Malfoy Manor

The once magnificent and splendid scenery remained. Peacocks still leisurely strolled about. The gem-studded pathway still gleamed with dazzling brilliance. But inside and outside the manor, layer upon layer of protective magic had been fully activated. Even the air exuded a thick, tense feeling, ensuring not even a mosquito could fly into Malfoy Manor at this moment.

Lucius Malfoy stood before the fireplace. Ever since escaping from that sudden attack at dawn, he'd been standing here. The leaping firelight couldn't dispel the chill in his heart or the pallor of his face. His trembling lips uttered confused sounds, "How could this be? Who exactly—"

He still couldn't figure out when the entire exchange process leaked information—whether problems arose on Snape's side or if his own side let slip.

But no matter how he thought, he couldn't find anything suspicious. Just then, Lucius suddenly detected something subtly wrong. In the air, there seemed to be wisps of killing intent, plus a subtle oppressive feeling that shrouded his heart. He suddenly turned around. Meeting his eyes was a figure not far behind him, entirely covered in black snake-scale-like armor.

His eyes widened. This is impossible. Malfoy Manor's protective magic was fully activated. Even nearby areas had prohibited Apparition and Floo Networks, let alone the manor's internal and external magical protections. How could anyone enter, even penetrate so many watchful eyes, arriving directly before him? Who was this person, and how long had they been watching? Doesn't that mean if they wanted to kill me, there would've been countless opportunities?!

This made Lucius suppress the impulse to raise his wand and cast spells. Gray-blue eyes flashed with a mix of anger and humiliation. But he still made the correct choice. "This gentleman, what do you want? I'm very willing to negotiate an appropriate price for my life."

Currently, Ciel, completely wrapped in Magic-Resistant Scales, looked at Lucius as some suspicions in his heart dissipated. Through ancient shadow magic, he'd passed through the Malfoy family's protective magic, observing Lucius for quite a while. No matter how much of an old fox he is, he wouldn't perform such a monologue alone, right?

Moreover, possessing Petrifying Eyes, he could also "see" various information Lucius previously emitted—terror, fury, and deep confusion. Even the best actor couldn't escape his Petrifying Eyes' observation. The information leak and Snape's severe injury seemed unrelated to Lucius. As for him fleeing during battle, was Malfoy's fleeing in combat anything surprising?

Moreover, he discovered that though Lucius was also a Death Eater core member, his actual combat abilities were truly quite poor. If it were Snape, even unprepared for ancient shadow magic infiltration, after he emerged from the shadows, at most one second later, Snape would definitely detect something wrong. Lucius could only be described as... underwhelming.

Under Lucius's tense gaze, a hoarse voice like grinding metal scraped from beneath the black scales. "I won't kill you. But I need you to tell me exactly what happened at dawn."

Surprise flashed in Lucius's eyes. This mysterious figure tracked me down silently. I assumed it was connected to the attack—perhaps one of the attackers. But if they're asking about the ambush, they can't be with the mastermind. Realizing this, some of the tension drained from his shoulders. He began recounting the morning's events:

"Given our identities, Snape's visit to Malfoy Manor would inevitably raise suspicions. Neither of us wanted that, especially with the Ministry cracking down on Dark wizards. We didn't want to give Fudge ammunition to threaten us with old business. So Snape and I arranged a time and place—we'd exchange the purified Alihotsy at Spinner's End. It should have been quick and clean—perfectly hidden."

"But a group of Dark wizards ambushed us, as if they'd been lying in wait. These were desperate criminals—powerful wizards who threw Dark Magic around recklessly, seemingly unconcerned about drawing Auror attention. Snape killed three with Sectumsempra, but their leader—I recognized him. A notorious bounty hunter named Rotfly Shume. On the Ministry's current wanted list, he ranks in the top three."

"Snape was covering me when that bastard hit him with a vicious curse from behind. I managed to cast several counter-spells and break free. Snape must have escaped in the chaos, but they made off with all the Alihotsy."

