Grindelwald: "..."
Bang!
[ROAR!]
The sound of explosions and primal roars erupted simultaneously!
Like a mountain range collapsing, the Three-Headed Hellhound, the Bird of Death, and the World-Swallowing Serpent descended... from the earth and the sky, dense shadows loomed overhead!
It was like facing a tide from the depths of hell. The terrifying pressure caused several Acolytes to freeze in their tracks, unable to move a muscle!
0.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds...
Grindelwald's body began to twist and contract.
He stared at the encroaching claws, a flicker of joy surfacing in his eyes!
—I can escape!
He could use Apparition to flee before the attack landed!
However, at that exact moment.
"I don't recall... saying you could leave."
In the next instant.
Hum!
As if time itself had ground to a halt, Grindelwald discovered to his horror that his Apparition had stalled! His magic felt as though it had been seized by an invisible, gargantuan hand, suppressing the energy before it could trigger.
This... was this an Anti-Apparition Jinx?!
But how was that possible!
Such high-level, complex magic was usually reserved for permanent structures like Hogwarts, requiring vast amounts of time to carve into the foundations. Even if one were to cast it on-site, it required a lengthy incantation, usually performed by several wizards in tandem!
An instantaneous cast was absolutely impossible!!
Grindelwald looked up and met the gaze of the boy walking toward him with measured grace.
...Darkness surged, swallowing everything in the vicinity.
The only thing that remained was the figure wearing that pure white mask.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The unhurried footsteps drew closer. A bead of cold sweat rolled down Grindelwald's forehead; a chill permeated his entire body.
...He had been wrong.
Mr. Lamp wasn't "good-tempered." It was simply that he never gave anyone a second chance to offend or test him.
No. Perhaps he had been making mistakes for a very long time.
Clink.
A small glint fell from Grindelwald's clothes and rolled onto the ground, though he didn't notice it.
Stop.
The footsteps halted right in front of him.
"...If you can, please tell a man named Albus Dumbledore... he should be at Hogwarts."
Grindelwald lowered his eyes, his voice raspy as if delivering his final testament.
"I killed Ariana. I saw my own spell strike her."
Ethan leaned down, peering at the white-haired man before him. This "Chosen One" who, since birth, had enjoyed a meteoric rise—who had betrayed countless people and trampled over mountains of skeletons for his grand ambitions.
At this moment.
Not because he was losing on purpose, but because he truly felt the icy breath of death approaching. Beneath that calm exterior, a microscopic tremor of fear finally surfaced.
Along with a heavy, suffocating regret.
"Heh... hehehe..."
Laughter bubbled up from behind the white mask.
The corners of Ethan's mouth curled uncontrollably. Under Grindelwald's increasingly terrified gaze, Ethan began to shake with unstoppable laughter!
"Hahahaha...! Joy! Absolute joy!!"
Ethan suddenly reached out toward Grindelwald, making an exaggerated, theatrical gesture as if to shake his hand—even though the man was currently in no position to reciprocate.
Grindelwald's eyes went dull. He had never in his life encountered a human being this deranged.
...Could this be divine retribution?
A thought occurred to Grindelwald that had never crossed his mind before.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, First Generation Dark Lord, Mr. Gellert Grindelwald."
Ethan's grin widened to an impossible degree. Within the cobalt blue eyes behind the mask, a heterochromatic brilliance flashed.
"My name is Ethan Vincent. I am the sun that shall rise from the future—"
"And I shall be the nightmare of your every waking day."
Make sure to wait for me. In the future, I'm going to turn you into kindling for my 'Lamp'~
As the words fell.
Grindelwald's eyes snapped wide! In that instant, he felt a crushing, desperate certainty about one thing:
One day in the future, he would inevitably suffer this agonizing torment once again!!
"NO—!"
RIIIP!
With Grindelwald's pained roar, the Anti-Apparition Jinx lifted. With a sharp crack, he vanished from the spot.
Nothing remained but a pool of fresh blood.
"Oh dear," Ethan turned, playfully rapping his knuckles against the three-headed dog's snout in mock reproach. "We're supposed to be good boys. How could you resort to a sneak attack?"
[Gurgle.]
The hellhound licked its blood-stained claws and gave its tail a dissatisfied flick.
Just then.
Pale blue subtitles refreshed before Ethan's eyes:
[Congratulations! You have once again shifted a key historical node!]
[With patient and gentle words, you have made Gellert Grindelwald—the Dark Lord who sparked the first Wizarding War in Europe—feel a soul-deep repentance!]
[Soul Fusion increased by 0.6%!]
[New Magic Learned: Prophetic Smoke]
Whoosh!
A warm surge of power enveloped Ethan's entire body! His blood felt like carbonated water, bubbling with a pleasant, prickly sensation throughout his veins. His depleted magic reserves refilled instantly.
"Ah, that's the stuff."
Ethan squinted, stretching his limbs with a relaxed sigh.
A 0.6% increase in soul fusion in one go! That was more than his entire summer break and his two "visits" to the Ministry of Magic combined!
As expected, if I want to fuse my soul faster, I need to stir up more far-reaching incidents, Ethan thought happily.
If a few more Grindelwalds showed up, his fusion bar would be full in no time. As for the fact that he had twisted the history of the first Wizarding War... it didn't matter. He'd already twisted the Goblin Rebellions, and reality was still perfectly fine.
The timeline wasn't going to collapse.
Ethan: "Huh? Wait, what was I originally here to do? Right, Ravenclaw's Diadem... Whatever, I'll just grab it on the way."
With that, Ethan tossed the poor Helena Ravenclaw to the back of his mind and eagerly checked the system.
[Prophetic Smoke: A unique magical talent of Grindelwald. Allows the user to accurately manifest the foreseen future in the form of smoke.]
[By focusing on the question you wish to answer, the smoke will provide the solution.]
[Usable once per set period.]
Ethan's eyes lit up. He immediately thought of the remaining pieces of the Reaper's remains!
"If I use this magic, I can get more precise clues about the Reaper's remains!"
Unlike ordinary prophecy or divination, this was a hard-and-fast magical visual of the future. Could Professor Trelawney do that? Not a chance!
Ethan wanted to use it immediately, but his nerves twitched. He looked up and scanned his surroundings.
Dozens of Aurors had their wands raised, surrounding him in a tight circle! Each of them wore an expression as if they were preparing for a grand, tragic sacrifice.
Ethan: "..."
This scene felt a bit familiar, didn't it?
How was it that a dignified and righteous White Wizard like himself—whether in the modern era or the past—was constantly being hunted by Aurors?
He had just finished teaching that arrogant little cockatoo a lesson, for Merlin's sake!
Ethan was huffing with indignation, completely failing to realize that his "righteous act" had a more common name:
"A thief catching a thief."
Neither side was exactly the "good guy" here.
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