The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 253 Evil Intent and Famine

"These zombies are not so easy to defeat. We need to find out their condition first."

Moriarty unleashed a wind-stealing technique, a cool breeze that blended into the air.

The air, rich in wind element, came into contact with the exposed bodies of the three zombies, and the wind element magic seeped into their skin, attempting to steal the dark element magic.

"Ding-dong~ Attempt to seize failed!"

"The Wind's Capture! The Wind's Capture! The Wind's Capture!"

Moriarty unleashed three consecutive attempts to seize, all of which failed.

"It seems that the path of acquiring dark elemental magic is blocked." Moriarty shook his head slightly. If he had learned dark elemental magic, perhaps he could find a way to break the magic effects of the Fallen Raven.

Diana raised her right hand, summoning a spring breeze that swept away the pebbles on the ground. She chanted a spell, and the pebbles gathered together, transforming into three great mountains.

As Diana waved her right hand, the mountain flew above the walking corpse's head.

"Wait," Moriarty interrupted Diana's spellcasting, "once the three mountains fall, they will surely die."

But we don't know if they are still human at heart.

If they are still human, we cannot disregard human life.

Moriarty pointed to the three zombies; even though they had become monsters, their human characteristics were still obvious.

"They were complete strangers to me, and I am not a soft-hearted person."

However, there are tens of thousands of wizards in this stadium, and it's only a matter of time before they become zombies.

Are we going to kill them all one by one?

Among them were foreign wizards, native wizards, Hogwarts students, and our friends.

We can't kill them; we need to find a solution at the root!

Moriarty preferred to believe that the walking dead were controlled rather than mutated.

Diana nodded. "Then, let me test their resistance."

Moriarty agreed, and Diana made a palm with her right hand, gently slicing the mountain into four pieces, turning it into four giant rocks.

Diana pointed a finger at the leading zombie and gently tapped it, sending a boulder hurtling down from above.

"Bang!"

The walking dead was sent flying as if it had been hit by a race car traveling at 100 km/h!

With a "thud," the walking corpse fell to the ground, letting out a muffled gurgling sound from its throat. It slowly got up, its body swaying unsteadily, taking one step and then stopping.

Diana's face lit up with joy, but the walking corpse started running again, as if he wasn't the one who had just been knocked away.

"Look at his forehead." Moriarty used a "flickering light" to shine on the walking corpse's forehead.

He said seriously, "There's a black circle between my eyebrows. If I remember correctly, it's a mark left by a black gold coin."

Diana hummed in agreement, gripped her elven staff tightly, and a beam of green light emerged from the tip of the staff, instantly illuminating the nearby night sky.

"Here, here, and here! Do you see that? It's all black smoke!"

Diana pointed her staff at the air three times, and three wisps of black smoke floated away, seemingly afraid of the green light.

"Natural energy can suppress dark elemental magic to some extent." Moriarty's eyes lit up, and he reached out to brush the black smoke, but he couldn't feel anything.

"Hmm, black smoke..." Moriarty mused, "and black gold coins, perhaps they are what caused the current situation."

A walking corpse ran up to Moriarty, opened its mouth and roared, so wide that its jaw dislocated.

In his eyes, Moriarty and Diana seemed like a feast, his saliva dripping incessantly as he slurped his tongue.

Moriarty didn't even bother to look, and raised his hand to unleash a leg-locking spell.

The walking corpse fell to the ground with a "thud," and Moriarty summoned a series of ghostly snakes that bound the walking corpse tightly.

"Physical resistance is maxed out, but magic resistance is pitifully weak."

Moriarty looked down at the walking dead and commented.

Diana breathed a sigh of relief: "This couldn't be better news for us."

She then speculated, "The low magic resistance might be related to the black smoke; the more black smoke absorbed, the stronger the magic resistance?"

"It's not impossible, the question is how they would absorb the black smoke?"

Moriarty frowned. The zombies' behavior, though bizarre, did not pose a deadly threat.

Judging from the Fallen Raven's magical strength, the Walking Dead's power will definitely be enhanced, and perhaps its magic resistance will be increased.

With his physical resistance maxed out, Moriarty had never seen anyone tear a serpent apart with their bare hands.

"Freeze Spell!"

Moriarty unleashed three beams of blue light, the spells striking the three walking corpses precisely, freezing them in place.

