Chapter 427: Vold: Walking Through Fire

Chapter 427: Vold: Walking Through Fire

As everyone else retreated in fear, Grindelwald strode forward, and Vold, who had been following him closely, did the same.

Despite his mental preparation, the sight before him caused Vold's heart to tighten, and his temples began to throb violently.

Vold tried to take a deep breath to calm himself, but a wave of nausea hit him. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand, managing to slow down his rapidly increasing breathing.

Blue flames surged in waves, engulfing the area and clearing out most of the base personnel within sight.

However, Grindelwald's fire only incinerated those who harbored ill intentions towards him. The other dark-robed wizards and the unknown entities behind the walls, which might not even be considered human, remained untouched by the flames.

This allowed everyone to see the scene inside more clearly.

Dozens, perhaps even hundreds of 'test subjects' were caged in transparent enclosures, their limbs deformed, skin ulcerated, and strange feathers or scales growing on their bodies. They wailed weakly like livestock in bloodstained pens.

Some appeared to be dead, showing no signs of evading the dazzling flames that approached them.

Vold had initially thought that the base was only conducting werewolf and vampire transformations, but it was not the case.

Judging by the appearance of the 'test subjects,' the people here were also experimenting with the bloodlines of giants, trolls, goblins, succubi, merpeople, and centaurs, among other magical creatures.

Werewolves and vampires were already transformed from humans, and although the mortality rate was high, with proper measures, the process was relatively controllable. However, attempting to transform creatures with completely different genetics from humans was akin to slaughter.

The people at the base were essentially throwing countless individuals into an endless lottery, hoping for a miracle SSR draw. The involvement of technology and genetic engineering did not make this process any smoother or more humane.

Grindelwald narrowed his eyes, his face briefly flashing with icy anger. He waved his hand, and several wizards carrying Stream Mirrors rushed in to record the scene inside.

Grindelwald continued deeper into the facility, witnessing 'test subjects' actively throwing themselves into the flames, attempting to burn themselves to death, and 'people' screaming in agony, their bodies covered in blood.

He turned around and looked at the wizards who had followed him into the facility, now silent and motionless.

His gaze pierced through the magical mist woven over their cloaks, revealing the young eyes beneath their hoods.

Not long ago, these eyes had held doubt, defiance, weakness, disgust, blind loyalty, and arrogant ignorance.

But now, their gazes had undergone a satisfying transformation.

Grindelwald looked at them, his white hair dancing in the hot wind, his eyes sharp as torches, as if burning both himself and others.

"Before we set out, I asked you a question. Do you have the answer now?"

"Why am I still here? Why does the world still need the Wizengamot?"

"This is the answer!"

The aged voice rumbled in everyone's ears, causing even Drey to tremble. He wanted to say something but couldn't find the words, ultimately bowing deeply.

Vold took two steps back, quickly creating some distance between himself and Grindelwald.

Then he witnessed the dark-robed wizards, like sunflowers chasing the sun, bowing to Grindelwald with a mix of devotion and awe.

Grindelwald raised his wand high, and a red cloud of smoke exploded above his head, illuminating the flames below and casting the surroundings in a hellish light.

"Go," he said. "Kill them all and bring me their leader!"

The wizards dispersed in all directions, attacking mercilessly.

Shouts of "Avada Kedavra," "Destructo Curse," "Soul Separation," and "Cruciatus Curse" filled the air.

While Muggles as a whole were formidable to wizards, in this battle, the ordinary soldiers stood little chance against the wizards with their array of magical spells.

The wizards with Stream Mirrors diligently recorded the pitiful state of the 'test subjects' and, upon hearing news of another laboratory, rushed to continue their documentation.

"Smash!"

Not far from Vold, in a transparent enclosure, a 'person' with black hair covering their body and a head five or six times larger than normal slammed against the bulletproof glass.

Vold turned and saw a pair of blood-red eyes pleading with him. The person opened their mouth with great effort and spoke one word at a time—

"Kill... me... please... kill... me..."

Vold stared into those eyes, feeling as if his breath had been taken away, his wand-holding hand trembling slightly.

