Hearing Sirius's slightly mocking words, both Selena and Uriel's already sullen expressions darkened further.
Trask Graves was the head of the Department of Magical Security, a genuine high-ranking official within the Magical Congress of the United States of America, and over the years he had always been renowned throughout the American magical community for his strict self-discipline and unwavering integrity.
His reputation was practically spotless, held up as an example to younger Aurors of what dedication to justice looked like.
The Aurors of the Security Department all felt proud to have such a superior, a leader who demanded excellence not just from his subordinates, but from himself first and foremost.
Yet the glaring evidence before them now: this illegal fireplace, this secret safe house, these unauthorized breaches of the laws had undoubtedly torn away Graves's facade. The discovery proved that this distinguished Auror was not as perfect and flawless as he appeared to the world.
Amelia, however, felt rather indifferent about this revelation, perhaps because she lacked the years of personal investment in Graves's reputation.
She did indeed admire wizards like Graves for their competence and dedication, but nowhere near to the extent of the Aurors who had followed him for many years, who had served under his command and seen him as almost flawless.
Moreover, some of the Security Department head's recent decisions had genuinely disgusted her.
"No one is perfect, Mr. Black—"
After a moment of heavy silence, Selena looked at Sirius with a gloomy expression.
"Not even Mr. Dumbledore or Mr. Watson. That includes you too, Mr. Black." Her voice carried a sharp edge, pushing back against his indirect superiority. "I trust you haven't forgotten that you entered the United States by illegal means. You're hardly in a position to cast judgment on others'."
Sirius curled his lips and shrugged with a smile that showed he was not particularly bothered by Selena's sharp 'condemnation.'
A breeze suddenly stirred through the study, lifting papers on the desk and causing the curtains to swirl in. The ominous blood-red moonlight appeared through the window frame, forming shadows that rippled like water across the study walls.
Everyone in the room gazed at the fireplace, and without exception, an uneasy feeling arose in their hearts. They all vaguely sensed that the place they were about to go would not be as peaceful as this villa.
"Should we—"
Hesitantly, Uriel looked toward Sirius.
"Have that miraculous phoenix summon our people?"
"No need—"
Pushing down his slight contempt for Graves, who had caused Bryan so much unnecessary trouble, Sirius regained the calm and professionalism of an experienced Auror.
"Even if you brought everyone here, it wouldn't help our situation. The fireplace can only transport one person at a time. If all those Aurors wanted to reach another location through the fireplace, it would take at least ten minutes, possibly fifteen depending on timing. And if there's an ambush waiting on the other end of the fireplace, your colleagues would be picked off one by one. They'd be finished before half the team made it through."
His eyes swept across their faces, ensuring they understood.
"But if there really is an ambush waiting, if we're walking into a trap, then the few of us—"
Amelia said somewhat anxiously, her voice rising with suppressed fear. Only now, faced with the prospect of confronting unknown dangers without his presence, did she fully realize just how reliable and reassuring a great wizard like Bryan could make one feel.
Being by his side meant never having to worry about safety.
"Even if there is an ambush, and I'd wager there probably is, I think the four of us can hold out for a while," Sirius said with confidence.
"We're not exactly amateurs. In that case, once we signal trouble, Fawkes would have the opportunity to transport all the Aurors at once. We could even catch those dark creatures off guard with a sudden overwhelming force, which would actually be more advantageous for us than arriving as a slow trickle."
He paused, making eye contact with each of them.
"We go in first, assess the situation, engage if necessary, and call for backup if we need it."
Sirius's reasoning convinced Selena and Uriel. They exchanged glances and nodded. Thus, the four of them took their positions before the fireplace in turn, arranging themselves in order of entry.
Unlike before, while Sirius still charged ahead, Amelia was placed at the rear. After several tense bursts of crackling green firelight that briefly illuminated the study in eerie glow, the four disappeared one by one from the dark room.
In the mountains and wilderness, far from any civilized settlement, ferocious winds pierced through the dense forests with force, producing shrill wails like a banshee's cry that rose and fell. The sound was enough to make one's skin crawl, to set teeth on edge.
The massive building in the mountain hollow was shrouded in the shadow of green peaks bathed in that same strange blood-red moonlight, as if the entire structure was situated in a ghostly realm, caught between the world of the living and something far darker.
Roar!
The Nundu's eyes returned to normal as it let out a piercing howl. It leaped with all its might, desperately lunging toward the wizard whose face was hidden in shadow at the edge of the blood pool!
Its powerful strength did indeed allow it to briefly escape the surface of the blood pool. However, the blood within the pool seemed to possess a life of its own.
The splashing droplets revealed their true ferocity the instant the Nundu left the water's surface. Whip-like vines of blood broke through the air with sharp cracking sounds, binding the Nundu's entire body with even greater swiftness and mercilessly dragging it back into the pool despite its frantic struggles.
Howls of pain and terror, splashing blood, and that chilling roar from the void...
Many sounds intertwined and echoed through the hall, creating a horrifying symphony, like an intense death concerto reaching its terrible climax.
As time passed, the Nundu, this powerful and highly dangerous magical creature classified as 5X by the Ministry, capable of killing hundreds with its toxic breath gradually emitted pitiful wails.
Compared to its previously vigorous state, its body had become shrunken, the powerful muscles were deflating, the glossy coat had become dull and patchy, as if some force within the blood pool was actively draining its life.
It still struggled desperately and unwillingly, thrashing with weakening movements, the light in its eyes full of wild rage yet unextinguished even in the face of certain death. But ultimately, despite all its power and ferocity, it was powerless to change its inevitable doom.
Under the wooden, emotionless gaze of the wizard at the poolside and the cold observation of dozens of pairs of crimson eyes throughout the hall, glowing like demonic coals in the darkness, the Nundu's wails gradually stopped.
