Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
Guys, I have a request. I'm short on my college sem fees, and if you could donate, that would help me immensely!
paypal.me/Un1que01
I will gift everyone who donates a membership to my patreon equivalent to their donation. I will appreciate your help!
******
Ivan the Great's Stasis Field gave Harry an eerie sense of déjà vu, reminiscent of the Word-Spirit "Time Zero."
However, this wasn't a case of time freezing—it was the ultimate deceleration on a physical level. Everything but the soul was affected by this domain. Even these soldiers, modified through mechanical means, couldn't send out a single signal from the chips implanted in their brains. After all, electricity relies on the movement of electrons—and here, all motion approached absolute stillness.
Yet Harry's naturally radiating Awakened magic spread out into a protective barrier, shielding him from Ivan's Stasis Field. The "rules" of magic held a crushing advantage when up against the rules of physics. But magic can only be defeated by stronger magic—and in the presence of greater magical force, that same crushing dominance applied.
Ivan, however, was not surprised. As one of the world's most elite powerhouses, he possessed far deeper knowledge of the magical world's secrets. Compared to Dumbledore, who had yet to ascend into the highest ranks, Ivan had encountered far more—such as the mysteries of the Awakened.
The cyborg soldier currently enveloped by Harry's magic barrier was likewise unaffected by the Stasis Field. Assessing the situation instantly, his self-destruct system activated. Eleven energy cells embedded in his chest shot open—but before the magic fluctuations could escape, a wave of iron-gray Awakened magic surged over him.
"Tiid-Klo-Ul (Time-Sand-Eternity)"
Harry softly intoned the arcane syllables of Awakened Magic. A small field with a two-meter radius centered around him unfolded—time froze within it, falling into complete suspension.
This was not physical deceleration, but magical temporal stasis.
The Awakened magic, flowing like water, could sustain this spell for less than a minute. Then the dismantling began—raw, violent, and barehanded. Harry's hands, sheathed in silver-blue dragon scales, were harder than steel. With terrifying strength, he crushed the cyborg's exoskeletal armor as if it were clay.
After tearing off the outer "shell," a humanoid figure clad in a tight black bodysuit was revealed.
This alien, wrapped in an exoskeleton, differed little from a human in body size—approximately 1.75 meters tall and around 70 kilograms. But his bones were visibly denser than average, his skin deathly pale with a sickly hue. His muscles, though, were taut and powerful, clearly honed through intense training.
There was not a single strand of hair on this alien's body. Where his bald, dome-like skull should have been was a mechanical implant that replaced the cranium—a device of intricate circuitry with a strange and oddly captivating beauty. And yet, seeing these cold mechanical components deeply embedded into the brain, fusing tightly with the nervous system, evoked a profound sense of disgust.
It was like a modern human with a functioning moral compass witnessing the blood-soaked horrors of the triangular slave trade—except, this time, the prisoner in the ship's cage wasn't a Kunlun slave, but a flesh-and-blood humanoid, enslaved by machinery—even if he was an alien.
Harry frowned and looked up, only to find a silent group of wizards had gathered around him, also frowning as they observed.
"Professor Dumbledore." Harry turned to his headmaster and spoke with a hint of regret in his voice. "Did I kill Tom too early? When it comes to soul manipulation, he really was a genius."
"The world is never short of geniuses, Harry," Grindelwald said coolly from the side. "The soul is a fascinating topic—one of the most popular research areas in the magical world. But those qualified to study it? Very few indeed."
Grindelwald reached into his robe, rummaged for a moment, and pulled out a pitch-black crystal orb about the size of two eggs. Inside swirled thick, spiraling black mist.
"When it comes to extracting souls, Dementors are the best tools available. They can draw out a soul in its entirety—without losing even a fragment."
A wave of icy air spread out as a super-Dementor, nearly three meters tall and significantly larger than an ordinary one, emerged from the crystal orb. Yet despite its terrifying presence, it behaved with obedient humility. It bowed deeply to Grindelwald upon appearance, not daring to lift its head.
"Celsus, extract this creature's soul."
Grindelwald ordered the Dementor, which then pulled back its black hood to reveal a head wrapped in ragged bandages. Opening its mouth—deep and dark like a black hole—it inhaled softly. A milky white light was drawn from the cyborg alien's body. Its chest, which had still been rising and falling moments before, gradually stilled, falling into the deep, eternal slumber of death.
A mist-like soul, mirroring the form of the body it once inhabited, was gently cradled in the Dementor's hands. The creature bowed low and offered it to Grindelwald.
"Artificial ghost technology remains incomplete to this day," Grindelwald said with a hint of regret. "The birth of a ghost relies on far too many coincidences. It's a miracle of magic—nearly impossible to replicate through human means."
"However, temporary conversion is still possible. The effective duration is about an hour and a half."
He took out several magical components and, with Dumbledore's assistance, quickly completed a finely detailed miniature alchemical array. A black gemstone was placed at the center of the array. As magical currents flickered across its surface, the milky-white soul mist was drawn into the gemstone. Moments later, a more solidified soul emerged as the gemstone shattered.
"A person's mouth may lie—but the soul never does."
Grindelwald smiled faintly. "I added a little something—a special soul-effective truth serum. Your godfather developed it, Harry. He really is an extraordinary potions master. Leaving him in Azkaban was such a waste of his talent."
He winked at Dumbledore and said in a hushed voice, "Severus only spent a year at Durmstrang, and I gave him no more than ten million Galleons in research funding—but he's already published fourteen top-secret potions papers. Albus, you're not suited to be a leader. Why don't you come to Durmstrang and help me instead? The Vice Headmaster position is still open—I've been saving it just for you."
Dumbledore gave a weary smile and shook his head, sighing deeply with exhaustion.
"For the next thirty minutes, he'll answer any question truthfully."
Grindelwald turned his gaze from Dumbledore to the soul floating in front of him.
But a blank, confused expression appeared on the soul's face. It seemed to have no concept of communication or interaction.
"I've already implanted artificial memories of language and written symbols," Grindelwald said, frowning slightly. "Even if he's not human—hell, even if he were just an ape—under these conditions, he should be able to—"
"Unless he's never once communicated with his own kind." A cool, distant voice cut in as Grindelwald furrowed his brow. It was Ying Yue, a mage from the Taishi Celestial Dynasty. "This is exactly the same behavior we observed in the creation of artificial spirit constructs. A blank soul lacks even basic instincts. Whether it's language or writing, it requires a long period of cultivation to teach them. Cognition itself must be manually triggered in such a soul."
"So what you're saying is…" Grindelwald caught on quickly, "you believe this guy is… expendable."
"Exactly." Ying Yue nodded. "A biological vessel for magic—or, more plainly, a living battery. Compared to inorganic magical lifeforms, the production cost of such organic carriers is far lower. After all, flesh and blood can reproduce. But the birth and growth of elemental beings? That's extraordinarily difficult."
(End of Chapter)