Chapter 632: Grindelwald: Death Is But the Next Great Adventure
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"You really are good at clinging to life."
Andros looked up at the sky and couldn’t help but say it out loud.
That last spell had hit Voldemort squarely. The man looked utterly miserable now. Half his body had been blown apart, one eye gone, green-tinged blood pouring down like it cost nothing.
And yet, despite all that, Voldemort’s face showed nothing but shock. Not a trace of pain.
Worse, Andros could see something nauseating. At the torn edges of his body, pale, writhing flesh was already knitting itself back together.
Grindelwald knew plenty of dark magic, sure, but he had never used it to modify his own body. Something this grotesque? Andros was seeing it for the first time.
Voldemort glared at him with pure hatred.
"We’ll meet again. Sun-chasers, was it? I’ll remember you."
The moment he finished speaking, his right arm exploded along with the wand in his hand. His entire body dissolved into a mass of black mist and shot off into the distance at a speed far beyond anything normal.
Andros stayed where he was, watching the dark cloud disappear beyond the horizon. He made no move to pursue.
Partly because he couldn’t catch up.
More importantly, the plan was to let him escape.
And he had just gained something new. Right now, chasing a beaten enemy wasn’t the priority. Feeling the divine power within him was.
After cutting off the study space shared connection, Andros found a nearby spot and settled down, focusing on that strange sensation guided by divinity.
What he didn’t know was that inside the study space, Grindelwald was already questioning his entire existence.
Hold on. You didn’t even do anything special. You just beat up a scrub. How did you suddenly get stronger?
How does that even make any sense?!
...
..
Back at Greengrass Manor, Tom was just as surprised.
This really was a bit outrageous. Even after eating an entire Golden Apple, it had taken him quite a while to grasp the mysteries of the divine power within it. Andros, on the other hand, had begun using it almost immediately.
No wonder he was Tom’s "cheat." At this rate, Andros becoming a Legend felt practically guaranteed. Reaching the level of a Wizard King didn’t even seem out of reach.
"Tom, I want to die once." Inside the study space, Grindelwald grabbed Tom and refused to let go, his expression deadly serious.
"A life without dying once is incomplete. Maybe I’ll gain something from touching death. Um... Just like Albus said—death is but the next great adventure... I always believed him."
Tom: "..."
Tom was genuinely speechless.
"Why are you in such a rush, old man? Who said you can only fuse divine power when you’re rebuilding your body? I’m about to help Astoria remove her blood curse. If it works, do you think I wouldn’t let you try it later?"
Only after Grindelwald thought that through did Tom finally manage to free himself.
...
The massive Greengrass castle only housed three people.
Tom tucked Astoria in, smoothing the corner of her blanket, then slipped out of the girl’s bedroom without a sound. He went up another floor and arrived at Lady Greengrass’s study.
Seeing him enter, his future mother-in-law gave a small wave. The teapot on the table floated up and poured him a cup of rich black tea.
"Tom, what do you think? Are the chances good?" Lady Greengrass asked, concern clear in her voice.
The boy took a sip, then nodded lightly. "Don’t worry. Even if this plan doesn’t work, it won’t harm Astoria in any way. At the very least, it’ll strengthen her body and magic."
"That’s good to hear. If you need anything, just tell me. If we don’t have it at home, I’ll find it elsewhere."
She relaxed a little. She didn’t understand the details of what Tom was planning, but in the field of magic, there weren’t many in the world qualified to question him.
Tom smiled. "No need. Everything I’ll use is already prepared. I just need to make some adjustments to the manor’s protective wards in a bit."
After a few more words, he stood and left to inspect the grounds, modifying the magic wards.
Watching his hurried figure disappear, Lady Greengrass couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Daphne and Astoria were truly fortunate. To meet someone as extraordinary as Tom at such a young age... not only was the family’s future secure, even the curse that had plagued the Greengrass line for generations might finally be gone.
Losing both daughters at once stung a little, but it was worth it.
...
..
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, on the shores of the Black Lake—
The chunks of land and buildings Tom had lifted into the air earlier had already settled back into place.
Inside the shrine of Mahoutokoro, Kamio sat leisurely sipping tea. A faint fragrance of green tea drifted up with the steam.
She lounged with one leg crossed over the other, utterly at ease. In contrast, the headmaster of the school, Akihiko Kamiya, stood nearby, leaning forward slightly with a wry smile.
"Miss, your alliance with Hogwarts today has left Fontaine... quite dissatisfied."
"Dissatisfied with what?" Kamio didn’t even look up. "Actually, I don’t care why. Does it have anything to do with me?"
She blew lightly on her cup, took a sip, and smiled in contentment.
She was in a good mood today. The match results didn’t matter much. What mattered was Daphne inviting her to tonight’s celebration banquet. Even the other young witches had treated her warmly.
"Miss..." Akihiko’s smile grew more strained. "You may not care about Fontaine, but I have to. So does the Ministry of Magic here. You know, fifty years ago was when we had the closest ties with the American magical world."
"And that was fifty years ago." The little fox’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, still casual and detached. "What does America have now? Just a few times more wizards because of their population, right?"
"If they threaten you, just tell me. I’ll have the children pay them a visit."
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Akihiko’s forehead.
"Th-that won’t be necessary."
He didn’t know Kamio’s true identity, but he knew her status among the Yokai was frighteningly high. The two who had escorted her to the school were ancient beings, the kind people would call ancestors.
That alone was enough to make him tread carefully.
If Kamio really stirred up those old Yokai and sent them to America, there would be no turning back.
"If it’s not necessary, then why are you here? To waste my time?"
The smile vanished from the little fox’s face in an instant. Her soft features turned cold.
"And who do you think you are, giving me orders?" she said coldly. "Get out. Try this again, and you’ll be dead."
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