Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 995 The soul is gone
Grimson clutched his chest, stumbling and fleeing desperately through the woods, the air thick with the stench of blood.

It hurts so much...

He had forgotten when he last suffered such a serious injury.

His large ears twitched slightly, and he could clearly hear the deathly footsteps rapidly approaching from behind.

Grimson stopped and rested against a large tree for a couple of seconds before his body suddenly swayed!
"Crack!"

A crisp cracking sound rang out in the forest, and Braun immediately stopped, frowning slightly.

—Apparition?
Did we let him get away?
Unfortunately, the wizard's anti-apparition spell was useless against fairies, otherwise Abigail should have set up spells around them on the way here...

However, now that we know what this guy looks like and his name, and that there are traces of his life all over the cabin, such as shed hair and clothes he wore...

If we bring these back, it shouldn't be difficult to find his location.

On his journey to find the Dream Weaver, he also received news from other puppets, learning how Vader had accurately located the fleeing Lyra through divination.

While feeling awe at his master's ever-increasing abilities, Braun also quietly adjusted his own plans.

He stood there pondering for a while, just as he was about to go back to meet up with Abigail and the cloak, when he suddenly stopped.

The surrounding forest... something's not right.

"Screw rustle..."

Strange noises came from all directions, and suddenly a sharp howl was heard!

Braun whirled around and saw a squirrel with red eyes leap towards him like lightning, its claws slashing towards what should have been Braun's eyeballs!
With a flick of his arm, a long, thin, and sharp military dagger suddenly emerged from his arm, and with a casual slash, he split the swooping squirrel in two.

From the shadows came the low growls and panting of animals.

Braun turned around and saw several wolves baring their fangs, crouching low to surround him, saliva dripping from their mouths.

Dozens of startled birds formed a chaotic and deadly cloud that hovered overhead.

Further away, there was even a white-tailed deer that they had seen before. It lowered its head, pointed its sharp antlers at Braun, and pawed at the ground with its hooves as it charged at him!

Grimson did not take the opportunity to escape.

In his view, this place was his home, and it was the intruders who should flee in disarray or be killed, not him!

He couldn't bear to hand over his little house to the enemy—it contained the "treasure" he had accumulated throughout his life!
The old goblin hid in the treetops not far away, casually shooting a silver beam at a sleeping black bear. His eyes showed no pity for the animals, only endless malice towards Braun.

"Die... all of you die! You bunch of wizards' lackeys..."

Before he could finish his mutterings, Grimson gaped in astonishment.

The man in the woods was like a highly efficient and ruthless killing machine; Grimson could barely see his movements.

But he could see—the wolf's throat was bleeding; the birds were flying around as if they had run into an invisible meat grinder; the stag was gutted as soon as it got close, its huge body crashing to the ground, blood and entrails gushing out together!
The fearless black bear roared and charged forward. Braun didn't even dodge; instead, he charged in the opposite direction, and the bear's head flew off.

The fairy trembled all over, fear instantly gripping his mind. For a moment, he couldn't even move, just staring blankly as the man's face and body were splattered with warm blood. He expressionlessly cut down the last eagle that swooped down, then suddenly turned his head to "look" at Grimson.

Because his face had completely "melted," his eyes disappeared, but the feeling of being stared at was incredibly clear.

Grimson felt a chill run down his spine, and only one thought occupied his mind—

Escape! We must escape immediately...

"call out!"

A crossbow bolt shot through the air, piercing Grimson's thigh and interrupting his thoughts.

The fairy screamed and fell straight down from the tree, crashing with a thud onto the ground covered with thick fallen leaves.

"Crack!"

The withered branches snapped, and the god of death was walking towards him!
Grimson closed his eyes and hurriedly recited a string of difficult words, desperately trying to visualize a small cave on the other side of the mountain in his mind.

It was far enough away that he could shake off that horrible guy! But his voice trembled violently, every syllable vibrating, and the images in his mind were always fragmented and unable to take shape, because they were always shattered by the sudden appearance of Braun covered in blood!
He was so terrified that he couldn't think clearly about anything, and even the magic within him felt heavy, like it was entangled in mud, holding him firmly in place.

