Ezio is such an upright person, he definitely wouldn't use Unforgivable Curses to do bad things

"Ezio is such an upright person; he would certainly never use the Unforgivable Curses to do anything evil."

Dumbledore thought this to himself, and thus nodded to agree to his reasonable request. After all, the target was Voldemort; there was no one in the wizarding world more deserving of death than him.

To a certain extent, taking down Voldemort was equivalent to political correctness, it was just that few people dared to do so. Dumbledore happened to meet someone like that today.

He even had the leisure to watch from the sidelines, though it was for the sake of precaution and the like.

There was no place less likely to be disturbed than the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, so the spell experiments were conducted there. The onlookers included the past headmasters of Hogwarts, among whom Phineas Nigellus Black had his eyes widened the most. He suddenly recalled the time he served as headmaster at Hogwarts; the sense of déjà vu was strong, but Ezio was even bolder than that little brat—he was simply lawless!

However, Ezio himself did not care about this. In his assassin's creed, if an assassination could not be completed, then charging in through the front door was also fine. In the end, it was still a perfect assassination with no witnesses; as long as the result was correct, then it did not matter.

Had he achieved his goal?

He had.

Would Dumbledore expel him from Hogwarts because of this?

He would not.

Then this was a perfect solution to the problem. Dumbledore was no pushover; his actions against Voldemort were based on the unavoidable situation that "only Dumbledore could solve this trouble." Moreover, until Voldemort was killed by Harry, Dumbledore actually did not take any major actions.

Otherwise, while Voldemort was wreaking havoc, he would not have stayed at Hogwarts researching the Deathly Hallows, letting the Order of the Phoenix fight the Death Eaters to the death, and borrowing the Invisibility Cloak when James Potter needed it more than he did. Dumbledore was not entirely selfless; he had his own thoughts and things he wanted to do. It was just a coincidence that he accomplished some things that others viewed as great and correct.

A person's achievements are not solely attributed to their personal strength; of all the factors that make a hero, the most important is the timing, and the hero is merely an incidental product.

Dumbledore hoped Ezio was a good person, so compared to letting him out and making things uncontrollable, he preferred to let him stay. At the very least, this could stabilize his state. If he turned evil in the future, what would that have to do with an old man like himself who was almost ready to be buried?

Dumbledore, with many complex emotions in his heart, stood quietly to the side. Ezio drew his wand and pointed the tip at the Horcrux Diadem.

"Crucio."

Ezio chanted softly in a calm voice. The invisible power of the spell surged from the tip of his wand. All three Unforgivable Curses required the user's will and conviction during casting; the firmer your determination, the more powerful the magic. This was a magic deeply tied to emotions, and it was precisely because of this that they were defined as cruel. Only when you possessed a strong desire to make the other party wish they were dead could the power of the Cruciatus Curse be exerted to its fullest extent.

As for malice, Ezio might be a bit "weak." He did not consider depriving someone of their life, manipulating their mind, or torturing their will to be "anti-human" emotions, and he would not derive any so-called pleasure from killing. All of this was merely a means he could adopt when necessary to achieve his goal; he did not consider this "evil."

But this indifference toward life, this indifference toward others, was a terrifying and powerful force that the evil thoughts of ordinary wizards could hardly match.

It was so powerful that the Cruciatus Curse could act like a drill, constantly seeping in and breaking through the magic protecting the Horcrux!

After a brief stalemate, this indifference, which transcended malice, touched the soul hidden within the Horcrux!

Black liquid seeped out from the gem of the diadem at this moment, and the twisted black mist gathered into a human face!

A hysterical scream erupted from the mouth of the distorted face!

He writhed; the soul fragment of Voldemort inside the diadem writhed. The black mist swirled, just like a person rolling on the ground in agony. The mist, which could no longer manifest a concrete shape, twisted constantly, and ear-piercing screams and heart-wrenching wails echoed in the Hogwarts Headmaster's office.

