"You actually discovered it!" Cole never expected that Dudley would figure it all out, even striking first.
When he had just drawn his wand, he was already prepared, quietly aiming at Dudley. He only needed a moment, and his spell would definitely hit at such close range. Then Dudley would lose all ability to resist.
But Dudley had seen through everything in advance and struck first, using some devastating spell on him.
He now felt his brain throbbing with excruciating pain, different from a physical blow to the head. This wasn't a bodily injury but something like the Cruciatus Curse: a spell that specifically attacked his mind. It made him extremely uncomfortable, with blood continuously flowing from his nostrils, and he felt his consciousness becoming increasingly blurred.
"At the hotel, when I went to chat with Johnson, you were not far away," Dudley said with a cold laugh.
"Besides that, I don't know who else could have discovered that I took the Sun Ring. And just as I was about to attack this dark wizard, you appeared. Don't you think that's too much of a coincidence?"
"In the previous cases, the Aurors have been led around in circles. Isn't it because there were problems within their own ranks?"
"Cole, who exactly are you? Why did you attack me? Why are you searching for the Sun Ring?"
Dudley slowly walked toward Cole with predatory intent.
Cole looked at Dudley with a pale face, genuine fear creeping into his expression.
This eleven-year-old child knew far too much. How could he know about the Sun Ring, and why had he taken this artifact from Johnson at the hotel?
When he learned about all this, he had been extremely surprised as well. He had originally thought it was a coincidence that Dudley didn't know what that object was. But from their current conversation, he discovered that Dudley not only knew about this ring but also seemed to understand it very well.
"I don't care who you are, Dudley. You'd better hand that ring over to me. It would be better for both you and me," Cole said, forcibly suppressing the killing intent in his heart as he stared at Dudley.
Especially focusing on Dudley's hand wearing the Sun Ring.
"Unfortunately, I don't plan to hand it over," Dudley said directly.
"You'll regret this," Cole threatened.
"Disappar..." Cole's wand moved slightly as he prepared to Disapparate and leave.
He was already exposed. There was no point in staying here any longer. Kingsley and the others could find him at any moment, and then it would be too late to escape.
More importantly, he wasn't confident he could snatch that ring from Dudley's hands. Dudley's strength far exceeded his expectations. This eleven-year-old child was more troublesome than some adult wizards.
"Whip of Pain!" Dudley's eyes focused as he activated the Interrogator's extraordinary ability again, directly attacking Cole's soul.
"Ahhhhh!" Cole screamed miserably.
He felt like his soul was being whipped by a barbed lash. A massive current seemed to flow through his spirit, and his thoughts went completely blank in that instant, leaving only soul-deep agony.
Blood flowed everywhere, and Cole's left foot was gone.
"Attempting Disapparition in that condition was very unwise. But fortunately, you only lost a foot, not your head. At least you can still live," Dudley glanced at Cole's left foot that had vanished into thin air and said coldly.
He knew Cole wanted to escape, but he didn't stop him. Instead, he cast the Whip of Pain at the moment the other party used Disapparition, catching Cole off guard.
In such circumstances, his Disapparition was interrupted, which could very likely result in the scene before them.
Splinching! That's right. Cole was now splinched. His left foot had Disapparated, but his body remained in place.
This situation often happened to those not skilled in Disapparition. It was extremely dangerous, which was why Disapparition was such a difficult spell to master.
"Tell me, who ordered you to do all this?" Dudley asked with a cold expression.
"I can't tell you. You..." Cole's face was pale with terror as he looked at Dudley like he was looking at a demon.
The calmness and decisiveness in Dudley's eyes made him feel chilled to the bone. Such a gaze, such an attitude... even among the most vicious dark wizards, this was rarely seen.
More importantly, Dudley's eyes lacked the madness and hysteria of those dark wizards. He was calm, intelligent, and ruthlessly decisive in his actions. Such a demeanor should never appear on an eleven-year-old child.
"Solar Holy Light!" Dudley's right hand, wearing the Sun Ring, waved lightly. A brilliant light appeared from nowhere and struck Cole.
After a blood-curdling scream, his chest was almost charred, thick smoke rising and dissipating into the air.
"You... you can actually use..." Cole looked at Dudley in both pain and shock.
He never expected Dudley could actually wield the Sun Ring's power. He thought Dudley would be like those fools: after putting on this ring, he would become blindly arrogant until he became an idiot who only praised the sun and finally stared directly at the sun and turned to ash.
That might have been his only chance to escape the current crisis.
But unexpectedly, Dudley directly used the Sun Ring's ability. This meant Dudley understood this ring very well, even...
"Is it strange?" Dudley stared at Cole with a cold smile.
"This was originally mine," Dudley said calmly.
"You..." Cole's pupils suddenly contracted.
Things he couldn't understand before all made sense in this moment. However, before this, he could never have connected Dudley with these supernatural artifacts.
"Stupefy!" Dudley suddenly struck, a spell directly hitting Cole and making him fall completely unconscious.
"There's no more time. I'll have to find another chance to interrogate you later," Dudley muttered.
Kingsley and the others could appear at any moment, and Cole's screams just now might have already attracted unwanted attention. He had to leave here as quickly as possible.
Dudley took out the Mirror of Erised from his pocket, enlarged it, and temporarily placed Cole inside its dimensional space.
As for the dark wizard who had initially threatened Dudley, he was now breathless. Dudley considered the situation and collected his body as well. Otherwise, when Kingsley discovered the corpse, it would be troublesome to explain.
After completing these tasks, Dudley shrank the Mirror of Erised and quickly left the area while using it to observe the surrounding situation.
The content on the mirror's surface kept switching, showing reflections from various mirrors in the vicinity.
Suddenly, Dudley's gaze sharpened with focus.
In the mirror, he saw a figure rapidly moving away from the area. Judging from the direction he was heading, he had previously been not far from where Dudley and Cole had fought.
"Borgin," Dudley recognized that retreating figure immediately.