A Mountain of Corpses, a Sea of Flames-Fiendfyre Rages

"The most crucial thing is... you always overthink things, you're not like young mortals who are so easily fooled~"

"..." Dumbledore was speechless upon hearing this. So this mysterious fellow was openly trying to deceive him?

Despite his inner turmoil, Dumbledore continued to carefully examine the flaws in the surrounding light barrier, hoping to create an opportunity to break through.

But at the same time, he was worried that if he cast a spell here, it might disturb the Inferi in the lake and cause them to go on a rampage.

"Don't waste your energy, you can't escape." The mysterious voice this time carried a hint of confidence. "That Black family kid only remained as a spirit thanks to my power. His purpose is to lure you to the bottom of the lake."

"Regulus?"

Dumbledore was finally moved. He looked up at the statue of Death in front of him and found that the statue had also opened its eyes at the same time and was staring at him with an eerie gaze.

"Oh, so you've discovered that my power resides here? Why don't you try attacking it? Maybe that'll allow you to escape?"

Upon hearing the other party's words, Dumbledore's hand holding the wand trembled slightly, but he did not launch an attack as instructed.

"As expected, you're more composed when you're alone." The statue of Death, who was speaking, suddenly added a touch of mockery to its words, "The last time you came here, you couldn't wait to attack me, and I ended up throwing you out."

"Last time?" Dumbledore couldn't understand what the other person was talking about.

"Oh, it would be more accurate to call it 'the previous life.' Back then, I was just looking for Harry Potter, but you insisted on coming down with him and tried to stop me from talking to him, so of course I threw you out."

"Hmm..."

As the statue of Death spoke, a glint of light suddenly emanated from its eyes, and Dumbledore suddenly felt as if a familiar yet unfamiliar lake had appeared in his mind.

It was in this Horcrux cave that I felt very weak. I went through a lot of hardship with Harry to reach the island in the middle of the lake, with the goal of finding and destroying Voldemort's Horcrux.

However, after finding the locket, the two discovered that it was just a fake, and they even encountered Regulus's spirit inside it.

Just like he had just been, Harry was also drawn in and insisted on exploring the bottom of the lake along the Stairway of Light. Because he couldn't stop him immediately, he could only follow him down and see this strange statue.

After that, fearing the statue might bewitch Harry, he attacked it, and then everything went spinning...

"Was what you just showed me your so-called 'past life'?" Dumbledore asked warily after the images in his mind disappeared. "Did those things really happen before, and how do you know about them? Who exactly are you?!"

In truth, Albus Dumbledore didn't want to believe a single word the Death statue said, but he was now trapped with nowhere to go, and had no other choice but to talk to the statue.

Upon hearing his question, the voice of the Death statue became even more amused.

"You've already guessed my identity, haven't you? You just haven't believed it."

"Grim Reaper..."

To be honest, when he first made this guess, even Albus Dumbledore himself was taken aback.

Legends of the Grim Reaper have long circulated in the Wizarding World, and the Deathly Hallows were something Dumbledore pursued in his youth.

However, for Dumbledore, who had seen the second Deathly Hallows, the Deathly Hallows were no different from other alchemical items, except for their special powers and ancient history.

Even regarding the events recorded in the Tales of Beedle the Bard, he believed that the Peverell brothers were actually powerful alchemists who created the three Deathly Hallows attracted countless people, rather than actually obtaining them from the fictitious Grim Reaper.

"You're thinking about those three brothers, and you're even questioning my identity." The Death statue seemed to have completely read Dumbledore's mind. "Indeed, the Deathly Hallows are just ordinary alchemical artifacts, because whether it was those three brothers or the wizards who came after them, they were all just mortals. Mortals can't even unleash the true form of the Hallows, so how could they unleash their full power?"

"The original appearance of the Deathly Hallows... what is that?"

I won't tell you~

"You!" The Death Statue's sudden remark nearly choked Albus Dumbledore to death.

I won't tell you... I won't tell you what the hell I'm talking about!

"Hmph, mortal, you're getting impatient." However, seeing Dumbledore's displeased expression, the Death statue suddenly laughed heartily. "Don't worry, I'm very magnanimous. If you want to investigate the true appearance of the Deathly Hallows yourself, I'd be happy to welcome you."

"And this would also be very beneficial to you. If you could truly possess a Deathly Hallows —like the Resurrection Stone —then you could genuinely resurrect the person you cherish..."

"What did you say?!" Dumbledore exclaimed in shock.

