Chapter 105: Striking From The Mental Front
“Bang…”
“Bang…”
“Bang…”
Dull impact sounds rang out one after another.
Inside the underground venue by the Danube River at the foot of Gellért Hill, it was as if a ghost was wandering. Every time a faint silver glow flashed in the darkness and landed on a companion under the gazes of the surrounding wizards, a heavy breathing sound would become even and slow.
The seemingly anxious and prolonged battle process was actually just a one-sided assault. Darkness and silence were that young professor’s home turf.
Meanwhile, the remnants who were also in the darkness, not daring to make a sound or light their wands, were the prey being hunted. Despite their full vigilance, their companions still lost consciousness one by one, collapsing unconscious on the ground, with sleeping bodies occasionally rolling down the steps.
After a dozen or so muffled sounds ended, the underground venue finally quieted down.
Abnercy and Vida held their breaths without making a sound, but they could hear each other’s heartbeats. Estimating by the count of muffled sounds, almost all the participants in the gathering had been attacked, leaving only the two of them and the witch who had exposed the professor’s identity.
On the steps not far away, Kristin Rocher was equally uneasy, but she lacked the experience of the two old wizards. Her heavy breathing was particularly clear in the silent enclosed space.
“Now, can we have a good talk?”
A few satin-like blue flames rose, illuminating the enclosed venue. A slightly warm breeze came, and the soft glow of the blue flames soothed their unease while the scene before them still made their pupils contract for an instant.
The venue steps were full of unconscious companions above and below.
The slowly rising and falling chests proved they were not corpses, but sleeping. The three Cabal members breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Because in the short three minutes, that young figure seemed completely different. Something weighed on them, making their heartbeats sluggish. Perhaps due to poor ventilation in the underground passage, their chests felt heavy with a suffocating sensation.
Abnercy felt even more fortunate that not all Hogwarts professors were dark wizards.
Gripping the wand in his hand, the two old wizards felt blood transporting warmth and oxygen back to their bodies, breathing a little heavily, while their gazes fell on the figure across the platform.
The extremely young-looking professor showed a smile, and the atmosphere seemed to ease a bit.
Melvin stood there quietly, waiting for them to collect their thoughts while unobtrusively observing the three. The two old wizards were relatively calm, and the female Auror from the Ministry of Magic had a somewhat pale face, but she still gripped her wand steadily—her mental fortitude was impressive.
Earlier, in the darkness, this witch had tried to lock onto his position based on the starting point of the spell beams.
Vida’s face was grim. The once infamous Cabal now consisted only of the old and weak, even taken down single-handedly by someone else—it left a bad taste in her heart.
“Professor Levent, forgive our offense.” Hotel Owner Abnercy sighed, his smile bitter and helpless.
Realizing this professor truly wasn’t holding it against them, and noting the first powerful Stupefy had too much impact force, with subsequent ones deliberately reducing magic power—otherwise, after knocking them all down, an Obliviate sweep would have left no trouble behind.
Sensing the professor’s goodwill, Abnercy quickly composed himself and took the initiative to introduce: “This is my old friend, Vida Rocher, once a core member of the Cabal. If you’ve seen our wanted posters, this name should be familiar.”
“The child over there is her niece, Kristin, a collateral descendant of the Rocher family…” Abnercy paused, “She graduated from Beauxbatons, entered the Romanian Ministry of Magic through normal examinations, and only after becoming an Auror was she recruited by Vida into becoming a Saint.”
The young witch pursed her lips and remained silent.
Melvin thought for a moment: “This dragon egg theft—it’s really got nothing to do with you?”
Abnercy shook his head: “It was another group of foreign wizards, who came to Budapest during summer vacation, a day or two before you. They stayed on Castle Hill. At first, we thought they were ordinary tourists, but after the lockdown, they vanished without a trace…”
He figured this professor might be helping Romania investigate the case, so after a pause, he added: “All unregistered Portkeys here are in our hands. We haven’t received any news of anyone sneaking out—they should still be in the city.”
Melvin had faintly realized by now that this female Auror attended the gathering probably to use the Cabal’s channels for the investigation. He couldn’t help turning to look at her: “Then why did you expose me?”
Those who didn’t know might think he was some villain.
“…”
The witch’s deep green eyes flickered with a faint light, her face expressionless, but her tense shoulder and neck muscles showed she wasn’t actually calm.
Abnercy hesitated, then said cautiously: “Professor, if you’re investigating a case, we can provide help.”
Melvin shook his head: “I think there’s a misunderstanding between us. Now that it’s cleared up, let’s leave it at that—no need for extra matters.”
Tracking someone and sneaking into the gathering was his fault, but the subsequent conflict had been resolved smoothly without escalating. Though he pitied the fire dragon, he had no interest in getting involved in Romania’s troubles. He stowed his wand, preparing to leave.
“You haven’t promised to keep it confidential yet!”
A slightly shrill voice suddenly appeared. The other three’s gazes immediately turned to Old Vida. The female Auror looked somewhat stunned, while Abnercy felt a headache and helplessness.
Melvin couldn’t help laughing. Looking at the elderly woman, he suddenly changed his mind.
“Do you really think you can rescue Grindelwald from Nurmengard?” Melvin asked calmly.
Vida quietly gripped her wand, masking the flash of fear in her eyes, and still replied defiantly: “Those idiot Aurors in Austria—what right do they have to stop me?”
“Whether the Aurors can stop you, I don’t know.” Melvin’s tone was calm. “What I’m curious about is, do you really think Nurmengard and the Austrian Ministry of Magic can hold a master duelist proficient in dark magic?”
“That’s because he has no wand!”
“Grindelwald is proficient in silent spellcasting and wandless spellcasting.”
“He, he…”
“He was under Dumbledore’s Imperius Curse?”
This was the reason Vida had once used to convince Abnercy, but when it was presented to her, she couldn’t bring herself to nod.
“See, you actually know very well.” Melvin continued, “No one can hold Grindelwald. The International Confederation of Wizards’ past detentions were far stricter than this, yet he still seized the chance to escape impediment in a short time. For such a legendary dark wizard to be trapped for half a century in the Nurmengard he knew so well…”
“No… no…”
Old Vida’s eyes showed pain and sorrow. She murmured intermittently, trying to stop Melvin from revealing the cruel truth.
“The truth is, Grindelwald is there willingly. He’s atoning for his past mistakes.”
Melvin’s words didn’t stop, continuing on his own: “Even if you break through the Aurors’ heavy defenses, even if you go to great lengths to enter Nurmengard and hand him a wand in person, Grindelwald still won’t leave—not until he grows old and dies in his cell.”
