Reasoning with Liars

The huge office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Andros had just delivered a long and rousing speech, was breathing slightly heavily.

However, as a Returners, he could not produce a more convincing rapid breathing sound.

At this moment, Sean's brain was spinning rapidly.

Grindelwald probably knows some of the inside story, but not much, otherwise the other party wouldn't speak in this tone. So it seems that testing the waters and gathering some information won't be a big problem that exposes him.

Sean remained seated, calmly observing the other person.

"Andros," Sean began, his tone detached and cold, "Colluded with Dumbledore, supported the Wizarding United Guard, infiltrated the Ministry of Magic ... Oh, I almost forgot, just recently, my portrait was hanging above every wanted poster. I must say, your cooperation is truly—pleasant."

Andros said calmly, "Grindelwald, you have taken enough retaliatory actions, and you yourself have not been harmed at all. You have even become the new chairman, haven't you?"

"We have never denied our actions against you, and the reason is simple: you are a ticking time bomb— Grindelwald. You know yourself. Over the years, what have you been planning? Isn't it all about starting a war and ruling Muggle?"

"But this world no longer allows a madman to run rampant, so we chose to strike first—otherwise, what benefit would we gain from suppressing a powerful wizard?"

Andros chuckled self-deprecatingly, "What use is it if we're neither alive nor dead, even if we acquire more power, money, and strength?"

"Don't rush to anger. You certainly have the right to be angry and retaliate, but Grindelwald, think about it carefully. It's your unyielding dream that clashes too much with this precarious world—otherwise, why do you think Dumbledore would join us?"

Andros stood up, took out a gray, prismatic crystal, tossed it upwards, and a thick mist dissipated and coalesced.

The fog transformed the scene into a black and white landscape, revealing a magical and eerie region.

Divine lakes, islands, forests, mountains, deserts, lava... There are magnificent buildings that resemble heaven, as well as eerie and bizarre pools of blood and thorns that look like hell.

Creatures, both familiar and unfamiliar, live in various places: wizards, elves, Fairies, and of course, Giant and hideous monsters.

Those creatures all seemed to have some connection to creatures in the real world, but they were much weirder and more twisted.

This region appears to be suffering a massive disaster.

Lava erupted wildly, mountains collapsed one after another, and the whole world was like a rubber ball being kneaded, gradually breaking apart in the process of twisting.

This is... Sean was startled.

Such a place does not exist in the real world, but the surging lava gave Sean a sense of familiarity.

This is what one's own Soul World, the world where Sin resides...

The world that Andros presents is... Realm of Illusion!

This place is known as "the Otherworld" in Muggle mythology!

This is, in a sense, the origin of the Returners.

Andros turned his head to look at him and said, "Grindelwald, you know where this is, and now, can you connect this scene with some anomalies in the real world?"

I don't know...

However, Andros clearly assumed that Grindelwald was aware of all this, and he continued, "You should have noticed it long ago. Yes, strange and inexplicable forces are gradually emerging in the real world. What you don't know is that the Realm of Illusion has already been affected."

"The source of that power is unknown, but it is rising, and we, the Returners, are here because the Realm of Illusion we once inhabited has become purgatory..."

"Another lie, "Sean thought to himself with a cold snort.

Where did their righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor go? Didn't they say that the destruction of the world wouldn't affect them, the Returners? Now they've turned into pitiful creatures forced to return to reality because of the riot in the Realm of Illusion.

But the other party's attitude was strange. Andros dared to say that, it proved that Grindelwald had indeed observed some unusual movements around the world, which was the strange force that was rising up in the other party's words.

Is Andros trying to combine the two things to increase trustworthiness? That's strange...

In the room, the great Andros sighed, "The world is heading towards collapse, and your little apprentice, whose body is parasitized by Sin, is the best proof... not just Sin, Sin is just the jewel that adorns the bloodiest part of this disaster."

His voice was heavy and sorrowful. "By then, what if you can teach your student well? What if the power of Sin is all-powerful? Can he withstand the anomalies of the entire world?"

Sean looked up and said coldly, "You don't need to worry about that—since you came from the first affected area, the Realm of Illusion, don't you know the source of the anomaly?"

Andros glanced at him and then shook his head. "I don't know, but one of us Returners has a guess..."

"Explain."

"The God of Wizards may not be satisfied with the current state of this world, and his gaze is being cast over here... Haven't you noticed? In those places where strange things are happening, the unknown magic, though peculiar, is extremely pure, very much like the most primordial magic."

The God of Wizards? Sean frowned.

In the Magical World, there are actually very few religious beliefs about the source of magic, and the so-called god is often just the Death God mentioned by Bard and in fairy tale collections.

Rather than God of Wizards, it's more accurate to say that all wizards believe in nature and the world, and the God of Wizards represents nature and the world.

In other words, the gaze of the God of Wizards is the gaze of the world...

The God of Wizards thinks the world is bad, so he wants to change it? Sean's first thought was that it was absurd.

