The plains of Stirling County were more desolate than Kevin had imagined.
Cars or any Muggle vehicles could not enter this cursed land—
It was said that centuries ago, a great war between Wizards and Muggles took place here, and the victors sealed off the entire area with a powerful Anti-Muggle Charm.
Any Muggle creation that entered would malfunction, corrode, and eventually disintegrate into dust.
Kevin rode a dilapidated flying broomstick, skimming low over the withered grass.
He had snatched the broom from a black market dealer; it had no virtues beyond barely being able to fly.
In the distance, the abandoned quarry was embedded in the wasteland like a giant scar.
Gray rocks were exposed, eroded by wind and rain into ghostly claws, and several collapsed sheds stood crookedly at the edge, like dying beasts.
Kevin dismounted half a mile from the quarry, hid his broom in a thicket of thorns, and proceeded on foot.
His steps were light, almost soundless, and an Anti-Detection Charm formed an invisible barrier around him, not only shielding him from magic detection but also blurring his presence—
Like a stone merged into shadow, it was hard to notice even when close at hand.
The closer he got to the quarry, the stronger the smell of blood in the air.
It wasn't fresh blood, but the long-congealed scent of rust and decay.
Kevin quietly hid behind a large rock and peered out.
In the clearing in the center of the quarry, a black tent was pitched, and four Wizards stood around it.
Their expressions were wary, wands in hand, occasionally glancing around, as if waiting for something, or perhaps fearing something.
Two Wizards guarded the tent entrance; one had lost an arm, and the other's face was torn by a scar running from his forehead to his chin, making him look particularly ferocious.
Kevin counted, a total of six Wizards.
"The boss said to wait another half an hour, and if Brock and his men still don't return, we'll move," the one-armed Wizard said in a muffled voice, "That idiot must be drunk and forgot about the important business."
The scarred-face Wizard spat, "Let's hope so. If he dares to leak information about the Blood Pact…" He made a throat-slitting gesture, his eyes fierce.
Just then, a hurried whooshing sound came from afar.
The six Wizards instantly became alert and looked up.
They saw three small black dots flying from the horizon, getting closer and closer; they were Wizards on flying broomsticks, wearing the same dark blue trench coats as the Aurors in the alley.
"It's Aurors!" a young Wizard shrieked, his voice trembling.
"What are you panicking for!" the scarred-face Wizard roared, "Stick to the plan! Guard the tent!"
Kevin frowned. He hadn't expected the Aurors to arrive so quickly, finding this place almost simultaneously with him.
It was worth noting that the Aurors didn't have Brock leaking secrets.
But this saved him trouble—chaos was often the best cover.
"All hands on deck!" the leading Auror shouted from the air, her voice clear; it was the short-haired Witch, "Lay down your wands! You are under arrest for suspected possession of forbidden magical items!"
"Wishful thinking!"
A deep voice, with a metallic grinding quality, came from inside the tent. The tent flap was pulled open, and a tall, thin Wizard emerged.
He wore a dark red robe, his face unmarked, but his eyes were murky yellow, like some cold-blooded animal. He held a black box engraved with complex patterns, emitting a faint red glow.
"Blood Pact…" Kevin's gaze fell on the box, his desire stirring, but even with his confidence in the power of "Turbidity," he couldn't reveal himself and fight nine opponents at once.
"It's Marcus Vogel!" the short-haired Witch's voice was filled with incredulous shock, "Grindelwald's top henchman! Wasn't he killed by Moody?"
Marcus Vogel sneered, carefully placing the black box on the table:
"Don't waste time with them. Before their reinforcements arrive, quickly take out these three Aurors and retreat!"
"Attack!" Seeing that she couldn't delay, the short-haired Witch pointed her wand directly at Marcus, "Stupefy!"
Red light flashed.
The two Wizards beside Marcus immediately raised their wands to retaliate: "Protego!" "Impedimenta!"
Immediately, spells of various colors intertwined in the quarry sky, and exploding light clusters illuminated the gray rocks.
The Aurors were well-trained and coordinated, quickly suppressing the four Wizards on the periphery.
But Marcus and the other Wizards remained standing in front of the tent, one vicious spell after another shooting from their wands.
"Now," Kevin whispered.
He shot out of the shadow of the boulder like a gray lightning bolt, his target not Marcus, but the one-armed Wizard.
At this moment, that Wizard was entangled with a young Auror, his back to Kevin, exposing a vulnerability.
The power of "Turbidity" surged out of his wand; this time, it wasn't an offensive spell, but a pure mental shock.
The one-armed Wizard's movements suddenly froze, an expression of extreme fear on his face, as if he had returned to the moment before he lost his arm in the Wizarding War.
The young Auror seized the opportunity, and a red light struck his chest.
But Kevin's true goal was not to help the Auror, but to create chaos.
The moment the one-armed Wizard fell, he had already circled to another hidden corner, stooped behind the scarred-face Wizard, and lightly tapped his wand: "Imperio."
The scarred-face Wizard's eyes instantly became vacant. He turned his wand and aimed it at his closest companion: "Avada Kedavra!"
A green light flashed, and the companion, caught off guard, fell dead on the spot.
This sudden turn of events stunned both sides of the battle.
Marcus roared, "Which shameless scoundrel is it?!"
