their bloodline lay methods of dealing with avalanches.

At the very least, their cries did not sound as miserable as they had when the Gnome was hunting them down.

That reassured Moriarty. As long as even one snowman survived to answer his questions later, it would be enough.

Moriarty turned the broom handle and controlled it into a dive toward the ground. Lockhart was desperately running, but he was clearly about to be swallowed by the snow behind him.

"Lockhart! Grab my hand... good, I've got you!"

Moriarty pulled Lockhart onto the broom. Their speed noticeably slowed, and just as the snow was about to overtake them, Moriarty tried casting Windlike Flight on the broom. It actually worked.

Whoosh!

The broom became incredibly fast, cutting through snowflakes swirling in the air and leaving behind the massive wave of snow chasing them relentlessly.

Lockhart was as happy as if he had won a battle. "Haha, oh yeah! We won! We defeated the avalanche!"

Moriarty, however, looked toward the mountain where the other Snowman Tribe had been, hoping the people there were all right.

Boom, boom, boom...

A series of avalanches thundered through the sky, even triggering an earthquake!

Countless snow-covered mountains collapsed with a deafening roar!

Moriarty noticed that this included the mountain where the other Snowman Tribe had been.

Spraying snow and ice even obscured the night sky. The ear-splitting rumble made Lockhart realize that this was no ordinary avalanche or earthquake.

He asked uneasily, "Young Master, the mountain you hit seems to have been part of the Himalayas?"

Moriarty did not answer. He merely watched the avalanche that blotted out the sky and moon.

After a long while, everything fell silent.

Moriarty sat on the broom with his arms crossed and glanced back at Lockhart. "Look. Natural disasters are merciless. If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, could you believe that this unprecedented avalanche was caused by a single Splitting Curse?"

Lockhart's eyes darted around a few times, convinced that he understood Moriarty's hidden meaning.

"Ah, I understand, Young Master. You mean that aside from the two of us, no one saw you strike the snowy mountain with the Splitting Curse. So long as we don't say anything, no one will know you did it!"

"That's not it, Lockhart," Moriarty said softly. "Why would I admit to doing something I didn't do? I saw it clearly. One of the Undead Fire Ravens crashed into the snowy mountain, intending to use a suicidal attack to destroy the Snowman Tribe!"

Lockhart froze for a moment, then understood. He clapped his hands and agreed, "Right, that's exactly what happened! It was all the evil Dark Wizards' fault!"

Moriarty did not continue the topic. It was enough for Lockhart to understand some things. Instead, he raised one finger and shook it.

"What I want you to understand is something else. Perhaps disasters like this need someone to trigger them, but as long as I am given room to grow, it won't be long before I can use even more terrifying, disaster-level magic.

"By then, I will be the sole star of that dance of ice and snow!"

Moriarty would not miss any opportunity to learn magic. As he flew, he projected his Magic Power into the air and meticulously sensed the ice elements and snow elements.

Unfortunately, the Magic Power could not be withdrawn. Moriarty could only approach nature through this crude method.

He did not spare the snowdrifts another glance, even though one might have buried a Chinese Wizard who had fought the Dark Wizards.

At the time, Moriarty had no other choice. He had only encountered magic less than twenty-four hours ago. He did not know any powerful long-range offensive magic, nor could he fly.

Using an avalanche to stop the Undead Fire Ravens was the only way to protect the snowmen.

It could only be said that geography was both an advantage and a disadvantage.

It had helped Moriarty deal with the Dark Wizards, but it had also caused him to trigger a massive avalanche.

Lockhart was right. This was the Himalayas. Chain avalanches and earthquakes were perfectly normal here, and Moriarty had merely played the role of an unseen instigator.

Compared with that unfortunate Chinese Wizard, Moriarty believed the snowmen were more important.

The reason was simple: the snowmen were still useful, while the Chinese Wizard was of no use to him.

Lockhart realized this. He watched Moriarty's back in fear, his mind consumed by thoughts of how to prove his own value.

The Flying Broomstick beneath them suddenly made creaking sounds. Lockhart cried, "This is bad, Young Master! The broom is going to explode!"

Moriarty hurriedly controlled the broom to land. Fortunately, it was cooperative enough to wait until the two of them had landed before exploding impatiently.

Moriarty waved his Wand and buried the broom's broken pieces. The poor broom had carried two people through an avalanche, and he had even added a small spell to it.

The Flying Broomstick was undoubtedly a hero among brooms!

But recalling the speed-enhancing magic he had added to the broom, Moriarty realized that he needed to learn Alchemy.

Lockhart watched silently from the side, thoroughly confused. Young Master did not sympathize with the people who had been buried, yet he sympathized with a broken broom?

Fortunately, after Moriarty determined their destination, he found a path out of the snowy mountains and led Lockhart onward. Otherwise, Lockhart might have considered learning Animagus magic.

Moriarty walked at an unhurried pace when the system's voice sounded in his mind. "Detected that the host buried three Dark Wizards alive. A total of 2,000 points awarded."

After calculating his points, Moriarty had a total of 2,600. He planned to use them somewhere appropriate.

By the time the two of them emerged from the snowfield, dawn was breaking. Lockhart was so exhausted that he could barely move his legs, but Moriarty did not feel anything unusual.

Along the way, Moriarty learned that Lockhart had come to China aboard a cruise ship called the Isabella, while a Chinese Wizard codenamed Wild Dog had brought him to East Tibet.

"Lockhart, find Wild Dog. We're going back to Britain!"

The cabin had already been destroyed by the avalanche, and Moriarty had long placed the black box into the System Space. He had nothing else left to miss.