Chapter 188: Nuclear Blast And The Multi-spectral Vision Charm
Seeing Donald’s pale face, Jack burst into laughter: “You’ve come to your senses? Donald, oh Donald, you thought the dreamcatcher could stop me from calling for reinforcements? You thought I wouldn’t consider the dreamcatcher when I planned my betrayal?”
“I did consider it, and for a long time, the existence of the dreamcatcher once drove me to despair, making me almost give up the idea of betraying the Graves family, until two months ago… Hahaha—thank heaven, thank the gentlemen who provided me with nuclear bombs for experimentation, and of course, thank Weasley.”
He laughed wildly, embracing the frozen fireball, then turned back and looked at Donald with a playful smirk: “My dear cousin, guess if my experiment was successful?”
No need to guess!
Donald didn’t even need to take out the parchment hidden in his robes.
He could already see that in the air around the frozen golden fireball, in the dim night, vortices were quietly appearing, like black holes revolving around a star.
One, two, three…
Until countless more!
Beneath the enormous golden fireball, Jack raised his hands, his sun-embracing figure imprinted on Donald’s dimming vision.
Like a phantom!
Where the phantom spread, the vortices formed by apparition in his field of vision quickly disappeared, and wizards with expressionless faces, wearing black robes and making no sound, appeared one by one.
Jack’s excited voice echoed in his ears: “You say my betrayal has not an ounce of sanctity? Poor Donald, do you see? These puppet-like wizards, familiar? Yes, they are the Purifiers, even the family’s partners have become my allies, all supporting my resistance. Who then lacks sanctity? Hahahaha!”
His laughter drifted into the night sky, but it brought Donald only deep despair.
After hearing Jack’s words, Donald knew he was finished, and so were the Aurors who remained because of his orders!
And when the apparition ended and the “Purifiers” appeared, he understood that the Graves family was also finished!
He recalled that before he left, Michael had already gone with the heads of other families to question the “partners.”
Now, it seemed, it was all a setup!
The Wizengamot, the 12 Pure-blood families, the Department of Magical Security, the WAC, the Federation… the mastermind had utilized everything that could be utilized.
As for their purpose… did it matter?
The dense, countless “Purifiers” were enough to engulf everything here. When he and the Aurors were killed, when Kingsley, Lupin, and Tonks of the WAC were killed.
Whether they wanted to or not, the 12 Pure-blood families would become enemies with the WAC and the Federation.
Even as enemies, it no longer mattered which side was stronger; the Graves family, having lost 8 Auror Squads, would be irrevocably weakened.
The 12 Pure-blood families, having lost Michael and the other ministers, would inevitably fall into chaos.
Hatred and chaos would bring war!
A war between pure-blood families, a war between the Wizengamot and the WAC and Federation, and it might even spread to become a war for the entire Federation!
Donald did not know who was behind Jack.
Those Muggles who cooperated with the families?
Or some other mastermind?
It no longer mattered!
Ahead, the silently arrayed “Purifiers” flew into the air, their black robes uniform, the atmosphere of killing intent.
A horn sounded from somewhere.
Donald saw that as the horn sounded, the eyes hidden within the hoods of those rows lit up, their black robes blending with the night, only two points of light floating in the air, like will-o’-the-wisps symbolizing death.
Jack was still laughing wildly.
Several surrounding Aurors looked ashen-faced, covered in cold sweat.
The Purifiers slowly flew closer. Donald raised his wand several times, but finally lowered it in dejection. Resistance or not, it no longer mattered.
Seeing him give up resistance, Jack became even more excited, his booming roar echoing in the night sky: “Kill them! Kill them all!”
With Jack’s roar, the first rank of “Purifiers” in the slowly approaching formation raised their wands.
Uniformed spells converged at their wand tips!
Donald closed his eyes slightly, awaiting the arrival of death.
Then, he heard a calm voice:
“These are the Purifiers?”
The voice was not loud, not a shout, and showed no emotion, as casual as a chat with friends in a bar.
Donald’s eyes snapped open in astonishment, and he followed the sound.
