Chapter 616: The Ruins Emerge, Voldemort’s Motto

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Andros closed his iCodex and smacked his lips. "Does he want to come to Africa and beat Voldemort himself? Tsk, he seems annoyed for some reason."

Andros was now in Sudan, a country just below Egypt in North Africa.

(A/N: Pray for the people in Sudan—people are being killed there, women are being raped, children are suffering and being tortured, and many are struggling with starvation. Much of it remains hidden under media suppression. The world feels like it’s growing darker and more unstable with each passing day.)

Sudan. Just a large unremarkable country.

Of course, the "large" referred only to its land area.

In terms of poverty, the whole of Africa was a lineup of tragic contenders. There was no worst, only worse.

But in ancient times, during the era of Ancient Greece, this region had been an influential power in the Mediterranean.

Historically, what is now Sudan was known as the Kingdom of Kush, which maintained frequent and close exchanges with Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

In myth, however, it had an even more resounding name: Aethiopia.

The literal meaning of the term was "sun-burned faces," used to refer broadly to all the lands south of Egypt, a region tied to countless legends.

Perseus slew a monster here and rescued Princess Andromeda, marrying her afterward.

King Memnon led the Aethiopian army to support Troy and fought a world-shaking duel with Greece’s greatest warrior, Achilles.

Although Memnon ultimately lost, the clash between the two demigods was so fierce that even Zeus could not judge the outcome at first. In the end, the king of the gods had to take out the scales of fate and weigh their names before determining the result.

So... Andros decided to set the ruins in this land that technically wasn’t Greece, yet had long been deeply influenced by Greek culture.

At present, no one in the world understood Ancient Greek culture or Greek magic better than Andros. Aside from him, Tom ranked second.

That was why Morgan and Ravenclaw’s plan only outlined the general flow. The specific details were left to this expert.

However, when designing the ruins, Andros didn’t fully replicate the original style.

He had no doubts about the level of the world’s top wizards. But he didn’t think much of the average wizard. One was weaker than the next.

If he made the challenges too difficult, the bait wizards wouldn’t even pass the first stage. Then how would the news spread and lure Voldemort in?

Originally, Andros had still been debating whether to make the final stage more intense. After receiving Tom’s urging, he made up his mind. Keep it as simple as possible.

...

.. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Late that night, a streak of light shot into the sky, shattering the calm of the country’s magical community.

Wizards across the world were highly enthusiastic about ancient ruins. Many might not pursue strength, but even a single valuable artifact could fetch a hefty price.

What’s more, the Astra Abyssum guild fanned the flames further. Both official authorities and private parties released numerous exploration missions related to the ruins.

For a time, large numbers of Sudanese wizards rushed toward the site. Wizards from neighboring countries also caught wind of the news and planned to join the excitement.

The ruins Andros prepared were located in the Jebel Marra mountains, the highest range in the country, where volcanic activity also existed.

A long-dormant extinct volcano suddenly reawakened, spewing massive amounts of ash and completely shrouding the ruins. Combined with deliberately arranged fog and various trap spells, the place became extremely difficult to approach.

And so... Several days passed. Hundreds of wizards could only circle around the outskirts, never even glimpsing the ruins’ true appearance.

Watching from the shadows, Andros sucked in a sharp breath.

This was bad. He had overestimated modern wizards. He knew they were weak, but he hadn’t realized they were this weak.

For a moment, Andros was at a loss. He didn’t know whether he should secretly lend a hand, but he was also afraid of exposing himself and failing to lure Voldemort.

Fortunately, the arrival of a certain group made him hold back his urge to intervene.

As the saying went... Where there was treasure, there were goblins.

Gringotts hadn’t taken the matter seriously at first. They employed a large number of curse-breakers, and every year they discovered plenty of strange locations. But the probability of any of them being truly valuable ruins was less than one percent.

But as more and more reports came in, Gringotts finally began to pay attention.

After an initial survey, they were thrilled.

"I’m certain this is Greek magic, and there are no traces of modern spellwork. The exact era still needs confirmation."

Bill Weasley, a member of the Weasley family, was one of the curse-breakers and also a team leader. He explained his findings to a goblin, whose face quickly split into a greedy grin.

"Greek ruins... those pureblood lords in Europe would definitely pay a fortune for something like this..."

"Weasley, keep up the good work. Once the ruins are cracked, I’ll give you a promotion and a raise next year."

Bill curled his lips. He’d heard that nonsense more times than he could count. Getting money out of goblins was harder than getting Slytherin and Gryffindor students to marry each other.

If he didn’t genuinely enjoy exploring ruins, he would’ve transferred to a proper Ministry job long ago.

...

Finally... With Gringotts joining in, some progress was made.

The ruins turned out to be a cluster of Doric-style temples, though most of the structures were buried beneath yellow sand.

Gringotts was wary of damaging the main structures or triggering any curses within, so progress slowed—but news continued to spread. And that was exactly the effect Andros had wanted.

"This is the temple of Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods. The outer protective magic is extremely powerful. Even Gringotts has few options and can only slowly wear down its energy."

"Treasure from inside the temple has already appeared. Javelins with anti-magic effects, and several forms of Ancient Greek spellcraft!"

"This is the temple tied to Hippomenes and Atalanta angering the gods. There might even be Golden Apples inside!"

"What? Golden Apples?"

"..."

"..."

The rumors grew louder, spreading farther and farther. Soon, Lockhart, who was responsible for gathering intelligence for Voldemort, caught wind of it. After conducting some investigation, he returned to report.

"Golden Apples... you mean the ones that grant eternal life and everlasting youth?"

A sharp gleam flashed in the narrow snake-like eyes. Clearly, Voldemort was tempted.

Tom understood Voldemort better than anyone in the world, even more than Dumbledore. He knew that Voldemort not only pursued immortality and feared death, he also possessed a pathological sense of possessiveness.

He was willing to grant other dark magic to his followers in exchange for loyalty. But when it came to true immortality, Voldemort believed, almost obsessively, that only he deserved to live forever.

That was why, before his fall, he had never told anyone about the Horcruxes. Even the Malfoys and the Lestranges, who helped safeguard them, had no idea what they were actually keeping.

So when the Golden Apples appeared, whether he needed them or not, Voldemort would never allow other wizards to gain the same chance at immortality.

His motto was simple: If I can’t have it, no one can—and if it’s not mine, it shall be no one’s.

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