0324 The Trade

The underground world, which had hardly changed for hundreds of years, obviously wouldn't undergo any unexpected changes in the few weeks he had been away. Everything remained the same, chaotic yet orderly.

On the far side of the Commission wall, two wizards were engaged in a lively skirmish, the powerful gusts of their clashing spells extinguishing scores of the suspended torches that hovered in midair, their flickering flames snuffed out in an instant. Those few souls brave or foolish enough to venture near this impromptu battlefield swiftly altered their trajectories, giving the trouble spot a wide spot. Norrus glanced at it and noticed that Kakus Fawley was hiding behind a tall mission board, looking helpless.

After a moment's thought, Norrus decided not to approach Kakus for information.

Instead, he turned sharply to his right, following the winding course of a stone staircase that appeared to have been painstakingly carved into the very fabric of the wall itself. He came to a halt upon a raised platform, standing before a crude fireplace that had been embedded into the rock face.

The fireplaces of the underground world functioned quite differently from their above-ground counterparts, more akin to Portkeys capable of magically transporting one to various locations.

Norus retrieved a scrap of parchment from his pocket, noting the fireplace number he should use and the coordinates of its exit point. Kakus had sent this via owl - on the other side awaited the wizard who had accepted his commission.

While wall fireplaces were typically used for emergency transportation, few wizards used them to locate transaction sites. But Norrus found nothing unusual about this, as the item he was about to trade was sensitive and massive, and appearing suddenly in the underground world without caution might attract the attention of the Aurors stationed here.

Thinking of the Aurors, Norrus's mouth twisted into a grin.

Not to mention the embarrassment Rufus Scrimgeour, as the head of the Auror Office, had faced at the highly publicized press conference over the past two weeks.

Despite being the Head of the Auror Office, he had made no progress or achievements in the recent series of events. For some time now, Scrimgeour had been wearing a gloomy expression that never seemed to dissipate.

After configuring the string of characters above the fireplace's mantle, the dim hearth erupted with an eerie emerald blaze. Norus inhaled deeply, pocketing his wand from Ollivander's and instead retrieving a staff tipped with a crystalline orb.

The situation on the other side of the fireplace was uncertain, and he had to remain vigilant.

Whoosh!

A menacing torrent of flame erupted from the ground, and countless illusory shadows flashed before his eyes. But in an instant, the scene before him froze.

Norrus found himself situated amid a cluster of towering, cloud-piercing peaks, surrounded on all sides by a tapestry of lush, rolling mountainsides. He stood upon a tiny islet composed of weathered yellow rock, no more than a hundred feet in diameter, surrounded by the glassy surface of a crystal-clear alpine lake whose mirrorlike waters perfectly reflected the low-slung blanket of clouds that cloaked the heavens.

'Where is this place?'

The thought flashed through Norrus's mind, and the scene before him seemed familiar, but for a moment, he couldn't remember where he had seen it. However, at that moment, a loud rumbling came from several peaks away, making him understand his approximate location.

The thunderous roar of the Hogwarts Express echoed between the towering mountains. The mist expelled by the train's engine dissipated quickly in the howling mountain wind, but the heavy rumbling of the train's body rolling on the tracks lingered between the steep mountains.

"This place… isn't far from Hogwarts."

Norrus murmured softly, his eyes tensing—'could this be a trap? Dumbledore, that troublesome old man, was at Hogwarts. Who would be foolish enough to choose this place for a transaction?'

Just as he hesitated and contemplated whether to run, the ground and the lake suddenly trembled violently. A deep and powerful magic surged from the bottomless lake, staining this bright world with darkness.

In the sky above, the white clouds floating above the mountaintops seemed to be drenched in a large pot of ink, instantly turning dark. Within the heavy leaden clouds, ominous lightning flickered!

Crack!

A dazzling thunderbolt struck the turbulent lake, and this seemed to be a signal. Following that, dozens, of terrifying lightning bolts struck one after another. For a while, the vast lake was filled with countless flickering electric lights.

The sight before him turned Norrus's complexion pale, and he gasped in shock, so stunned that he even forgot to escape using apparition!

At this moment, a huge vortex appeared in front of him, and he immediately realized that there was a colossal creature hidden in the lake, and now, this creature was about to reveal its true form.

What kind of thing could cause such terrifying changes in nature and celestial phenomena?

Fear filled Norrus's mind as he stared fixedly at the gradually clear black shadow. Unconsciously, a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

Snap!

When this colossal skeleton, towering sixty feet high, appeared in the world, Norrus opened his mouth in a daze and couldn't maintain his standing posture. With a thud, he knelt on the ground!

Under the gloomy clouds and above the dark waters, a gigantic skeleton resembling an ancient titan stood imposingly in the middle of the lake. Each polished, gleaming thick white bone was entwined with tendril-like bolts of lightning, while two enormous eye sockets atop the skull blazed with dark green flames that harbored an evil necromantic power. This profound display shook Norrus Deman who was well-versed in such matters to his core-- tears streamed down his face as every cell in his body trembled with excitement!

