Chapter 108

"Thank you for your help. May I have the honor of knowing your name?"

On a deserted mountaintop outside New York, Grindelwald extended his hand to Leo with a gentle expression.

Not every wizard could earn such an attitude from him, but the one standing before him was clearly an exception.

To single-handedly infiltrate the MACUSA headquarters, defeat ten elite Aurors in an instant, and use an unprecedented area-effect spell to hold off over two hundred wizards—this mysterious wizard had displayed a level of power that Grindelwald truly admired.

To be honest, none of his current followers possessed such formidable strength and adaptability.

"You can call me Chuan."

Leo extended his hand and shook Grindelwald's.

"Chuan, a unique name. Since you share my ideals, would you consider joining me in my great endeavor?"

Grindelwald once again extended an invitation to Leo.

This time, Leo didn't refuse but instead replied:

"Mr. Grindelwald, to be honest, I'm very interested in your great cause, but I cannot fully agree with some of your methods. So, if you want me to join, I have a few conditions."

"Name them. As long as they're within my power, I will certainly agree."

Grindelwald nodded without any surprise.

As a leader, he knew well the types of people who followed him—some shared his ideology, some simply admired his power, and others were in it for personal gain and ambition.

As long as someone was capable, their motives didn't matter; what mattered was their usefulness to his cause.

And for someone as talented as this mysterious Chuan, a few conditions were certainly no issue if it meant gaining his help.

Seeing Grindelwald's agreement, Leo began to speak slowly:

"First, I have some personal matters to attend to, so I won't be able to follow you around constantly. I can only assist when I have the time.

Second, I am willing to contribute to the great cause, but I will not kill innocent people, whether they are wizards or Muggles. Rest assured, though, that I will still complete any tasks you assign me, within those bounds.

Third, I have a passion for studying magic. If possible, I would like to exchange knowledge with you to enhance my magical abilities."

These three conditions were mostly a means to mislead, with the third being the most important. Leo wanted to use Grindelwald to improve his own magical skills and learn more powerful dark magic.

Grindelwald took less than three seconds to agree to Leo's conditions.

To him, these conditions were hardly significant.

Given Leo's demonstrated strength, Grindelwald didn't mind if he wasn't always by his side, as long as he could get the job done when needed.

As for not killing innocent people, that was even less of an issue. Leo's ability to escape unscathed when facing Aurors meant that whether to kill or not would be entirely within his control.

Regarding magical exchange, Grindelwald was more than eager to teach his followers everything he knew about dark magic. Unfortunately, magical prowess was largely dependent on talent, and some simply couldn't grasp the spells, or even if they did, their execution would be weak.

What gave him pause for those three seconds was the sense of independence reflected in Leo's conditions.

This person didn't wish to be a loyal subordinate but was willing to lend a hand when needed.

But that didn't matter. Grindelwald believed that with his charisma and formidable power, he could eventually make this mysterious wizard Chuan one of his most loyal followers.

And besides, a powerful subordinate could afford to be a bit more independent.

...

After a brief conversation, Leo parted ways with Grindelwald, citing other matters to attend to.

Grindelwald provided a French address, telling Leo to find him there once his affairs were settled. Leo didn't leave empty-handed, either—he asked Grindelwald for instruction in Occlumency, stating that he disliked having his mind read.

In this world, there were natural Legilimens like Tina's sister, as well as those who could learn the art of Legilimency through spells.

A Legilimens could unconsciously read the thoughts of those around them, while the Legilimency spell allowed a wizard to deliberately extract thoughts through eye contact.

However, this spell was highly difficult, and few wizards could master it.

In this era, the only known masters of Legilimency were Grindelwald and Dumbledore.

During his conversation with Grindelwald, Leo had carefully avoided eye contact to prevent him from reading his thoughts.

But his public identity as Tom Fleury would inevitably bring him into contact with Dumbledore in the future, and he couldn't always avoid Dumbledore's gaze.

Moreover, unlike Grindelwald, Dumbledore had a habit of subtly reading people's minds.

So, Leo obtained the Occlumency spell from Grindelwald. Once he mastered it, not even Dumbledore would be able to read his thoughts.

After parting ways with Grindelwald, Leo changed his appearance again and spent the night at the Minotaur's Tavern on the magical street.

As he expected, the wizarding world exploded with news the next morning.

All the magical newspapers were reporting that a mysterious wizard, using a powerful water spell, had defeated over two hundred MACUSA wizards and broken Grindelwald out of prison.

There was even a moving magical photograph attached, apparently taken by a wizard from an upper floor with a magical camera.

At the same time, MACUSA, unable to identify or trace the mysterious wizard, had temporarily named him "The Enigma" and issued a global manhunt and bounty.

The Enigma's threat level was ranked just below Grindelwald's, and the bounty was similarly second only to Grindelwald's.

MACUSA even set aside a separate reward for any information about The Enigma.

However, everything about The Enigma remained truly enigmatic—not a single wizard knew who this person was.

Similarly, besides the various ministries of magic, Grindelwald himself had also mobilized his forces to uncover Leo's true identity but came up with nothing.

In short, it was as if The Enigma had appeared out of thin air.

While the wizarding world buzzed with debate over The Enigma's identity and Grindelwald's whereabouts, Leo had already used his new appearance to return to London via a black market Portkey.

However, he didn't head straight back to his manor. Instead, he visited a Muggle orphanage called Wool's Orphanage.

Because he intended to find the true Dark Lord who would one day terrify all the wizards in London—Tom Riddle, or as he would later be known, Voldemort.

If he remembered correctly, Voldemort was born in December 1926, at Wool's Orphanage.

...