Thirty seconds later, not a single person remained standing.
Everyone except Tom lay on the ground, sleeping peacefully.
Shadow power carried venom within it. If Tom had wished, they would already be corpses cooling in the marsh.
But the dead were worthless.
The living made excellent experimental material.
Grindelwald had his uses for them. As for Tom, after investing seven to eight thousand learning points into flesh magic, he had gained considerable insight. What he lacked now was practice. Experience.
Thick violet mist poured from his wand, seeping into the castle walls.
Soon, screams echoed from within.
Tom strolled calmly through the poisonous haze, retrieving those who had attempted to hide. Twelve in total. According to Wanda's intelligence, the Lombardi family had fifteen members. The remaining three?
Tom could not be bothered to wait.
He left at once for the next family.
Sometimes, living was far more painful than dying.
Especially when they did not even know who was delivering judgment.
In two days, Tom moved across several countries, systematically dealing with every family involved in the original bounty against him.
Only the mysterious intermediary who had coordinated them remained unfound.
When it was done, he returned to Britain without a whisper, leaving chaos behind.
In a world where the wizarding population was so sparse, the death of one or two wizards could make headlines.
This time, entire ancient pure blood families vanished in succession.
The European wizarding community was shaken to its core.
Under the leadership of the surviving relatives, investigations raged wildly. Several families possessed enchanted genealogical charts that could determine whether members were alive or dead. The charts confirmed they were not dead.
But their location remained unknown.
Curse breakers attempted to reconstruct the scenes. Every effort failed.
The French Ministry even deployed a Time Turner, sending agents back to the moments of the crimes.
At each scene, however, the Time Turner malfunctioned as though disrupted. Attempting to approach from further away resulted in resistance. Forcing entry risked becoming completely lost in temporal distortion.
After exhaustive efforts, they did not even know whether the perpetrator was a single individual or an organized force.
Tom had anticipated everything.
He cleaned his trail meticulously.
Interfering with a Time Turner was simple. Before leaving, he layered several interference spells across the site.
The only person likely to suspect him was the original instigator who had urged the families to place the bounty.
Tom wanted that person to know.
He wanted to see whether they would reveal themselves.
There was another incident that amused both Tom and Andros for quite some time.
Unable to find a culprit, several Ministries began suspecting Grindelwald.
They even sent officials to Nurmengard to interrogate him.
Grindelwald had promptly beaten them senseless, altered their memories, and thrown them out.
"You cause trouble, and I take the blame!"
Within the Learning Space, Grindelwald was both furious and laughing.
Technically, the Ministries were not entirely wrong. Tom and he shared a rather significant connection.
But this particular affair had nothing to do with him.
If those families had not foolishly provoked the boy, none of this would have happened.
"Old Gellert, who told you to leave such a massive psychological scar on them?" Tom laughed, collapsing back against Ariana.
The girl seized the opportunity to pile on.
"Exactly. When something goes wrong, suspecting you first seems perfectly reasonable. You are the Dark Lord, after all."
"If you were a good person like Tom, no one would think you were the culprit."
Grindelwald's eyes widened in disbelief.
Was there no justice left in the world?
That boy was rotten to the core. On what basis was he considered good?
Clearly blind, he thought bitterly. No wonder she always drifted toward them.
But he only dared grumble internally. Saying it aloud would surely provoke both Andros and Tom.
Instead, he redirected his fury.
"I memorized every face that came yesterday. Every single one. When I walk free, they will repay me a hundredfold."
After the laughter subsided, Tom grew thoughtful.
"We should remind Wanda. The old followers may be under increased surveillance."
"Very possible," Grindelwald agreed.
Just as Tom prepared to leave the space, Grindelwald's expression shifted abruptly.
"What is it?"
"Albus… is here."
...
At the highest level of Nurmengard's tower, inside a cramped cell, two wizards who had once shaken the world at the dawn of the century sat across a pitifully small table.
Neither spoke at first.
Silence hung between them.
Grindelwald appeared once more as the aged and weary prisoner. Even Dumbledore could discern nothing amiss. If anything, the food here seemed decent. Grindelwald's complexion carried a faint flush.
"Incredible," Grindelwald said at last, his tone lazy and edged with mockery. "I never imagined you would return here after the day you sent me in. Is this about the disappearances?"
Dumbledore shook his head, then nodded faintly.
"I had intended to visit you some time ago, but other matters delayed me. This provides an opportunity. I can also confirm whether you are connected to the recent incidents."
After Hagrid mentioned that Tom could wield Fiendfyre, Dumbledore had intended to come.
But two schools had visited for exchange. Then the holidays arrived, followed by trouble caused by Snape. If not for the International Confederation requesting his involvement in this investigation, the visit might have been delayed even longer.
"Hmm…"
Grindelwald smiled faintly at the empty table.
Dumbledore had come to visit an old acquaintance and brought nothing. No food. No gifts.
Even that troublesome boy showed more courtesy.
Since their agreement to meet every two weeks, Tom had always arrived bearing food, drink, and daily necessities.
Until the holidays.
"Albus," Grindelwald said as he rose slowly and shuffled back toward his freshly arranged straw bedding, adjusting it with visible discomfort, "you know me well enough."
"If I had been responsible for those disappearances, would there be any relatives left alive to investigate?"