From their earlier experimentation, Hermione concluded that the curse was designed to directly consume life and cause death.
In facing such a curse, the best method would be to drain its power with life itself.
Hermione attempted to use transfiguration to create several small animals, hoping to sacrifice them to dispel the curse.
However, this approach failed.
The few transfigured animals were insufficient to weaken the curse, and instead, the curse seemed to grow stronger by consuming the life force.
It became evident that a significant and powerful life force was necessary to counteract the curse, rather than relying on numerous smaller lives.
This implied that human lives might be required—and even then, only a skilled wizard could counteract such a curse.
Next, Hermione tried various counter-spells to deal with the curse, but with no success.
"So, we're left with using Fiendfyre to destroy it?" Hermione concluded after much consideration.
Indeed, Fiendfyre, a magical fire that burns everything, was a known nemesis to various magical items, including even the darkest Horcruxes.
However, Alaric shook his head.
"Fiendfyre is too difficult to control," he said.
"Using it would completely destroy this house, which would alert the Dark Lord that we've discovered and are attempting to destroy a Horcrux.
That wouldn't be ideal."
With that, Hermione shrugged. Without Fiendfyre, she struggled to think of another way to combat the curse.
Fleur wasn't as knowledgeable about magical theory as Hermione.
Magic isn't merely a matter of power; it requires the right approach to counteract curses.
Without the correct method, even overwhelming force wouldn't be effective.
Looking at the curse, Alaric thought of Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes.
Phoenixes are powerful magical creatures with enough life force to handle such a curse.
He realized that this curse and the Killing Curse were similar, both being dangerous magic that directly affected life.
A phoenix could absorb the Killing Curse and then be reborn to avoid death—even Voldemort's own Killing Curse.
In other words, if he had a phoenix, he could use its life force to drain the curse's power.
Unfortunately, only Dumbledore had a phoenix, which was a significant drawback.
However, this thought led to a new idea.
"Wait here for a moment."
With that, he Disapparated from the Gaunt house.
About ten minutes later, he returned with a glass vial containing a silvery liquid.
"This is unicorn blood," he explained to the girls. "I just took a bit from Lurue in the Forbidden Forest."
He showed a pained expression, which was understandable.
Alaric cared deeply for Lurue, and even though she could be mischievous, he hated to see her harmed.
Drawing blood from her was particularly distressing for him.
Unicorn blood is not only a symbol of purity but also possesses abundant life force, making it perfect for countering the curse.
After applying magic to the vial to activate the life force within, he transfigured the unicorn blood into a small unicorn.
If other materials had been used, even if transfigured into a unicorn, it would only be a mere shell.
However, using unicorn blood as the base made the result significantly different.
As the essence of unicorn power, the transfigured unicorn was nearly indistinguishable from a real unicorn—except for its limited duration.
Under Alaric's control, the unicorn lowered its head and charged at the ring with its beautiful and dangerous horn.
The moment the unicorn's horn collided with the ring, Alaric, Hermione, and Fleur seemed to hear an evil scream.
The black smoke transformed into a terrifying skull that collided with the unicorn.
The unicorn cried out in pain as its once pure white horn turned black.
Soon, the blackness spread over its body, causing its once pristine white fur to become dull and decayed.
However, as the darkness continued to spread over the unicorn, the black smoke began to shrink and eventually disappeared—completely consumed by the unicorn's body.
Thus, the unicorn's body was mostly turned black, but the curse itself was nearly exhausted.
Quickly, the unicorn wobbled and fell, having completed its task.
It ceased breathing and then turned back into a pool of blood.
The blood, now no longer silvery but a grim silver-black, hissed as it corroded the wooden floor, seeping into it and leaving ugly marks.
"Now the curse is dealt with," Alaric said with a slight smile as he approached.
Despite his words, he carefully retrieved a pair of white gloves, adorned with elaborate golden patterns.
A skilled alchemist would recognize these gloves as enchanted with powerful protective spells, including Shield Charms, providing strong defense against dark magic and curses.
Alaric put on the gloves and carefully picked up the ring.
The gloves showed no reaction, indicating that the curse had been effectively removed.
"So, how do we destroy this Horcrux?" Fleur asked.
"The first destroyed Horcrux was the Dark Lord's diary," Hermione recalled.
"At that time, Alaric used a sword with a magic-destroying effect to destroy it."
As she spoke, Alaric produced a beautifully crafted sword from his pocket—his "Infinity Blade."
"Who wants to give it a try?" Alaric offered the sword to the girls.
They exchanged glances, and Hermione was the first to take the sword.
"I'll go first," she said. "You can handle the next Horcrux."
Fleur bit her lip, feeling a bit reluctant, but Hermione had already seized the opportunity, so she had to accept the arrangement.
Alaric placed the ring on the ground, and Hermione stepped back, raising the sword high.
Thanks to its weight-modifying enchantments, even Hermione could wield the sword with ease.
She brought the Infinity Blade down with force, slicing the ring in half.
With a terrifying, piercing scream that seemed to pierce the eardrums, a black, translucent entity—presumably Voldemort's soul—emerged from the ring.
It writhed, cursed, and twisted before finally vanishing.
Three Horcruxes had now been destroyed.
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