Slaying the Snake: A Game of Nerves

Riddle hissed as the Basilisk crawled in front of him and coiled around him.

It held its head high, its forked tongue flicking in and out, its black eye sockets filled with flesh and blood, looking incredibly ferocious in the dim light.

"Take a good sniff and remember this scent."

Go, kill him.

The Basilisk opened its mouth, which was filled with a mixture of blood and venom, and its head fell rapidly.

Aaron dodged in a panic, but instead of retaliating, he guided the Basilisk to circle around the Secret Chamber.

As he charged forward, the Longsword in his hand swept across the floor, its sharp edge creating streaks of brilliant fire as it scraped against the rocks.

The Basilisk lunged again and again, but thanks to his superhuman physical abilities, Aaron always managed to dodge it with incredible skill, without even breaking a sweat.

At this moment, Aaron's admiration for Hog Gaius was like a surging river, never-ending.

Although the training was tiring and the soaking in those medicinal baths was painful, this physique is truly wonderful!

Having lost its eyes, the Basilisk could not effectively find its targets and could only launch wide-range attacks by following its scent. Its body, which was dozens of feet long, twisted and turned, and black blood seeped into the ground as it moved.

But it doesn't care about the physical pain and the massive loss of blood; it seems to have inexhaustible strength before killing its target.

A dozen minutes later, it broke most of the pillars in the Secret Chamber, and Aaron's forehead was covered in sweat.

"Gaius, is all you can do is run away?" Riddle sneered.

"The drawing is almost finished, and a good amount of the Basilisk's blood has been drawn." Aaron leaned on his sword, standing on the right foot of the Salazar Slytherin Statue.

Although his chest heaved and his breathing quickened, his eyes gleamed with excitement.

A massive Magic Array slowly took shape below. The Basilisk's blood seeped into the circle, adding a chilling aura to it, but also enhancing its power.

Hearing this irrelevant answer, Riddle seemed to be deep in thought.

A moment later, he also noticed the pattern on the ground and frowned slightly, because he was standing at the very core of the Magic Array.

A hissing sound came from his mouth, and the Basilisk stopped its attack, but its head turned towards Aaron, secretly locking onto its target.

Is this your plan?

"I suppose so!" Aaron said proudly. "This is my current masterpiece. With the added blessing of the Basilisk's blood, this Magic Array has surpassed the advanced level and barely reached the ultimate level."

"I'm surprised. In this day and age, people still fight using Magic Array?" Riddle said meaningfully. "You're wasting your talent. Magic Array have been obsolete for hundreds of years!"

"It might take longer." Aaron shrugged and said with some helplessness, "To be honest, I don't understand why my tutor is teaching me this stuff."

Elemental Magic circles have corresponding spells, such as the Incendio and the Aguamenti. The same applies to non-elemental Space Magic Array such as Apparition, Portkey, and Floo Powder. Spells corresponding to summoning Magic Array include the Accio and the Serpensortia. There are even more spells corresponding to defensive Magic Array, such as the Iron Armor Charm and the Patronus Charm, and so on.

As for Magic Array related to the Soul Stone, they are even more difficult to create, while the Soul- Imperius Curse is much simpler and just as effective at Mind Extraction.

However, Magic Array also have their advantages; they can maximize Warlock's potential, unleashing power several times stronger than spells.

Riddle raised an eyebrow and sighed softly, "In a real battle, your enemy won't give you a chance to prepare."

"Just practice more, and as long as you're skilled enough, you can do it instantly."

Moreover, the wonder of Magic Array is certainly not comparable to that of a spell; I don't think this is a waste of talent.

"That makes sense," Riddle clapped his hands. "You've really surprised me!"

However, you've overlooked some crucial points. Faced with an absolute difference in strength, even Magic Array won't help you.

"Really.

"You are Archmage, while I am merely a novice Magus. Even if I could increase my attack power several levels through this Magic Array, it would only pose a threat to you, and not a fatal one at that."

"It's good to know that everything you've done is meaningless."

"That's for sure."

"I'll be watching, but you'll have to survive first," Riddle said, looking at the Basilisk and speaking in Parseltongue.

The Basilisk opened its massive jaws and lunged forward, this time with a particularly clear target.

Aaron immediately assumed a fighting stance, holding his Longsword horizontally in front of him, and frantically channeled his Magical Energy into the hilt of the sword as if it were free.

Just as the Basilisk Fang were about to pierce Aaron's body, the third Magic Crystal at the hilt of the sword emitted a dazzling light.

A sharp silver light suddenly flashed, severing the darkness of the Secret Chamber.

The Basilisk stopped in front of Aaron, making indistinct sounds, but remained motionless.

Riddle opened his mouth in astonishment, and couldn't help but shiver. Just now, he had suddenly felt a deadly threat; that fleeting light had the power to annihilate his Soul Stone.

The next moment, the Basilisk's enormous body split in two, the cut being remarkably clean.

Black blood gushed out, and large chunks of flesh and grime-colored bones were exposed to the air.

"Vomit!!!"

Harry, and his two companions, who were watching from a distance, felt nauseous upon seeing this scene and uncontrollably vomited up their breakfast and lunch.

