Dawn narrowed his eyes.
After listening to most of the case from behind the door, he had already formed a theory.
Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and strode onto the deck.
Behind him, the Brain waved its tentacles enthusiastically, sending him off.
"Who are you?"
Hearing the noise, the young wizard crouched among the crowd turned around in irritation.
"This is a crime scene! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed inside."
"My name is Dawn Richter."
Dawn folded his arms and recalled the cases he had solved in the past.
Then he nodded with absolute confidence. "I am a world-renowned master detective."
"A-a master detective?!"
The young wizard visibly froze.
Feeling the overwhelming aura radiating from Dawn, his expression grew serious.
Perhaps because this was a dream, he accepted the claim immediately.
"I see. A fellow detective?"
Staring at Dawn's crimson eyes, he muttered to himself,
"No wonder... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before..."
While the boy was distracted, Dawn narrowed his eyes and instinctively cast three Legilimency spells toward the suspects.
Unfortunately, he learned nothing.
Which made sense.
Unlike the Thought-Link experiences, where everyone had been dead, these people were merely creations of the young wizard's imagination.
There were no real memories to read.
After a moment's thought, Dawn shifted targets and attempted to read the young wizard's own mind.
To his surprise, the boy had no idea who the culprit was either.
It's your dream...
The corner of Dawn's mouth twitched.
Still, it didn't matter.
The mystery itself was simple enough for him to solve.
More importantly, there was the task the Brain had given him.
Suppressing the strange excitement rising inside him, Dawn lifted one eyebrow and sighed with obvious disdain.
"How disappointing. For such an obvious case, I assumed anyone could see the answer."
"Instead, you've spent all this time poking at a corpse."
"What did you say?"
The young wizard was clearly innocent and straightforward.
Having only just recovered from his surprise, he immediately became furious.
"Then tell me. Who is the murderer?"
Dawn looked down at him and smiled.
Then he pointed directly at one of the suspects. "The killer is the victim's son. There's no doubt about it."
"What?!"
The young wizard's eyes widened.
He immediately looked at Suspect B and saw only an innocent expression.
Unwilling to accept defeat, he challenged Dawn. "Wait! What makes you say that?"
"The answer is simple."
Dawn pointed toward the deck beneath their feet.
"Where are we?"
"Where are we?" The boy looked confused.
After a brief pause, he answered, "On... a cruise ship."
"Bingo."
Dawn snapped his fingers.
"So you still don't understand?"
Tilting his head slightly, he looked at the three suspects.
"This ship is sailing across an endless ocean."
"Have you ever stopped to ask why the killer left the body on the deck instead of throwing it into the sea?"
As he spoke, the crowd unconsciously parted for him.
The mannequin lay exposed once more, knife protruding from its chest, tongue sticking out in a rather ridiculous fashion.
"The killer had a reason for leaving the body here. That much is obvious."
He continued calmly.
"Suspect A and Suspect C merely wanted the victim gone. They have no reason to leave the corpse behind."
The young wizard faltered.
Still unwilling to concede, he clenched his teeth. "But if the son is the murderer, why would he do it?"
"Oh?" Dawn looked down at him. "You still haven't figured it out?"
"The victim's son needs money. The argument they had yesterday proves he desperately needed money recently."
"S-so what?" The boy continued struggling.
Dawn sighed dramatically.
"So what?"
"If the body were thrown into the ocean, the victim would simply be listed as missing.
In that situation, obtaining the inheritance could take years.
Therefore, the killer deliberately left the body where everyone would find it.
Only once the victim's death was confirmed could the son quickly gain access to the inheritance he needed."
After finishing his explanation, Dawn deliberately gave the boy a skeptical look.
"Tell me. Are you really a detective?"
"Any competent investigator should have seen something this obvious immediately."
The young wizard's face turned pale.
Clutching his chest, he staggered backward.
"Y-you..."
"This time you were better than me. But next time we meet, I'll definitely win!"
From behind the door, the Brain nearly exploded with frustration.
'Attack power, Dawn! More attack power!'
'Attack?'
