Chapter 408 Dialogue with the First Dark Lord

( ) "...you want...to take them away?"

When Joshua saw Maca leading a group of ragged children out of the dungeon, there was obvious panic on his face.

Maca just glanced at him and continued walking. Behind him, the wounded children supported each other and silently followed his steps.

Unlike Joshua, who has been tortured and distorted, these children have not yet accepted the torture, and a certain part of their hearts has not been invaded by obedience.

Even though they still dare not speak, their actions are surprisingly consistent.

"No, you can't...you can't take them away...the master will..."

"Are you going with me too?"

Maca stood still and interrupted him.

"...Me? No, no...I..."

"Your master has abandoned you, hasn't he?" Maca still stood there without looking back.

"...I...but...Mark..."

Hearing the word "mark", Maca couldn't help but feel a move in his heart. He turned around suddenly and looked at Joshua calmly, but his eyes were unusually sharp.

"Then..." Maca looked at him and said, "If I help you remove the Deathly Hallows mark, would you want to leave with me?"

"Go, remove? Impossible...I..." Joshua said incoherently, with trembling hands on his chest, where the brand mark was.

"Would you like to leave with me?"

No matter how shaken his heart was, Maca's voice was still as flat as ever.

Perhaps only to a certain extent, the "master" will mark these children. According to Maca's previous observations, the brand mark should be done by some kind of black magic.

"I...leave?" Joshua stared blankly at Maca, and after a while he said, "Where can I go..."

"Think for yourself."

Maca dropped this sentence, then turned around again, and walked in the same direction as when he came and went.

Joshua stood by the dungeon entrance,

Seeing Maca's back getting farther and farther away from him, seeing those children not even interested in looking at him, his hands gradually became tighter and tighter.

After living here for so many years, he has never considered what it would be like if he was free, but now, this reality is clearly in front of his eyes.

That sorcerer who is younger than himself...can he remove the mark that his master gave him? That brand that tortured me day after day, year after year...can it really be removed?

Maybe? That wizard is terribly strong...maybe?

"...I want to go with you!" Joshua suddenly shouted, "I don't want to be beaten again! I want... to live the life when my mother was still here!"

The page of memory that had been dusty for a long time was quietly opened in his heart, and the faded picture seemed to reappear in front of his eyes.

"...Really?" Maca finally turned around again, looked at him from a distance and said, "Unfortunately, I can't give you that kind of thing... If you want it, you have to work hard. I can All that is given to you is just an opportunity."

After all, Maca led the children towards the direction of the restaurant, and Joshua, who was in a daze, quickly chased after him.

...

"Take off your shirt and sit down on the chair."

In the dining room of the monastery, Maca conveniently lit the firewood in the fireplace, and then urged Joshua.

Some kind of complicated emotions were entwined in Joshua's heart. He removed his clothes in silence, revealing his thin upper body with the same scars.

And on his chest, the Deathly Hallows mark lingering faintly with black and purple aura is actually not conspicuous, because around that mark, those strange tendons spreading out are much more conspicuous than it.

After he sat down on the armchair, Maca came to him with the staff, and carefully probed the mystery.

"...There is no doubt that there is a curse attached to the imprint. But..." Maca frowned slightly, sensing the fluctuations in the magic power, "Huh? What is this extra magic power point?"

Unlike ordinary wizards, he can clearly sense the magic power at close range, and it will be easier to analyze the magic spell. Soon he discovered something suspicious from the obscure and complex magic fluctuations.

He immediately took out a stack of manuscript paper and put it on the dining table next to him, sometimes using his magic power to lightly touch the brand mark, and sometimes possessing himself to write and draw, as if he was calculating something.

However, just as he observed the magic feedback in it again, and leaned over to perform the deduction again, his hand holding the quill suddenly stopped.

Although he is particularly good at analyzing spells, it still takes time, and the analysis is far from complete at the moment.

What made him stop the deduction process was a particularly obvious wave of magic power!

Maca turned around suddenly, the quill in his hand had been thrown aside, and he gripped his staff again. And in his eyes, what he saw was the black-purple light emanating from the Deathly Hallows mark on Joshua's chest.