Its massive body, once weighing nearly a ton of muscle, was eventually reduced to nothing but a lusterless, withered husk that looked like ancient leather stretched over brittle bones, slowly sinking into the blood pool and dissolving completely as if it had never existed.
The wizard who had stood statue-like at the pool's edge, never moving throughout the entire horrific process, finally moved. He raised his hand, his indifferent gaze fixed on a fang resting in his palm. After a long moment of contemplation—
"Amelia Depp and Sirius Black. You're certain they're dead in the underground detention levels?"
Behind the man, Morgans stood with a bowed, submissive posture, and spoke in a voice tinged with shame and uncertainty.
"Before I left, I destroyed all the fireplaces. The explosions brought down the walls. With the anti-Apparition wards already in place throughout that entire underground complex, they had no other possible way to escape. The poisonous potion was flooding the corridors when I departed."
He paused, then added with less confidence, "They should be dead."
"In other words, you're not certain they're dead?"
The man continued his questioning.
"You also don't know why they were able to shake off the Draught of Living Death's effects so quickly, why they woke up in what should have been hours of unconsciousness, and how they managed to catch up with you despite your head start. Nor do you know why it was only them and not Bryan Watson himself?"
Each question landed like a blow, highlighting the gaps in Morgans's intelligence.
Morgans lowered his head in silent admission.
"Never mind, it no longer matters—"
The man at the blood pool's edge shook his head slightly.
After devouring the Nundu completely, the blood pool underwent new changes. A vortex gradually formed at the center of the boiling surface, starting as a small swirl but rapidly growing. Its rotation accelerated with each passing second, drawing in all the blood within the pool.
Suddenly, with a force that sent blood spraying across the chamber, the figure of a ferocious beast shot out from the surface—the Nundu reconstituted in its blood-state form, given temporary life by the dark magic permeating the ritual.
This predator, which had ultimately failed to escape its unfortunate fate despite all its strength and savagery, let out a vengeful howl and once again lunged viciously at the man by the pool, driven by the last remnants of its rage and survival instinct.
However, the vortex at the center of the blood pool suddenly erupted with an irresistible attractive force. Under this supernatural power, the Nundu's body, reformed completely from blood, crumbled like ruined walls at the slightest touch, fragmenting into thousands of droplets.
Its magic and life force vanished completely into the blood pool, merging with countless other departed souls that had been consumed in this same terrible way over however many years this ritual had been performed.
Crack—
Having gained this new power, the surface of the blood pool suddenly erupted with red bolts like lightning. The pool's surface pulsed like a throbbing heart, beating with a rhythm that was disturbingly alive.
All the vampires scattered throughout the hall paled simultaneously, their already corpse-like complexions becoming even more bloodless. They could all feel their own blood surging rapidly through their bodies as if stimulated by some external force.
The sensation was like fire in their veins, a burning rush that was both agonizing and exhilarating, seemingly celebrating enthusiastically for the blood sovereign about to be resurrected!
"An unprecedented transformation—"
Morgans raised his head, gazing at the scene in dazed wonder, his voice trembling with zeal.
"After multiple centuries of searching, of gathering power, of patient preparation... that cursed Church and their meddling... It will finally return."
Unconsciously, as if drawn by invisible strings, Morgans straightened up from his submissive posture and, with an expression of growing excitement, slowly approached the blood pool.
The man at the pool's edge watched him indifferently, a flash of dark mockery appearing in his deep eyes.
"So, you're certain that as long as the power of this fang is infused into the ritual, it can be resurrected, correct, Morgans?"
Turning his palm over, the man looked at the fang resting in his hand, his face also revealing a hint of anticipation.
"I am absolutely certain!"
Morgans said with ardent conviction, his voice rising with passionate belief.
"This power belonged to it in the first place. It was stripped away by the despicable Church during their purges. I don't know what happened afterward or how it eventually ended up in Bryan Watson's possession. But he cannot possibly comprehend the great power contained within it."
"Then let us wait and see—"
The man said in a low voice. He held the fang high up with one hand, raising it high above his head like an offering to dark gods, then drew his wand with the other.
Accompanied by eerie chanting and complex spellcasting, the magical runes carved into the ground around the blood pool were activated one after another. Each line of the ritual circle began to emit a dark and ominous glow, pulsing in order like dominoes falling, until the entire pattern was illuminated with sickly light.
The lightning already permeating the blood pool suddenly burst forth with even more intense red light. The fang in the man's palm, summoned by an inexplicable force shot up with a whoosh to hover above the blood pool.
Buzz!
Blood-red lightning connected the vortex at the center of the pool with the fang floating above, forming a direct conduit for power infusion!
Boiling, howling with voices that might have been wind or might have been souls in torment, roaring with sounds that had no source, every drop of blood in the pool transformed into resentful faces. They merged with one another in horrible unions, killing and devouring each other in an endless cycle of violence even in death.
Immensely powerful magic shrouded the abandoned hall. An oppressive force like a collapsing sky pressed upon the hearts of every living being present.
In a trance-like state induced by the overwhelming magical pressure, the blood pool seemed to have become a gateway to hell, and an unparalleled demon seem to be awakening from within!
The vampires gazed with reverent and devout eyes at the spectacle unfolding in the hall, all except—
"What on earth are you doing, Mr. Graves?!"
Behind a group of vampires, Sirius and his companions, who had arrived through the fireplace, stared dumbfounded at Graves, who was surrounded by vampires, holding his wand high toward the fang suspended in mid-air.
Selena shrieked as if breaking down completely, her voice was cracking with the strain of emotional devastation!
————————————
For More Chapters; patreon.com/FicFrenzy