489 Herpo the Foul, Merlin, and Ekrizdis - A Great Scheme!

Things had stopped making sense for Kai.

The Cartoonist chuckled in his ear, his sharp voice cutting in through the receiver. "Did it never strike it odd to you, doc?" he asked, mocking. "Did you never question yourself why a wizard, like Herpo the Foul, would create a dark magic like Horcrux, but then also breed a basilisk—the lone beast whose venom can destroy Horcruxes?"

Kai listened, transfixed.

"Herpo the Foul created a Horcrux," the Cartoonist continued, "and the Horcrux was Inferi. Haha! The Inferi then began developing its own consciousness, using Herpo the Foul's soul as the basis. The process of Horcrux's creation was in a very crude shape, then. So not even Herpo himself anticipated such a horrible turn of events."

It was as if he could see it happening in front of his eyes. Kai could tell how much of a threat Herpo the Foul would have found his Horcrux, being sentient, with all of his powers, memories, and potential.

This wasn't a mere threat. This was a disaster.

"Of course, Herpo the Foul wasn't exactly a dark wizard," the Cartoonist told Kai, narrating the tale for Death. "Youth had just led him astray. So, when he saw things going out of hand, he began working on a solution to destroy his Horcrux. And that's how the Basilisk came to be. Anyway, this another dark creation did nothing but worsen his reputation, earning him the name of Herpo the Foul."

Kai licked his lips. How could he have ever missed such logical thinking? Why hadn't he considered these scenarios? "How did he fail, then?" he asked, knowing well that this Horcrux still lived. "Why couldn't Herpo the Foul kill… No. He didn't fail…"

The Cartoonist laughed. "You are right, simple-minded friend," he jested, chewing the carrot. "He didn't fail. He didn't even try it. Only during experimenting with the Basilisk venom did Herpo find out that destroying a Horcrux this way would weaken him permanently, harming his already broken soul. So…"

"… he just let the Inferi walk away," Kai said, finishing the Cartoonist's words.

"Exactly. But by doing that, Herpo the Foul created a great enemy. No. Not the Horcrux, though the Inferi indeed turned out to be a nuisance."

[The order of death must be maintained. The cycle must continue. Those who live must die.]

"Chased by Death, both Herpo the Foul and the Inferi began taking false identities, hiding in the dark corners of the world," the Cartoonist added. "And then, hundreds of years later, an opportunity presented itself to the infamous wizard."

Kai knew this "opportunity", for he had considered it an opportunity too when he had met them. "The Order of the Immortal Lotus…"

"Bingo!" Crackers exploded in the background, one after the other. "Herpo the Foul and his Horcrux, the Inferi, both hated each other. Yet, none of them could approach the Order because one was undead and the other… well, let's say Herpo the Foul's reputation had become worse even by the Order's members' standards. He had only one path…"

This?! Kai's pupils trembled. "He created another, didn't he?" he asked, shocked. "One more Horcrux."

[The gall!]

"This time Herpo the Foul had wizened," the Cartoonist said, laughing. "First, he adopted the identity of a sage, calling himself Merlin. Then, he crawled his way into the Order. But when the time came to create the Indestructible Artifact, as per the Order's demand, he hoodwinked them.

"Instead of creating just an Artifact, he turned the Staff into a Horcrux and behaved as if 'Merlin' had died. The Staff then became Merlin, the second Horcrux, and the original Merlin returned to his previous self, i.e. Herpo the Foul."

Such a grand scheme! The words rocked in Kai's mind. What a masterfully handled plan! But… "How did the members of Order get hoodwinked so easily? They are monsters… And… how do you know about the Order? You talk like you know everything about them."

The Cartoonist scoffed. "Well, of course," he said, as if it was an idiotic question, to begin with. "I am reading it while talking to you."

Kai spun his head, and his eyes widened. The Cartoonist was reading a stack of documents, the red telephone's handset pressed tight between his right cheek and shoulder. The man noticed Kai's gaze and winked at him.

For a moment, Kai considered storming toward the man, and snatching those documents, seeing what was written in them. But he couldn't leave the call. It was his only chance.

"Anyway," the Cartoonist's voice continued through the receiver, "about the Order's members not finding out anything… do you know what Merlin is famous for? Heh! You don't even know what I am famous for. You sure are lacking, my gullible friend."

Kai closed his eyes. Yes. How could he not know? "Prophecies…"

The Cartoonist paused. "Well, what do you know," he commented, jeering, "your vocabulary is strong, doc. Ah, yes. Prophecy. In all hate, cursing, and loathing, the wizards, even the best, forgot where the Herpo the Foul's true expertise lay before becoming a Dark Wizard. He was a Grand Prophet, a skill which only rose with time.

"By doing that, Herpo the Foul not only got himself a great ally, but he also stabilized his struggle against Inferi Horcrux and our friend, Death. Then, he actively began hunting the Inferi with the help of the Order."

Wait a minute! "How can his joining the Order help Herpo the Foul stabilize his position against…"

"Death?" the Cartoonist finished Kai's sentence and burst out with a peal of laughter.

[You must have met the Phoenix and Qilin there, my Scion.]

A deep of sense foreboding took over Kai. But he nodded.

