[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring":3,"chapter-starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-259":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Starting at Hogwarts, Logging into Elden Ring",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1496152,1944,"Chapter 259: Hermione Finally Gets Her Wish, and the Wrath of Death","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-259",259,"\u003Cp>Arthur was momentarily stunned by Hermione's question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a second, he genuinely couldn't remember what he had forgotten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked, puzzled, \"What did I forget?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione reminded him softly, \"You still haven't given me my reward.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur slapped his forehead. \"Ah—that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took out a sapphire-inlaid necklace and handed it to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Here. The Infinite Origin Stone Necklace I promised you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Infinite Origin Stone Necklace—modified from a magic scepter—possessed an inexhaustible energy supply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur had promised Hermione that if she performed outstandingly in the Triwizard Tournament, he would let her use it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, regardless of how she performed, Arthur would have given it to her anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, whenever he wished, he could reclaim it with a single thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But objectively speaking—Hermione's performance in the tournament, and especially her battle against Voldemort, more than qualified as outstanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione leaned closer and said coquettishly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want you to help me put it on.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur lifted the necklace with both hands, gently brushed aside the soft hair cascading over Hermione's shoulders, looped it around her smooth, slender neck, and fastened it for her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he finished, Hermione suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cousin,\" she murmured, her eyes hazy and affectionate, \"I suddenly feel like this reward isn't enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want more.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking into Hermione's gaze—so full of desire and devotion—Arthur would have had to be an idiot not to understand what she meant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without another word, he swept her up in his arms and carried her straight into the Zen Garden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the letter he hadn't finished writing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To hell with it. He'd write it tomorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once inside the Zen Garden, Arthur willed a separate space into existence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This space was completely isolated from the rest of the garden—no one could enter without his permission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within it bloomed a magnificent sea of flowers, lush and radiant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Hermione was so moved that she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, she whispered softly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A late breeze brings rain together,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>washing away the blazing heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After setting aside the pipes and strings,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>before the mirror I lightly dress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silk gauze thin, ice-smooth skin gleams,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>snow-soft, sweet with scent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laughing with my beloved—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>tonight the gauze bed and bamboo mat are cool.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a poem Li Qingzhao wrote on her wedding night, teasing her husband.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione's meaning was unmistakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a dim and desolate realm, a towering figure with wings upon its back paced back and forth in rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its name was Thanatos, the god of death from ancient Greek myth, ruler of the underworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos was furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A portion of its divine authority had been stolen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was something that had never happened before in all its existence as Death itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bound by the rules of reality, Thanatos could not freely descend into the mortal world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse still, the sole passage connecting the underworld to the living realm seemed to have been blocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unable to leave, unable to act, Thanatos could only seethe in helpless fury within the underworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one who had taken a fragment of its authority was none other than Arthur—who, at that very moment, was lost in bliss with Hermione.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strictly speaking, however, \"stolen\" was not the right word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That fragment of authority had naturally flowed to Arthur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Arthur's mastery over the power of death deepened, a portion of death's authority gravitated toward him on its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the will of the world's laws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for why Arthur's other powers did not trigger a similar phenomenon—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because this world simply had no corresponding divine offices for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, within the vast star-sea formed of countless souls, a dark and fractured soul streaked across the sky, drawing Thanatos's attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos seized the soul and examined it closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soul radiated intense evil, yet was astonishingly weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos paid little heed to that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What truly caught its interest was the overwhelming concentration of death power clinging to the soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinarily, when a soul died, a trace of death's power would guide it into the underworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a soul were strong enough and resisted the pull, it could linger in the mortal realm as a ghost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of Hogwarts' ghosts fell into this category—excluding Peeves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(As for why Peeves hasn't appeared in this story yet… we'll talk about that later.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the soul in Thanatos's grasp was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was saturated with death power—utterly incapable of resisting the pull toward the underworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse still, that death power continued to erode it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If allowed to continue, the soul would be annihilated completely—true obliteration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This soul belonged to none other than the recently deceased Voldemort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its weakness and fragmentation were the result of his own actions—splitting his soul into seven parts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The death power clinging to it came from the magical grenade Hermione had thrown—one imbued with death itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos stripped the death power from Voldemort's soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon inspection, it found that this death power was fundamentally different from its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It carried a sacred quality—its purity surpassing even Thanatos's authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This discovery felt like a thread—a lead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instinct told Thanatos that following it would lead directly to the one who had taken its authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The instinct was correct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The source of that sacred death power was Arthur, the bearer of a fragment of death's authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for why that power carried sanctity—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was because Arthur's death power had once eroded the Erdtree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos plucked a handful of pure soul essence from the stellar sea and infused it into Voldemort's soul, repairing its fractured and fragile state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, it awakened him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort opened his eyes to see a towering, winged being with a horrific visage looming before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Thanatos's grasp, he was no more than an ant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort quickly realized where he was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The underworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why was he being held by the god of death himself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could think further, Thanatos spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mortal. Tell me why your soul carries such intense death power.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort was confused. \"What… death power?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This,\" Thanatos said, presenting the extracted energy before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort recognized it immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the power contained within the crystal the cursed little witch had thrown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So it really was death power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder his entire arm had lost all vitality when he was struck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This,\" Voldemort replied, \"is something I was contaminated with while fighting a witch before my death.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He left out the details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dark Lord being defeated by a Hogwarts student was not something he cared to advertise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos was not inclined to indulge him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Explain everything. From beginning to end.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort's face twisted in humiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what choice did he have?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strength ruled all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately—or unfortunately—Thanatos had repaired Voldemort's soul, effectively curing his madness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, an unstable Voldemort might have dared to mock the god of death himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had that happened, annihilation would have been the least of his worries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort recounted everything—from his resurrection onward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From his account, Thanatos noticed a recurring name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Arthur never directly acted, his shadow loomed over every event.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The witch who fought Voldemort centered her actions around Arthur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The destruction of multiple Horcruxes—all Arthur's doing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos concluded that the source of that sacred death power was undoubtedly connected to Arthur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned back to Voldemort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You mentioned you still have one Horcrux in the mortal world.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort nodded, bitterness flooding his expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final Horcrux lay buried deep within the Albanian forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, he hadn't given it much thought—he merely wanted it hidden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who could have known it would become his last anchor?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, even with a Horcrux remaining, resurrection was impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buried beneath the earth, isolated from all contact, it could neither tempt mortals nor prepare the conditions for his return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't even emerge from it to possess another being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort seriously doubted whether he would ever revive again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gift fell from the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can help you return to the mortal world.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can even grant you a portion of death's power.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort did not let the sudden hope cloud his judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing came without a price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked carefully, \"What do you want me to do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos regarded him with approval.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good. You are intelligent.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your task is simple. Investigate whether the source of that death power is connected to Arthur.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And if it is…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos's voice turned cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kill him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Advance Chapters Available on Patreon\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>patreon.com\u002FWhiteDevil7554\u003C\u002Fp>",1411,"2026-06-06T04:19:46.382Z",1,"novelbin.me","eded18d940b19886947e5f52fb6cc010e6b209b06a4cf818ee76e9028ecf11e4","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-260","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-258",281,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-cover.jpg"]