Link nodded and stepped forward, trying to light up the buttons for the top few floors of the elevator one by one.
In the end, the "Guard Hall," three levels below the High Council, finally lit up.
Whoosh!
The elevator's airtight doors opened, revealing the space inside.
Link exchanged a glance with Dumbledore and frowned.
"This is the Guard Hall, you know. It's where the armed forces of the International Confederation of Wizards are stationed. Looks like these people are planning to shut the door and beat the dog."
Dumbledore froze for a moment before finally understanding the meaning of "shut the door and beat the dog." He smiled and shook his head.
"I really don't know where you picked up so many strange expressions. Though the meaning is quite fitting. However, I'm afraid it's still hard to say who's the dog and who's the one beating it, eh? Ha! There's nothing to be afraid of!"
With that, Dumbledore entered the elevator first, and Link followed with an expressionless face.
The elevator's airtight doors closed again. After Link pressed the "Ready" button, the operating indicator inside the elevator lit up.
In the silence, powerful spatial fluctuations spread from the spatial engine at the bottom of the elevator.
Link and Dumbledore each took out a spatial lock and held it in their hands, ready to activate it at any time.
This was a plan they had prepared long ago.
If the rulers of the International Confederation of Wizards wanted to use the elevator's spatial teleportation device as a trap to eliminate the two of them, then those people were bound to be disappointed.
Because the moment danger appeared, Link and Dumbledore only needed to crush the spatial locks in their hands. The spatial fields that erupted from them would instantly clash with the spatial power of the elevator's spatial engine.
Then they could rely on their own strength to break out.
But Link and Dumbledore actually did not want such a thing to happen either.
It was not because they were afraid of a challenge.
Rather, once such a thing happened, completely destroying the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards from the outside would become inevitable.
This would greatly reduce the spoils Link and the others could obtain after the war.
However, the ruler of Sky City currently residing inside the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards apparently did not want to see such a scene either. Thus, Link and Dumbledore were not attacked at all inside the spatial teleportation elevator. The elevator merely swayed slightly before the notification that they had reached their destination sounded.
Ding!
Hearing the crisp sound beside him, Dumbledore smiled slightly, but Link not only failed to relax; he became even more tense.
The Number One in Link's memory would not care about the integrity of Sky City.
He had once destroyed the French Ministry of Magic, turned the French magical world into a living hell, and even declared that he would make Sky City self-destruct and thereby destroy the world.
A demon like that would absolutely choose to attack them through the spatial teleportation elevator.
Even if this most likely could not kill them, sacrificing the lives of the entire Sky City just to inflict even the slightest injury on Link and Dumbledore would still be worthwhile to Number One.
Yet they had now arrived at the "Guard Hall" safe and sound. This further proved Link's previous guess, the person currently controlling Sky City was not Number One. It was even very possible that Number One was not in Sky City at all!
But if Number One had really left Sky City, where could he have gone?
Was he creating a diversion and striking at the foundation, attacking the magical world of Ying Kingdom?
But that would be meaningless.
The Ying Kingdom Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts, and Fuli Castle had already been turned by Link into absolutely safe fortresses as secure as iron barrels.
Even if Number One really found the locations of these places, as long as he dared charge inside or launch an attack using force, the spatial locks Link had set up would be amplified through amplification, releasing powerful spatial fields to restrain him.
And during that time, Link would have long been able to lead his army back to the magical world of Ying Kingdom to defend it.
Unless he had the ability to destroy the entire Ying Kingdom in an instant with powerful strength and speed surpassing space.
And it would have to be destruction on the atomic level, similar to the Disappearance Curse.
But how could that be possible?
If he really possessed such power, there would have been no need for him to engage in so many rounds of confrontation with Link and Dumbledore.
He could simply have crushed Link and Dumbledore directly.
Besides that, Link could still sense that powerful magical presence within this building.
Its strength was almost equal to Number One's.
If Number One had already left Sky City, then what was this powerful presence?
