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SKREEE!
The phoenix’s cry carried an indescribable power.
It sounded like a mournful elegy that made "Voldemort" face in the sky twist in agony.
Phoenixes were sacred creatures of the highest order, natural enemies of curses and dark magic.
And this was no ordinary phoenix.
It was the manifestation of an ancient bloodline power—the very origin of the phoenix itself.
FWOOSH—
The mont the curse tried to descend upon Tom, his crimson flas erased it completely.
The fiery phoenix shot into the sky and occupied half of it, but made no move to attack. It rely hovered there nacingly, watching its prey.
anwhile, far above the clouds, a pair of dragon eyes also stared down at the battlefield, ready at any mont to unleash catastrophic destruction.
Tom flashed a provocative grin. "There’s nothing you can do to stop ."
This damned thing seriously couldn’t tell what situation it was in anymore.
The only reason he hadn’t acted personally was because he didn’t want to hurt Astoria. The curse and Astoria were still intertwined as one.
"Let’s see how much longer you can hold on."
Tom ignored the curse and glanced sideways.
Inside the manor, only three greengrass phantoms remained.
Each ti the lingering golden light from one woman fully faded away, the next would charge forward, ensuring every last bit of power was used to its fullest.
When the second-to-last phantom dissolved into golden starlight, nearly seventy percent of the storm clouds had vanished.
The giant face could no longer maintain its form.
Only those eyes remained, glaring downward in bitter unwillingness.
Before the final phantom flew into the sky, however, she turned back and looked at the still-frozen Astoria.
Then she lowered her head and t Lady Greengrass’s gaze.
Just that single glance sent a jolt through Lady Greengrass’s body. She trembled violently as she spoke.
"Livia? Is it you?... Is it really you, Livia?"
Livia Greengrass.
Lady Greengrass’s younger sister.
She had been the cursed one of her generation, dying young before even finishing her studies at Hogwarts after the blood curse erupted within her.
"Sis, take care of yourself and girls."
The soft whisper drifted into Lady Greengrass’s ears.
In an instant, the elegant and powerful matriarch completely broke down in tears.
anwhile, Livia charged into the sky without hesitation, shattering those final unwilling eyes completely apart before disappearing herself.
Crack!
Astoria’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
Her sapphire-blue pupils were now tinged with gold.
Sharp cracking sounds echoed from the top-floor bedroom as the ice sealing her shattered inch by inch like fragile glass.
The girl floated silently in the air before turning around and stepping straight through the broken window, walking across empty space itself.
And within those re three steps, her appearance changed drastically.
Her body grew taller in an instant, transforming from a petite and adorable young girl into a cold, imposing beauty.
At the sa ti, the blue tint in her hair rapidly faded away, returning to pure white.
Her hair lengthened until it extended beyond her height, shimring with rainbow-colored light beneath the sun.
"Astoria!"
Tear stains still covered Lady Greengrass’s face as she stared at her daughter in disbelief.
If not for those familiar features, she would never have recognized her.
The relentless shocks one after another finally pushed Lady Greengrass past her limit.
Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
Astoria’s pupils remained unfocused, giving no response at all.
Yet her body seed to move on instinct.
She brought her hands together before her chest, condensing a sphere of light filled with terrifying cold and overwhelming magical power, then violently thrust it forward.
The orb shot toward the remnants of the curse at incredible speed.
A horrifying wave of freezing energy exploded across the sky.
The sky froze solid, as though ti itself had co to a sudden halt.
Then, tiny snowflakes drifted down gently, but within monts they escalated into a raging blizzard.
"GREENGRASS...!"
The curse’s final resentnt twisted into one last miserable scream before vanishing into nothingness at last.
Light blossod from Astoria’s body, and that final trace of discordant aura disappeared along with it.
The girl lowered her head.
After destroying the threat, an overwhelming pull guided her attention imdiately toward Tom, and she slowly began walking through the air toward him.
Halfway there, however, her body suddenly swayed.
She nearly lost balance and fell from the sky.
Tom instantly flashed forward and caught her.
"Tom..."
Astoria chanically murmured his na.
Then her body rapidly shrank back down to its original height.
"I had... a very long dream..."
The mont she finished speaking, her head tilted to the side and she fainted as well.
"..."
Looking at the devastated manor and the two unconscious Greengrasses, even Tom felt montarily at a loss.
He first carried Astoria back to her room, then sent Lady Greengrass to her bedroom before returning to the girl’s side and carefully examining her body from top to bottom.
The process had strayed sowhat from his expectations, but the result was undeniably good.
There was no trace of the blood curse left inside Astoria.
Everything within her remained stable.
Tom even tried injecting a small amount of foreign magic into her body, only for it to be purified almost instantly by the effects of her Pure Body.
At the very least, he could now confirm Astoria herself was completely safe.
As for whether the blood curse would still be inherited by her descendants...
Tom was about eighty percent certain the answer was no.
The remaining twenty percent could only be proven through practice.
Since Astoria had exhausted herself and fallen into deep sleep, Tom left her undisturbed and stepped outside, summoning back the three house-elves who had been temporarily driven away earlier to clean up the manor.
The timid house-elves had witnessed the entire battle from afar.
Now they stood before Tom trembling uncontrollably.
"What are you shaking for?" Tom snorted. "If the manor isn’t cleaned up within three hours, I’ll let you experience being frozen solid yourselves."
The mont the threat left his mouth, the three house-elves bolted into action like their backsides had been set on fire.
"What a bunch of masochists..."
Tom curled his lip before turning and walking into his bedroom.
...
"Rowena... those eyes just now... do you think they belonged to Slytherin?"
As his consciousness sank into the study space, Ravenclaw appeared before him.
Those eyes... had looked far too similar to Voldemort’s.
Naturally, the first suspect Tom thought of was Salazar Slytherin.
Ravenclaw hesitated for a mont before nodding lightly.
"That disregard for human life... and those eyes. He really does resemble Salazar. But Salazar would never have tortured an entire family like this. He was never that far gone."
She paused briefly, "At least, the blood curse itself shouldn’t be his work either. The structure of the magic is completely different from his style."
"Of course, it’s possible he made so kind of breakthrough in his research after my death and his magical style changed drastically, but I think that possibility is very small."
"More importantly..." She frowned faintly. "He had no reason to do sothing like this. And Salazar was never that kind of person. If he had been, the four of us would never have built Hogwarts together."
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