Ciel listened, already visualizing the danger of that encounter. Lucius Malfoy might not intimidate Dark wizards, but Severus Snape's name alone should make even the most vicious criminals think twice. For them to attack Snape so boldly proved this group was far more dangerous than ordinary thugs.

"Didn't the Aurors investigate?"

The question drew a bitter laugh from Lucius. "They did—but found nothing. When they arrived at Spinner's End, they claimed there were no traces of Dark Magic combat. The blood, the body parts—everything had vanished. The Aurors actually suggested I'd hallucinated the whole thing. Ridiculous."

"I used every connection the Malfoy family has. But it was as if someone had wiped the slate clean—we couldn't find any trace of those Dark wizards or where they'd taken the Alihotsy."

Ciel let out a slow breath. Whoever's behind this has serious power. Strong enough to threaten Snape, connected enough to hide from the Malfoys. This organization clearly controlled the entire Alihotsy purification supply chain. Normally, he'd steer clear of this kind of entrenched power play.

But not this time. If he didn't recover the Alihotsy and make the attackers pay for what they'd done to Snape, these people would only grow bolder.

His eyes narrowed, cold and sharp. A phrase from his past life echoed in his mind: Show strength once to prevent a hundred future challenges.

The next moment, Lucius blinked—the black figure had vanished without a trace. This ghostly appearance made Lucius's heart increasingly shrouded in chill. When exactly did the wizarding world produce such a wizard?

Simultaneously, his brows furrowed tightly, appearing quite confused. Just now though, that black figure was entirely covered in scales, showing no facial features whatsoever, even his voice unrecognizable under that metallic scraping sound. Lucius's strongest ability wasn't magic but recognizing people. He always felt this figure had some familiarity—definitely seen before. But where?

Moments later, a lightning-like detail flashed through his mind—this figure's waist had vaguely revealed a black sword scabbard. In the wizarding world, how many wizards carry swords? Moreover, that scabbard was quite familiar to Lucius. His heart suddenly accelerated, and he drew in a deep breath. So, it's him?

Lucius slowly sat in his chair, but the stormy waves in his heart still couldn't be calmed. Could this Alihotsy purification also relate to him? His face showed an unprecedented mix of emotions. Thought this investment's returns would take years to materialize. Never expected, truly never expected. Continuing this way, a new era freed from both the Dark Lord and the White Lord might truly arrive at unprecedented speed.

Meanwhile, Ciel's figure emerged from Spider's End shadows. Though this place wasn't as famous as Knockturn Alley, it was similarly a location dark wizards quite liked frequenting. Due to recent Ministry actions, dark wizards were hunted like mad dogs—Spinner's End was naturally also quite desolate. Plus, not long ago, Aurors came investigating—here, even fewer people remained.

He slowly walked following Lucius's indicated direction, then stopped before a low, dilapidated house—precisely where Lucius and Snape exchanged Alihotsy at dawn, where that dark wizard band launched their attack. But here indeed showed no combat traces—couldn't see residual bloody flesh or fabric, not even bloody smells or magical abnormalities detected.

Logically, Snape's cast Sectumsempra, even after this time, should still leave some specially-natured magic nearby. Yet he found none. No wonder those Aurors thought Lucius Malfoy hallucinated. Erasing so many obvious traces in such a brief time showed the mastermind's powerful influence and deep methods.

But his eyes showed unusual intensity—his Petrifying Eyes possessed senses vastly different from humans, capable of "seeing" residual pheromones. Even if masterminds thought thoroughly, they probably never imagined such methods existed.

He narrowed his eyes, scanning the area around Spinner's End with razor-sharp focus. His Petrifying Eyes ability activated—the magical world sharpened into crystalline clarity. Layers of reality invisible to ordinary human perception materialized before him. There—faint but unmistakable—were the traces the attackers had failed to erase completely.

Nearby, everywhere filled with intense pheromones—dark wizards' killing intent and greed when attacking, fear witnessing Sectumsempra cleanly slicing three people's flesh, despair when dying, wild joy sneaking successfully and seizing Alihotsy—these pheromones appeared meticulously clear in his eyes.

