Abyss Descends (II)

"Lowly insects, and you dare block a god's path?"

The evolved Voldemort spoke. His voice was no longer that of a young man's crisp clarity, but a blend with Lucifer's deep, demonic resonance. It made eardrums ache, as though the sound itself might tear souls from their bodies.

At this moment, Voldemort himself was the most terrifying magical vessel and weapon of hell. Lucifer's power had completely fused with him. Every inch of skin and every breath carried the power to corrode all things and annihilate souls. The ground beneath his feet melted, stone turning into black magma that bubbled and gurgled.

Su Yu's heart sank as the golden-red chakra of his Kurama Cloak blazed even more fiercely around him. The Nine-Tails' chakra had nearly become tangible flame armor, its eerie markings spreading up to his neck. The chakra currents raged so violently that they ground the rubble beneath his feet directly into powder.

The tomoe in his left Mangekyō Sharingan spun at high speed, nearly merging into a single sheet of crimson. Its genjutsu pressure rose to the utmost limit as his eyes locked tightly onto the evolved Voldemort. Yet he could clearly sense that the hellish energy inside the other man had condensed into an unshakable barrier. Even his power of perception could barely penetrate it. He clenched both hands, and his chakra claws grew sharper, gleaming with a cold golden-red light.

"Can you see what he is now?" Grindelwald asked gravely.

"I can't see through him," Su Yu said. "The energy's too dense."

"Then we'll punch through it."

Grindelwald's silver hair whipped wildly in the hellish demonic wind. The faint gravity in his previously indifferent features finally gave way to a trace of solemnity. The pale golden magical glow around him was no longer gentle, transforming instead into sharp magical blades that collided violently with Voldemort's black hellmist, producing hissing sounds of corrosion. With a slight movement of his fingers, countless invisible magical threads silently spread out, attempting to bind Voldemort's evolved body. But the instant they touched the black hellmist, they melted away like ice and snow falling into fire.

The master of dark magic had eyes sharp as blades. The magical fluctuations around him grew increasingly violent as spatial magic, severing magic, and binding magic intertwined, weaving an invisible net through the air.

The evolved Voldemort gave the two of them no chance to catch their breath. His pitch-black bone wings beat fiercely, and his figure vanished from its spot in an instant. He was so fast that even Su Yu's eyes could catch only a blackish-purple afterimage. The next second, he appeared before Su Yu, his black-veined palm carrying hellfire capable of burning everything as it reached straight for Su Yu's head. Wherever the palm wind passed, the air ignited, becoming a corridor of blackish-purple flames.

Su Yu's pupils contracted. His Rinnegan immediately activated Shinra Tensei, and invisible repulsive force erupted from his body, forcibly stopping the strike half an inch away. But the repulsive barrier rapidly cracked under the corrosion of hellish energy, fractures spreading like a spiderweb. He twisted aside and released the strongest genjutsu from his left Mangekyō Sharingan. A blood-red illusion instantly engulfed Voldemort, trying to trap him in the illusionary realm. At the same time, the chakra of his Kurama Cloak surged as he leaped into the air, his chakra claws slicing fiercely at Voldemort's bone wings with a piercing shriek.

Grindelwald seized the opening. A silent spell suddenly erupted, and dense golden magical runes appeared throughout the air, forming a massive sealing array that descended upon Voldemort. At the same time, several severing spells became golden blades of light, aimed directly at his energy core. Grindelwald's wand traced a complex arc through the air, every rune landing precisely above Voldemort's head.

But the evolved Voldemort merely snorted coldly. Hellish black mist churned around him, and the illusionary realm was instantly torn apart. Lucifer's power crushed the mental interference directly. With one beat of his bone wings, he shattered the sealing array inch by inch. Golden rune fragments drifted through the air like a fall of golden snow. With a backhanded wave, blackish-purple hell energy formed a gigantic demonic claw that seized Grindelwald's magical blades and crushed them. Its remaining force did not diminish as it slapped toward Grindelwald.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Seeing this, Su Yu drove his Rinnegan to its limit. Invisible gravitational force frantically tugged at Voldemort's body, trying to pull him away. Kurama's chakra condensed into a Tailed Beast Bomb, its black-red glow illuminating the entire ruin as it blasted toward Voldemort's back.

