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Sagres's expression softened slightly, and before departing, he asked a few final questions. "Kestrel, why were those two Dark Wizards targeting you?"
"Um.. They saw my crystal ball… I guess that's why…"
Sagres's face turned serious, and Nightingale, seeing this, quickly warned her, "We've told you more than once not to reveal your divination talent or tools to other Wizards—especially Gypsy Wizards!"
"I.. I am sorry.." The little girl lowered her head; she was clearly a bit scared of Sagres's stern demeanor.
Thunderbird, seeing this, quickly changed the subject and proactively mentioned some news he had gotten from Gregorovitch. "I obtained some research manuscripts about the old wand, and some of the techniques mentioned in them are truly things I had never considered before… I mean, compared to the traditional techniques of the Wolf family, they are vastly different…"
Kestrel finally couldn't help but ask, "So Thunderbird and I just wait in the safe house?"
Sagres nodded. "Nightingale and I will first go find old Erios to retrieve Nightingale's sea monster heart, then head to the place in your prophecy to search for materials, and finally give the materials to Thunderbird to make a wand."
Nightingale also spoke with a hint of comfort, "Don't worry. If your prophecy is correct, then we will definitely find the materials we need there."
Thunderbird also joked, "If I went with you, I'd just be causing trouble—so staying here is actually a big help to them."
Before leaving, Sagres warned the red-haired Witch again, "You cannot use the crystal ball for divination for one year—unless you wish for your life to end now."
"Oh.. I know," Kestrel replied, lowering her head, sounding very unconfident.
Sagres ignored her and instead asked Thunderbird, "Do you have a spare wand? I need one to borrow temporarily; my previous one was damaged."
"Absolutely!" Thunderbird immediately took out several wands from his handbag for Sagres to choose from. However, as the Wolf family was a traditional North American wand-making family, the wands he produced were all exemplary works of the North American style. Sagres found them somewhat awkward to use, but they were better than nothing.
Putting the wand into his robe pocket, Sagres then spoke to Nightingale, "Do you still have Felix Felicis? Give them two drops each, and also give them some common Potions for emergencies."
Nightingale nodded, pulling out a pile of colorful crystal bottles from her wizard robe and distributing them one by one to Thunderbird and Kestrel.
"Although you two won't directly appear in the prophesied location, you must still pay absolute attention to safety. This operation has already had many setbacks, and I don't want to hear about anyone else getting injured."
Kestrel and Thunderbird nodded seriously.
Sagres added, "In the prophecy, all of our actions will be obstructed, so if you truly encounter danger, crush this."
He handed a sea monster's eyeball to Thunderbird. "This is a Portkey—an illegal one—but it can help you escape danger."
After all preparations were complete, Sagres took out his Norwegian sea monster heart and directly cast a spell to turn it into a temporary Portkey.
This Portkey would take them to another sea monster heart, and by then, the two of them would surely give old Erios a surprise he would never forget...
Sagres took Nightingale's hand, nodded to the other two in the wooden house, and then grabbed the Portkey and left the safe house.
The spell light flashed and disappeared, and their figures vanished instantly.
...
The sensation of traveling by Portkey was quite strange, like being forcibly squeezed into a bottle and then pushed out of its mouth.
Once the sensation completely faded, their figures appeared inside a dusty magical ruin.
The moment they materialized, a black wave of air surged toward them.
Sagres abruptly raised his wand, and a powerful Shield Charm instantly blocked the attack.
At the same time, Nightingale used a Levitation Charm to control tables and chairs, raising them to block the opponent's line of sight.
"Confringo!"
Yellow spell light shot out from a corner, instantly striking the obstructing objects. A series of crackling explosions followed, shattering the floating tables and chairs.
"Kekekekeke~~"
A strange laugh rang out from behind the flying debris, sounding like a duck with its throat squeezed. "Ha? It's you again, you greedy woman!"
Erios's voice was erratic, clearly indicating he was constantly changing positions.
"I am not greedy; I'm just here to retrieve what belongs to me," Nightingale replied calmly, continuing to manipulate the debris.
"Oh… is that so? Kekeke~"
"I have no reason to lie to you."
"Avada Kedavra!"
Her response was met with a dazzling flash of green light.
Nightingale quickly used the obstacles to block the Killing Curse, then raised her hand and hurled the airborne debris toward the direction the green light had come from.
"Protego!"
Erios used a Shield Charm to block the attack, then countered with a Stupefy. "Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do!"
He shouted furiously, "You're all coveting my techniques, trying to steal my research!"
Swoosh!
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp Cutting Curse flew past his scalp. Erios touched his smooth bald head with a terrified expression, and an unspeakable sense of shame suddenly rose in his heart.
"You greedy robbers, I'll let you taste Erios's power!"
The old man waved his wand, and waves immediately surged from the dusty ground.
Dense swarms of monsters crawled out from beneath the earth, continuously attacking the two.
Some of the monsters were humanoid, others were magical creatures, but without exception, their smooth bodies were covered in twisted black veins.
"Haha, I almost forgot, you were also hit by my spell."
The old man suddenly remembered that in a previous battle, this woman had been hit by his spell. This discovery filled him with joy—because she was about to be cursed and turned into his puppet, just like this group of monsters.
"Keke~~ Honestly, you truly surprise me..." Erios twirled his wand, and black smoke surged from the tip. "To still be able to use magic after being hit by my spell... it seems you have extreme endurance."
"Stop spouting bulshit!"
"Keke~ This ain't bulshit! In the ninety-plus years I've mastered this magic, few have been able to do that... Venomous Plague!"
He suddenly pointed his wand at the two, and the black smoke immediately transformed into three slender poisonous snakes. In a flash, they flew into Sagres's palm.
"Ha! So someone helped you transfer the curse..."
Erios looked even more pleased. "Very good, so it was you who cut off my hair, wasn't it?"
Sagres did not answer his question, because an indescribable pain was currently radiating from his cursed right hand, making it impossible for him to concentrate.