Chapter 425: Loyalty or Death

As the whispers of the evil spirit increased, the whole room began to tremble slightly.

The closer it got to the real world, the more obvious the signs became.

The magic in the area became restless, dirt and dust churned through the cracks in the wall, the light from the Green Magic barrier faded, as if it was about to crumble at any moment.

Now, even the vampires could hear the whispers of the evil spirit.

They looked around in panic, their faces filled with horror. In the face of this ancient, evil, unknown creature, no one could remain calm!

In addition to Ivan, Caresius' face was also grim in the extreme.

He looked at an ancient centaur being rebuilt by flesh and blood; he looked at the evil magic, thinking.

"The centaur magic is about to lose its effect. The monster inside is altogether more powerful than expected," he whispered, "We'd better get ready."

"Don't worry, Caresius!" Voldemort said quietly. "I have a way of dealing with the thing inside. No matter how powerful it is, its power will eventually be used by me. Before that, we have to entertain our uninvited guests."

Voldemort seemed to have a plan but turned a blind eye to the evil spirit, while everyone else was immersed in shock at the signs of his arrival.

His pale face wore a cruel smile and he looked at Ivan with great interest.

Ivan did not know what Voldemort could do to deal with the evil god. This was hard to imagine.

Perhaps he had mastered some powerful dark magic that he did not yet know.

Such magic must have had a restraining effect on the evil spirit, but seeing Voldemort's red eyes, Ivan sensed that things were not so simple.

Voldemort looked at Ivan for a long time before slowly saying, "I sense that you are trying to irritate me! Interesting, I haven't seen a wizard like you in many years. I must say you are very similar to me when I was young."

It wasn't the first time someone had said that Ivan was like Tom Riddle in his school days.

They were both very obsessed with magic, and through various efforts, had achieved accomplishments unimaginable for wizards of their age, but there was a fundamental difference between them:

Ivan was determined never to follow Voldemort's path!

"Yes, unlike other young wizards, you have courage." Voldemort said quietly, "And I've always admired courage, so I'm going to give you a chance. Tell me your name, boy?"

"Ivan Mason!" Ivan whispered.

He took a step back and eyed Voldemort warily.

"Choose, Ivan!" Voldemort said hoarsely, "Either you are loyal to the great Voldemort and gain unimaginable power and privilege, or you continue to have faith in Dumbledore and die here in the dark."

"Where is Dumbledore?" Ivan asked, making no choice.

He looked around at the vampires around him and more than a dozen wands pointed at him.

In the current circumstances, one word from Voldemort was enough for him to face his death.....

"Don't expect Dumbledore to save you. I know him better than anyone and I know how to lure him into a trap. he's following the tracks I left behind, away from the Temple of the Centaurs!" Voldemort said cruelly, "And my vampire friends left an interesting spell there. By the time I break it, it will all be over."

Only then did Ivan realize the reason for Dumbledore's disappearance.

He didn't know how Voldemort tricked Dumbledore, but as things stood, he and Sirius might die here long before he could return.

"Tell me your choice, loyalty or death?" Voldemort said in a harsh voice.

"Dumbledore was right about you; you will never understand that death is not the most terrible outcome." Ivan tightened his grip on his wand, "I see no choice here. I will never believe a monster like you who would rather give up his soul for eternal life! Even if only death awaits me, I will fight to the end."

Ivan gave his answer, controlled the magic, and the light at the tip of his wand grew brighter and brighter.

"You fools are all like that; you would rather die than surrender. How charming!" Voldemort's evil face smiled fiercely. "Since that's the way it is, give me the Philosopher's Stone you're carrying and then die."

Ivan was surprised that Voldemort had found the piece of Philosopher's Stone he had.

"Don't be surprised, even though my current strength is waning, I felt you had my curse on you the moment you arrived." Voldemort said in a cold voice, "Yes, I still remember this curse. In the year I was about to graduate, I found the Philosopher's Stone in the centaur colony in the Forbidden Forest, but there was that magic left behind by that cursed Gryffindor. I had no way to decipher it. So I left a curse on the Philosopher's Stone so I could get it later."

Ivan took a step back, racking his brains to think what to do next.

"I did not expect to see you here after so many decades, after I almost forgot. What a pleasant surprise!" Voldemort smirked. "No doubt, the Philosopher's Stone you have on you and the piece of this Temple are a whole. As long as I have it, I can control the monster within, and gain power to be stronger than ever. Not even Dumbledore will be my opponent..."

"No way!" Ivan shouted.

"Give it to me, now!" Voldemort shouted, "Kneel before me and beg bitterly for mercy, beg for your death!"

Ivan saw no one make a move, but found his body flying swiftly forward, closing in on Voldemort under the action of a sudden and powerful force.

In front of him, a raging fire rose abruptly from the ground, scorching the area around him.

Ivan waved his wand at the highest speed, making a transparent magic shield that surrounded him like a glass wall.

The moment he passed through the flame, the transparent magic barrier burned red at high temperatures.

Then, with a bang, it shattered and dissipated.

Behind the flame, waiting for Ivan, was the cunning Voldemort.

Watching Voldemort approach, Ivan held his breath. The wand in his hand emitted a series of unstoppable blue lights.

Boom, boom, boom!!!!

Like a bomb, Ivan's magic exploded next to Voldemort, making a powerful impact that shook the chamber violently.

In the thick smoke brought by the explosion, Voldemort shouted, "Caresius, help me get him! DESTROY HIM!"

Caresius turned a deaf ear to Voldemort's orders.

He didn't act, he just stared coldly.

Seeing that Caresius did nothing, the other vampires did the same.

This was a battle between Ivan and Voldemort, and the vampires chose not to get involved.

"You fools, I'll make you pay!" Voldemort said in a harsh voice.

He controlled the vampire he was attached to and turned away from Ivan's spells.

The next second Ivan felt a great pain in his wrist.

He looked down and saw that the curse on the black snake bracelet seemed to be alive.

It was writhing, getting bigger and bigger, slithering along his blood vessels.

In just a few seconds, half of Ivan's arm turned black....