great-warnovel Chapter 96 An Invitation to Death
Chapter 96 An Invitation to Death
Chapter 96 An Invitation to Death
In the heart of Albania's forests, where the ever-burning green flames blaze, a powerful wizard who can traverse the layers of deathly fire can discover the secret realm hidden behind magic.
It was originally a Muggle church, but now it serves as Voldemort's lair. The statue of Jesus has been toppled and replaced by a sculpture of two giant snakes coiled and devouring each other.
Green flames burned in the braziers on both sides, turning the entire church a vibrant green.
Various skeletons filled every corner: a bench pieced together from leg bones, a chandelier assembled from skulls, a pulpit built from spines and ribs, and even the window frames were made of slender arm bones.
These skeletons are not large, and if their bone age can be determined, it can be seen that they were all children of eleven or twelve years old.
Of course, it wasn't just humans; fairies, magical creatures—it seemed—and all possible magical offspring were killed.
It was used to fill the church.
In the center of the church, a dry well stands out abruptly in the room, its eerie glow carrying far more radiation than lethal, shining up from the wellhead.
The men in black robes lay prostrate on the side of the road, trembling with fear, silently enduring the damage from the radiation, not daring to move an inch.
After an unknown amount of time, Voldemort's figure slowly flew up from the skeleton and landed on the chair made of bones.
"So, you've become this wretched after losing the basilisk?" His voice was light and airy, like death blowing a black veil, gently caressing everyone's face.
"This year, we lost a dear friend. Although Lucius was a good-for-nothing, with his help, we were always able to reap a large number of cubs."
He stood up, like a wandering ghost, and floated to the prostrate people, bowing down: "Little Barty, my son who has always been so proud of me, what promises did you make to me before?"
Lying at the very front was none other than Barty Crouch Jr., the Chief of the Law Enforcement Division of Malfoyburg. But at this moment, he resembled a drowning wild dog, all his former glamour gone. Whether from radiation or fear and shame, his face was contorted and grotesque, with large beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks.
Voldemort continued, "You said twice! You said that even without Lucius, you could bring back twice as many children as before!"
"But what about now? Fewer than ten people have been sent into the well."
"Father, there are still some children on their way, and we've found more—"
But before Barty could finish speaking, Voldemort's Crucifixion Curse struck him, and he immediately collapsed to the ground, convulsing.
"The new student enrollment is over. Now you're collecting those kids from the Muggle community who are said to have caused extraordinary phenomena."
It's nothing but the product of rumors spread by foolish Muggles who fear magic as much as wizards fear me." His expression was indifferent.
"Muggles are worthless, throwing them into a well is a waste, you know that."
Barty struggled to his feet and knelt again. Even though the effects of the Cruciatus Curse were still lingering and he was trembling like a leaf, he still managed to keep himself kneeling with all his might: "I'm sorry—Father, I've let you down."
Behind him, the other Death Eaters were so frightened they didn't dare to breathe. Even Barty the Younger, his most beloved son, suffered the same torment. One can imagine how furious his master was.
"If you hadn't been so foolish as to let Lockhart kidnap the child, if you hadn't gone back to Malfoy Castle to kill people and ended up being besieged by the Hogwarts people."
Voldemort said coldly, "The Basilisk wouldn't have been seriously injured, and we wouldn't have lost so many men. Even if Dumbledore came out of seclusion again and stopped me, you wouldn't have been forced into such a rout by the Order of the Phoenix."
"Master, I also wanted to spread your fame and let fear penetrate deeper into people's hearts—" Little Barty said weakly.
"Foolish!" Voldemort cursed, intensifying the Crucifixion Curse. Barty the Younger writhed and crawled on the ground, screaming incessantly like a writhing worm.
"Fear is merely a dewdrop adorning the flower of death; it may make us stronger, but it cannot grant us immortality!"
