"Damn it. That's not what you said when you had me pass along information," Damocles muttered.
"That was an accident. Still, I don't quite understand why you're so determined to kill Madam Greyback. She doesn't seem particularly harsh toward you," the black-robed man said.
"Hmph. Don't be fooled by that hypocritical facade of hers. She's a killer who doesn't even blink. One of my apprentices only wanted to follow another group of Werewolves and look for a new path, and she brutally murdered him for it!" Damocles snorted.
The black-robed man was silent for a long while before asking, "Wait, Mr. Belby. That apprentice who followed another group of Werewolves to look for a new path... in other words, he betrayed her?"
"What betrayal? Who says her path is definitely the right one? That's nothing but a sign of her brutality!" Damocles said heatedly.
"Alright, alright, don't get worked up, Mr. Belby. Let's just say she's brutal," the black-robed man said. His tone was agreeable, but a trace of contempt flashed through his eyes. Even the crow on his shoulder let out a disdainful caw.
"Alright, I think I understand what you mean, Mr. Belby. You're worried that Madam Greyback will come after you afterward, aren't you?"
The black-robed man saw straight through Damocles's pretense.
"After all, Madam Greyback is now the true power in Knockturn Alley. Having an enemy like that keeping an eye on you really would make it hard to sleep at night."
"Then... you agree?" Damocles asked hopefully.
"But I refuse," the black-robed man said mercilessly. "My task is only to take you away, not kill anyone. In any case, whether you leave or not is up to you. If you don't want to go, then forget it..."
"Wait! I'm going!" Damocles hurriedly said, afraid the black-robed man would leave without taking him along.
"Then come here," the black-robed man said lazily, crooking a finger.
Damocles walked over, staring at him with full caution in his eyes.
The black-robed man didn't care. He simply watched as Damocles slowly edged closer, then grabbed his arm.
"Mr. Belby doesn't know Apparition? If you did, you could have left on your own," the black-robed man suddenly asked.
"Leave on my own? Heh. Go where? Apparition can only take me to places I've been to recently, and not very far at that. Every place I remember has Werewolves watching it. Those people prepared long ago to keep me from escaping," Damocles said with a cold laugh.
Apparition was not nearly as overpowered as people imagined. A beginner could only move instantly to somewhere within sight. Once they had truly mastered it, they could travel to places they had visited before.
That was the limit of the spell.
Having more magical power only increased the distance, but even a legendary wizard like Dumbledore could not simply arrive at a place he had never been to.
So it was not that Damocles could not Apparate. He simply did not know where he could go and still be safe.
"I see. So the Werewolves aren't as hopeless as I thought," the black-robed man said with a smile. "Then I'll take you out."
As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed Damocles's arm and raised his wand with his other hand.
His figure suddenly twisted, as though some invisible singularity were about to swallow him whole. But when the distortion had only reached halfway, it abruptly stopped and returned to normal.
The black-robed man stood where he was and looked around, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes.
"Are we there?" Damocles had felt the sensation of Apparition activating, but it had suddenly vanished, leaving him unable to make sense of the situation.
But when he saw that he was still in his own potions lab, he panicked.
"Why aren't we gone yet?" Damocles cried out. "Don't you realize that every extra moment we stay here makes it more dangerous?"
"What's the hurry? I just didn't expect there to be someone among the Werewolves capable of setting up an Anti-Apparition Charm. Mr. Belby, do you know who this person is?" the black-robed man asked.
Anti-Apparition Charms were not something commonly seen. Under normal circumstances, only Ministries of Magic in various countries would put up something like that.
But the Ministries' Anti-Apparition Charms usually had to be actively turned on. Most of the time, they were left inactive for the sake of maintaining that ancient magic.
Apart from that, only Gringotts and Hogwarts Castle possessed such enchantments, and both were ancient and immensely powerful magical constructions that were almost impossible to replicate.
"What? An Anti-Apparition Charm?" Damocles was dumbstruck, his face full of despair. "Doesn't that mean we can't get away?"
Damocles clearly remembered that this place had not had an Anti-Apparition Charm before. How had one suddenly appeared? Had it been laid down just now?
"That's not quite the case. We can leave whenever we want," the black-robed man said, stroking the crow on his shoulder. "I'm just curious who this person is, the one capable of setting up an Anti-Apparition Charm."
"Why do you care so much? Are you planning to sit down and have a chat with him or something?" Damocles immediately thought of the black-robed figure who was always at Midgard's side.
Only that person could have set up the Anti-Apparition Charm. There was no way those Werewolves, with their lack of education, would know anything about Anti-Apparition Charms.
But Damocles did not want to create unnecessary complications. He had no intention of telling the black-robed man in front of him that such a person existed.
"Oh, not at all... forget it. Since the other side set up an Anti-Apparition Charm, they must already suspect you. No wonder you were so eager to call me over. Still, it's strange. I didn't sense the presence of an Anti-Apparition Charm when I arrived. Could it really have been set up just now?"
The black-robed man muttered to himself, sounding genuinely intrigued.
"Enough nonsense. Hurry up and go," Damocles said, almost on the verge of tears. How could the person who came to pick him up be this unreliable?
Was this really the time to be thinking about that? At a moment like this, if they had the ability to escape, they should leave immediately!
"Alright, alright, stop rushing me," the black-robed man said impatiently, waving a hand. "Come closer. We're leaving now."
He stroked the crow on his shoulder. The crow understood at once and flapped its wings.
A whirlwind instantly rose inside the room. Dark feathers swept into existence out of thin air and surrounded the two of them. The next moment, both men vanished from where they stood.
At that exact moment, the silent night sky suddenly lit up with points of light like stars. They were neatly arranged, and at the instant the two men were transferred, they released a faint glow.
The black feathers scattered in the wind, revealing the black-robed man and Damocles within.
When he saw that he was no longer inside the potions lab, Damocles's face filled with excitement.
"We got out! We finally got out!" he shouted excitedly.
But beside him, the black-robed man gave a soft sound of surprise.
"You're celebrating too early. We haven't escaped yet," he said quietly.
At that moment, numerous Werewolf wizards suddenly appeared around them, surrounding the two of them as wand after wand was raised and pointed straight at them.