Final Preparations

After confirming that no one was passing by, the two figures cloaked in the Disillusionment Charm silently summoned the door to the Room of Requirement, quickly entered the room of hidden things, and dispelled their disguises.

"Phew..."

As the familiar scene came into view, both Avada and Baron let out a sigh of relief in unison.

Although they possessed formidable strength, had a meticulous plan, and experience infiltrating the Forbidden Forest, this was, after all, their first time breaking into a professor's office; it was only natural to be nervous.

If this matter were exposed, losing a hundred points for their house would be the lightest of punishments—if one were to calculate the severity, a direct ticket to Azkaban was not entirely out of the question.

"I feel that based on this experience alone, our life experience could surpass every Gryffindor in the school..." Baron complained indignantly while wiping away sweat.

"That is your prejudice against Gryffindor," Avada said with a straight face.

"Fine, gossiping behind people's backs is indeed detrimental to one's cultivation, but..."

"What I mean is, who says a Gryffindor couldn't successfully infiltrate a professor's office—pfft, hahaha..." Avada had intended to finish the sentence with a serious expression, but before he could finish, he couldn't hold it in anymore. Baron followed suit, laughing heartily until a light, awkward cough interrupted them.

"Um, I happen to be from Gryffindor."

The faint, ghostly voice of Professor Baker drifted out from the Black Crystal Ball.

"..."

"Ahem, Professor Baker, the things you needed have been brought back."

Avada's expression quickly returned to normal. He hurried over to the Black Crystal Ball, carrying two large bundles made from wizard robes, and opened them to reveal the dazzling array of bottles and jars inside.

But to be honest, that previous remark hadn't really wronged Gryffindor—who was it that stole the African Tree Snake Skin from Snape's office again?

"Well done, thank you both."

Professor Baker's voice softened, and he continued: "However, those fake materials can only deceive for a short time. If too much time passes, my consciousness fragment will surely notice something is wrong and become vigilant... which means, we don't have much time left."

Avada and Baron immediately turned solemn.

"But fortunately, in the past few months, your outstanding performance has greatly accelerated the progress. The Consciousness Magic has reached its final step and can be completed tonight; the traps and mechanisms for combat are all set, and your combat skills have grown rapidly... Honestly, I am not worried at all about whether this operation will succeed."

"It is also thanks to your willingness to trust me that I can regain my freedom from this failed experiment. I can't imagine what would have happened if you hadn't arrived back then—me, trapped alone in a container, unable to move, with no one to talk to... If that were the case, I fear I would have gone completely insane before long."

"I owe you my life."

"Don't say that, Professor," Baron shook his head. "Helping others is my responsibility as a pure-blood."

Avada smiled from the side to show his approval of Baron, but he did not speak.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this for now," Professor Baker's voice carried a clear hint of a smile. "Before things are settled, it is best not to talk about what happens after, otherwise it is easy to invite bad luck..."

"So, let us complete the final step."

"Mm."

Avada and Baron nodded gently. After placing the magical materials strictly according to the requirements, they drew their wands, pointed them toward the sky, and began to chant long, obscure incantations, their wands tracing complex and marvelous trajectories.

Following their movements, the magical materials placed in various positions gradually began to react. Some flared with intense light, some emitted strange sounds, and some even evaporated into thin air... For a moment, the entire Room of Requirement became like a dream garden, filled with colorful, flowing light that danced and intertwined in mid-air, weaving into strange, meaningless, yet aesthetically pleasing patterns...

In their Magic Sense, the magical power constructed during the previous six steps began to converge and fuse at this moment. The magical environment within the entire room fluctuated violently, nearly affecting the very structure of the Room of Requirement; yet, the magical disturbance generated by the seventh step gradually smoothed out these tremors, pushing the six magical structures together like flowing water, slow and resolute.

Finally, with a grand resonance that existed only in the world of magic, the six magical structures fused seamlessly into one, forming a massive, complex, magnificent, and beautiful new structure that nearly caused Avada to lose his focus!

It seemed related to spiritual power, but it far exceeded it; instead, it was somewhat similar to Horcrux magic—but while the structure of Horcrux magic only made Avada feel complexity and chaos, the structure now displayed before him possessed a stunning beauty, as if it were the very opposite of a Horcrux.

"This magic, did you really create it yourself, Professor Baker?"

He asked, muttering in a daze.

"I never said that."

Professor Baker replied lightheartedly: "How could I alone create such a complex and marvelous magic? It is the crystallization of the hard work and wisdom of countless generations. I am merely a latecomer who has sifted these crystals from the dust of history and pieced them together."

"Does it have a name? This magic?"

"Hmm... not yet."

Professor Baker pondered for a moment before answering: "But if you really want to find a name for this magic..."

"Why not call it 'Repentance'?"

Repentance?!

Upon hearing this name, Baron was only confused as to why such a name was chosen, but Avada was struck as if by lightning, barely able to control his expression.

Repentance was the only method in the original work capable of merging a shattered soul back together!

And Professor Baker had actually named this magic Repentance—what could this possibly mean? Could it be that besides extracting souls, this magic could also forcibly restore a shattered soul and render a Horcrux completely ineffective?!

If that were truly the case...

"Alright, it is getting late, you should head back."

Just as he was deep in thought, Professor Baker's voice came again: "You can rest for a while over the next few days, recharge your energy, and then prepare to face the final battle."

"Relax, don't put too much pressure on yourselves. For you, defeating the 'other me' will actually be the easiest part of all your efforts these past few months... Think about the arrangements you've made, the weaknesses I told you about, and this Spatial Magic... I dare say, even if Professor Dumbledore came, you could give him a big surprise while he was caught off guard!"

Good grief, the arrangements that could easily take down an Auror were downgraded to a prank-like "big surprise" when it came to Dumbledore...

"Let's set the operation for this Sunday. We can rest for three days, and that should be enough time so that the fake Professor Baker doesn't notice anything unusual." Baron clapped his hands and looked at Avada for confirmation.

"No problem."