I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 460 The Last Inheritor

"In short, the Imperial Academy of Chang'an is the greatest magic academy in the world!"

Zhang Xiaolin tilted her head slightly, her lips curled into a flirtatious smile, her face radiating pride.

Her boastful manner drew disdain from the other wizards.

Mr. Basil gave a wry smile.

Mr. Winston's expression also held a hint of amusement.

As for Sirius—he couldn't be bothered to argue with the little girl.

Most of the wizards present were graduates of the three major magic academies in Europe.

As a world-renowned magic school.

The eleven organizations registered with the federation seem to be getting along well, and some even have no contact with each other at all.

But the competition behind the scenes is fierce.

For example, the International Wizarding Potions Masters Tournament and the World Alchemy Masters Tournament, which are held every four years.

However, in recent years, the world has become increasingly chaotic, and these competitions have been postponed.

In the past, it was not uncommon for major magic academies to fight each other during competitions.

Even physical fights occur from time to time.

Twenty years ago, the Jixia Academy and the Japanese Magic Institute (Ryukyu) got into a fight. The reason was that during the Potions Masters Tournament, the Magic Institute's contestants used a potion recipe that was modified from an ancient recipe from the Jixia Academy. So the two sides fought over it. One side thought that modification was the same as originality, while the other side thought, "Modify my ass! You replaced several herbs that were unique to the Ming Dynasty with yours—that's not what you call modification!"

Then they started fighting.

Incidentally, the Hogwarts team led by Professor Dumbledore also participated in the competition that year. It was around that time that the old professor met the teacher of Chang'an Imperial Academy. Or rather, although they knew each other before, they only became acquainted after that competition.

After all, the old master back then could take on ten opponents at once, overwhelming several professors from the School of Magic and the headmaster of the Jixia Academy, killing them all. The two-hundred-year-old man could still have a ruddy complexion and swear a lot, delivering critical blows to the enemy with both his hands and mouth at the same time. Such a headmaster naturally attracted Dumbledore's attention, and was very much to his liking.

"If you have the chance, you should really go and see the Imperial Academy. You'll definitely fall in love with it," Miss Zhang said confidently.

The others nodded with very strange expressions.

It must be said that Ms. Zhang's remarks, which disparaged other schools, were quite provocative. However, in this dangerous environment, in this abyss where the sun never shines, her words actually eased everyone's tense nerves a little, at least preventing the taut string from snapping at this moment.

The eerie reality took on a sliver of life.

"Goddess Diana, that sounds really impressive," Mr. Basil immediately interjected, changing the subject.

Lin is a straightforward person; she says whatever she thinks and never cares whether her words will bother others.

He understands this deeply.

"Come to think of it, I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before." Winston suddenly frowned, looking thoughtful.

"Didn't you just say she was the Muggle god?" Mr. Basil said.

“No—it’s somewhere else,” Winston said. “I’d also like to hear Ms. Rozier, or Mr. Grindelwald, mention the name Diana, I think it was mentioned by some former member of the Mughal Party.”

"Legend has it that the goddess Diana can heal all wounds in the world, and even if someone is left with only one breath, as long as they are still alive, the goddess can heal them."

There was a temple in Oceania, which seems to be in present-day New Zealand, and that temple was specifically used to worship the goddess.

"New Zealand?" Ms. Zhang blinked. "Our previous location wasn't far from New Zealand."

"Could it be that we are now in New Zealand?" Mr. Basil said.

"etc--"

Suddenly, a low growl broke the silence, interrupting the three's conversation.

"New Zealand? Goddess? Diana?"

The next second, Sirius immediately looked up, his eyes fixed on Zhang Xiaolin.

He remembered.

Stewart Island, Potions Contest, Shatti, Selwyn, Diana.

It was that poor woman.

So—is the Zhang Xiaolin in front of us actually the baby girl in Lily's arms back then?

A hint of surprise flashed in Sirius's gray eyes.

He had long forgotten that memory.

Especially during his years in Azkaban, his memories of the past, which were not particularly important, became somewhat hazy.

Moreover—Diana at that time looked completely different from the Zhang in front of her. That Diana had a very standard Western appearance, and at that time she was extremely thin and had a sallow complexion.

Zhang, on the other hand, is more like a person from the Ming Dynasty, full of energy and confidence, making it hard to associate her with that Diana.

"So, I've already missed my chance with the Outer Gods?"

Sirius was shocked.

I can't believe that I had come into contact with the Outer Gods so early on.

All the mysteries have been solved.

The so-called inherited power of the goddess Diana is actually the magic of the Outer Gods.

After the Tower of Gods collapsed in Australia, the divine power dissipated and was inherited by a lucky wizard or Muggle.

Afterwards, her descendants inherited this power.

Unknown Muggles regarded them as gods.

"Wait—no—no!"

Suddenly Sirius started rubbing his forehead again.

That Diana is long dead.

But what about the so-called Diana's sacred tree in front of us?

Was this virtual realm created by a previous inheritor?

Or is it just a coincidence of having the same name?

Or is there some other reason?

A chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to his brain.