But the perpetrator, Ezio, was only observing with a calm expression. He controlled his magic, and at the same time, he controlled his will. He was comparing what method he should use to make the Cruciatus Curse exhibit a more powerful effect at this moment.

Holding the thought of killing someone doesn't make the power of the Cruciatus Curse stronger. After all, this magic isn't aimed at killing. But wanting to make the subject feel pain and torture—this thought doesn't seem to significantly increase the magic's power either...

Ezio pondered for a moment. Oh, perhaps it should be like this... I should display pleasure and enjoyment regarding this painful struggle.

"Ah!"

Ezio, having suddenly realized something, let out an exclamation, then revealed a slight smile. "I understand now."

He stopped casting, and the wailing soul ceased its painful screaming at this moment.

"You... understand what?" Dumbledore had been paying attention to Ezio. When he seemed to have realized something, he could not help but frown slightly.

"When using the Cruciatus Curse, the more you enjoy the pain and screams emitted by the object of torture—that is to say, the more twisted your psychology is—the better the effect of the Cruciatus Curse."

Ezio picked at his ear. "Although I can confirm this conclusion, to be honest, I can't really appreciate it. If torturing people isn't used for extracting information, then it has no practical significance. Only a twisted lunatic would take tasting the pain of others as their source of happiness."

"The wizard who invented this spell was quite bored; he must have been a pervert. There are so many ways to extract information; torturing people is just the lowest-tier choice."

Ezio said with little interest. After actual testing, his evaluation of the Cruciatus Curse was not high. This thing had some practical value, but not much use.

"I prefer using Veritaserum. After all, even if one has mastered Occlumency, they cannot resist the powerful effects of Veritaserum. This is the most practical thing—fast and efficient."

"The only pity is that brewing Veritaserum is too difficult, even more troublesome than Felix Felicis. I can't learn it yet; it's such a pity."

Ezio smacked his lips. He really hoped Snape could teach him something good, but he could only fish for these things from Snape through Harry. After all, textbooks didn't teach this stuff; it was a highly restricted item. You wouldn't find one in a thousand potion masters who knew the recipe, and even if they knew it, they wouldn't have the strength to make it.

Harry's value to him was not just in his identity as a Horcrux, but also included the factor of Snape. Who told him to offend Snape to death before he even enrolled? Without using his brain, it would be very hard to dig treasures out of him.

"Then next, let's try the Imperius Curse. However, people with firm wills seem to be able to resist this magic just by relying on their will. I wonder what the effect will be."

"Imperio."

The tip of the wand lit up with a faint light for an instant, and then the light sank into the diadem.

No black mist appeared, and no liquid seeped out. The soul hidden within the Horcrux remained unmoved. This spell, which carried no torturous attributes, was simply forcing the will and then compelling it to do what the caster wanted it to do.

"The strength of the Imperius Curse depends on the caster's magic power," Dumbledore said softly from the side. He also had an understanding of the Unforgivable Curses, it was just that Dumbledore didn't use them much. With his own magical strength, he didn't really need these three spells.

"Tom is one of the people I have seen with the most outstanding magical talent. In the field of Dark Arts, as well as in terms of magic power, he had abilities that exceeded those of ordinary wizards. Even if it was only his soul fragment inside the Horcrux, the magic power it possessed was not small. A wizard's magic power grows with the passage of time, and this growth continues until the age of seventeen, which is why the wizarding world uses seventeen as the age of adulthood."

"That is to say, my current magic power is too weak, right?"

"Actually, it is already very excellent," Dumbledore shook his head. "Even for the Cruciatus Curse, you wouldn't be able to use it without sufficient magic power. The biggest difference between the Unforgivable Curses and other spells is that they are born from profound curse magic. They are more primitive than standard spells, so they appear more powerful in terms of strength, but at the same time, they also have higher requirements for a wizard's magic power."

"But I don't seem to have the feeling of huge magic consumption." Ezio was actually quite puzzled. Although this world had magic power, he didn't seem to feel the existence of a mana bar. Even when practicing magic with high intensity, he had never encountered a situation where he lacked mana and couldn't cast spells.