Vast anger and sorrow filled his heart, causing his very heart to ache.

A dark-robed wizard approached Grindelwald, glancing curiously at Vold, who was not far away and wearing a hood. He then whispered, "Sir, are these guys also..."

He looked at the test subjects and made a killing gesture.

"No, leave them," Grindelwald said with a smile. "The Ministry will have a harder time dealing with these people than we do."

The dark-robed wizard nodded in agreement, "Yes."

Grindelwald sent everyone out to work and then waved Vold over, "Come with me, kid."

Vold, who had intentionally kept his distance, looked at him and walked over without a word.

Preoccupied, he didn't notice that some of the people had brought blue flames to the surroundings. Grindelwald saw this and was about to raise his hand to extinguish the flames, but Vold calmly stepped through them, unharmed, with a deeper smile in his eyes.

He waved his wand and stopped maintaining the dangerous blue fire, leaving the place.

As Vold was about to exit, he seemed to hear a desperate cry in his ear. Instinctively, he turned back and saw the 'person' with red eyes staring at him intently, their eyes revealing an uncontrollable, intense desire.

Vold raised his wand and pointed it at the person.

The dark-robed wizard quickly stopped him, "Wait, you can't—!"

"Bang!"

After a muffled sound, the dark-robed wizard turned back abruptly. Inside the glass cage, the person had exploded into a cloud of blood mist, dead beyond recognition. Yet, the severed head floating away wore a strangely satisfied smile.

Seeing this, the other test subjects immediately started clamoring. Many rushed to the glass wall, pounding on it and making various gestures, pleading for Vold to grant them a similarly swift death.

The dark-robed wizard muttered, "You kid... are you really going to break away from them...?"

- What do you mean by 'break away'? Vold looked at him, perplexed.

He was still immersed in the emotions from his recent actions, breathing heavily with his wand trembling in his hand. He seemed to hear the roar of blood in his ears.

Vold raised his wand again, intending to cast a calming spell on himself, but the dark-robed wizard suddenly grabbed his arm.

"That's enough. Killing one person could be an impulsive act, but if you continue to disobey Mr. Grindelwald's orders, you'll face punishment too."

The dark-robed wizard pushed Vold out of the room while speaking quickly, "But I do like your personality, kid. Let's have a drink together when this is over! By the way, my name is Antoine Moro. Don't forget, Vold."

Suddenly being called by his name was more effective than any spell, and Vold instantly calmed down.

He looked deeply into the man's eyes. Aside from his height of nearly 1.8 meters, the most noticeable feature was a silver shamrock ring on his finger.

Following the man's lead, Vold left the room and saw Grindelwald standing in the corridor, looking back at him without any hint of surprise.

"Let's go," he said.

Vold silently followed, only to find that Grindelwald was surprisingly familiar with the layout of the place. He led Vold around a few turns and confidently opened a door.

It turned out to be the surveillance room.

The staff inside had disappeared, and the desks and floor were in disarray. Most of the surveillance screens, under the influence of magic, had malfunctioned, displaying a mix of black and white snow.

Only about a third of the cameras were still functioning, showing the battles between the Wizengamot and the opposing soldiers.

Both sides suffered casualties, and the wizards did not have an overwhelming advantage. The Ironclad Charm could block ordinary bullets, but only if they reacted in time.

Grindelwald sat in the chair, his body relaxed, and exhaled deeply. The vibrant life force within him quickly diminished, and he exuded exhaustion and weakness.

Seeing Vold watching him, Grindelwald smiled, "Are you surprised? I'm not as powerful as people imagine. If you act now, you might send me back to Nurmengard... or to hell."

Vold could sense his sincerity at that moment. The fatigue and weakness didn't seem like an act.

Grindelwald had sent all the other Wizengamot members out, leaving only Vold by his side. And Vold's eyes told him there was no one hiding or invisible nearby.

He removed his hood and looked at the notorious dark wizard, asking, "If you thought I'd take action, why didn't you keep more people here? Or are you willing to let your cause, which has just begun, come to an abrupt end?"

"My cause?" Grindelwald laughed. "Do you know what I'm trying to achieve?

