"I didn't say I was going to do anything to you; why are you so nervous?" Alan knew how to reward and punish his subordinates fairly. Although Karkaroff had always been very cowardly, he had been diligent in doing things for him. Before, he was just joking with him, but why did this guy take it so seriously?
*How could he not be nervous? You don't even look at how terrifying these wizards around you are.* Karkaroff's cold sweat still hadn't receded. "Sorry, master, I failed to understand your meaning. So, what do you mean by helping you with experiments…?"
"Nothing, I just want you to help me cast a spell." Alan grinned coldly. "As Durmstrang's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, you should be good at Dark Arts, right? Are you proficient in using Unforgivable Curses?"
"Unforgivable Curses?" When Alan asked this, Karkaroff was immediately confused. "Which spell do you mean? The three Unforgivable Curses are not difficult. The most crucial thing is strong determination, otherwise, the magic effect will not be good. However, with your strength, using these spells should not be a problem."
Alan shook his head slightly upon hearing this. "Unforgivable Curses are indeed not difficult for me, but using them will have a negative impact on the caster's emotions. I don't like the feeling of losing emotional control."
In fact, a long time ago, Alan had tried to practice Unforgivable Curses. However, compared to other Dark Arts, the reason why the three Unforgivable Curses are defined as Unforgivable Curses is not only because they have no counter-curse, but also because their core foundational runes are the most profound soul magic runes. Therefore, during the casting process, it directly affects the caster's soul and amplifies the dark side in the caster's heart. Moreover, this influence is mostly long-term and stubborn, much like taking illicit substances, making it very difficult to correct. Using them too much can even permanently change a person's character.
Among them, Imperio is fine; it only makes one's possessiveness constantly rise. However, if Avada Kedavra is used frequently, it will cause one to develop a bloodthirsty habit, and Crucio will amplify the desire for destruction and torture. Therefore, although Alan had a deep understanding of spellcraft, he was unwilling to use Unforgivable Curses. He could not accept the negative effects of a twisted mind.
After saying that, he slowly moved Karkaroff in front of Otis Yaxley. "You should be proficient in using Crucio, right? Next, I need you to continuously cast the spell on him until I tell you to stop!"
*Continuously use Crucio on Otis?* Karkaroff couldn't help but shiver after hearing this. *What? Did Otis owe Alan a lot of money and not pay it back? Why did my master hate him so much? How much hatred was this!*
And Otis, who was still conscious at this moment, couldn't help but widen his eyes. He had never seen this young wizard before. Was it necessary to be so ruthless to him? The more Otis thought about it, the more confused he became, and he couldn't help but want to reason with the two people in front of him. But Alan clearly had no intention of listening to these captives. The alchemy mask that bound his mouth was very effective; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make a sound.
"Hurry up, don't waste time!" Alan ignored Otis's expression, only urging Karkaroff repeatedly.
"Oh! Yes!" Although he didn't understand Alan's intention, Karkaroff honestly responded, then glanced at Otis with a somewhat helpless look. *Otis, don't blame me! I'm forced to, and you wanted to tear me to pieces the moment you saw me before. I don't owe you anything.* Karkaroff muttered a few words to himself, then gritted his teeth, pulled out his wand, and cast Crucio on Otis.
"Crucio!"
"Ugh!"
Enduring the heart-wrenching pain brought by Crucio, Otis's mind instantly went blank, only wailing continuously under the urge of instinct. Perhaps because of the extreme pain, his wails even penetrated the alchemy mask that could block sound, emitting a faint groan.
And after starting to cast the spell, Karkaroff had been paying attention to Alan. He didn't know how long his Crucio should last. However, after maintaining the spell for more than ten seconds, Alan still didn't react, just calmly watching Otis in front of him. At the same time, no matter how ferocious the other party's expression was at this moment, Alan's eyes still didn't reveal the slightest emotional color, as if the person in front of him was not a human, but some落魄 little white mouse.
After noticing Alan's reaction, Karkaroff immediately felt a tingling sensation in his scalp, as if he himself had been hit by Crucio. *How cold-blooded must a person be to be so indifferent to this scene in front of them? Does this Otis guy really provoke my master's hatred so much?*
However, Alan at this time had no intention of paying attention to Karkaroff's and Otis's feelings. He was just quietly observing the state of the experimental subject.
