At Death's Door

Selena, Eriel, and even Amelia, who was still only an Auror trainee, stared at the hundreds of vampires. The sheer number was astonishing. According to the Department of Security's statistics, there should not have been anywhere near so many vampires active within New York. Clearly, someone powerful had been covering for these dark creatures.

The three wizards from the Ministry of Magic Congress stared blankly at Thrak Grevis, whose entire body radiated a cold, sinister aura utterly unlike his usual presence. They all thought they were hallucinating.

Amelia still wanted to deceive herself, believing that the Grevis before her had been fabricated by the vampire called Morgans. But Morgans was standing right beside Grevis.

Compared to them, Sirius was much calmer.

When he saw Grevis casting some kind of evil magic, he merely raised his brows in surprise. Then he said only, "So that's how it is," and his expression returned to calm.

After all, Sirius had endured a far more devastating betrayal.

Selena's furious scream woke the vampires from their pleasant dreams in the hall. After a great rustling, countless wands were pointed at them. Yet Selena seemed utterly unaware that they were in mortal danger. As though her worldview had shattered, her eyes churned with rage, disappointment, grief, and even despair.

Grevis slowly turned his head, facing the subordinate who had once earned his deepest trust. There was no shame at betraying his colleagues, no fury at being exposed. There was only calm. That calm shattered his usual solemn image and strangely made him seem much more genial.

"Heh, so it's you—"

Grevis smiled placidly. He did not look at Selena or Eriel. Instead, his gaze settled on Sirius and Amelia.

"You're acting on Breen's orders, aren't you? Heh heh, I expected as much. A genius wizard like