"Wait, sir, I didn't quite understand, so all of this is actually a 'fishing' plan?"
Finally, Mundungus, who had been listening on the side for a long time, couldn't help but ask.
"Of course—"
"So, there isn't really a contagious... uh, curse that makes black chrysanthemums grow on people's faces?"
"Of course not. Who would believe in something so abstract?"
William said inexplicably, then looked at Grindelwald next to him. "Would you?"
"No."
The old man replied concisely.
I would.
Mundungus kept quiet because he genuinely believed there was a curse in Africa that could make black chrysanthemums grow on people's faces. He even tried to infer the curse's origin with his faint magical knowledge, failing as expected, but...
This meant that Charlie Weasley had been lying from the beginning?
Didn't he realize at all?
Damn it, his father was such an honest man.
Meanwhile, as Mundungus began to let his imagination run wild, the unchanging scenery on the light screen began to transform—
...
Simultaneously, amidst the spatial turbulence.
In the center of the protective circle, Athena lowered her head, her golden locks dancing wildly in the "gale."
It seemed no one noticed that the "old mummy" with a unique physique hadn't fainted. Under her slightly closed eyelids, her golden pupils watched below, while on her wrist, that azure flame marking became increasingly distinct against the chaotic energy backdrop, like a silent eye...
Silently "watching" her.
Athena's thoughts were a bit chaotic—she knew very well that there were no relics of the barren mother in this world, nor any ancient sages. She had never left Mount Olympus in the first half of her life. Even avoiding William recently, she only moved around the countries in Europe.
And meanwhile, she couldn't attack, or even escape from the surrounding wizards, because she couldn't "betray" William.
Including his subordinates.
This was a restriction placed by William. If she didn't act according to this ban... Athena wasn't sure what exactly would happen, but she had a premonition that it wouldn't be pleasant.
But not escape?
She had come this far, how could she not escape?!
So, she was trying.
Carefully attempting to avoid the main monitoring areas of that restriction, using the extremely chaotic energy environment during spatial traversal as cover, a thread of weak intent reached out like a spider silk, she was calling out in an ancient way, sending a silent plea into the void of unknown existence.
Yes, she was betting.
Betting that the presence that once whispered in her ear, capable to some extent of interfering with the restriction, could capture this feeble signal traversing the space barrier.
Apart from that, she had no other way.
Outside the light screen, William leisurely watched Athena's seemingly calm but turbulent profile on the screen, the corner of his mouth curling into a knowing smile, "Look, isn't our bait lady working hard to spread her 'scent'?"
Grindelwald gave an ambiguous hum, adjusting the sunglasses on his nose, "Let's hope your luck matches your confidence."
"Screech—!"
At that moment, as if the woman's heartfelt prayers were answered, an extremely piercing, fabric-rending sound, as if cloth was forcibly torn apart, faintly traveled to this side through the light screen.
In the image, on one side of the originally bizarre yet overall stable spatial passage, the flowing rainbow barrier was forcibly torn open by a brute force, forming a massive fissure bordered by ominous red lightning, from which poured thick, ink-like, violently swirling mist—
This piece of flickering pitch-black mist instantly contracted and condensed upon emergence, sketching a menacing outline in a blink—sinister bone spurs, dark scaly textures, enormous wings, and a pair of vertical pupils burning with dark flames.
"Roar—"
It was clearly a fire dragon entirely formed of black mist.
This sudden turn of events shocked everyone inside the spatial passage.
Yes, the moment the fire dragon roared, Charlie and the black-robed wizards awoke, but even upon waking, they couldn't draw their magic wands. They could only stare helplessly as the fire dragon crawled out of the fissure and slowly approached them.
The next moment, that entity purely made of mist yet exuding a tangible pressure, without any hesitation, like an arrow locked on its prey, darted straight towards the center of Athena's protective circle—clearly, its target was very clear.
"Stop it—"
Charlie tried to shout with all his might, but no sound came out. Those enhanced and well-trained wizards tried to erect barriers using wandless magic, but the bizarre dragon was unimaginably swift. Its enormous body seemed insubstantial, easily penetrating the flimsy protective magic hastily erected by the wizards.
Was this a success? Or... did she overplay?
Athena's pupils contracted to the extreme. She could sense the aura she felt before within the black mist, but also felt the undisguised malice within it.
She had bet right on the contact, but not on the way the other party would "respond"?!
At this critical moment—
"Buzz..."
The azure flame pattern on her wrist suddenly shone with unprecedented radiance! No longer a warning sting, but a scorching torrent sweeping through her body in an instant!
Not attacking her, but...
"Shu!"
A finely condensed, paper-thin azure diamond-shaped light shield materialized out of thin air before Athena, precisely blocking in front of the fog dragon's claws!
"Boom!!"
The clash of black mist claws and azure light shield erupted violently! No explosion occurred as expected, but a wave of distorted vision spread out, churning the surrounding spatial energy into chaos! Several nearby black-robed wizards were even pushed backward by this invisible shock!
The light shield flickered violently, hairline cracks appeared on its surface, yet it held firm without shattering, protecting Athena behind it securely.
The mist dragon let out a silent roar of fury, displaying clear dissatisfaction with the obstruction, but its burning vertical pupils glanced at the dazzling azure pattern on Athena's wrist, then at the spatial passage around, destabilized by the collision, causing its colossal body to hesitate suddenly.