Chapter 127: The Final Courage (Patreon)

"What did you see?"

Quirrell turned and glared at Elavin.

Elavin didn't hide anything. He openly told them what he had seen.

Quirrell and Voldemort were both stunned.

Chief of Earth?

You really dare to dream that big, kid!

"Professor Quirrell, are you alright?"

"Shut up!"

"I'm extremely angry right now. If you don't want to die, keep quiet!"

Having come this far, only to get stuck at the final hurdle, neither Quirrell nor Voldemort was willing to accept defeat.

"Master, what do we do now?"

"If we can't get it, we'll go back for now. Now that we know how to deal with that three-headed dog, we can come back another time."

"But if we don't take the Philosopher's Stone tonight, what if Dumbledore notices someone has been here and moves the Philosopher's Stone away?"

"Then as long as the information doesn't get out, won't that solve the problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"That boy beside us is useless now. Capture him first and make sure he doesn't tell anyone what happened tonight!"

"Capture him?"

"Kill him! Only the dead can keep secrets forever!"

"No! If a student dies at Hogwarts, the Ministry will definitely investigate thoroughly. We'll be exposed even faster. Besides, Dumbledore's fury is not something to underestimate!"

"Then use the Imperius Curse on him. That's the minimum guarantee!"

"F-fine..."

Elavin raised an eyebrow.

Daring to scheme against me like this?

Voldemort, Quirrell, you've chosen your own path to death!

Elavin naturally knew the correct way to obtain the Philosopher's Stone.

Only someone who wanted the Philosopher's Stone but had no intention of using it could retrieve it.

Quirrell and Voldemort wanted to use it to restore their life force. That counted as "using it," so they could not obtain it.

As for Elavin, he didn't want the Philosopher's Stone at all.

The Philosopher's Stone had only two uses: turning metal into gold and restoring life force.

As for turning metal into gold, Elavin was not short of money.

The various potent potions he had developed were sold on the market, bringing him a considerable income every month.

Most importantly, the production cost was practically zero.

As for restoring life force, he had already developed four versions of the Life Potion.

The 4.0 version even contained the extremely rare unicorn blood, and its effects were almost absurdly powerful.

As long as the person wasn't dead, they could be saved.

Originally, Elavin planned to continue playing with the two of them, but now it seemed better to simply take action.

Requip!

Elavin silently chanted, and two magical pistols appeared in his hands.

Swish!

Quirrell's wand shot out from his right sleeve.

Suddenly! Quirrell spun around, his wand pointing at Elavin at the same time.

"Stupefy!"

A beam of spell light shot out, but unexpectedly, it hit nothing.

The place where Elavin had been standing was already completely empty!

"What?!" Quirrell was shocked.

In that moment of confusion, a shock round came from the side.

BANG!

The shock round accurately struck Quirrell's right forearm, and a small spray of blood burst from the wound.

Under the effect of magic, the bullet did not penetrate his arm. Instead, it embedded itself directly into the muscle.

With a crackling sound, the paralyzing current and intense pain spread throughout his body.

Quirrell screamed. His right hand instantly lost all feeling, and his wand slipped from his grasp.

While his entire body was stiff, he saw another bullet shoot toward him from the side.

BOOM!

The explosive round detonated less than ten centimeters from Quirrell's face.

The terrifying impact sent his entire body flying backward.

The purple scarf wrapped around Quirrell's head was shredded by the explosion's heat, with large and small pieces scattering across the floor.

"H-How... how could this happen..."

Quirrell lay on the ground in a spread-eagle position, staring blankly at the ceiling.

His face was almost burned into charcoal, and it was filled with disbelief.

This entire turn of events was completely beyond his expectations.

He never imagined that Elavin, whom he had treated as prey and believed he could easily control, was actually a cunning hunter with a deep and calculated mind!

Voldemort was even more furious, especially because his arrogant face was now pressed tightly against the ground.

"Useless fool!"

"Get up already!"

"How long are you going to keep lying there?!"

Because Quirrell's scarf had been destroyed, his bald head and the face of Voldemort on the back of his head were now completely exposed.

There was no longer any need to hide.

"M-Master... I can't move..."

Under normal circumstances, the paralysis effect of a shock round lasted up to five minutes.

If it hit someone with a well-trained body, they could shorten the paralysis time.

However, Quirrell was only a theoretical wizard. His body had always lacked exercise, and after months of having his life force drained by Voldemort, his physical condition had already declined to the point where he was weaker than even a young wizard.

Forget five minutes. Even after lying there for ten minutes, he might still be unable to move.

Hearing this, Voldemort's anger burned even hotter.

Without hesitation, he began draining Quirrell's life force again.

Quirrell immediately screamed in agony.

He wanted to struggle and resist, but under the effects of the shock round, he couldn't even move a single finger.

At that moment, a familiar voice reached his ears.

"What a disgrace, Voldemort!"

"The great Dark Lord has actually fallen into such a miserable state. I imagine you must be extremely unwilling to accept this situation!"

Voldemort immediately stopped moving.

Quirrell narrowly escaped another drain and greedily gasped for air like a drowning man.

"It's you, that damn brat!"

"E-Elavin...?!"

The two of them felt as if they had fallen into an ice pit.

Damn! I've been tricked!

This kid knew my identity from the very beginning! Tonight's operation was aimed at me from the start!

No, he's only a first-year student, a Hufflepuff. There's no way he could have accomplished all this alone!

The one who discovered my identity must have been Dumbledore!

This kid is just a pawn Dumbledore pushed onto the stage!

Voldemort wasn't the only one who thought this. Quirrell had the same idea.

"Elavin, Dumbledore sent you, didn't he?"

"Quick, save me!"

"You-Know-Who is on the back of my head! He has taken control of my body and is forcibly draining my life force! I'm going to die!"

Quirrell's voice was filled with tears.

He knew that the only thing he could do now was separate himself from Voldemort as quickly as possible, begging for mercy and a chance to survive.

"Quirrell, you traitor! You actually dare betray me?!"

Voldemort roared in fury and intensified the force with which he drained Quirrell's life force.

"Bah! You inhuman freak, so what if I betray you?!"

"I never willingly joined you from the beginning. You forced me into helping you!"

"Now, I've had enough!"

Quirrell screamed and cursed at the same time.

At this moment of life and death, he displayed a courage and resolve he had never shown before, even surprising himself.

"Just wait and see! Once Professor Dumbledore makes his move, death is the only path left for you!!"