Could it be that Number One had poured all his power into that existence, then turned himself into an ordinary person and slipped away?
But that was impossible too! Who would cripple their own martial arts before a great battle?
Link shook his head and followed Dumbledore out of the elevator.
This building was so strange that he could barely make sense of it.
What Link did not expect was that something even stranger was still to come.
Because when he stepped out of the elevator, what appeared before him was not the scene he had expected, with the armed forces of the International Confederation of Wizards surrounding them layer upon layer.
Instead, it was an empty hall.
All the facilities inside the Guard Hall were completely intact. Through several transparent glass observation ports, Link could even see the standard aircraft neatly arranged inside the equipment storage area, along with various weapons and equipment.
Even the greenery in the hall and the drink vending machine placed in the corner were still operating normally.
Yet this Guard Hall, which should have been guarded by armed forces, did not contain a single person.
This made all the precautions Link and Dumbledore had taken completely pointless.
However, neither Link nor Dumbledore relaxed their guard because of this.
The two continued wandering around the Guard Hall while releasing their mental power and sensing this enormous hall.
Only after ten minutes did they finally lower their raised wands.
"Looks like there really isn't anyone here."
Dumbledore said with a bitter smile.
Link's expression, however, turned cold.
"Let's hurry to the 'High Council' and put an end to all this. The ominous feeling this place gives me is getting stronger and stronger."
Dumbledore nodded and led Link to a secret room hidden in the corner of the equipment storage room.
Its walls were painted white, and there was no furniture inside. Only an old-fashioned ceiling lamp was installed right in the center of the ceiling.
A bright red pull cord hung down from it.
Link was not unfamiliar with this setup. There was a similar spatial teleportation device in the Department of Mysteries of the Ying Kingdom Ministry of Magic.
Its function was that by repeatedly pulling the cord, one could switch spaces and achieve spatial teleportation.
It was just that Link had not expected Sky City, which possessed all kinds of highly advanced spatial technology, to still be using this method of spatial teleportation.
It seemed that these pull cords, which were equivalent to emergency passages, really had not been used for a long time.
Link took a deep breath. He held the spatial lock in one hand and grabbed the pull cord with the other.
As Link moved, the pull cord was tugged, producing a crisp "click."
Immediately afterward, the walls of the room changed from their original white to black, and after Link pulled the cord a second time, they returned to their original state.
Link did not release the cord right away. Instead, he had Dumbledore leave the room first to observe and investigate.
After all, this was not the Department of Mysteries, and he did not know whether the effect of the pull cord here was the same as the one in the Department of Mysteries. If it was different, things would become troublesome.
Fortunately, the worst did not happen.
Only a few seconds later, Dumbledore returned to the room and nodded at Link.
"This should be the teleportation hall of the International Confederation of Wizards, but... sigh, you might as well come see for yourself."
Dumbledore spoke with an unpleasant expression.
Hearing this, Link finally released the pull cord and walked out of the room.
The structure of the International Confederation of Wizards' teleportation hall was actually similar to the newly built teleportation hall in the Ying Kingdom Ministry of Magic. Both used a huge spatial area combined with a formation diagram on the floor for teleportation.
The only difference was that the International Confederation of Wizards' teleportation hall was more efficient and more concealed. It would not cause as much commotion as the one in the Ying Kingdom Ministry of Magic.
However, just like the Guard Hall before it, there was not a single person here either.
The huge and empty teleportation hall contained only Link and Dumbledore walking across it.
And after fully entering the place, Link also sensed the strange thing Dumbledore had been unable to put into words.
There was a faint smell of blood lingering in the air.
This smell should not have been here.
Because although this teleportation hall was sealed, it was equipped with a dedicated magical fresh-air system that continuously purified the air inside.
Yet there was still a smell of blood here.
Link could think of only one reason for this.
A massacre had taken place here not long ago, and hundreds or even thousands of people had died here!
