At this moment, pairs of hopeful eyes were fixed on the fire python.
Everyone had seen with their own eyes just how hot Fiendfyre was.
Judging by the tiny bit of heat it had released just now, the temperature of this giant serpent of flame had already far surpassed the strongest breath attack that the Australian Albino Eye had unleashed earlier.
But as time ticked by, everyone still ended up disappointed.
Because even under such scorching heat, that seemingly ordinary door didn't show the slightest change.
Link, however, wasn't surprised at all.
Obsidian–mithril alloy was originally one of the very top extraordinary alloys in this world.
Whether you looked at its physical resistance or magical tolerance, both were at the highest level.
Unless Link could raise Fiendfyre to LV5 and at the same time raise the Godslayer Curse, which represented cursed power, to LV8, his current Fiendfyre, which wasn't even fully transparent yet, would absolutely not be able to destroy this door.
But Fiendfyre was ultimately no ordinary flame.
It was classified as a forbidden curse among Dark Magic precisely because of its unscientific, infinitely-devouring nature.
As long as you fed it enough energy or fuel, it could even burn down an entire continent.
"Do it!"
With Krell's command, dozens of hunters raised their wands at the same time.
Bright orange flames gushed from their wand tips and, in an instant, wrapped around the fire serpent on the door.
The spell they were using was only the most basic Blaze Blaze. Although the flames they cast were quite strong due to their own powerful magic, they were still just ordinary magical fire.
But once Fiendfyre devoured and condensed them, everything changed.
Their nature transformed.
BOOM!
Inside that cocoon of flames, the Fiendfyre serpent's body began swelling uncontrollably.
It stretched wantonly inside the sea of fire, as if it had gained intelligence and was celebrating its own birth.
The next moment, a surge of powerful mental force burst from Link. He cleanly wiped away the glimmer of sentience in the Fiendfyre serpent's eyes and forced it to continue condensing energy.
Under this pressure, the Fiendfyre serpent's body began shrinking, but its color grew even more transparent.
Emily, Nulan, and Skogfin, who were watching from the side, all looked thrilled.
Because that vault door had finally begun to glow red!
Yet Link's attack wasn't over.
The vault door had just turned red when Link lifted his wand again.
Massive amounts of steam and cursed power gathered together and reshaped themselves into a giant cone-shaped drill, which slammed hard into the door.
Ssss!
The hiss of liquid vaporizing rang out sharply.
Huge clouds of steam spread through the underground chamber.
This rapid shift between extreme heat and extreme cold completely destroyed the physical properties of the obsidian-mithril alloy.
And the cursed drill that served as the backbone was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Crack…
Faint cracking sounds began constantly echoing from inside the door.
As the sounds grew more and more dense, the door finally shattered.
———
Meanwhile, Diagon Alley was already under full lockdown by the arriving Hit Wizards and Auror forces.
All pedestrians were driven away, all shops were closed, and the only people still moving were uniformed Hit Wizards and plain-clothes Aurors.
Crackle!
In a flicker of light, Rufus Scrimgeour, the current Director of the Auror Office, appeared before the Gringotts entrance.
He looked just like an old lion, with tea-brown hair and thick eyebrows streaked with grey. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses was a pair of sharp eyes.
He paid no attention to the Hit Wizards and Aurors who had stopped and saluted him. Instead, he lifted his head and stared at the Dark Mark still flickering in the sky.
After a long moment, he pushed open the door and entered Gringotts.
Compared to the quiet street outside, the Gringotts lobby was much livelier.
All guests and Gringotts staff had been forcibly gathered in a corner. No one was allowed to leave until the investigation was over.
Among those present were a number of so-called "important figures," some even officials from the Ministry of Magic.
Under normal circumstances, if they were treated this rudely, they would have blown up in anger long ago.
But now, every one of them cowered in the corner, obedient like kittens.
There was no helping it, what they faced now were Aurors with "real weapons" in their hands.
Especially after the "Harry Potter Trial Incident," Fudge, the Minister for Magic, was Minister in name only.