Behind him, not far from his and the Aurors’ formation, by a flowerbed, a boy in a seemingly expensive robe, about 5 feet tall, had appeared at some point.
The air, sucking towards the epicenter of the nuclear explosion, whipped his hair wildly, making it look like a puff of leaping flame.
Perhaps sensing Donald’s gaze, the boy turned his head. Whether it was the reflection of the golden fireball or not, his eyes shone slightly, as if filled with stars.
Donald stared at him blankly.
The boy smiled and asked again, “These are the Purifiers?”
Donald nodded dazedly.
“Thank you,” the boy said, walking slowly, a rather uniquely styled Elderwood wand twirling between his fingers.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Donald seemed to see ripples spreading through space as the wand twirled.
No!
It was not an illusion!
Donald’s pupils suddenly contracted—
The ripples were indeed present. The invisible space, in the rotation of the wand, in the boy’s hand, rippled like a pond disturbed by the wind.
Then, a large, strange sphere suddenly appeared beside the boy.
Whoosh—
Wind blew out from inside the “sphere,” carrying the salty tang of the ocean.
“Go, catch those Purifiers, I want to study them!”
The boy said nonchalantly.
As his voice fell, Donald saw wizards riding broomsticks, appearing as if from nowhere, rush out of the “sphere,” raising their wands and charging towards the formation of Purifiers.
The boy was no longer paying attention; he walked to Donald’s side and extended his hand: “Hello, nice to meet you, I am Vaughn Weasley!”
………
Time rewound a few minutes.
Still on the hotel rooftop, observing the battlefield from afar using magic, Donald Graves, having personally witnessed Kingsley and Lupin join the battle to help him escape, then withdrew and radiated the advantage to the other Aurors.
This ultimately reversed the situation, leaving the traitors, who had once held the upper hand, in disarray.
The Old Wizard sighed: “I know this Donald Graves, Deputy Minister of the Department of Magical Security. He’s always been low-key, leaving me with almost no distinct impression. I didn’t expect him to be talented as well… Alas, in America under the clan system, who knows how many such people are buried.”
Vaughn, whose eyes glittered like stars and was also observing the battlefield with his Patronus, quipped: “So the Federation always tries so hard to stir up trouble on this continent, thinking that one day they can bring all these talents under their banner?”
Ajinbad was unconcerned by his taunt: “It’s a waste not to use talent, if the Wizengamot and the 12 Pure-blood families don’t cherish them, then don’t blame us for eyeing them.”
“To speak of coveting with such righteousness, you truly have a thick skin.”
“Heh, each to their own. You chose this continent as the first stop for the WAC’s outward expansion, aren’t you harboring the same intentions?”
“I am here to liberate werewolves.”
“Guess if I believe you?”
The old fox and the young fox bickered, while also not relaxing their monitoring of the battlefield. They watched Donald organize his team to enter the darkness outside the streets, attempting to rescue survivors.
Ajinbad shook his head: “Wasting so much time, it’s hard to say how many are still alive. He’s too driven by emotion, not a qualified leader.”
Vaughn didn’t contradict him this time, but he didn’t join Ajinbad in criticizing Donald’s choice either.
This was actually a difference in perspective. Both he and Ajinbad were leaders and direct supervisors of organizations; they viewed issues from a global perspective, with individuals having very little weight in their eyes.
But if the survivors struggling for survival in the distant, dense darkness were present now, their evaluation of Donald would be different—who wouldn’t want someone to overcome all obstacles to save them in their time of need?
“Rather than criticizing Donald’s decision, I’d rather see how the traitors respond.”
Through the perspective of his Patronus, he remotely watched Donald lead his team into the darkness, using his superb magical strength to suppress and drive away all obstructing traitors.
“He’s looking for the node.”
Although Vaughn was not clear what kind of spell that darkness belonged to, he could discern that it was a form of barrier. The approach for wizards dealing with barrier magic was generally the same: either use the collective power of a large number of wizards to cast All Spells End.
Or destroy the node.
