A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

Voldemort frowned slightly. "The conditions I promised you before will not change. Your submission is only temporary. Once you have completed the Dark Lord's work and eliminated the Muggles and Mudbloods, you will be the next ruler of the wizarding world."

Everyone else was stunned when they heard this.

They didn't doubt the truth of these words; the Dark Lord's promises couldn't be false, but they just couldn't believe it.

Aaron paused for a moment, then scoffed, "I really don't understand why you value me so much."

"I have explained before that you are a true Slytherin, with noble wizarding blood, talents no less than mine, and outstanding leadership qualities."

"After I change the magical world, I need a qualified successor who can bring peace to it."

"Tsk! I'm really flattered!"

But you can always find someone else; there's no need to put all your eggs in one basket!

"The reason we chose you, besides the conditions mentioned above, is primarily because you are not interested in power."

"Oh!" Aaron drawled, suddenly realizing, "You didn't choose an heir, but a representative, a special representative who holds the power of management."

“You could say that,” Voldemort said, undeniably. “The more you explore magic, the more you realize your own insignificance. Dumbledore and I have been exploring the path ahead. He’s hesitant to go, and I also have some reservations.”

But if the overall environment stabilizes, I will have enough time to go further, reach the level of the founders of Hogwarts, and even surpass them is not impossible.

"Hiss...you really have ambitions that are too high." Aaron nodded secretly while being shocked. "I have to admit you have a good eye. If I help you, it can indeed achieve twice the result with half the effort."

He finally understood Voldemort's ambition: ruling the wizarding world was only the first step; his ultimate goal was to become the legendary god of magic.

This is very difficult, extremely difficult.

However, to be fair, Voldemort still had a chance of succeeding, even more so than Dumbledore.

He is now at the peak of the Grand Magister realm, only a step away from the Saint realm.

But if he can achieve his goal of killing all Muggles and Mudbloods, then his mind will be free of any flaws.

Once the turbulent magical world stabilizes, he will transform from an executioner into a reformer.

At that time, no one will be his enemy anymore. He can slowly find a way to make up for the defects in his soul and confidently break through the bottleneck of the Saint Magister.

Whether he can become a god later depends on fate.

However, a wizard who has walked the path to immortality longer than anyone else has no shortage of time.

Voldemort's path was rather twisted, but it truly led to the end.

"Amazing, truly amazing," Aaron clapped. "I always thought you were out of your mind, but now it seems I was narrow-minded."

Come to think of it, even a madman couldn't become the Dark Lord.

No wonder your organization is called the Death Eaters; once you reach the final step, conquering death won't be just empty talk.

Voldemort's lips curled into a smile. "You understand?"

Since the beginning of the magical age, many people have been exploring this path, including the four giants of Hogwarts: Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and myself, and even you in the future.

Everyone has a different path; I simply chose the one I wanted to choose.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"This is a conversation between two Slytherins. Are you, a Gryffindor, sure you want to know?" Aaron said sarcastically.

Harry hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly.

He didn't know if he would survive today, but even if he died, he wanted to die knowing why!

"It can only be said that Voldemort truly deserves to be called the wizard of Slytherin; his ambition is comparable to that of his ancestors."

"Dominating the magical world is just the first step in realizing my ambition; as for the ultimate goal..." Aaron paused slightly, "...I guess it's to stand shoulder to shoulder with Merlin."

The four warriors looked at each other, completely bewildered.

But the Death Eaters whispered amongst themselves, and some of the wizards with family traditions seemed to have guessed something; some looked fanatical, while others trembled.

“Master, great master.” A Death Eater immediately knelt before Voldemort, kissing his wizard robes. “To be a Death Eater is the greatest honor of my life.”

Once the first one was there, others followed suit.

No matter what you're thinking, you mustn't show the slightest sign of anything unusual at this moment.

"What's wrong with them?" Furong asked, puzzled. "They seem very different from before."

“He must have accepted his identity from the bottom of his heart!” Aaron remarked meaningfully. “Immortality, the boss’s promise may be exaggerated, but it’s not false.”

Cedric suddenly realized something, and his pupils trembled violently.

"Could it be that he wants to...? That's impossible. That's just a legend. Even the four giants of the academy haven't reached that level."

"Which step?" Krum asked somewhat uneasily.

“Gods,” Cedric said through gritted teeth, “but that’s absolutely impossible.”

“It is indeed possible,” Aaron said calmly. “Besides his exceptional magical talent, he has one major advantage—he can survive.”

Just as he said, he had traveled a long way on the path to immortality, and even the Death Curse couldn't kill him.

With exceptional talent and plenty of time, he will always find an opportunity.

The power of the gods far exceeds what ordinary people can imagine; resurrection and granting immortality to others might not be difficult for them.

Cedric opened his mouth, but was speechless.

"Now that you understand the Dark Lord's will, are you willing to help me?" Voldemort said calmly, this time he was absolutely certain.

"I reject."