Voldemort's eyes flashed with a hint of hesitation.

Grindelwald's former slogan—who in the wizarding world, aside from the dullards and fools, didn't know of it? Before Voldemort could respond, Grindelwald provided the answer himself—

"I did once desire for wizards to rule over Muggles—it was an unprecedented opportunity, with the entire world in turmoil, and I even had collaborators among the Muggle leaders... But unfortunately, both I and he failed."

"What do wizards have now? In just a few short decades, a peaceful and comfortable life has made them so cowardly and lazy, utterly incompetent."

Grindelwald looked disdainfully at the surveillance footage, where a wizard and a soldier suddenly encountered each other. Before he could even lift his wand, he was shot in the stomach by the soldier's bullet.

If it weren't for his companions rushing to his aid immediately afterward, that wizard would likely have been killed the next second.

There were countless wizards who, like this one, were injured or killed due to inadequate reactions, insufficient spell proficiency, or inability to aim at their targets. Grindelwald's anger burned within him, and he had to hold back several times from cursing those useless wizards to destruction.

Thinking of his former elite warriors, battle-hardened and experienced, and then looking at these greenhorns, Grindelwald restrained himself from cursing but couldn't help sighing deeply.

"The cradle of peace does not give birth to warriors of change. All I wanted was to plant a seed of resistance in their hearts."

Grindelwald sighed, "Just now, my most important goal was achieved... From now on, no matter how many years pass, I believe the wizards present will never forget what they witnessed. They will forever remember the cruelty and greed of Muggles and will never let down their guard against them."

"What about you, Wade Gray?"

"You're a smart kid. Seeing these facts, do you still believe, as Dumbledore said, that Muggles are a weak group in need of protection?" Grindelwald asked.

Voldemort thought for a moment, not avoiding the question as he had before, and said, "Weakness and strength are always relative, but morality and justice are not."

He paused for a moment and continued, "Muggles can harm wizards, and wizards can harm Muggles. Unforgivable crimes exist in both groups. To only see one side and unilaterally define an entire group as enemies is wrong."

"But it's also a fact that wizards were persecuted by Muggles to the point where they had to isolate the wizarding world and hide like rats! Isn't it ridiculous to dream of understanding each other when we don't even have the foundation for equal dialogue?" Grindelwald sharply retorted.

"But to change reality, bloody rule and slaughter won't work either. You've proven that," Voldemort said bluntly. "Muggles have been killing each other for thousands of years, and more of their own people have died in their wars than those killed by wizards. Do you see them surrendering?"

"How can you say that?" Grindelwald coldly laughed and countered, "Isn't there an Indian girl among your companions? Do you know how many years her country has been ruled by Brahmins and Kshatriyas? The Dalits there dare not resist!"

Voldemort was momentarily speechless, then replied, "But not all Muggles are Dalits like in India. Unless you can kill off all educated Muggles, you can't achieve the complete rule of wizards over Muggles that you envision."

"If you kill Muggles, what about the other magical creatures who oppose wizard rule? And if you kill magical creatures, what about the wizards who advocate for peace? If you kill everyone, who will be left by your side?"

"Hatred and slaughter are just crude releases; they never solve problems."

"To change the status quo, we must first clarify one issue—who are our enemies, and who are our friends? Only by uniting everyone and gaining more allies can we strengthen ourselves and specifically isolate and weaken our enemies!"

"Enemies can be wizards or Muggles, but they are certainly villains who harm the majority and violate basic morality and justice! Not like you, drawing a line and forcing everyone to believe that those on the other side are enemies!"

"If you blindly push everyone to your opposition, even the best situation will turn to ashes, just like what happened to you back then..."

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..."

Grindelwald suddenly erupted into a fit of violent coughing, as if trying to cough up his lungs. His thin back arched like a taut bow, and the room echoed with his intense coughing.

Voldemort immediately closed his mouth, a hint of regret in his eyes.

Oh no! I got carried away!

Voldemort watched as the 110-year-old man coughed violently in his chair, trembling, and he worried that he might accidentally kill him.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end