"...Indeed, I could tell at a glance that he wasn't human."
"You're just talking nonsense."
"Hey? What did you just say?"
"At a glance? Then why didn't you tell me before?"
"...I thought you knew."
"Stop it, just showing off again, saying you could tell at a glance he's not human... Is that some kind of joke from your country? You just play with it?"
"Hey?"
"Move aside, German guy, let me take a look..."
In the Map Chamber, William casually pushed the disgruntled Grindelwald aside and approached the stone table that had been temporarily set up. Lying on the table was a glowing... uh, scattered human — yes, after extracting some intelligence from Hecate, William decided to follow the principle of learning through practice and chose one from the three captives —
Of course, the selection wasn't random. According to Hecate, it was Athena's puppet, and William had indeed seen Athena turn into a puppet before.
As for why not choose the red-haired blacksmith... well, because he was too sweet-talking.
So, looking at the God of War's head, filled with anger, glaring fiercely at him, William reached out and turned the head to face another direction.
Anyway, the mouth was sealed, so out of sight, out of mind.
"No wonder, when I chopped off his arm back then, he just reattached it, and it was as good as new."
William picked up the arm that had been lying in his collection cabinet for days, marveling, "This thing is quite advanced; just looking at it, it's almost indistinguishable from a real human body — wait, if he's like a puppet, why steal his own arm? Can't he just replace lost parts?"
He turned his head, looking at Nagini sitting obediently not far away, "Not to mention, according to you, the manufacturer of these parts is right next to him—"
"..."
"Speak, or I'll let the snake bite you."
"Cough cough."
Hecate came online, coughing helplessly twice, "Carving a body to contain the soul of a War God is not as simple as you say, let alone the olive trees planted by Athena, of which there's one less with each cut, are very precious — those ordinary puppets use ordinary wood."
"This wood is indeed peculiar, hiding numerous circuits of ancient magic patterns in its grain —"
On the other side, Grindelwald, who had been examining Ares's other arm for a long time, nodded as well, affirming Hecate's statement.
"...Then it makes sense."
William nodded, "Alright, Miss Nagini, you can go rest for a while, if this guy does anything unusual, just come find me — you know how to contact me." William had put a temporary contact Rune Stone in the pocket of each Niffler kept in the Room of Requirement, and these creatures…
In the Room of Requirement, they're as numerous as Pikachu in the Pokémon World, more common than stray dogs —
All thanks to Kabuda's relentless efforts to gather little brothers, with each litter of these little guys producing six to eight pups, and with William around, the little Nifflers even have no risk of early death. Fortunately, the space in the Room of Requirement is almost limitless, otherwise, it might not be able to accommodate so many little creatures.
As he watched Nagini nod and turn to leave, William exchanged a look with Grindelwald —
Not much communication was needed, Grindelwald nodded and then slowly walked to one side of the circular railing in the center of the room — this wasn't here the last time William visited, with a gentle wave of Grindelwald's hand, all light sources in the room went out, and a moment later, a softly glowing orb began to rise from below the railing.
It was a milky white light orb, but upon closer inspection, its silvery-gray metallic shell contained a gentle and stable pastel glow flowing within.
A Secret Vault, but a Grindelwald improved version.
"How's the research going?"
"Very successful? You could say that."
Grindelwald nodded, but then shook his head, "I found a Squib, yes, the gatekeeper — unable to use magic but with wizard parents, old, with an obsession with magic, meeting all the requirements of a 'perfect test subject' —"
"You conducted human experiments this early? Dumbledore doesn't know, does he?"
"Science requires a spirit of progress! If you're afraid to take risks…"
"You know, with this research method of yours, in the Middle Ages, you'd be burned at the stake like a roasted chicken."
William cut off Grindelwald's explanation with a blank face, "Clearly, Dumbledore doesn't know. I'll be informing him — all future human experiments must be approved, or you'll never see this again —" William gestured to the orb floating beside them, as it was now Grindelwald's lifeline.
"...Could you not tell Albus?"
Grindelwald regrettably patted his own mouth, wondering why he spoke so fast.
"Too late, he already knows — find a way to appease the old man later."
William shook his head, "Alright, continue, what are the results of the experiment on Mr. Filch? As far as I know, he has always dreamed of mastering magic by his own hands, to the point where his longing has become somewhat warped —"
"...As I just said, very successful."
Grindelwald sighed, putting the matter aside for now, "As is well known, Squibs do not completely lack magical circuits within but due to some reasons, these circuits are too weak, obstructed, or even deformed, but the pure energy within the Secret Vault can fully open and reshape these circuits —"
"As for Muggles..."
He paused, waved his hand, and a series of 3D-like projections appeared in the air, depicting three human-like silhouettes side by side, "From left to right, they are the Wizard, Squib, and Muggle —" with Grindelwald's explanation, a set of lines of varying colors and shades appeared over the humanoid figures —
"Stop, stop — don't waste words, just state the conclusion."
William rubbed and pinched his brow, then raised his hand to interrupt Grindelwald's exuberant long monologue.
"Hey, I remember you used to be quite studious…"
"I'll have Old Bee come over right now."
"Cough, cough, I'll say, I'll say…"
Grindelwald coughed twice, "Muggles do have magical circuits inside as well, but they're worse off than Squibs, with them either in embryonic form or completely degenerated, applying energy directly like with Squibs poses a great risk, and without surprise, it's likely just… 'boom'." Grindelwald raised a hand, mimicking a 'fireworks' gesture.