"Alright, open the door..."
William reached out to grab Norbert's tail and stuffed him back into the suitcase. He stood up, tidied his clothes, and smiled at the terrified Goblin.
"..."
Groo's cheeks began to twitch uncontrollably, along with his ears twitching backwards—a habitual reaction when he felt fear. He actually knew William's strength was formidable, as evidenced by his handling of the Fiendfyre against the Quintaped horde.
But he chose to utilize the Thief-Preventing Waterfall mechanism to summon the Sphinx with the real intention of buying time. This vault was his domain, and as long as he could find an opportunity, while the vault's Array blocked this human Wizard's Apparition abilities, he could use the mechanism to escape from here—
As for whether he would escape or return with reinforcements to surround them later, that would depend on the circumstances.
Even though his dealings were unsavory, William would need to use magic to deal with the Sphinx. At that time, he would find some excuse for intruding into the vault, and the foolish Goblins at Gringotts would surely cooperate with him—
But now... that damned beast couldn't even delay for half a minute?
And what was going on with that Fire Dragon just now?
This person, after all...
Facing William's gaze, Groo silently stood up. He walked heavily to the vault door, gently placed his hand on the central giant black gem, and at the next moment, as expected, the red Magic Circle appeared. Once the light faded, the stone door disappeared like water waves—
"Buzz—"
The low hum flashed and vanished, and Groo stepped inside the door, moving aside to reveal the sight of the vault before William's eyes. This space wasn't particularly large, but the quantity of piled-up gold and silver was substantial. Among them, the hundreds of scattered Galleons were probably the least valuable items here.
"Who is the owner here?"
William nodded, walked into the vault, casually grasped a sword hilt from the pile of treasures, and pulled it out. The sharp silver blade glistened with silvery-white light, clearly crafted with exquisite skill, undoubtedly by a master Goblin artisan.
There were four or five similar swords here.
If this vault had an owner, they were undoubtedly a wealthy individual—
"...There is no owner now."
Groo shook his head, which was quite normal. At Gringotts, wizards could choose to store assets in the vaults. Gringotts would then provide a portion of interest based on your deposit, ensuring the security of your property, akin to interest in the Muggle World's banks—
But unlike other proper banks, Gringotts vaults were time-bound. If you purchased a fifty-year vault at Gringotts and accidentally died outside before the term ended, and no designated heir came forward, the greedy Goblins would be "forced" to inherit—
Indeed, absolutely forced.
It's truly a pity there's no chance to further Robin Hood this situation.
Hearing that the vault had no owner, William shook his head regretfully, surveyed the vault, and finally fixed his gaze on the stone platform in the center of the room. The reason was simple; the position resembled a trigger point of a mission. After all, while the other valuables were piled on the ground, only this had a pedestal.
A colossal, semi-transparent black crystal lay quietly on the marble-carved stone column.
The Seik Stone.
William reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of Seik Stone that looked identical to the black gem on the platform, except this one was exceptionally large, approaching the size of a human head.
"This piece is a prototype, not yet transformed by the Array—"
Groo's voice echoed from behind William. As he spoke, his gaze lingered reluctantly on the sparkling items on the ground, knowing well that these possessions that "belonged" to him would soon be far gone—
Yes, his premonition was spot-on.
William's hand grasped the Seik Crystal, and after brief contemplation, he opened his suitcase. Next, as if summoned, a group of multicolored Nifflers crawled out from the darkened bag, quickly forming a small squad before William—
Though most of the Nifflers' gazes couldn't help but drift toward the shiny treasures.
Their discipline still needs improvement...
Watching this Niffler squad trained by Kabuda himself, William waved at the pile of gold and silver, uttering a single word, "Move—"
"Chirp!"
As though energized, without any need for William's "pre-battle declaration," the Nifflers' subjective initiative kicked into high gear. Under the lead of a black-and-white striped Niffler, the little creatures began running between the suitcase and treasure pile. In a blink, the pile of valuables vanished without a trace—
Great, no need to worry about this here, so then...
William turned back, looking at the Goblin Groo, who was pounding the ground in distress. Realizing William's attention, Groo stiffened slightly; he raised his head in confusion, noting William's expression. His face turned a bit unpleasant, "No, you clearly promised me..."
"Promise? Promise you what?"
William frowning, his tone carrying a hint of confusion.
"..."
...Indeed, what was he promised?
Groo's next words stuck in his throat. He opened his mouth in confusion.
Seems like he wasn't promised anything.
And then, at the moment he opened his mouth, a brown bottle appeared directly next to it, and a colorless, tasteless liquid flowed down his throat—Veritaserum, for sure...
This was Groo's last flicker of thought. Then, it was as if the folds of his cerebral cortex were smoothened and stretched, bringing an instant relaxation. Like strolling in Norway's woods, swimming in the Pacific Ocean in Sanya, feeling himself akin to a lively butterfly, sipping the first drop of rain after a storm, lounging with several dogs on the grassland, gazing at the horizon, his whole being transforming into a pond, gently flowing, slowly calming...
"Hmm, seems the effect is decent."
William nodded satisfactorily after shaking the now-empty bottle and letting drops fall into Goblin's mouth. Although Snape could be pretentious, his products were certainly of solid quality. As Goblin Groo stared blankly, William pulled out a little notebook—
"Good, now I ask you—"