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Chapter 351 Snape: Alone, always have been.

A few days later, tests over several consecutive days showed that the amount of vampire meme virus in all the wizards' bodies had decreased significantly, and this decrease was continuing.

It can be said that Merlin and Leona's attempt this time was a success.

Upon hearing this news, Professor McGonagall and the others immediately breathed a sigh of relief. However, besides this question, there was another matter: where exactly was Dumbledore?

As we all know, Dumbledore disappeared from the mainstream timeline to address the inexplicable cold-bloodedness and alienation that occurred after wizards wandered through timelines and altered the future of the original mainstream timeline. This present has now been proven to be related to a meme virus, and the culprit has been suppressed.

Everyone assumed that Dumbledore should have returned by now. The actions of the Human Alliance at this point in time would cause quite a stir, and a near-legendary mage and inventor of modern spells should not have been unable to sense such a fluctuation.

The idea was good, but reality was cruel. Dumbledore still hadn't sent any message. Even a plea for help would have been much better than this silence.

Therefore, under these circumstances, Merlin accelerated his analysis of the fragments of perception that Leona had captured, and his intuition told him that the answer lay within them.

Now that the analysis is complete, the answer is obvious.

"It's obvious that among the many forces that are fighting against you, one of them must be from Dumbledore. However, this guy might not be very lucid. Across timelines, he can't even distinguish between friend and foe." Merlin tapped the table, looking a little anxious. Dumbledore's current state made it hard not to worry about him.

"Then what should we do?" Leona asked next. Judging from the current situation, they didn't have much time left and had to take immediate action.

"Dumbledore is leading all the corrupted wizards, so... we have to take a risk, and we might need a volunteer."

Dumbledore and Leona took two different approaches. Leona eliminated the core of wizarding alienation—the meme virus—at its source, while Dumbledore simply removed the concept of alienation after the results appeared, leaving the affected wizards in a state of being alienated but not completely alienated.

Therefore, while there is a connection between the two, there is also a huge communication gap.

After sharing my current conjectures with several familiar professors on campus, the atmosphere became somewhat quiet for a moment.

“I’ll do it,” Snape stepped forward immediately, looking at the others with great composure.

"Are you sure? This matter definitely carries some risk, and I have to tell you that because it involves a legendary-level enemy." Merlin explained the risks very clearly, and as for the legendary enemy, it was obvious without even thinking that it was Dracula.

"I'm certain, there's no one more suitable than me." Snape nodded, looking quite nonchalant. "Judging from the current symptoms, this virus is definitely related to the mental realm. In this school, besides you, who is more familiar with Occlumency than me? Who is better at constructing multi-layered mental defense networks than me?"

Professor McGonagall hesitated upon hearing this.

Snape's words were anything but modest, but they were true. To be able to infiltrate Voldemort's ranks, how could his Occlumency not be strong? And it wasn't enough to just have strong defensive capabilities; he also had to be able to weave false memories that Voldemort couldn't detect, making him mistake them for "real" ones.

"Alright, stop being so coy. It's Dumbledore who's missing, not you guys, otherwise I wouldn't have stepped forward." Snape tried to ease the guilt in Professor McGonagall's and the others' hearts with his words, then walked up to Merlin. "It's me. There's no one more suitable than me."

After all, I'm all alone, a complete loner.

Merlin did not interfere with Snape's decision. Their bottom line was that underage children could not be used as volunteers, but other options were acceptable, and Snape met the criteria perfectly.

Moreover, Merlin was confident that no matter what the situation was on the other side, he would be able to bring the volunteers back safe and sound.

When the plan began, Van Helsing was transferred from another world. Since the people in the Plague Department couldn't be moved, he was the most suitable person to take over.

Once they arrived, Van Helsing, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, spent several days telling Snape everything he knew about vampires. To reinforce his memory of this information, he even wrote down some of his own experiences as stories, so Snape could read them whenever he had free time.

While receiving relevant information, Snape also began to stay in a specially made room all day to prevent Leona's power from affecting the progress of the plan.

Three days later, Snape's alienation had reached an extremely exaggerated level. Even Lupin could feel a sense of disgust stemming from the werewolf virus within him every time he came to visit.

“Actually, I think we might have made a mistake back then,” Sirius said to Lupin, looking through the glass as Snape made his final preparations.

"It's not just a possibility, it's definitely a mistake." Lu Ping sighed, feeling somewhat guilty.

Dumbledore initially chose him as a prefect to keep James and the others in check, but unfortunately, as time went on, his position as prefect became practically nonexistent, and he himself was dragged along with them.

"Maybe." Sirius was very stubborn; he was unwilling to admit it, at least not openly, since he still hated Snape.

However, looking at Snape's bloodshot eyes and the palpable emotional struggle he could feel, Sirius still silently prayed for Snape.

I admit that you possess not only the characteristics of Slytherin—pure blood—but also the characteristics of Gryffindor—bravery and fearlessness. A Hogwarts student like you is sure to create miracles.

Snape's bones made a cracking sound.

"What happened! Is he alright?" Lupin asked Merlin immediately.

“This is the process of a human transforming into a vampire, and since he was not a mortal to begin with, this transformation is definitely more painful than normal,” Van Helsing explained.

Forcibly transforming from one species into another is not so simple; suffering is merely a minor test in the process.

Keep going, you'll succeed.

Van Helsing stared at Snape, his right hand clenched into a fist. After fighting vampires for so many years, Van Helsing knew how difficult it was to maintain one's original understanding during the transformation process.

One careless move or a moment of relaxation could lead to complete failure.

Chapter 352 I've Found You, Dumbledore

Hiss~

Snape exhaled, feeling a metallic taste rise from his throat, then rush through his nostrils to his brain, followed by a strange desire.