Maca frowned, sensing the change in magic power, and cautiously took a step back, placing the staff in his hand between him and Joshua.

Immediately afterwards, Joshua suddenly fixed his eyes on him, and the cowardice that should have been in those eyes had completely disappeared. What Maca can feel at this moment is a kind of indifferent profundity.

"...Hello, kid."

Joshua spoke without warning, but his tone was full of vicissitudes.

"Do you still like the gift I gave you?"

Maca finally confirmed what he was deducing just now - it should be a spell that can be connected from a long distance and forcibly control the soul of the caster.

"...What do you mean?" Maca looked straight into those eyes and said, "The parchment from Nurmengadri?"

A meaningful smile appeared on the other party's face.

"Stop joking!" Maca snapped, "Your plot will not succeed! I won't let you hurt any of my friends! With me here, you won't even be able to step into Hogwarts!"

"Yes, I believe you have this strength," the other party nodded slightly, "But why don't you think about it, where are you now?"

As soon as these words came out, Maca's face changed suddenly. After a brief shock, his face was filled with strong anger. But before he could say anything, the other party smiled softly.

"Well, what a kind child..."

"Joshua" turned his head, looked around, and nodded calmly.

"No wonder Albus chose you, it should be very to his liking, because 'love' is his truth!" He said, sighed again, "Save a group of people who are trapped in the dungeon waiting to die Not counting the child, even this child wants to be saved, you are a real Hufflepuff."

"However, can you save all the people in this world?" He looked at Maca and asked.

"You don't need to worry about it!" Maca stared at him, and said fiercely, "Professor Dumbledore has locked you there for so many years, have you not had the slightest introspection? I warn you! If you dare to treat Huo Gwarz, even if I search every inch of the world, I will find you!"

"Really?" The other party nodded seriously, "I will wait for that day to come! Also, as a good friend of your teacher, I would like to give you a word-you might as well go back to Hogwarts as soon as possible ,how?"

"What's wrong with Hogwarts! Make it clear—" Maca roared.

"Well... you have a very interesting wand!"

As soon as this sentence was finished, the black-purple light on Joshua's chest suddenly dimmed again, and the depth in his eyes gradually faded, turning into a color of confusion.

When Maca standing in front of him saw this, the anger on his face suddenly disappeared, and he regained his usual calmness.

"Hiss—" Maca frowned, and muttered softly, "It's only a few steps away from tracking it down, what a pity."

Although he was indeed a little angry, he was not so angry yet. In fact, ever since he saw the parchment in the Nurmengard Tower, he began to suspect Grinwald's purpose.

The content on that piece of parchment was very simple. Greenwald used it to tell Maca that he wanted to make a comeback and restart the great cause of subversion that was terminated by Dumbledore.

In it, he also specifically stated that Hogwarts without Dumbledore would be completely destroyed.

However, what is the point of leaving such a complete "crime notice"? Is it just to provoke those who go there?

That's right, it's provocation! Maca noticed the doubts on the spot.

There is no doubt that if the guy who left this kind of text is not an idiot whose IQ is not enough to reach the passing line, then he must want to divert other people's attention.

But what exactly is that Gellert Greenwald trying to do? Maca has yet to answer this question.

In line with the principle of "the enemy's flaws are his own weight", Maca smashed Nurmengard on the spot, and he smashed it cleanly and decisively, releasing his anger to his heart's content.

Even if he only had doubts in his heart at the time, that's all.

And just now, Greenwald's inexplicable appearance made Maca feel suspicious again. Because the other party's appearance this time is too abrupt, there is no reason at all.

What about "As a good friend of your teacher, I want to give you a word", would that first-generation Dark Lord, who did anything to achieve his goals, say such words?

Anyway, Maca doesn't believe anything.

Of course, even so, he had to go back. Even if he knew that the other party had other purposes, the safety of Hogwarts was indeed a point he had to care about.

"But there's no need to be so anxious..."

Maca picked up the quill pen from the ground, checked whether the tip of the pen was broken, then dipped it in ink and continued to deduce it on the manuscript paper.

Just now, while he was pretending to express his anger, he also sensed something else from the activated imprint...