The Aurors swallowed hard, exchanging nervous glances.
"Mr. Vincent," one of them said cautiously, "please allow us to implement some mandatory security measures."
As they spoke, they retrieved a pair of magic-suppressing handcuffs from their robes.
It was merely a performative gesture—a formality meaning, "If Ethan escapes, well, at least we tried."
Upon seeing the shackles, Neville's eyes widened in shock.
"W-Why are you handcuffing Ethan?" he stammered indignantly. "He's a hero! He clearly drove back the Dark Wizard!"
Neville's interrogation was met with a wall of stony silence from the Aurors.
Ethan, however, remained perfectly composed.
"By all means."
Ethan spoke lightly, raising his hands with practiced ease. As he did, he shot a brief glance at Neville. A flash of gold flickered from within his robes, too fast for the Aurors to notice.
Click. Click.
The two magic-suppressing shackles locked tight around his wrists.
Neville watched with indignation as Ethan was led away. Suddenly, his pocket sagged, heavy. It felt as though something had been dropped into it.
Confused, Neville lowered his head and reached inside.
He pulled out a glittering golden cup, engraved with the image of a small badger.
Upon the surface of the cup, a line of magical text materialized:
[Use it to realize the miracle you desire.]
The orange-red glow of the evening sun bathed Ethan's back, casting a long, stretching shadow before him.
The Aurors pursed their lips, sweat trickling down their foreheads. Ethan's calm, unhurried demeanor gave them the distinct, unsettling impression that they were not shackling a prisoner, but rather dressing a King for his coronation!
"...I've been in this line of work for over a decade, and I've never seen anyone like him," an older Auror couldn't help but mutter.
His gaze upon Ethan was filled with admiration and awe.
—He is truly someone of consequence!
It was no wonder this boy had become the Wizarding World's new Savior through sheer force of will.
Not far away, the members of the Enlightenment Society, who had initially rushed over in joy, froze at the sight.
"Why are you arresting Ethan?!" Hermione screamed in fury and shock.
She tried to rush forward but was blocked by the wall of Aurors.
"Please do not obstruct official business, Miss!"
"On what grounds?! Ethan is a hero who repelled the Dark Wizard!"
"Miss!"
The loud clamor echoed through the otherwise silent street.
Hands bound, Ethan walked step by step down the road. The setting sun cast its dying light upon his tranquil face.
People gathered spontaneously on both sides of the street, watching in silence as he was escorted by the Aurors. The setting sun was as red as blood.
The scene appeared as absurd and striking as a painting.
Then, it began. It wasn't clear who started it.
One by one, arms were raised.
Index fingers pointed straight up, as if questioning the heavens themselves, standing perfectly vertical!
Like a tidal wave, the glow of the Lamps ignited one after another in the twilight!
They illuminated the dying sun above, forming a continuous ocean of gold upon the earth!
"W-What are they doing?!"
The Aurors escorting Ethan felt their courage crumble.
They looked at the pairs of eyes staring back at them, surrounded by a forest of raised arms! It filled them with the terrifying sensation that a riot could erupt at any moment.
"...We lost. We've completely lost."
The older Auror sighed deeply, taking a long look at Ethan.
He had been taken without resistance. Yet, in doing so, he had seized the momentum to wildly inflate his support!
"...Unbelievable. This boy is still a student who hasn't even graduated."
[Lamp brightness surged dramatically!]
[You have gained 0.2% Soul Fusion!]
[94.8% → 95.0%]
[Soul Fusion has reached the current limit. Please promote as soon as possible!]
In the shadows where the evening light could not reach, the corners of Ethan's mouth split into a high, wide grin!
An Auror walking beside him accidentally caught a glimpse of his expression. He let out a strangled cry, raising his wand in a reflex of pure terror!
He stared at Ethan, uncertain and horrified.
That expression! —It was absolutely not the look a bright and noble Savior should have.
...Pleasure... absolute pleasure.
Ethan couldn't suppress the laughter bubbling inside him.