Faced with the vast unknown, the more he knew, the more terrified he became.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" Winston looked at him.

"No—" Sirius shook his head, "I was just thinking about something unrelated."

He did not intend to tell Zhang the truth. If the Master said nothing, then he must have his reasons.

Perhaps, the Master wanted to sever Zhang's ties with his cursed fate, which is why he didn't tell him the truth.

But then Sirius remembered the Joint Heritage Preservation Committee, and Dumbledore sent a request for assistance to the Imperial Academy in Chang'an.

The Master selected Zhang from among the crowd.

The two principals must have had a deeper meaning; perhaps they had already guessed the connection between Miss Zhang and the Outer God.

So you specifically brought her here?

In the marble courtyard filled with fallen leaves and corpses, before the stone statue of a god, the bishop bowed his head in trepidation, murmuring an ancient prayer that only he understood.

The god, dressed in hemp clothing, showed neither sorrow nor joy, his arms outstretched, seemingly both loving and indifferent as he gazed upon everything.

Sirius calmed himself down.

Dumbledore and the Master's arrangements were no longer his to know; the matter at hand was far more important.

Then, he turned his gaze to the bishop.

"Ask your God," he said. "Have her open this illusory realm immediately!"

His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

But Sirius Black was met with a furious rebuke.

The bishop, however, simply knelt on the ground, letting out a series of dry, strange laughs, "Heh heh."

"A virtual realm?" he said.

On the ground, barely noticeable vines slowly climbed up his body like water snakes.

"You want to get out?"

He slowly raised his head; his eyes were no longer visible, only a grayish-white. "You can't get out."

"The key to the Void Realm is in the hands of our Lord."

"And you—"

"It is impossible to defeat my lord."

"Mortals cannot kill gods, not even you wizards!"

Just then, something unexpected happened. A hand reached out from the vines on both sides of the 'cliff,' and then a burly giant, a man with a thorny hood, squeezed out.

He roared like a wild beast and leaped onto the platform.

A silent, powerful aura swept over us.

He then charged straight at the wizards, who, already on guard, raised their hands to activate their armor spells.

But they underestimated the beast; with a single punch, the thorny man shattered the armor spells supporting the wizards.

Sirius raised an eyebrow upon seeing this; such brute strength was comparable to that of a true giant.

The moment the Ironclad Curse was destroyed, the others launched an attack on him.

Beams of magical light shot from the tips of the wizards' wands, hurtling towards the man.

Flames, lightning, frost—various magical elements intertwined in the air to create a magnificent spectacle.

It must be said that this man's skin was probably tougher than a dragon's hide. He actually withstood so many spells and continued to throw punches at the wizards. Although his attacks were blocked, his incredible fighting power still terrified the wizards.

Of course, the giant was destined to fail—no matter how valiant he was, he couldn't defeat the many wizards present.

But just when everyone thought they were going to win...

The vines on the "rock wall" began to wriggle again, and then two giants emerged one after another.

In addition—more creatures, covered in hair, with the bodies of monkeys, but topped with all sorts of bizarre heads, have also emerged.

"It's the Deadborn!" Sirius roared.

He then immediately waved his wand, unleashing a series of restraining spells that struck the unborn.

"Lin—" Mr. Basil roared.

Zhang Xiaolin reacted immediately, "Guardian Angel!"

The nimble black bird spread its wings and soared into the sky, like a sharp sword beginning to slay those born from the dead.

"Divide into groups, each of you deal with one giant," Sirius commanded.

Faced with the sudden appearance of more giants and undead, the wizards reacted swiftly. Following Sirius's instructions, they paired up and each dealt with one giant.

Winston and Mr. Basil together could defeat a giant.

Miss Zhang needs to focus on dealing with those dead.

Faced with the crisis, the wizards disregarded magical laws and unleashed all sorts of dark magic.

Mr. Winston used the Withering spell, an extremely evil dark magic that could instantly bring a living being to the end of its life, aging it by hundreds of years, making it as withered as rotten wood.

The dark green spell struck a giant that Mr. Basil had attracted, and the giant's muscular body deflated as if it had lost its strength. His muscle tissue disappeared at a visible rate, and when the muscles in his thighs withered, his legs were no longer able to support his body, which was more than ten feet long.

It was destined to collapse.

Sirius Black used the Corruption Charm that Miss Granger had once used. The green spell corroded the giant's limbs, but when he prepared to cast the Corruption Charm on the giant's thorny head, he discovered that the hideous thorny helmet had a powerful regenerative ability. It should be noted that wounds caused by the Corruption Charm would leave behind powerful dark magic, and even if the injured were sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Disability and treated by professional doctors, it would still take several weeks to completely remove the dark magic.

The Thorn Hood's regenerative abilities clearly exceeded Sirius's expectations.

The last giant was strangled by the wizard Craig Yaxley.

The Yaxley family, one of the ancient Twenty-Eight Pureblood Holy Families, primarily resides in Denmark and Sweden. There is also a branch in England, but its numbers are quite small.

Craig graduated from Durmstrang Academy, one of the three major magic academies in Europe, and was an outstanding student. He is only twenty-four years old this year.

