Nios completely ignored Lucius's venomous gaze.
He walked straight to Draco, who was frozen between his parents and friends, and, ignoring all eyes, reached out and grabbed Draco's cold wrist.
The eye patterns on the cartoon eye mask quietly curved into two strange arcs.
"My dear Draco," Nios's voice was almost bewitchingly gentle, "I've always thought highly of you. But it seems… your father has a little misunderstanding about me?"
He sighed, feigning sadness, and Azazel, perched on his shoulder, cooperatively flew to the ground, hugging his tiny arms, looking as if he was enjoying a good show.
"Neville should have told you about my 'abilities'," Nios continued, his gaze from under the eye mask seemingly penetrating Draco's soul, "You've been getting along very well with your little companions lately, haven't you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint white electric arc crackled at his feet.
Two chairs made of rock appeared out of thin air on the damp grass.
Nios pressed Draco into one of them, while he occupied the other.
"Hiss…" Lucius and Narcissa simultaneously gasped, their eyes filled with disbelief.
"So," Nios leaned forward slightly, his voice low and clear, "I'm going to give you a chance. Draco Malfoy, are you willing to truly become one of 'us'?"
Draco sat blankly on the cold stone chair, his gaze shifting between Nios's crescent-shaped eye mask, his father's face contorted with rage, and his mother's terrified, worried tears, his mind a blank.
"He will never join your ridiculous group!" Lucius's voice trembled with anger, "Your cursed, defiled bloodline will only bring utter destruction to the House of Malfoy! Bring eternal shame!"
Nios seemed not to have heard the roar at all.
He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips resting on the edge of the cartoon eye mask.
Under everyone's gaze, he gently took off the eye mask.
Those eyes!
Like a vortex devouring everything in the depths of the universe, pure, bottomless darkness.
No whites of the eyes, no pupils, only a void that made one's soul tremble.
The moment those eyes were fully exposed in the faint morning light, a pure, primal fear gripped everyone present!
"Ah!" Narcissa let out a short shriek, instinctively stepping back.
Lucius's pupils constricted, he suppressed the instant surge of panic, the veins on his hand holding the snake-head cane bulged, and with a clang, he drew his wand and pointed it at Nios!
Snape also quickly drew his wand and, without hesitation, stepped across, shielding Narcissa behind him.
"Indeed, a monster born from that cursed land of Chelmsford!" Lucius's voice carried a hint of imperceptible alarm, but more of an offended fury, "Your blood is flowing with filthy curses, isn't it!"
"Enough! Lucius!" Snape sharply reprimanded his old friend's suicidal behavior.
Lucius's chest heaved violently; out of respect for his old friend, he forcibly suppressed his anger and remained silent for the moment, but his wand remained tightly locked on Nios.
Narcissa, behind Snape, looked over his shoulder, anxiously staring at her son, her tears silently falling.
Draco sat stiffly on the stone chair, cold sweat soaking his bangs, his meticulously styled blonde hair messily clinging to his pale cheeks.
This immense pressure made it almost impossible for him to breathe.
The false smile on Nios's face completely disappeared, his black-hole-like eyes gazing at Draco, his voice seeming to lose all warmth: "Draco, my dear friend… are you… unwilling?"
Draco lowered his head in pain.
The initial reason for joining the "Six-person group" might have been coercion, but these past few days had made it difficult for him to let go…
Hot tears finally broke through his eyes, falling onto the cold ground.
Like a lost child, he looked helplessly in his mother's direction, his voice choked with sobs: "Mom… what should I do?"
Narcissa's heart felt as if it had been cruelly squeezed, hurting so much she could barely breathe.
She wanted to rush over and embrace her child regardless of everything, but Snape's iron-like arm held her back tightly.
"How about this, Draco," Nios's voice sounded again, but with an unsettling lightness, "How about Azazel and your father… have a little 'duel'?"
His black-hole-like eyes turned to Lucius, his tone innocent: "If Azazel loses, Draco joins us. This is a very fair proposal, Mr. Lucius?"
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on Lucius, then collectively shifted to the strange little creature next to him who was still idly picking his nose.
"Pfft…" Lucius's tense face first showed astonishment, then burst into an undisguised sneer of disdain, "Has the curse not only polluted your blood but also burned out your brain? You lowly witch-hunter!" He even felt that this was the other party's ridiculous provocation born of despair.
Even Snape's tightly pursed lips twitched slightly.
Although he didn't know the demon's strength, Nios's daily abuse of Azazel was deeply ingrained in people's minds, and he really couldn't associate this comical little thing with "threat."
Narcissa's tense nerves also relaxed slightly; that little thing… didn't look like it had any combat power at all.
Looking at Draco, who had been on the verge of tears but was now bewildered and helpless, Nios suddenly let out a soft laugh.
"You'll be in charge of them later anyway, so consider it… getting familiar with their 'way of working' in advance."
Azazel took in Lucius's disdain and Narcissa's "relief," and an unnamed surge of anger flared up in his heart!
He huffily pulled out a cute trident from his skull necklace and twirled it a few times in his hand.
"Nios!" Azazel's voice suddenly rose, "First Blood or Absolute Blood?"
Nios smiled at him: "Did you bring the materials?"
"Brought them!" Azazel replied crisply, pointing his tiny finger at his skull necklace.
"Then Absolute Blood it is."
Nios casually decided the nature of this duel, his black-hole-like eyes glancing at Lucius, who was still full of disdain, and then added, "Want to try 'Liberation'?"
Azazel scratched his face with his tiny paw, looking bewildered: "I have a transformation form?"
The two conversed as if no one else was around, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere around them, and offering no explanation for "First Blood" or "Absolute Blood."
Nios calmly pulled out the demon book from his embrace.
Although Lucius didn't understand their jargon, the strong sense of danger emanating from that strange book made his hair stand on end!
The instinct of fear overwhelmed his disregard for Azazel; he had to deal with this source first!
"Sectumsempra!" A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his wand traced a tricky arc without hesitation!
A blade sharp enough to tear through steel silently slashed towards Nios's wrist holding the book!
"Watch out!" Draco cried out in alarm!
In a flash of lightning!
"Clang—!!!"
A piercing clang of metal!
Azazel's tiny body erupted with astonishing speed, shooting forward like lightning!
The seemingly ridiculous little fork in his hand precisely blocked the invisible blade!
"What?!" Lucius's pupils constricted sharply, the contempt on his face instantly frozen!
Snape gripped his wand even tighter!
Narcissa covered her mouth, her eyes filled with horror.
Draco was even more dumbfounded; Azazel had actually blocked his father's Sectumsempra!
Nios, however, seemed to be detached from the situation, not even raising an eyelid, simply concentrating on flipping through the demon book in his hand.
Then he stood up and, facing Azazel, began to chant in a language with distorted, grating syllables!
Under everyone's bewildered gaze, every strange syllable Nios uttered was like a cold venomous snake burrowing into their eardrums.
As the spell progressed, a pink light began to emanate from Azazel, and the light grew increasingly dazzling! His body also began to blur and distort in the strong light…
A heart-pounding pressure slowly spread out, enveloping the ruined manor!