Herpo's thinking was simple now: all the torment he was suffering was a necessary ordeal before he could receive "My Lord's" reward.
One could even say that he endured the torture with gratitude toward "My Lord."
As soon as he felt the effects of the Cruciatus Curse ebb, he struggled to his feet and laboriously took out a small silk pouch.
Herpo opened the silk pouch, pointed his wand inside, then gently drew it out.
A handful of magical powder followed his wand's path, welling up like spring water to form a complex ritual magic array in the air.
At this sight, Voldemort seemed rather bored and yawned without restraint.
Barty Crouch Jr., however, watched intently, assessing Herpo in his mind.
At least in his opinion, the precision Herpo had displayed in his spellcasting qualified him to become his master's servant.
But if that happened, Herpo would undoubtedly surpass Snape as his greatest rival, and he would no longer be his master's favorite servant.
As Herpo swept his wand downward, the ritual magic array settled onto the ground, while Grigory Vladimirov floated up and slowly descended into its center.
Herpo reached into the silk pouch again and fished out a bronze dagger.
The bronze dagger had a dull sheen, but the leather wrapped around its handle was polished and glossy, as though countless hands had wielded it.
Now Voldemort took a little more interest. Having made several Horcruxes himself, he could naturally tell at a glance that the bronze dagger in Herpo's hand was also a Horcrux.
He instinctively compared it with the Horcruxes he had made. Only the diary was truly ordinary, somewhat similar to this bronze dagger.
Most of his other Horcruxes had remarkable origins, either relics of the Hogwarts Founders or heirlooms of the Gaunt family.
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