Grevious was not the only one who appeared. A large group of Aurors followed him, entering the barrier one by one. They looked at the Muggle coffee shop, decorated with elegance and grace but now in ruins, with unconcealed shock in their eyes.
"Mr. Grevious!"
Seeing their immediate superior arriving, Amelia stepped out from behind Amorta. She walked quickly to the front of Mr. Grevious and her colleagues, slightly surprised and asked,
"How did you end up here?"
"How did I end up here?"
Grevious tightened the corners of his mouth and retorted, a trace of blue flashed across his face, indicating that he was trying hard to suppress his anger.
"What a ridiculous question, Miss Dent. Do you know that you're on Muggle territory, and what would the nearby Muggles react to when they see the building that has stood here suddenly enveloped in darkness, with a few creatures that suck human blood running out of it?"
Amelia opened her mouth to explain, but her superior Mr. Grevious shifted his gaze away from her and instead directed it towards Amorta. The emotion conveyed in his eyes was as if he had long since expected something troublesome from Amorta·Bryan.
"The Aurors of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement have already driven away the Muggles nearby and established a safe area, stopping the Muggle reporters who came for an interview, but Mr. Bryan."
Grevious was no longer the silent figure at the joint review session. When it came to his area of jurisdiction, his gaze was intense, fixing Amorta with a powerful look.
"You'll have to give me a completely reasonable explanation for this --"
Grevious surveyed the surroundings of the ruins with a grimace and asked,
"Explain what exactly is going on here, how I should define this incident, of course, and also explain why you once again used a wand without a wand permit!"
Grevious looked genuinely angry, and it seemed as if he had forgotten that the wizard in front of him, Amorta·Bryan, was the Vice President of the International Confederation of Wizards and an important business partner who had just concluded a trade agreement with the International Wizards' Congress - Ministry of International Magical Cooperation.
Amorta did not become angry. He could understand the feeling of the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, who has been under great pressure from public opinion for days, upon realizing that another major security incident was about to make headlines.
"Please calm down, Mr. Grevious. Of course, I can explain everything --"
Amorta smiled and said, "Please calm down, Mr. Grevious. Of course, I can explain everything --" Then he released his wand and let it float back into Amelia's hand before saying with a calm demeanor,
"Then, do we talk about it here, or should we go back to the Ministry first?"
Amorta's composed demeanor somewhat calmed Grevious' anger. He hesitated for a moment, his gaze turning towards the vampire floating beside them, only giving it a brief glance before moving on. His attention then shifted to the despondent Asian man standing behind Amorta.
"Sato Rokubei?"
For a moment of daze, Grevious' eyes suddenly became sharp. His gaze fixed back on Amorta's face.
"Let's go back to the Ministry first, Mr. Bryan. You've got a lot to explain."
This is bound to be a noisy night.
To deal with the inquiries from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amorta spent almost an entire night at the Palace of Congress, ensuring he made his points clear.
Of course, he had not violated the Wizard Secrecy Act or any relevant laws enacted by the American Ministry of Magic. As for the fact that he used a wand again without a wand permit, under the circumstances where his life was threatened and emergency measures were taken, this is by no means a major issue.
Due to the issue of sales permits for learning machines, Grevious' face was injured. Amorta thought that Grevious would take advantage of the situation and create some obstacles for him. In fact, Grevious was indeed angry. Knowing that Amorta had received that invitation and Amelia knew about it too, he indeed got angry when both of them did not inform the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and chose to attend instead, leading to this fierce confrontation.
Sato Rokubei was taken in by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the remaining vampire was also detained by them. In addition, Amorta informed Grevious that the vampire named Morganus is a waiter at the Blind Pig Pub.
"There are many wizards coming and going in the underground world of the Blind Pig Pub. I think the Department of Magical Law Enforcement won't have much trouble verifying its identity."
Amorta sat calmly on a sofa in Grevious' office.
"Do you think --"
For the whole night, Grevious' expression was gloomy. Upon hearing Amorta's words, he fell silent for a moment, then a flash of sharpness flickered in his dark eyes.
"These evil vampires. These dark creatures that can never learn to behave themselves. They are all under the control of Nerak. This vile imp has been providing shelter to wizards in the underground world for so long. If it were true, it would have such energy. Such a cunning fellow. Since the last time, the Blind Pig Pub has been closed down, and Nerak has disappeared."
Without the approval of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, how could a place like the Blind Pig Pub have been operating for nearly a century.
Amorta had that thought cross his mind, but said nothing.
"Then --"
Amorta stood up from the sofa,
"I think all the questions have been explained. If you don't mind, I probably need to go back to the hotel for a rest. After all, I still have another invitation to attend tonight."
"What?"
Grevious's brow furrowed, and he immediately stood up from his desk, staring fiercely at Amorta.
"Another invitation, Mr. Bryan, don't tell me --"
"Oh, don't be nervous --"
Amorta knew that this head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had psychological issues with him. He smiled and said,
"It's Amelia's parents. A few days ago, I went to the St. Iosis Magical Injury and Illness Hospital to visit Amelia, and her parents were there taking care of her. We met up then. The old couple seems to quite like me, and they've invited me over for a home-cooked meal --"
"Like Amelia's parents --"
This answer undoubtedly exceeds Grevious's expectations. He spoke softly.
Suddenly realizing something, Grevious opened his mouth, but upon meeting Amorta·Bryan's clear eyes, he changed his mind and swallowed the words he had been about to speak.
"You can leave, Mr. Bryan. I hope you won't encounter any more accidents during the rest of your stay in New York."
When Amorta returned to the hotel, the sky was already brightening, and Limes had left his room to negotiate with the fairies about the tone of their upcoming talks.
For a grand mage, not resting for a few days is actually nothing to worry about. Amorta came to the desk, lifted a finger, and the scattered materials on the table became neatly arranged. Then, after feeling around, the crescent-shaped, jade-like vampire fang appeared in his palm.
Ding --
Amorta placed the fang on the table, leaned back in his chair, put his arms on the armrests, and interlaced his fingers. His sharp eyes fell on the fang.
After absorbing that strange pool of blood, the fang had already become significantly extraordinary in appearance compared to before. However, aside from that, it showed no extraordinary qualities; the power within it was still dormant.
Amorta recalled the strange energy emitted by the vampire last night that suppressed his magic and extinguished his ferocious flames.
In terms of the ferocious flame spell, Amorta had reached the pinnacle of mastery. The fact that that pool of blood could do this suggested one thing: it contained higher-dimensional power -- the power of souls.
It wasn't the soul of the vampire that belonged to the blood, but rather, the collective power of the souls of those it had harmed, collected and amplified by dark magic, forming a force to be reckoned with.
And the fang was able to absorb that pool of blood, which could mean only one thing: They are of the same origin!
(End of Chapter)
