Regulus Black took out the [Golden Memory Dragon Egg Secret Realm] and uprooted the entire Devil's Snare, storing it within.
Inside the Dragon Egg Secret Realm, the map is divided into three territories, each ruled by a boss: the Undead Dragon, the Skeletal Dragon, and the Phantom Dragon.
Due to its nature, the Devil's Snare was thrown by Regulus Black into the Undead Dragon's domain.
He landed on the ground and walked toward the door of the third challenge, quietly listening for a moment.
With the sound of a series of intense collisions, it was clear that Harry Potter and the others had already passed through this stage.
When Regulus Black pushed open the door, all the keys that had pinned themselves to it detached automatically. Even the large, old key that had opened the door wriggled itself free from the keyhole.
Since Harry had ridden the broomstick into the next room, Regulus Black no longer had any tools available.
But that wouldn't be a problem for an excellent wizard—especially one who thinks outside the box. Most wizards would follow the logic and design of the challenge and try to break through with superior power, but Regulus Black's thinking went beyond the rules of the test itself.
"It's up to you now. Go… Trevor!"
Regulus Black pointed his wand at Neville's pet toad, Trevor. Trevor opened his wide mouth, a long tongue shot out, curled through the air toward the flying keys, and instantly retracted—swallowing over ten keys in one go.
And so it began. Though Regulus Black kept Trevor perched on his shoulder, the toad's tongue could stretch all the way up to the skylight.
Each time, Trevor swallowed a dozen or so keys, yet his body showed no abnormality—he didn't swell up or explode. He just kept repeating the process: tongue out, catch, retract.
Eventually, all the flying keys were devoured—down to the last one, including the large, old key.
"Ribbit… ribbit!"
Trevor croaked and obediently opened his mouth to spit out the large, old key.
"Good job, Trevor! But I'll need one more favor from you."
Regulus Black held Trevor with one hand while casting a spell with the other.
Bubbles began forming on Trevor's back. The already gross pustules began to look infected and rotten.
Soon, a golden, uniquely shaped key was squeezed out from a swollen blister.
After a short while, a second golden, uniquely shaped key was also forced out.
One after another, twelve golden keys emerged in total before the blisters on Trevor's back began to fade and heal.
Regulus Black let the exhausted Trevor stay on his shoulder and waved his wand to collect the twelve golden keys.
Each of these keys had a distinct design at both ends—symbols representing the twelve zodiac constellations.
They would serve as the keys to control and summon the Twelve Zodiac Demons. Each key contained a spell for crafting door keys. The holder could reverse summon the corresponding Zodiac Demon to fight by their side, and each demon would obey only the keyholder's command.
This granted Regulus Black full control over the Twelve Zodiac Demons.
He approached another door, gently inserting and turning the large, old key in the lock.
He wondered whether Ron had finished the wizard's chess game on the other side.
"Checkmate!"
Harry stood in front of the opposing king. The game had reached the point where the enemy king was already taken.
Harry and Hermione rushed over to the unconscious Ron, who had fallen to the ground. However, they knew he hadn't been struck by a chess piece directly. He had simply fallen off the knight's horse and fainted from fear.
Given Ron's bravery in this challenge, Hermione decided to forgive his earlier arrogance and prejudice.
"Take good care of Ron, then go find an owl and send a letter to Dumbledore. Ron was right. I have to go on."
Harry had been deeply moved by Ron's self-sacrifice, reigniting his chuunibyou spirit.
He was ready to continue alone into the final stage! Although that had always been Dumbledore's plan, the final puzzle involved Snape's logic riddle—and a wrong answer meant drinking poison.
Regulus Black, who had already entered invisibly, had to fight the urge to roll his eyes again. This was seriously lacking in elegance.
"Whispering Whisper!"
Regulus immediately cast a spell he developed from his system's skill tree, sending his voice directly to Hermione's ear.
[Whispering Whisper] was derived from the necromancer curse-type spell [Confusing Whispers]. It perfectly filled the gap between [Sonorous] and [Murmur], allowing him to convey messages directly to a target without others overhearing.
"Hermione! Tell Harry Potter to leave Ron where he is. You already sent me a message before coming in."
Regulus Black couldn't allow Harry to venture ahead alone—losing control over the situation could lead to unintended consequences.
Hermione, as sharp as ever, responded swiftly in this critical moment.
"Harry! Actually, I need to tell you something—I sent a letter to Assistant Professor Black before coming here. I believe they'll be arriving shortly, maybe even with other professors. So, leaving Ron here is the best option."
"You actually revealed this to someone else!"
Harry Potter hadn't expected Hermione to do something so traitorous. Changing houses really did change her loyalty.
"If we had told any other professor, our plan would have failed. Only Assistant Professor Black would help us."
Hermione couldn't tolerate any insult toward the person she loved most. The little girl spoke up loudly in defense of her professor.
This made the invisible Regulus Black, watching from nearby, feel deeply gratified. He hadn't doted on her in vain.
"Maybe while you're arguing with me, the Philosopher's Stone is being stolen."
Hermione's words jolted Harry. He had been so caught up in everything else, he almost forgot their actual mission.
In the end, Harry had no choice but to compromise. Leaving Ron behind to wait for help, he proceeded with Hermione toward the next trial.
As the two of them stepped into a room—or rather, a corridor—flames immediately erupted both behind and ahead of them.
On a table sat a row of uniquely shaped crystal potion bottles, along with a piece of parchment.
Watching Harry and Hermione leave, Regulus Black finally dispelled his invisibility.
With a flick of his wand, Ron was tossed to the side of the wall—worsening his injuries a bit, perhaps, but as long as he wasn't dead, it was fine. The school's medical staff wasn't there for decoration, after all.
As soon as Ron was removed, the entire chessboard began to change. The once chaotic scene started to clean itself, and the damaged chess pieces repaired themselves one after another. Each piece automatically returned to its proper position. The whole process took no more than a minute.
Regulus Black stepped forward. Just as he reached the center of the board, the row of soldiers on the other side drew their twin blades.
It was, admittedly, a rather intimidating sight.
Compared to Professor McGonagall's setup, Regulus Black's handling of the wizard chessboard was far more complex.
First, he channeled his magic into several key nodes, completely taking control of the chessboard's mechanics.
Once he had full control, he used the Levitation Charm to uproot the entire chessboard and suspend it in the air.
At that point, the board was pristine—every piece was in place, not even a speck of dust remained.
Then, Regulus Black released the fusion of Dementors and Boggarts, sending one into each chess piece.
Soon, the pieces began to show signs of melting, slowly transforming into what Regulus Black desired.
The altered pieces now depicted angels on one side and demons on the other—all in female form.
On the angel side, the pawns were identical—female archangels kneeling with clenched fists in prayer.
The back row consisted of: Dominion Angels with scepters, Virtues with bows, Powers with swords, Principalities on horseback, Thrones seated regally, Wisdom Angels holding law books, Seraphim with six wings, and finally, the virgin goddess Lilith.
On the demon side, the pawns were female succubi bound in chains, kneeling on the ground.
The back row featured demon lords representing the Seven Deadly Sins—Pride, Envy, Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust—as well as the six-winged fallen Seraph, Lucifer.
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