"Damn."
Newt scrambled desperately toward his wand.
But the ice was too slippery; in his leather shoes, he looked like he was tap dancing.
At this rate, someone was going to die.
Just then, a terrifying pressure emanated from the open case nearby.
The Erumpent's aroused frenzy was instantly replaced by fear.
But it was already sliding forward from inertia, unable to stop.
"Run!" Newt finally grabbed his wand and shouted.
Well, Jacob wanted to, but the ice was too slick.
Just as that crushing impact was about to land, a massive claw covered in black scales burst out from the open case beside them.
With a single grip, it seized the Erumpent.
Under the dragon's claw, which radiated an overwhelming aura, the Erumpent trembled uncontrollably.
The next moment, it was forcibly dragged into the case.
Newt Disapparated over a second too late. He snapped the case shut and stared at Jacob, the two of them wide-eyed.
The intense scene left both of them gasping for breath.
"Well done, Mr. Kowalski."
Newt admired Jacob's willingness to take risks. Jacob extended his hand in friendship.
"Just call me Jacob."
Newt took his hand.
Jacob knocked on the case and said to it, "Thank you, Mr. Big Claw."
Newt smiled knowingly.
The two exchanged a smile and made their way across the frozen lake, slipping with every step.
On the bridge above, a head cautiously peeked over, spying on them.
It was Tina, who had been looking for them.
In Tina's eyes, Newt was now a criminal, carrying a case full of dangerous magical creatures, openly using magic to cause chaos, and violating the laws of the Ministry of Magic.
"All right, that's two caught. One left."
They arrived beneath the bridge. Newt opened the case, intending to check on the magical creatures inside.
"Go on, jump in."
He urged Jacob to enter, while Tina continued watching them in secret.
Once Newt stepped inside as well, the case shut itself.
Tina quickly stepped out from behind the bridge pillar, rushed over, sat on the case, and snapped the latch shut.
After confirming both of them were locked inside, her expression was a mix of fear and resolve.
Jacob inside the case didn't notice anything, but Newt sensed something was wrong.
"Oh no." He looked toward the entrance and cried out.
"What?" Jacob clearly hadn't caught on yet.
Newt said worriedly, "We're trapped?"
"Trapped? You mean we've been locked in?" Jacob still couldn't grasp the situation.
In this situation, Newt had no choice but to remain shut inside.
He went to check on the Erumpent that had been forcibly dragged in by John.
He and Jacob arrived at the rocky area and saw John there, squinting at his palm.
"Is it all right?" Newt asked.
John used magic to flip through a black leather book in his hand. His palm was large enough that Newt and the others couldn't see what was written.
Hearing the question, John flicked his tail, pointing toward the plains.
Newt hurried over and saw the Erumpent that had been dragged in was completely unharmed.
It just looked shaken, clearly frightened.
Relieved, Newt sincerely said to John, "Thank you, Shadow of Destruction."
"No need," John replied casually, turning to the next page.
"Hey, Newt, you've got to see this."
Jacob's voice came from nearby, and Newt walked over.
The Nundu lay there completely motionless. Jacob asked worriedly, "What's wrong with it?"
"It looks like it's been frightened."
Newt hurried closer to examine it. If not for the faint sound of its breathing, he might have thought the Nundu was dead.
"It looks like it's been hit by a Petrification Spell?"
"What's that?"
"A spell that renders someone unable to move," Newt said, puzzled. "But there aren't any other wizards here."
Aside from himself, there wasn't a second wizard present.
Newt was confused about how the Nundu had been affected by a spell.
But the priority now was to deal with the problem.
He returned to his hut, picking and selecting from the plants there, then crushing a few pills together.
He made a simple bowl of green concoction.
"Help me lift its head. Be careful, the spikes on its neck are highly venomous. Use this."
He tossed a pair of dragon-hide gloves to Jacob.
After putting them on, Jacob strained to lift the Nundu's head, and the green liquid was poured into its mouth.
...
John continued flipping through the black leather book.
This book recorded the lifetime of wisdom of Herpo.
The records within remained just as valuable, even after nearly two thousand years.
"Some unpublished curses, and notes on bloodborne curses."
John studied the writing on the pages.
This book documented not only Horcruxes, but other curses as well.
Bloodborne curses were among them.
In his later years, Herpo changed direction. After discovering that immortality gained through a fragmented soul came with heavy burdens, he shifted his approach.
