Death, Whose Word Was Law

William gripped his longsword and swung it toward Tom's neck, but just as he was about to make contact, the red-haired man swiftly clung to the blade.

The Goblin sword, sharp and unstoppable, capable of piercing even the thick scales of a fire dragon with a single strike, now seemed like a wooden stick hitting steel.

Forget about breaking through his defenses, William's hand was throbbing with pain from the impact.

The red-haired creature, unharmed, seized the opportunity to spread and engulf William's hand.

He suddenly raised his right hand, and his wand unleashed a spell, scattering light in all directions, temporarily blocking the red-haired creature that was entangled with him.

But as if they were alive, they lashed out again, exploding in mid-air.

Faced with such a persistent and entrenched raccoon, William had no choice but to abandon Tom, vanish instantly, and reappear in the distance.

The long red whip lost its target and lashed out onto the floor, creating a deep chasm several meters long. The bookshelf swayed precariously.

The old man took a step forward, his steps heavy and hesitant, and all the bookshelves instantly stabilized.

"Be careful not to damage these treasures; many of these books are out of print." He looked at William and chuckled softly.

"Don't waste your time. Once the process begins, no one can stop it, not even me."

William looked at the old man with a complicated expression, and for a moment he even seemed lost in thought.

He found it hard to connect the mad old man in Paris and Venice with the mastermind behind it all.

It's like suddenly pointing at a kid on the street and saying he's the world's strongest wizard... it's kind of darkly humorous.

The old man chuckled as he looked at the young wizard who was so brazenly lost in thought.

However, she was also very tolerant, and did not mock Tom as she had.

However, upon suddenly noticing the familiar rope wrapped around William's neck, and although he couldn't see the protective charm beneath it, his expression immediately turned grim.

That tassel was something he had woven himself years ago, a protective charm he had received from Death, which he then placed around his daughter's neck.

Such an important personal item, and this kid is carrying it with him right now!

The Stark had seemed so agreeable just moments before now became increasingly an eyesore to him, but he managed to suppress his anger and refrain from making a move.

William didn't know why the old man, who had been so gentle just moments before, had suddenly become so irritable.

Is he/she seriously ill?

Without much thought, he asked directly:

"Did you build the Chamber of Secrets Sanctuary to lure Tom to United States in search of Prehistoric Mysteries?"

It was also you who secretly instructed Arya to attack Paris;

Then, by going with the flow, Martell discovered the Goblet of Fire, thus bringing the water dragon to life?

In the end, it was you who released the North Sea Kraken to attack Gregorovitch?

The old man stood with his hands behind his back, not saying a word, but an air of smugness emanated from him.

He practically single-handedly shaped the History of Magic over the past two hundred years.

Even the fact that Gregorovitch found the Elder Wand and then deliberately leaked it to himself... was his doing.

This led to Grindelwald stealing the Elder Wand, which was ultimately obtained by Dumbledore in the Battle of the Century.

Over the past century, he has done so much and written so much history with his own hands.

William looked at the old man and asked curiously:

"Let the Deathly Hallows appear in the world, so that more wizards will become saints and kill each other."

This helps Death collect powerful souls, I can understand that.

I can understand scheming to seduce Tom and turn him into a body resurrected from the Death Reaper.

But what I don't understand is...

William paused, then continued:

"Back then, Grindelwald and Dumbledore wanted to learn the Prehistoric Mysteries, and soon after, rumors of Egypt's Beautiful Queen emerged."

Then, by a twist of fate, Grindelwald obtained Vivian's soul.

"I'm afraid you deliberately spread this news to Grindelwald, didn't you?"

William guessed again:

"And now, Vivian and Morgan are fighting each other again, is that something you deliberately orchestrated?"

And why didn't you stop Grindelwald from going to the Underworld?

Regardless of who is in charge of Vivian and Morgan, this pair of seemingly fake sisters, are, they are all fighting amongst themselves.

Letting Grindelwald go to the Underworld... could not possibly be Death's order.

The old man in front of me seems to be carrying out the Death's resurrection plan while also doing some strange things in secret.

It makes it impossible for you to tell whether he's good or evil.

The old man finally spoke, but instead of answering directly, he said, "What I want to do is none of your business, Stark."

But Death is coming soon.

You only came to kill Tom; you're not ready to face him.

Since you've failed, I advise you to leave immediately.

He smiled slightly and reminded him:

"When Death arrives, he may not kill ordinary people, but he will definitely not let go of the Deathly Hallows you possess."

William gave the old man a long look, but did not leave.

He didn't bring the Deathly Hallows with him today; he was just using the Golden Compass to find the Ark of the Covenant.

Before parting, he gave it to Babbling to take to the Underworld to help Vivian retrieve the trident.

He arrived at the Vatican only to find that the Ark of the Covenant was already in the old man's hands, and Tom once again typed "gg".

William gazed at the only surviving descendant of Gaunt and finally advised:

Have you ever thought that gods are gods, different from humans, and shouldn't exist in this world?

If he were to descend upon this place, many people might die.

