Chapter 1033
Long Talk 3
Chapter 1033 Long Talk 3
"So Rick allied with Muggle elites, used the Purifiers, and even allied with the goblins."
"Because he knew that no orthodox wizard—not even a dark wizard—could support him," Wade said.
"He seeks out every resource he can, and spreads the secrets of the magical world indiscriminately. It's not that he doesn't know the consequences of doing so, but rather that he doesn't care... Apart from his own goals, everything in the world probably means nothing to him."
Dumbledore nodded slightly: "Sophirus Rake... He is not a dark wizard in the traditional sense, and he may not even deign to call himself a dark wizard."
"Faced with such an existence, most of our previous experience and knowledge about combat may become invalid."
The two fell silent simultaneously.
After seeing Abigail's memories, both Wade and Dumbledore realized one thing—
They used to think that the threat to the British wizarding world came from Voldemort.
To broaden our perspective further, we could also say that there's Grindelwald, whose influence is steadily growing, or the Ministry of Magic, which is becoming increasingly wary of Dumbledore.
As for the Purifiers, Prometheus, the changes at the Magical Congress of America, and so on...
To be honest, these can all be considered internal affairs of the American magical community.
Given the wizarding world's closed-off nature, wizards don't even bother to learn about their Muggle neighbors, let alone care about the situation of foreign wizards.
So those massive waves in the American magical world, by the time they spread to Britain, might only leave a few ripples.
Just like when Voldemort was wreaking havoc in the British wizarding world, wizards in other countries were watching from the sidelines. Apart from those unlucky ones who were targeted by Voldemort—such as Nick Flamel and Karkaroff—no one felt that it had anything to do with them.
However, Abigail's memories prove that Sophirus Rake, hiding behind the scenes, is the one who truly threatens the life and death of the entire wizarding world, because what that person wants is not the power games within the wizarding world, but to tamper with the "underlying code" of the entire world.
More importantly, if the so-called "world rift" is indeed the power that once created "gods", then what unknown changes will Rek's pursuit and research bring?
If he really succeeds... who would want to see someone who so wantonly tramples on life and soul possess godlike power?
If he fails, will his research process disturb some long-lost beings?
Wade couldn't help but recall the warning from Ravenclaw's daughter, Lady Grey:
Something ancient is awakening...
In the best-case scenario, Rick's research would be in vain. He would not succeed, and the legendary gods would not actually exist, or the gods and demons would have disappeared or gone into slumber for some reason and would never really appear in this world again.
However, his research process itself will cause immeasurable harm to the world.
For example, the lesson that the witch Eloise Mittwitch taught the world—
She traveled through approximately five hundred years of time, stayed there for five days, and as a result, not only did she age rapidly and die, but she also disrupted the life trajectories of countless people and even threw the entire world's timeline into disarray.
This is just a small time converter.
What Sophirus Rex coveted, however, was a more primal, vast, and terrifying power.
What will he do with them? Could his actions trigger an uncontrollable collapse in time or space?
Just thinking about that scenario sends chills down one's spine.
“What’s more, he has fairies as allies.” Vader, holding his hot cocoa, looked down at the few white bubbles floating on the brown liquid and said:
"That race that has repeatedly instigated rebellions only to be suppressed, but has never yielded..."
"I've never really understood why the magical world looks down on fairies and forbids them from possessing wands, yet still allows them to control the magical world's finances?"
"What's the difference between this and letting the enemy choke you?"
"If the goblins were to rebel again one day, they could easily crush almost all wizards simply by preventing the money stored in Gringotts from being withdrawn—has no one considered this? This approach is truly foolish."
Although Vader himself had a considerable amount of money in Gringotts, he did so for convenience and because he didn't care.
Even if all the Galon in the vault disappears, Vader will not face any survival crisis; that is the source of his confidence.
Many wizards would go to Gringotts to get money before even buying a robe that fit in Diagon Alley, a practice that Vader found incomprehensible.
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket"—this is a self-evident truth to him. Don't others think so?
"It's not that I'm relieved, Wade, but that I have no choice but to accept it."
Dumbledore smiled wryly and said, "Before the Ministry of Magic became the administrator, goblins had already become experts in minting money, keeping property safe, and lending, thanks to their talents."
"Their system is so complex that almost no wizards can understand it. And many wizards believe that... business is dirty business, and that handling money personally is vulgar and undignified, so they disdain to understand or participate in it."
Wade blinked.
—This sounds like the image the Malfoy family presents to the public.
As far as Wade knew, the Malfoy family seemed to be putting on airs, but in reality, Lucius Malfoy was very good at making money and using the power of money.
It's like—their family has always been the epitome of pure-blood chauvinism, but if Muggle society can bring more benefits to the Malfoys, that family will turn around and bend down to kiss the Queen's hand.
Of course, Draco Malfoy might not be like that; he's a bad boy inside and out, and hasn't yet learned his father's cunning and hypocrisy.
Many other pure-blood families, however, lacked the Malfoys' flexible principles and bottom line. They seemed to take the theory of bloodline nobility seriously, even when they were nearly destitute, they still wanted to maintain a so-called "respectability."
This can be seen from the frequency with which those families purchase the Soft Light Badge.
In the weekly financial reports sent to Wade, Marchionni would also jokingly mention the various families—
Some people have even started selling off their family property so that they can wear different soft-focus badges to every banquet.
Some people secretly work several jobs just to buy a set of glamorous formal dresses or robes.
Compared to Muggles, most wizards originally had little to no survival pressure. They were self-sufficient, living a secluded and peaceful life.
But at some point, that "isolation" quietly disappeared, the distance between people became closer and closer, communication became more and more frequent, and all kinds of comparisons became increasingly popular, emptying the pockets of countless people.
(End of this chapter)