[Inside The Headquarters Of The International Confederation of Wizards]
Old Harris lay weakly in a cushioned chair.
Iyeta, also wearing a nightgown, walked over and gently massaged his temples.
"So you're really going to let them invade the French magical world that easily? I think you should try talking to Mr. Link Flamel again."
"This isn't an invasion. It's revenge. The French magical world was the one at fault first." Old Harris closed his eyes and enjoyed the massage. "So the British Ministry of Magic is innocent."
"But..."
"No buts. Maybe a lot of people have taught you that this world isn't simply black and white, and that everything is complicated. But let me tell you, that's complete nonsense!"
"This world is black and white! The only difference is that what decides black and white isn't morality or law, but strength!"
"Right now the British Ministry of Magic is stronger, so they're in the right. Even if they aren't, they have to be."
"Look at the French Ministry of Magic. Even if they're truly innocent, so what? They're weak. Because they're weak, even if they're not guilty, they have to be guilty."
"I don't care how many personal favors the French Ministry has given you. You must burn everything I just said into your mind like a branding iron. Remember it forever, and never go against it! Otherwise, you don't deserve to inherit my position!"
Iyeta's body stiffened, though a trace of unwillingness flashed through her eyes.
That tiny emotion didn't escape Old Harris.
Smiling, he stood up and moved aside.
"I know you're still not convinced. How about this? I'll give you my position right now, and you can go negotiate with Link Flamel yourself."
Old Harris sounded relaxed.
But Iyeta looked as if she'd just been badly frightened. She stumbled back several steps, her eyes fixed on the full-length Two-Way Mirror nearby.
This full-length mirror had been specially made by the International Confederation of Wizards to contact Ministries of Magic around the world.
Unlike ordinary Two-Way Mirrors, it wasn't specially linked to any particular mirror, so even if another mirror was destroyed, this one wouldn't stop working.
But now...
The mirror before Iyeta had completely lost its magic.
Its surface had become dull and gray.
Forget showing the image of someone standing before another mirror thousands of miles away.
It couldn't even be used as an ordinary mirror anymore.
"This mirror was destroyed by Link Flamel from thousands of miles away, using nothing but curse-attributed magic through the connection between Two-Way Mirrors. Do you know what that means?"
Old Harris sneered.
"Since Link Flamel could use the connection between the mirrors to destroy this one, then naturally he could also send curse magic through that same connection and kill us with ease!"
"This is an open death threat!"
"Now, do you still want me to try talking to Link Flamel again?"
Iyeta shook her head like a rattle drum.
"But... how is that possible? Something like this..."
"Nothing is impossible. Muggles think it's unbelievable when they see us using magic, don't they?"
"Judging by this, Link Flamel has already advanced to the middle stage of Legendary with the help of the Dawn Potion. Being able to do something like this is perfectly normal."
As he spoke, Old Harris continued staring at the gray mirror.
When the phantom of that giant beast beside Link had lunged at him earlier...
He had truly felt that he was about to be bitten to death.
Just remembering that feeling made Old Harris shiver.
"So what do we do now?"
Iyeta hugged him from behind.
Through the thin nightgown, Old Harris could clearly feel her full body trembling.
Closing his eyes, he leaned back and took a deep breath, forcing down the fear and anger inside him.
"According to the information we have, the British Ministry of Magic is still building the teleportation array for their mass spatial transfer technology."
"They won't begin the attack until it's finished. That means we still have time. Hah... Our combat force should already be assembled, right?"
"Assembled? You mean..."
Iyeta suddenly said, "Link Flamel is that powerful, and you're still planning to attack the British Ministry of Magic?"
"No. Attacking the British Ministry and stopping the coming war before it starts was the original plan. But now that Link Flamel has shown strength worthy of our respect, naturally we should change our target."
"I think the French Ministry of Magic is an excellent choice. After all, if we destroy them before the British Ministry does, then this coming war will disappear just the same, won't it?"
"But only a few hours ago, the French Ministry sent us supplies worth more than ten million Galleons and asked us to impose military sanctions on the British Ministry!"
"So what? Just because they paid us means we can't attack them?"
Old Harris smiled and looked at Iyeta with an extremely strange expression.
"Come on. The French Ministry of Magic is doomed anyway. Although Link Flamel said his only target is Voldemort's Horcrux hiding in the French magical world, not the French Ministry itself, the French Ministry will definitely come under attack."
"Against monsters like Link Flamel and Dumbledore, they don't have the slightest chance of winning."
"Since that's the case, what's wrong with us destroying the French Ministry first?"
"That lets us loot the French magical world one more time and earn even greater profits."
"And besides, compared to those butcher wizards from Britain driven by revenge, our troops are much more gentlemanly."
"That way, the poor French wizards will suffer a little less."
"Ah! I'm truly kind!"
As he spoke, Old Harris had already changed into a dark blue formal suit and walked toward the spatial transfer elevator in the corner of the room.
Behind him, Iyeta stared at his back with a face full of shock.
Unlike most people who committed evil, Iyeta had always known exactly what kind of person she was.
Long ago, she had already accepted that she was a shameless woman sleeping with her granduncle.
She wasn't proud of it, nor ashamed.
She simply didn't care.
After all, that kind of thing wasn't unusual among Sky City's noble circles.
But today she finally realized...
Compared to her granduncle, she was as pure as a white lotus.
How could someone be this shameless?
