Drip. Drip.
Chilling droplets fell onto Ethan's face, causing his brow to furrow slightly.
As his consciousness returned, his eyelids flickered before slowly opening.
"Oh, you're awake?"
A voice like silver bells—ethereal and melodious—rang out.
A gentle face leaned into Ethan's field of vision. Soft blonde hair cascaded down, brushing against Ethan's skin and leaving a ticklish sensation in its wake.
...Waking up to see your best friend and receiving such a kind greeting should have been a moment of pure bliss. Two joys overlapping should have brought even greater happiness.
However, Ethan's heart constricted, and his entire body went rigid.
There was only one reason.
In the hands of the "fragile young girl" known as Luna stood a massive, jagged cleaver, its blade gleaming with a cold, murderous light.
And if one were to look closer...
It might also have been because Ethan realized his hands and feet were bound.
He was held down by a forceful, overbearing magic, sprawled out on a stone slab like a frog waiting to be dissected in Potions class.
...Hehe, I really want to stay alive.
"You're awake," Luna repeated.
The smile on her face looked as though it had been painted on—exquisite and haunting.
Under normal circumstances, Ethan might have admired the subtle curve of her lips. But now, he merely paused.
Then, he slowly closed his eyes again.
"No, I'm not."
————That was a lie.
CLANG!
A cold wind brushed past his neck as a heavy thud, like the sound of bone being severed, echoed in his ear!
Shards of stone sprayed onto Ethan's face, making his skin twitch.
"Praying?" Luna asked softly.
Ethan remained silent for a moment before helplessly opening his eyes once more.
The cleaver was embedded in the stone right next to his head. Its silver surface acted like a mirror, reflecting Ethan's face.
It also reflected two bloody punctures on the side of his neck.
...So, she found them after all. Ethan thought. I was hoping to use my magic to hide it. As expected of Luna—ranked number one on the 'Creepy List.'
Creeeak.
The cleaver was slowly lifted.
The image of Luna's slender wrist wielding such a heavy, brutal weapon was visually jarring. This time, the serrated edge was aimed directly at Ethan's throat.
Thump-thump, thump-thump!
Ethan swallowed hard and spoke up. "Listen to my defense—"
"I'm so disappointed..."
Before he could finish, he was cut off.
Luna lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. Her expression was one of such grievance and sorrow that it could melt a heart of stone.
It would have been much more convincing if she wasn't holding a giant cleaver.
"Has even a crude beast been allowed to leave her filthy toxins on you?"
That was a bit much.
Ethan frowned and corrected her. "That's not a toxin. That's a magical mark."
This was an academic matter. Ethan took the task of correcting the Ravenclaw prodigy's error very seriously.
Luna: "..."
This boy really is impossible.
"If I could sever your head, I could possess all your thoughts. I could make it so your late-night whispers were meant for me alone."
Her ethereal, gentle voice drifted into Ethan's ears as the cleaver began its inch-by-inch descent.
Ethan: "Wait—"
"If I could peel away your warm, damp skin, I could embrace the whole of you."
Luna remained unmoved, her clear, warm blue eyes fixed on the boy beneath her. This "family member" had, year after year, unknowingly occupied her entire heart and soul.
The shadow of the cleaver loomed closer.
"If I could swallow your flesh and blood, I could be with you forever and ever... Do you have any last words, my dear Ethan?"
Ethan stared fixedly at Luna's face, which was partially bisected by the reflection of the blade.
He pursed his lips and finally spoke with heavy solemnity:
"Nothing more to say. Please, make it quick!"
A flash of silver light streaked through the air!
CRUNCH!
Michael Corner stepped through the Warp Gate, glancing nervously from side to side.
This was his first time entering the underground Secret Chamber—and his first time realizing that Hogwarts hidden such a place!
He was here on Dumbledore's orders to find Ethan. Or rather, their esteemed Headmaster.
"Ethan? Ethan—Headmaster Vincent? Mr. Lamp?"
Michael called out in a low voice, stepping cautiously through the space filled with eerie green mist. He kept his neck stiff, refusing to look directly at the shadows.
...Whether it was his imagination or not, he thought he saw flickering human faces appearing and disappearing on the walls in his peripheral vision.
"Ethan! Dad! Great Ancestor! Where are you?!"
Michael was on the verge of tears.
Suddenly, his foot landed on something with a squelch. It felt soft and burst like an overripe tomato. A scent drifted up—a mix of metallic rust and something savory.
It smelled like cooked liver.
Gulp.
Michael swallowed and slowly raised his wand. "This is just an old, dilapidated chamber. And this is Hogwarts under Lord Ethan's control."
"There definitely won't be any horrific dismemberment cases... Lumos!"
