The Abyss Descends (II)

"You lowly insect, and you dare block a god's path?"

The evolved Voldemort spoke. His voice was no longer youthful and clear, but mixed with Lucifer's deep, demonic resonance, making everyone's eardrums ache as though their souls were about to be torn 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 his skin and every breath he took carried the power to corrode all things and annihilate souls. The ground beneath his feet was melting, the stone turning into black magma that bubbled and gurgled.

Su Yu's heart sank. The golden-red chakra around him blazed even more fiercely beneath the Nine-Tails Cloak. The Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra had nearly become tangible flame armor, with eerie Nine-Tails markings spreading up to his neck. The chakra currents were so violent that they crushed the rubble beneath his feet into powder.

The tomoe in his left Mangekyō Sharingan spun at high speed, nearly merging into a sheet of blood-red. The pressure of his genjutsu had risen to its limit. His eyes locked tightly onto the evolved Voldemort, but he could clearly sense that the hellish energy within his opponent had formed an unshakable barrier. Even his power of insight 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 in a low voice.

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

"Then break through it."

Beside him, Grindelwald's silver hair whipped wildly in the hellish wind. A trace of gravity finally appeared in his usually indifferent features. The pale golden magical radiance around him was no longer gentle, instead turning into sharp magical blades that clashed violently against Voldemort's black hell mist, producing sizzling sounds of corrosion. His fingers twitched, and countless invisible magical threads silently spread out, attempting to bind Voldemort's evolved body. But the instant those threads touched the black hell mist, they melted away like ice and snow falling into fire.

The dark magic master's gaze was sharp as a blade, and the magical fluctuations around him grew increasingly violent. Spatial magic, severing magic, and binding magic intertwined, weaving an invisible net through the air.

The evolved Voldemort gave neither of them a moment to catch their breath. His black bone wings snapped once, and his body vanished from where he stood. He moved so quickly that even Su Yu's eyes could only catch a black-purple afterimage. The next second, he appeared before Su Yu, his black-patterned palm carrying hellfire capable of burning everything as it reached straight for Su Yu's head. Wherever the palm wind passed, the air ignited into a corridor of black-purple flames.

Su Yu's pupils contracted. His Rinnegan instantly activated Almighty Push, and invisible repulsive force erupted from his body, forcibly stopping that palm less than half an inch away. But the repulsive barrier rapidly cracked beneath the corrosion of hellish energy, fractures spreading like a spiderweb. He twisted aside and unleashed the strongest genjutsu from his left Mangekyō Sharingan. A blood-red illusion instantly enveloped Voldemort, attempting to trap him within an illusory realm. At the same time, the chakra of the Nine-Tails Cloak surged. Su Yu leaped up, his chakra claws slicing viciously toward Voldemort's bone wings with a shriek that tore through the air.

Grindelwald seized the opportunity. Silent spells erupted, and dense golden magical runes instantly appeared in the void, forming a gigantic sealing array that descended upon Voldemort. At the same time, several severing spells became golden blades of light, shooting directly toward his opponent's 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. Black hell mist churned around him, instantly tearing apart the illusionary realm. Lucifer's power directly crushed the mental interference. 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. He swung his hand back, turning black-purple hellish energy into a gigantic demonic claw that seized Grindelwald's magical blades and crushed them. Its remaining force continued onward, slamming toward Grindelwald.

"Universal Pull!"

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

Grindelwald reacted in an instant, teleporting away to evade the demonic claw. He vanished from his position and reappeared ten paces away. The claw struck where he had just stood, blasting a deep crater into the ground. At the same time, flame magic fused with dark magic, becoming golden demonic fire that wrapped around Voldemort's limbs in an attempt to restrict his movements.

Voldemort was caught between the two forces, yet he only became more frenzied. His Luciferized form completely stabilized, and the vertical mark on his forehead opened into a scarlet hellish eye. The eye fired a beam of destruction directly at Su Yu's Tailed Beast Bomb.

The collision between black-red chakra and the black-purple beam of destruction flattened the ruins completely. The ground split open into bottomless chasms, boiling hell magma pouring out. When the magma splashed onto the stone pillars, they burned red-hot. Su Yu took two steps back before steadying himself.

Voldemort broke free of the gravitational pull and demonic fire restraints, then swung his sword, tearing through space. Black sword energy wreathed in hellfire shot straight toward Su Yu's face.