Receiving the Brain's prompt, Dawn immediately hardened his expression.
"Idiot!"
His voice cracked like a whip.
"What do you think a detective is? A tool for satisfying your desire to show off?"
He stepped forward.
His shadow fell across the boy's face, carrying overwhelming pressure.
"A detective bears the responsibility of revealing the truth.
Of bringing justice to the dead. Of ensuring criminals receive the punishment they deserve.
Someone like you, who charges into a murder investigation on a whim and treats it like a competition, will never understand the dignity of that mission."
Dawn spoke with complete conviction.
Entirely forgetting his own history of manipulating truth and casually causing deaths.
The young wizard was left speechless.
Excellent!
Hidden behind the doorway, the Brain clenched its tentacles in excitement.
Taking the moral high ground and delivering lofty condemnation was far more effective than simple insults.
"You! You!"
The boy's face alternated between red and white.
Half angry.
Half ashamed.
After several seconds, he suddenly screamed. His body began to twist and swell.
When he raised his head again, the youthful features were gone.
In their place stood a noseless, grotesque face.
Voldemort.
"…So it actually works."
Dawn raised an eyebrow.
Despite being the one who caused it, he still found the result bizarre.
At that moment, the Brain burst through the doorway.
Before the transformation fully completed, it wrapped its tentacles around Voldemort's head.
Plop.
The translucent appendages sank directly into his skull.
Voldemort's expression changed instantly.
He reached up toward the Brain... But before he could touch it, the swollen body seemed to deflate.
The monstrous form shrank away.
Moments later, the young wizard reappeared.
"This... is over already?"
Dawn sounded surprised.
He looked at the unconscious student lying on the floor.
He had expected a struggle.
Instead, it had ended almost immediately.
'So this is the Brain's ability. Direct attacks against thought itself.' A strange light flashed in Dawn's eyes.
Meanwhile, the Brain let out a satisfied sigh and raised a tentacle. "Okay! One down! Let's hurry and find the others!"
It attempted to high-five him. Dawn deliberately ignored it.
Looking around, he noticed the dream world fading.
The ocean liner vanished.
The sun dissolved.
Everything reverted to an ordinary classroom.
As the Brain floated out through the door, Dawn lowered his head, contemplating something.
Then he followed.
Countless candles drifted through the corridors.
Before opening the next room, the Brain floated directly into his line of sight.
"Well, child? Having fun?"
"More or less."
Dawn did not deny it.
As they spoke, they arrived at another classroom.
Although no sounds emerged from within, Dawn instinctively opened the door anyway.
Inside stood an enormous library.
Books filled countless shelves.
Near a window sat a young witch reading intently.
"Hermione?"
Dawn rubbed his chin.
Recognizing her, he suddenly realized they had barely interacted since their first year.
Returning to the present, he refrained from approaching immediately.
Instead, he walked to a nearby shelf and pulled out a thick volume.
Opening it, he discovered— Blank pages.
Every single one.
"Tch."
Though he had expected it, disappointment still surfaced. Returning the book to its shelf, he looked toward Hermione.
She sat at the desk, completely absorbed in her reading.
"What about this one? How do you plan to handle her?"
"Hmmm..."
The Brain bobbed thoughtfully.
Suddenly, its tentacles slapped together. "How about setting all the books on fire?"
It drifted beside Dawn and whispered temptingly.
"Think about it."
"If she loves books this much, watching them burn one by one would drive her absolutely insane."
What a monster of a Brain.
Dawn shot it a glance.
Recalling Hermione's personality, he proposed a different strategy.
"No. I think we should tie her up. Then sit in front of her and read every book ourselves."
"For someone like Hermione, being forced to watch another person learn everything while she can do nothing would be unbearable."
"...Dawn." The Brain choked slightly. "Once again, you impress me."
It reached out and patted his head. Dawn immediately shook it off.
Then they got to work.
Hearing movement, Hermione looked up.
She turned around and immediately froze. "Wait! Dawn? What are you doing here?!"