"Stop!"
Finally, after more than thirty seconds of continuous spellcasting, Alan called Karkaroff to stop. At this moment, Karkaroff's expression had become extremely ferocious. The influence of Unforgivable Curses was no joke. Now his mind was filled with violent emotions.
"Continue casting!" But before Karkaroff could breathe a sigh of relief, Alan, after examining Otis, spoke to him again.
"Ah? Still going? I've already tortured him for dozens of seconds. If I continue, he might turn into an idiot on the spot!" Under the influence of Crucio, Karkaroff grimaced, shouting at Alan with a slightly irritable tone.
"Less nonsense! The goal is to turn him into an idiot!" Alan then glared coldly at Karkaroff, and his icy gaze immediately sobered Karkaroff up a lot. Then he hurriedly picked up his wand again and cast Crucio.
Next, Alan, Karkaroff, and Otis kept repeating a similar process. Alan was responsible for commanding, Karkaroff was responsible for casting spells, and Otis was more unlucky; he was responsible for screaming. Of course, the most tragic thing was that his screams couldn't even be heard.
And after two more calls to stop, Alan finally seemed to have gotten what he wanted. He opened Otis's lifeless eyes and then observed something by looking into them.
"Hmm, the symptoms of experimental subject number one are basically consistent and meet the standards for experimental material. The duration of enduring Crucio was one minute and twenty-six seconds. I wonder if there's any individual deviation." Alan looked at Otis and nodded with satisfaction. Then he looked at Karkaroff again. "This material will stop here. Next is the next one." With that, he pointed to the older brother of the Carrow siblings next to him. "This time the recipient is him. You directly cast the spell for one minute and twenty seconds, and then I'll see the situation."
"Ah? Again?" Karkaroff widened his eyes upon hearing this, and although he was panting, he couldn't help but ask.
"Nonsense, how can one experimental subject be enough? We need to make at least five today." Alan looked at Karkaroff with a cold face. "You're not tired, are you? It's okay; I have nourishing potions here that can help you replenish your magic."
"No… this… I…" Although Karkaroff had a lot of complaints in his heart, after seeing Alan's resolute expression, he helplessly pointed his wand at Amicus Carrow, who was next to him with a horrified expression.
For the next period, Karkaroff experienced what true torture was. This was not just abusing others with Crucio; it was also a torment for himself. Continuously casting spells was not a simple matter, let alone this was a highly draining Unforgivable Curse. At the same time, the negative effects of Crucio on him were constantly intensifying. Later, Karkaroff's expression could no longer return to calm. His face always involuntarily became ferocious, looking very eerie.
And Alan, upon discovering this, thoughtfully gave him some potions, including Elixir of Euphoria to restore his mood and a calming draft to soothe his emotions. But casting Crucio for a long time still left Karkaroff feeling a burning sensation in his heart. Later, he even began to derive pleasure from torturing others, which made him worried. He didn't want to become a monster dominated by violent emotions.
Fortunately, Alan was not a true devil. After confirming the creation of five experimental subjects, he let Karkaroff rest aside, and at the same time, he poured several bottles of potions into him as if they were free, which gradually restored his state.
The reason Alan went to such lengths to make Karkaroff abuse these captives was not because he was a pervert who wanted to torture people for no reason. The reason he did this was because he was preparing to try and treat the Longbottoms' illness, or rather, preparing for it.
The Longbottoms suffered not from ordinary amnesia, but from side effects caused by prolonged torture with Crucio. The symptom of amnesia was more like a self-protection mechanism to avoid further harm from recalling the pain of being tortured by Crucio. To treat this condition, one needs to understand the details of the disease, and to understand it, similar research materials are naturally needed. The only two existing cases in the wizarding world were the Longbottoms, but Alan could not use them for research himself, so he could only create similar materials on-site for research and experimentation.
After all, Alan didn't consider himself some peerless genius who could find a cure in one go. He would have to go through continuous attempts before he could find a way to treat or alleviate this sequela. He hadn't wanted to do experiments in this area before, but there weren't many materials that would allow him to use Crucio without burden. Only these captives perfectly met the requirements.