Hogwarts wizards who signed in to Middle-earth.

Chapter 353: Dying Words
Dui transformed into a phoenix, hovering above Saruman, and spat out a golden-red flame.

The flames emitted a warm temperature, not scorching, but they still filled Saruman with fear, causing him to struggle desperately to escape.

That flame was Dui's strongest natal fire, the energy for the phoenix's rebirth, and a life-saving fire, but it also possessed powerful burning ability, capable of burning even the soul.

The golden-red flame landed on Saruman's soul and instantly burst into flames, turning Saruman into a human of fire.

Burned by the flames of the phoenix's rebirth, Saruman's soul reacted violently, and black energy rapidly emanated from his body, as if he were being constantly purified.

Saruman let out a painful scream; the agony of his soul being burned was too much for even the powerful white-robed wizard to bear.

Of course, Saruman, who is essentially a Maiar, has an extremely powerful and resilient soul. Even the Phoenix's Rebirth Fire, which can burn the soul, is not enough to make Saruman's soul perish.

But don't forget that besides Duy, there are three powerful allies: Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel.

Gandalf directly activated the power of the Ring of Air, Naya, and poured it into Dui's Nirvana Flame. The Nirvana Flame instantly surged and became even more terrifying.

Saruman's soul was burned even faster by the exploding flames of rebirth, and the dark power within him was purified more quickly.

During the purification process, Saruman's power was gradually weakened.

Galadriel used the power of the Water Ring to trap Saruman's soul, preventing him from escaping.

Elrond also activated the power of the Ring of Air, releasing holy light full of purifying power, which dealt a heavy blow to Saruman.

With the combined efforts of the group, Saruman's originally solid soul gradually became illusory and dim, and his power continued to weaken.

Finally, Saruman's soul was reduced to a mere phantom, devoid of any power, less than a ghost.

It seemed as if it might dissipate at any moment, drifting helplessly in mid-air, easily blown away by even a slight breeze.

The dark power that Sauron had bestowed upon him was completely purified.

Without Sauron's power, Saruman broke free from Sauron's control and regained his free will and lucidity.

At this moment, Saruman's eyes became clearer than ever before, and his sinister gaze softened for the first time.

He looked at the murderous Duy, and at Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, who were once his comrades but were now his enemies. A complex mix of emotions, including nostalgia, resentment, and lingering affection, flashed through his eyes.

As the flames of rebirth burned fiercely, Saruman's expression became calm and peaceful, as if he could no longer feel the pain of his soul burning.

"You must be careful of Sauron!"

“My failure this time will likely force him to choose a path he doesn’t want to take. He will regain even greater power, perhaps even more dangerous than before! Central Continent may once again face darkness, and you must be prepared to deal with it.”

Upon hearing Saruman's sudden reminder, Dui and the others tensed up.

"What do you mean? What do you mean Sauron will gain even greater power?"

Dui looked at Saruman with a mixture of wariness and suspicion, wondering if he was trying to buy time to save his own life.

Saruman was unconcerned by Dui's wariness and suspicion, and explained, "I was ordered by Sauron to infiltrate Hogwarts. My purposes were twofold: first, to obtain information about the One Ring and thus seize it; second, to obtain the Philosopher's Stone so that I could reshape my body; and finally, to secretly corrupt the wizards under your command and turn them into the forces of darkness."

Saruman looked at Dui with envy and resentment: "Your luck is enviable. I originally tried to corrupt the students in secret using the Ring of Power, but Peeves accidentally stumbled upon it. Not only did I fail to plunge the castle into chaos with the Black Death Plague, but you also obtained the Ring of Power, causing my third mission to fail miserably..."

"You dare mention that! Saruman, you're so heartless as to want to spread the Black Death plague again? Do you want to bring about another great plague like before?" Dui was instantly enraged, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Letting your soul simply vanish is too lenient for you; your soul should be eternally burned in the fires of hell!" Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, recalling this incident, all looked at Saruman with icy eyes, showing no further thought of forgiveness.

Seeing the angry and cold looks in their eyes, Saruman gave a bitter smile and offered no excuses.

"I did it, and I accept the punishment I deserve."

"However, before I vanish, I need to give you a reminder, which can be considered my final confession: you must be wary of Sauron. The One Ring is no longer Sauron's only option to regain his power, although he would prefer to reclaim the Ring rather than choose another path."

But when reclaiming the One Ring becomes impossible, he will surely choose another way to regain his power, and then sweep across Middle-earth with overwhelming force to reclaim the One Ring. At that time, no one in Middle-earth will be his match, not even if you all join forces!

Upon hearing Saruman's words, Dui and the others were skeptical.

Dui went even further, asking, "Besides the One Ring, does Sauron have any other way to regain his power? What is it?"

After all, even the Philosopher's Stone only gave Sauron a body, not restored his power.

Because the One Ring contains most of Sauron's power, Sauron can only regain his full strength if he gets the One Ring back.

This is why Sauron has been searching for the One Ring and is willing to pay any price to retrieve it.

Now Saruman is saying that besides the One Ring, there is another way for Sauron to gain power.
If Saruman had not shown no signs of lying, or even any reason to deceive them, Dui and the others would have suspected he was talking nonsense.

Especially for Dui, this information was beyond his comprehension.

After all, there was no such provision in the original course of fate.

From the beginning until Sauron's destruction, Sauron was always searching for the One Ring, but he never chose any other way to restore his power.

Could it be the butterfly effect that occurred after he appeared?

Dui thought with some doubt.

But Saruman's next words gave him the answer:
Saruman stared at Dui, his gaze complex and tinged with schadenfreude: "Speaking of which, Sauron's second method of regaining his power is still related to you, Dui..."

"What does this have to do with me?" Dui frowned, looking at Saruman with suspicion.

Saruman explained, "Do you remember the Black Barbarian Shrine?"

Black Barbarian Shrine? Du Yi was taken aback.

"What does this have to do with the Black Barbarian Shrine?"

The Black Barbarian Shrine was a place he passed by when he was searching for raw materials for magic stones.

"You haven't forgotten that sacrificial magic circle at the Black Barbarian Shrine, have you?"

The magic circle that was sacrificed to Morgoth?

Dui stared at Saruman in surprise. Wasn't that magic circle destroyed by him immediately?
How did Saruman know this?
As if sensing his doubts, Saruman didn't hide anything: "When you went to the Path of the Dead, I secretly observed you with the Crystal of True Knowledge. Although you erased the sacrificial magic circle immediately, you may have forgotten that the Crystal of True Knowledge can not only detect things from thousands of miles away, but also go back in time..."

(End of this chapter)