Chapter 336: Mysterious Ancient Castle

Voldemort gritted his teeth, staring at the lofty John, his scarlet eyes almost spitting fire.

A sharp pain and burning sensation came from his left shoulder, continually stimulating his nerves.

Just then, a crack sounded.

The sky seemed as if an invisible glass had shattered.

"The sealing spell is broken! John, retreat quickly!"

Professor Moody's voice boomed suddenly.

The purpose of this operation has been fully achieved; there is no need to continue the adventure.

They each pulled out a wooden shard shaped like a door key.

After exchanging a glance, they snapped the wooden shard in their hands.

Subsequently, their figures twisted for a moment and vanished from the spot.

John also took out a door key.

"Meilik!!"

Seeing John about to flee, Voldemort immediately roared angrily, raised his wand, and plunged it straight into the ground.

Instantly, the earth split open, and streams of earth fire surged from the fissures.

The earth fire instantly engulfed John's figure.

The surroundings directly turned into a hellish scene.

However, when the earth fire finally subsided, John's silhouette had long disappeared, leaving only a charred fragment of a door key.

He ultimately failed to catch John.

Voldemort's eyes were scarlet, his nails digging deep into his palms.

He wished he could tear John apart into countless pieces.

But now he is powerless.

Anger clouded his mind.

It prevented him from immediately realizing something was wrong.

John and his companions went to great lengths, luring him out.

They merely destroyed one of his Horcruxes in front of him, then there was no further development.

This behavior is clearly unreasonable, yet at this moment he cannot calm down to think.

His mind is filled with thoughts of how to kill Meilik to vent his hatred.

He even forgot there were still two people he had not dealt with.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

After Voldemort descended onto the battlefield, Draco and Narcissa had already hidden in the forest, frightened, planning to flee on foot.

As a result, they were trapped inside the sealed barrier.

Until just now, when the barrier was broken, they immediately fled deep into the mountains.

They do not know the final outcome of the battle, only able to hear Voldemort's roar and the intense magical disturbances.

They even dare not use magic, fearing to attract Voldemort's attention.

Although they both know that with the Dark Mark, no matter where they flee, Voldemort will find them.

"Mother, continuing like this is not a solution..."

After over an hour, Draco and Narcissa supported each other, trudging difficultly across a snow-covered steep slope.

They arrived beneath a mountain wall half-covered by wind and snow; Draco panted heavily, looking at Narcissa and said.

"He will eventually find us..."

Narcissa did not answer, merely pressing her finger against the Dark Mark on her left arm, her eyes showing hesitation.

"Besides Dumbledore, no one can defeat him..."

Draco leaned against the mountain wall behind him, slowly crouched down, and whispered wearily and hopelessly.

At this moment, Narcissa beside him seemed to have finally made up her mind, looking at Draco and speaking slowly.

"Only by cutting off this hand can we possibly escape the Dark Mark's tracking."

Draco snapped his head up, his pupils constricting sharply.

Cut off... his own hand?

Hearing his mother's suggestion, Draco couldn't help but tremble.

According to the original plan, they should have followed John's group all the way to Berlin.

There, someone was already waiting; as long as they hid in a place that blocks magic, the Dark Mark could be temporarily disabled.

They could then slowly find a way to remove the Dark Mark.

But John's group suddenly changed their route, disrupting the plan.

Adding Voldemort's sudden descent, they are now stranded in the wilderness.

They cannot Apparate, nor do they have a door key; Voldemort might regain his senses at any moment and deal with them.

So now, only this desperate gamble remains.

Either they sever an arm, or they die.

Narcissa drew out the silver dagger, its tip flashing a cold light in the snow.

Draco watched this scene, wanting to stop, yet not knowing how to speak.

As Narcissa kept taking deep breaths, her wrist trembled slightly.

Finally, after gritting her teeth, she fiercely swung the blade down!

Ding!

A crisp sound.

The blade struck a protruding rock on the mountain wall, sending out a spark.

Narcissa and Draco both looked bewildered at the scene before them.

Just then, an invisible force suddenly flicked the blade away.

Before they could react, the mountain wall behind them suddenly collapsed inward with a boom, revealing a deep, dark opening.

The two simultaneously stepped back, exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with surprise and lingering fear.

"... Come in..."

A faint, almost inaudible whisper came from within, like an elder's call.

Hearing that summons, both shuddered.

Their faces showed fear, yet also a hint of indescribable fancy.

In their desperate moment, could this sudden apparition be a turning point?

The two, already at a dead end, finally exchanged a glance.

They chose to step into the opening.

As their figures disappeared into the darkness, the opening silently closed, as if it had never been opened.

When Draco and Narcissa passed through the cave, what came into view was a black castle perched on the cliff of the valley.

Some faint halos of light existed in the sky.

Obviously, they were shrouded in some magic.

Following the winding stone steps upward, they set foot on the secluded path to the castle.

At the top of the steps, a gate of the castle stood slightly ajar.

They did not know what place this was.

They only saw, above the gate, a sentence carved into the stone wall, looking weathered.

They could barely make out the sentence's content......

【For the Greater Good】

With a bang.

John fell straight into the Order of the Phoenix.

"Ah hot hot hot!!!"

At that moment his buttocks were on fire; as soon as he landed he frantically patted his trousers, shouting with clenched teeth.

Damn it.

He was too late, and got burned by Voldemort's magic.

He had just put out the fire on his pant leg when Hermione's voice sounded nearby.

"John! What happened to you!"

She had been staying in the Order of the Phoenix today, just waiting for John and the others to return from their operation.

Just now, Professor Moody and a few others landed, and she followed Harry and the others over.

Seeing them safe and sound, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

But John's figure was nowhere to be seen.

Just as she was about to ask, John appeared right after.

He appeared, but in a flaming state......

Hermione, Harry, and the others immediately rushed to help John put out the remaining flames.

"Cough, mistake, mistake..."

John scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and laughed.

"Voldemort doesn't observe martial virtue; in the end he even burned me."

After patting out the remaining flames, the group then gathered around.

"John, why are you covered in wounds..."

Hermione also finally looked at John's robe, covered in burns and stains, and the blood marks on his face.

She cupped John's cheek, feeling heartbroken, and asked anxiously.

"It's fine, Hermione, just minor injuries."

John quickly waved his hand to reassure Hermione, then pulled out a bottle of magic potion and gulped it down.

His mental state visibly recovered somewhat.

But Hermione still felt somewhat worried.

"Alright, this isn't the main point now."

"Harry Senior, any gains?"

After comforting Hermione again, John turned to Harry and asked.

He hadn't forgotten the ultimate goal of this operation.

But...

Harry furrowed his brow for a moment, seeming to ponder how to put it into words.

"I, I'm not sure if this counts as a gain..."