Flash.
The light flared up, illuminating a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood right in front of him.
Roll, roll, roll.
An eyeball rolled out from the pile. The cobalt-blue iris spun upward, staring directly at him.
Thud.
Michael dropped straight to his knees.
His mouth hung open, his eyes were glazed, and he fell into a state of protective catatonia. His wand slipped from his hand and rolled away.
Clack, clack.
The light shifted as a pair of slender, fair legs appeared. Above them was a light white dress, golden hair... and a beautiful face.
And held in her hands was a familiar, black-haired head.
Luna cradled Ethan's head, blood dripping steadily from the cavity where his neck should be.
"Oh, you've come to join our celebration party~"
The smile on Luna's face widened. She looked at Michael with a gentle, harmless expression.
"Welcome. You can be one of us."
As she spoke, she lifted her foot to walk toward her poor classmate.
The next second—
A dull THUD echoed!
Michael fell backward, instantly sinking into a "sleep of the innocent." His limbs twitched, and he kept muttering, "Ethan, stop eating me..."
By the looks of it, he was having a lovely dream.
?
Luna stopped, tilting her head in confusion.
"—The youth of today have such great stamina. They can fall asleep the moment their heads hit the ground."
A clear, bright voice rang out from behind Luna.
The wand on the ground floated up, caught by a pale hand reaching out from the darkness. The faint light of the Lumos charm suddenly exploded like a sun!
In an instant, the dim chamber was as bright as day.
[Warmest congratulations to my best friend, Ethan Vincent, on becoming the Headmaster of Hogwarts!]
A bouncing banner hung in mid-air.
Ethan toyed with Michael's wand, standing behind Luna like a tall, thin shadow. His smiling face was identical to the head Luna was holding.
Yes. This pile of "flesh" wasn't real; it was made of an edible material similar to cake.
As for why it was still twitching slightly... well, it was a magical world, after all.
[You gave a classmate a massive surprise!] [Gained 0.01% Soul Fusion!]
Immediately, the way Ethan looked at Michael changed.
This two-legged sheep—no, this "leek" to be harvested—no, this dear student of his... could actually contribute to his soul fusion.
Even if it was only 0.01%, a mosquito's leg is still meat!
"One Michael is 0.01%, so a hundred Michaels would be..."
Ethan's eyes lit up as he activated his "peerless intellect."
"I could hit 100% in no time! Soul fusion is within my grasp!"
—Though, realistically, it probably wasn't that simple. But it was worth a try.
While Ethan was busy brainstorming how to abuse his Headmaster privileges, the two puncture wounds on his neck from Nagini were covered by a crescent moon mark.
A silvery moonlight flickered slightly, emitting a freezing chill. Like a declaration of sovereignty, it overbearingly suppressed the bloodied holes.
[You have obtained the special mark: "Luna's Crescent Moon"!] [Luna's Crescent Moon: You understand, don't you? Only one bright moon is permitted to exist in the night sky.] [Filled with possessiveness and ■■. By injecting her own magic into you, you can use Luna's unique Moon Magic to a certain extent.] [Can restore a person's consciousness without damaging their mind. A gentle yet profound magic.]
...Marked again.
Ethan touched the side of his neck. His fingertips felt both ice and heat at the same time—it was a literal "Song of Ice and Fire." However, the cold was clearly superior, suppressing Nagini's curse-like bite.
"I haven't tried Moon Magic before..." Ethan's lips curled into a smirk, his eyes full of anticipation. "Very nice~"
"Oh dear, it's almost embarrassing being this popular~"
Though the weight of this affection is a bit heavy, Ethan added silently.
When Ethan and Luna returned to the castle's main floors, dragging Michael along, the morning sun was already spreading bright and clear outside the windows.
Ethan—the youngest Headmaster in Hogwarts history—took a deep breath of fresh air and surveyed his campus with satisfaction.
As his gaze swept across the grounds, birds went silent, grass and trees seemed to bow, and students froze in terror. Even the sunlight seemed to dim slightly.
In an instant, the vibrant, harmonious campus turned into a silent graveyard.
"Ah—youth. How wonderful," Ethan sighed.
Immediately following that, his grin widened. His arm dropped, and his wand transformed into a paintbrush, dripping with golden color.
...It was time to go "snake" hunting.
The remains of Death, the killer of Dumbledore... that mysterious Hunchbacked Girl!
"Hehe, hehehehe~"
Just as Ethan was letting out a laugh that made everyone within earshot want to run away, a drawling voice rang out from behind him.
"Mr. Vincent."
Ethan stopped but didn't turn around. He said solemnly, "Snapey, do not disturb the Headmaster's dignified stride."
Professor Snape: "..."
