81 Chapter 81 - The Ancient

As everyone who didn't need to be present left the room, Asmodeus spoke,

"Show me."

The Ancient nodded, and a dark mark appeared on her forehead. Whether Odin, Nicolas, or Asmodeus, all felt the dark energy coursing through the Ancient's body at that moment. This energy was unruly, aggressive, and destructive. Only those with the strongest wills could resist its corruption for a while. However, even such individuals couldn't harness it indefinitely. Honestly, inspecting the Ancient, Asmodeus couldn't fathom how her body still functioned so well. The Ancient chose future death for a reason, especially since she didn't truly die but existed without a physical form in an astral state.

"Alright, let's begin. Drink as much as you can in one go. According to my calculations, when you consume around 50 liters, you should be able to sever the connection with the dark dimension. But for certainty, wait until you've drunk around 60 liters."

After Asmodeus finished speaking, Nicolas added,

"By the way, don't worry about not fitting that much liquid into you. The elixir of life simply disperses throughout your body as soon as it enters the system. In short, you can keep drinking until you get tired."

"Alright..."

Asmodeus handed the Ancient a small flask and said.

"A spell of endless extension is cast upon it; there's over 100 liters. When you feel the bottle is halfway empty, after some time, start interrupting the connection."

Nodding, the Ancient began drinking the elixir. Immediately, she felt a gentle energy spreading through her body, reinforcing the link between her astral and physical selves.

Sip by sip, the Ancient absorbed the life energy. After about half an hour, she sensed the flask becoming lighter, but she knew it wasn't time yet. If she severed the connection with the dark dimension now, she would age into an 80-year-old woman. To maintain her current appearance, she planned to drink half of what remained in the flask, ensuring she wouldn't age visibly before Odin, Asmodeus, and Nicolas.

After another 15 or maybe 20 minutes, she felt the time had come. Her body was now filled with such an abundance of life energy that even if a spear were thrust into her heart, nothing would happen. Gradually, she started breaking the connection with the dark dimension—not immediately but gradually, cutting off the streams of dark mana flowing towards her through one channel at a time. When half of these streams remained, she paused.

"The elixir is finished. Can I have more?"

"Oh, yes. Of course. Take as much as you need."

Nicolas took the empty flask, exchanged it for a new one filled with the elixir, and handed it to the Ancient. She continued gradually severing the connection with the dark dimension while absorbing the elixir.

Another hour passed.

The Ancient stood before everyone, the dark mark no longer on her forehead, and everything seemed fine. Her appearance hadn't changed; she didn't age in an instant as Asmodeus had feared in case of failure.

"Now, the runes. Here, I'll assist."

Asmodeus handed her a brochure from the Muggle world, positioning himself behind the Ancient, guiding her hands on her back. He had already drawn the runic formation while the Ancient was drinking the elixir, so they immediately got to work. Since the Ancient's body was already accustomed to mana, they quickly inscribed three circles. However, what Asmodeus noticed were minor damages—insignificant but marks left by the dark energy.

"Nicolas, summon Albus."

"Is something wrong?"

"Everything is fine; it's just that the dark energy caused some internal injuries that the elixir couldn't heal. Ask him for phoenix tears."

"Alright."

Nicolas quickly left the room and headed towards Albus.

Seeing someone exiting the room, Tony and Steve almost simultaneously asked, "Well? Successful?"

Realizing that the Ancient was one of the figures protecting the Earth just by existing, they naturally didn't want to lose her and wished for her to live as long as possible.

"Don't distract; everything is fine. But we need something else. Hey, Albus. Do you have phoenix tears with you?"

"Yes, two vials. I always carry them just in case of extreme necessity."

"Give me both; I don't know how much we need, but Asmodeus said she has internal injuries that the elixir of life can't heal."

"Alright, here you go."

"Thanks."

Without delay, Nicolas headed back into the room.

When the door closed behind Nicolas, Tony approached Dumbledore.