He waved his hand, casting a spell at the scarred-face Wizard, knocking him unconscious.
It was this momentary distraction that gave Kevin an opportunity. He ghosted through the gaps of interweaving spells, heading straight for Marcus.
"Stop him!" Marcus sensed the danger, hastily stuffed the box into his robes, raised his wand, "Incendio!"
A massive wall of fire rushed towards Kevin, its heat so intense that the air distorted.
Kevin did not retreat; instead, he accelerated forward, his wand tracing a strange arc in front of him: "Turbidity Counter-Charm."
This was not any known spell, but magic created by Morin, unique to "Turbidity."
The flames seemed to be absorbed by an invisible black hole, and at the same time, a grayish-black energy formed from the flames, instantly enveloping Marcus.
Before Marcus could even show fear, he let out a bloodcurdling scream, his body trembling violently, as if countless cold insects were gnawing at his internal organs.
He could feel his power rapidly draining, all his magic being devoured bit by bit by that grayish-black energy.
Even more bizarrely, Marcus felt as if he had lost control of his body, unable to even think of resisting.
"Let me go!" Marcus used his last ounce of strength, thrusting his wand towards Kevin's abdomen.
Kevin sidestepped, while simultaneously striking Marcus's wrist heavily with his right hand's wand.
The wand flew out of his hand and fell into a deep pit nearby.
Marcus, without his wand, was like a lamb to the slaughter, no longer able to resist the corrosion of "Turbidity," and collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Kevin retrieved the black box from his robes, then, without a glance at him, turned and rushed towards the last two stubbornly resisting Wizards.
Those two Wizards had already been beaten back by the Aurors and, seeing Kevin emerge from the tent, assumed he was their boss's helper.
Kevin raised his hand and pointed, and the two Wizards were instantly controlled by the Imperius Curse, standing dumbfounded until they were knocked unconscious by the arriving Aurors.
In just three minutes, the battle at the quarry was over.
The short-haired Witch and the remaining two Aurors landed, speechless at the sight before them.
Seven Dark Wizards, some dead, some unconscious, three of whom were under the Imperius Curse, and one was killed by a Killing Curse from his own accomplice.
And the mysterious Wizard who had suddenly appeared stood in the center of the quarry, holding the red-glowing box, his back to them.
His cloak flapped in the wind, his figure tall and slender, yet exuding a chilling sense of oppression, as if the darkness of the night had gathered on him.
"Put down that box!" The short-haired Witch raised her wand, her voice taut with vigilance, "Who are you? Why are you interfering?"
Kevin did not turn around. He opened the box and glanced at the three Blood Pacts inside.
The runes on them were still flowing, emitting powerful magic.
"These things do not belong to you," he said faintly, his voice devoid of emotion.
"We are Ministry of Magic Aurors!" another older Auror shouted, "You are suspected of illegally possessing forbidden items and have killed multiple Wizards! Put down the box immediately and submit to inspection!"
Kevin finally turned around. His face was still hidden in the shadow of his hood, revealing only a pair of cold eyes, like a frozen lake.
"Idiots."
This was the last word he spoke.
Before the words finished, a cloud of grayish-black mist suddenly surged around his body, completely engulfing him.
When the mist dispersed, the spot was empty, only the black tent still swaying slightly in the wind.
The short-haired Witch rushed to where Kevin had stood. On the ground, there was only a faint, grayish-black mark, as if burned by something corrosive, disappearing at a visible rate.
"Pursue!"
She gritted her teeth, her voice filled with frustration and anger.
"Notify all nearby Aurors, blockade all major routes! Issue the highest-level wanted poster! Description: Tall, slender male Wizard, skilled in the Imperius Curse and some unknown Dark Arts, extremely dangerous!"
The older Auror crouched down, dipped his finger into the residual grayish-black mark on the ground, and an icy chill immediately ran through his fingertip, making him shiver involuntarily.
"Alice," he stood up, his face grim, "This is probably not something an ordinary Dark Wizard can do. For a moment there, I almost thought Grindelwald had escaped from Nurmengard."
The short-haired Witch, called Alice, took a deep breath, looking in the direction Kevin had vanished, her eyes complex:
"No matter who he is, we must catch him. If the Blood Pacts in his hands fall into the wrong hands, the consequences will be unimaginable."
She looked up at the sky, the clouds thick, like a giant gray curtain, shrouding the entire wasteland in shadow.
The wind from afar carried a wailing sound, like some ominous omen.
Alice tightened her grip on her wand, a sense of powerlessness rising within her.
Hunting Dark Wizards was an Auror's responsibility, but could they, ordinary people, truly pursue a Dark Wizard of that caliber?
From Grindelwald to this mysterious Dark Wizard, Aurors always seemed unable to do anything.
Kevin didn't know he had left a severe psychological shadow on an Auror.
He was currently flying swiftly on his broomstick above the clouds, with a hint of urgency.
Kevin looked down at the box in his arms, a barely perceptible curve forming on his lips.
He knew this was just the beginning.
For his master's power, he would be like the sharpest blade, cutting through all obstacles, until he offered the entire Wizarding World to the master born in the depths of Azkaban, who coexisted with fear.
The broom cut through the clouds, flying north, leaving a faint grayish-black trail that was soon swallowed by the night.
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