He used to be a staunch supporter of Vice President Swann Rozier, but now—he supports that man more—Grindelwald.

"Fierce Fire—"

Craig immediately drew his wand and unleashed that terrible fire magic.

Fiery Spell – the most powerful fire magic besides the Ancient Flame of the Ancient Blaze.

In an instant, the surging flames transformed into hungry wolves that tore at the giant's limbs.

They brutally set the giants ablaze, and the wolves, not content with that, rolled around and set the other two giants on fire.

The giant was engulfed in flames, letting out a mournful roar that shook the ground.

Immediately afterwards, the Fiery Blaze expanded again, and scorching waves of heat began to attack all the monsters around them.

The flames illuminated the surroundings.

Sirius's eyes reflected the firelight, and then he raised his wand, "Fiercefire."

The ferocious monsters around them, and the monsters that had been dormant on the walls, all came back to life.

They began to attack them, like a purple sea, threatening to engulf them all.

Sirius had no choice but to use the Fiery Spell as well.

Then Winston, Mr. Basil, and several other wizards unleashed Fiendfire.

In an instant, the Fiery Blaze, which had been several hungry wolves, coalesced into one, and then a roar echoed throughout the entire canyon.

"roar!"

The hungry wolves vanished, and a giant dragon with a wingspan of over ten feet emerged from the flames.

It flapped its wings and flew high, and wherever it passed, the monsters spontaneously combusted.

The dragon breathed out its breath, and the scorching golden flames poured onto the surrounding rock walls.

Just as Sirius had guessed.

After the flames burned through the vines, the sound of crashing waves immediately echoed into the canyon.

The Milky Way in the sky unfolds slowly as the flames burn, like a painting.

"All curses have ended!!!"

"All curses have ended!!!"

"Ten Thousand Curses—"

The other wizards simply raised a golden curtain to ensure that the Fiery Blaze wouldn't burn them.

After all, as the duration of Fiendfire increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for wizards to control it, and most wizards who use this spell will choose to Apparate away immediately after casting Fiendfire.

To ensure that they would not become ashes under the raging fire.

"Lead the fire dragon to the bottom of the sea!" Sirius roared.

With the combined magic of the group, the terrifying fire dragon was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Ordinary water cannot extinguish the raging fire, unless—it is the sea.

Winston and Mr. Basil exchanged a glance, then nodded to each other and immediately made their choice. Using magic as bait, they summoned a fire dragon that burned all the monsters around them to ashes, before flicking their wands towards the sea.

"roar--"

The dragon formed from Fiery Blaze roared over their heads and then plunged straight into the sea.

"boom!!!"

The moment it came into contact with the seawater, a tremendous roar erupted, like a thunderclap.

Then countless plumes of steam rose up, bringing the surroundings into the celestial realm.

"Huff—" Sirius exhaled heavily.

Even he couldn't use this spell freely.

But he had seen Irving use something similar.

Those blue and white flames were amazing; they could only ignite the enemy and had no effect on their own people.

The others, facing the sea, also took a deep breath.

The humid air calmed them down a little.

"Lin—"

Fire could kill these ordinary monsters, but not the Unborn. Mr. Basil immediately waved his wand and went to help Miss Zhang. He knew that ordinary wizards could not completely kill these creatures, but they could restrain and imprison them.

The wizards present were all participants in the war to exterminate the Deadborn, so they were quite adept at dealing with them. Of course, this was also related to the fact that there weren't many Deadborn in the cave.

The other wizards cast spells to restrict the movements of the unborn. Zhang Xiaolin was responsible for killing them. Although the process was slow, her guardian spirit could not always harm the unborn; there was a certain skill involved.

Without anyone to teach her, she had to figure it out on her own, and each attempt brought her closer to success.

Time seemed to slow down at this moment, and every second was filled with tension and anticipation.

It took the wizards a good ten minutes to finally kill the last undead. Exhausted but victorious smiles appeared on their faces; the sense of accomplishment made all their efforts worthwhile.

Even before this, Sirius had already guessed that the enemy's constant release of these monsters, which couldn't cause them any real harm, was actually a way to deplete their magic power. The appearance of the Deathborn further confirmed his guess.

Look at the wizards around me; they all look exhausted and are covered in sweat.

If some other terrifying monster were to appear, there could be casualties.

Sirius felt a growing urge to back out.

My gaze unconsciously drifted across the courtyard and landed on the sacred tree.

The massive tree trunks intertwined, the interwoven human figures.

The woman in his arms resembled a flower bud, completely naked, her arms tightly wrapped around him, lying on her side in the trunk of a tree.

For a fleeting moment, Sirius noticed that the goddess's withered body seemed to have regained some life, and she looked younger than before.

Sirius was startled by his own thought and quickly opened his eyes wide to examine it carefully.

At that moment—the goddess's eyes blinked vividly.

Those dark green eyes reflected a terrifying aura.

A smile appeared on his moss-covered face.

"Watch out—" Sirius shouted.

The previously relaxed crowd instantly tensed up.

Everyone noticed the changes in the goddess within the sacred tree.

The goddess named Diana.

(End of this chapter)