When Allen and Annie climbed back out of the tunnel, Valor, who had been keeping watch outside, noticed something rather peculiar.
At the farthest edge of its vision, several sneaky figures appeared.
Under Allen's command, Valor flew closer. The moment it saw the figures clearly, Valor recognized them and so did Allen when he heard the report.
Yes.
Those people were the very same ones who had fought side-by-side with them yesterday, the American Aurors and the African mercenary wizards.
The discovery made Allen break into a cold sweat.
Don't tell me they realized I took the treasure…?
But soon, Valor brought more news.
The two groups had run into each other… almost fought… and then suddenly exchanged some knowing smiles, and teamed up.
That was not right.
If they discovered Allen had taken the treasure, shouldn't they be storming over full of righteous fury?
So, with completely guilty conscience and very confident posture, Allen dragged Annie along and appeared directly before the two colluding groups.
The atmosphere was… awkward.
Because technically, they had already said their goodbyes yesterday.
According to the plan:
Allen and Annie should currently be heading toward scenic Europe, the Aurors should be returning to that land of freedom, and the African mercenaries should be back home hunting leopards, not… meeting here like someone bumping into their classmates at the pancake stand while their Instagram says they're in Australia.
So what should one say at a moment like this?
Fortunately, all three groups were shameless enough.
They laughed loudly, pretended nothing was wrong, and the awkwardness dissolved.
And so, Allen received his "share" of the loot, the sand puppets Voldemort had used to control the captured wizards.
Allen immediately understood these were created using Amumu's inheritance, so he didn't care.
The others, however, had come back specifically to pick up leftovers, thinking the others wouldn't know.
Unfortunately for them, this effort was absolutely pointless.
So Allen glanced indifferently at the pile of sand puppets.
What am I supposed to do with this useless junk? Carry it across the continent for fun?
Then, accidentally, Allen kicked one of the puppets.
Under everyone's eyes,
Crack,
The puppet shattered into loose sand, revealing what was inside.
A voice broke into a raw scream:
"Tommy! My brother, no!!"
The cry came from one of the African mercenaries, he collapsed to his knees before the puppet's remains.
Inside was a wizard's corpse.
The Aurors immediately stopped stuffing puppets into bags.
The African wizards, eyes bloodshot, demanded they put everything back.
Very quickly, all the puppets were broken open and many of the mercenaries sank into breakdown.
Most of the corpses were their own people.
And then, even Allen fell silent.
Because among the corpses was someone he recognized.
A rare splash of bright red hair.
Percy Weasley.
There was no doubt.
Like the others, he was truly dead, turned into a puppet, his body and magic completely destroyed.
Not even the strongest wizard could survive that.
Originally, Allen's plan had been to cripple Percy's magic and let him live quietly like a Squib.
But Voldemort acted more thoroughly and more ruthlessly, and when he found puppets were more useful than living tools, he acted without hesitation.
When borrowing power from a tiger, remember the tiger still hungers, especially when the tiger is a madman.
There were also several corpses of white wizards, likely collected along Voldemort's journey.
This was no small matter.
No one could cover something like this.
Allen drew his wand.
"Gentlemen, calm down. You have two choices, fight, or form a binding contract."
No one was stupid enough to fight Allen after witnessing his power yesterday.
So one by one, they raised their hands.
A new, unbreakable oath was formed.
As the terms:
Unclaimed corpses were divided for research between the two forces.
Allen willingly gave up his share in exchange for one thing,
They would never reveal his presence.
In reality, all sides were satisfied.
Defeating a monster and freeing controlled wizards was a tremendous honor.
Since Allen withdrew, those honors naturally went to the others.
The identified corpses would be returned to their families.
As for the unnamed…
Well.
Such was fate.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
After everything was settled, Allen immediately began his return to Hogwarts.
The aftermath was handled faster and more smoothly than he expected.
The school hadn't changed much, except Ron and the twins were noticeably grim.
Percy's death had already reached them.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley rushed to Africa to claim the body, and news spread quickly across the family.
Even though neither Ron nor the twins were close to Percy, grief still weighed on them.
But Allen felt no guilt.
The first incident happened because Percy followed him and made his own choice.
This second time, Percy chose to side with Voldemort.
Even in the end, Allen ensured Percy's honor was preserved.
There was no need for cruelty.
Leaving the grieving behind, Harry, on the other hand, was practically glowing.
He had received many gifts over Christmas, along with priceless discoveries.
But since Ron was in no mood to share joy, Harry had been bursting with excitement with no one to talk to.
Fortunately, Allen returned.
Among Harry's few friends, Allen definitely counted.
And since Allen was the one who taught him valuable knowledge, that bond only strengthened.
"Allen, come here!"
Harry called him over during breakfast.
Then, leaning in with mysterious excitement, he asked:
"Allen, where exactly is your common room entrance?"
Allen's eyes widened in horror.
Oh no.
What are you planning!?
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
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