Chapter 828: Battle in the Forest
Chapter 828: Battle in the Forest
Nurmengarde appeared vast from the outside, akin to the vampire castles perched atop cliffs described in Muggle fairy tales. Yet, upon entering, one would discover how truly cramped it was. Even the lowest level, the entrance, was barely larger than a standard classroom, with a staircase taking up a third of the space. The upper levels were even smaller, and Grindelwald kept only a solitary, threadbare blanket for company.
It seemed there used to be a bedsheet as well, but it had been torn to shreds.
Kyle hesitated for a long time. Perhaps it was the pitiful state Grindelwald was currently in, but he eventually took out several pieces of parchment and placed them on the ground. After some thought, he also produced an ink bottle.
"You'll need this as well."
This place was so lacking that even parchment had to be substituted with bedsheets, and they surely didn't have ink. Grindelwald's plan to write letters most likely involved smearing his blood on the sheets.
As for how he intended to send them out, Kyle didn't want to know.
"Ah, thanks." Grindelwald replied with a grin.
"You're welcome." Kyle paused before continuing, "But if you do anything unnecessary..."
"You'll kill me?" Grindelwald chuckled as if he'd heard a hilarious joke. "I've heard that many times before... from different people, at different times.
"But you're the bravest of them all. Those before you wouldn't even dare stay an extra minute in my presence, even without my wand."
"No, you misunderstand. I won't try to kill you." Kyle shook his head.
Seemingly surprised by Kyle's response, Grindelwald shifted his body, "So, you plan to let me go?"
"Something like that." Kyle replied, "You're a nuisance I don't want to deal with right now. But if you manage to escape using what I've given you, I can't just ignore it and pretend nothing happened."
"So, what do you plan to do?" Grindelwald asked with interest, as if expecting a fascinating answer from Kyle.
"I'll deal with Professor Dumbledore." Kyle said calmly, "Once you leave here, I'll send him to another 'Nurmengarde', a place where you two will never be able to meet or even communicate."
"Ha, ha ha..." Grindelwald burst into laughter, laughing so hard he fell back onto the blanket, "Your idea... is much harder than simply killing me."
"No, it's not. It might be difficult for others, but not for me." Kyle extended his hand, using his magic to manifest a golden thread.
"Oh... a contract spell?" Grindelwald raised an eyebrow, "And what are you trying to imply?"
"The other end of this contract is connected to Professor Dumbledore."
For some reason, the person before him seemed a little angry, tightly clutching the blanket.
However, Kyle paid it no mind and continued calmly, "Moreover, this contract spell once saved his life. If I'm shameless enough to ask him to return the favor, do you think he would agree, considering Professor Dumbledore's personality?"
"You want to kill him?"
Kyle felt the air around him suddenly turn icy, as if countless small knives were pointed at him simultaneously.
And this was no illusion... even though the person before him was emaciated, reduced to little more than a skeleton, even without his wand.
The Cat Panther and the Poison Panther, who had been following closely behind, let out ear-piercing screams and crashed through the door, rushing into the room.
"Oh, Poison Panther, what a dangerous creature." Grindelwald said indifferently, "You remind me of another person I know. He's like you, always surrounded by all sorts of magical beasts.
"But do you think they can protect you?"
"I think so." Kyle maintained his composure, stroking the necks of the Cat Panther and the Poison Panther to calm them down.
"Of course, I won't kill Professor Dumbledore either. After all, he's my headmaster, and he's taught me a lot. I can't bring myself to harm him."
Kyle continued, "I'll just take him to a place that's much bigger than this, with sunlight, forests, spacious areas, and all kinds of animals.
"But that place is cut off from the outside world, and I assure you, even if someone turns the wizarding world upside down, they won't be able to find him."
"Then no one can stop me." Grindelwald said, his tone filled with absolute confidence. "Aside from Albus, no one can stop me."
"As long as it makes you suffer, I don't care." Kyle shrugged, "At worst, we can all hide there, letting you and Voldemort tear each other apart."
"Dog bites dog... that's going too far." Grindelwald suddenly lost interest and lay back on the blanket, "Alright, you win. It's a terrifying threat, but I truly just wanted to write some letters, not do anything else."
"Let's hope so." Kyle said.
