Chapter 215: Talk With Strife
"This is..." Hermione looked a bit embarrassed as she glanced at Alaric.
At this moment, Alaric was already holding back his laughter.
Seeing Hermione's expression, Strife thought she didn't want to talk and quickly said, "If it's inconvenient, we don't have to discuss it. How about that?"
"No, it's not like that!" Hermione hurriedly added, "It's not inconvenient, it's just that the principle behind the method is quite simple."
"Simple?" Strife was confused.
"I never learned such magic at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
It's clearly just a transfiguration spell, yet it made my own magic attack me. Are they teaching such advanced magic at Hogwarts?"
"You misunderstand," Hermione struggled to hold back her laughter but managed to say, "I meant simple, not for wizards, but for Muggles."
"Muggles?" Strife was even more bewildered.
"Have Muggles secretly developed methods to counter wizards?"
"Hahaha!"
Finally, Alaric and Hermione couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.
This made Strife, who was usually very serious, feel quite uncomfortable. He realized he must have said something ridiculous.
After a while, Hermione managed to stop laughing and explained the concept of metal conductivity to Strife, telling him it was basic knowledge taught in Muggle elementary and secondary schools.
"I see!"
Strife forced a smile on his serious face, feeling embarrassed to have been outsmarted by knowledge even Muggle children knew.
"Alright! Let's move on to the next topic." He didn't want to dwell on the matter any longer.
"Do you know who your opponent in the finals is?"
"I remember his name is Emil Barebone, right?" Hermione recalled that this wizard had defeated his opponent faster than she did in the morning's match.
"Yes," Strife nodded, "In fact, Emil is a very dangerous individual. He's the target I came to the International Wizard Duel Tournament to apprehend."
"Dangerous?" Hermione didn't understand. "Is he stronger than you?"
"No, not exactly." Strife shook his head.
"In terms of magical ability, we are about equal. But the problem is that Emil is a very dangerous person; he is a descendant of the 'Purifiers.'"
"Purifiers?"
"Yes, the Purifiers were a group of wizard mercenaries from various countries who existed in America's history.
At that time, America had no formal magical government, so the Purifiers exploited the loophole in law enforcement.
Whether they were criminals or not, as long as they could earn a bounty, the Purifiers would hunt them down.
Over time, these individuals became increasingly corrupt and brutal.
Eventually, they even began to sell wizards and capture innocent Muggles, handing them over to witch-hunting Puritans in exchange for rewards."
"That's horrible," Hermione sighed.
"Yes, so after the establishment of MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), American wizards dedicated themselves to bringing the Purifiers to justice.
However, some of the most notorious Purifiers evaded capture. After international warrants were issued, these individuals hid permanently among Muggles.
Some started families with Muggles, abandoning their magically gifted children and keeping only non-magical descendants to conceal their identities."
"So, Emil Barebone is a descendant of these people. But why do you say he is dangerous?" Hermione asked, still confused.
"Because these Purifiers were very vengeful. After being exiled from the magical world, they passed down a steadfast belief to their descendants: that magic is real and any wizard discovered should be exterminated.
Emil's family has always upheld this belief. His ancestor, Bartholomew Barebone, even caused a massive leak of information in the wizarding world, leading to the Rappaport's Law that strictly separated Muggles and the wizarding community.
His other ancestors also formed groups dedicated to exposing and eradicating American magical society. Some even died for it, so his family has a deep hatred for the American wizarding community."
"Although the Barebones have mostly lost their magical abilities over generations, Emil is an exception. He became a wizard.
However, according to our Auror investigations, Emil has not abandoned his family's beliefs despite becoming a wizard.
Instead, unlike his ancestors who aimed to expose the wizarding world and incite conflict, he uses his wizard status to secretly hunt wizards. There have already been at least ten victims."
"How can this be?" Hermione gripped Alaric's sleeve tightly, clearly terrified.
For someone living in modern society, this was an unimaginable evil.
"Yes, he is indeed dangerous," Strife advised.
"Emil is skilled in dark magic and dares to kill with it. Such a dangerous individual is beyond your capability.
If he can't handle you with regular means, he would really dare to use Unforgivable Curses, disregarding the tournament rules.
So, I advise you to surrender in time. Once we apprehend Emil and convict him, the championship will still be yours. There's no need to take this risk."
"Yes, what you say makes sense," Hermione replied. "Thank you for your advice, but I must refuse."
This answer took Strife by surprise. He looked at Hermione in astonishment.
Hermione asked quietly, "You don't have any evidence to arrest him, nor are you completely confident in capturing him, right?"
"How did you..." Strife was clearly taken aback but quickly changed his tune.
"No, we have evidence, and we will definitely catch him."
"Don't lie to us," Alaric interjected.
"If you had solid evidence of his murders, you would have issued an international arrest warrant long ago.
He wouldn't have been able to register for the International Wizard Duel Tournament.
You wouldn't have needed to come to France yourself. You hope to find evidence on him after capturing him."
"Yes," Hermione agreed.
"And because the evidence is insufficient and it's an international pursuit, you don't have many people with you.
So, you plan to defeat him in the tournament, making him unable to resist, and then take him away before he receives treatment, right?"
"Children today are way smarter than I thought." Strife shook his head helplessly.
"You've seen right through us."
"In that case," Hermione declared loudly.
"I can't surrender. If I defeat him in the tournament, there's no way a murderer like him can escape. I won't let such an evil person go unpunished."
"No..." Strife immediately objected.
"Capturing criminals is the job of Aurors. We can't put this responsibility on a young girl like you. You might lose your life."
"Don't worry," Alaric patted Strife's shoulder.
"Hermione is much stronger than you think, and I'll be there to protect her."
Strife was startled to find that when Alaric patted his shoulder, a heavy pressure immobilized him, and his heart felt as though it were being gripped.
Strife looked at Alaric in disbelief. He couldn't imagine that such a young boy, the same age as Hermione, could exert such substantial pressure.
"On the field, Miss Granger said her master is as young as she is but can defeat me without a wand," Strife swallowed hard and said with difficulty.
"I thought she was bragging. Now, I finally believe that there are true prodigies in this world. With you around, Emil can be handled easily ."
After saying this, Strife nodded and left. His silhouette seemed a bit desolate.
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