Inside the Gringotts hall, complete chaos reigned.
The domed ceiling had shattered.
Millions of glass shards fell like rain, clattering down.
The marble floor looked like plowed earth.
A massive hole gaped in the center.
Shattered stone littered the ground, randomly knocking out a few unlucky souls.
The counters on both sides, needless to say, had all been overturned.
The originally tall and heavy counters now pinned the goblins beneath them, unable to move.
They groaned in pain continuously from underneath.
"What happened?! Why did a dragon suddenly appear?!"
"That's the dragon that was kept underground... Merlin, Gringotts is done for..."
"Damn it! Where are all the guards?!"
"All my gold fell down there... I don't want to live anymore..."
Chaos flooded the hall.
Goblins lay sprawled everywhere in disarray.
Their originally pristine and bright scarlet uniforms had now become filthy and covered in dust.
Only now did the goblins suddenly realize—
Everything they had built up until this point was as fragile as paper, easily torn apart.
The arrogant and domineering personalities cultivated through peace and indulgence also shattered completely in this moment.
One by one, they hung their heads in dejection.
Amid the ruins, a little girl was held in her mother's arms.
She struggled to lift her little head, gazing in wonder at the domed ceiling above—
At that black-haired figure standing on the dragon's back.
After a moment, she broke into a sweet smile and cheerfully called out:
"Mommy! The wizarding world is so much fun!"
Not only are there dragons and bad, bad goblins, but there's also a dragon-riding hero who defeats the villains!
It's just like a beautiful fairy tale~
On the dome above, the white dragon smashed through the wall with one claw.
Its enormous wings caught the sunlight, reflecting points of brilliant light as they stretched comfortably behind it.
Its proud head gazed at the vast world before it.
In those typically cold and bloodthirsty orange-yellow slitted pupils, a gleam of light emerged.
"We did it! We successfully flew out!" the students shouted excitedly, hugging each other, weeping tears of joy.
Bathing in the warm sunlight, the emotion in their hearts was beyond measure.
—Breaking through darkness, stepping into light!
This was a magnificent feat belonging to their Enlightenment Society!
Ethan leaped down from the dragon's back.
With one hand stroking the white dragon's rough, undulating scales, he said warmly:
"You did it. Well done."
"Huff..."
The white dragon panted heavily, staring intently at Ethan for several seconds.
Then it turned its head, raising it high, and opened its great maw.
From the depths of its soul, it unleashed an earth-shattering roar!
"ROAR!!!"
Leaves scattered, the air trembled!
All of Diagon Alley suddenly fell silent!
Everyone looked up in shock at the suddenly appearing dragon and the wizards standing on its back!
"A dragon? Why is there a dragon in Diagon Alley??"
"Could someone be secretly raising one... but that severely violates the 'Protection of Magical Creatures Act'! Who would be so bold?"
"Wait! Next to the dragon, Merlin's beard! Isn't that Ethan Vincent?!"
"Galloping gorgons, what on earth is happening?!"
Soon, a dense crowd gathered in front of Gringotts.
Camera shutters clicked continuously.
On the dome, Ethan stood with his hands behind his back, feeling the wind brush across his face—like standing atop a tide composed of shouts.
A sense of strategic command surged from his chest.
Ethan didn't suppress this impulse. Following it, he naturally raised his arm.
As if by magic, the people below gradually quieted down.
Countless curious eyes stared unblinkingly at Ethan.
"...Everyone," Ethan began.
His voice, carried by magic, reached every ear.
"I am deeply disappointed."
"Today, we stand here. We stand on land preserved by the countless sacrifices and blood of our pioneers."
"Yet we still allow those evil seeds to remain buried deep in the earth!"
"Defiling those who once sacrificed themselves!"
The crowd was bewildered, exchanging confused glances.
Evil seeds? Gringotts?
While these goblins were indeed money-grubbing and calculating, they couldn't exactly be called evil, could they?
Only a few goblins who knew the inside story felt their hearts sink.
Combined with the escaped dragon, they had already pieced together the general picture.
Only one thought filled their minds—
We're finished.