His gaze followed those final traces, discovering they extended northwest. Didn't use Apparition or Floo Networks. Didn't even use flying broomsticks, but took harder-to-monitor ground transportation leaving. Trying not to leave traces? This direction, if I'm not mistaken, is the Scandinavian escape route? That place is called dark wizards' paradise—almost unregulated, extremely chaotic, power reshuffling constantly, never stabilized. This band escaping there seems to have their own calculations.

He laughed coldly. The opponent not using Floo Networks and such was the best news for him. Those traces, hidden so seamlessly from others, appeared obvious as fireflies in darkness to him!

The next moment, he sank into shadows once more, pursuing.

The sky had already darkened considerably. Deep in the dense forest.

The dying sun cast a reddish glow through the dense forest canopy, fragmenting into mottled, eerie patterns across the thick carpet of decaying leaves below. Five heavily cloaked wizards moved swiftly through the trees. Whatever was chasing them had them spooked—they weren't even using Lumos, relying instead on Muggle flashlights.

This magic-free escape was clearly unfamiliar territory for these Dark wizards. Each one was breathing hard now, their stamina nearly exhausted.

"Boss, shouldn't we be sticking to the plan?" A small, wiry Dark wizard finally spoke up. "We're supposed to deliver the Alihotsy to the drop point. That's a fortune in Galleons waiting for us!"

The leader stopped dead and whirled around, his scarred face twisted with savage fury. His left sleeve was torn away, revealing mangled flesh beneath—and something worse. Grotesque parasitic creatures, part maggot, part fly, writhed under his skin. They appeared to be attempting to knit the wound closed, but each time the flesh nearly sealed, some cursed magic tore it open again.

This clearly caused the scarred wizard considerable pain. Currently, the thin wizard's words further ignited this powder keg. He roughly grabbed the thin wizard's collar, viciously growling, "Fool! Still thinking about those Galleons?! We're involved in this—you still expect to leave alive afterward, carrying secrets and heavy Galleons? All these years, how did you even survive?"

He forcefully pushed the thin wizard, who nearly fell, stumbling. "While those people are distracted covering traces, this is our only chance. Taking this purified Alihotsy, leaving Britain, going to Scandinavia, selling this grass, getting money, then immediately scattering—never meet again this lifetime. This Alihotsy suffices for each of us living lavishly forever!"

Finishing, the other dark wizards' eyes all showed greedy gleams, nodding in agreement. After the scarred wizard gasped for several breaths, he said, "Already reached this forest. We didn't use any magic the whole way—even those people need time tracing us. Rest and recover. Half an hour later, we continue—by late night we'll flee to the coastline, from there to Scandinavia."

The previously thin wizard showed a pained expression. "Just fleeing all the way? Boss, I haven't undergone Dark Magic transformation—my body probably—can we rest a bit longer?"

The next moment, the scarred wizard's hand gripped his neck. Without hesitation, accompanied by a sickening crack, the thin dark wizard's neck twisted at a bizarre angle, the entire person losing life.

The scarred wizard said coldly, "Now one less person splitting money. Perfect—we're traveling light, fleeing without supplies. Bringing him along still has uses." Then he approached the corpse's neck, tearing open a wound, gulping down blood. The other dark wizards exchanged glances—seemingly accustomed to such situations. Then, several people also gathered over, nonchalantly tearing and biting flesh.

While replenishing strength, the scarred wizard looked at his hand wound, face full of hateful expression. "Sectumsempra, truly remarkable—this wound, if not for my Dark Magic transformation, probably couldn't heal a lifetime. Even so, it must trouble me for at least five years. Damned Snape."

The other dark wizards flattered him. "No matter how notorious Snape's reputation, Boss, didn't your Rot Fly Curse sneak attack succeed? This suffices for Snape drinking a bitter draught. Felling Snape—this spreads, Boss, your reputation grows even greater."

The scarred wizard's face showed a mix of fear and cruel pride. But just as he wanted to boast, several flies buzzed from his arm wound. His expression suddenly darkened, gaze falling toward a nearby thicket. "Who's there?!"