His administrative authority had practically been taken over entirely by old Barty, while the "military" power represented by the Hit Wizards and Aurors had fallen into Scrimgeour's hands.
And in chaotic times like these, military power was obviously far more important than administrative power.
So Scrimgeour had naturally become the single most powerful person in the entire British wizarding world, no exceptions.
Fudge should feel lucky that Scrimgeour was upright, had little personal ambition, and was a tough man whose goal was to make the British Ministry of Magic great again.
Otherwise, Scrimgeour could have easily used the Aurors and Hit Wizards under his command to forcefully "persuade" the Minister to step down, tearing off the last shred of his dignity.
Right now, that true man of power was walking in from the entrance step by step.
He was a little lame, but his long, powerful strides carried a sense of confidence that made it impossible to look down on him because of his disability.
His appearance caused the entire lobby to fall silent. Whether they were Aurors conducting questioning or guests whispering complaints, everyone instinctively quieted down.
The Aurors especially saluted him with utmost respect, admiration written across their faces.
Scrimgeour returned their salute with seriousness, then looked toward an old goblin who hurried up to him.
"You're the one who triggered the alarm?"
"To be precise, it was my assistant, but…" The old goblin wiped the sweat on his forehead. "But it doesn't matter anymore."
Scrimgeour looked around and frowned.
"Then where are the Death Eaters who attacked Gringotts?"
"Well, about that…" The old goblin looked embarrassed, then pointed at the ceiling. "They're gone now, but they really were here. The Dark Mark in the sky is the best proof."
Scrimgeour's expression grew even more serious.
He stepped closer. The old goblin froze as an indescribable power invaded his mind.
He knew clearly, Scrimgeour was using Legilimency on him.
As the General Manager of Gringotts, his strength was not low. He could have driven out this intrusive force with ease.
But the crushing pressure coming off Scrimgeour made him too afraid to move.
A moment later, Scrimgeour finally withdrew his gaze.
The old goblin collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat, completely drained.
A strong wave of humiliation churned in his chest.
Ever since he'd joined Gringotts, no wizard had ever dared treat him so rudely.
The nearby goblins panicked when they saw this and tried to rush forward to help, but the Aurors forced them back with raised wands.
Scrimgeour didn't care what the goblins thought.
He turned to the man beside him. "Is everyone here?"
"Reporting, sir!" The bespectacled assistant snapped to attention.
"According to Gringotts' records, everyone who was conducting business in the lobby at the time is here. All have passed preliminary screening and can be temporarily ruled out as KB elements. It's just that…"
"What is it?"
The assistant looked nervous, took a deep breath, then lifted his chin slightly.
"It's just that there are still 57 scheduled clients inside the underground vaults who haven't come up. Because Gringotts is obstructing us, we can't enter the vaults to look for them."
Scrimgeour turned toward the old goblin collapsed on the floor, his gaze growing dangerous.
This time, the old goblin, who moments ago had trembled without the strength to resist, actually gritted his teeth and stood up.
He forced himself to endure the terrifying sense of danger that made his skin crawl and met Scrimgeour's eyes.
He understood exactly what Scrimgeour's look meant.
And by standing like this, he made his refusal extremely clear.
It wasn't that he was being stubborn.
It was that, standing in his position, at a time like this, he could not back down.
The Ministry had no right to interfere in the operations of Gringotts.
This was a contract agreed upon centuries ago.
Their ancestors had spent enormous effort securing this autonomy, letting Gringotts stand completely outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry, an institution above all others.
If he, as General Manager, yielded now… it would mean the Ministry had once again gained real power to intrude into Gringotts' most secret areas.
This would severely damage Gringotts' reputation in the eyes of its high-value clients.
It would also turn all the work of their ancestors into nothing.
Even if he put aside all the "national righteousness" and organizational interests, the personal consequences would be catastrophic. By causing such losses to Gringotts and the goblin race, he would be stripped of everything, reduced to a miserable goblin treated only slightly better than a house-elf.
This was absolutely unacceptable to him.
The more he weighed the consequences, the steadier his eyes became.