He sought a new path from ancient bloodborne curses, such as those afflicting vampires and werewolves.
His idea was to transfer the curse onto himself, then remove it again, using the process to reshape the body and preserve everlasting vitality.
Something like Nagini, who, even after decades, retained her youthful appearance.
By further incorporating time magic, he could remain perpetually at his peak, avoiding the erosion of external time.
Thus achieving a new form of immortality.
Without the emotional erosion caused by the Philosopher's Stone, and without the burden of a damaged soul.
It was, in a way, a brilliant idea. And a mad one.
In his later years, Herpo grew increasingly insane. He captured numerous vampires and werewolves, and even dissected a victim of a blood curse.
Everything he discovered was recorded.
This black leather book was named by Herpo as the Book of Dark Arts.
"He was close to succeeding… but in the end, he reached a dead end."
John focused on the section about the blood curse. Herpo had completely documented the entire process of a human transforming into a snake under the curse.
He deduced that the curse existed on the level of the soul, yet he had never managed to determine the stage of performing surgery on the soul.
Soul surgery was extremely dangerous, not only for the afflicted but for the caster as well.
That was why, when John performed such procedures, he would reinforce the patient's soul with soul potions.
To ensure the patient wouldn't be erased along with the curse.
Herpo had been limited by his era, and by working alone. Pure souls were something only a rare few could possess.
At that time, there were no Dementors to serve as a means of soul purification, so he had no choice but to abandon this line of research.
Instead, he turned his attention to other victims.
"Well, that works out nicely for me."
John chuckled. Everything in this book was a treasure.
There were still two bloodborne curses around him that needed solving, and this knowledge could also be applied to werewolves.
Not only was Herpo an exceptional Dark Wizard, he was also an equally outstanding master of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Ranked first among the world's top ten Dark Wizards, this villain's mastery of dark magic was naturally terrifying.
Even after all these years, it remained far ahead.
"Don't even think about influencing me. Did you forget what happened to the last Horcrux?"
There was a seductive influence emanating from the black leather book, but with a single offhand remark from John, it vanished.
As one of Herpo's Horcruxes, the book had intended to slowly erode the mind of its holder.
But from the moment it appeared, it had been utterly suppressed. Not only had it failed to exert any influence, it was constantly under threat instead.
It didn't even dare to try deceiving John.
It couldn't even manage deception, let alone temptation.
"This magic…"
The reason it was called the Book of Dark Arts was because it recorded even the most forbidden knowledge without reservation.
On matters of time and the soul, John saw within it a form of time magic found in the pyramids.
"By continuously reversing time on the body, one can ensure they never die in battle."
It was a powerful form of time magic, the same kind Herpo had placed on the human-faced serpent.
An ultimate form of restoration magic.
Other restorative spells merely repaired damage, but this one directly rewound an object to the state it was in before being damaged.
Of course, it was limited to things that could be seen and touched.
Time could wear away the soul, but it could not reverse it.
"Time Corridor."
An ouroboros mark appeared on John's left hand. He used a sharp dragon fang to tear open the scales there.
As the scales shattered, just before they hit the ground, they reversed as if time itself had rewound, returning to the dragon claw.
The scales were exactly the same, the wound completely healed, with no trace of injury.
Even the blood that had flowed out returned to his body.
As if nothing had ever happened.
"Use it carelessly, and it will leave permanent scars."
John closed the black leather book, while Newt had also finished treating the Nundu.
After recovering from the petrification, the Nundu let out a wary roar in John's direction before quickly retreating back to its territory.
Newt was puzzled by its reaction and turned to look at John.
He was just about to ask if John had done something when a sound came from the case.
Newt straightened his clothes and headed toward the exit.
Jacob had gotten along quite well with the magical creatures inside and waved at John.
"Goodbye, Shadow of the Apocalypse—uh, was it Destruction? Ah, I mean no disrespect."
John waved back. "Heh~ Good luck, Mr. Kowalski."
Jacob froze for a moment, confused by what John meant.
But he would soon understand.
…
New York was in an unusually chaotic state today.
Inside the hall of the Magical Congress, a massive dial displayed the threat level of magical exposure.
The needle had shifted from severe to emergency.
Ever since Grindelwald became active, the authority of the Statute of Secrecy had been under constant threat, putting wizards at risk of exposure.
But never had it been this serious.
____
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