Chapter 045
Li Mu ended his Phoenix Transformation and immediately checked his attributes.
[Li Mu: Human] [Spirit: 15.2] [Physique: 9.5] [Free Attribute Point: 0] [Transcendence Level: LV3 (0/300)] [First Origin HuoZhong: Earth Grade] [Seed Talent: Disguise—can freely disguise his HuoZhong fluctuations] [Second Origin HuoZhong: Heaven Grade] [Seed Talent: Nirvana LV4] [Acquired HuoZhong: Mind Wizard (Profound Grade)—Wizard Bloodline LV10 (0/10000)] [Seedship: Phoenix Seed Destroyer LV1] [Subordinate Module: Anchor of Fantasy LV1, Cabin of Requirement LV1] [HuoZhong Equipment: Elder Wand LV3, Resurrection Ring LV1, Azkaban LV1, Elven Wizard Robe, Nightmare Crystal Ball, Mind Wizard Inheritance HuoZhong] [HuoZhong Source Power: 154 calories + 100 calories (the 100 calories were reserved to convert the remaining hundred Spark Masks)]
After checking his attributes, Li Mu was happiest that his Nirvana Talent Level hadn't dropped.
Even after ending his Phoenix Transformation, it remained at LV4.
That mattered more than anything. It directly determined whether he could revive at full health on the spot while in human form.
With Apparition, Li Mu appeared outside the Ministry of Magic.
Things had been far from peaceful outside the Ministry these past few days. Wizards from Ministries of Magic around the world had surrounded the British Ministry of Magic and even set up a large-scale Anti-Apparition barrier. Although Fudge, the Minister of Magic, had kept trying to distance himself from the situation, the other Ministries weren't buying it.
The only reason they had surrounded the Ministry without attacking was that the Phoenix Apostles had seized quite a few nuclear weapons over the past couple of days.
In just a few days, the Muggles of every country had lost all their nuclear weapons.
The weapons' final destinations were split three ways. Some had fallen into Nicolas Flamel's hands, some had been confiscated by the various Ministries of Magic, and the rest had been secretly taken by the Phoenix Apostles Li Mu had sent out. No one could say for certain how many each of the three parties had.
That was because the Imperius Curse and Forgetfulness Curse had been used far too often while taking the weapons from the Muggles.
Even the senior officials of each country had forgotten that nuclear weapons existed. Books and ordinary Muggles still knew they existed, but how could ordinary Muggles know the details? The senior officials who did know had completely forgotten about them.
Even if they learned of nuclear weapons through other means in the future and realized their memories had been erased, it would already be too late.
Without nuclear weapons, the Muggles of every country had lost the right to negotiate with the Wizarding World.
The various Ministries of Magic had once sent people to protect Muggle leaders. But after a single nuclear bomb had wiped out over a thousand elite wizards, even among those who favored protecting Muggles, few opposed confiscating such dangerous weapons.
So, in just a few days, the nuclear weapons had been secretly divided among the three factions.
Naturally, there had been plenty of clashes and friction during the seizures.
Nicolas Flamel was on his own, which was one thing. But all the Ministries of Magic knew that the Phoenix Apostles had a number of nuclear weapons.
The threat of nuclear retaliation had kept the Ministries from daring to attack the British Ministry of Magic.
They didn't dare make a move, but he had no such reservations.
With his current strength, he could control the Ministers of Magic from every country without anyone noticing, then use the Imperius Curse to take the nuclear weapons held by their Ministries. In the end, this was the magical world, where everything came down to the strength of the individual.
No matter how powerful nuclear weapons were, they still needed people to control them.
Once he controlled the people in charge of the weapons, even the most powerful nuclear weapons would be nothing but scrap metal.
But today, the stage belonged to Nicolas Flamel.
Through the Phoenix Mark, Li Mu told Lucius to release Professor Flitwick.
After leaving his cell, Professor Flitwick soon arrived at the site of the Hogwarts Ruins. He gathered a few wildflowers by the roadside and silently paid his respects to the professors and staff who had perished alongside Hogwarts that day—the ones who hadn't been suited for battle.
By noon, Nicolas Flamel Apparated nearby.
The moment he appeared, his eyes darted around as he looked at Professor Flitwick. Seeing that he wasn't under the Imperius Curse and had no Spark Energy from the Phoenix Mark on him, Nicolas Flamel breathed a sigh of relief. Even so, he warily searched the area.
Only after making sure there was no danger nearby did he walk over and join Professor Flitwick in paying his respects.
"Where's the fake Philosopher's Stone?"
Professor Flitwick asked sorrowfully.
"The fake one might have been exposed. I brought the real Philosopher's Stone."
Nicolas Flamel handed Professor Flitwick an irregular red gemstone.
As soon as he got it, Professor Flitwick Apparated away.
Nicolas Flamel followed, and Li Mu appeared two steps away.
He didn't make a move because the Nicolas Flamel from just now hadn't been the real person. He'd only been an Alchemy Puppet disguised as him.
But Li Mu had come close to acting. Professor Flitwick had already realized that Professor McGonagall and the others were gone. There were no signs of them visiting the Hogwarts Ruins to pay their respects. If they were still alive and no longer being hunted, they would have come back to pay their respects, no matter what.
He'd overlooked that, and Professor Flitwick had seen through the truth.
At the British Ministry of Magic Minister's Office, Li Mu returned much later, yet arrived before the others.
He even had time to make two cups of Black Tea.
Professor Flitwick came straight in and slammed the Philosopher's Stone onto the desk. Without another word, he raised his wand and pointed it at the Phoenix City Lord. He hadn't exposed the truth in front of Nicolas Flamel because he couldn't accept Nicolas Flamel starting a Nuclear War and destroying the world.
But when it came to the Phoenix City Lord, who had deceived him, he was willing to draw blood even knowing he would surely die.
The green Killing Curse struck the Phoenix City Lord between the brows, to Professor Flitwick's astonishment.
Without any protection, a direct hit would kill even Dumbledore or Voldemort on the spot. Yet Professor Flitwick saw clearly that the Phoenix City Lord merely jerked his head back from the impact.
In the next instant, Professor Flitwick saw the Phoenix City Lord reach out his right hand.
His five fingers instantly extended into metal needles three meters long. Professor Flitwick's Iron Skin Charm, activated in an instant, and the last defensive ring Nicolas Flamel had given him, which activated automatically, were pierced as easily as paper. The five needles then pierced his head, snuffing out his final awareness.
Even as he died, he had no idea how the Phoenix City Lord had done it.
Satisfied, Li Mu dispelled his Illusionary Body Curse from off to the side. The figure who had sat there drinking tea all along had never been his real self.
It had only been a decoy made by casting Transfiguration on a metal cup. Thanks to the Transfiguration's LV11 level and the Spark Energy, the decoy looked no different from a real person. Even when it drank tea, its breath looked just like that of someone alive.
So even in his final moment, Professor Flitwick never suspected that the figure before him was a fake made by Transfiguration.
The more complex something was, the harder it was to create with Transfiguration.
Making a human-shaped decoy with Transfiguration was already difficult even if it was only skin-deep. Making one as lifelike as a real person was harder still. Professor Flitwick had never doubted the decoy's authenticity, even as he died, and Nicolas Flamel had absolutely no chance of seeing through it.
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