Grindelwald reacted instantly as well, teleporting away to evade the demonic claw. He vanished from his spot and reappeared ten paces away. The claw struck where he had been standing, blasting a deep crater into the ground. At the same time, flame magic merged with dark magic, becoming golden demonic flames that wrapped around Voldemort's limbs in an attempt to restrict his movements.

Voldemort was caught between two forces, yet he only grew more frenzied. His Lucifer-transformed form completely stabilized, and the vertical mark on his forehead opened, becoming a scarlet hellish demon eye. The eye fired a destructive beam straight at Su Yu's Tailed Beast Bomb.

The collision between black-red chakra and the blackish-purple beam of destruction sent out a shockwave that completely leveled the ruins. Bottomless chasms split open across the earth, gushing with scorching hellish magma. The magma sprayed out and splashed against stone pillars, burning them red. Su Yu took two steps back before steadying himself.

Voldemort broke free of the gravitational and demonic-flame restraints, then slashed out with his sword, tearing through space. Pitch-black sword energy wrapped in hellfire shot straight toward Su Yu's face.

The rudimentary complete form of Su Yu's Susanoo appeared, a massive pale-red warrior body enveloped in Nine-Tails chakra. It held a chakra blade and met the demonic sword energy head-on. Sword energy and blade collided, sparks flying everywhere as the shockwave hurled surrounding rubble in all directions. Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in alternated continuously, constantly shifting the sword energy's trajectory. A Tailed Beast Bomb condensed in his mouth, ready to unleash a fatal strike at any moment.

Elsewhere.

Gilderoy Lockhart, once vain and flamboyant, capable only of chasing fame and reputation, had now been thoroughly tainted and corroded by the hellish miasma leaking from Voldemort in the distance. Much of his formerly slick-haired, powdered, affectedly elegant appearance had faded away. Faint blackish-purple hellmist lingered in his eyes.

Lockhart gripped his wand tightly, twisted and faint dark magical currents winding around his body. He no longer relied on plagiarism and Memory Charms to scrape by. The power of hell had elevated his magical foundation, causing the magic around him to surge restlessly. The darkness buried in his nature had been infinitely magnified—his vanity became brutality, and his frivolity turned into ruthlessness. The exaggerated smile had vanished from his face, replaced by a twisted, killing-intent-laced coldness.

Harry gripped his wand tightly, while his forehead scar throbbed with a faint needle-like pain. Voldemort's immense hellish power in the distance stirred the connection within him. His dark green eyes were taut with tension, and the scar on his forehead pulsed as if something were struggling inside it.

Ron stood to one side, clutching his wand. Though his expression was tense, he held his position firmly, ready to provide support at any moment. His wand tip was aimed at Lockhart, trembling slightly, but his feet did not retreat even half a step.

Hermione stood at the front, wrapped in a Kurama Cloak. Her curly hair was tossed into disarray by the fierce wind, and her clear brown eyes were filled with vigilance. She held her wand steadily aloft, its tip aimed at Lockhart. Her mind raced through every defensive spell she knew, constantly guarding against Lockhart, who had been warped by the miasma.

"Didn't expect this, did you?" Lockhart curled his lips into a sinister smile. His once saccharine, affected voice carried an added layer of dark hoarseness. "Lord Voldemort's power has finally freed me from pretending to be mediocre. Now, you three little brats are no match for me at all! One day, when I become the greatest wizard in the world, every wizard will tremble at the very mention of my name!"

"You can't be the greatest wizard in the world." Harry's breathing quickened. "Sorry to disappoint you, but the greatest wizard in the world is Headmaster Dumbledore. Everyone knows that. Even if you have limitless power now, you still wouldn't dare run wild at Hogwarts. Headmaster Dumbledore saw through you long ago, and you're still afraid of him. That's why you hid until now before daring to reveal your true face."