“Yes.” Ajinbad, who was more familiar with the United States of America, nodded, his tone laced with sarcasm: “That is the Graves family’s Darkness Curse. Donald is naturally very familiar with it, but that doesn’t stop me from despising his recklessness. He should be grateful that he’s only encountered ordinary wizards.”
If a barrier was entirely set by a powerful wizard, the method of destroying the node would not apply, as the existence of the node was to provide magical power, allowing the barrier to maintain its coverage beyond that of other spells.
However, it was clear that no such person existed among those traitors.
Vaughn ignored Ajinbad’s nonsensical remarks and continued to observe from afar, watching Donald and his group’s faint light struggle to advance within the darkness that was as dense as an abyss.
They erected Full Body-Bind Curses, and the surrounding attacks hit them relentlessly.
He watched as several Aurors cooperated with each other, and as Donald gradually found an opening, focusing on casting Transfiguration, inundating the surrounding area with a large number of transformed creatures to pinpoint the node’s location.
Noticing Vaughn’s focused gaze, Ajinbad seemed surprised, and then, seeing Vaughn’s wand twirling slightly in his hand, he immediately realized: “Are you worried about Donald and those Federal Aurors?”
“No.”
“Don’t lie to me, you look like you can’t wait to intervene.”
“I just don’t want them to die.”
“You still insist on the idea that the mastermind will personally intervene?”
“Of course.” Vaughn caressed his wand, his expression calm, but his words were far from ordinary: “No matter who that person is, they have invested too much capital in inciting confrontation between us and the Wizengamot. The traitors from the Graves family below are not impoverished commoners; they are elites to be able to become Aurors, and even if exploited by their families, their situation is much better than that of true wizarding commoners.”
“To enlist so many elites to betray is unthinkable, and such a huge investment means the person behind it cannot watch the plan fail, nor can they give up on these elites.”
He glanced at Ajinbad as he spoke: “Don’t tell me you can’t grasp such a simple truth.”
Facing Vaughn’s subtle mockery, Ajinbad was unfazed: “Just testing you. However, my view differs from yours. Although I don’t like Donald, I must say, his timely decision to have the dreamcatcher blockade Boston was indeed very effective. Without Apparition, even if the mastermind wanted to support those traitors, they would be powerless.”
Vaughn was somewhat perplexed: “Why are you so sure the mastermind cannot break through the dreamcatcher? You’ve already demonstrated it to me.”
“Don’t assume everyone is a monster like you!” Ajinbad rolled his eyes, somewhat annoyed: “What kind of Muggle scientific theory… crooked ways… In short, if the dreamcatcher were that easy to break through, the high-pressure isolation policy of North America couldn’t have lasted for hundreds of years. Don’t overestimate wizards’ intelligence; in this world, mediocrity is the norm.”
Vaughn fell silent.
In his view, Ajinbad’s way of thinking was actually very similar to Dumbledore’s. This might be a commonality bestowed by the era in which they grew up—during their most active periods, Muggles were transitioning from feudalism to modernity.
The Second Industrial Revolution brought a substantial increase in material conditions, but people’s spirits and “beliefs” did not keep pace with the material advancement, leading to the rise of various ideologies and intellectual chaos, which became the distinct backdrop of that era.
They had personally witnessed Muggles waging wars, committing massacres, and carrying out genocide under the influence of chaotic ideologies… Such experiences profoundly shaped their perception of Muggles.
Even if they had enough wisdom to understand the principle of things spiraling upwards, they were still human. A human’s judgment and inclinations regarding things tend to remain fixed from their peak age.
Perhaps in their eyes, Muggles were still the same as they were decades ago.
Vaughn was different from them.
Gazing at the darkness that was constantly dissolving as Donald advanced, Vaughn observed, and also anticipated.
In what way would the mastermind break through the dreamcatcher’s blockade?
Therefore, when Donald finally destroyed the node, and Ajinbad stubbornly insisted, calling Donald lucky while cursing the traitors and the mastermind as trash.
A brilliant light suddenly bloomed in the distance.