Just then, the church doors, pieced together from skeletons, were pushed open, and Snape, with his ever-present gloomy face, slowly walked in, followed by the weakened Bellatrix. One of her hands and legs had been shattered by Professor Flitwick during the last attack on Hogwarts, and now they had been reconstructed with dark magic, but not made of flesh and blood, but rather like glass, or smoky crystal covered with black threads, evil yet beautiful.
"Master, the Basilisk and Bellatrix's injuries have been healed." Snape stood beside Voldemort with his head bowed.
"My poor Bella, she was so badly injured last time, and this time she almost died at Moody's hands because of Barty's stupidity." Voldemort lovingly stroked Bella's face, causing her to gasp for breath. Even though her husband Rodolphus was kneeling behind Barty, no one cared.
A huge snake's shadow coiled outside the church, hissing. The scattered light and shadows were projected into the church through the stained glass windows by the firelight outside.
"Bang!" Voldemort suddenly smashed a skull next to him.
"Dumbledore—that old, immortal ghoul—" he muttered to himself.
"He clearly had one foot in death, so how could he stand before me again, fully recovered? No! The stench of death emanating from him is still overwhelming! He seems more like the dead than a corpse!"
Voldemort wasn't actually that angry about Barty and his friends' failure. Even if he captured fewer children, he could still use magical creatures, aberrant creatures, and goblins to replace them.
But the fact that Dumbledore was standing in front of him again made him somewhat defensive. He had chosen to seek other paths because he did not want to become like Dumbledore, but now Dumbledore even looked better than him!
"Perhaps it's a sapphire? They've figured out a way to turn sapphire into a Philosopher's Stone?" Snape offered his opinion.
"It could also be a unicorn. They found an extinct unicorn and used its blood to prolong Dumbledore's life," said the kneeling Carol siblings.
"Perhaps Dumbledore also has a well?" Bella's words startled everyone present, who looked at the deep well behind Voldemort that emitted a ghostly light. The bones inside were more than all the bones in the entire church combined.
"I need someone to help me uncover Dumbledore's secrets," Voldemort said softly.
Little Barty immediately crawled up to him and kissed his feet: "Father! Please leave it to me! This time I will definitely not let you down!"
Voldemort lowered his head, looking at his devout son: "I hope you will keep your word."
He then turned to look at the Carlo siblings behind him: "Lockhart—this man has caused us a lot of trouble. Go kill him, along with the basilisk."
The Carol siblings immediately bowed their heads: "Master, the other party is currently teaching at Hogwarts, and we are afraid that relying on ourselves—"
Voldemort glanced at the two men, thought for a moment, and realized that relying on just two useless people was probably not enough.
"Moreover, without Mundungus's location, it would be very difficult for us to find the exact whereabouts of Hogwarts."
He finally remembered that the last time he was able to raid Hogwarts, it was because he captured Mundungus, the traitor, and was able to break the powerful Secrecy Charm by following the contact information on him.
"Let me think, I remember—"
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and two small skeletons flew from various corners of the church, piecing them together.
Then he gently brushed over, and the bones seemed to come alive, forming two ghostly little girls. They stood side by side, expressionless, staring at the Carol siblings with the eyes of the dead. Endless curses flowed from Voldemort's wand like poison, seeping into the bones. "Lockhart's two sisters, I never thought these useless bones would come in handy. I suppose he would be more than willing to risk his life for them." Voldemort seemed to have imagined some pleasant scene, and a lewd smile appeared on his face.
"Remember, don't let Lockhart die too easily. I want him to suffer terribly, so that even when I'm far away in Albania, I can hear people talking about how he died."
"Oh, right, there's also that Hermione Granger. Her Brilliant Stone magic is quite interesting. It's a pity our people couldn't capture her back then. Let's kill her too."
He turned to Bella and Snape: "As for you, take the rest of the men and hunt down other magical creatures for me, whether they are magical beasts or goblins. Don't disappoint me like Barty the Impaler!"