He had read the story of Beedle the Bard and knew he shouldn't believe in the Resurrection Stone's explanation, but he still couldn't help but shout it out.

Because he missed so many people he had lost.

Father, mother, sister, and...

Spouse.

"That's all I have to say. Believe it or not, it's up to you." The Death statue said seemingly indifferently, "Well... how about this, since you were able to find me and are willing to talk to me, I can generously offer you a test."

"What test?" Dumbledore asked warily, his hand already gripping his wand tightly, fearing that the other party might suddenly turn against him.

"Try to find the Deathly Hallows I left behind. Of course, it doesn't matter whether you want to or not, because... once Harry Potter gets his hands on the Resurrection Stone, you'll never have the chance to see those who have left you again!"

"This..."

"I'll take your silence as acceptance! Let me see more fun, mortal~"

With a final, mocking growl, the statue of Death abruptly split in two, and then a black wing spun and cut directly into Dumbledore's body, gradually coalescing into a black wing tattoo on his back where it was not visible!

"Ugh... no good!"

Before Dumbledore could react, a towering tornado suddenly erupted from the once calm lakebed, the surging waters engulfing Dumbledore's body and carrying him roaring out of the water!

"Interesting... Looks like I can't control everything after all. I actually ran into him by chance in this round. But that's not bad either. It's changed from a one-man show to a duel. With a competitor like this, that kid probably won't be like he was in the last round, always trying to escape the game."

Since fate has already left its mark, the only way is to follow through.

Do you really think that simply running away, or even destroying the Elder Wand, will completely end this?

Mortals... are ultimately naive and can never escape the control of the gods.

The broken statue of Death shimmered with a dim light. Suddenly, the statue's only remaining wing began to spin violently, forcefully breaking through the water and soaring into the air. In the end, it even pierced through the cliff where the cave was located and flew to another unknown place.

He was going to wait there, waiting for the people he had originally chosen to come and accept his test without any choice, together with the challengers he had just impulsively added...

Complete this enjoyable card game!

The lake water had become incredibly murky, and countless Inferi roared as they surged from the surface. At the bottom of the lake where the statue once stood, only the body of a young man who had tragically perished over a decade ago remained...

(P. S. I'd like to recommend a very promising new work at the end of this chapter; it's also a Harry Potter fanfic.)

Robin arrives in the Harry Potter world, is in the same class as Dumbledore, and activates the DNF Demon World System.

After becoming a Dimensional Walker, a hundred years later (approximately)... a new professor of Dimensional Studies has arrived at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore: "We can now confidently raise the Boy Who Lived!"

Voldemort: "Avada Kedavra!... Why can't you die either?!"

Harry Potter: "He's the best professor at Hogwarts!"

Robin: "Well said! Gryffindor 50 points!"

(The Professor of Dimensional Studies at Hogwarts)

Chapter 524 Mountains of Corpses and Seas of Flames, Fiendfyre

Boom!!

The once smooth, mirror-like lake surface suddenly erupted with a wave several meters high. Like a torrential downpour, the lake water crashed down on Hermione and Sirius, instantly shaking the two who were already worried!

"Why... why is this happening? What's going on underwater?!" Sirius stared in astonishment at the violently churning lake water before him, as if something was about to burst forth from the water!

The next second, Dumbledore, soaking wet, was like a big fish caught on a fishing line, involuntarily flying out of the water and crashing directly in front of the two of them.

"Headmaster... Oh no!!"

Hermione rushed forward to help Dumbledore up, but then suddenly remembered something and looked at the lake with great fear!

Sure enough... the Inferi in the lake have rioted!

Countless heads and arms emerged from the dark, murky water—men, women, children—all the corpses with white eyes, completely devoid of their own consciousness, only knowing to rush towards the crowd in a frenzy!

"I accidentally disturbed the lake, and now I can only block them for the time being! Impediment Jinx!"

Dumbledore apologized to the two of them, not even having time to dry himself off, and immediately set up a series of roadblocks in front of the first Inferi to come ashore!

"Incendio!" *2

Hermione and Sirius knew that now was not the time to investigate the cause, so they quickly waved their wands at the same time, working with Dumbledore to set up a blazing wall of fire around the island, which immediately blocked the Inferi's attack!

Although the scene before them was startling, they were all seasoned veterans and were not frightened by mere Inferi.

Most of Voldemort's Inferi had obviously been instructed to avoid the flames, so when the fire wall maintained by the three successfully surrounded the island's coastline, the Inferi in the water were immediately stopped in place, pushing and shoving each other, too afraid to move forward.

