"Dark Mike!"
Watching that three-dimensional skull slowly rise, drifting in the night sky as if it were a brand-new constellation, Link muttered.
And just then, a small figure suddenly crashed into his arms.
With a little "ngh" sound, that figure bounced back and tumbled onto the ground, while Link himself staggered two steps back.
Looking down, Link realized that the one who bumped into him was the little silver-haired girl.
She was probably really scared silly. Without thinking, she had run straight into Link and only stopped after hitting him. Now she sat limply on the ground, looking up at him.
Because Link had drunk the Polyjuice Potion, his whole body looked hazy and blurry, with only his pair of eyes flashing green light in the darkness.
That gave the child a fright, and with a "wah!" she started crying even louder.
But Link had no time to bother with her now.
Those guys who had been chasing the little girl were also startled by the sudden appearance of the Dark Mike. But after staring fixedly at it for a while, they each cheered, becoming even more excited, and with sneers began surrounding Link.
Some arrogant ones were already shouting for Link to kneel down and prepare for death.
When they got closer, Link finally noticed that all of them wore skull-shaped masks.
'Death Eaters?'
Link quickly made that judgment.
It was true that Voldemort and most of the main Death Eater followers were either dead or imprisoned.
But that didn't mean there were no more believers in Voldemort.
In fact, many of the new generation of pure-blood wizards admired Voldemort and liked to imitate the Death Eaters, because they felt Voldemort's ideals fit perfectly with their own interests.
Besides, plenty of Death Eaters like Malfoy had escaped punishment by donating their fortunes, becoming "respectable citizens" again.
So Link wasn't surprised at all to see "Death Eaters" here. They were clearly just at the Quidditch match, got drunk, and then revealed their true colors.
Link had already been displeased seeing them bully the little girl, and now that they even dared set their sights on him, how could he endure that?
Before those "Death Eaters" could fully close the circle around him, Link sneered and waved his wand.
The curse energy he had withdrawn earlier when preventing the shadowy figure from escaping now once again surged out, like a great wave crashing down on his enemies.
The "Death Eaters" immediately turned pale.
Curse energy was inherently corrosive. Even though Link didn't use advanced techniques like Sectumsempra, but simply smashed it all at once, this rabble obviously couldn't withstand it.
With just one clash, all the "Death Eaters" were ripped into bloody, mangled messes by the overwhelming curse energy.
They writhed on the ground, struggling to rise and flee, or to lift their hands in defense, but they were pressed down, unable to move, left only to scream shrilly in agony from the extreme pain.
Meanwhile, Yoyo that had been circling in the forest gave an excited cry and dove into the crowd.
Link hadn't fed it all day, and it was starving.
These "Death Eaters" might be stupid, their brain quality probably not that great, but at least they were human brains, food was food.
Its anti-magic hide let it ignore the curse energy completely. In just a few swoops, several of the screams in the little forest vanished.
Those few "Death Eaters" it killed even died with blissful smiles on their faces. Clearly, they were grateful that Yoyo released them.
After a few minutes, the forest fell silent. Yoyo fluttered back onto Link's shoulder, burping foully right in his face, making Link rap it on the head several times.
'The little guy never brushed its teeth after eating, what a slob!'
After arguing a bit with Yoyo about post-meal brushing, Link finally remembered the silver-haired girl.
Her crying had already stopped back when Link slaughtered the "Death Eaters."
Link figured she must have been scared silly, or maybe even fainted.
After all, she was just a child. How could she bear such a cruel sight?
Even for Link, with Occlumency shielding his mind, the scene was nauseating.
Thinking this, Link was about to pick up the girl and hand her over to the Ministry officials outside. Finding her family could be their job.
But just as he turned his head, he met a pair of shining big eyes.
The little girl wasn't afraid at all, she looked delighted and excited.
When Link glanced her way, she quickly scrambled up, dusted off the dirt and leaves on her skirt, and ran to hug his leg, chirping, "Big brother! You're amazing! Are you my Phantom Knight, here to save me?"
"You're not afraid?"
Link was a bit stunned, blurting out his doubt.
Hearing that, the silver-haired girl blinked her big sparkling eyes, tilted her head, and said, "I'm not afraid! They were bad guys, they deserved to die!"
Link instinctively took a sharp breath.
To show no unease after witnessing such cruelty, either her mind was twisted, or she was used to it. Either way, she wasn't simple.
Link wasn't some old busybody, so he didn't want to talk further with her and risk getting dragged into trouble.
He just needed to get her out safely, then his conscience would be clear.
Thinking this, he shook his leg to fling her off, told her to hurry up and follow, then turned to head out of the woods.
But while Link didn't want to deal with her, the girl thought differently.
She ran after him, clutching his robe, chattering nonstop, "Big brother, you must be my Phantom Knight! Grandma said every beautiful lady has her own Phantom Knight."
"They're supposed to protect ladies from danger! I kept praying for my Phantom Knight to save me, and then you showed up! How can you say you're not…"
Listening to her endless chirping, Link's face darkened.
Now he understood why earlier she'd been running with her head down, eyes shut, just charging forward, she had been praying.
As for this "Phantom Knight," Link didn't care.