Gaunt said expressionlessly, "A two-hundred-year-old plan, how could it be persuaded by a few words of compassion from you, Stark?"

William sighed, not expecting his verbal sparring to succeed.

Talk-no-jutsu is a form of ninjutsu, while he practices magic; they are different systems.

Both remained silent for a long time before the old man suddenly asked:

"You think that without me, Death will never come to this world again?"

"You overestimate Merlin and the Four Founders ' magic; or rather, you underestimate Death."

"The Deathly Hallows have been circulating in the world for two thousand years."

Even without me, Death would still come again; I merely accelerated the process.

"So many reasons." William rolled his eyes at the old man. Having no intention of taking action, he could only vent his frustration verbally, muttering:

"I can't beat you, but I'll take my revenge on your daughter sooner or later."

"What did you say?!" Gaunt was old, but he was not deaf at all.

Just as he was about to teach this brat a lesson, Tom's heart, hidden beneath the red hair, began to change.

The red hair began to change, growing a hand, followed by arms, shoulders, head, torso, legs, and feet.

A towering, ghostly skeleton appeared.

He floated there, clinging to Tom's body.

Tom's body, like a pure white sponge absorbing water, slowly dissolved into the skull.

Tom's soul and heart were gradually drained by Red Hair.

Finally, Tom's eyes suddenly became unfocused, and then his whole body suddenly emitted a purple-gold light, turning his eyes golden and his aura powerful.

Death has completely taken over Tom's body.

Tom Riddle is completely dead... as a mere tool.

The swaying red feathers slowly fell, eventually disappearing into thin air.

The man looked up at the sky, opened his arms, and took a deep breath.

He sighed softly:

"Humanity a thousand years from now!"

At that moment, the door to the archives was forced open. The commotion from William's fight with Red Hair had alerted dozens of soldiers.

Despite its small size, the Vatican is still a country with its own army.

The Vatican's military is divided into the Switzerland Guard and the Vatican Gendarmerie.

Why the Switzerland Guard?

Because in the 16th century, Charles V of the Habsburg Dynasty led his army to massacre the city of Rome.

All the other members of the Papal Guard fled, but the Switzerland held firm, shedding their last drop of blood to protect the Pope.

From then on, the Papal Guard only recruited Switzerland.

The group of soldiers that appeared were the Switzerland Guard. They were still dressed in classic attire, wearing feathered helmets, red, yellow and blue striped uniforms, and carrying long-handled melee weapons.

Of course, cold weapons were no longer sufficient to deal with such emergencies, so they were also equipped with pistols.

The man's expression was calm. He seemed to sense something, and with his hands behind his back, he walked towards the door.

But as soon as his left foot touched the stone step and his right foot lifted, a volley of bullets came hurtling towards him.

Death made no move; the bullets whizzed past him like a flood hitting a reef.

He looked at the soldiers on his left and said, "Stop breathing."

The soldiers, as if their necks were being strangled, suddenly collapsed to the ground, suffocating.

The remaining soldiers retreated in fear.

The man found it amusing and said in a hoarse voice, "Fighting amongst themselves."

All the surviving soldiers took their spears and thrust them violently into their comrades' chests.

Words must be lawful...

William was utterly terrified, not because of the cruelty of Death, but because his hand, uncontrollably, gripped the wand, wanting to kill someone.

William thought he was under Imperius Curse, but even using Occlumency, he couldn't shake the thought.

He recalled the Prehistoric Mysteries Vivian had taught him, and barely managed to suppress this urge to "act according to the law."

The Death, with one hand behind his back, looked down and let out a slightly surprised "Eh?"

Surprisingly, besides Gaunt, there were others who resisted his "orders".

However, the man didn't linger; something more important was attracting his attention.

A young figure appeared out of nowhere in the square of the largest Christianity church named after Saint Peter.

The figure ascended step by step into the air, reaching the top of the church, where it stood with its hands behind its back, seemingly gazing at the world.

Moments later, the Spear of Longinus, the Deathly Hallows hidden in Saint Peter's Basilica, appeared in Death's hands.

More believers, along with many priests and bishops, rushed to the square, all staring at the blasphemer standing atop the church.

The Pope also appeared; he had just been wiping the Hallows that killed Jesus, but unexpectedly, it flew away.

The believers all stared at the young man, creating an uproar and shouting for him to get down.

Death looked at the ants and spoke again, his voice not loud, but it reached everyone's ears.

"Suicide!"

In an instant, everyone in the Vatican raised any weapons they could find and began striking each other on the head.

The entire nation's population lay on the ground, lifeless, including... the Pope.

The noise disappeared, and everything became quiet.

Gaunt then appeared.

Death looked at the wizard who had served him for two hundred years and said, "Where is that young man?"

"He ran away, probably hiding back in the United Kingdom," Gaunt said.

Death remained noncommittal, simply stating, "Release Morgan from the Underworld."

The old man nodded and disappeared.

Death looked eastward, his gaze falling on the distant ancient city of Jerusalem.

There, several Deathly Hallows are also hidden.

Of course, the largest number still belongs to... United Kingdom!

In that... Merlin Memorial Hall.