He wasn't walking to the Ministry of Magic's judgment hall; he was walking toward a new world!
Every step trod upon that dazzling, blinding glory!
...The Ministry's "assist" had come at the perfect time.
They had successfully pushed his Soul Fusion to the upper limit of his current tier!
The rest is just a matter of concentrating on the promotion, Ethan thought to himself.
And the key to this promotion lay with the Child of Destiny and the Sacrifices!
Ethan had a premonition.
There was a tight connection between these two existences!
Meanwhile.
On the other side, in Knockturn Alley.
In a dark, secluded corner.
Bang!
With a loud crack and a distortion of space, Bellatrix fell out of thin air.
She sprawled on the ground, gasping for air like a broken bellows.
After a long while, she grinned with triumphant malice:
"Hehe... I got out... Ethan Vincent!"
"My mistake this time... Damn it! I didn't expect that brat to be so... so..."
So "wicked"!
Bellatrix's expression turned odd. A Dark Witch calling a White Wizard "wicked"—it was a complete inversion of the natural order.
"...No matter what, next time, I will be prepared... I'll kill you! I will take back the Dark Lord's treasure!"
The thought of failing to protect the treasure her Master had entrusted to her made Bellatrix want to cast Crucio on herself.
"Damn little thief...! Ah, I'm sorry, Master! Please punish me... Hmm? Why does it actually hurt?"
Bellatrix froze.
A piercing pain was spreading up from her abdomen. She bared her teeth and looked down in confusion.
There, she saw a crimson blade plunged straight into her stomach!
Squelch. Squelch.
Clusters of red rashes, resembling grapes, bubbled up densely from her exposed skin. Viscous blood pooled on the ground.
"W-What is happening— Cough!"
Bellatrix's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she coughed up a clot of blood. She stared in shock at the red rash spreading across her hands!
Clatter!
Her wand dropped to the ground. Her hands trembled violently, unable to move.
"Could it be from the final Apparition— Damn it!!"
Realizing the origin of the blade, Bellatrix let out a shrill, miserable scream!
She wanted to flay Ethan alive! She wanted to tear his flesh from his bones, bite by bite!
Thump!
Bellatrix collapsed to the ground.
Pain, sharp as the Cruciatus Curse, racked her entire body. Blood poured from her nose and mouth. She could feel her life force draining away rapidly!
It was as if she had returned to her days in Azkaban.
Fear inadvertently flickered in her eyes.
No... The Dark Lord...
If she died, how could she serve her Master?
How could she take revenge on Ethan?!
She wouldn't die screaming or go mad like those idiots under her command!!
Suddenly.
"Hah."
A pair of fat feet squeezed into pink high heels appeared before Bellatrix.
A familiar scent wafted over.
!!
Bellatrix's eyes lit up. She propped her upper body up with the last of her strength, screaming in delight:
"Is it... is it the Master?! Master, have you come to save your most loyal servant?!"
[Master? Oh my lovely child]
A voice rang out from above—affectedly sweet, with a bizarre intonation, as if a toad were mimicking human speech.
It created a violent, nauseating sense of dissonance.
Bellatrix's smile froze.
Her pupils dilated.
"No—"
[Croak!]
In the next second, the shadow opened a bloody, gaping maw!
It swallowed Bellatrix whole in a single bite!
[Gulp, gulp... You will be reborn, my lovely child... just like me, receiving the gift of fate.]
[And then, together, we will kill that damned brat—!]
The creature spoke coldly.
Satisfied, it rubbed its belly and smacked its lips.
Then, with a few powerful leaps, its figure vanished.
Only a pool of blood remained on the ground, testifying to what had just occurred.
In the nearby shadows, several pairs of vertical, orange pupils exchanged glances.
Then, they abruptly fell backward, their figures vanishing swiftly into the darkness.
—The anomaly in Knockturn Alley had finally revealed itself.
They had to be quick. They had to tell their Master, the leader of the Enlightenment Society: Ethan Vincent!
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze