Chapter 141: The Fourth Gene

"That should be about it. Next is the injection into the body... Though it's best to run a check first."

Inside the spatial dimension of his pet pouch, Kahn used experimental equipment to extract the unicorn's gene, subsequently crafting a genetic injection. He had all the records of Lawrence's previous experiment in his possession, allowing him to replicate the process step by step.

Only killing a unicorn would flood its blood with a heavy curse. Many wizards speculated that this was tied to the unicorn's soul, as the souls and magic of such creatures carried the attribute of a curse. Kahn had not harmed the unicorn, and having tested it with magic, he found that no curse lingered within its flesh and blood.

After conducting several simulated experiments, Kahn finally injected the unicorn gene serum into his own body.

There was still pain, though Kahn was now able to endure it. The unicorn's genes were almost entirely different from those of humans. The moment they entered Kahn's body, they disrupted his physical stability, subsequently triggering a breakdown of his genetic chain.

However, the Extremis virus immediately took effect, activating the bio-electricity throughout Kahn's body and rewriting the genetic chain. This allowed the unicorn's genes to fully merge and optimize with Kahn's own, rapidly stabilizing the condition.

After a short while, the unicorn's genes were completely integrated. Kahn's entire body was drenched in sweat, and he managed to sit up from the experimental bed, feeling somewhat weak and powerless.

Yet this sensation lasted for less than a dozen seconds before his formidable regenerative powers restored his strength.

Cleanse!

With just a single thought in his mind, Kahn felt all the sweat and grime across his body instantly cleansed away. It was far faster than taking a shower.

The dragon nearby sensed that its master's allure had grown even stronger and unconsciously brought its massive head closer, wanting to nuzzle Kahn affectionately, but it was gently pushed away.

"This feels completely different from before. Constructing ancient runes seems even easier now... And there is another element carried within my magic—emotions? That should be the unicorn's curse ability, right?"

Kahn said with some perplexity. He traced his finger through the air, and numerous ancient runes immediately appeared—not just Runic scripts, but also other unfamiliar runes Kahn had detected inside the Sorting Hat a while ago.

Constructing these runes had still been somewhat difficult a few days ago, but now Kahn found it exceptionally effortless.

Furthermore, there was a special power within his magic, resembling the "curse" attribute of the Dark Arts. If Kahn were to use the Dark Arts now, its power would be several times greater than before. Magic inherently carrying the attribute of a curse, and one originating from a unicorn's ability, was far more potent than the "emotions" required by dark wizards when casting dark spells.

"And my blood..."

Feeling the powerful vitality and vigor within his body, Kahn sliced his finger open, consciously suppressing the Extremis virus from quickly healing the wound. A few drops of bright red blood welled up and fell into a petri dish, where Kahn clearly saw a faint golden shimmer coursing through his blood.

"Well worth studying, though for ordinary people, it should practically be a tonic... Is someone looking for me?"

Kahn sensed a disturbance in his office, though the only one capable of opening his office door should be Hermione with her key.

He packed all the experimental equipment here into his spatial backpack, then used a levitation spell to directly leave the pet pouch's dimension, appearing right in front of Hermione in the office the very next second.

"Goodness, Godfather, you gave me a scare."

Seeing Kahn appear so suddenly, Hermione patted her chest to calm her racing heart, then opened her eyes wide and looked Kahn over very carefully. She wasn't sure if she had simply been too exhausted lately, but... she suddenly felt as though her godfather had changed drastically.

His outward appearance hadn't changed, but his aura—it was profoundly noble. Hermione had never seen a medieval royal prince, but looking at Kahn now, she felt that even a royal prince's demeanor could hardly surpass this.

Seeing Hermione standing there in a daze, Kahn asked, "Hermione, is there something you need?"

Hermione snapped out of it and hurriedly said, "It's Professor Dumbledore. He seems to have something to discuss with you, but since you didn't watch the first task, he asked me to check your office."

"If I had watched the match, it would have affected the dragon. By then, they could have retrieved the golden egg with their eyes closed..."

Kahn offhandedly offered an explanation. Yet what could Dumbledore possibly want with him? Could the centaurs have come to complain so quickly?

Kahn then secured the pet pouch on his body and said to Hermione, "Let's go."

Before leaving, Kahn also brought the Sorting Hat along. He had already memorized all the runes inside it, and aside from the magic used to separate "emotion" and "personality," the Sorting Hat was no longer of any use to him.