Ajinbad’s scolding abruptly stopped. Facing the dazzling light in the distance, that conspicuous fireball representing destruction, he was dumbfounded—
“Damn it! A nuclear bomb!” Ajinbad’s face turned ashen. “How dare they—”
“Why wouldn’t they dare? Anything can happen on this land of North America, and it’s not like those Muggles haven’t used nuclear bombs on their own citizens before.”
Compared to Ajinbad’s disbelief, Vaughn, who possessed “future” memories and knew how many fantastical events would occur in the United States of America in the future, was not overly surprised, apart from his initial astonishment.
He stared at the darkness that had suddenly dissipated due to the violent explosion.
His star-like eyes reflected the light and fireball in the distance, but in Vaughn’s magical vision, in addition to the dazzling light, another peculiar scene was unfolding.
Large “curtains” falling from the sky were torn to shreds by the “halo” of light that suddenly burst and then froze in the distance, as if solidified light.
Vaughn knew what that light was, and even more so, he knew the meaning of this scene, which piqued his strong interest:
“The light is the electromagnetic pulse released at the moment of the explosion. The ‘tearing’ of the curtains is the result of the magical field being disrupted… Using the electromagnetic field to interfere with the magical field, interesting. Have the people behind this borrowed my theory?”
As the nuclear bomb exploded in the city, Ajinbad, still immersed in shock, finally came to his senses upon hearing Vaughn’s murmur: “Your theory? That paper from over two months ago discussing the relationship between electromagnetic fields and magical fields?”
“…”
Vaughn squinted his eyes as he looked at him: “After that paper was published, it barely attracted any attention. How did you see it?”
Ajinbad replied matter-of-factly, without any guilt: “Our positions were different then, of course I would have people specifically watch your every move.”
Of course, this wasn’t something to brag about, so he quickly steered the conversation back: “I remember in your paper, the relationship between electromagnetic fields and magical fields was merely a hypothesis, with no substantial content, right? But now…”
His gaze remained fixed on the distance, on the fireball that was half-raised, appearing red in the night sky, but dimly lit due to the effect of some time magic that prevented the light from spreading extensively.
Vaughn’s star-like eyes flickered: “That’s because you don’t understand Muggles. In fact, the hypotheses I mentioned in the paper, Muggles have already had theoretical considerations like gauge field theory. Although they were not studying magical fields, but the interaction between gravitational fields and electromagnetic fields （fields and matter）, from a mathematical perspective, there is no difference.”
Having explained this much, Vaughn said no more.
To go any deeper would involve concepts too complex; gauge field theory itself is a huge subject. Quantum electrodynamics （the quantum nature of electromagnetic interactions）, weak interaction, and strong interaction—the gauge group SU(3)× SU(2)× U(1) that unifies these three fundamental forces is gauge field theory.
It has a famous name in Muggle science: the Standard Model!
Similarly, string theory, which attempts to unify the four fundamental forces, is also gauge field theory, and some formulations of general relativity are also gauge field theory.
It is essentially a mathematical framework, a language of expression. Therefore, even in the Muggle scientific community, it is a controversial topic. If time were rewound 30 years, field theory was even considered a foolish “entertainment” tool!
The reason was that mathematics could only make experimental predictions, not solve actual existing problems. Therefore, even if Vaughn continued to speak, he wouldn’t know what else to say.
He also didn’t understand how the forces behind those traitors had actually created what he and the twins had hypothesized in their paper.
“It’s really interesting… The interference of electromagnetic pulses with magical fields is clearly not just a matter of detonating a nuclear bomb, otherwise, why would the light representing electromagnetic pulses ‘tear’ the curtains cast by the dreamcatcher, while also being constrained by some time magic? Instead of being ‘torn’ roughly together?”
Thinking this, Vaughn could no longer wait.
Without waiting for the bewildered Ajinbad, who hadn’t understood a word, to ask further questions, he waved his wand, and a sphere appeared.
Vaughn stepped into the “sphere” and quickly disappeared.
……
“…I am Vaughn Weasley…”
After greeting Donald casually, Vaughn glanced at the fireball, still frozen by time magic, not far away.
