A thin platinum-colored layer of magic instantly covered Dumbledore's body.
He instinctively drew his wand. Before he had even finished pulling it out, the tip was already shining with dazzling platinum holy light.
That kind of reaction could almost be called a stress response.
For Dumbledore, it was both rude and embarrassing.
He was the legendary wizard known as the "Greatest White Wizard of the Century."
But at this moment, Dumbledore had no time to worry about saving face.
The murderous aura surrounding him was simply too terrifying.
Even when Voldemort's soul fragments had joined forces to attack Hogwarts not long ago, all they had brought him was pressure, not such horrifying killing intent.
If this was Madam Flamel's trump card, then Dumbledore truly wanted to see it for himself.
However, when he finally turned toward the source of the threat, he froze.
Because what came into view was the pitch-black muzzle of a cannon.
The barrel wasn't very large, only about sixty millimeters in caliber, but it radiated an incomparably terrifying killing intent.
No.
More accurately, that terrifying killing intent didn't come from the cannon itself, but from the shell loaded inside it.
Dumbledore sensed traces of spatial magic from it.
"Welcome! Welcome! Professor Dumbledore, I never expected you to come here in person!"
A voice Dumbledore found somewhat familiar rang out.
Following the sound, he saw a scruffy young man walking out from the shadows with a grin. Behind him followed a girl who wasn't much cleaner than he was.
The girl was much shyer. She hid almost entirely behind the boy, only occasionally poking her head out to secretly look around.
"Kennedy?" Dumbledore said in surprise. "Why are you here?"
"Because they're now researchers in the Department of Mysteries," Madam Flamel said with a smile, raising her wine glass.
Dumbledore glanced at Madam Flamel.
He actually wanted to point out that the Department of Mysteries belonged to the British Ministry of Magic, and its researchers were Ministry employees, not members of the Flamel family's staff. The Kennedy siblings being here clearly violated Ministry regulations.
If Fudge had dared to do something like this back when he was Minister, Dumbledore would probably have cursed him out on the spot.
But considering Link's current situation, Dumbledore ultimately changed what he was going to say.
"So... this is your work?"
When Big Kennedy saw Dumbledore pointing toward the cannon, he immediately became excited.
He ran behind the cannon. After a series of loud clanks, he unloaded a shell engraved all over with Ancient Runes. Holding it carefully in both hands, he said to Dumbledore,
"Take a look, Professor Dumbledore! This is currently the highest achievement of the British Ministry of Magic's alchemy technology, the Spatial Shock Shell! It was created by reverse-engineering the Cluster Spatial Transition Technology, combining that spatial technology with Muggle artillery technology. Honestly, the technology inside it isn't actually all that advanced. But weapons never really need cutting-edge technology.
In fact, to a certain extent, the simpler a weapon is, the better it works, because the more precise a weapon is, the higher its maintenance cost. Besides, this shell is already powerful enough.
Professor Dumbledore, do you know?
This single shell is enough to tear open an irregular spatial rift twenty meters across. Any enemy inside that area is almost certainly dead.
And that's not all. It also creates a spatial shockwave with a radius of over fifty meters.
If an ordinary wizard gets hit by that, they're probably dead too."
The corners of Dumbledore's eyebrows twitched.
He looked at the shell in Big Kennedy's hands, then at the reception room, which really wasn't all that spacious, and couldn't help saying,
"Madam Flamel, aren't you worried about injuring yourself by placing such a dangerous weapon here? Or is this your final measure for taking everyone down with you? If that's the case, then using it to threaten me seems a bit excessive, doesn't it? After all, we aren't enemies."
"Hehehe..."
Madam Flamel covered her mouth and laughed.
"You misunderstand, Professor Dumbledore. This isn't some last resort to die together with the enemy. On the contrary, this weapon is highly controllable. I only wanted to prove that I truly possess the means to protect myself."
Seeing that Dumbledore still looked puzzled, Madam Flamel nodded toward Big Kennedy.
Big Kennedy had always loved talking.
Now that he had Madam Flamel's approval, he couldn't hold himself back anymore. He shoved the Spatial Shock Shell right up to Dumbledore's face and said,
"Your worries are completely unnecessary, Professor Dumbledore! How could I possibly design something so crude and uncontrollable? So, the Spatial Shock Shell you're looking at now is completely controllable. Even in a cramped indoor space like this, it can easily blow you to death without harming Madam Flamel or Emily in the slightest!
Oh! Sorry, that example was a little rude.
But that's simply the truth!"
The muscles on Dumbledore's face twitched.
To be fair, what the Kennedy siblings had created was indeed impressive.
It was a weapon capable of injuring, or even killing, a legendary wizard.
But only if the target knew nothing about it.
Once the target was on guard, killing them would become virtually impossible. At most, it could wound them.
That was even more true for someone like Dumbledore, one of the strongest legendary wizards.
If he was mentally prepared, even if he only defended himself, he could come through completely unharmed.
Big Kennedy clearly didn't notice Dumbledore's expression.
Unlike Newland and Sigrid, he and his sister had spent almost the last few years shut away in the alchemy laboratory Link had invested in, living lives that were practically cut off from the outside world.
At the same time, with Link's support, they had developed countless outstanding technologies and products.
For someone like Big Kennedy, who loved showing off and talking about his work, having to hide all those achievements was pure torture.
He was on the verge of going crazy.
Now that he finally had someone like Dumbledore, someone both familiar and highly respected, Big Kennedy completely exploded with excitement.
In the blink of an eye, he pulled a huge pile of weapons from the Extension-Charm pouch hanging at his waist.
"Look! Look at this!"
Big Kennedy first picked up a rather steampunk-looking rifle.
