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Chapter 488: Voldemort's Fury
Chapter 488: Voldemort's Fury
Just as Liam and the others had successfully returned to their Manor, a figure in a black robe appeared at the site of their battle with the Death Eaters. The Black Shadow looked around and then pulled out a wand, casting several spells in an attempt to trace back what had happened there. However, all his efforts were in vain, as all he saw was a white, blinding light.
After several failed attempts, the black-robed figure reluctantly put away his wand and Disapparated from the street. He then reappeared in another street, which appeared to be in the countryside, with only a few distant streetlights visible in the town. He hurried through a patch of low shrubs and arrived at an iron gate, which he passed through as if he were a mist.
Following a gravel path, he walked to a two-story, unassuming red brick building. The glass in the windows sparkled faintly under the starlight. As the black-robed figure climbed the stone steps, the door opened automatically.
In the dim light, the entrance hall was not large but was lavishly decorated. Gilded plaster statues adorned the corners and ceiling. As the black-robed figure walked down the corridor on the green marble floor, the pale faces of the portraits on the walls followed him with their eyes. He stopped in front of an oak door, hesitated for a few seconds, and then finally turned the bronze doorknob and pushed the door open.
The living room was suffocating, as if a heavy cloud hung over it. Despite the roaring fire in the marble fireplace, everyone seated at the long table felt as if they were in an ice cellar. The source of the cold was the hairless, noseless man with red, snake-like eyes and pale skin—Voldemort.
"None of you are competent at all. You failed to warn us about the sudden appearance of the enemy. You claim to know all secrets, yet now you remain silent." After a hissing tirade, Voldemort turned to the black-robed figure who had just entered.
"Lukewood, I hope you bring good news", Voldemort said in a cold, chilling voice.
"Forgive me, Master", the black-robed figure immediately knelt. "I swear I did my best, but there was a magic I've never seen before that obscured the area. I... I... ah—"
As Voldemort hit Lukewood with the Cruciatus Curse, the Death Eaters in the room lowered their heads, trying to make themselves as small and inconspicuous as possible. The screams of Lukewood, who writhed on the marble floor like a fish out of water, made the two minutes feel like two days. Thankfully, Voldemort's punishment finally ended, leaving Lukewood convulsing uncontrollably on the floor.
"Very well, who can tell me where these new enemies came from?" Voldemort looked at the others around the table. Seeing their attempts to hide under the table, he angrily called out, "Avery, speak up."
"I think it must be Dumbledore's doing, ah—" Avery was cut off as Voldemort hit him with the Cruciatus Curse, causing him to slide off his marble-backed chair and convulse on the floor like Lukewood before him.
"I won't tolerate such evasive answers. Everyone here knows that this ruthless killing is not the work of Dumbledore or his weak followers", Voldemort said angrily, lowering his wand. "Think about it, how many have we lost since we regrouped? Barty Crouch Jr., Wormtail, Antonin Dolohov, the Carrows, Walton Mcnair, Selwyn, Crabbe, and Goyle. In addition, five foreigners who joined us and two filthy Werewolves."
At this, Voldemort's pale skin took on a slight black tinge, and he roared, "In just one year, we have lost 14 people, 16 if you include the two Werewolves. Not to mention the almost extinct European Giants. I don't think we lost that many in such a short time during the last war."
"We have never found the bodies of most of them; they might just be missing", Travers defended himself quickly. Voldemort turned and stared into his eyes, until Travers, frightened, slid off his chair to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robes.
"Travers, if you continue to be this foolish, I may have to reconsider my trust in you. The information Bellatrix brought is clear: a group of enemies we know nothing about has appeared, and we were completely unaware of their existence. Is this not your negligence?"
"For too long, many of our oldest clans have degenerated in their comfortable lives", Voldemort continued. At this, Bellatrix, who was sitting with her legs hidden under her skirt, held her breath and gazed at him earnestly. "You must prune the branches to keep the tree healthy, don't you? Cut away the parts that threaten the overall health, to rejuvenate these ancient, decaying parts."
Most of the people at the table shrank back like quails, trying to avoid Voldemort's gaze. Only Bellatrix, who was now immobilized, looked at Voldemort with a fanatical expression and said, "I will do my utmost, my Lord, if you give the order."
"I hope it doesn't come to that", Voldemort scanned the people sitting at the table, and each one of them shivered involuntarily under his gaze. "But if they continue to be as incompetent as they are, I may have to waste some valuable Wizard blood and leave only those with true, pure Wizard blood..."
Voldemort raised a wand, seemingly from nowhere, and waved it in the air. Three girls' faces appeared on it. Voldemort had been shocked and trembled with excitement when he read from Bellatrix's memory the face of the girl she had fought. He remembered that his resurrection had been thwarted by this person, forcing him to spend a great deal of energy and resources to deal with the hidden dangers in his body and soul, and to endure prolonged torment.
"You need to find them and kill them. Otherwise—" Voldemort paused and stroked Nagini's nose with his free hand, "I wouldn't want to give Nagini an extra meal."
The Death Eaters quickly expressed their loyalty to their master, but Voldemort only glanced at them and began to create new legs for Bellatrix. However, a more troubling issue arose: he had no idea what magic had taken Bellatrix's kidney, and thus couldn't create a silver one to replace it.
As Voldemort fretted over this, Liam and the others were sitting in the manor's living room, drinking tea and discussing the matter.
"You said Gill's curse attack requires three conditions: it must be nighttime, the target must be female, and there must be fog. Why does this magic need such complex conditions? I'm not very familiar with curses, could you explain it to me?" Hermione asked, her eyes eager for knowledge as she looked at Rose Crystal.
"It's like this", Rose Crystal stood up from the sofa. "Since you've already been exposed to the rules, you should understand that Gill's attack leverages the Power of the Rules. Once the conditions for the curse are met, Gill can tap into the influence and faith of her counterpart in this world to harness some of the world's power and recreate the atrocities of Jack the Ripper."
"Could you give an example?" Liam asked.
"Theoretically, this curse attack could extract all the internal organs of the target. However, Bellatrix, being a Wizard well-versed in Dark Magic, has a much higher resistance to curses than an ordinary person, so she only lost one kidney. Gill was somewhat disappointed because she felt that her first mission to help me wasn't a perfect victory."
"That's still very impressive", Hermione said sincerely. Having faced Bellatrix in battle, Hermione knew that Gill's ability to withstand Bellatrix's attacks and still inflict serious injuries was far beyond what she had expected. She would still choose to dodge and counterattack when facing Bellatrix, unable to withstand the spells head-on.
The group continued their discussion on curses and the rules until the grandfather clock struck midnight, at which point they retired to their rooms.
(End of Chapter)
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