Ages ago, in ancient times long faded into obscurity, the very fabric of the magical environment saturating the Earth underwent a sudden, drastic change for unknown reasons. The once incredibly powerful and dominant entities that had formerly rivaled even the mightiest of 'Ancient' wizards began to perish, one after another, until their very existence was erased from the annals of history entirely.

This catastrophic decline directly triggered the steady erosion and regression of the formerly prestigious lineage of necromancers, mages who dealt with the controlling of undead creatures. The crucial factor underlying their gradual demise was the lack of mighty undead beings from which they derived their power.

Just think about it, the remaining necromancers now have fallen to the point where they can't even obtain fresh bones and components from "weak" creatures like dragons to fuel their spells and rituals. If this continues, the extinction of their school of magic was almost certain.

Norrus could never have dreamed that in his lifetime, he would encounter such a mighty titan giant skeleton that had already been refined by dark magic.

"It seems—" As Norrus lay prostrate on the ground, offering a thousand thanks for this divine gift, an old, hoarse voice, tinged with a hint of laughter, suddenly came from above, "It seems like you're quite fond of my little pet, Thanatos."

Startled by the sudden voice, Norrus trembled for a moment. But after regaining his composure, he immediately jumped up and looked around, finally finding the source of the voice above the giant skeleton's skull.

"Golden Viper?" Norrus breathed in stunned disbelief upon recognizing the distinctive magical vortex swirling around the figure, as well as the trademark insignia marked upon his collar.

 "You haven't… Oh, you've been out of sight for a while, and everyone thought you—cough, I mean, it's been a long time, Viper!" he corrected himself hastily.

"Many people want me dead, but no one has succeeded."

Bryan chuckled coldly as he floated down from the top of the skeleton, landing in front of Thanatos.

The two were not strangers, having collaborated more than once. Seeing that it was Viper, Thanatos let go of his fear of being trapped. Although Viper was ruthless, he generally played by the rules unless provoked first.

"It seems that not many people in the underworld dare to trouble you..."

Thanatos casually agreed. His attention was focused on the earth-shattering creature in front of him. He stared eagerly at the giant skeleton that Bryan had brought from Avalon Island, drooling from the corner of his mouth.

"Where did you get this big guy?"

"From an ancient ruin..."

Viper said, noticing the gleam in Thanatos' eyes. He added,

"Don't bother, Thanatos, that place has now collapsed. This bony frame caused me some trouble, so considering it might be worth some money, I brought it out of there—"

Glancing at the drooling Thanatos, Viper tilted his head and chuckled.

"I heard from Kakus that you're seeking a new commanding undead. How about it, does it meet your requirements?"

"Of course, I'm willing to spend all my fortune to buy it!"

Thanatos blurted out, but then immediately realized that this was not the attitude for negotiating. After coughing twice, he cautiously glanced at Viper and said sheepishly,

"What I mean is, I'm willing to spend my entire fortune if it's in perfect condition, but you see—"

Thanatos pointed to the gruesome crack on the right leg bone of the skeleton.

"That must have been caused during your fight with it. You were able to suppress such a powerful undead creature, Viper, no wonder you don't care about doing such things under Dumbledore's nose… Ahem, I mean, it's flawed, isn't it? The price should be discounted."

"You have no right to bargain with me, Thanatos—"

Bryan said without hesitation.

It was destined to be an unequal trade. The undead giant in Bryan's hands was one of a kind, and you probably couldn't find a second one in the entire world. To a necromancer like Thanatos, whose strength largely depended on commanding undead, this skeleton was irresistibly attractive.

"I, I understand"

Thanatos said bitterly, silently reaching into his storage pouch and rummaging through its contents,

"I just hope, after all, we are friends, aren't we? Viper, friendship is more precious than gold."

If it weren't for his current identity as Golden Viper, Bryan would have been laughing at Thanatos's pitiful demeanor. This man's character in the Ministry of Magic was not like this at all; it seemed he was always disguising himself.

Norrus began transferring various items related to his necromancer heritage from the expanded interior of his pouch. What remained were all the galleons he had painstakingly accumulated over the years, in addition to several valuable alchemical tools and apparatuses.

"Is this all?" Bryan inquired, a hint of displeasure tingeing his words as he took extended bag and appraised its contents, gauging the substantial weight in his palm.

If he were to be objectively honest, the sum of galleons Norrus gave represented quite a considerable fortune by most conventions. However, when compared to the utterly priceless, irreplaceable skeletal remains of the primordial titan giant, it was an almost insignificant sum. Thanatos himself was well aware of this, and he was afraid that Viper would suddenly change his mind and refuse to sell the skeleton to him. So, he didn't dare to make any clever arguments and simply said through gritted teeth,

"I'm willing to help you in a task, Viper. Whatever it is, as long as you're willing to give me this skeleton."

A glimmer of light flashed in Bryan's eyes as he sarcastically remarked with disdain,

"You should be aware of the gap in strength between us, Thanatos; you can't offer me any help."

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