"Because magic power is pouring into your body every second, restoring the consumed portion. But if your magic capacity is insufficient, some magic is difficult to exert its full effect."

Dumbledore explained to Ezio, "The concentration of magic power varies in different places in the world. Places where wizards and magical creatures gather are often areas rich in magic power, and Hogwarts is especially so. Therefore, in school, you won't have the feeling of your magic power being consumed."

"In other words, wizards' spellcasting is only restricted when they go to areas where magic is scarce, right?"

"But such places are rare. Magic exists in every corner of the world; there is no place where magic is absolutely non-existent. Only large-scale alchemy arrays and alchemical devices are affected by the concentration of ambient magic, while wizards themselves cannot perceive much of a difference."

"I understand." Ezio nodded. The magic in this world likely had low consumption, and the natural mana regeneration efficiency of wizards was very high; only alchemical products were limited by magic.

"Then, Professor Dumbledore, would you like to try? Perhaps someone with your powerful magic could extract clues from this Horcrux. No one knows the hiding places of the Horcruxes better than Voldemort himself."

"I think that would be a very difficult task." Dumbledore shook his head slightly. He was not a simple wizard who didn't know how to use the Imperius Curse; in fact, he was more proficient in these spells than the vast majority of wizards. "The Horcrux is the secret Voldemort least wants to expose. Immortality is his most intense emotion, and the Imperius Curse happens to be a magic that can be broken through willpower. I may be able to surpass Tom's soul fragment in terms of magic power, but that does not mean I can suppress his will to make him tell me his greatest secret."

"But it is not impossible to try."

Perhaps thinking of something, Dumbledore finally chose to draw his wand. The color of the wand was somewhat similar to the Elder and Phoenix Feather wand in Ezio's hand—knotted and dark gray—but it had a layer of glaze-like patina.

Unlike the stillness Ezio had shown earlier, the moment Dumbledore gripped his wand and tapped it lightly, the black mist symbolizing Voldemort's soul seeped out slightly and began to tremble violently. The powerful magic from this White Wizard King completely suppressed it in an instant. The Imperius Curse struck directly to seize control of this soul fragment, demanding that it personally reveal the secret it kept in the deepest part of its heart.

But as Dumbledore had just said, the Imperius Curse is a magic that can be resisted through willpower. You could say Voldemort was narrow-minded, a village-level terrorist, or a lunatic with a broken brain, but you could not say he was weak, or that he lacked dreams and pursuits. His talent for dark magic was definitely world-class.

The curse that left Dumbledore severely injured in the original story, which could only be temporarily controlled by Snape through potions, was one he had cast on a Horcrux ring when he was fifteen or sixteen. His talent for dark magic was truly brilliant; at the very least, in terms of curse magic, Ezio did not believe he could do better than Voldemort.

And having decided to pursue immortality shortly after entering the magical world, making it his lifelong dream, his willpower in this regard was beyond doubt.

Dumbledore shook his head slightly, his expression calm; he was not surprised by this result.

"It seems we can only proceed to the final test."

Since the required information could not be obtained from the Horcrux, destroying it was the final step.

Seeing Ezio prepare to test the final Killing Curse, Dumbledore's expression became much more serious. He felt an urge to stop Ezio from completing the final test; his intuition told him this was not a good thing. The killing intent and disregard for life Ezio had displayed earlier moved him—it was a purity he had never seen before. This purity turned a killing intent that should have been classified as 'evil' into something... a strange feeling that made one unable to feel the slightest disgust, yet absolutely unwilling to get close to.

It was like a holy sacrificial ritual, where warm blood was sacrificed in flawless white light, filled with an eerie sense of sanctity.

He had never felt this very strange and contradictory sensation from any person or creature. Perhaps, as Ezio said, this was something he was born with; he was naturally endowed with the power of death that commanded awe.

This curiosity made Dumbledore abandon his attempt to persuade him otherwise. He stood silently to the side, waiting for Ezio's action.

