Kasenhis took advantage of the fact that the two figures hadn't seen him and quickly slipped down to the ground. He exchanged a glance with Grindelwald, and the two of them silently ducked into hiding.
"Now, do you believe it? Raven mouth!" Grindelwald whispered, wand in hand.
The green magic of Avada Kedavra was already gathering at the tip of his wand. He used magic to condense his voice into a thread that reached Kasenhis's ear.
Since Kasen didn't know how to do that trick, he could only spread his hands and shrug helplessly.
Soon, the two figures that had emerged disappeared again. The two looked at each other, and Kasen stealthily crept over to the larger tree where Grindelwald was hiding.
"They're wizards. Got a plan? Should we just storm in?" Grindelwald whispered.
"Civilized folks, yeah? We can't just be that barbaric… Let's steal first. If they don't cast Avada, we won't toss Wither Skulls or Fiendfyre," Kasenhis whispered back.
"I think they've literally made that tree their home. How are you gonna steal anything?" Grindelwald asked.
"Just chop off a couple saplings and we're good. You use a Cutting Charm and a Summoning Charm to get one for me, then we bail."
Grindelwald shook his head. "I just noticed—this tree's got a magical alarm on it. If any magic touches it, it'll trigger the detection. You're better off chopping it manually."
"It won't trigger if I chop it myself?"
"It's different. If you chop it manually, the detection spell only gets triggered the instant you make contact. But if I use magic, the moment the spell enters the detection zone until it chops the sapling and I summon it over, that's at least two full seconds."
Grindelwald explained patiently.
"…Alright then." Kasenhis grabbed a handful of invisibility magic and slapped it onto himself. Grindelwald then saw a finely-crafted diamond sword suddenly appear at the top of the World Tree. Swish swish swish—a few quick slashes and a hefty pile of branches was chopped off.
Sure enough, the detection magic from the treehouse was triggered. A group of wizards dressed in grass skirts—looking more primitive than actual cavemen—came charging out with loud whoops.
A barrage of colorful spells shot toward the diamond sword and the falling branches in the sky.
Hovering midair, Kasenhis immediately used Ender Blink to teleport away from the scene of the crime. This particular Amazonian wizard tribe didn't have the same alchemy-based spatial lockdown devices that the African tribe had.
Last time, Kasenhis could run but Grindelwald couldn't, so Kasenhis had no choice but to stay behind. But this time was different.
Grindelwald could leave whenever he wanted—there was no need to wait for him like before in Africa.
As Kasenhis disappeared, Grindelwald, still hiding behind a tree, gritted his teeth with mild frustration…
So he really wasn't going to say anything, huh?
Didn't sense the detection magic? Couldn't feel the spatial lockdown spell?
Just left him here all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, huh?
And just as Grindelwald was still reeling in disbelief, a red spell hit the tree he was leaning against. His brow furrowed as if deep in thought—then soon relaxed as he let out a resigned chuckle.
"Getting old, aren't I… Well, might as well enjoy a little."
As he spoke, Grindelwald pulled out his wand.
...
Meanwhile, back at the hotel room, half an hour later, Grindelwald finally arrived with a slow-paced Apparition.
"..."
"..."
The two of them stared at each other in silence...
"Did I… 'accidentally' leave you behind there?"
Grindelwald nodded.
"Do I… owe you an apology?"
"What do you think? Never mind. It's been a while since I got to stretch my limbs anyway."
"How many died?"
"This time, I used the Cruciatus Curse instead," Grindelwald explained.
"Oh? Turned over a new leaf?" Kasenhis said with surprise.
"You really have a way with words sometimes, don't you?" Grindelwald sighed. "Now that you've got both the World Tree and the Magic Bloom, it's time to head back. These old bones of mine can't keep up with your nonsense anymore."
"It's simple—I'll just stuff you into a ring," Kasenhis said instinctively.
Grindelwald stared at him, utterly baffled.
"This ring is connected to my office. In other words, the ring is like a miniature portal, and the other end leads directly to my office," Kasenhis explained.
"...How exactly do I get in?"
"—Gellert Grindelwald—Zap!"
The moment Kasenhis called out his name, the ring in his hand suddenly emitted a soft glow that enveloped Grindelwald—and in the blink of an eye, he was sucked inside.
"Mhm… good stuff. I really am a genius."
With that, Kasenhis used Ender Blink to teleport back to his office, arriving just moments before Grindelwald appeared right behind him.
"The alchemy in this world… I'm starting to not recognize it anymore," Grindelwald muttered as he dragged a boat out of the corner and set it down on the icy floor, sailing it toward the office door.
"Come by anytime, yeah?" Kasenhis waved at him with a grin.
"If I get the chance," Grindelwald replied, waving a hand as he sailed off.
"Hmm…"
Back at his work area, Kasenhis drew out a patch of perpetual sunlight, turning the grass blocks there into a tidy little garden.
"Now lets make a fucking Supreme tree!"
He scattered the magical flower seeds first, giving them a good watering, then moved on to the saplings of the Supreme Tree.
He planted the saplings deep into the soil, spacing them out nicely. Then came another round of watering, followed by a generous sprinkling of bone meal.
Almost instantly, the Supreme Tree sprouted tall and lush—but…
From the corner, little Sirius, noticing this new patch of garden, grew excited like he'd just discovered a new territory. Then he saw it… a tree…
A perfectly square tree.
Kasenhis turned to glance at Sirius, then shrugged as if to say, "Everything in this garden is off-limits," motioning for him to scoot.
Once Sirius trotted away, Kasenhis finally let out a satisfied sigh.
"This dog really does understand people."
With a diamond axe in hand, Kasenhis made quick work of chopping down the tree. With the saplings from that and the ones he'd already hauled back from the Amazon, he now had thirty-two in total—half a stack.
"Still need to expand," he muttered, pulling out grass blocks and digging up a good chunk of the office floor to lay down soil. A few moments later...
He had freshly planted magical essence flowers and Supreme Trees. And if in the future any nosy little wizards or professors wandered by and asked why the trees here were square...
They wouldn't understand a thing about alchemy anyway!
The next day...
Kasenhis placed a brand-new table beside his main desk, radiating a strong sense of security.
"Arcane Glyph Research Table—secured!"
_________
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