002 The Fawley Family (Re-Written)

"You dare–"

The voice was cut off abruptly by a loud bang, as if a thunderbolt had struck the dark and damp underworld. The gloomy place, where only the dim light of torches and fireplaces could barely illuminate the sinister faces of the criminals and outcasts, suddenly burst into angry howls, as sharp as the roar of a werewolf when he sees the full moon.

"Play–"

The third second after taking the confusion drug, the old wizard slapped the table and stood up, his eyes wide open with rage and madness. The dense pustules and scabies on his head quickly turned from red to purple, from purple to black, and then, like a magic potion that was about to be boiled over, they began to bubble and pop. The thorns on his face also became excited, they twisted frantically, while growing rapidly, as if they couldn't wait to get away from the old wizard's face. His skin cracked and bled, revealing the rotten flesh and bones underneath.

"Great–"

The old wizard was furious, and his tone of voice was full of anger and pain. He raised a short and thick wand with a gem on the top, as if he wanted to give a vicious curse to the guy who deceived him.

But unfortunately, he seemed to forget that his current state had already lost control of the violent and evil magic power that coursed through his veins. The active spellcasting behavior made his own chaotic and disorderly magic power further out of control. He was like a wax man who was roasted on a flame, starting from his head and spreading to his whole body, quickly melting.

In the blink of an eye, the living person turned into a pool of black pus on the ground!

"Sorry, great… what?"

The Thin Wizard who traded with the old wizard sneered strangely. He grabbed the mithril on the table and stuffed it into his robe. Then he walked to the pool of pus and looked at it for a few times. He pulled out the wand left by the old wizard from inside and looked at the ruby on top of it carefully by the torch hanging in mid-air. The ruby sparkled with a faint light, indicating that it still had some magic power left.

Through that layer of black cloth that covered his face, Bryan could feel his smugness and greed. The Thin Wizard noticed his gaze and turned his head to look at Bryan with an unpleasant expression. He seemed to think that Bryan wanted to do something, so he whispered threateningly,

"In this place, greed and curiosity can lead you to lose your life at any time, Golden Viper. Don't think that you can scare everyone by tearing up a few big wolves–"

Bryan sneered contemptuously. He lowered his head and stared deeply at the pool of liquid. After a while, an old and hoarse voice came out from under his hood,

"Thank you for your reminder, Mr. Liar, but you seem to have forgotten one thing. Besides greed and curiosity, carelessness is also very deadly."

"What?"

Just as the Thin Wizard was stunned, a black shadow with scarlet eyes suddenly emerged from the pool of pus. The shadow was like a death god, floating in mid-air and roaring at the Thin Wizard,

"Embrace death with me, shameless man!"

The shadow in the air was beyond the Thin Wizard's comprehension. He had no intention of fighting against it. He turned around and wanted to run away. But unfortunately, every inch of space in the underworld was bound by Anti-Apparition spells, preventing anyone from escaping or hiding by magic. And the nearest fireplace that could be used as a portal was at least half a mile away.

Before the Thin Wizard could run out of the low wall that surrounded the trading area, the huge shadow like death god had already caught up with him. It swooped down from mid-air to the ground. It opened its mouth full of sharp teeth and swallowed the Thin Wizard's body and his scream in an instant!

Crunching, crunching, crunching-——

The sound of chewing that made people's teeth sour clearly entered their ears. The blood mixed with bone slag and brain pulp fell to the ground like a stream. The thick and stinky bloody smell made Bryan frown secretly.

The shadow form of the old wizard was just a struggle before dying. It couldn't last long in this world.

After finishing off his enemy who killed him, the shadow quickly faded. Before it completely disappeared, it turned around and stared at Bryan fiercely. His hoarse voice was full of resentment,

"You knew it was fake, but you didn't warn me!"

"Why do you blame your stupidity on others?"

Bryan said coldly,

"Before I become interested in your current form, you'd better disappear quickly. Otherwise, I don't mind letting you live in a glass bottle for decades before sending you to hell."

Bryan's words were irrefutable. The shadow sighed helplessly. He looked around with nostalgia and then his figure faded completely. He walked towards death with big steps, leaving behind only a faint trace of his soul.

Some people around noticed the movement here, but none of them were surprised by what happened. Nor did anyone want to come closer and ask what happened. Just like what the Thin wizard said, in this place where there is no way out, curiosity can kill you at any time.

The dark air cut through a silver light. Bryan summoned out the mithril covered with tooth marks from the flesh and blood, cleaned it up with a flick of his wand, and then put it in his pocket indifferently, feeling very happy.

With a crisp snap of his fingers, the pus and blood that the old wizard turned into and the shattered flesh of the Thin Wizard burst into golden magic fire. In just a few moments, the fire cleaned up the dirty ground and destroyed the last traces of the two people in the world.

Since he took other people's things, he had to help them deal with the aftermath. This is called public service.

"It seems that I missed a good show, Mr. Golden Viper?"

Bryan turned his head to look at the source of the voice. A blond-haired, black-eyed, friendly-looking middle-aged wizard was standing under a tall billboard that advertised some illegal potions and artifacts. He was smiling at him with a hint of sarcasm and curiosity.

"Maybe you were lucky enough to avoid trouble."

Bryan nodded and said indifferently.

The visitor was named Kakus Fawley, a well-known broker in the underworld, from one of the sacred twenty-eight families, the Fawley family.

This family used to be famous in the magical world. At its most glorious time, the head of the family even served as the minister of magic, and was one of the most powerful and influential families in Britain.

But unfortunately, Hector Fawley, the minister of magic of the Fawley family at that time, did not have a strategic vision beyond reality. He ignored Albus Dumbledore's warning and misjudged how much damage Gellert Grindelwald, the ambitious dark lord who was in full swing at that time, would bring to Britain and even the whole European magical world. As a result, he was driven off by angry wizards who blamed him for his incompetence and negligence.

And the Fawley family who lost their power protection also suffered a heavy blow and gradually disappeared from the British magical world.

They lost their wealth, status, reputation, and allies. They became isolated and despised by their former peers and friends. For two or three generations, the fallen Fawley family has been looking for some way to return to the center of the stage. They have tried many attempts, but always failed, because no matter which way they go, there is an insurmountable figure at the end of it.

In fact, Albus Dumbledore never targeted the lonely Fawley family, but people in the magical world will not forget that it was because Hector ignored Dumbledore's warning that led to the heavy casualties of the British magical world in the process of fighting against Grindelwald. Fifty years later, people's anger towards the Fawley family gradually faded away, but Albus Dumbledore was still alive!

The current power holders of the Ministry of Magic always held a vigilant attitude towards that old man in Hogwarts School. They had no need to risk offending the greatest wizard of this era for a dust that should have been drowned in the history.

In the end, the helpless Fawley family decided to join the dark side.

They sent out one of the few younger generations in their family who looked decent, willing to show their faces and bear the risk of being retaliated against in the underworld, trying to accumulate wealth and connections, and quietly waiting for an opportunity to return to the bright world.

That person was Kakus Fawley, He had contacts with many shady characters and organizations in the underworld. He traded information, secrets, goods, services, and sometimes even lives. He was always looking for valuable clues and opportunities that could help him achieve his ultimate goal: to restore his family's glory and honor.

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Author's Note: I have re-written this chapter, the core story has not changed. The grammatical errors and some confusing paragraphs are more refined.