During the harsh winter season, the Black Lake should have been covered by a thick layer of solid ice.
However, the lake was not frozen as usual; instead, it was shrouded in a blanket of steam so thick it seemed impossible to disperse.
A faint blue light gleamed within the rising white mist, offering a vague glimpse of a titan standing tall enough to touch the heavens.
Looking closely, one could see that the light radiated from a layer of ghostly blue flames covering the titan's body. Waves of rolling heat continuously evaporated the water of the Black Lake, sending it curling into the white mist as steam.
Susanoo!
After repeated experimentation, Kyle had found that a sixty-meter-tall Susanoo was a relatively reasonable size.
Maintaining this volume did not place too great a burden on him, and the rate of magic consumption was well within his acceptable limits.
A pair of wings condensed from pure magic gradually formed behind its back. Standing within the diamond-shaped crystal at the center of the Susanoo's forehead, Kyle wore an expression of mild excitement.
A sudden gust of wind instantly scattered the dense fog over the Black Lake, propelling the Susanoo abruptly into the blue sky.
With a slight thought from Kyle, two giant swords burning with roaring Fiendfyre appeared in the Susanoo's hands.
Locking his gaze onto two distant mountain peaks, the titan gripped the long swords tightly.
Target locked!
The titan swung its swords with tremendous force, sending two forty-to-fifty-meter-long arcs of sword qi slicing through the air, hurtling across the two peaks Kyle was using as targets.
As if encountering absolutely no resistance, the sword qi vanished into the mountains and then flew out from the opposite side, continuing into the distance with undiminished momentum.
A perfectly straight, clean cut appeared across the mountainsides. A moment later, the severed peaks slid down from the mountains with a thundering crash.
Farther off behind the mountains, the shockwave generated by the exploding sword qi finally rippled back at that exact moment.
For a time, rocks shattered and dust billowed everywhere.
Inside the castle tower, two pairs of eyes were staring intently at the distant scene.
"Before we knew it, our son has already become this powerful." A satisfied smile played at the corner of Grindelwald's mouth.
Dumbledore let out a long, wistful sigh, his expression somewhat dazed. "When I first met him, he was just a child who could only use magic in the most rudimentary ways."
"He is still growing, Albus. Surpassing the two of us is only a matter of time."
"His talent has indeed far exceeded my imagination," Dumbledore said, gazing at the armored titan in the distance. "I just didn't expect his growth rate to be so astonishing."
Grindelwald's smile grew progressively smug, to the point where he was practically standing with his hands on his hips.
"Look whose son he is."
Dumbledore shot him a glance. "Half of that belongs to me."
"No, no, no, at most twelve percent." Grindelwald shook his head, disagreeing with Dumbledore's statement.
"Twelve percent? For my own son, I only get twelve percent of the credit?"
"Let's negotiate properly; fifteen percent isn't out of the question. After all, most of Kyle's genes were inherited from me."
"Heh." Dumbledore gave a cold laugh.
Grindelwald pulled out a potion bottle from goodness knows where and held it right before Dumbledore's eyes. "If you're willing to drink this, it's not impossible for the next child to take your surname."
Several veins popped on Dumbledore's forehead. Although potions were not his greatest field of expertise, he wasn't so blind that he couldn't recognize what this thing was—
The Male-Pregnancy Potion.
The very potion that, once consumed, allowed a close male companion or female companion to bear a child.
He immediately threw a dark punch right at Grindelwald.
In an instant, the two of them were locked in a scuffle.
Meanwhile, at Spinner's End.
"The plan to use Kyle to blackmail Dumbledore into handing over the Elder Wand has failed. What do you intend to do next?"
Lucius's face looked even paler than usual.
After all, in this operation, the ones they had provoked were not just Dumbledore, but also Grindelwald.
Who was Grindelwald?
He was the most sinister criminal in the wizarding world, the legendary revolutionary—Gellert D. Grindelwald!
(The "D" taken from the initial of Dumbledore)
To this day, no one in the wizarding world dared to bring up his past deeds and revolutionary ideals.
Because of this, a thirty-year blank space was left in the history books that recorded the annals of magic.
Furthermore, the first-generation Dark Lord had fathered a child late in life, so his affection and indulgence toward Kyle—his sole descendant—could easily be imagined.
Yet the two of them had been bold enough to kidnap the man's son...
Even though they had conducted this operation cleanly and left absolutely no trail behind, Lucius still couldn't help but feel terrified.
After all, within the wizarding world, Divination existed as a highly rule-breaking, idealistic form of magic. It wasn't as if they were safe just because they had wiped away their tracks.
Who knew if Grindelwald was a master seer who could look through a crystal ball, immediately identify them as the masterminds behind this operation, and come knocking on their door?
Even if the probability was small, they had to guard against it.
Hearing Lucius's words, Snape gave his answer without a second thought, clearly having prepared a plan long ago.
"Next, we must borrow the Dark Lord's power."
Hearing this, Lucius shuddered all over.
He tried his best to force a smile, but ultimately failed.
With a miserable expression, Lucius stared at Snape. "Is there really no other way? Do we really have to resurrect..."
Snape glanced at him, speaking slowly in a tone entirely devoid of emotion. "Are you capable of contending with both Dumbledore and Grindelwald simultaneously?"
Pausing for a moment, he added another line: "Oh right, and now we have to add an Obscurial to that list."
Lucius's expression froze. Wasn't that a joke?
If he had that kind of strength, would he still need to be here at Snape's beck and call?
Even if Voldemort truly resurrected, a version of Lucius with that kind of power could crush Voldemort with a single finger. Why would he be living in constant fear here just because he destroyed one of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes?
Lucius sighed. "I will send people to Albania immediately to search for traces of the Dark Lord."
"There is no need to be in such a hurry," Snape said, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of the sofa. "We must make thorough preparations first."
"The Dark Lord still has an unknown number of Horcruxes scattered outside. We must find them all first."
Without gathering all the Horcruxes, even if Snape managed to assemble the three Deathly Hallows, he would have no way to counteract Voldemort.
An unchecked Voldemort would cause immense damage to the wizarding world, which Snape could easily imagine.
Hearing Snape's words, the misery on Lucius's face deepened. "But who knows exactly how many Horcruxes the Dark Lord has? And where they are all scattered?"
"Someone will find them for us," Snape said, entirely unconcerned about the Horcruxes. "The top priority right now is to replenish our manpower."
In this operation, their losses in manpower could be described as disastrous.
That bunch of old Death Eaters, whom they had gathered with great difficulty, had basically all died in that forest.
Only two who were exceptionally cowardly had fled the moment the Deva Path saved Hermione and ignited Grindelwald's blue flames, managing to survive.
As for the werewolves, they had all scattered like birds and beasts following the death of their leader, Fenrir Greyback.
Now, within their Kara organization, apart from himself and Snape, the forces they could deploy were left with just those two Death Eaters who had luckily survived by being cowards, along with some mercenary wizards who usually worked for the Malfoy family.
"Where are we going to find more people?" Lucius couldn't help but ask.
It was already impossible to rally those exiled wizards who were loyal to Voldemort.
Because there weren't many of them left to begin with, and those who participated in the previous operation constituted nearly everyone Lucius could find.
As for those hired wizards, their loyalty could not be guaranteed at all.
If Lucius told them he intended to bring back Voldemort, there was no guarantee they wouldn't immediately turn around and sell Lucius out to Dumbledore or the Ministry of Magic.
"A group of people will be joining us in a few days. I don't think they will be strangers to you."
Lucius's eyes widened in surprise. "Do you mean..."
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)