[While I am uploading this chapter, I have 285 power stones and I have uploaded 2 chapters. So around 150 stones for each chapter. Now this entire upcoming sequence, the battle, has two more chapters apart from this chapter. So, for every 200 stones I will upload one chapter. So, if you want more chapters, it is in your hands.]
[PS: If I upload the chapters today, then there will be no chapter for the following day. I have no extra stacked up chapters for my P@treon and I would need to maintain the advanced chapter. The choice is in your hands now.]
After the second strike, the third Death Eater took his position and fired a full-powered Bombarda Maxima at the exact same spot on the ward where the previous two spells had landed.
To their surprise, a section of the ward vanished, leaving an opening wide enough for them to walk through.
"The wards of the Bones Manor were weaker than expected," one of the Death Eaters muttered in confusion. They had expected it would take around ten full powered strikes before breaking through. It was unexpected for them.
"Seems so," another replied as they stepped one by one onto the lawn of the manor complex.
"Be careful of an incoming spell," the death eater who was at the forefront and who was also leading this mission, Reinhart Lestrange, mumbled in a low voice. His own gaze was fixed on the manor in the distance and he was on full alert as if expected a flurry of spells any moment from inside the manor.
"They should already know their wards have been breached."
The others nodded and moved cautiously toward the entrance.
"Is Edmund Bones really such a coward?" one sneered as they had almost reached the entrance. "The only chance he had to harm us was while we were outside in the open. He could have at least tried to fire a few spells."
No one answered, though most silently agreed. Even so, they did not lower their guard as they pushed into the manor. But as the last Death Eater crossed the threshold, they failed to notice that the damaged section of the ward which should have remained open flickered and then shut down.
The vanishing of the ward had been deliberate, and now, with the ward sealed again, the Death Eaters were trapped inside.
As the Death Eaters moved deeper into the manor, an odd unease settled over them. The halls were dimly lit, illuminated only by scattered torches and a few flickering candles. The entire was eerily silent and the silence felt oppressive, so heavy that, despite steeling their hearts, each of them felt a faint apprehension rising within.
"Is no one inside?" one muttered as they stepped into the main hall. Their wands were gripped tight in their hands, eyes darting and narrowing as they tried to take in every nook and corner of the hall in account.
"It seems a feast had been prepared before we arrived," another noted, gesturing toward the lavish and expensive ware spread still arranged on the dining table.
"Must have been celebrating their victory in the Wizengamot. No doubt about it. Edmund Bones was clearly on that lad's side," another sneered through gritted teeth. The lad in question was obviously Antonio.
But Reinhart, the one leading the mission, felt his unease sharpen. The silence, the dim light, it was all too deliberate.
Edmund Bones was no incompetent wizard, and certainly no coward. The wards had been breached, Bones must have known by now. Even if he had been asleep, the shattering of the barrier would have roused him instantly. Was this a trap?
"We should go upstairs," one of them suggested, nodding toward the grand staircase. The staircase led to a wide corridor which ran all around the first floor, surrounding the large hall. From the corridor, access to different rooms was available.
Reinhart gave a curt nod in agreement. He turned toward the staircase, but at that very moment his instincts screamed. His senses tingled sharply, and he felt the unmistakable surge of danger approaching.
"Bend down," he shouted.
The death eaters reacted but Reinhart had been late. A sharp sound echoed in the hall as if the air was being cut through.
There was a flash of blackness and the next moment one of their comrades was dead. He did not even get the chance to scream before he died in his own gurgle of blood.
A thick stone spear was piercing their comrade in the centre of the face through his nose. The other end of the spear had embedded itself into the ground while the dead body of their comrade hung limply on the spear's support. A pool of blood had formed on the floor and the death eaters felt fear gripping their hearts as they looked at the scene in front of them. It was nothing less than horrifying.
The trajectory of the spear told them that it had been launched from the first floor.
Reinhart instinctively moved as a spell was launched from his wand towards the general direction from which the spear had come.
The spell struck the fence of the corridor but there was no further reaction. The same eerie silence returned. The heart of every death eater was beating frantically as their eyes continuously roamed towards the first floor. But there was no movement. Nothing.
"It was a trap," someone muttered, wand tight in his hand.
"Bones, come out!" he roared. But there was no response.
"What do you think?" someone asked Reinhart.
Reinhart took a moment to calm his emotions. He had already lost one of his comrades. Although he had expected some resistance, the death of one of his men had not been something on his mind.
But he needed to finish the task soon and, most importantly, without taking further losses.
"We need to go up," he mumbled. Edmund was clearly hiding on the first floor.
With measured steps and cautious eyes, the death eaters started to move. They took their time but finally stepped into the corridor running around the first floor.
With slow steps, they turned left as they moved. Their senses were on alert as they slowly walked, their eyes darting towards the rooms on one side of the floor and below towards the hall.
They had not walked far when Reinhart suddenly stopped. In front of him was a thick stone pillar. And he could make out the robe of someone trying to hide behind it.
Finally, he sighed in relief. He raised his wand and took aim, but before he could shoot a spell there was a flash of red.
He instinctively turned around only to see the head of one of his comrades being blown apart like a watermelon. His entire head had exploded into pieces of gore, flesh, and blood.
Blood and chunks of flesh splattered on their robes. The death eaters instinctively stepped back, terrified. The headless body of the death eater collapsed on the ground with a thud.
Reinhart's eyes moved towards where the spell had come from. A window. He immediately turned back towards the pillar and saw the robe had vanished.
"He sprinted inside the room," one of the slightly more courageous death eaters mumbled. "It was Edmund. I saw him running into the room."
Directly in front of the pillar was the door of the room from which the spell had been fired.
"He lured us here and someone used the window to fire the spell on us. It was a trap," he said. The eyes of the death eaters were fixed on the window but none dared to approach it. The window was large with four wooden panels, but only one of the panels was open.
"It must be Amelia," Reinhart said of the person who might have fired the spell.
His eyes hardened. The father and daughter duo were both inside the room. Although there might be further traps, they had them cornered.
He had no option but to proceed. He had to kill them anyhow. He looked towards his comrades and gave them a nod. Although terrified and afraid, they nodded back as their steps moved.
What lay inside the room? No one knew. But all the readers know that it was going to be a massacre.
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