"Professor Westeros!"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned around simultaneously, only to see Adrian standing at the entrance, wand raised, his expression focused despite his calm demeanor.
Voldemort's cracking face turned toward Adrian, his scarlet pupils contracting slightly.
He certainly recognized Adrian—after all, it was this man who had made Quirrell eat that strange apple, forcing him out of Quirrell's body.
"I can't let you harm my students."
Adrian spoke while walking in front of the three students, protecting them, his wand raised in confrontation with Voldemort.
Voldemort seemed to find this amusing; his piercing laughter echoed throughout the room.
"It seems... I've been gone too long..." His voice was cold as a serpent's hiss. "Now just anyone dares to point a wand at me?"
Adrian remained silent, only gripping his wand tighter while mentally summoning the Wisdom Tree.
[Status: Extremely unstable]
Meanwhile, Adrian placed his left hand behind his back, discreetly pointing at the Philosopher's Stone on the ground.
Harry immediately understood Adrian's intention.
While Voldemort's attention was focused entirely on Adrian, Harry darted forward, executed a side roll, grabbed the Philosopher's Stone from the ground, and threw it forcefully toward Adrian.
The Philosopher's Stone traced an arc through the air, landing precisely in Adrian's hand.
The moment he caught the Stone, the Wisdom Tree began its analysis.
[Analyzing... 1%... 2%...]
Perhaps because the Wisdom Tree had grown recently, this time it displayed the progress of its analysis of the Philosopher's Stone.
And the speed wasn't slow!
Voldemort finally realized what had happened and let out an angry hiss: "Give it to me!"
Adrian gave him a look reserved for fools.
Did he really expect him to hand it over just because he asked?
At that moment, Voldemort took out a vial containing a silvery liquid that emitted an eerie glow in the dim environment.
He drank the entire potion in one gulp.
[Name: Unicorn Heart Blood]
[Effect: Obtain powerful life force for a short time, but suffer an eternal curse]
The moment Voldemort drank the unicorn's heart blood, the air in the entire room seemed to freeze.
Then, Voldemort's body began to convulse violently. The cracks that already existed suddenly expanded, spreading across his entire body, with silvery light seeping through these fissures.
[Warning: Extremely dangerous...]
In fact, even without the Wisdom Tree's warning, Adrian could already feel the suffocating pressure.
But Adrian knew that although Voldemort's aura was terrifying, Quirrell's body couldn't support him much longer.
The body was undergoing a horrifying transformation; even the skin had begun to peel off.
Adrian turned and shouted at Harry and his friends, while quickly casting a Shield Charm in front of them.
"It's not enough, but... what a wonderful feeling..."
Voldemort's voice was like metal scraping against metal as he raised his wand.
A blinding green light shot from Voldemort's wand, shattering Adrian's Shield Charm instantly upon contact.
In the nick of time, Adrian turned sharply to the side. The killing curse almost grazed his shoulder and struck the wall behind him.
Harry cried out in alarm, seeing that the part of Adrian's shoulder robe touched by the spell had turned charred black.
Adrian kept his eyes fixed on Voldemort. After using the Killing Curse, a piece of skin had fallen from Voldemort's arm.
Just a little longer...
Seeing that his spell had failed again, Voldemort's twisted face became even more distorted as he stared at Adrian.
He knew he couldn't escape today.
Even if he killed the person blocking his way, this body could no longer support his escape from the castle.
Having drunk the unicorn's heart blood, he didn't have much time left.
Voldemort suddenly calmed down, straightened his body, and said, "You know what? Coming here tonight was a mistake, both for me and for you."
He slowly stepped forward, his voice becoming unusually gentle: "I admit you've successfully stopped me. But... You will die here, while I will not."
"That remains to be seen."
Adrian had a bad feeling about this. Something was off about Voldemort's state.
In fact, Voldemort had already abandoned the idea of escaping with the Philosopher's Stone.
His current goal was to kill Adrian and Harry Potter!
Voldemort suddenly lunged forward, his wand tip emitting a blinding green light: "Avada Kedavra!"
The killing curse shot toward Adrian's chest at an alarming speed.
Under the desperate gaze of Harry and his friends, the green light struck Adrian's chest, sending his body flying backward like a kite with cut strings, crashing heavily into the stone wall.
Seeing this, Voldemort let out a victorious snarl: "One down."
He slowly turned, pointing his wand at Harry, "Now it's your turn—"
Before he could finish.
Adrian was seen getting up from the ground, grimacing: "That really hurt."
Voldemort whipped around, looking at Adrian in disbelief. Adrian shook his robes, and some dried tendrils fell from beneath them.
That's right, Devil's Snare.
Adrian had covered himself with Devil's Snare from the beginning, using it to shield against the Killing Curse.
Devil's Snare is a symbiotic organism composed of countless vines that share consciousness yet remain independent.
When the Killing Curse hit Adrian, some of the Devil's Snare vines sacrificed themselves to protect him.
Now it was his turn to counterattack.
Adrian didn't think he would lose to a Voldemort who was forcibly borrowing someone else's body.
Adrian quickly raised his wand and cast several spells at Voldemort.
However, Voldemort merely flicked his wand dismissively, easily deflecting those spells.
"Is that all you've got?" He said, with a twisted smile on his face that was so broken it was barely recognizable.
Seeing this, Adrian's expression grew grave.
Although Voldemort's body was collapsing, the Dark Lord's magical prowess remained powerful.
[Analyzing... 99%... 100%]
Adrian looked at the Philosopher's Stone in his left hand.
The Stone suddenly emitted a dazzling red light in Adrian's palm, and then, like flowing sand, began to disintegrate, dissolving into countless tiny red specks that dispersed into the air.
Voldemort's pupils contracted sharply: "What have you done to it?!"
But Adrian revealed a knowing smile, mentally reciting: "Eldra."
[Name: Eldra (Wisdom Tree)]
[Type: Oak] [Level: 4]
[Traits: Object Analysis, Soul Connection, Soul Purification, Energy Amplification]
[Status: Growing (0%)]
The Wisdom Tree had successfully advanced further, gaining a new trait.
Energy Amplification!
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