The-Next-Phase (II) [Chapter 266]

“My men have surrounded the building. You are trapped in the building with no chance of escape. I am giving you 5 minutes and if by that time all of you don’t surrender, then I will torch the building with Fiendfyre” The man paused for a bit before adding the last bit. “I hope you chose wisely” And then there was silence.

Selene cursed inside her mind… They were fucked in all ways possible. The enemy leader was smart. Instead of rushing inside blindly to capture them, he came up with a very logical plan. Selene suspected that the leader wasn’t a greenhorn even though the man was in his prime.

‘What to do?’ Selene wondered internally as she continued to curse her shitty luck. While her Vampiric part wanted her to tell the enemy leader to fuck off, the logical part of her wanted her to contemplate her chances…

‘There is no way we could escape if the building is really surrounded’ Selene decided grimly. There was always a chance that the enemy leader could be bluffing, but the building wasn’t that big, to begin with, and they definitely had enough men to surround the building.

‘He could be bluffing about using Fiendfyre, but from his voice, I don’t think so’ Selene decided after thinking for a bit. The man sounded completely calm and firm while giving the ultimatum. His voice didn’t falter even for once. It was like he had done this before and knowing some of the wicked Wixen out there, she wouldn’t be surprised if the man was a genuine arsonist.

‘Surrender might be the only choice if I want my men to survive’ After thinking for a bit more, she finally concluded. For a moment she wondered if she could taunt them into rushing inside the building, but she decided to drop the idea. While it wasn’t a bad idea, it wasn’t going to be effective. After all, even if some of the enemies rushed inside, the rest would stay outside and set the building ablaze with Fiendfyre…

Maybe, their enemies would show some leniency if they surrendered…

Selene felt Raynaud approach her and she stepped out of the shadows to face the man. He looked just as grim as her, which meant that he had also reached the same conclusion. “What now, Selene?” The man asked in a low tone.

“What is there to do?” Selene asked with a furious look on her face. She knew she shouldn’t snap at him since it wasn’t his fault, but she was just that frustrated. “Of course, we are going to surrender” Selene revealed, making the man nod his head in understanding.

“Alright. Let me grab the others” Raynaud muttered before he started to leave without voicing any discontent. To be honest, he also believed that surrendering was their best choice. They could always try to negotiate the terms of their release later and even though Kraven was going to be mad, Raynaud didn’t care much, and they could always reach out to Amelia, the current ruling Elder if Kraven tried anything funny.

Meanwhile, Selene started to wonder how she was going to face Viktor after such a monumental failure, especially with Kraven always waiting for the opportunity to show up to her…

<Line Break>

~~The Leaky Cauldron~~

Merlin peered out from the curtain and grimaced… “Looks like someone has kicked the hornet’s nest” Merlin said with a frown as he turned around to face both of his companions. Alan simply deadpanned at his friend while Agatha seemed to roll her eyes at Merlin before she started to speak.

“What makes you think that?” Agatha asked drily.

“Well, I don’t know” Merlin huffed as he threw his hands in the air. “It might have something to do with all the Aurors and Hit-Wizards crawling the streets and let’s not forget the members of the Lost Garden” Merlin added with a scowl after a small pause.

“It’s a surprise to see that there are still some Aurors and Hit-Wizards who haven’t quit” Alan pointed out in a sullen tone.

“Yeah. With both Potter and the Riddle running around, it is a surprise, but there were a lot of Aurors and Hit-Wizards still willing to fight during the last War, so not much of a surprise I guess” Agatha pointed out with a hum.

“Well, it’s my birth land, what else did you expect?” Merlin puffed out his chest proudly, earning a disgusted look from Agatha, while Alan simply decided to ignore him. “What’s more surprising is the fact that the Aurors and Hit-Wizards aren’t even bothering the members of the Lost Garden” Merlin added with a scowl.

“Do you think Amelia Bones is no longer hiding her allegiance?” Agatha asked curiously.

“No, I don’t think so” Alan denied with a shake of his head. “I think the Aurors and Hit-Wizards are simply afraid even though they are still sticking with their jobs. You guys must remember that most of these people are family men. They simply can’t quit the job no matter how much they want to if they still want to bring food to their tables. Then most of them know what happened at Hogwarts” Alan paused to take a breath.

“Yes, Potter might have massacred a lot of their colleagues that night, but he also spared anyone who bent their knees even if there were some Death Eaters mixed in. They know that Potter isn’t going to come after them if they don’t mess with him first. None of them wants to poke the sleeping dragon as the saying goes” Alan finished with a sigh.

Merlin looked like he had sucked a sour lemon, but he didn’t retort while Agatha simply looked saddened. “This whole situation is completely fucked up!” Agatha scowled angrily and Alan simply nodded his head in agreement. There wasn’t much to say after that. Even if Potter didn’t know what they were truly capable of, he knew about their existence, which would make him raise his guard.

While problematic, it wasn’t the end of the world…

“Look, enough with the pity party. This isn’t the first time we are facing such odds and this isn’t going to be the first time we were against a whole community, but we still made it work in the end and this time, it is not going to be any different!” Merlin growled with a determined look on his face, rousing both Alan and Agatha.

“Guys, we need to win this. That is the only option we have or the world we know will be no more” Merlin declared before he shoved his hand over the table. Alan and Agatha looked at each other before placing their own hands over Merlin’s with a determined look on their faces. They were going to make it work.

‘We need to keep the status quo, or everything will be ruined…’ Merlin vowed that he was going to succeed…