"So this is probably why there wasn't anyone in the Guard Hall earlier, right?"
Link said calmly. Dumbledore, however, frowned deeply upon hearing this and said nothing.
Being at the scene of such a massacre, he really could not feel good about it.
Link did not continue trying to talk with Dumbledore.
The two moved forward and arrived at the very center of the teleportation hall.
There was also a long pull cord hanging from the ceiling here.
Clearly, a pull cord appearing in this position was inappropriate and violated the aesthetics of the place.
Link even felt that someone had deliberately placed these pull cords here to lead them to some location.
Normally, Link's personality would have made him treat this cautiously.
But at this moment, Link had already lost his patience.
He quickly walked over, grabbed the pull cord, and pulled it twice in succession. The scenery around them flashed twice in quick succession.
When Link and Dumbledore's vision recovered, they were already inside the "International Wizarding Secrecy Law Operations Department" one floor below the "High Council."
The so-called "International Wizarding Secrecy Law Operations Department" was made up of the Office of Reversal of Accidental Magic, the Obliviation Command, and the Magical Liaison Office.
It was responsible for all the work of the International Confederation of Wizards related to maintaining the International Statute of Secrecy.
Its daily duties not only included guiding the Ministries of Magic of various countries in carrying out maintenance work related to the Statute of Secrecy, but also frequently handling strange incidents that the Ministries of Magic of various countries could not deal with.
Therefore, the "International Wizarding Secrecy Law Operations Department" had a very heavy workload.
This could also be seen from the decor here.
Unlike the solemn coldness of the Guard Hall before and the white minimalism of the teleportation hall, the interior of the "International Wizarding Secrecy Law Operations Department" was practically a lavishly decorated garbage dump.
All kinds of luxurious decorations could be found here, and even the lighting was provided by the highest-quality condensed magic crystals.
Yet this place could not give anyone even the slightest sense of luxury.
Because it was chaotic.
All kinds of documents and crumpled waste paper had been thrown everywhere. Coffee cups and all kinds of trash could be seen everywhere, while the tables and chairs were all crooked.
If Link had to describe it, this place was like a work hall that had already become messy from being busy, only to be looted afterward, making everything even more chaotic.
The only thing it had in common with the previous two locations was that it was also completely empty.
By this point, Link and Dumbledore had already grown accustomed to this strange emptiness.
The two merely swept the surrounding area once with their mental power, then walked one after another toward a tightly closed stone door in the distance, maintaining a guarded posture.
According to the instructions on the light sign downstairs.
That door should lead to the location of the "High Council."
This spatial arrangement was clearly designed to make it convenient for the staff of the "International Wizarding Secrecy Law Operations Department" to report to the elders in time.
And now, it was equally convenient for Link and Dumbledore.
Rumble!
As the stone door was pushed open, a wave unique to spatial teleportation wrapped around their bodies.
Link dared swear that this was the gentlest spatial teleportation he had ever experienced in his life.
The teleportation elevator they had taken earlier had at least produced some vibration.
But this time, Link truly did not feel the slightest bit of shaking.
The instant he and Dumbledore pushed open the door, they only felt the scenery around them rapidly stretch backward.
By the time they came back to their senses, they were already inside a huge auditorium.
At the far end of the auditorium were nine enormous stone thrones.
They should correspond to the nine elders who governed the International Confederation of Wizards and Sky City.
At present, eight of the nine thrones were empty.
Only the throne in the very center had someone sitting on it, a figure wearing a golden crown with its entire body covered by a white robe.
Buzz!
The huge, hideous phantom of a beast appeared behind Link, while brilliant platinum holy light wrapped around Dumbledore's body.
The two of them entered a state of battle almost instantly.
Seeing this, the figure at the end of the auditorium also rose from the throne.
As it moved, the patterns sewn into the white robe with golden thread continuously surged, eventually forming a golden pattern made of nine overlapping rings on its body.
At the same time, the figure's blood-red face finally appeared before Link and Dumbledore.