However, all three of them knew that this was not a long-term solution, and most importantly... Harry was still underwater, and no one knew his condition!

However, just as the three were struggling to maintain the wall of fire and anxiously thinking of a solution, Kreacher, who had been uninvolved, suddenly remembered Harry's earlier order. He immediately rushed to the three of them and forcibly pulled their hands together.

"Kreacher must carry out Mr. Granger's orders!"

"Kreacher, what did you say...?"

"Kreacher is going to lead everyone away from here!!"

Before Sirius could even ask a question, Kreacher's magic had already enveloped all three of them, and they Apparition out of the cave together.

After losing the power of magic, the once mighty wall of fire gradually began to die down. The Inferi, whose momentum had just been halted, climbed onto the island using the remaining embers and began to wander around like zombies, roaring as they went.

"Hmm? The lake water has been disturbed? And, this feeling..."

At this moment, at the bottom of the lake, after a fruitless search, Harry was about to give up for the time being, but he found that the lake water around him suddenly began to flow violently, and all the Inferi came to 'come alive'!

He immediately knew that the lake had been disturbed, so he wanted to surface and reunite with Hermione and the others. But just then, he felt... the elemental shield of the entire lake had been mysteriously broken!

The lake, which had been filled with darkness and chaos, suddenly became incredibly clear. Harry's senses quickly spread to every part of the lake, and he instantly grasped the movements of all the Inferi.

And not far from him, he clearly saw a shattered statue, and a corpse lying among the stones, completely different from all the Inferi!

That was Regulus. For some reason, he hadn't turned into Inferi, and his features were still extremely clear, as if he hadn't been soaked in water at all.

Harry glanced instinctively at the shore, and when he saw the wall of fire burning on the bank, he knew he didn't need to worry about Hermione's safety for the time being, so he decided to go and rescue Regulus's body immediately.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Inferi were all crowded on the surface of the water, he immediately reverted to his physical form and dived to the bottom of the lake, successfully putting Regulus into his Space Ring.

"Rise!!"

After that, Harry unleashed his full Elemental Power, riding a dragon formed from the lake water, breaking through the surface and soaring into the air!

He grabbed a protruding rock high up in the cave wall and hung his entire body there.

"The four of them have already left... That's perfect, let's just take care of them all at once."

Looking down at the swarming, growling zombies below, Harry's expression gradually turned cold, and his eyes began to flash with murderous intent.

Some magic requires a special emotion to use.

"Fiendfyre flames!!"

With a swift swing of the wand, a massive fireball crashed down from mid-air, instantly transforming into a ferocious fire dragon!

Fiendfyre is a Dark Magic flame imbued with curses. It possesses the characteristics of constantly increasing strength and relentlessly pursuing all flammable objects, friend or foe. Its powerful curse can even destroy Horcrux!

The Fiendfyre unleashed by Harry at this moment was like a demonic dragon descended from hell to earth, spewing out bursts of fireballs in all directions, and with each flap of its wings, it burned countless Inferi to ashes!

Wherever the enormous dragon's body rolled, a sea of fire ignited, and countless Inferi howled and screamed, but in the end, they all turned into fuel for the Fiendfyre.

Harry waited until the cries of the Inferi ceased to be heard on the island, and until the dragon formed from Fiendfyre began to shrink due to the lack of flammable material. Only then did he control the water flow to catch himself and turn away from the island in the middle of the lake, which was now filled with thick smoke and a foul stench.

He opened the archway again with a test tube of blood, then turned and used Blasting Curse to shatter the surrounding rock, completely burying the doorway and sealing away all the sins and filth within the cave.

From now on, aside from Voldemort, perhaps no one else will ever find this place again...

Riding the current out of the cliff crevice, Harry saw the four people waiting on the huge rock as soon as he was out in the light.

They seemed very anxious, and it appeared they were arguing... or rather, blaming each other.

Harry could see Sirius roaring at Kreacher, who was kneeling before him, his voice so loud it could pierce the waves and reach Harry's ears.

"Kreacher, you bastard! You made us leave Harry there! I want to kill you right now..."

"Godfather, stop!!"

As Sirius's impulsive and increasingly vicious tirade grew, even raising his hand to slap Kreacher, Harry quickly silenced him with Amplifying Charm, simultaneously riding the waves to appear before the group.

"Harry? Are you... are you alright?" Sirius's anger froze on his face as his godson, who was surrounded, suddenly returned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Those Inferi can't hold me back." Harry nodded with a smile. "Don't blame Kreacher. That's what I told him before we went into the water: if anything changes, take you away immediately..."