"So Reck allied himself with Muggle power elites, made use of the Scourers, and is even in league with the Goblins."
Vid said, "Because he knows that orthodox Wizards—even Dark Wizards—could never support him."
"He searches for every resource he can exploit, and spreads the secrets of the Magic World recklessly—not because he doesn't know what the consequences will be, but because he doesn't care…aside from his own goal, nothing in this world likely has any meaning to him."
Dumbledore nodded slightly. "Sophelus Reck…he is not a Dark Wizard in the traditional sense; in fact, he may well disdain calling himself a Dark Wizard at all."
"Faced with an existence like that, most of our past experience and understanding of combat may simply cease to apply."
The two of them fell silent at the same time.
After seeing Abigail's memories, Vid and Dumbledore both understood one thing—
In the past they had always thought the threat to the British Magic World came from Voldemort.
Widen the scope a little, and you could say it also came from Grindelwald, whose influence keeps deepening, or from the Ministry of Magic, which grows more and more wary of Dumbledore.
As for the Scourers, Prometheus, the upheavals in the American Magic Congress, and so on…
To be honest, all of that could basically be considered internal affairs of the American Magic World.
Given the Magic World's habit of sealing itself off, Wizards don't even bother to understand their own Muggle neighbors, let alone concern themselves with the plight of foreign Wizards.
So those towering waves in the American Magic World, by the time they reach Britain, may have dwindled to nothing but a faint ripple.
It's like when Voldemort was rampaging through the British Magic World—Wizards in other countries just watched from afar, and aside from the unlucky ones Voldemort set his sights on—like Nicolas Flamel and Karkaroff—no one thought it had anything to do with them.
But Abigail's memories prove that the man hiding behind the curtain, Sophelus Reck, is the one who truly threatens the life and death of the entire Magic World, because what he wants is not some power game within the Magic World, but to tamper with the "underlying code" of the entire world.
More importantly, if that so‑called "world fissure" really is the power that once gave rise to "gods," then what unknown changes will Reck's pursuit and research of it bring?
If he really succeeds…who would be willing to see a man who tramples life and soul at will gain godlike, demonic power?
If he fails, then in the course of his research, might he rouse some long‑vanished existence?
Vid couldn't help recalling the warning from Ravenclaw's daughter—Ms. Grey:
[Some ancient things are awakening…]
In the most ideal scenario, all of Reck's research is futile, he never succeeds, the so‑called gods don't exist at all, or the gods and demons have long since vanished or fallen asleep for reasons unknown, and will never truly return to this world.
But even in the course of his research, his actions in themselves will inflict damage on the world that is impossible to measure.
For instance, the lesson brought to humankind by the Witch named Eloise Midgen—
She traveled roughly five hundred years through time and stayed there for five days, and the result was not only that she herself aged rapidly and died, but that she disrupted the trajectory of countless lives, even throwing the timeline of the entire world into disarray.
And that was only a small Time Turner.
Whereas what Sophelus Reck covets is a power more primal, more immense, and more terrifying.
What will he do with it? Will his actions trigger an uncontrollable collapse of time or space?
Just imagining that kind of situation is enough to make one shudder.
"And what's more, his allies include the Goblins."
Vid cradled the hot cocoa in his hands, eyes lowered to the brown liquid with its few floating white bubbles, and said:
"That race that has risen in rebellion time and again, been suppressed time and again, but has never truly submitted…"
"I've honestly never understood why the Magic World looks down on Goblins and forbids them to wield Magic Wands, yet is perfectly content to let them control the Magic World's finance."
"How is that any different from voluntarily letting the enemy grip you by the throat?"
"If one day the Goblins rebel once more, all they need do is make the money stored in Gringotts impossible to withdraw, and they can effortlessly strike at practically every Wizard—has no one considered this? The whole arrangement is frankly rather foolish."
Vid himself also keeps a fair amount of money in Gringotts, but he does it for convenience, and because he doesn't care.
Even if every Galleon in his vault vanished, Vid would face no crisis of survival. That, to him, is what true security is.
Whereas many Wizards have to go to Gringotts to withdraw funds just to buy a properly fitting Robe in Diagon Alley—this behavior is what Vid cannot understand.
"You shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket"—to him this is a self‑evident truth. How is it that others don't think this way?
"It's not that they're content, Vid. It's that they have no choice but to accept it."
Dumbledore said with a wry smile, "Before the Ministry of Magic ever became the governing authority, Goblins had already used their gifts to become experts in minting currency, safeguarding valuables, and lending money."
"Their system is so complex that almost no Wizard can truly understand it. And many Wizards think…commerce is a sordid business, that personally dealing with money is vulgar, unbecoming—they don't care to learn about it or take part in it."
Vid blinked.
—That sounded very much like the image the Malfoy Clan presents to the world.
But as far as Vid knew, while the Malfoy Family looks as though they've raised their airs up to the clouds, in reality Lucius Malfoy is very good at making money, and very good at wielding the power of money.
It is as if—they have always been the mouthpiece of Pure-Blood Supremacy, yet if Muggle Society could bring more profit to the Malfoys, that family would turn around and bend low to kiss the Queen's hand.
Of course, Draco Malfoy might not—he is a bad child through and through, who has yet to learn his father's slyness and hypocrisy.
Many other Pure-Blood Clans, however, do not have the Malfoys' flexible bottom line of principle. They seem to have taken that doctrine of noble blood quite literally: even as they verge on poverty, they still insist on maintaining their so‑called "dignity."
You can see the clues to this in how frequently those families purchase Soft Light Badges.
In the weekly financial reports he sends to Vid, Machioni will even jokingly comment on each family—
Some people have even begun selling off their ancestral estates just so they can wear a different Soft Light Badge at every banquet.
Others toil away at several jobs in secret, just to afford a set of dazzlingly splendid dress Robes.
Compared to Muggles, most Wizards used to have very little survival pressure. They were self‑sufficient, living an isolated, tranquil life, untouched by the world.
But at some point, that "isolation" quietly disappeared. The distances between people grew shorter, communication more frequent, and all sorts of comparisons flourished, emptying the pockets of countless people.