Aside from crafting alchemical items, Kahn was now thinking more about the Source of Magic. Constructing runes was so effortless for him now that he could even make them persist in the air for a long time. If they were formed within the body, the probability of them stabilizing into a Source of Magic would be even greater.

Kahn and Hermione parted ways midway since she still had classes, leaving Kahn to head up to the Headmaster's office alone.

However, whether Hermione had forgotten to mention it or no one had told her the password to the Headmaster's office, Kahn found himself blocked at the entrance.

The stone gargoyle by the office door spoke: "Password."

"No password. Or rather, Fiendfyre burning is the password."

A ball of demonic flame materialized in Kahn's hand, creeping ever closer to the stone gargoyle at the entrance, which cried out in alarm: "Alright, alright, I get it! The password is Lemon Drop, go on in."

The gargoyle hastily cleared a path. When on earth had an Azkaban-level professor arrived at Hogwarts, and why did he resort to Fiendfyre at the slightest disagreement?

Kahn made his way up the spiral staircase into the Headmaster's office, where he found Dumbledore sitting at his desk in deep contemplation. Sensing his arrival, Dumbledore smiled and said, "Professor Pent, just leave the Sorting Hat over there. Care to try one of these? A newly released candy..."

"No thanks, I still prefer normal desserts."

Kahn shook his head in refusal. Dumbledore had a massive sweet tooth, and many of the candies he ate were virtually unbearable for normal people.

Once set down, the Sorting Hat immediately clamored for Dumbledore to protect it properly, declaring that the torment it had endured these past few days was worse than anything it had ever experienced. However, with a mere flick of Kahn's finger, the Sorting Hat instantly fell silent.

"Professor Dumbledore, is there something you needed me for?"

Dumbledore produced a ring, placed it on the desk, and said, "Actually, it's regarding this ring. But centaurs have also come to protest near Hogwarts—though that's just a minor matter, and I've asked Hagrid to go and communicate with them... However, Professor Pent, have you noticed that your aura has changed immensely?"

The moment he finished his sentence, Fawkes hopped directly onto Kahn's shoulder, acting like a fawning bird and showing immense affection toward Kahn.

Seeing this, Dumbledore felt a tinge of jealousy rise in his heart as he said, "I've known Fawkes for so long, and it's never been like this..."

"It's probably just a small breakthrough while researching magic. No need to dwell on that; let's take things one at a time... The centaurs actually dared to come to Hogwarts? What are they trying to do? If I didn't know better, I'd think they were the victors of the last wizarding war. I'll go deal with them..."

He had already been merciful; how dare these centaurs chase him all the way to Hogwarts?

Before Kahn could finish, Dumbledore quickly intervened, "It's fine, Professor Pent, leave it to Hagrid to handle. Let's discuss this Horcrux matter instead..."

Dumbledore roughly knew how events had unfolded. He had also met those centaurs earlier, using Legilimency on the centaur chieftain to understand the sequence of events. Regarding this, Dumbledore could only say that the centaurs had spent too much time dealing with good-natured people and thus assumed all wizards were pushovers.

Wizards might find races like house-elves or goblins a bit troublesome, but against centaurs who barely used magic, a single powerful wizard could easily handle a dozen of them. They posed no threat to wizards whatsoever.

The Forbidden Forest was designated as a protected habitat for the centaurs, meant in part to use Hogwarts to deter poaching wizards, but long coexistence had caused the centaurs to gradually forget that fact.

"Let's talk about this. Based on the hint you gave me the year before last, combined with some intelligence I've gathered, I've concluded that the Horcruxes Tom created are not singular—there may be many... This ring is one of them."

Kahn asked, "Have you figured out how to destroy it yet?"

Dumbledore picked up the ring, examined it closely, and said, "Tom cast powerful dark magic upon it, but I was wondering if we could use this to track down Tom's other Horcruxes..."

"Bring Fawkes along when you destroy the Horcrux; it will help you."

This reminder from Kahn was enough to save Dumbledore's life; otherwise, he might still have been injured by the dark magic residing within the Horcrux.

As for the remaining Horcruxes, aside from Nagini whose whereabouts were unknown, they were relatively easy to destroy. Kahn casually proceeded to list the remaining Horcruxes for Dumbledore.

Upon hearing of all the Horcruxes, a look of profound shock appeared on Dumbledore's face, especially considering he had spent over a year investigating.

Kahn shrugged and said, "This is what I learned from Tom, though I'm not sure if these Horcruxes have been relocated. After all, the Death Eaters seem to have changed their tactics, and Mr. Moody still hasn't managed to find the Death Eaters lurking in the school."