The incomplete form of Su Yu's complete-body Susanoo appeared, a huge pale-red warrior enveloping Nine-Tailed Fox chakra. It held a long chakra blade and met the demonic sword energy head-on. Sword energy and blade collided, sparks flying everywhere as the shockwave sent surrounding rubble scattering. Almighty Push and Universal Pull were used in succession, constantly diverting the sword energy's trajectory. A Tailed Beast Bomb condensed in Su Yu's mouth, ready to unleash a fatal blow at any moment.

Elsewhere.

Gilderoy Lockhart, once vain and flamboyant, living only for fame and reputation, had now been completely corrupted by the turbid hellish aura of Lucifer leaking from Voldemort in the distance. Much of his former slick-haired, powdered, falsely elegant appearance had faded away. A faint black-purple hellish haze lingered in his eyes.

Lockhart gripped his wand tightly. Twisted, faint streams of dark magic curled around him. He no longer relied on the gimmicks of plagiarism and Memory Charms to survive. Hellish power had elevated his magical foundation, sending the magic around him into a frenzied surge. The darkness hidden within his character had been magnified without limit—vanity had become brutality, and frivolity had become ruthlessness. The exaggerated smile had vanished from his face, replaced by a twisted, murderous coldness.

Harry clutched his wand tightly, a needle-like pain faintly stabbing through the scar on his forehead. 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 throbbed as if something inside it were struggling.

Ron stood to one side, his wand clenched in his hand. His expression was tense, but he stubbornly held his position, ready to provide support at any moment. His wand pointed at Lockhart, its tip trembling slightly, but his feet did not retreat even a single step.

Hermione stood at the front, wrapped in the Nine-Tails Cloak. Her curly hair was tossed into disarray by the fierce wind, and her clear brown eyes were full of vigilance. She held her wand steadily aloft, its tip aimed at Lockhart. Her mind raced as she recalled every defensive spell she knew, constantly guarding against Lockhart, who had been mutated by the turbid aura.

"Didn't expect this, did you?" Lockhart curled his lips into a sinister smile. His formerly sugary, affected voice now carried a layer of dark rasp. "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! When I become the greatest wizard in the world one day, every wizard will tremble at the mention of my name!"

"You can never 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 faded from Lockhart's face, replaced by fury.

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

"But he hasn't gone far from the castle!" Harry declared without thinking, hoping to scare Lockhart away.

Lockhart opened his mouth to speak, but immediately froze.

Because music drifted over from the distance. Lockhart turned to look at the empty stone chamber. The music grew louder, eerie and bone-chilling, mysterious and strange. At first, Harry and the others felt their limbs turn cold and their hair stand on end. But as the melody reached its peak, they felt as though the music were vibrating between their ribs. Flames began bursting from the tops of the nearby stone pillars.

Then a fiery red bird as large as a swan flew into view. It sang a marvelous melody as it flew toward the vaulted ceiling. Its long metallic tail feathers, like those of a peacock, shone with gorgeous and brilliant light, while its golden claws clutched a piece of cloth.

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

"Fawkes?" Lockhart examined it carefully once more.

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

"That—" Lockhart was now inspecting the shabby cloth bundle Fawkes had dropped. "That's the Sorting Hat."

That was right. The dirty 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.

"Is this Dumbledore's protection for you? A bird and a broken old hat! Do you feel much braver now? Do you feel safer?"

Harry did not answer him. He had no idea what Fawkes or the Sorting Hat could do.

He crouched down and put on the Sorting Hat, waiting with all his courage for Lockhart to stop laughing.

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

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

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

However, when Harry drew the Sword of Gryffindor, a spear shaft emerged from the bottom of the Sorting Hat. A silver serpent crest was imprinted upon it, the serpent's eyes two tiny emeralds.

"What is this?" Harry tugged at it, but the spear shaft did not move in the hat, as though it had been welded in place. He could only turn to Hermione, who was already dueling Lockhart.

Hermione's wand flashed 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. Though Lockhart had been strengthened by hellish power, his spellcasting style remained flashy and impractical. Every time he swung his wand, he had to spin around, his movements exaggerated as though he were performing on a stage. Hermione seized the gaps between his movements and fired a disarming charm, nearly knocking Lockhart's wand from his hand.

Ron came over as well. 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 low voice.

"But how do we do that?"

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

"But Su Yu's side..." Harry glanced toward Su Yu's battle between gods and demons.

"Don't worry, Harry. We're Gryffindors, aren't we?" Ron patted Harry on the shoulder, followed by a meaningful silence. "Leave Hermione to you. If... I mean, if I don't make it 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 disappear into the darkness. He drew a deep breath, turned around, raised the Sword of Gryffindor, and charged toward Lockhart as well.