Chapter 127

After finishing the Imperius Curse, Moody explained the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse to everyone.

The Cruciatus Curse leaves no scars, but it brings indescribable, excruciating pain to the victim, enough to destroy a person's spirit and will.

And the Killing Curse, the green light of death; once it hits, there is no possibility of survival, and it also leaves no scars.

Unlike the Imperius Curse, the only advice Professor Moody gave for these two spells was not to get hit.

At the same time, he emphasized to everyone that when facing the Killing Curse, it cannot be blocked by conventional defensive spells.

One can only dodge, or use obstacles to block the path of that green light.

You can use the Barrier Curse to generate a physical shield to block the path of the Killing Curse.

You can also use the Floating Spell to control a physical object to block yourself, but you must ensure the material is sturdy enough.

Or simply use Transfiguration to instantly turn nearby objects into a shield form, but the product of the transformation must be thick and solid.

It was all solid information, or details for saving one's life.

After class, Professor Moody kept Merrick behind alone.

John came to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office once again.

It was still the same small two-story room that was Professor Lupin's office, but the furnishings inside were completely different from Professor Lupin's style.

Professor Moody sat on that old wooden chair, his magical eye rotating slowly, staring straight at Merrick.

"Hmm, Merrick, do you know why I kept you behind alone?"

He looked at John and asked slowly.

"To cast the Imperius Curse on me?"

"No, at least not right now."

Professor Moody shook his head.

"I've heard of your deeds, Merrick."

"In fact, besides Lupin asking me to take special care of you, Dumbledore also asked me to keep a closer eye on you."

"They all say you are a unique child, smart, brave, and able to disregard your own safety to protect others."

"Heh, if you ask me, you're definitely not as good as they say."

Professor Moody sneered, placed his cane by his leg, leaned forward slightly, and his voice was low and hoarse.

"Tell me, Merrick, how did you pass Dumbledore's Age Line?"

"You must know, Dumbledore's restriction is something even I cannot cross."

There was a bit more scrutiny in Moody's eyes as he looked at John.

John frowned, because the way Moody looked at him was like he was treating a potential threat.

"I don't understand what you mean, Professor."

John shook his head, not intending to answer Professor Moody's question.

"Playing dumb? Fine."

Professor Moody snorted coldly, his magical eye rotating slowly.

"Then let me put it another way: Dumbledore's Age Line detects soul age, not physical age."

"And if you wanted to sign up, there were only two ways: one was to have an older student sign up for you, and the other was to rely on brute force to break Dumbledore's Age Line."

"However, neither of these situations happened."

"So there is only one possibility left: your soul age is over 14."

"So, tell me, Merrick, why is it that inside your body..."

"There are two souls?"

Moody's fingers tapped lightly on the top of his cane, and the top of that cane had pointed at John at some unknown time.

It seemed that if John made any unusual move, he would launch an attack.

Hearing the end, John's eyes narrowed slightly.

There are two souls inside his body?

This was also the first time John had heard this claim, and for a moment, he found it unbelievable.

Could it be that there is another soul that belongs to this world, the soul that truly belongs to this body?

Moody had been staring closely at the changes in John's expression, so this look of confusion did not escape his magical eye.

He also felt a wave of confusion.

Could it be that this child doesn't know his own situation?

In fact, the moment John was chosen as a Triwizard Tournament warrior, Dumbledore had already noticed the abnormality.

He secretly used a silver instrument capable of probing human souls to test John's soul.

In the end, it actually detected two intertwined soul fluctuations that were indistinguishable from each other.

This situation could prove that there were indeed two souls inside John, but they were not repelling or splitting from each other; rather, they were fused and coexisting in some incredible way.

So the preliminary judgment was that John was not possessed by some old monster, but rather, due to some accident, his soul was born carrying another soul.

Dumbledore told Moody about this discovery, but did not make it public.

Now Moody had pointed it out directly, clearly showing that he harbored deep vigilance and suspicion toward this student, John.

At the same time, he also wanted to test whether John knew the secret inside his body, and the true origin of that hidden soul.

"I... don't know."

"Liar!"

Moody stood up excitedly, and that cane was pushed directly against John's forehead.

But John still shook his head.

"I really don't know why there are two souls inside my body."

"I only know that I am me, and I have never changed because of another soul."

John was not frightened by Moody's appearance, but looked him straight in the eye calmly.

Moody narrowed his one good eye, very much wanting to just go ahead and use Legilimency to probe for the result.

But remembering Dumbledore's request, he finally suppressed the impulse and slowly withdrew his cane.

"Dumbledore trusts you, but I don't, because it is precisely caution that has kept me alive until now."

"Merrick, don't let me discover you doing anything untoward."

After saying this, he waved his hand, and the office door opened, clearly intending to see him out.

John stood up, looked at Moody, and turned to walk toward the door.

Just as he was stepping out, Professor Moody's voice came again.

"Every Wednesday night, come here to receive extra training; you are not allowed to be absent."

John's footsteps paused slightly, but he didn't look back, only responding lightly with "Understood."

He was actually quite troubled at this moment, but didn't show it.

Because this matter of having two souls inside his body was something he was hearing for the first time.

He had originally thought that he had transmigrated as a fetus, and that he should be the owner of this body.

He hadn't expected that the original soul in this body had existed all along, and was fused and coexisting with him.

He couldn't judge what this meant for a moment, or whether it would have an impact on him.

Or perhaps, he had already been influenced long ago, and even, what he considered "self" had already been quietly reshaped.

The deeper he thought, the more restless John felt.