"Enough!" Voldemort said with seething hatred towards the young boy who called himself 'Tom'. He had pulled back his wand after seeing that the killing curse did nothing to him and was about to try something else but before he could-
"Enough!?" Tom said with a sneer.
"What happened? Can't afford to listen to your own inadequacies? Did being 'Her' slave make you forget the things you dreamed of when you learnt about the world beyond magic? How shameful."
All the death eaters remained silent as they watched the two Dark Lords talking to each other.
Voldemort was beyond furious at this point.
"Has no one taught you not to lie?" Voldemort spoke with silent anger since his image was being questioned, his spotlight, the spotlight that was supposed to signify his return was being blurred and turned towards this strange boy.
Everything was going in a completely unexpected direction.
'Tom' however simply looked at Voldemort and then with a smirk on his face spoke calmly.
"You say I'm lying…so how about this? How about we declare once and for all that we aren't slaves to anyone?"
"Hmmm…?" Voldemort was suspicious, after ridiculing him for so long, this boy wanted to settle their matter by simply stating that they weren't slaves?
Voldemort was sure he wouldn't be smote down by Mother Tree of Desire in case he ever said such a thing because he was pretty sure that as long as he didn't upset 'Her' directly, she wouldn't mind whatever he did to hold onto power.
After all, she needed him to be able to function more easily in this world.
But the boy? Why would his telling that he was not a slave prove anything?
"Do you want me to tell everyone whose slave you are?" Tom said giving a coy look as he put his finger on his chin to look like he was thinking about something, "I'm sure 'She' will enjoy having a few more appendages on the planet don't you think?"
Seeing the boy smirking while looking at him, Voldemort felt angry. Especially when he saw that his death eaters had started looking at him with some confusion.
'Wasn't their Lord supposed to be the greatest Dark Lord of all time?'
'When was he suddenly a slave to someone else?'
Seeds of doubt and confusion that Loki had planted into everyone's sea of subconscious started to grow as everyone started to question Voldemort's status, not directly, but even Voldemort could see the hint of doubt in their eyes.
So he quickly regained his calm and quickly countered the boy's questions.
"I am no slave!! I am the devil who controls other people's desires. I am the only one who can empower them and twist them to the point of madness. I am the one that stands alone at the peak of the Abyss!!!"
"Is that soo…" the boy calmly said with an even wider smile. "Then why don't you tell us all something simple…"
"..." Everyone waited patiently and kept their ears out to listen to the boy's next words.
Even Voldemort worried that the boy would say something strange and difficult for him to do because he seemed to know much about his past and history.
"I'm sure you know a thing or two about fear being a Beyonder of the Abyss Pathway, right?…So why don't you say that you're not a slave to 'Him', the man you fear the most? Why don't you tell them all that 'He' is not your master?"
Death eaters frowned as most realised who the boy was talking about since it was publicly known that if there was anyone who could stand against Voldemort, it would be the Greatest White Wizard of all time, Albus Dumbledore.
So why would Albus Dumbledore make Voldemort his slave?
The boy's words made no sense.
The growing rage of confusion which had been spreading in full swing started to simmer down as everyone directed their annoyed gazes towards the boy.
Perhaps he was just someone crazy who had found his way to this battlefield?
Voldemort was silent for a few seconds. Contemplating if the boy was just being naive or if he had a plan underneath this seemingly simple scheme.
'Is that it?'
'I can't help but feel sceptical.'
'But he truly holds no bad intentions against me…yet his hostility is so clear…'
'It's not like I can't speak his name…'
' 'Her' help is plenty enough for me to say 'His' name…'
'But what does the boy want?'
"You think I fear 'His' name? You think that I fear 'Him' enough to be 'His' slave!? How naive!!"
"Then say it! Say you hate 'Him' and say that you're what terrifies 'Him' instead, tell the world that 'He' is not your master and that you are much stronger than 'Him'!!!!"
With the boy's fiery words, Voldemort suddenly felt a fire burn in him, a fire that fueled his anger and inflated his ego!! It felt like words were trying to escape his throat in a fit of madness.
And that was when Voldemort shouted to prove the boy wrong.
"I hate Alb-"
Voldemort stopped mid-way. His voice stuck in his throat as he suddenly felt a strong dissonance in his body.
It felt like his body was burning and was set on fire as his inner organs started to mutate very quickly.
'I'm losing control!!?'
'Why!?'
'I still have my dark mark implanted on so many people!!!'
'If I managed to maintain my sanity even during the time I had no body, why am I losing control now!?'
The silence created an awkward atmosphere which Tom quickly capitalised on.
"Oh? Can't lie?" Tom said, walking calmly towards Voldemort, with each step resonating loudly among the death eaters, the weight of the spotlight that was earlier on Voldemort slowly started slipping as it gravitated more and more towards the boy.
Voldemort's thoughts had devolved into a rapid flurry of questions that were aimed at understanding the current situation.
But among them all only one question grabbed his entire attention.
'How did he do this!?'
'He's not even a demigod!?'
'How did he attack me by slipping past my danger premonition!?'
'How is he making me lose control!?'
The boy finally arrived close enough to the dark lord and leaned in until his breath touched the Dark Lord's cold face.
After leaning in so close, the boy whispered into his ear, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear because of the silence.
"You fear me, don't you? I can smell it…and it stinks…"
Voldemort's eyes widened but almost immediately he felt like he was losing control even faster which made his first focus to fix his rapidly degenerating body.
But that wasn't so easy, it was difficult, much more difficult than he had assumed.
Dissenting voices rose within him.
He felt his body bubble and his heart shake, something within him was eating him. He could feel the tension that had gripped his chest.
'Do I fear him!?'
'No the boy is playing with you!! Don't listen to him!!!'
'But my killing curse didn't work on him!!! The last time it didn't, I lost my body!!!'
'Are you a fool!!!??? He's obviously using a trick to make you lose control!!! He could be a Spectator pathway beyonder!!! One that has implanted the seeds of losing control deep within you!!!'
'No way!!!! There hasn't been another spectator that good since that despicable man!!'
'Despicable? Mind your words! He is someone we dearly love and respect!!'
'Dumbledore was our closest teacher!!!'
'He promised to help us whenever he could!! How could such a lovely person be despicable!? He's the greatest wizard of all time!!! Don't you dare speak bad things about him!'
'...Huh?'
'What?'
"How easy..." the boy said with a smile.
He pushed Voldemort casually, causing him to have to quickly take a step back to prevent himself from falling onto the floor.
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