Baron's Ascension

The strange appearance of the Bloody Baron surprised even the Death's Projection.

"This is impossible! How can his subconscious still not be assimilated?!" Death exclaimed in astonishment.

Taking advantage of the moment when Baron was acting strangely, Xiwen used the Form of Ikonn to quickly stand in front of Helena, his face tense as he watched Baron's constantly flashing and throbbing scarlet eyes.

"No... I can't raise that knife against Helena again..." Baron's expression shifted, constantly shifting between the indifference of Death and his own inner struggle. At the same time, painful words were squeezed out intermittently from between his teeth. "I've already made one mistake... I can't make it a second time..."

"Is this... Baron's own will fighting against the will of Death?" Xiwen and Helena exchanged a glance, guessing with great surprise.

Seeing this, Helena suddenly gritted her teeth and said, "Stephen, help him!"

"I see."

Xiwen nodded, then formed a hand seal, summoning a bright Light of Nirvalon that shone into Baron's shimmering crimson pupils, attempting to dispel the Dark Mark Death had planted in Baron's mind.

Seeing this, the Death's Projection, kneeling in the ruins, knew he couldn't wait any longer. So, with his weakened body, he took to the air and flew towards the direction where Baron, Xiwen, and Helena were.

He made a grasping motion with both hands, and a scythe-like phantom, almost invisible in its transparency, appeared in his hands, slashing heavily towards Xiwen and Helena.

"Bang!"

With the sound of objects colliding, Xiwen and Helena opened their eyes wide.

It turned out that Baron had used his scythe to block the scythe of the same shape that the Death's Projection was slashing at him!

"How is this possible?!" Death exclaimed in disbelief, staring at the familiar blade before him. "How could you break free from my control so quickly, and even fully regain your original consciousness?"

"You might not understand, but that scene of wielding the knife just now awakened the deepest memories I had as a ghost, memories buried deep within my heart," Baron said, his expression a mixture of melancholy and self-mockery.

Then, he looked at Xiwen and said calmly, "Speaking of which, I have to thank Strange. Two years ago, he awakened the deepest memory in my heart and indirectly reminded me of the vow buried deep in the past thousand years—if I could do it all over again, I would never have swung that knife at Helena!"

"Do you think this will earn my forgiveness?" Helena asked Baron, her brow furrowed.

"I know my sins can never be completely atoned for, and I don't expect to be able to completely wash away the bloodstains that have remained on my body for thousands of years." Baron shook his head gently, as if he had come to terms with it, and said with a sense of relief, "But let's do as much as we can."

As he spoke, a fierce glint suddenly appeared in his eyes. He parried the illusory scythe in the Death's Projection, then looked at Xiwen and shouted, "So what are you waiting for, Strange?"

"The Death's spiritual imprint is too strong; I can't suppress it for long. If you don't completely obliterate me now, are you going to wait for the Death's consciousness to return?!"

"But you..." Xiwen said with a slight hesitation.

"No more buts! Just kill me already! I know you have the power to harm souls!" Baron shouted. "This isn't for yourself, it's to keep Helena from the threat of Death!"

"I understand." Xiwen's eyes hardened, and he raised his hand to summon a blue-green five-pointed star magic circle.

Even before the magic circle was fully formed, a destructive power was already faintly emanating from it.

"That's right, that's it. Let's do it!" The Bloody Baron, closed his eyes with a sense of relief. His long-standing fierce and gloomy face seemed to soften in the final moments of his long life. "From the way you stood in front of Helena, I could see that you truly cared about her, and that puts my mind at ease."

"Take good care of Helena, Strange!"

Looking at Baron facing death, even though the two didn't get along and they were once rivals, Xiwen's expression couldn't help but become solemn and heavy.

"May you rest in peace," Xiwen said softly.

Behind Xiwen, Helena, who had been silent all along, suddenly sighed.

"I forgive you, Baron," she said softly. "After all, if it weren't for that blow you struck me over nine hundred years ago, I might not have met Stephen, and I wouldn't have the happy life I have now."

Helena looked at Xiwen with a gentle expression.

Upon hearing Helena's words, Baron's closed eyes suddenly widened, and his expression became very excited.

All he could hear in his mind was the phrase "I forgive you," and those words shattered the deep-seated obsession within him.

The next moment, as if he had been freed, a soft white light enveloped Baron, and his transparent body became ethereal and indescribable.

Xiwen stopped what he was doing.

He had witnessed Helena's soul state at the moment she resolved her obsession, and understood Baron's current situation. He knew that after receiving Helena's forgiveness, Baron had finally resolved his obsession with becoming a ghost and gained the ability to continue!

Xiwen chuckled softly, and the blue five-pointed star in his hand suddenly changed direction, facing the Death's Projection that had circled behind the group, preparing to make some small moves.

A beam of azure flame, carrying the power to scorch the heavens and boil the seas, suddenly shot out from the pentagram magic circle!

Wrath of the Vault of Argento!

Death instinctively tried to dodge, but unbeknownst to him, a miniature Dimensional Gate silently opened behind him. From the golden halo of the Dimensional Gate emerged the tip of a magic wand, and simultaneously, the voice of the Young Wizard Xiwen came from behind the golden halo—

"Immobulus!"

Death's figure was frozen in place for a moment by this Immobulus.

In that instant, the blue-green flame beam completely enveloped the projection of Death!

The beam of fire swept through the air, enveloping the projection of Death, and then, without slowing down, pierced through the floor of the Great Hall, leaving a bottomless crater the size of a carriage in the ruins.

The projection of Death was completely melted into the flames.

"Have you eliminated him?" Helena looked at Xiwen and asked softly, somewhat uncertainly.

"Don't worry, the projection of Death has been completely annihilated, our mission is complete." Xiwen looked at the space before him where there were no more fluctuations of the Demon God's power, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he felt a moment of mental confusion and collapsed to the ground.

"What's wrong, Stephen?" Helena quickly caught Xiwen's light, transparent body and asked anxiously.

"It's nothing, I just used too many illegal spells this time, and I'm a little mentally exhausted," Xiwen said lazily, leaning against Helena.

"Now help me over there to see how Dumbledore and the others are doing."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Great Hall, the battle was clearly more intense.

In the Mirror Dimension, a large hole was blasted in the thick wall of Hogwarts Great Hall near the faculty seating area, behind which lay the Black Lake, now turbulent due to the battle between the two sides.

The starlight that filled the lake was shattered by the waves, and instead reflected the black mist that swept across half the sky. The incarnation of Death floated high in the air, sitting on a suspended Bone Throne.

The battle has now essentially become a one-on-one duel Dumbledore and the embodiment of Death. The other professors are all injured to varying degrees, and are being given simple treatment and bandaging by Professors Birley and Professor Slughorn as they lean against the ruins.

Furthermore, with Death now flying through the air, and the other professors not being very comfortable with aerial combat, even the uninjured professors, such as Professor Woflin and Professor Merrythought, chose to stand on the shore of the Black Lake and observe.

Moreover, given Dumbledore state when he's fully focused, it's highly unlikely that any other professors will need to intervene...