The fiery mushroom cloud, and the dense, lifeless “Purifiers” surrounding it, met his gaze.
The reason he rushed here eagerly was not solely to observe the interference of electromagnetic fields with magical fields up close.
It was also because from the moment he observed the curtains falling from the dreamcatcher being destroyed by the electromagnetic pulse released by the nuclear bomb, Vaughn knew that Donald and the others’ rescue and breakthrough plan was doomed to fail.
Although he disliked the Wizengamot and the 12 Pure-blood families, Vaughn couldn’t just let these Federal Aurors die. Otherwise, who knew what the heavily struck 12 Pure-blood families would do in their madness?
He came to America not for a war that made no sense, at least… not now!
However, his goodwill only extended this far.
Compared to Donald, Vaughn was more interested in the technology used by the “Purifiers.”
The magical aura in his eyes shone slightly. Vaughn ignored the battle that had erupted in the sky and carefully sensed the frozen mushroom cloud.
In his vision, the world kept changing.
Sometimes it was a photon soup filled with light, almost indistinguishable in outline.
Sometimes it was full of “vibrations,” as if everything was composed of leaping strings.
Then, the colors of the entire world gradually blurred, all objects becoming mere patches of color, like undulating mountains, twisting mists, or swirling nebulae.
In the system panel, a new line of prompts flickered slightly:
【Multispectral Vision Spell LV1（1/8）: Allows for direct observation of electromagnetic waves of various frequencies, including visible light】
This was a new spell.
Just moments ago, while greeting Donald, Vaughn had developed this spell using the “Spell Research and Development Module,” based on spells like Super-Sensing Spell and Manifestation Spell.
As described in the panel, it allowed the caster to directly see electromagnetic waves with wavelengths below 400nm or above 700nm, in the infrared and ultraviolet ranges.
As a new spell, its cost was not high, only 10 Reputation Points.
The reason was simple: human vision relies not only on the absorption of light wave signals by the visual organs but also on the brain’s recognition system.
The human brain had only evolved to define colors for visible light. The brain could not “imagine” what infrared and ultraviolet looked like.
The Vision Spell did not modify the brain to define “new visible light.”
In Vaughn’s field of vision, this manifested as the abstract representations he saw: mountains, mists, nebulae, and so on.
The world was not actually like that; it was a false appearance caused by the electromagnetic waves moving too fast for the brain to process and define colors.
However, although the resolution was not high due to the brain’s limitations, and it could not observe the “true nature” of the world, it was still sufficient for analyzing the frequency types of the current spatial electromagnetic field.
As the spell operated, the brilliance in Vaughn’s pupils constantly shifted, and everything before his eyes alternated in his vision.
Normally, the radiation caused by a nuclear explosion would include gamma rays, X-rays （heat rays）, as well as alpha and beta rays, and neutron particle beams.
However, the situation here was different. The frozen mushroom cloud and the normal surrounding temperature indicated that the radioactive materials caused by the nuclear explosion had not dispersed at all, not even the hot gases from material vaporization had been released.
This meant that in addition to the control of time magic, this nuclear bomb was also a specially made gamma-ray bomb!
As the vision shifted towards higher energy ranges, what he saw became increasingly bizarre. When it reached an extremely short wavelength range, the world had become entirely indistinguishable shapes.
But at the same time, Vaughn finally saw how gamma rays eroded the magical field—
Under the effect of the Vision Spell, he temporarily lost the ability to observe the magical field.
But he could see through the movement of the gamma rays that they were confined within a geometrically structured object. The infinite, indistinguishable colors of the gamma rays were released wave after wave with the “vibration” of the geometric body, radiating outwards.
Those radiated lights, like concentrated sulfuric acid, were “slowly” and continuously eroding an invisible object.
……
“What is he doing?”
Donald was bewildered, watching Vaughn Weasley, who had greeted him and then suddenly fallen into deep thought.
However, he soon lost the mood to pay attention to Vaughn.
In the sky, the battle had completely erupted!