The smile disappeared from Lockhart's face, replaced by furious rage.

"As far as I know, Dumbledore has already been driven out of the castle!" he hissed.

"But he hasn't gone far from the castle!" Harry declared recklessly, hoping to frighten Lockhart away.

Lockhart opened his mouth to speak, but immediately froze.

Because at that moment, music drifted from afar. Lockhart turned toward the empty stone chamber. The music grew louder and louder—grim, hair-raising, mysterious, and strange. Harry and the others first felt chills run through their limbs as their hair stood on end. But when the melody reached its peak, they felt as if the music were trembling between their ribs. Flames began to burst from the tops of the nearby stone pillars.

Then a fiery-red bird, as large as a swan, flew into view. Singing a wondrous melody, it soared toward the vaulting ceiling. Its long metallic tail feathers, like those of a peacock, shone with gorgeous splendor, while its golden claws tightly clutched a piece of cloth.

The bird stopped singing and perched beside Harry's cheek, warm and peaceful. It stared steadily at Lockhart, its red eyes like two burning gemstones.

"Fawkes?" Lockhart examined it carefully once more.

"Fawkes?" Harry took a deep breath. He could feel the bird's golden claws gently tightening around his shoulder.

"That—" Lockhart was now inspecting the tattered cloth bundle Fawkes had set down. "That's the Sorting Hat."

That was right. The filthy Sorting Hat, worn and patched in places, lay at Harry's feet. Lockhart began laughing again, his laughter echoing through the pitch-black stone chamber.

"Are these the protective charms Dumbledore gave you? A bird and a broken hat! Do you feel much braver now? Do you feel safer?"

Harry did not answer him. He had no idea what Fawkes and the Sorting Hat were for.

He crouched down, put on the Sorting Hat, and waited with immense courage for Lockhart to stop laughing.

Harry kept thinking that the Sorting Hat and Fawkes might lend him a hand.

At that moment, the hat began to tighten, as though an invisible hand were twisting it fiercely.

Something hard and heavy dropped onto Harry's head, nearly knocking him unconscious and making stars burst before his eyes. He hurriedly pulled off the hat—inside it was a sword gleaming with silver light, its hilt set with rubies the size of eggs.

But when Harry drew the sword, a spear shaft emerged from the bottom of the Sorting Hat. Silver serpent crests were engraved upon it, the serpent's eyes formed by two tiny emeralds.

"What is this?" Harry tugged at it, but the spear shaft would not budge from the hat, as though it had been welded in place. He could only look toward Hermione, who was already dueling Lockhart.

Hermione's wand moved rapidly. Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Oppugno, Incarcerous, and Repel Three Feet shot continuously from its tip, striking Lockhart's shield and sending ripples of light across it. Although Lockhart had been strengthened by hellish power, his spellcasting remained flashy and impractical. He had to spin in a circle every time he waved his wand, his movements exaggerated as though he were performing onstage. Hermione caught the gap between his movements and fired a Disarming Charm. Lockhart's wand nearly flew from his hand.

Ron came over then. He crouched down and carefully examined the crest on the spear shaft, then looked at the hat. Among them, only Su Yu was in Slytherin.

"We should give the hat to Su Yu. After all, he's the only one in Slytherin!" Ron said in a lowered voice.

"But how are we supposed to do that?"

"Harry, go help Hermione. I'll take the hat to Su Yu!"

"But Su Yu's side..." Harry glanced toward the battle of gods and demons where Su Yu was fighting.

"Don't worry, Harry. We're Gryffindors, aren't we?" Ron patted Harry's shoulder, followed by a meaningful silence. "Leave Hermione to you. If... I mean, if I don't come back, remember to tell my mum that I'm sorry. I messed everything up, but... I love her!"

With that, Ron picked up the Sorting Hat and sprinted toward Su Yu.

Harry watched Ron's back vanish into the darkness. He took a deep breath, turned around, raised the Sword of Gryffindor, and charged toward Lockhart as well.