"This is my favorite personal weapon, the MK870. It has both full-auto and semi-auto modes, and it can fire both physical ammunition and pure magical ammunition. Especially the latter, which is charged directly by the user's own magic. Do you know what that means? It means that as long as the user has enough magical power, this weapon has unlimited ammunition!"
Hearing that, Dumbledore finally became serious.
If the weapon really had the capabilities Big Kennedy described, then its actual combat performance would undoubtedly be excellent.
Meanwhile, Emily, sitting by the fireplace, wore an extremely strange expression.
Because of Link's influence, Emily actually had a deep understanding of Muggle society.
So the moment Big Kennedy pulled out the so-called MK870, she immediately recognized it.
It was simply an imitation of the AK-47!
And not just the MK870.
Most of the weapons piled on the floor were imitations of Muggle firearms.
Moreover, Emily didn't really believe these weapons were as effective as Big Kennedy claimed.
Otherwise, the Aurors and Hunter Corps of the British Ministry of Magic wouldn't still be carrying wands and dragon-hunting crossbows. They would have switched to magically modified Muggle firearms long ago.
After a lengthy round of boasting, Big Kennedy finally had his fill.
Dumbledore's solemn expression satisfied him greatly.
Only then did he put on a serious face and carefully take out a perfectly smooth metallic sphere.
"And this is?" Dumbledore asked with a puzzled look.
"The latest Spatial Countermeasure Barrier!" Big Kennedy said in a deep voice. "Like the Spatial Shock Shell, it's another product developed through research into the Cluster Spatial Transition Technology. But unlike the Spatial Shock Shell, this is a tool designed purely to counter the Cluster Spatial Transition Technology.
With it, all space within several kilometers will be completely locked down."
"Then doesn't it function much like an Anti-Apparition Charm?" Dumbledore reached out to touch the sphere.
"You can think of it that way, but it's far more effective than an ordinary Anti-Apparition Charm." Big Kennedy slapped Dumbledore's hand away. "I said it locks space completely. An ordinary Anti-Apparition Charm is just a membrane covering an area. But this Space Lock completely seals space itself. The two are fundamentally different. In other words, the barrier it creates can lock down even spatial transfer technologies like Sky City. It doesn't matter if the other side's spatial technology is more advanced than ours."
As soon as Big Kennedy finished speaking, Dumbledore's expression completely changed.
Now he finally understood where Madam Flamel's confidence came from.
On offense, they had the powerful Spatial Shock Shell.
On defense, they had the Space Lock.
With that combination, Flamel Castle could ignore the vast majority of attacks.
Even if Sky City really fell from the sky, the casualties at Flamel Castle would probably remain within acceptable limits.
Not even Hogwarts, with Dumbledore personally guarding it, could necessarily achieve that.
"Link's backup plan is truly formidable."
Dumbledore sighed, then smiled kindly.
"I think Hogwarts also needs one of these Space Locks."
Big Kennedy reacted with incredible speed. Before Dumbledore had even finished speaking, he had already put the metal sphere away and was staring at Dumbledore with a wary look.
Although they were currently inside Flamel Castle, protected by the Space Lock,
and they probably wouldn't end up somewhere dangerous in the future,
there was always the chance of the unexpected.
The Space Lock in his possession had been specially entrusted to them by Link.
It was the Kennedy siblings' final means of saving their own lives.
If Dumbledore snatched it away, they wouldn't be able to make another one anytime soon.
Seeing Big Kennedy's reaction, Dumbledore awkwardly withdrew his hand and smiled.
The sight made Madam Flamel laugh again.
She waved her hand, and only then did Emily slowly take out a silver-white briefcase from behind her.
"Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore. Link prepared one for you long ago. Percy will make a special trip to Hogwarts later to install it for you."
As she spoke, Emily handed the briefcase to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore opened it almost impatiently. Only after confirming that the metal sphere inside carried exactly the same spatial aura as the one Big Kennedy had shown him did he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"In that case, I'll take my leave. To be honest, I still have other work to attend to."
As he spoke, Dumbledore pointed at himself.
Only then did Emily and the others notice that he had changed into an extremely formal suit.
For a legendary wizard as free-spirited as Dumbledore, that was quite unusual. Even when attending banquets hosted by Fudge in the past, he usually wore nothing more than his plain gray robes.
"Then I wish you success with your work."
"Thank you."
Madam Flamel and Dumbledore exchanged one final polite remark.
Then Dumbledore stepped into the fireplace and disappeared as magical flames rose around him.
The smiles on Madam Flamel's and Emily's faces vanished the moment Dumbledore left.
The Kennedy siblings had already packed away the pile of weapons and fled the reception room as though escaping.
That left the entire room unusually quiet.
Emily stared into the fire before her and said with a worried expression,
"Link... you have to be okay."
"Of course he'll be okay!" Madam Flamel said firmly. "He's my son. No one can kill him. Of that, I have absolute faith."
"But... the enemy he's facing this time is stronger than ever. If, when the time comes..."
Madam Flamel frowned and interrupted,
"There is no 'if.' You should have faith in your fiancé. He'll return safely. Then the two of you will get married properly and have a whole bunch of little Flamels. That's what you should be thinking about. Leave everything else to us."
Emily blushed from what Madam Flamel had said.
At a moment like this in the past, she would have fled the room just like the Kennedy siblings had.
But when she thought of Link's current situation, all feelings of embarrassment disappeared, leaving only silent worry.
"My son will definitely win. After all, what his father planted inside him should have fully matured by now. And if that still isn't enough, I'll simply give it a little more fertilizer."
Madam Flamel took out a dagger and murmured in a voice only she could hear.