The strange “sphere” summoned by Vaughn Weasley spewed out wizards one after another. When the last wizard, riding a broomstick and smelling of the salty sea, rushed out of the “sphere” and joined his companions in flying into the sky,
The wizards who came out first had already launched an attack on the arrayed “Purifiers”!
Colorful spells instantly filled the night sky.
Simultaneously, the “Purifiers,” who were about to cast spells to annihilate the Federal Aurors, hastily switched their spells, either to defend or counter-attack against these sudden enemies.
Flames, lightning, and even white, red, and green lights exploded, collided, and bounced off each other like fireworks.
The scene was chaotic for a time!
No one had anticipated such a turn of events, not Donald, and certainly not Jack Graves!
“Avada—”
From afar, Donald heard Jack’s shout. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw that under the frozen mushroom cloud, Jack, who had been laughing wildly, was roaring in frustration, waving his wand at the sky.
“—Kedavra!”
As the spell fell, a thick, pale green beam of light instantly traversed space, and a figure fell from above.
Fortunately, Donald, who had been closely watching the battle, saw that it was not one of Vaughn Weasley’s summoned people who had been hit by the Killing Curse—they were moving at high speed on broomsticks.
The one killed by the Killing Curse was a hooded “Purifier.”
A faint laugh echoed from the sky:
“Haha, Oliver, the guy below must have gone mad. Maybe our appearance scared the pants off him.”
“Perhaps. Do you want to go check?”
However, even as they bantered, when Jack Graves’ wand lit up with green light again, two figures flew down from the sky.
They unleashed a series of spells, forcing Jack Graves to abandon his attack and switch to defense.
Under the light of the mushroom cloud, the light of spells, and having to lower their flight altitude and thus their speed, Donald saw the faces of the two wizards who were blocking Jack.
He recognized them.
A few days ago, when two Federal Aurors claimed that Vaughn Weasley had developed a new spell using Muggle mathematics, Michael had taken him to read those two Federal Aurors’ memories.
Unfortunately, their memories had been tampered with. Michael and he had not seen evidence of “Vaughn Weasley developing spells using Muggle mathematics,” only seeing a few merchants in their memories, engaging in a Fire Dragon transaction with the WAC.
The faces he saw now were those of two of those merchants.
Oliver Greenwell and Zack Beld!
At the time, Michael had instructed him to investigate the backgrounds of the two; they came from the Greenwell and Beld wizarding families of English descent.
This was not particularly unusual. America was an immigrant country, and if one traced the lineage of any family here, they would inevitably be linked to families from various European countries.
In fact, if the incident of the “Purifier” intelligence leak had not occurred today, according to the original plan, he was preparing to investigate whether the English-descended families like Greenwell had any unsavory relationship with Vaughn Weasley.
“Now, there’s no need to investigate…”
Donald gave a bitter smile. Their presence here at this moment indicated their relationship with Vaughn Weasley was self-evident.
For a moment, his mood was complex, but he quickly shook his head, dispelled the chaotic thoughts, grabbed his wand, and prepared to support Oliver and Zack—
He was going to capture Jack Graves!
Not only did he want to find out why the other party had betrayed them and which forces supported their betrayal, but also because Jack Graves was still holding that Alchemical Marvel that had frozen the nuclear bomb!
Donald knew Jack’s strength well; he was not powerful. Judging by the performance of Oliver and Zack, Jack was no match for them.
If faced with defeat, what if Jack went mad and pressed the button on that “remote control,” as he had threatened him before…
Donald could not imagine the disaster that an unrestrained nuclear bomb would cause!
However, the next moment, his expression suddenly changed.
The ground beneath him suddenly became soft, like a muddy swamp. His legs sank directly into it, and then the ground regained its hardness.
Donald instinctively raised his wand. A red light flashed before his eyes, and his wand flew out, spinning into a slender palm.
“…”
Silently, there were only a few people present with such magical strength.
Donald turned around and, as expected, saw Vaughn Weasley, who had somehow broken free from his contemplation, looking at him with a half-smile:
“Where do you think you’re going, my dear Donald?”