The "I want to murder you" look in his eyes was impossible to hide.
A vein popped on Snape's forehead—especially since he realized he had no standing to criticize Ethan's disrespectful nickname. Because, damn it, Ethan was now his boss.
"...Professor Dumbledore is looking for you. He wants you in his office immediately," Snape said through gritted teeth.
Ethan frowned. "Squidward, tell Old Dumbledore I'm busy. I need to head to the Slytherin common room."
"...I am warning you, do not give the staff nicknames!!"
Snape's chest tightened with rage. He glared at a nearby student who was snickering and roared:
"Five points from Gryffindor for leading with the left foot!"
The passing Gryffindor: ???
The "Evil Greasy-Haired Monster" curled his lip, tilted his chin, and looked down at Ethan, enunciating every word:
"Dumbledore is looking for you because of a Slytherin matter."
At that, Ethan's brow arched. He instinctively sensed something.
He exchanged a look with Luna and opened a Warp Gate right beneath their feet. He, Luna, and Snape plummeted through the floor.
Left behind was only Professor Snape's furious roar:
"ETHAN VINCENT!! CAN'T YOU USE YOUR 'DIGNIFIED LEGS' TO WALK LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN BEING—!!!"
Pop.
The gate closed, and the shouting stopped.
Sure enough, when Ethan arrived in the Headmaster's office and saw Professor Dumbledore alongside a frantic Gemma Farley, he knew what had happened.
Ethan: "The hunchbacked girl is gone, isn't she?"
Gemma blinked, blurting out, "How did you know? Yes! That new student, Naga—the one with the spinal issues—she's been missing since the night before last!"
"So her name is 'Naga,'" Ethan nodded slowly. "What a mouthful."
Dumbledore spoke with a smile. "Interestingly enough, 'Naga' means 'Snake God' in Southeast Asian languages."
Snake God.
Ethan's pupils contracted.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, it matched the "Snake" element of the clues. And that hunched-over posture... didn't it look a lot like a snake rearing its body?
"The last witnesses were—"
Ethan's gaze shifted to three other figures in the room.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Ethan paused, his lips curving into a smirk as he winked. "You three really are everywhere, aren't you?"
"To be honest, we'd like to know why, too," Ron said weakly.
"We last saw her in the second-floor girls' lavatory!" Hermione stepped forward, as eager as if she were answering a teacher's question. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Ethan.
But immediately after, she felt two very oppressive gazes.
Luna was smiling at her, but it was the kind of smile that was hard to look at directly. Meanwhile, the Slytherin upperclassman, Gemma, crossed her arms and scanned the three of them slowly.
"The girls' lavatory? You three?"
Ron hurriedly explained, "No! We're not creeps!"
Gemma's eyes narrowed further.
Harry sighed. "It's Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Nobody ever goes there. We use it as... a sort of secret base."
...Honestly, they were Hogwarts students; how could they not know? Gemma was clearly just trying to interrupt Hermione.
Harry shot a glance at the "culprit" of the awkward tension—Ethan, who was wearing a "And then?" expression.
Taking over for the flustered Hermione, Harry continued, "Then, the new girl just vanished. The stall she went into was empty. Even Myrtle has no idea where she went."
The lavatory. Pipes.
Ethan remarked, "Hehe, I wonder if every snake in the world prefers to travel by water?"
"You aren't surprised?" Gemma raised an eyebrow. "You're acting like you expected this."
Originally, Gemma had been anxious because she had lost a student right after becoming a Slytherin "Teaching Assistant." She wasn't worried about the missing girl, but rather about failing Ethan's expectations.
As it turned out—
Ethan shrugged. "I expected it the moment I saw you."
"Heh, of course. When your own existence is clearly suspicious, are you going to wait around for people to catch you? Naturally, once you've infiltrated your destination, you hide immediately. You hide... observe from the shadows, and wait for the right moment. Until you reveal your fangs!"
Ethan suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze piercing toward the ceiling of the office!
"What is Ethan talking about?" Ron was completely lost.
The others were equally confused, not understanding why Ethan had suddenly changed his tone. Only Luna and Dumbledore reacted instantly, their eyes sharpening as they raised their wands.
"Protego! / Fawkes!"
The next second!
[HISSS—!]
The chandelier on the ceiling suddenly transformed into dozens of giant snakes, each as thick as a man's arm! They bared their razor-sharp fangs and lunged down at them!
"An—An assassination?!" Hermione shrieked, her voice filled with shock.
"That's not how an assassination works! You're supposed to use cursed items first, and if that fails, you use poison! How can you just launch a sneak attack?!"
—That was definitely not how they taught it in the Defense Against the Dark Arts Manual!
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