"Oh, wow!" the Cartoonist exclaimed. "The document says…"

[They both are Half Deep Ones.]

"Haha!" the Cartoonist laughed. "No wonder you can't just barge in Avalon, even though it's outside the purview of Timeline, old friend."

A deathly snort rang out on the other side. [They are just a step away, but they don't have what it takes to take it.]

Outside the purview of the Timeline? Kai couldn't understand the significance of these words. But he knew they were just too important in this discussion, and in whatever that was coming next. "What… happened to the Inferi, then?"

"You must have already guessed it," the Cartoonist told him. "It did the only thing that could let it survive."

"The Inferi…" Kai said, already finding this talk impossible, "… created more Horcruxes."

"Damn! Not that much of a fool, are yeh?" the Cartoonist laughed. "That's right. Guess how many? Five!"

"Five?!"

"Hmm. He created self-sufficient, and the darkest, Horcruxes. To abate the unrest caused by the Inferi, and the five Horcruxes, the Order deployed four of their best Disciples of that time. The Inferi ran away, again. But the four disciples subdued the 5 Horcruxes and sealed them into 5 vaults. Not only that, they even built a School around it, adding a layer of Bounded Field to keep the Inferi away. You know the name, alright. The School…"

Kai found it hard to comprehend. "Impossible…"

[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.]

"Shocking, right?" the Cartoonist asked, his voice full of thrill. It was clear he himself was learning of it for the first time. "Of course, I have known these things before resurrecting in the Primordial Tower. Cough! Not long after, the Order caught the Inferi.

"Again, Merlin fooled them by giving a false prophecy, saying they might need it in the future. So, the Order sealed the Inferi on a distant island, and hid it under another Bounded Field."

No! Only now Kai had enough knowledge to infer conclusions of his own. And what he found truly shocked him.

"The Inferi couldn't leave the Island," the Cartoonist said, reading the documents. "So it turned the island itself into its stronghold. To destroy Herpo the Foul, who had imprisoned it on the Island, it even began experimenting with the most forbidden kind of magic… It wanted to summon…"

[Me.]

"Of course, Merlin got the hold of it, seeing it in a prophecy," the Cartoonist continued. "So, with the help of the Order, he further added 13 seals, sealing the Inferi deep into the depths of the Island. And, for each seal, Merlin appointed 13 guardians."

No! Kai shook his head.

"And the document says… someone had already broken the 1st Seal. Haha!"

[My Scion. I want you to destroy those 13 seals. Let the Inferi out. It will take care of Merlin. I have already been infusing it with my Powers… and my Will. In the meantime, you must also find those 5 Vaults and destroy the Horcruxes sealed within them. Only then can you kill Herpo the Foul.]

Kai frowned. The instructions were clear, but something felt amiss. "Why not do it by yourself?" he countered. "Don't tell me that even you, the Great Death, can't deal with puny wizards like Herpo the Foul?"

"Hahaha!" the Cartoonist guffawed. "Great? Oh! My stomach!"

[I am infinite. So is the Timeline. All my interventions get replicated infinitely as a result. So, yes. Even I can't recklessly tamper with the Timeline. Again, Merlin is hiding in Avalon, which is a place out of my authority. Only the Timeline's Characters and Contestants, especially the capable ones like you, can do so, without suffering little repercussions from the Timeline.]

"Little?!" Kai thundered. "I am already suffering from a Timeline's retribution! I… Wait! You! It was you!"

[Arceus the Original One is the only Deep One who is the most in-tune with the Timeline. He had sensed my mark on you the moment you had arrived in His world. Creation of that Legendary Item, and that too at your level, was enough Blasphemy for Him to descend and annihilate you. It was I who persuaded Him against doing so.]

Kai's breathing quickened despite himself. He forced himself to become calm, but the words still buzzed in his mind. It was like, since the very beginning, he had been riding on a wind, thinking it was him who was stirring the storm.

No wonder. No wonder he had always been feeling that he was somehow fated… with this Death… with the Harry Potter World. In a sense, he was.

This should have jolted Kai more. But this answer calmed him even more, making him think rationally. With that, another hole opened up in the theory. "Still," he said, his tone unhurried, "I can't believe you didn't even try finishing them by yourself."

The Cartoonist guffawed again. "Oh, no! I peed a little! Well, He had, doc. He interfered only once, and the entire Harry Potter Multiverse suffered the repercussions."

What?

[Infinite. If I intervene, I must intervene in all infinite worlds together. The Order selected 4 disciples to act on their behalf. I selected 3 champions of my own.]

"You…" three unbelievable names and a grand tale appeared in Kai's mind.

[Yes. The Peverell Brothers were my champions, armed with Artifacts forged by me. Each of them failed me. And I knew I couldn't rely on the people of my world, then. That's where your kind comes in.]

Too much. What he learned today was just too much. What to do with such deep secrets and information? How must he proceed?

Despite asking himself these troubling questions, Kai knew what he must do. There was only one path.

[If you accept my proposal, then not only you will resurrect, but I also have a way to let you win this Tournament of yours.]

And that was the final straw.

"What is it?" Kai asked, smiling, for the first time. "Tell me everything. In detail."

[Hahaha! So be it. Listen, my Scion. I have a way to… fool your so-called Systems.]

*******************

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