He had just finished having a friendly conversation with an ally.
Taking their money without doing what they asked was one thing.
But then immediately turning around to attack that same ally?
At that moment, Iyeta felt what little remained of her worldview shatter into dust once again.
"Iyeta! Why are you still standing there? Hurry up, get changed, and come with me! This is the perfect chance to introduce you to the military."
Old Harris's urging snapped Iyeta out of her shock.
Although she felt disgusted deep down, his last sentence still made her instinctively nod.
Meeting Old Harris's greedy gaze, Iyeta began changing clothes.
Her goal was to replace Old Harris as the next Elder of the International Confederation of Wizards.
For that, she was willing to do anything.
"What a good girl."
Leaning against the elevator door, Old Harris smiled.
He was in an excellent mood.
There was even a faint heat rising in his lower abdomen.
Old Harris understood his own body.
It couldn't recover that quickly.
So this wasn't simply lust.
It was anticipation for profit.
As long as they captured the French Ministry before the British Ministry arrived, then every last valuable thing left in the French magical world would belong to him.
And after all that, he could still stand beneath the spotlight of morality.
The feeling was wonderful.
As for whether this plan would succeed, or whether the French Ministry would be difficult to defeat, he didn't even consider such questions.
There was no need.
To attend this grand feast, he had gathered almost all of Sky City's troops.
A total force of five hundred.
The number didn't sound impressive.
But those were five hundred battle wizards, each with the strength of a veteran Auror and equipped with the International Confederation of Wizards' finest technology.
Five hundred people like that...
Put them in the Middle Ages, and they could conquer the entire world.
On top of that, they also possessed mass spatial transfer technology, allowing them to teleport directly into the French Ministry and carry out a decapitation strike.
And with the name of the International Confederation of Wizards behind them, they might even take over the French magical world without spilling a drop of blood.
"Haa..."
The more Old Harris thought about it, the more excited he became.
Before heading to the French Ministry, he might as well satisfy himself first.
There was still plenty of time.
Thinking that, he let out a hot breath, rubbed his hands together, and walked toward Iyeta, who was only halfway through getting dressed.
Iyeta cooperatively stopped putting on her clothes.
She even gave Old Harris a flirtatious look.
But just then, the spatial transfer elevator behind Old Harris lit up with a red light.
Someone was coming up.
Old Harris frowned.
He was just about to use his Elder authority to shut down access to the elevator.
But before he could, the red light turned green.
Ding!
A clear chime echoed through the room.
The elevator doors opened.
A Sky City battle wizard in a white combat uniform stumbled inside, almost crawling.
Panting heavily, he grabbed Old Harris and shouted anxiously, "E-Elder! Run... run!"
Half-dressed, Iyeta screamed and hid behind the curtains.
Old Harris was also furious.
Grabbing the wizard's arm, he tried to pull it away while shouting, "What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't I order all of you to gather downstairs and await orders? How dare you disobey..."
Old Harris stopped mid-sentence.
A warm, sticky feeling suddenly spread across the hand gripping the battle wizard's arm.
Instinctively lowering his head, he saw the wizard's white combat uniform rapidly being dyed red with blood.
The battle wizard was still desperately repeating, "Run..."
But his voice grew weaker and weaker.
Blood foam constantly spilled from his mouth.
Old Harris's face turned deathly pale.
Everything before him told him one thing.
Something terrible had happened.
His first thought was a military coup.
It wasn't impossible.
Sky City had never been united.
Many people had coveted the Elder's seat for a long time.
The most obvious example was Iyeta.
Only, her methods had always been relatively gentle.
She wanted to take over power smoothly.
Others, however, might not be so patient.
Besides, for this campaign against either the British or French Ministry, he had personally gathered all military forces together.
For anyone planning a military rebellion, it was the perfect opportunity.
The more Old Harris thought,
the more frightened he became.
The battle wizard who had come to warn him finally let out one last cry before dying in his arms.
"He was a loyal man. He deserved a better master."
A regretful voice suddenly sounded.
"Who's there?!"
Old Harris roared as he jumped to his feet.
Holding his wand, he pressed himself against the wall while his magic swept across every corner of the room.
He scanned the room three full times.
Yet he found nothing.
"Mr. Harris, I'm right here. Just lower your head and you'll see me."
The strange voice sounded again.
This time, it was extremely close.
Almost instinctively, Old Harris lowered his head toward the source of the voice.
The dead Sky City battle wizard... was smiling at him.
As the last trace of color drained from his own face, Old Harris collapsed onto the floor.
He had completely lost the will to resist.
A trace of disappointment appeared on the corpse's face.
Shaking his head, it said, "I'm very disappointed in your performance, Mr. Harris. I thought you would be a strong and dignified man."
Old Harris's lips moved slightly.
He seemed to want to argue, but in the end only managed to ask hoarsely, "Who are you?!"
"Me? I've had many names. At first people called me Tom Riddle. Later I felt that name no longer suited me, so I gave myself a new one... Voldemort."
The corpse smiled awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed.
"Sorry for making you laugh. 'Voldemort' isn't a very good name either, is it? It sounds... hmm, how should I put it? One of my enemies once said it was a little too edgy."
"Heh. I really was immature back then, which is why I did so many embarrassing things."
"Fortunately, I experienced a great deal afterward and learned many lessons. Little by little, I became more mature."
"So now..."
"Just call me 'Sir.'"