Ethan: "Since words cannot convince you... then behold, everyone!"
With a wave of his hand, an enormous water screen appeared in mid-air!
When they saw clearly what was displayed on it, everyone's breath caught!
—Mountains of gold, mountains of silver.
Countless Galleons piled into small mountains, innumerable jewels scattered carelessly like roadside stones.
This was wealth that countless people could never accumulate in a lifetime of struggle.
So dazzling it made people squint involuntarily.
"Is—is this Gringotts' vault?"
"Merlin's beard, this must be a prominent family's vault... who could possibly possess such enormous wealth?"
"Did Ethan rob a vault? Even if someone else is wealthy, he shouldn't do this..."
Sighs and doubts intertwined.
Ethan let them discuss and speculate.
Then, at just the right moment, he casually dropped a bombshell!
"—This is the vault of the utterly vicious Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange."
At these words, the crowd instantly fell silent!
Everyone's eyes widened in shock, scarcely believing what they'd heard!
Bellatrix Lestrange's vault?
That loyal follower of the Dark Lord, that murderous maniac who had slaughtered countless families?
"Bellatrix's vault—how is this possible?!"
"Wasn't she locked up in Azkaban? Shouldn't all her assets have been confiscated?"
"Merlin... what on earth is..."
A hypothesis formed and took shape in everyone's minds.
The Gringotts goblins didn't have the ability to embezzle such a fortune.
So the one who tacitly permitted this was...
Shock and rage swept through everyone's hearts like a storm!
A powerful agitation was rapidly fermenting!
"My brother was killed by Death Eaters... but after the war, his widow and children only received meager compensation... The Ministry's excuse was post-war financial constraints..."
"My sister's entire family was murdered. Well, now it turns out they didn't see a single Knut."
Listening to the comments below, Ron silently clenched his fists, anger rising in his eyes.
—His family could relate most of all.
Both his parents were members of the Order of the Phoenix. They fought bravely, yet still lived in poverty.
Poor before the war, mocked by others.
Yet after fighting and defeating the enemy, they were even poorer and more miserable.
Wasn't their struggle all for nothing?
"We won, but what was the cost?!"
Ethan's voice, like oil on fire, further ignited the crowd's emotions!
He clenched both fists and pulled them to his chest, as if trying to reclaim what had once been lost.
He declared loudly:
"Look around us! All we received was sorrow and scars! Where did our compensation go?!"
"Well said!"
"Why should all the gold be lying in Dark wizards' vaults!"
"We want compensation!"
The crowd erupted in waves of agreement, sweeping across the entire district like a tidal wave!
"Merlin's beard! Has this kid gone mad?!" several Aurors who had rushed to the scene muttered in shock, practically frozen in place!
Did this kid know what he was doing? Did he know who he was making an enemy of?!
An Auror frowned: "Orders from above—we need to apprehend Ethan immediately. Let's move—gah!"
Before he finished speaking, a bone-chilling sensation crept up his spine!
He suddenly looked up and met a pair of orange-yellow slitted pupils!
"Grrr..."
The white dragon stood like Ethan's most loyal guard beside him.
Its gaze clearly conveyed one message—
Dare to move, and I'll eat you!
A drop of cold sweat trickled down the Auror's temple.
The Auror had risen up... and then the Auror wilted.
Like a frost-bitten eggplant, he silently retreated.
Meeting his teammates' puzzled gazes, he looked up at a forty-five-degree angle and said profoundly:
"I think what Ethan's saying makes quite a bit of sense."
"Let's listen for now."
One could say it was very much "persuading with reason."
Ethan: "Since the Ministry of Magic 'forgot' to return this wealth that rightfully belongs to us..."
"Then I, Ethan Vincent..."
"We, the Enlightenment Society, shall execute this duty ourselves!"
As his words fell, Ethan waved his hand dramatically!
In mid-air, a swirling vortex-like door suddenly opened!
And then...
"Crash!"
Countless gold, silver, and jewels poured out like a waterfall!
Scattering down in a flurry, forming a brilliant golden rain!!
—This was the wealth transferred through the Vanishing Cabinet connected to Bellatrix's vault!
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