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Chapter 13: The Mark of the Demon

Now that the achievements have been unlocked, the gold Galleons earned, and two magical animals acquired, what should be done with these three wizards and the Murtlap rats?

The Imperius Curse cannot last forever. To control them for a long time, it must be reapplied at intervals. Otherwise, when the magic effect dissipates, they will regain consciousness.

Ethan will be going to Hogwarts in a month, and he certainly doesn't want to take them or the Murtlap rats with him.

Kill them? Let's see their reactions after they wake up first!

But first, he needs to confiscate their wands and any magical items they possess.

With a wave of his hand, Ethan lifted the Imperius Curse on the three wizards.

The suddenly awakened men were still a bit confused, but upon seeing Ethan, they recoiled as if they'd seen a ghost, horror etched on their faces.

Before Ethan could say anything, Dennis and the other two knelt on the ground, begging Ethan to let them go.

Their memories from the period under the Imperius Curse were intact. Whether it was the silent use of the Imperius Curse to control them or the wandless spell to kill Kipling, these feats were beyond their wildest dreams.

But all this was accomplished by a young wizard.

Later, he tamed the Lethifold and the Swooping Evil. What could they use to fight against that? Even if they wanted to fight, they needed their wands!

Now their wands had been confiscated. Besides kneeling and begging, they couldn't think of any other way to survive.

As for avenging Spring, they were all dark wizards—naivety had no place here.

"In that case, you'll follow me from now on!" Ethan declared after a moment's thought.

Having subordinates should count as an achievement, even though they wouldn't truly be loyal and would likely flee as soon as they were out of danger.

"Yes, I am willing. From now on, my lord, I will be your loyal servant," Dennis said, and the other two followed suit, kneeling and crawling towards Ethan, about to kiss his shoes to show their complete submission.

They also mentioned their names and the magic they excelled at.

Dennis Garr, Berkeley Andrew, and Don Jeff—wizards of average skill, slightly better than the average adult wizard. They knew the three Unforgivable Curses, most proficient in the Killing Curse, with limited proficiency in the other two. They had some knowledge of other dark magics and conventional spells.

Contrary to Ethan's thoughts, Dennis and the other two found it advantageous to follow Ethan. Despite his youth, he was powerful!

In this era where Voldemort was gone and Dumbledore was old, Ethan seemed like a legend of the next era, and this time wouldn't be too long.

It was an honor for them to follow such a wizard, possibly even earning a place in the history of magic.

Faced with their actions, Ethan did not refuse.

**[Foundation]**

A little bit of sand makes a tower. You have finally taken the first step, no longer choosing to fight alone.

Achievement goal: Have a subordinate (1/1).

Achievement reward: Magic "Mark of the Demon."

This was the first time Ethan had seen a specific magic reward instead of a random one.

As Ethan absorbed and understood the information, he finally grasped what this magic entailed.

Another auxiliary magic.

**Mark of the Demon:** Plant a magical mark on the target. This mark cannot be erased. The marks can sense each other and pinpoint the exact location of all marked individuals, summoning them to gather according to the mark's guidance.

This resembled a replica of Voldemort's Dark Mark, with similar functions.

"Raise your head!" Ethan ordered.

"Yes!" Dennis responded, not daring to neglect it.

But in the next second, Dennis's face changed drastically, seeing an extra-long magic wand pointing at his head.

Does he still want to kill me?

This was Dennis' first thought.

But he soon discarded the idea, as the other party didn't need a wand to kill him.

Before he could figure out Ethan's intention, he felt a cold, dark magic flow into his body through his forehead, mixing with his own magic until it settled at his chest.

Ethan did the same for the other two.

"This magic is called the Mark of the Demon. No matter where you are, I can find you using this magic and activate it to guide you to regroup," Ethan explained.

"Master, we will never betray you." "Yes, Master, we are sincere..." "Stop, don't call me Master, just call me BOSS!" Ethan interrupted their declarations of loyalty.

Being called 'Master' was too reminiscent of Voldemort! Originally, this so-called Mark of the Demon was already like Voldemort's Dark Mark.

If they called him Master and he continued using dark magic, especially the Unforgivable Curses, in this era before Voldemort's return, people might start thinking Ethan was Voldemort's reincarnation.

Ethan then began to ask the three about their next plans and how to handle their poaching organization.

Taking on subordinates was to assign tasks to them, not to clean up their messes.

If their poaching organization recovered and started investigating, it would be troublesome for Ethan, even though he wasn't afraid of them.

However, the three had already thought about it. They would blame Kipling for everything, claiming he fled with all the magical creatures and gold Galleons while they were out finding buyers.

With no evidence and the entire organization out of contact, they were sure the problem extended beyond Britain.

Handling such a widespread issue was impossible, so it would remain unresolved.

They asked Ethan if he wanted them to quit the organization, but Ethan declined.

With almost a month before school started, there was nothing to assign them. It was better to let them stay in the organization; they might be useful in the future. The main point was to let them go.

After everything was arranged, Ethan took out more than 230 gold Galleons and left them. As for the remaining 3,500, they were his spoils.

Ethan left the Murtlap and the box with the traceless expansion spell to them, taking only a spare empty box. The space inside was smaller and empty, but sufficient for his needs.

When he walked out of the two-story house, it was already dark.

**Shadow Stealth activated!**

In the shadow of the building, Ethan moved quickly. In just 20 to 30 seconds, he ran out of Knockturn Alley until he found an empty corner in Diagon Alley, where he lifted the magic.

When Ethan emerged from the Leaky Cauldron, the driver outside was anxiously waiting. He had said he would be back in two or three hours at most.

But it had been more than five hours since Ethan went in.