After all, they were only thirteen years old. Although they were quite experienced, they had never seen such a grand scene before.

"Huh?" Aaron curled his lip in disgust. "You three have such poor mental fortitude. It's just a corpse, is it really that big of a deal?"

"How could it not be?" Ron's face was pale and his legs were trembling uncontrollably. "A normal person would throw up if they saw this! This is much more terrifying than Aragog."

Harry and Hermione nodded in approval, and at that moment they suddenly felt a little envious of Ginny.

Being half-dead is terrifying, but it doesn't make you feel uneasy, at least not as anxious as they are.

"You still need to work on your courage!" Aaron shook his head dismissively. He didn't just loaf around during his holidays.

During his first lesson, Mol Gaius dissected a corpse in front of him, and the lessons became increasingly stimulating each day thereafter.

After two months, he had been completely transformed. He wouldn't even flinch in front of Basilisk, let alone a mountain of corpses or a sea of blood.

"What was that just now?" Riddle asked warily. "That's definitely not magic that Warlock your age could conjure."

"Don't be nervous, I won't be able to unleash the second sword strike in a short time."

Riddle finally realized what was happening and looked at the silver Longsword in Aaron's hand. He was relieved to find that the three Magic Crystal on the hilt had all become dull and lifeless.

He had finally escaped the Diary and was about to be fully resurrected. If he were to be struck by that kind of attack now, it would be too unjust for him to die.

"This sword was forged by my ancestor. The first Magic Crystal absorbed blood, the second Magic Crystal absorbed physical strength, and the third Magic Crystal absorbed the magic power of the wielder."

The power increases exponentially with each Magic Crystal that is lit, but unfortunately, only one sword strike can be made at a time.

Someone once used this sword to slay a thousand-year-old dragon; today, I used it to kill a thousand-year-old serpent. This doesn't diminish its value.

"Very strange, extremely strange." Riddle forced a smile. "The Gaius family's achievements have piqued my interest."

"That's utterly absurd." Aaron shook his head. "Even Voldemort at his peak couldn't threaten any of our families, let alone Tom Riddle!"

"It's not that we weren't a threat, it's just that we didn't have time," Riddle said meaningfully, glancing coldly at Harry Potter.

He believed that Voldemort's magic was invincible, otherwise the Magic World would not have been so terrified.

It was only because they were accidentally ambushed by the magic of an infant that those hidden magic families escaped a calamity.

"Next it's you and me." Riddle picked up Harry's Wand. "The descendant of Salazar Slytherin will defeat you, then kill the child who brought shame upon Voldemort, and reclaim his throne over the Magic World."

"That's definitely possible."

"It seems you have a lot of confidence in this magic array!"

"This was specially prepared for you, so we should test its power!"

"Do you think I'll give you that chance?" Riddle laughed. "With my abilities, I could easily leave before you activate this Magic Array."

Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared.

Unfortunately, I was actually very confident in my preparation.

Upon hearing this, Riddle's expression turned somewhat grim, and he unconsciously took a step, wanting to leave the range of the Magic Array.

"Are you scared?" Aaron teased. "It seems the infamous Voldemort is nothing special after all."

Riddle paused slightly, clenched his fists, and slowly raised his Wand. "With your power, even if you activate Magic Array, you cannot threaten me."

"Some things you won't be satisfied with if you don't try." Aaron threw his Longsword at Riddle and then drew his Wand.

"Sectumsempra!"

"Cruciatus Curse!"

Two spells, one red and one green, collided in mid-air, and Riddle crushed them without any doubt, with the green spell quickly overwhelming the red one.

"See that? That's the power of Voldemort," Riddle said arrogantly. "Before you submit, experience the Unforgivable Curse!"

Upon seeing this, Aaron immediately communicated with the system in his mind.

"I've saved up so many Magic Points, I need to use them to my full potential and quickly raise my Magical Energy to the beginner level of Archmage."

Soon, Aaron felt his Magic Power surge rapidly until he broke through the 5,000-level bottleneck.

Warlock's power increases, the energy of their spells naturally rises as well.

The speed at which the Sectumsempra Curse retreated also slowed down considerably. Although it was less than two meters away from Aaron, it bought him more time.

"This is impossible," Riddle said incredulously. "How could you possibly be hiding so much strength? You're only thirteen years old, yet you've already reached the level of Archmage."

"Don't be surprised, what's even more surprising is what follows."

Riddle was somewhat exasperated, but quickly laughed. "So that's how it is. This is your trump card."

"You think you can kill me with that Magic Array Magical Energy by the Archmage?"

"Normally it wouldn't, but you don't have your hands free right now."

Riddle's expression changed drastically. He was now truly unable to defend against it, and it was hard to say whether he could withstand it.

"If you are also within the attack range, activating the Magic Array will also cause you corresponding damage."

"That's true, but you've overlooked something." Aaron said, flashing a bright smile, but Riddle found it utterly cold.

"Although I am a few years younger than you, my physical fitness is far superior to yours."

In critical moments, the difference in physical condition can be fatal. I can definitely withstand more damage than you, and I'll be one breath longer than you after taking an attack.

At this point, it's all about the thrill, it's a gamble with your life, but my odds of winning are slightly higher.