With that, he prepared to leave.
"Wait."
Grindelwald called out to him again, "On your way here, you must have seen Wendelin and the others."
"If you're referring to those who followed you sixty years ago, yes, I did."
"I know," Kyle nodded. "They've been tailing me since I arrived."
"You were able to sense them?" Grindelwald asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Not to belittle you, but Vinda, even sixty years ago, was one of the best witches, having experienced countless battles. I don't think she would expose herself in your presence."
"But in this forest, it's not just us," Kyle said, vaguely answering Grindelwald's question.
"Okay, it doesn't matter." Grindelwald parted his lips, revealing dirty teeth. "It's good that you discovered them. Consider it your first test. If you want to save Albus, you need to demonstrate your true abilities..."
"Oh, and because of Nicolat and Albus' masterpiece, Apparition is forbidden within a twenty-mile radius of here. Don't even think about escaping on your Fire Dragon; they will kill it."
"But don't worry," Grindelwald continued, "as long as you bring her here later, I will naturally spare your life. Consider it payment for the ink."
"Can't I just kill them instead?" Kyle asked, raising an eyebrow. "I know it may sound boastful, but I'm quite skilled, and I even won the Triwizard Tournament."
"Kill Vinda? That's an interesting idea," Grindelwald snorted. "A wizard's wand doesn't dull with time; it only becomes sharper. If you can do it, give it a try."
After that, Grindelwald fell silent, carefully dipping his hand into the ink and staring at the parchment, as if considering what to write.
Kyle also left the room, climbing back down the stairs to the entrance and pushing the door open.
As he stepped outside, he paused briefly, and a Billywig flew over unsteadily, landing on Kyle's shoulder and emitting a soft squeak.
"You can only see nine people?" Kyle frowned. "Never mind, it doesn't matter."
He couldn't understand why Nicolat couldn't just give him a Portkey near Nurmengarde, which would have spared him all this trouble.
"Damn it," Kyle sighed in resignation. He turned to glance at the tall tower behind him once more, then took out his Firebolt, jumped off the cliff, and soared into the sky.
If Fire Dragons were off the table, surely brooms wouldn't be a problem. Kyle doubted they could be faster than a Firebolt...
As he was thinking, a dazzling green light suddenly shot up from below, illuminating half the forest like a meteor streaking upward.
Kyle had only seen this level of Killing Curse from Voldemort himself.
He cursed inwardly but had no choice but to stop his broom.
The curse was headed in his direction, not far from where he was. It was a warning—if he didn't stop, the next Killing Curse might hit its mark.
Kyle had no choice but to turn around and land back on the ground.
As soon as he jumped off his broom, a group of people surrounded him... the same group he had encountered at the forest entrance, not a single person missing.
"We meet again, Mr.... graduate of Beauxbatons," the witch approached him.
She had changed into a blue robe that was extremely outdated, her hair pulled back into a round bun.
"Oh no, I should call you a graduate of Hogwarts, not Beauxbatons. Beauxbatons couldn't possibly produce a student like you."
"How did you know?" Kyle asked.
"Because I'm a graduate of Beauxbatons myself," the witch adjusted her robe. "But I don't sense any familiarity from you."
"Well, then I should say Durmstrang," Kyle shook his head in annoyance.
"In fact, we also have students from Durmstrang here." Another very old wizard spoke up: "You dare to deceive us, boy."
His body was hunched over, and he seemed barely able to walk, but he held his wand steady.
"You're the ones who deceived me first!" Kyle laughed. "And you call yourselves Magizoologists? Do you even know how many legs a Cat Panther has?"
"Of course, it has four legs," the man blurted out.
"You idiot, it has six," Kyle retorted.
"Who are you trying to fool? Spiders have six legs," the wizard argued.
"Spiders have eight," Kyle corrected.
Watching them bicker, Kyle's lips twitched involuntarily. These people were unexpectedly amusing.
"Shut up!" The witch snapped, putting an end to the farce. "Alright, let's call it even. Now, let's get down to business. Can you please tell us how to enter that tower? In return, we will give you a large sum of gold."
"What tower... I don't understand what you're talking about," Kyle blinked innocently.