"Good that you agreed..." Voldemort was smug for a moment, then his face instantly darkened. "Did I hear that right?"

“You heard me right, I refuse,” Aaron emphasized again.

“Reason!” Voldemort roared furiously. “What right do you have to refuse? No one can refuse this offer.”

“There are many reasons, and they are also very simple,” Aaron said, counting on his fingers. “First of all, if I agree to serve you, the first thing the Gaius family will do is not to follow me down this path to the bitter end, but to expel Aaron Gaius from the family tree.”

My parents, elders, siblings, uncles and aunts have all treated me very well, and I can't bear to leave them to pursue a dream that is out of reach.

Secondly, the path you've chosen is paved with the bones of countless Muggles and Muggle-born wizards; helping you would make my conscience uneasy.

“Great causes require sacrifices,” Voldemort said indifferently. “To use the lives of ants to create a god is definitely a worthwhile trade.”

"I understand the principle that 'one general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand,' but the problem is that the sacrifices you need are far too great, hundreds of thousands of times greater than ten thousand."

"Once you take that step, the world's population will plummet to less than one percent, maybe even less than one-thousandth," Aaron said, his voice trembling with fear. "Countless people will try to stop you. First, you'll have to move Dumbledore, that mountain, and that's no small feat."

"Dumbledore is old, and I will kill him sooner or later."

"Besides, I used to rule a part of the magical world. If I can unite the power of wizards, killing Muggles is as easy as crushing ants."

“Madmen, you, no, you are all madmen,” Harry Potter said, looking at Voldemort and his Death Eaters, unable to believe that human life was so worthless in their eyes.

“You can’t call them crazy, you can only say that everyone has their own ambitions, although they are indeed quite insane,” Aaron said with a forced smile, then looked at Voldemort with a serious expression. “As for the last reason, it’s a bit harsh. It’s not anything else, it’s just that I feel you’re not worthy.”

Voldemort was so enraged that he laughed. "I am a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, the most powerful Dark Lord of my time, and you say I am not worthy?"

“That’s true,” Aaron nodded. “No one is worth following.”

Perhaps after you successfully unify the magical world, Gaius will add icing on the cake by helping you maintain order, since in a sense that is one of the responsibilities of a reclusive family.

But I won't help you until then. However, rest assured, the reclusive family won't stand against you; for thousands of years we've never actively participated in conflicts between wizards.

Chapter 406 An Heirloom Weapon, One Shot, One Archmage

"That's a real shame." Voldemort's voice was calm, but everyone could sense that he was on the verge of exploding. "Perhaps you'll only truly appreciate the value of immortality when your friends die before your eyes."

Upon hearing this, Aaron's expression changed drastically, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Avada Kedavra".

Three green spells shot straight towards Cedric and his two companions like lightning.

"grass!"

Aaron cursed inwardly, no longer caring about hiding his abilities, and immediately stood in front of the three, forming a hand seal.

An orange-red magic circle was instantly drawn, and concentric lines formed a cube-shaped Seraphim Shield that enveloped the group.

The killing curse struck the magic circle, sending up green sparks imbued with the aura of death.

boom!

The Killing Curse dissipated into specks of light, and Aaron took a few steps back, dispelling the magic circle.

“Very interesting magic, I’ve never seen it before. It can even withstand the Killing Curse,” Voldemort said with interest. “It seems you’ve learned quite a few new things in the past two years.”

"Thank you for the compliment." Aaron shook his numb hands. "If you maintain a continuous output of magic, I can't last more than a few seconds either."

"Hmph!" Voldemort scoffed. "You want to protect them?"

"We can't just stand by and watch them get killed!" Aaron said helplessly.

“If you swear to serve me, I might be merciful and let them go; otherwise, you won’t be able to protect yourself.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Cedric said. “We don’t want to die, but we know we absolutely cannot let you side with them.”

Krum and Fleur remained silent, simply gripping their wands to show their stance.

"Ungrateful wretch," Voldemort scoffed, then gave a wink to a few Death Eaters. "Just send a few men and kill those three. Mr. Gaius needs to experience the feeling of losing a friend."

"Wormtail, go and stop Mr. Gaius. Don't give him a chance to rescue the others. If necessary, make him suffer a little, just don't kill him."

"Yes, my master."

Little Pettigrew shuddered, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

He just sparred with Aaron. Although he's young, he's a level above Aaron in terms of strength.

Voldemort's orders were simply unreasonable, but at this point, they had no choice but to comply.

“Master,” Little Barty hesitated before interjecting, “forgive my bluntness, but Wormtail might not be a match for him.”

"Of course I know, but I don't want to kill him yet."

His magic power has been largely depleted, so it wouldn't hurt to let someone test his abilities.

“The three of you, there’s not much I can do to help in this situation. You’d better take care of yourselves.” Aaron took a deep breath and faced Peter Pettigrew.

"To be honest, I despise you the most. Maybe you'll only realize your mistake when you die."