"Avada..." Ezio's lips moved, but he did not recite the full spell. This was not because he was hesitating, but because he had a special feeling the first time he used the Killing Curse—a feeling of intimacy, as if this spell were an extension of his own limbs. Just as Harry had maxed out his proficiency in Expelliarmus, Ezio had maxed out his proficiency in the Killing Curse.

A green light condensed at the tip of the wand. The intangible light underwent a change at this moment; dark green crystals appeared at the tip of the wand. This was the form the spell took when it was solidified, like living scales. The thin green crystals quickly wrapped around the wand made of elder wood and phoenix feather. The magic of death was permeating; it seemed to have caught a scent that fascinated it, greedily demanding something.

This was the first time Ezio had encountered such an occurrence, but his intuition told him that this magic, which heralded death, would not cause him any harm. It was like a puppy attached to its master, acting spoiled and wanting to be rewarded with a delicious treat.

"So, this is what you wanted."

Ezio suddenly smiled. He knew that many spells required emotions as driving energy, such as the Patronus Charm, and the Killing Curse similarly required a firm will to kill something, as well as—a desire to kill originating from the heart.

"Since you want it, then I will give it to you."

In that instant, the hair on Dumbledore's arms stood on end. But he only had time to raise his hand; before he could speak, the phantoms rising from Ezio filled his entire field of vision.

Beneath his feet was scarlet blood; viscous blood flowed slowly like a river. The cold warmth submerged his ankles, wrapped around his calves, and climbed up his body! The coldness of death and the warmth of life intertwined at this moment!

He looked up. Countless pure, flawless bone skeletons formed a towering, majestic pyramid. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of corpses were piled into a grand, world-shaking spectacle!

That breathtaking and terrifying pure death seemed to bewitch one's eyes, drawing the soul out of the body to rise and leap toward the heights, to the highest! The highest of heights!

At the top of the stairs paved with bones, a grim throne stood at the apex. A cold, indifferent figure whose face could not be seen sat upon the throne. In the sky that served as the background, countless vengeful spirits of the dead rolled and entwined, converging into a boundless land that extended infinitely above the sky.

A point of green light ignited. The figure on the bone throne raised his right hand. A dark green branch was like a living thing; it trembled with excitement, it screamed with ecstasy. When its green light extended into the sky, the vengeful spirits of the dead surged into it. Those eyes—some lost, some venomous, some unwilling, some numb—turned toward the figure on the throne, but the only response they received was a pair of hollow, indifferent eyes. He had never held them in his gaze, not even for a fleeting moment.

The green light, like a living thing, cheered and leaped, then, never knowing what it meant to be full, endlessly devoured the vengeful spirits of the dead that had turned into the sky-continent—until the sky revealed a deep blue base, casting down pure, flawless white light. The holy radiance illuminated the boundless, seemingly endless river of blood, staining the spectacle cast from bones with a pure, sacred crimson.

Dumbledore stumbled back a few steps, his back hitting a tall cabinet. The momentary phantom vanished in the blink of an eye. If that scene hadn't been so real and shocking, he might have thought he had had a lucid nightmare in the middle of the day.

"What's wrong, Professor Dumbledore?"

Ezio looked at Dumbledore with a strange expression.

"Nothing..." Dumbledore shook his head, suddenly coming back to his senses. "It's just that I'm old and a bit unsteady on my feet."

"You will surely live for several hundred years." Ezio smiled slightly. Even without the Philosopher's Stone, wizards could use other means to live a long time. The previous headmaster of Hogwarts, Armando Dippet, had served as headmaster at over 200 years old. By comparison, Dumbledore, who was over a hundred, was still very young.

Without any blinding green light, Ezio, whose wand had already been permeated with a layer of deep green, gently tapped the Ravenclaw diadem with the tip of his wand. A burst of black mist exploded in an instant. Voldemort's humanoid form gathered and rose within the smoke, then turned into countless shattered fragments and disappeared completely.

There was no wailing or screaming; his soul fragment died in silence.