"Next, I need to absorb this black smoke. Gather the black gold coins and feed them to me."

Moriarty's words were startling, and Diana was terrified. She shook her head at Moriarty, her face filled with unease and worry.

"No, Moriarty," Diana's voice softened. "I know you're investigating the black smoke, but I can't let you take the risk."

Even if someone between us has to absorb the black smoke, that person will be me!

You know—as long as there are forests and plants nearby, as long as I'm standing on a piece of land, I'm safe.

Diana looked directly into Moriarty's eyes, her bright green pupils filled with determination.

"Don't be silly."

Moriarty ruffled Diana's golden curls and took her left hand, placing it on his chest.

Diana could feel Moriarty's strong, powerful heartbeat.

"As long as I'm by your side, I will never let you take any risks."

You can rest assured that I can do it; you know I can.

Moriarty's words calmed Diana down. "What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"The bone crows in the sky don't seem to be attacking us at the moment; I guess they're more of a symbol."

Moriarty raised his eyelids to look at the fallen ravens circling in the air, and then said, "I've calculated the time, and there are still two minutes until the next wizard becomes a walking corpse."

In other words, we have two minutes to find the connection between the black smoke, the black coins, and the walking dead.

I need someone to build a defense for me, and as you said, you are invincible in nature, so you are the perfect person for that.

"Alright, I'll listen to you," Diana shrugged helplessly, adding, "Be very careful."

Moriarty nodded solemnly. Dark elemental magic was different from other magic, and he had made thorough preparations to absorb the black smoke.

"Occidental brain surgery!"

"Holy prayer!"

"Bubble Blessing!"

The three protective spells were activated simultaneously, and Moriarty swung his Slytherin staff, creating a strong wind.

A strong wind blew up black smoke, which surged toward Moriarty from all directions.

Wisps of black smoke entered Moriarty's mouth and nose, and drowsiness came over him, but was swept away by the holy prayer. Moriarty heard the brainwashing voice again.

The brain-blocking technique blocked the brainwashing sounds, and a mournful melody, like sad weeping in a cemetery, aroused Moriarty's evil thoughts.

All conscience, morality, and happiness... were overturned by all sorts of terrible evil thoughts.

If malice is a monster, then Moriarty is now a combination of multiple monsters.

His aura became disordered and mottled, small bumps appeared on his skin, and his flesh swelled up.

Now Diana knows why those wizards turned into monsters.

Suddenly, Moriarty gave her a wicked smile, then his eyes turned blood red!

"Moriarty..." Diana tensed up. Moriarty now seemed to be repeating the process of a wizard turning into a walking corpse.

Could it be that Moriarty will become a walking corpse?!

Diana gripped her staff tightly, ready to awaken Moriarty at any moment.

In Moriarty's mind, the system issued a notification: "Ding~ Dark elemental magic detected. Host is rewarded with 10 exploration draws!"

A glint flashed in Moriarty's eyes, and his mind cleared briefly.

"So it was evil intent!"

The reason why the wizard turned into a walking corpse has been found: it was evil.

The dark power and negative emotions of the fallen ravens stirred the evil thoughts in the wizards.

Having found the cause, Moriarty immediately activated the Alchemy Matrix. His clarity of mind lasted only a fleeting moment before he was once again consumed by malice.

Two sharp horns grew from his head, and the horns quickly coiled together to form a crown.

His head became round and big, like a schoolbag.

Diana was so frightened that tears streamed down her face. Trembling, she picked up her staff and tried to wake Moriarty.

"Ugh—hoo!"

Moriarty let out a roar and opened his mouth wide to bite Diana.

Diana's eyes widened in shock, but the fear in them was instantly replaced by resolve.

She closed her eyes, released her staff, wrapped her arms around Moriarty's neck, tilted her head back, and kissed him with her red lips without hesitation.

"If you're hungry, eat me first."

To everyone's surprise, Moriarty's teeth didn't fall; instead, he gently took Diana's lips into his mouth and began to suck on them.

The two shared a deep, solid kiss. After they separated, Diana looked at Moriarty with delight. Her man had returned to normal, his eyes bright, clear, and full of life.

"Through layers of fog and endless darkness, I've found out," Moriarty said to Diana with a smile. "The reasons why wizards become walking corpses are twofold: evil and famine."

(End of this chapter)