But, the newly appeared person did not respond to the man's inquiry.
He just lightly waved the hand that wasn't holding an umbrella, and thus, the pendant box hanging on the man's chest started to move. It broke away from the chain tied at the end and flew toward the newcomer. As it broke free from the chain, the man's throat, which had been like a bellows, miraculously recovered—
However, the man didn't seem happy about the departure of his illness. On the contrary, his expression began to gradually darken.
From the things he saw in the mind of that pendant box, combined with a mysterious power of unknown origin, the man could barely piece together a "truth" that wasn't really a "truth." Although the plot was hard to understand, he was sure that the soul seemingly parasitic inside the pendant box, which only he could see, was definitely no good.
His name was Edgar, and the story begins half a month ago—
At some unknown point, a house of unknown origin suddenly appeared in the residential area of Grimmauld Place. Until then, the surrounding residents hadn't noticed that there was a No. 11 and a No. 13, but seemingly from the start, there was never a so-called No. 12 Grimmauld Place.
Thus, like a ghost story, the mysterious house became more and more infamous. Some people said there were sleeping ghosts inside; others said it contained a sealed demon. Initially, the house's behavior matched people's guesses, with ghostly wails at midnight, disappearing and reappearing murals, and furniture that moved on its own—
As if there were really ghosts inside.
But a month ago—all the supernatural events inside that house vanished overnight, as if they had never existed.
So, led by a few bold vagabonds, people emptied the house of everything, even prying off the bricks on the fireplace. Not to mention the floorboards, which, although moldy and dusty, could still be used for firewood—
Edgar was a bit late. By the time he entered the house for the first time, there wasn't much left.
Still, he made a couple of rounds inside, just to see what the long-famous haunted house had in terms of supernatural events—and then he found a hidden compartment in the gaps of those pried off wall bricks. He thought he had found something valuable concealed by this family... or perhaps people? Then, he found that rusted pendant box.
That night, after returning to his lodging (which was under a bridge), he tried many methods but couldn't pry open the gaps on the pendant box. So he wore the pendant box around his neck, tucked it into his bosom, and planned to find someone the next day to help him see if it was considered an antique—
But that night, he had an incredibly realistic dream—
Even today, thinking about the scenes in that dream, Edgar couldn't control his fear. When he returned to the present moment and saw the pendant box in the hands of the unknown man, a sense of dread made him instinctively take half a step back.
"... You really are down on your luck to be tormented like this."
The man seemed to be talking to himself, and Edgar didn't hear a reply. Instinctively, he turned his head and found that the "demon" that had been standing right behind him was gone. But the man's self-talk continued, "Truly pathetic, just a Muggle, Avada Keda..."
As he spoke, he raised the stick in his hand. Next, a ghastly green light pierced through the air unexpectedly—
"Buzz—!"
A low, buzzing sound arose. It didn't seem to come from hearing but instead created a vibration directly in the air, as if this space was groaning under immense pressure. Invisible ripples condensed in the air like spears capable of piercing everything, aiming at the man's wrist holding the magic wand—
As a result, his movement stalled for a moment. The umbrella he was holding instantly shifted direction, its black surface collapsing in a blink, but this brief moment won him precious reaction time. His figure blurred like a reflection in water and, in a posture that defied physical laws, moved several meters backward.
All that was left in place was the half-destroyed metal umbrella skeleton and a piece of neatly cut fabric.
Then, that invisible "magical blade" landed on the ground, leaving a bottomless black crack.
More people came?
Edgar hadn't realized what the green light meant; he just watched the man, who suddenly had his cloak sliced and retreated embarrassedly, instinctively looked around. Then, he saw a slightly lazy figure in a deep blue trench coat walk out from the shadow of the bridge.
The rainwater vanished eerily within three inches of approaching him, and a faint glow surrounded the man.
"Oh, isn't this our most famous rat in history—vile Helbo?"
William's voice carried his usual mocking tone, though his eyes locked firmly on Helbo under the umbrella—
"Good morning, have you eaten yet?—Yes, yes, I know, the weather has indeed been poor lately, but isn't it always like this in Great Britain, with its temperate maritime climate—" William casually started saying whatever came to mind while glancing at the pendant box tightly clenched in Helbo's right hand, then slowly approached.
"Richard... How did you find me?"
Helbo's voice remained relatively calm, but William still heard a trace of panic the other didn't want to show from his slightly trembling tone compared to earlier, "Were you following the Soul Artifact? Or tracking me... haha, as expected of the heir of Ancient Magic." Helbo chuckled, still trying to hide his panic.
"You're too kind, too kind, nothing compared to your ability to survive a thousand years and dig holes everywhere—"
William grinned, his magic wand had slipped into his hand. As he moved, the tip of his redwood wand began to flicker with faint lightning, "We've chatted enough, and since I'm here, shouldn't you leave me a souvenir? Or do you want to exchange something for this scrap? For example... how about I send you to die?"
As William's words fell, he casually pressed his wand downward.
"Boom—crack!!"
The next moment, a bucket-thick, dazzling white lightning tore through the gloomy sky unexpectedly. The blinding thunder seemed to activate a frenzy, its majesty overwhelming.
Helbo's figure blurred and shattered again; he had no intention of taking it head-on and vanished with near teleportation speed from where he stood. The lightning struck his former position violently, blasting a deep pit into the solid ground. Fragments of stone and soil mixed with scorching steam shot skyward, and the powerful shockwave turned nearby rainwater into vapor.
"Holy crap!"
"Irrelevant people should step aside—"
William waved a hand, and the still-dazed Edgar was directly flung away, landing gently several dozen meters away.
Helbo's silhouette had just appeared and began to blur again, but William seemed prepared as if he anticipated it. An azure talisman stone appeared in his free left hand at some point, and with a forceful squeeze, an invisible power spread out, sealing this space completely, "Did I say you could leave?"
"You—"
Helbo's body, which was halfway through leaving, was forced out of the air. A sinister blood streak appeared from his brow, winding its way across most of his face, and fresh blood flowed along the wound, making Helbo's already terrifying face appear even more grotesque.
No idle chatter this time.
"Buzz buzz buzz buzz—!"
Amid the buzzing, a small array composed of dozens of rapidly spinning azure Runes instantly appeared on the ground centered around William.
Then, the array glowed brightly, and countless blue-glowing chains snaked out like a nest of vipers, producing ear-piercing whooshing sounds as they swiftly ensnared Helbo. This time, it nearly sealed off all his possible escape routes. Each chain's tip had sharp spikes, ensuring that penetrating the skin would immobilize the target completely.
"What is thi—"
Watching the completely unexpected and incomprehensible scene, Edgar opened his mouth dazedly.
"It's the combination of Transfiguration Technique and Summoning Spell, though normal wizards couldn't possibly achieve this level..."
The next moment, a gentle voice came from beside him. The man instinctively turned his head and saw a kindly white-bearded old man standing next to him, "Sa... Santa Claus?" Edgar muttered instinctively.
You couldn't blame him for saying so, as Dumbledore was dressed entirely in red today, even wearing a red pointed hat.