It was probably just the wizarding version of a "Prince Charming" bedtime story for little girls.
Yet, seeing that Link still ignored her, the girl rolled her eyes and switched tactics, "Big brother, if you're not a Phantom Knight, then who are you? How old are you? What's your name? How many people in your family? You…"
Link's head started throbbing from the noise.
That shadowy figure had gotten away because he saved this girl. Though she wasn't to blame, that didn't stop Link from feeling sour.
Coupled with her constant babbling, Link finally lost patience and snapped, "I'm your dad! Happy now? Shut up, or I'll hang you from a tree and leave you there!"
Link had thought his fierce tone would scare her into quieting down. Unfortunately, he underestimated her.
The silver-haired girl not only didn't quiet down, she became even happier, skipping behind him, calling "Daddy! Daddy!" joyfully.
Link was left speechless, his expression so tangled that even the Polyjuice Potion couldn't hide it.
Seeing this, the little girl hiding in the shadows smirked mischievously, then shouted "Daddy" even louder.
And so the two of them bickered their way out of the forest. Link finally felt relieved,
Because the girl's family was right at the forest entrance, searching frantically. One of them, a silver-haired girl who looked like an older version of her, was hoarse from shouting.
The little one heard and instantly abandoned Link, running straight into her arms. Her tears, which had stopped, now gushed out again as she cried miserably.
Link nodded to himself.
Exactly as he thought, there was no way a little girl wouldn't fear such horror. She had just been pretending to be brave.
Her nonstop chatter along the way was just her way of venting fear.
With that realization, Link didn't bother approaching her family for credit. Instead, he vanished into the night.
"Big sis! Gabrielle was so scared!"
On the other side, after sobbing a while, the little girl finally spoke to her sister in a pitiful voice.
Hearing that, the older silver-haired girl burst into tears too.
She had only one little sister, whom she treasured above all, always spoiling her. The thought of what almost happened shook her to the core.
Now she was crying harder than Gabrielle herself, leaving Gabrielle stunned.
But Gabrielle was kindhearted. Seeing her sister so sad, she stopped crying and instead stroked her hair to comfort her,
"It's okay, don't cry. I'm back, aren't I? Oh! I almost forgot!"
Halfway through speaking, Gabrielle exclaimed in excitement, "A big brother saved me! He must be my Phantom Knight! Though he likes making me call him 'Daddy,' which is a bit weird, but that's fine, I'll correct him later! Sister, come see!"
Dragging her sister along, Gabrielle ran to the edge of the forest.
But of course, Link was long gone.
———
By then, Link had already rushed back into the campsite.
He came to check on Cedric and John. Their living area wasn't exactly safe.
Thankfully, all was well. Mr. Diggory was smart. As soon as the riot began, he pulled Cedric and John into one of the Ministry's small offices at the World Cup grounds, which was heavily guarded and safe.
After confirming their safety, Link still didn't leave.
Now he stood in the center of camp, gazing toward a clearing not far away.
Several bonfires still burned there, surrounded by a large crowd of hooded wizards in skull masks.
They cheered and jeered, dancing grotesquely around the flames. From time to time they shot spells into the sky, and Link even recognized the Killing Curse among them.
Above them floated four figures.
These bodies were like puppets, controlled by the wands below, limbs twisted into grotesque shapes.
Strangely, despite their arms being bent backward unnaturally, not a single scream was heard.
That meant only one thing.
The four had long been dead, yet the "Death Eaters" wouldn't even spare their corpses.
Watching this cruelty, Link's breath grew ragged, his blue eyes flushing red, a fire blazing in his chest.
He was furious.
Because among the four, he recognized one.
Roberts, the poor Muggle campsite manager.
Now his head was twisted 180 degrees, his stubbled face frozen in pain, but his mouth forced into a grotesque grin by the "Death Eaters."
Beside him floated three more distorted bodies, a fat woman, a girl in a flowered dress, and a blond boy.
Thinking back to Roberts' words that morning, Link understood instantly.
The Death Eaters, hating Muggles, had slaughtered the whole Roberts family.
Link's face twisted. Tangible malice seeped from him like a dark fog.
Inside, his fury had taken form, roaring in his ears, urging him to kill them all.
At first he resisted, but each time those Death Eaters tossed the Roberts family corpses into the air like playthings, his restraint grew weaker.
At last, Link chose to obey the voice within.
In the dark, he grinned, showing his sharp white teeth, and whispered to Yoyo perched on his shoulder, "Can you still eat more?"
"Chrrrp!"
Yoyo spread its fleshy wings, eyes blazing as it stared at the crowd, eager. It signaled it could still eat plenty.
After all, its species could devour food rapidly and convert it into energy for long hibernation. What it had eaten earlier wasn't nearly enough.
Link's grin widened. He patted its head, and together, man and beast crept through the night toward the crowd.
Boom!
The bonfires in the clearing went out first.
Darkness swallowed the entire area.
The "Death Eaters," still celebrating, hadn't even reacted before a chorus of screams rang from the shadows.
Tonight, they would sleep forever.
Since they showed no mercy even to children, they should be prepared to receive the same fate.
Killing them weighed nothing on Link's heart.
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