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A huge snake head slowly rose from the water. A pair of clear yellow eyes fixed on Dudley's back as it approached in complete silence.
When it was less than two yards from Dudley's back, it opened its bloody mouth. Two fangs reflected a chilling light.
The snake head suddenly struck.
Unfortunately, it hit empty air.
Almost at the same instant the snake head attacked, Dudley dodged, perfectly avoiding the fatal strike.
The basilisk shook its head, seeming very dissatisfied with the effect of this attack. It turned toward Dudley again and charged once more.
Its eyes could only exert their fatal effect through direct eye contact. So as long as he did not make eye contact, he would be fine.
Dudley wiped a hand across his waist, grabbing several potions. With a forceful throw, the yellow potion spread out and instantly enveloped the basilisk's body.
Unfortunately, the basilisk's magic resistance was especially strong. It was only delayed for a moment before returning to normal.
In theory, a basilisk's skin was stronger than a dragon's.
Dudley took advantage of this opportunity and pulled out the ball at his waist.
"Go."
The red-and-white ball opened, and countless roosters flapped out from within, panicked and disoriented.
The roosters flew around chaotically, crowing everywhere.
After hearing their calls, the basilisk's expression became slightly pained. Its thick tail suddenly swept toward the roosters, and in a few passes, it killed them all.
As expected, ordinary roosters would not work.
Dudley had expected as much. He used Shadow Step and instantly appeared at the basilisk's tail, grabbing it in both arms.
Against snake-like creatures, aside from striking seven inches below the head, there was another way to subdue one: grab its tail and shake it hard three times.
It was said this could shake apart a snake's bones and thus subdue it.
However, this was only theoretical. Doing it in practice was extremely difficult.
It required enormous strength and proper technique.
But what Dudley lacked least was strength, and he also had the LV2 Joint-Breaking Grapple he had just drawn.
This skill claimed that as long as something had bones, it could dislocate them. Having their bones dislocated happened to be exactly what reptilian creatures like snakes feared most.
Dudley gripped the basilisk's tail tightly, focused strength into both arms, and clamped down hard on a bone near the basilisk's tail. Then, using a strange stance, he violently swung it. After that came a shake, then another swing, followed by another shake.
After several back-and-forth swings, the basilisk, which had originally been struggling violently, trembled all over. Its body went limp and collapsed on the ground.
The bones in its body had been shaken apart.
Without the support of bones, relying on muscle alone made it impossible to move.
The pitiful basilisk had not even managed to use its instant-death gaze before Dudley subdued it with frightening speed.
That easy?
A thousand-year-old basilisk was this easy to deal with?
'Wait.'
Dudley seemed to have discovered the key problem.
It was indeed a basilisk, but its size seemed wrong. Compared to the snakeskin Dudley had collected, it was far too small.
Could it be...
Clap, clap, clap.
Crisp applause rang out, followed by a male voice.
"As expected of the most outstanding student at Hogwarts. Even when I was in your year, I was not as powerful as you."
"Correct. As you can see, that is another basilisk."
"One I recently bred."
The reason Hagrid's roosters had gone missing instead of being killed was now clear.
The surrounding air twisted, and a figure slowly emerged. It was Audrina, who had been missing for quite some time.
She wore a glittering diadem on her head.
That was Ravenclaw's Diadem. Or rather, another of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
At this moment, although her body was female, her voice was male, giving off an eerie feeling, neither masculine nor feminine.
And that was not all. A layer of shadow seemed to cover Audrina's pimple-covered face, the shadow of a male face.
The two faces seemed to overlap, neither male nor female.
From the hazy shadow, Dudley could vaguely make out a handsome young man.
That was presumably Voldemort's appearance from the period when he made the Horcrux.
When Dudley's gaze swept over the dress on Audrina's body, a strange thought suddenly popped into his mind.
'Does this count as Voldemort in drag?'
Thinking this, Dudley suddenly pulled out an old-fashioned camera and aimed it at Audrina, or Voldemort, snapping several shots.
"What are you doing?"
Audrina, or rather Voldemort, was confused. After all, he did not recognize this kind of device.
"Nothing."
He was taking photographs. No matter how you looked at it, Voldemort in drag deserved commemorative photos.
Dudley put the camera into his pocket and changed the subject.
"Just an unimportant little gadget."
Dudley looked at Voldemort and said, "There is one thing I am curious about."
"What is it?" Audrina, or rather Voldemort, asked with great courtesy and patience.
"Since you can ignore her will and control her body, why did you not flee? If you focused on hiding, no one could find you."
"Flee? Are you joking?" Audrina, or rather Voldemort, extended one hand and asked in return, "Why should I flee?"
"This is Hogwarts. It is full of highly skilled professors."
Dudley said this as if it were perfectly natural.
"A mere handful of professors isn't worth mentioning. The most irritating fellow is already gone."
Both his tone and manner showed that he did not take the professors seriously at all.
But he did have the strength to back it up. After all, he was the famous Dark Lord Voldemort.
And the "most irritating fellow" he mentioned was undoubtedly Dumbledore.
In Voldemort's eyes, in all of Hogwarts, or perhaps the entire wizarding world, probably only Dumbledore was worthy of being considered his opponent.
As for the others, whether Aurors or the so-called Ministry of Magic, they were not worth mentioning to him.
This was Voldemort, the arrogant Dark Lord.
Even though what stood before Dudley was only one of his Horcruxes, in aura alone, it was already stronger than any professor Dudley had ever seen.
The original story had not stated when Ravenclaw's Diadem was made into a Horcrux. But because it had been placed in the Room of Requirement, if it had not been made during Tom's time as a student, then it had probably been placed there when he returned to Hogwarts to seek a teaching position.
Senior Tom from this period was definitely stronger than the diary version.
"You deliberately led me here. For what purpose, Senior?"
"It seems you know something. That makes sense. After all, you are also a Slytherin, and you can speak Parseltongue." Audrina, or rather Voldemort, spoke very frankly. "I only wanted to meet you, to see how excellent a Slytherin junior from a later generation could be. During this time, the thing I have heard about most is you."
"You have seen me now. How do you feel?"
Dudley continued chatting casually, but his mind remained highly alert.
The person opposite him was far more dangerous than the basilisk.
"More impressive than I imagined."
Audrina, or rather Voldemort, praised him freely. Then he said something Dudley had not expected.
"How about it? Submit to me. Become my follower. I will grant you everything you desire."
Voldemort offered Dudley an olive branch.
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