"Phoenix, is this the one that can be reborn from ashes?"

"Yes, they are essentially immortal. A phoenix won't die unless it chooses to. Truly remarkable creatures."

"So, in your world, there are phoenixes? Are they bred like dragons?"

Dumbledore: 'Do I look like livestock for breeding purposes!'

"No, phoenixes are even rarer in our world. Tamed ones are even scarcer. My situation is just unique. The Dumbledore family lineage carries the blood of the phoenix. There's even a legend in our family that when danger threatens a Dumbledore, a phoenix will surely come to their aid."

"Convenient, I suppose..."

"Yes, convenient... **** I forgot!"

Dumbledore said and burst into flames on the spot.

"Ah! Put it out, put it out. Water! Where's water?!"

Before the Avengers could do anything, a pile of ashes lay infront of them.

Avengers: ＼(〇_ｏ)／

"He just died...?"

"Tony, did you kill the wizard?"

"I didn't do anything! He was talking, talking, and then this!"

At that moment, Asmodeus, Nicolas, and the rejuvenated Ancient emerged from the room.

But as they stepped out, they witnessed a peculiar scene.

The Avengers, clearly disturbed and bordering on hysterics, stand staring at the pile of ashes. Meanwhile, Grindelwald sits in a corner, struggling to contain his laughter.

"Um, guys, what's wrong?"

"Dumbledore, he, he, he burned!"

"He was just standing here. But now he's, he's dead!"

"We didn't even have time to do anything. He just burst into flames and turned into a pile of ashes!"

Upon hearing the Avengers' words, Asmodeus and Nicolas couldn't help but smile. Gradually, it became challenging for them to contain themselves as they noticed movement in the pile of ashes.

At this point, Grindelwald couldn't hold back anymore; he began laughing hysterically.

"HA-HA-HA, MY MERLIN, WHAT A PERFECT TIME FOR REBIRTH!! NO, REALLY, DID YOU SEE THEIR FACES? THAT'S HILARIOUS."

Nicolas and Asmodeus also started laughing.

"HA-HA-HA, I CAN'T, THIS IS SIMPLY HILARIOUS. OH DUMBLEDORE, AHAHAHA, LOOK AT YOUR DEAD DUMBLEDORE!"

At that moment, a small bird crawled out of the pile of ashes.

"CHIRP! CHIRP CHIRP!"

"HAHAHA!"

Seeing Dumbledore in the form of a bedraggled chicken, dismayed at how his wizard colleagues are behaving, Asmodeus, Nicolas, and Grindelwald burst into even louder laughter.

"HAHAHA, I CAN'T, HOW COULD YOU FORGET ABOUT THE TIME OF REBIRTH!"

The Avengers couldn't comprehend what was so amusing. Out of nowhere, their comrade burst into flames and transformed into a chick. While they had witnessed Dumbledore transforming into a bird before, it looked more like an Animagus transformation. This time, he just spontaneously combusted...

At that moment, the chick began to grow in size until it turned into a child of about 5-7 years old.

"You!!! Why are you laughing!? Believe it or not, I will fight!!!"

"Oh, little Dambor is such an aggressive munchkin."

"Oh, look, he's taking his first steps!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

While Grindelwald and Nicolas teased the little Dumbledore, Natasha approached Asmodeus.

"Um, is this normal?"

"Oh, you mean Albus's form? Well, yes, we're used to it."

"Is it some kind of curse?"

"What? No, no. It's his lineage. He has phoenix blood, and all the abilities of a phoenix. So, he can be reborn when his body feels old. Phoenixes typically undergo rebirth once a year on average... So, we occasionally witness this scene. Usually, he remembers when the time is due, but when he forgets... This happens."

"So, he periodically goes through rebirth, then ages, and is reborn again?"

"Well, something like that. He's immortal like a phoenix, but the 'aging' process for a phoenix and a human is different. So, when Albus looks around 50, part of his phoenix side thinks it's time to be reborn and return to its peak..."