Chapter 404: Gryffindor's Sword

Harry's appearance undoubtedly broke Voldemort's previously steady rhythm.

He stared at the lively Harry in disbelief.

He even let his mind wander to verify whether Harry was truly real or a conjured illusion affecting him.

But he quickly confirmed—it was the genuine Harry Potter.

Bang!!

Voldemort's distraction caused him to be struck head‑on by John's Magic Spell, sending him flying backward and carving a long trench in the ground.

John seized the moment of Voldemort's lapse, once again enveloping himself in Golden Flame, transforming into a Light Stream that rushed straight at Voldemort.

At some point, a Poison Fang from the Snake Monster had appeared in his hand.

He swore to take the opportunity to destroy the Horcrux Wand in Voldemort's hand.

However, although Voldemort was hit, his reaction remained lightning‑fast; the instant John was about to close in, a Stone Wall rose instantly, flinging John entirely away.

He also noticed the Poison Fang in John's hand, realizing his Horcrux Wand had been exposed.

Nonetheless, what he cared about most at the moment was Harry.

He had been directly hit by his own Killing Curse—why could he still be alive?

Just like back then, that infant was struck by a spell yet survived.

Voldemort stared intently at Harry, his eyes filled with madness and incomprehension.

Swoosh!!

John again became a Light Stream, charging straight at Voldemort.

Voldemort had to shift his focus back, raising a Mercury Shield that barely blocked John's assault while he hurried backward, widening the gap.

Fierce Fire, swung by his wand, turned into a roaring Fire Snake that lunged toward John.

John barreled in, protected by Golden Flame Shield, forcing his way through the Fierce Fire and striking at Voldemort again.

Voldemort watched John's reckless tactics, his brows tightly knit.

He finally stopped focusing on Harry's resurrection and devoted all his effort to countering John's onslaught.

Boom!!

The explosion once again engulfed the two of them.

Harry stood anxiously nearby, wanting to help but unsure how.

"John!"

"Voldemort's wand has been turned into a Horcrux! We must destroy it first!"

When Harry's shout was heard, John was being blasted away by the recoil.

"Can't you see I'm trying to destroy it!"

John grumbled in midair.

He hadn't even had time to ponder how Harry knew about this.

Harry only then noticed that John was holding a Poison Fang from the Snake Monster.

After John landed and steadied himself, he looked toward Voldemort with a slight headache.

Now Voldemort already knew his intent, and approaching his wand again was undoubtedly much harder.

Let alone stabbing that wand directly with the tiny Poison Fang in his hand.

"I don't know what exactly you two are up to, but each of you is so hard to kill."

"But it doesn't matter; if one try fails, I'll kill you two or three times until I truly slay you all!"

Voldemort looked at Harry and John, his blood‑red eyes brimming with madness.

"How dare you talk about us, when you yourself have died and lived again."

John shot back directly.

Having said that, the two clashed again, Magic Spell and flame intertwining, the sound of explosions never ceasing.

Harry watched their duel, unable to intervene.

He could only keep pondering in his mind how to destroy the wand in Voldemort's hand.

Besides the Poison Fang, what else can destroy a Horcrux?

At this moment, Ginny and Ron finally arrived with Hermione.

"Harry, is what Ginny said true? Did Voldemort really turn his wand into a Horcrux?"

Hermione, upon arriving, immediately asked Harry.

"That's right, Hermione, we must now find a way to help John destroy that wand, otherwise John probably won't hold out until Dumbledore and the others return with reinforcements."

Harry said anxiously.

Hermione quickly scanned the battlefield, seeing John locked in a fierce grapple with Voldemort, both already bearing wounds.

At first glance the two seemed evenly matched, but a closer look revealed that many of John's attacks were directly neutralized by Voldemort thanks to the Horcrux's property of ignoring Magic Spells.

Even physical attacks could be blocked by the Horcrux.

The Horcrux became the sturdiest shield in Voldemort's hand, while the Elder Wand itself was his sharpest spear.

Thus Voldemort was far more composed than John.

"Fierce Fire can also destroy a Horcrux, but..."

"Competing with Voldemort using Fierce Fire is obviously unrealistic..."

Hermione murmured to herself, watching the Fierce Fire on the battlefield.

As for intervening in the fight to help John create an opening against Voldemort, that was even more unrealistic.

Their involvement would only distract John into protecting them, giving Voldemort an opening.

They must find a way to destroy the Horcrux that even Voldemort doesn't know.

What could destroy a Horcrux like the Snake Monster's poison?

Snake Monster......

It was the one Harry killed back then with the Gryffindor Sword...

"Gryffindor Sword!"

At this moment Hermione finally thought of the key; she abruptly looked up at Harry.

"Legend says the Gryffindor Sword can absorb the properties of whatever it destroys."

"Harry, you killed the Snake Monster with the Gryffindor Sword, so the Gryffindor Sword must have absorbed the Snake Monster's poison properties!"

"Then it must also be able to destroy a Horcrux!"

Hearing Hermione's words, Harry and the others were all stunned, because it was the first time they had heard that the Gryffindor Sword possessed such a property.

But they absolutely believed Hermione's words.

"But the Gryffindor Sword isn't in our hands right now!" Ron said anxiously.

Harry didn't panic; he immediately set off running into the Castle.

"Go find it in the XiaoZhangBanGongShi!"

The others, hearing this, also followed right away, sprinting toward the XiaoZhangBanGongShi.

Harry had once obtained the Gryffindor Sword, but in the end he handed it over to Dumbledore for safekeeping.

So the sword is probably somewhere in the XiaoZhangBanGongShi.

"Search separately!"

Harry and the others entered the XiaoZhangBanGongShi without obstruction, rummaging through boxes and cabinets in their search.

Yet after they had turned the entire office upside down, they still never found any trace of the Gryffindor Sword.

They even directly asked the portraits of past Headmasters hanging on the wall.

One former Gryffindor Headmaster slowly spoke.

"The Gryffindor Sword cannot be kept."

"It only appears when a true Gryffindor heir truly needs it."

"But I need it right now! It once recognized me; why doesn't it appear before me now?" Harry asked urgently.

The old Headmaster smiled faintly.

"Who knows, child? The sword has its own will; perhaps it thinks the time isn't right, or perhaps it's already by your side, and you just haven't noticed."

Hearing this vague, cloud‑like talk, Harry and the others were equally at a loss.

In the end Harry ripped the Sorting Hat hanging on the wall off, thrust his hand into the hat, trying to pull out the Gryffindor Sword as he had done back then.

However, all he felt was the hat's fabric; there was nothing inside.

"Damn it, where the heck is the sword!"

Harry was so frantic he couldn't help swearing.

"Calm down, Harry."

Hermione took the Sorting Hat from Harry's hand, preventing him from angrily throwing it to the ground, and patted his shoulder to calm him.

Harry is the only one among them whom the sword has recognized, so he cannot lose his composure.