Clearly, Hermione remembered him far better than the aspiring detective had. Even within a dream, she recognized him instantly.
Dawn remained completely unmoved. A Binding Charm shot from his wand.
Hermione was tied up immediately.
Then Dawn sat opposite her, took the book from the table, and began reading.
"Wait!"
"I want to read too!"
Hermione's face changed drastically.
She struggled desperately.
The bindings didn't budge. And so she could only watch helplessly.
Dawn read one book after another. Soon a stack of completed volumes occupied the corner of the table.
Ten books.
Then more.
Hermione became visibly distressed. Sweat covered her face.
"No!"
"No!"
"I want to read too!"
"Let me read!"
Her voice broke.
Finally unable to endure the cruel reality, her body began to twist and swell.
Just like before.
The Brain seized the opportunity.
Its tentacles plunged into Voldemort's emerging forehead and erased him immediately.
The library faded away.
"Well done, Dawn!" The Brain zigzagged excitedly through the air. "That was beautiful!"
This thing absolutely is not Nicolas Flamel's consciousness.
Dawn glanced at it speechlessly.
Ignoring its manic excitement, he opened the next door and returned to the corridor.
Soon they entered Neville's dream.
The scene was a hospital room.
A man and woman sat smiling on a bed while Neville enthusiastically told them stories about school.
Dawn's expression darkened.
"...Poor child."
Even the Brain sighed.
After a moment, it said softly:
"Dawn... Kill his parents. If the child refuses to accept reality, Voldemort will emerge."
"Don't feel guilty. It's only a dream."
The Brain intended to continue persuading him. But before it could finish, two green flashes shot across the room.
"...Dad? Mom?"
Neville froze.
Then he let out a heartbreaking cry and reached trembling fingers toward his parents.
Dawn remained expressionless.
He turned and walked away.
A short time later, after eliminating the Voldemort emerging from Neville, the Brain caught up.
"Oh? Are you close to that boy?"
"Why do you ask?"
Dawn never looked back.
"With the others, you seemed to enjoy yourself. But with him... You wanted it over as quickly as possible."
Dawn pressed his lips together and offered no answer. The Brain did not press further.
Together, they continued onward.
Soon another classroom appeared.
Creak.
The moment Dawn opened the door, deafening cheers exploded from within.
"Weasley!"
"Weasley!"
Looking inside, he discovered a familiar setting.
The Hogwarts Great Hall.
On a raised platform stood Ron Weasley.
The red-haired boy waved triumphantly while students below chanted his name. Professors lined up beside him, presenting award after award.
"So he wants attention."
The Brain squeezed through the doorway.
Looking troubled, it muttered, "This one's difficult. How do we make him unpopular enough to reject reality?"
It sank into deep thought.
Dawn, however, looked completely relaxed.
"Don't worry."
"If it's him, there's a much easier solution."
With a flick of his wand, the students' clothing began twisting.
Fabric transformed into spiders.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Hairy legs scuttled across the floor and climbed toward the platform.
Ron's expression shattered instantly.
A shrill scream burst from his throat.
His legs gave out. He crashed from the stage and landed amid a crawling mass of spiders.
"AHHH!"
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
His scream seemed capable of bringing down the ceiling.
Moments later, his eyes rolled back.
He collapsed.
His flesh rippled and expanded.
"See?"
Dawn lowered his wand.
"Simple."
The Brain raised a tentacle in approval before floating forward and plunging its translucent appendages into Voldemort's emerging forehead.
While it worked, Dawn tilted his head upward.
His gaze landed on a familiar figure standing beside the stage.
Albus Dumbledore.
The old wizard watched Ron with a warm, proud smile.
Come to think of it... So much had happened recently. Where exactly had Dumbledore gone?
Why hadn't he shown himself even once?
Dawn frowned.
He was certain Dumbledore had not abandoned the castle.
Whatever the old headmaster was doing, it had to be connected to solving the crisis engulfing Hogwarts.
But what exactly was he doing?
Narrowing his eyes, Dawn tried to place himself in Dumbledore's position...
___________
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/BloodAncestor