"Are you sure... they can't see us?"
Walking through the dimly lit corridors, Della cast a wary glance at the man beside her, her expression a mixture of awe and disbelief.
In her vision, they were shrouded in writhing black mist, trailing closely behind the penance knights like living shadows.
Along the way, neither pedestrians nor other knights had shown the slightest sign of detecting them.
But how was this even possible?
"Don't worry. They can't see or hear us," Evans replied casually, his attention focused on the armored figures ahead.
Their current location was a dungeon hidden beneath what appeared to be an ordinary Muggle residential area. Cells lined both sides of the stone corridors, their iron bars gleaming dully in the torchlight. Without following these knights, one would never imagine such a massive underground complex existed beneath this innocuous neighborhood.
After walking deeper into the facility, Della's eyes suddenly lit up with recognition. She rushed toward the iron bars of a nearby cell.
"Loris!"
She called out desperately, but the three figures huddled inside showed no reaction. They sat motionless, shoulders pierced with iron spikes, their eyes hollow with despair.
Evans caught her arm before she could get closer to the bars. "Don't rush," he said softly. "Wait until those people leave."
"Right..." Della nodded reluctantly.
Taking one last lingering look at her imprisoned companions, she forced herself to turn away and watch the penance knights continuing their march toward the depths of the dungeon.
The knights disappeared into a small chamber at the end of the passage. Half a minute later, the faint sound of chains striking flesh echoed from within.
But strangely, there were no screams—as if they weren't torturing prisoners at all.
"What are... they doing?" Fear flickered across Della's features.
Evans hesitated, then crept closer to the chamber entrance and peered inside.
What he saw defied explanation. Several penance knights had removed their heavy armor and were methodically whipping each other's bodies with iron chains. Their faces remained completely expressionless, but each strike released wisps of black mist from their skin.
Why are they having some kind of internal conflict for no reason?
After observing this bizarre ritual for several more moments, Evans shook his head in bewilderment and stepped back. Once he confirmed the knights would be occupied for a while, he turned to Della.
"Go rescue your friends. Move quietly. The black mist will last another ten minutes, so watch the time."
"Understood!"
Della nodded eagerly and hurried toward the cell where she'd spotted her companions.
Evans slowly withdrew the shadows from around himself and gripped his wand, preparing to gather intelligence through more direct means.
He still couldn't fathom why this group was engaging in some kind of masochistic performance art, but it presented an excellent opportunity to strike.
Backstabbing was always easier than a frontal assault.
As long as he finished his interrogation and eliminated all witnesses, he would have completed a perfect infiltration.
But just as Evans approached the chamber entrance, an aged voice called out from nearby.
"Don't go any further."
"There's a power of silence in there that can suppress your magic."
Evans spun around sharply. By the dim candlelight, he spotted a withered old man imprisoned in a distinctly different cell not far away.
Unlike the other prisoners, this man's shoulders weren't pierced, and he bore no restraints on his body.
Near his cell, a wand was secured in a crystal container—unlike other wizards whose wands had been confiscated and destroyed outright.
Looking at the old man's appearance, Evans felt a jolt of recognition.
The resemblance to Miss Bellance was unmistakable. Not just in physical features, but the very aura emanating from him was identical to that lady's.
An ancestor of the Bellance family?
"Is your surname Bellance?" Evans asked directly.
The old man seemed surprised that this stranger could identify him, pausing before slowly nodding.
"I am Bellance."
Not catching the subtle difference in the man's response, Evans abandoned his assassination plan and approached the cell.
He drew his wand and aimed it at the lock, preparing to use an unlocking charm. But the moment his wand touched the iron door, Evans felt his magical power instantly cease, no longer flowing at all.
"What the—?"
He stared at the door in surprise, recognizing the sensation from his earlier experience on the execution platform.
But this effect could work even through a wand?
Just then, Della returned from her mission. The shadows around her were slowly dissipating, but her expression suggested success.
"I opened their cell doors and untied the ropes binding them. It shouldn't be long before they recover their magical power..." She was explaining when her gaze fell on the wand sealed nearby. Her expression instantly transformed into one of shock.
"A cypress wand?"
"Is there something special about it?" Evans asked, puzzled by her dramatic reaction.
Della nodded vigorously and began explaining with reverence:
"Cypress wands are closely associated with nobility. Grandpa Geraint always said he felt honored to find an owner for a cypress wand, because he knew he was facing a wizard willing to sacrifice themselves for others."
"It seeks its soul partner among those who are brave, bold, and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Its companion doesn't shy away from the darkness within themselves or others."
She looked at the imprisoned old man with newfound respect.
"Is this wand yours?"
When the old man nodded gently, admiration flashed across Della's face.
"Then you must be a truly noble person!"
She moved to open his cell door, but like Evans, the moment her hand touched the metal, her magical power instantly stopped. Frightened, she quickly withdrew her hand and stumbled back several paces.
"Don't waste your effort," the old man said wearily. "This cell has been sealed by Silencers. Any creature with magical power cannot approach."
"Though I don't know how you infiltrated this dungeon, you should hurry and rescue whoever you came for. If you wait much longer, those coming to execute me will arrive, and you won't be able to escape."
"You're to be executed tonight?"
At those words, Evans's eyes suddenly blazed with understanding.
This old man was clearly someone of great importance, given his unique imprisonment conditions.
And if he was scheduled for execution tonight—didn't that make him the mission target?
Having reached this conclusion, Evans turned to Della with newfound urgency.
"Della, go position yourself by your friends' cells and be ready to cast Protego at any moment."
"Is your Shield Charm proficient enough? Can you cover all four of you?"
"I can manage it." Though she didn't understand what Kevin was planning, Della nodded and jogged back toward the shadow-covered area.
Once Della had positioned herself at the cell doors and given him a thumbs up, Evans faced the man he now suspected was from the Bellance family.
"What are you planning to do?"
The old man's eyes showed confusion as he studied the young man's determined expression. But before he could voice his concerns, he watched Evans suddenly shift into action.
The corners of Evans's mouth curved into a dangerous smile as he lifted his right foot and stepped forward. Air currents swirled behind him, revealing the translucent outline of a horn.
"I hope you don't mind if the commotion gets rather loud."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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