Chapter -104.
"D-bro, you're finally here!" Neville cheered with delight, gazing at Dudley in awe.
"What a cool stance!"
"I want to be like D-bro when I grow up!"
Harry, on the other hand, was oblivious to the unfolding drama. It seemed the protective charm he cast took a lot out of him, as when Voldemort's lingering soul surged out, he slipped into a coma and missed this epic moment.
"Run."
That was all Voldemort's residual soul could think.
Why stick around if he couldn't win?
With only a trace of his former self, Voldemort had no desire to confront Dudley. Without a physical form, he couldn't approach, and he knew that if Dumbledore showed up, it would be game over for him—another hit from Dudley wouldn't be good either.
After all, he barely had a shape; he was merely a mix of vapor, shadows, and soul— as insubstantial as could be. Escaping should be easy—he could pass right through walls.
Unless someone specifically targeted his soul, even basic protective spells wouldn't hold him back.
As he floated around Dudley, he slammed into the wall.
Bang.
Something unexpected happened: the wall he should have easily gone through had an invisible barrier stopping him.
The soul he had worked so hard to gather shattered once more, and the dim black mist scattered everywhere.
"Dear Dark Lord, leaving without saying goodbye is rather rude, don't you think?"
"That's not very gentlemanly."
Dudley lifted his chin and looked down at the reassembling black mist with a smug expression, then patted the closed door behind him. "From now on, this place is one-way."
With a snap of his fingers, a soft glow radiated from the walls, and symbols began to appear one after another.
Those were alchemical arrays.
Dudley had been carving them long before he entered the underground; this place was already infused with alchemical magic.
As he extended his right hand towards Voldemort's fragment of soul, the fingers of his outstretched hand started to come together, causing the alchemical array to constrict rapidly, encasing Voldemort's fragment in a space barely half a meter wide.
Even though Voldemort's fragment of soul didn't understand what Dudley was up to and couldn't identify those alchemical symbols, instinct told him it wasn't good news.
He couldn't just sit back and wait for doom to arrive. So, he crashed into the wall again, and as expected, shattered into pieces once more.
Reforming, Voldemort's fragment of soul now seemed anxious, flitting around wildly in the shrinking space that Dudley had created.
"What are these things? Spells? Dark magic? Ancient runes? No! I've never seen anything like this."
Voldemort rummaged through his memories but came up empty. He couldn't recognize these symbols or understand their purpose.
Was there something in the wizarding world that had escaped his notice?
Some tipsy uncle had once said, "The greatest and oldest fear of humanity is the fear of the unknown, unless you have enough power to face it."
As the most feared Dark Lord, Voldemort was still part of humanity; even though he was neither fully human nor ghost now, he remained an incomplete being.
Realizing he couldn't escape, Voldemort's fragment tried to extract some information from Dudley, believing that understanding what it was would help him cope.
"Alchemy."
Dudley slowly spoke, wondering if it would even matter. Could Voldemort understand anything from a different world?
And if he did understand, would he be able to use it?
"No, this can't be alchemy!"
Voldemort shrieked, his anxiety spilling over.
As the Dark Lord who had once ruled the wizarding realm more than a decade ago, how could he not recognize alchemy?
He had never felt such panic even in the face of Dumbledore.
"This is alchemy."
Dudley said, glancing at a bewildered Neville. "Look, this poor being without a body, do you know who he is?"
Though Neville had pieced things together from Harry's earlier chat with Voldemort's fragment, he wasn't completely sure yet.
"He is the Dark Lord, Voldemort, who once tried to conquer the wizarding world over ten years ago."
"Now, his fate lies in my hands."
When Neville mentioned Voldemort's name, he instinctively recoiled, not out of fear of his power, but as a reflex. Growing up hearing tales of Voldemort made him no different than the Cat-faced Old Lady or the Weird Old Lady to him.
Yet, the figure who had once terrified him as a child was now being toyed with by Dudley.
Neville's admiration for Dudley skyrocketed.
If Harry were conscious, he'd surely say, "That's D-bro! He can accomplish anything!"
To be fair, if it had come down to a direct clash without any distance, Dudley might not have completely overpowered Quirrell with Voldemort inside.
Yet, with Harry's protective spell of 'love' and the double layer of Ripple Energy, Voldemort's fragment of soul had lost the very body it had fought so hard to regain.
He thought he had made a mistake; in reality, choosing Neville would've been the same outcome since Neville was also equipped with the props Dudley had carefully prepared for taking down Voldemort.
Ripple Energy would've harmed him too, perhaps not as much as now, but it still would've cast the soul fragment out.
At this moment, Voldemort's fragment didn't care about dignity; it just wanted to survive. It was willing to do anything, desperately bargaining with Dudley, throwing out tempting offers and employing his persuasive power to try and win him over. In his previous life, when he was less formidable, this was his specialty.
And often, it worked.
For instance, Quirrell, who had just perished from the protective spell, had been swayed by his threats and promises in Albania.
In his mind, Dudley was just a mere little wizard; how hard could he be to manage?
Unfortunately, Voldemort was in for another disappointment.
His attempts at persuasion were nothing but wishful thinking.
Dudley was utterly unfazed; in his previous life, he had been able to feast until satisfied every day, while Voldemort's offers seemed rather childish. Only naïve wizards, untouched by life's woes, would buy into his hype.
Dudley even highlighted the inconsistencies in Voldemort's "deals" and explained them to Neville, who felt like he was gaining wisdom.
Seeing Dudley remain impassive, unwilling to entertain any negotiations, Voldemort's fragment switched from persuasion to threats out of sheer desperation.
At this point, Dudley had completed the final steps, and a circular pattern formed beneath Voldemort's fragment of soul.
He had an audacious plan focused solely on trapping Voldemort's fragment of soul with the alchemical array.
He was going to turn Voldemort into the Philosopher's Stone!
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Note : Guys, some power stones will be really motivating.