Before he could even fight this desire, the bright lights around him made Snape feel extremely uncomfortable.

This room is so bright!

As Snape reached for the light switch, about to press it, he pulled his hand back. This was not just a switch, but also a button to abandon the plan; pressing it would mean the plan was suspended.

After all, Merlin and his group wanted someone to go find Dumbledore, not to cause him trouble.

Think of something happy... something happy...

Snape kept talking to himself, his fingers trembling slightly as he waved his wand. Patronus emerged from the tip of the wand like smoke, completely unformed.

What's there to be happy about?!

My "wife" got killed by my own actions! She ran off with the guy I hated the most! And she died in that catastrophe! How can anyone be happy about this!

Snape's face twisted in pain as the image of Lily in his mind transformed into James's, who was laughing hysterically.

Immediately, emotions such as anger, disgust, and self-blame surged up, completely overshadowing the mental effects of becoming a vampire.

Sometimes, not only positive emotions can have an effect, but negative emotions can also be very powerful.

"Is he thinking about something happy?" Lupin asked, gently nudging Sirius as he looked at Snape's contorted face. This Patronus wasn't acting quite right.

"I don't know. When we used to prank him the most, his expression was much better than this." Sirius rubbed his arm. Just looking at Snape made him feel a chill, as if he was about to be skinned alive.

Van Helsing took a drag of his cigarette. He wasn't as nervous as he had been at the beginning. He could tell from Snape's expression that it was hatred. He'd seen it all before. Van Helsing often acted like this when he was under immense pressure and facing an entire vampire race. Otherwise, how could he have survived that era alone?

The sound of bones grinding gradually faded away. Snape looked as if he had been drained dry, much thinner than before, but his eyes were even colder and more powerful than before he went in.

Suddenly, the frail Snape seemed to be affected by some mysterious force, his body returning to normal as if inflated, and the Patronus created by the Patronus also instantly returned to its original form.

Merlin seized the opportunity, waving his staff to bring Snape's consciousness back to the mysterious force affecting him, and together they departed from the current dimension.

Crimson blood filled Snape's vision; all the colors around him were now just red, nothing else mattered.

At the same time, Snape felt as if he were floating on the sea, going up and down, which made him feel a little nauseous.

As he was going up and down, Snape suddenly saw a figure standing above him, with blood-red threads hanging down from his body and merging into a sea of ​​blood.

At that moment, Snape realized that he seemed to be in a sea of ​​blood. Upon closer inspection, he realized that he was not in a sea of ​​blood, but rather a drop of blood in this sea of ​​blood.

"How much longer will the conversion take?" A strange voice reached Snape's ears.

“Be patient, the birth of a legendary vampire always takes time,” Dracula said to Mephisto’s clone.

"Hurry up, we can't afford to drag this out for too long," Mephisto emphasized.

“I’d like to, but interfering with the conversion will only make him realize it. I need to let him gradually immerse himself in his own choice,” Dracula replied. Right now, any influence exerted on Dumbledore will trigger his instinctive reaction and interrupt the conversion process.

Even if that influence is to accelerate Dumbledore's transformation, it won't work. Dracula doesn't want to see a legendary vampire born who retains his original understanding of vampire and is hostile to him. Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?

What should I do? Attack? Yes! Attack!

Snape looked at the "sleeping" Dumbledore and listened to the conversation above; this was the only solution he could think of now.

"Wait, wait a moment." Merlin's voice echoed in Snape's mind.

“They’ve hidden the real Dumbledore; what you’re seeing is just an illusion,” Merlin continued.

Mephisto and Dracula were using a decoy to lure them in. With Leona making such a big commotion, it was impossible for them not to be alert at all, let alone place Dumbledore in such an easily discoverable position.

If there's absolutely no problem with this, Merlin has eaten his own staff! Including the holy sword inside the staff.

“What should I do?” Snape asked.

"I'll go check other places. Wait for my news." Merlin said, taking control of the drop of blood representing Snape and beginning to wander within the sea of ​​blood.

Above the sea of ​​blood, Mephisto's clone and Dracula stood quietly side by side, their spiritual power constantly sweeping across the sea of ​​blood.

Merlin relied on his superb evasion skills to perfectly avoid the probing every time, but this probing also seriously affected his efficiency in finding Dumbledore.

More than half an hour later, when Snape's consciousness was becoming a little hazy, Merlin finally saw a phantom hidden in the seabed.

I've found you, Dumbledore!

Just as Merlin was about to step forward to wake him, Leona from Hogwarts suddenly patted him.

Merlin slammed on the brakes instantly.

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked while controlling the blood droplets to evade detection.

"I don't know, I think someone just touched me." Leona frowned and thought for a moment, then gently grabbed the nearly dissipated "yarn" with her right hand; the force came from it.

Merlin immediately became alert and abandoned the other awakening plan.

It's highly likely that Dumbledore was the one who reminded Leona at this time; after the main consciousness fell into a deep sleep, the subconscious will to survive came into play.

Above the sea of ​​blood, Dracula shook his head with a hint of regret.

"They're here."

"Ah."

Mephisto waved his hand, adding a touch of hellishness to the sea of ​​blood.

Merlin didn't actually make a move, but he left traces of his attempt. Also, the two guys noticed Dumbledore's subconscious actions.

“This time it’s a good deal, the suppression was even more perfect,” Dracula said.

“Clearly, they will be on our side during this time,” Mephisto echoed.

No matter how obvious his emotions were, Merlin made no further moves. Making a mistake once was enough; making it again meant he wasn't thinking straight.

Chapter 353 Sounding the Horn of Counterattack

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