Grimson let out a gasp that was almost a sob, and tried to Apparate again. He spun around quickly on the spot, making a soft "plop" sound, and then fell to the ground in a disheveled state, feeling dizzy.

He failed to move himself and only managed to tear off half of his sleeve.

Grimson slumped onto the rock, his chest heaving violently, watching in horror as the inhuman Braun approached him. Suddenly, he roared:
"You're not human! You're not even human! What are you? Why are you working for those wizards? What have they given you in return?"

The only answer he received was the sound of Braun's approaching footsteps and those emotionless eyes that shone terrifyingly bright even in the shadows.

Grimson tried to escape, but his legs were too weak to stand. He shrieked as he crawled backward, bracing himself with his hands on the ground:
"It's unfair! This world is unfair to fairies! It's unfair to all of us non-human races!"

"Wizards have oppressed us for hundreds! Thousands of years! They've stolen every sword and chalice forged by the goblins! The mountains of Galleons piled up in Gringotts are managed by us goblins for the wizards! Yet we're not even allowed to ask for a single wand!"

"I took it myself, what's wrong with that?!"

"And centaurs! Mermaids! House-elves! We're all being persecuted, is that fair?! Do you think something like you will be an exception?"

He stared at the gleaming blade on Braun's arm, desperately grasping at the last straw:
"Wizards are the scourge of the magical world! Only by eradicating them completely can the rest of us races have a better life! You're not human either, so why are you helping them? Join us! We can create a world together that belongs to true magical beings!"

However, Braun paid no heed to his shouts, his mind only focused on Wied's instructions—

You only have three chances.

"Remember, you must finish this quickly!"

He suddenly closed in!

“Wait, don’t kill me!” Grimson screamed. “I know countless secrets! The Purifiers’, Prometheus’, and that ancient being in the forest…”

Braun's hand gripped Grimson's head like an iron clamp, pressing him against the moss-covered rock. Upon hearing this, the force in his hand couldn't help but pause slightly.

Grimson seized the opportunity and suddenly reached out to touch Braun's head, his fingertips flashing with silver light!
“Puff!”

Startled, Braun exerted force with his hand, and a muffled thud echoed from the rock, the terrifying sound of a skull shattering.

The fairy's final pleas for mercy and curses abruptly ceased. Her body convulsed violently a few times before going completely limp and motionless.

Braun, expressionless, cleanly and decisively stabbed the fairy twice more in the heart and throat, confirming that the fairy was completely dead, before releasing his grip and standing up.

Suddenly, a gasp of cold air came from behind me.

Braun turned around and saw Abigail, cloaked, staring at him in horror, stammering, "You...your face...your face..."

The man's face was completely unrecognizable; it was black and looked like it had been corroded by sulfuric acid, and it emitted a terrible stench.

Abigail couldn't understand why he could still move even in this state.

Even if he is not human... even if he is a puppet... can a puppet make those powerful spells ineffective?

The magical world has many powerful and ancient magical artifacts, yet they too were destroyed by evil curses.
Braun casually reached out and gently wiped his face, actually peeling off his own skin!

Abigail watched in horror as Braun instantly returned to his original appearance, and the "face" that had fallen to the ground writhed and gradually separated!
She was instantly terrified, but her body seemed to be nailed to the spot, watching helplessly... After watching for a while, Abigail suddenly noticed something.

Those weren't "faces" at all, but three extremely exquisite masks that were supposed to look exactly like Braun, and even now you could still see the familiar features.

However, one of them was a pale, lifeless gray; the second was melted and deformed, wriggling like a jellyfish; the third was the most terrifying, quickly shrinking and turning black after landing, turning into a small clump of ashes.

"What...what is this?" Abigail's voice was still filled with horror.

“As you can see—masks, or rather, substitute puppets,” Braun said calmly. “They also have faint thoughts, so the Oblivion Curse and the evil curses of fairies can work just as well—thanks to them taking the magical effects for me, I was able to kill Grimson.”

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is..."

Abigail stammered, her fingertips still tingling as if electrified, and the goosebumps on her arms lingering.

(End of this chapter)