But that only seemed to enrage Scrimgeour completely.
From the goblin's perspective, it looked as though roaring flames were burning in Scrimgeour's eyes.
The fire grew fiercer, and just when it seemed about to lash out and burn him to ash, a violent explosion came from outside the doors.
Bang!
The doors were kicked open.
An Auror, half of whose hair had been burned off, staggered inside.
Behind him, all kinds of spells were flying through the air, and wizards were locked in chaotic battle.
"Director Scrimgeour! A large group of dark wizards has broken into Diagon Alley from Knockturn Alley, they're fighting our people!"
The disheveled Auror suddenly froze mid-sentence.
His facial muscles trembled uncontrollably, as if he were fighting some bone-deep terror.
Finally, in a hoarse and faint voice, he stammered, "They… they're calling themselves Death Eaters!"
The instant he said this, Scrimgeour's pupils shrank sharply.
The lobby, which had just calmed down, fell into a deathly silence.
After a long moment, a shrill scream rang out.
And then the entire hall erupted into chaos.
The detained guests could no longer suppress their fear and tried to break through the Auror and Hit Wizard defenses, desperate to escape this place that was about to become hell.
"Quiet!"
Scrimgeour roared in fury.
At the same time, a pale grey spell shot from his wand and knocked out the first noblewoman who had screamed.
That was the signal.
The Aurors, who had been panicking as well, instantly understood his order. They raised their wands in unison.
Beams of light flashed through the air, and the chaotic crowd fell like cut grass.
It wasn't even a real fight, it was practically a farce.
Some of the guests did pull out their wands to resist, but whether in magical strength or spell technique, they were utterly crushed by the Aurors and Hit Wizards.
Of course, the Aurors didn't aim to kill.
Except for a few stubborn fools, no one was really hurt, everyone was simply stunned.
Once order returned, Scrimgeour commanded the surrounding Aurors, "Have Squad 5 fall back to Gringotts and join Squads 3 and 4 to form a defensive line centered on the bank. Squads 1 and 2 will follow me into the underground vaults!"
The old goblin's eyes bulged. He tried to speak, but Scrimgeour backhanded him and sent him flying.
The assistant Auror watching looked like he wanted to say something, but finally clenched his teeth.
"But… but the brothers outside are fighting the dark wizards to the death. Mr. Scrimgeour, I think we should… we should…"
He stuttered to a stop, unable to go on, even squeezing his eyes shut.
He was terrified that Scrimgeour would slap him the way he slapped the goblin.
"You think I should gather all our forces and support Squad 5 outside?"
Scrimgeour said flatly.
The assistant trembled and nodded.
Many Aurors around them looked at Scrimgeour with burning eyes, clearly, they agreed.
Those men outside were their comrades-in-arms, people they had lived and trained with for years.
They couldn't just abandon them.
"Idiots!" Scrimgeour barked. "Why do you think those dark wizards calling themselves Death Eaters chose to attack Diagon Alley at this moment? The group inside the vaults is the key!"
The assistant frowned.
"You're saying… they're trying to distract us? But that doesn't make sense! If their target is the Gringotts vaults, wouldn't moving quietly be better? They wouldn't need a diversion at all. Unless… Wait!"
His face suddenly changed.
He remembered the testimony of the earlier witnesses.
According to them, the dark wizard who caused the initial commotion had already been attacked by another group before the incident even began.
He only released the Dark Mark because he was about to be captured alive.
"…They robbed each other?!"
The assistant blurted out in disbelief.
Scrimgeour gave him an approving look.
"Not bad. Now, does anyone have objections to my decision?"
Every Auror had heard the conversation clearly.
No one spoke. They simply saluted him with all their strength.
"Good! Move out!"
Scrimgeour grabbed the old goblin on the floor, strode past the panicked goblins, and marched toward the underground vaults.
Behind him followed the elite of the elite, Squads 1 and 2 of the Auror forces.
But what Scrimgeour didn't know was this, among the guests subdued in the corner of the lobby, one man quietly pulled out a gold coin whose digits around the edge were changing wildly…