"I don't want to waste time," the witch raised her hand. "Perhaps a Cruciatus Curse will make you smarter."
"I want your real name."
The witch paused for a moment before answering, "Vinda Rochel."
It was indeed her, the famous Black Rose of France and Grindelwald's most loyal follower, as well as one of the few well-known figures from Beauxbatons.
"Now, can you tell me what I want to know?" Kyle asked.
"Of course, as we agreed." Kyle nodded. "First, you need to find a photo, a photo of Nurmengarde, with the address of this place on it. Just take a look, and you'll be able to push open that door."
"The photo? Give it to me."
"I don't have it." Kyle spread his hands. "How could they give something so important to me? Nicolat has it. You can go and ask him for it."
There was a moment of silence, and then...
"Crucio!"
Without hesitation, Vinda Rochel raised her hand and cast the Cruciatus Curse directly at Kyle's location.
Fortunately, he was prepared and managed to dodge behind a sturdy tree.
"Or you can climb in through the gap at the top of the tower." Kyle hid behind the tree as much as possible and continued, "Although the space is small, if you can turn yourself into a flea or a wisp of smoke, you might just barely squeeze through."
In response to Kyle's words, more curses were hurled at him.
This time, it wasn't just Vinda Rochel; the others had also lost their patience.
The tree that Kyle was hiding behind was blasted to pieces by the curses coming from all directions. Left with no choice, Kyle had to find another hiding spot.
"There's no need for such trouble." Vinda's voice came from behind him. "There's a simpler way. Just bring us there... Get him!"
The encirclement began to tighten, but as she was speaking, Kyle spotted an opportunity.
In the current situation, his first priority was to find a way to break through. He chose a slightly lame wizard as his target, which might not have been very fair, but he couldn't afford to care about that at the moment.
Kyle directly raised his wand, and the surrounding trees began to grow wildly. Saplings as thin as wrists instantly became as thick as buckets, and the fully grown trees transformed into millstones, instantly blocking everyone's vision.
As for the lame wizard, who was Kyle's main target, he was immediately entangled by the writhing branches, and the sharp twigs pierced his body like spears.
As followers of Grindelwald from sixty years ago, these witches and wizards were not like the werewolves, who lacked experience in battle. After their initial surprise, they quickly thought of countermeasures.
A cluster of flames burst forth from the tip of a wand...
"Be careful." Kyle reminded them, "Using the Blasting Curse here could affect Nurmengarde."
Almost instinctively, the person interrupted his spell.
Kyle took the opportunity to run past him, unceremoniously snatching away his wand, and then waved his hand. The thick branches transformed into a large mouth filled with fangs, biting down on the man's leg.
"Crack..."
"Ah!" A piercing scream of pain echoed through the forest.
"Trump... Damn it!"
The ground beneath the witch's feet rose, turning into giant stone ropes that bound the wildly writhing trees, fixing them firmly in place.
With her help, the others soon freed themselves and surrounded Kyle.
"Trump!"
One of them ran to the wizard whose wand had been taken by Kyle to check on his injury.
"His leg is broken, bitten off." The man's eyes were red. "This is ruthless. Is he really a student taught by Dumbledore?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Another wizard said, "We are enemies, and this is already merciful. Although the injury looks scary, it can be healed with a Bone-Knitting Spell and other potions. In that situation, he could have easily killed Trump."
"He did it on purpose." Vinda Rochel walked over.
"Don't forget, this place is often visited by vampires and Chimaeras. Trump's wand was taken away, and his leg is broken. If no one takes care of him, he might be killed by those beasts."
"But this way, we'll be two people short to chase after him."
"He's a smart kid... But the chance to rescue him is only this once." Vinda Rochel suddenly laughed. She twirled her finger, subtly pointing her wand at Trump on the ground.
"No, Amara, Vinda..." The other two blurted out together, "Please, we're the only ones left alive from back then. It's been sixty years. Let's just assume he's dead, okay?"
"That won't do..." Vinda Rochel closed her eyes, speaking meaningfully, her wand twirling between her fingers.
"You stay here and take care of Trump." She opened her eyes again and looked at the wizard who had just spoken. "The rest of you, come with me to bring back our guest. We can't let him wander alone in this dangerous forest."
...
(End of Chapter)
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