Dumbledore was also aware of this and replied, "Alastor believes Death Eaters have infiltrated the student body. His approach is somewhat radical, and I am currently persuading him to use alternative methods to track down the Death Eaters."

Under normal circumstances, Dumbledore might have considered Moody's methods, but this was the Triwizard Tournament. Every day, Ministry officials and reporters resided at Hogwarts; launching a massive search for Death Eaters at this juncture would trigger severe repercussions.

If nothing else, Bagman and Crouch would never agree to it. If Moody insisted on doing so, the two of them would report directly to the Ministry of Magic. Though Fudge's own position was currently on shaky ground, the Triwizard Tournament was jointly organized by the Ministries of three nations, leaving Dumbledore in a genuinely difficult position.

Afterward, Dumbledore discussed several other matters with Kahn, touching briefly upon the situation in the Forbidden Forest. Having acquired the unicorn's blood and materials, Kahn's interest in the Forest had waned, so he assured Dumbledore that he would exercise restraint in the future.

However, Kahn made no mention of the centaur tribe; he planned to take a look at the edge of the Forbidden Forest later, and if those fellows hadn't left yet, Kahn would gladly give them a send-off.

On his way back to his office, Kahn encountered quite a few students, all of whom stared at him in astonishment. Female wizards, in particular, gazed at him with a mix of wonder and delight.

It was likely indeed tied to the unicorn's genes, which not only amplified Kahn's magical power but also infused his magic with a sacred aura akin to that of a unicorn.

It lent Kahn a remarkable facade of deception. Anyone who truly knew him would certainly never associate the word "sacred" with him.

*Take a look at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, then return to study runes and construct the Source of Magic,* Kahn mentally mapped out his plan. Yet a sudden thought popped into his head. He used ancient runes to construct an "Apparition" spell within his body, and the next second, he abruptly vanished from the staircase.

"Good grief, where did Professor Pent go?"

There were several senior students near the stairs. They hurried over to the spot where Kahn had vanished, then exchanged bewildered glances.

"If my eyes didn't deceive me... was that Apparition?"

"No, no, I'm sure you saw wrong. The school is riddled with anti-Apparition charms; even professors can't use Apparition."

Another Ravenclaw fifth-year asked, "Then what magic would you call that?"

That left the other student stumped. What had just happened looked far too much like the Apparition charm, yet using Apparition within the school was supposed to be impossible. Amidst their bickering, the group headed toward their dormitory.

If an ordinary wizard attempted Apparition, they would inevitably be blocked by the formidable counter-spells permeating Hogwarts. However, such counter-spells were primarily designed to target human magic; they failed to produce any effect on house-elves or other types of magic.

What Kahn had just used were ancient runes, and the runes he constructed could persist within his body for an extended period. Whenever he wished to use Apparition, he could achieve instant spellcasting at any moment through the ancient runes inside him.

Once Kahn successfully shaped the Source of Magic within his body, he would truly become a modern magic god. If Dark Lords or Light Lords could survive three rounds against Kahn under those conditions, they might as well just kill themselves.

....................

Great Hall

This was a place for dining, studying, or completing assignments.

At this time, owls would occasionally fly in from outside, dropping off a package and waiting for the recipient to offer a treat before flying back to rest. If a package was too large, it would be delivered to Hogwarts through other means.

"Are there any discount sales lately? Why is everyone receiving packages?"

Ron asked with curiosity. But before Hermione or Harry could reply, a lower-year student carrying a parcel approached Ron and said, "Mr. Weasley, there's a package for you."

"That must be dress robes; everyone gets them. During the Triwizard Tournament, a ball is held on Christmas Eve. Everyone is required to attend and dance, with the champions opening the first dance."

Hermione offered a brief explanation before continuing, "I heard we have to invite our own partners, though Professor McGonagall will probably announce the specific details in our next class... Where is she going?"

"Who are you talking about?"

Hearing Hermione's final remark, Harry felt somewhat baffled. He followed her line of sight and saw Fleur holding a box as she walked out of the Great Hall.

"Maybe she's packing late-night snacks? Getting ready to eat tonight..."

"She's probably delivering food to Professor Pent; she's been doing that a lot lately." Ron opened his package, took one look at the grandmother-style dress robes inside, and hurriedly shoved them back in. He then said to Hermione and Harry, "Some people saw her go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office several times, suspecting she was trying to pump Professor Pent for information about the task. But I think that's unlikely—after all, it's much easier for Beauxbatons' headmistress to find out about the next task... Hermione, where are you going?"

Hermione walked out without looking back, declaring, "The library!"