Dana lay back on the sofa, slumping comfortably for a moment.
Sally Avery was dead. Once he mastered the technique to bring the dead back, he'd have another chance to torment him.
John Flint was also dead—killed by infighting among his own allies. Now, he worked for Dana as an Inferius. But that punishment wasn't nearly enough. Like Sally Avery, more was yet to come.
As for Donna Avery, her fate was perhaps Dana's most satisfying revenge. Was that child innocent? Heh—imprisoned, with his mother dying helpless in bed. Isn't that innocence in the most tragic form?
Cornelius Fudge—foolish and spineless. Let him continue as a puppet. That was the beauty of the Wizarding World: saving someone's life here was far easier than in the Muggle world.
Olymbos Avery? His fate was sealed. The Fire Serpent Party had laid trap after trap in Cairo. His pitiful two hundred thousand Galleons would soon be drained completely. And when they were, he would have to watch the Avery family—everything he'd built—vanish into thin air. Now that would be a show worth watching.
Then there was Barty Crouch. Just as he was about to crush his competitors and rise as Minister for Magic, his downfall loomed. Azkaban would be his final resting place.
Gai Avery, though—Dana still had no trace of him. Where had he gone? No matter. He could wait. Once Lord Voldemort returned, Gai Avery would surely reappear.
But wait… would Voldemort even return? Could he still cause chaos after resurrection?
Peter Pettigrew was already dead.
Barty Crouch Jr. would soon receive the Dementor's Kiss once Barty Crouch Sr. was imprisoned.
The pure-blood families? They had already been swindled into pauperdom by Dana.
Tsk… troublesome.
Why not resurrect Voldemort himself? Then Gai Avery would definitely show up. As Dumbledore's spy, wasn't his entire value tied to being near Voldemort?
Of course, once Gai Avery was found, Voldemort would no longer be needed. After all, Dana had taken Gai's place precisely because of the mess Voldemort had made.
So, all the Death Eaters had to be dealt with—one by one.
Dana stroked his chin.
His revenge was far from over.
Now, what about Dumbledore? While the old man hadn't directly harmed him, he had encouraged Old Avery to sacrifice a lesser Avery family member to stall Voldemort. All in the name of the "greater good"?
And the Avar Coven—the very ones who made his family a target of John Flint.
That hidden organization made Dana uneasy.
What were they truly after? They didn't care about Merlin's Secret Treasure—or any of the other ancient artifacts within?
Dana pulled out the tapestry, stroking its fuzzy surface carefully.
Maybe he should take a probing step. Something like "throwing a stone to ask the way" or "luring the snake out of its hole."
"Someone!" Dana called, now fully in the role of the Earl.
A servant entered promptly. "My Lord Earl!"
"Tell Mr. Borgin to put this tapestry on the black market. Say a member of the Avery family found it hidden in Donna Avery's room during a ransack of the estate."
"Yes, my Lord!"
The bait had been cast. Now it was a matter of waiting for a bite.
With the day's work done, Dana returned to his true bedroom.
He activated the Spandim Gate. With one step, he entered the second floor of Merlin's Secret Treasure.
He had gained the ability to see two minutes into the future. Each day, he tested whether he could enter the third floor, because—according to the notes—the hallmark of third-stage bloodline awakening was precognition.
Yet, every time, the system denied him. His bloodline awakening level wasn't high enough. Frustrating, especially when he could clearly see the future.
Still, Azkaban had trained his patience. Day by day, without fail, he tried. And now… he felt he was getting close.
He walked past countless shimmering gerebato magic crystals and stopped at the massive mithril door. Placing his hand against its surface, a familiar warmth surged through him.
Dana waited, tense—like pulling a rare card in a gacha game from his past life.
A gold or red card meant bliss.
Blue skies and clouds? Curses and regret.
But today was clearly Dana's lucky day.
[Bloodline awakening level met. Permission to enter the third floor.]
The mithril door opened rapidly, revealing the third floor of Merlin's Secret Treasure.
It wasn't just a room—it was an enormous underground cavern. A three-meter-wide stone bridge led outward, flanked by endless abysses on both sides. At the far end stood a platform that seemed to hover without support.
Dana's heart raced.
Merlin's final treasure—at last!
Could it be powerful magic? Or perhaps magic strong enough to rewrite the entire world?
Crossing the bridge quickly, he stepped onto the platform. But it was… empty.
Except for a massive clamshell.
Without hesitation, Dana approached and opened it.
A strong scent of magic wafted out.
That was it. Just… scent.
Nothing inside.
Dana stood frozen.
Clearly, something powerful had once been in that clam shell. The lingering magical aura proved it.
Damn it. Was this what pulling a useless SSR felt like?
Then, a tingling sensation struck his palm. He looked down and saw a piece of parchment:
[To learn what was in the clam shell, go to the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries and pass through the door to Avalon Island!]
Dana frowned. What was this now?
Another tingle. Another parchment appeared:
[Ordinary wizards will die entering the archway, but you won't! Go quickly—before it's too late!]
"What do you mean, too late?" Dana muttered. His golden finger had never acted so cryptically before.
Then came a third note:
[If you still want to see your mother again, go immediately!]
Dana tossed the parchment aside and activated the Spandim Gate.
On the other side was the Department of Mysteries. He'd mapped it out when infiltrating the Ministry's temporary prison.
His golden finger had never steered him wrong.
Even if it was a trap, he had to go. If there was a chance to bring his mother back, he would never forgive himself for missing it.
Revenge, ambition—they were nothing compared to her.
By this time, the Department of Mysteries had closed. No Unspeakables were present.
Dana found himself in the large, black circular room. Twelve identical iron doors surrounded him—each without labels.
When someone exited one of the rooms, the twelve doors would rotate randomly. It was nearly impossible to know which room was which without a guide.
But Dana didn't need one.
He saw the magical echoes on each door as clearly as he saw Hogwarts' magical currents.
"Death Chamber," he muttered.
Rushing in, Dana descended into the stone amphitheater. At its center stood the ancient, tattered archway. The black curtain billowed without wind, like it was beckoning him forward.
Dana inhaled deeply, leaped over the final steps, and vanished behind the veil.
Ten minutes later, the chamber door burst open.
A woman wrapped in gray rags rushed in, followed by a white-haired young man in a deep purple robe. The young man had the lower body of a feline beast.
He raised his hand—blue magic burst forward, slowing the ragged woman's approach to the archway.
"Do you even know what you're doing?" he shouted.
The woman cackled, eyes wild behind her filthy wrappings.
"Of course I do," she hissed.
She dodged his attacks with unnatural grace, gliding like a Dementor.
"You won't let me live in peace, so why should I let you? You'll never return to Avalon! Want to save your mother? Dream on!"
She suddenly split into three clones—gray smoke forms rushing toward the archway.
The white-haired man hesitated—he couldn't cast large-scale spells. He carefully targeted them, managing to destroy two clones.
But the last one made it.
"Ah hahahaha, I win this round! Emrys, before I die, we'll still have lots of fun!"
The gray smoke hit the archway with a dull thud.
The ancient gate cracked in two. The black curtain detached, flew into the air, and scattered like starlight across the chamber.
The young man—Emrys—let out a furious roar.
His right arm extended, lightning exploding from his palm.
Blue and purple bolts tore through the chamber, shattering stone steps and pillars.
When the magic subsided, the woman was gone.
So was the portal.
So was Dana.
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