"Why isn't he usually this brave?" Moriarty rubbed his forehead. "He's really overexcited. I'll go down and check on him."
"The commandment to liberate the sky, let the stars call our body and mind, Dimoaka!"
Moriarty chanted silently and flew into the pipe.
"Ahhh-ah!" Marcus's shouts echoed through the pipe. Moriarty felt like he was wearing magical headphones, the 3D surround sound bouncing between his left and right ears.
"Fly up, Marcus!" Moriarty called out ahead. "If you can't, at least adjust your position and control your fall."
After about two minutes, Moriarty heard Marcus's intermittent voice. "Sir... Sir, I'm... doing my best..."
Moriarty smirked. Fortunately, the steep angle of the pipe twisted and turned in multiple places, and its spacious interior meant Marcus wouldn't be in any immediate danger. Moriarty had no intention of leaving him behind, though.
Marcus slid deeper and deeper beneath the school grounds until the curved pipe leveled out. He finally emerged from the mouth of the pipe and landed with a thud on the damp ground.
Moriarty arrived moments later. "Lumos Maxima!" He raised his staff, casting a bright glow to examine the surroundings.
Marcus stood up, looking around at the dark, sticky walls. He stammered, "Sir, is this the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Obviously not." Moriarty increased the magic power output. A faint blue light shimmered at the top of his staff, and the walls reflected their shadows eerily.
Marcus immediately noticed a dark stone tunnel ahead. The ground was littered with rodent skeletons, water droplets clung to the walls, and a damp, cold air surrounded them.
"Let's move." Moriarty strode forward. "Keep your wand ready."
They continued down the passage, which grew more twisted. Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of them. Marcus instinctively cast a spell. "Expelliarmus!"
A red light shot forward, but it passed through the shadow and hit the ground.
"Don't panic," Moriarty said calmly. "I think it's just the shed skin of the basilisk."
Marcus let out a shaky breath, relieved by Moriarty's composure. He cast his own "Lumos" and cautiously stepped forward.
The light illuminated a massive, green snakeskin. Even though he had been mentally prepared, Marcus still recoiled. He swallowed hard and steadied his trembling legs. "Sir, with a skin this big, that basilisk must be at least twenty feet long."
"Of course, its size is terrifying," Moriarty said. "But what's even more dangerous is its age. A creature that has survived for centuries will have instincts and survival skills far beyond our imagination. Stay alert."
Marcus nodded obediently. Moriarty collected a piece of the snakeskin before they moved on. After navigating several more twists and turns, they finally reached a solid stone wall.
Two intertwined serpents were carved into it, their eyes set with large, gleaming emeralds.
Ding! Ding!
Moriarty tapped his staff against the emeralds. He didn't even need to speak Parseltongue. The stone serpents uncoiled, the wall split down the middle, and the halves slid apart, vanishing into the darkness.
"Let me go first, sir," Marcus said firmly. Though his voice wavered, his eyes were serious.
Moriarty was satisfied with his bravery but maintained his strict demeanor. "Courage without wisdom is recklessness. Proving yourself requires real courage, not blind bravado."
Marcus nodded hesitantly but still stepped ahead, gripping his wand tightly.
They entered a long, dimly lit chamber. Stone pillars, carved with entwined serpents, stretched up to a ceiling lost in shadows.
With no basilisk in sight, Marcus exhaled a sigh of relief and looked back at Moriarty—only to find that his master was already examining the depths of the room.
"This architecture is unmistakably Slytherin. It matches the grandeur of our ancestor," Moriarty mused, eyeing the scattered stone columns that resembled the twelve pillars in the Great Hall.
"As for that statue..."
He turned his gaze toward the massive stone figure looming against the back wall. The carved face was ancient, monkey-like, with a sparse, long beard.
"Is this really what my ancestor looked like?" Moriarty murmured with amusement. He knew Salazar Slytherin's true face, and even in old age, the founder wouldn't have looked this grotesque.
Since it was confirmed that Salazar himself built the Chamber, the statue's strange appearance was intriguing.
Marcus squinted at it. "Unless Salazar deliberately made his own statue ugly, I can't imagine anyone basing that on your noble appearance, sir."
The enormous stone face suddenly moved. Its mouth opened wide—wider and wider—until it formed a dark chasm.
A massive, black-scaled form burst from the opening and crashed onto the floor.
The chamber trembled. Marcus, who had just displayed courage, instantly crumpled to the ground like a deflated balloon, his wand slipping from his grasp.
"The basilisk!" Moriarty shouted. "Don't meet its eyes! Move!"
Marcus bolted in the opposite direction, gasping, "You go first, sir! I'll distract it!"
His loyalty was commendable. Moriarty nodded but quickly advised, "Use a levitation spell to move behind it!"
"Unblock—no, wait—Liberate!" Marcus stammered, his tongue tangled. "Etna, heaven..." His words failed him, and his face turned ghostly white.
The basilisk struck, its fangs bared!
"Ahhh!" Marcus yelled—and suddenly, he was floating.
Opening his eyes, he found Moriarty beside him, smirking.
"To serve me, you need two qualities: loyalty and bravery," Moriarty said firmly. "Congratulations, Marcus Flint. You passed my test."
Marcus's face flushed red with excitement. "Sir, it's my honor! I—"
Moriarty cut him off. "Call me Young Master from now on. That is how my followers address me. From today forward, I will invest resources into you. Write to your father and tell him the Flint family is about to rise again."
A loud hissing interrupted them. The basilisk coiled below, its golden eyes searching for prey.
Moriarty pointed his wand at the ground. "Whispering Serpent!"
A serpentine hiss, mixed with ancient Latin, filled the air. The basilisk hesitated as magical snakes wrapped around its form.
One snake climbed onto its head, but the basilisk glared at it, instantly petrifying the conjured serpent.
Moriarty realized something. The basilisk's gaze could instantly kill, but his conjured snake had only been petrified. Perhaps his spell could be enhanced by absorbing the magic of snake-like creatures?
But now was not the time for experiments.
Moriarty circled behind the basilisk and hissed in Parseltongue. "I am Moriarty Slytherin, direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin."
Silver and green light flared from his staff, forming an ethereal image of Salazar Slytherin.
The basilisk tensed as though struck by lightning, then relaxed completely. Moriarty dismissed his conjured snakes.
"Hiss, hiss," the basilisk replied softly.
"Hiss, hiss?" Moriarty continued the conversation.
Marcus watched in awe. At that moment, he wished he, too, was a Parselmouth.