Bella admitted that the man before her had surprised her.
Even someone as deranged as she was would not dare say something like that in front of Tver Fawley.
But when she thought back to the face she had glimpsed just now, she found it unbelievable, yet for some reason, she was willing to trust this man called Dusko.
So Bella waved her wand, instantly breaking open the thick wall and the Protective Enchantments she had personally placed on it.
That counted as their only advantage in escaping.
The Death Eaters hesitated even less. The moment the hole appeared, they fought to rush out.
Tver suspected that if he had set up a three-sided encirclement and deliberately left one side open, these Death Eaters would have foolishly charged right into it.
Whether that was lucky or unlucky, their value was not worth Tver going that far.
So once all the Death Eaters had left the house, Tver looked at Dusko, or rather, Marvolio, with speechless disbelief.
"We agreed to act. Why didn't you even change your face?!"
They had worked so hard in Greece to fabricate an identity, and had even made small use of Tver's reputation to build momentum for the name Dusko.
And now Marvolio had appeared as himself?
Didn't he know that his face was identical to Voldemort's when he was young?
If any Death Eater happened to have seen what Voldemort looked like in his youth, then all their previous efforts would be wasted.
Seeing Tver almost beside himself with anger, Marvolio raised his head with perfect confidence.
"What's there to be afraid of? The oldest Death Eaters are either dead or retired and hiding in their families. Even Bellatrix, who knows Voldemort best, has never seen me like this!"
"Besides, Voldemort definitely wouldn't tell anyone that a fragment of his soul has already been revived. Who would suspect anything?"
"More importantly, to them, this face might give them some inexplicable sense of trust." He smugly stroked his own face.
"A young and handsome Dark Lord is the kind worth following. Look, didn't Bella get completely stunned by me just now?"
"I think she's taken a fancy to you. If your identity gets exposed, heh..." Tver sneered. "You'll have to use your looks to seduce her."
Thinking of Bella's deranged appearance, Marvolio's heart could not help trembling.
"Forget it. I'd better take this lot of Death Eaters to the new base."
After saying that, he turned to leave, only for a red light to suddenly strike the floor in front of him.
"If we're acting, we need to play the whole scene." Tver toyed with his wand with a smile, making Marvolio, who had turned back, feel a strong sense of danger. "If you walk out unharmed, won't that make me look useless?"
Bullshit. You're just annoyed I didn't follow the script and want to use this as an excuse to throw a tantrum!
Marvolio did not dare say it aloud, nor did he have time to speak, because Tver had already begun his attack.
The long table that had originally been set in the kitchen suddenly twisted, instantly transforming into a climbing wooden dragon. In two or three movements, it lunged straight at Marvolio's side.
But it only lunged a few times. Before it could even touch Marvolio, it turned into a huge fireball.
"Don't forget, I learned Gubraithian Fire too!"
With a flick of Marvolio's wand, the fire dragon nimbly changed direction and pounced toward Tver's position.
Then, in the very next second, it was swallowed by an even more violent blue-purple flame, which surged back with overwhelming force.
"What the..."
Seeing the towering flames that almost threatened to drown the entire house, Marvolio did not dare meet them head-on. He dodged away from the most dangerous center, tore up the floorboards to form a thick wall, and watched the flames roar past him.
The Death Eaters outside the house were thoroughly confused.
After escaping through the hole, they had indeed seen no Aurors lying in ambush nearby, nor had Tver chased after them, so they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The problem was that no one had told them where to go next.
They could Apparate now, but they no longer had a destination to Apparate to.
"Bella..."
Old Goyle turned back, wanting to ask Bella, who had come out last, whether she knew of any place they could stay. But his blank eyes suddenly widened, and the fear in them was threaded with visible red veins.
Bella was puzzled by his strange expression, but the reflected firelight in his eyes made her turn back at once.
Flames were surging out like a wave.
The fierce fire swallowed the wall she had broken open. The cracked bricks had not even collapsed before they were instantly vaporized.
But it did not stop there. After overturning the ceiling and walls, the flames rushed straight toward the stunned Death Eaters.
Facing the flames head-on, Bella did not even have the thought to resist. She could only watch helplessly as the scorching heat drew closer and closer.
Boom.
Fortunately, in the next second, a solid curved wall lifted the charging flames upward, protecting the group beneath them.
"Hurry up and leave. Tver has gone mad fighting!" Marvolio suddenly appeared before everyone, and it was as if they had finally found a pillar to rely on.
"Dusko!" Old Goyle still looked relieved to have survived. "But where are we supposed to go?"
"Azkaban!"
"???"
Marvolio glanced at the wall, which would not last much longer. Without explaining further, he grabbed Bella's arm and disappeared on the spot.
He had not lied. The island where Azkaban stood was indeed the place he and Tver had discussed and judged to be the most suitable location for the new Death Eater headquarters.
First, the Anti-Apparition spells there had either been destroyed or removed by the Ministry of Magic in preparation for reconstruction, making it convenient for Death Eaters to come and go.
Second, although the Ministry of Magic planned to rebuild it, that would be after the war. For now, Azkaban was an unclaimed zone.
Settling the Death Eaters there would make it easier for Tver to control them, and once the war ended, it would also make it convenient to lock them up.
...
By the time Marvolio and Bella appeared in Azkaban, the Carrow siblings, who had arrived ahead of them, and the few Death Eaters who had been "rescued" were already waiting nearby.
"Why is it only the two of you? Where is everyone else?" Amycus asked hurriedly.
The answer came in the form of the Death Eaters who followed by Apparition.
They did not dare stay where they had been. Even returning to the place of their old nightmares was better than remaining there to be swallowed by flames.
But after that frantic escape, everyone's morale had fallen to the bottom.
"What's wrong? You escaped, but you're not happy?" Marvolio walked around, taking in the different expressions on their faces.
"That Tver Fawley is terrifying, and there's Dumbledore too. What chance do we even have left..." Old Goyle said dejectedly.
Even though they had known before that Tver's strength could rival the Dark Lord's, they had rarely seen him fight, so there had still been a trace of wishful thinking in their hearts.
But today, Tver had personally led a team to their doorstep. Not only had his intelligence completely overwhelmed them, but if not for Dusko, they would not even have bones left.
So even though Bella's face was ugly, she had no desire to refute him.
"You're afraid?" Marvolio laughed contemptuously and asked in return.
"Who wouldn't be?" Old Goyle shot back bluntly. "You're strong, so of course you aren't afraid. But what about us? One mistake and we won't even leave bones behind!"
"So?" Marvolio pointed at the prison cells nearby that had not yet been completely destroyed. "See those cells?"
"Since you cowards are so afraid, perfect. Tell the Ministry of Magic that you've decided to surrender, then lock yourselves in."
"Maybe," he said with a rather harsh smile, "they'll even reduce your sentences!"
The Death Eaters immediately fell silent.
If they had truly wanted to surrender, they would not have been hiding in that house so miserably.
But if they had even a shred of hope left, they would not have been this dispirited either.
So when Marvolio saw that the time was about right, he straightened his expression, spread his hands, and swept his gaze over them again.
"I know you feel desperate right now. You're frustrated by setback after setback."
"I can tell you plainly that victory will not come easily. Many of you may not even see the dawn of victory."
"But everyone, if you give up, every failure you have suffered before, and every effort built on those failures, will turn to ash."
"And you will never see that dawn arrive."