However, Grindelwald's journey through a century caused changes in the world and a disruption of time. Sean has already learned from Dumbledore that the will of the world truly exists and will actively fix the "bugs".

Could the God of Wizards really exist?

His gaze fell upon them, but Andros's face remained expressionless.

Sean gave a noncommittal snort, "I don't believe in God, I only believe in myself."

Andros scoffed. "Who would believe that? An invisible and intangible God of Wizards? Even in my time, only the most old-fashioned and stubborn ascetics would believe that God of Wizards exists in the world."

"But if you don't believe it, how do you explain the current phenomenon?"

As he spoke, Andros took out a branch, which floated quietly in mid-air, emanating a peculiar and pure magical power.

"Grindelwald, you've also collected and studied this kind of magic, haven't you? Can you explain the origin of this magic?"

Sean's heart tightened; this magic... was so strange.

It's somewhat similar to the magic of the Obscurus, the purest form of dark power, but this magic is purer and stranger, making it difficult to describe.

Such magic exists in the world... and Sean had never felt it before.

Andros said in a deep voice, "We believe this is a sign that the gaze of the God of Wizards is about to descend upon this land— Grindelwald, I will no longer beat around the bush with you, and in fact, this cooperation will not do you any harm."

"Oh?" Sean showed a hint of interest at the opportune moment.

"Gods are invincible. If the world wants to escape this calamity, it can only try to avoid the watchful eyes of the gods," Andros said. "Grindelwald, there is only one thing to cooperate with. Suspend the war you are about to start, whether it is against us Returners or to rule Muggle. Suspend all fighting, let the world be quiet, and let the wizards lie low."

"In the end, you still want me to stop the war?"

Andros said in a deep voice, "I told you, this will not do you any harm. Judging from the current situation, at most three years later, God's gaze will be cast upon us. But the real gaze will only last for a moment. When God no longer finds the world noisy, his gaze will also leave."

"Grindelwald, you can maintain your army during this time. Once the time is over, I will not care what you do. Because at that time, the Returners will return to the Realm of Illusion. You can rule if you want, and wage war if you want. It has nothing to do with us."

"The only requirement is that during this period, you must use your authority to keep the wizards in hiding and prevent them from fighting—don't tell me you're worried about losing your authority in just a few years. You can't be so incapable of even this much, can you?"

It must be said that, even from Sean's perspective, this so-called "cooperation," just looking at it this way, does not seem to do Grindelwald much harm.

Even without cooperation, Grindelwald's war against the Returners ' forces is not something that can be ended quickly; it will last a long time, perhaps even longer than three years.

If they cooperate, Andros is telling the truth, then all they need to do is pause the Wizarding World for three years, after which Grindelwald will have complete control of the world.

From any perspective, Grindelwald wouldn't lose out by agreeing to this.

But precisely because of this, the so-called gaze and cooperation of the God of Wizards seem all the more illogical!

Furthermore, the fact that Sean is standing here signifies one thing from the beginning: Grindelwald believes there is absolutely no need to cooperate with him!

So, why did the other party say all that? And what does that strange magic represent?

At that moment, Professor Rosier's voice rang in his ears. "Sean, Lord Grindelwald told me not to tell you at the beginning, but to tell you when the meeting gets to the most important part. Don't agree to any of their requests, and refuse them with the strongest attitude."

"He told me to tell you to first look at all this from Grindelwald's perspective, and then reason from Sean's perspective."

Sean smiled inwardly. Sure enough, that old man Grindelwald had already planned it all out.

This disguise was, in a way, another lesson learned...

"That sounds like a really good plan." Sean smiled, stood up, and walked toward Andros, as if to shake his hand.

"Grindelwald, at least you can distinguish between what's important and what's urgent..."

The satisfaction that had just appeared on Andros's face was interrupted by an unusually thick beam of green light.

"Avada Kedavra"

In Andros's eyes, Grindelwald, who had been smiling, suddenly became extremely cold-blooded, and the Killing Curse, which was cast without a staff or a sound, struck in an instant!

Moreover, the other person's eyes were already covered with a pale blue light.

Nihilo Intuor, a spell Sean learned from Voldemort, the Soul Master. He casts it on himself, and then it can harm special beings like ghosts!

His Killing Curse was prepared on the way here, and Hermione's Echo had already accumulated enough pre-existing spells.

Sean had long understood Grindelwald's meaning; his purpose in coming here was to capture a Returners of sufficient importance.

The green light shot out instantly, but it pierced through Andros's body!

Sean's Nihilo Intuor had no effect; Little Snakes made of mist crawled out from Andros's body and blocked the Nihilo Intuor.

"Grindelwald!"

Andros roared, his powerful body suddenly lurching backward, and immediately black smoke rose from behind him.

The black mist transformed into a vortex, sucking Andros into it.

Sure enough, they came prepared... Sean thought to himself, feeling a pang of regret.

The black mist wasn't Portkey, but it was clearly a special method of teleportation. Furthermore, the spells cast by Sean and the others were absorbed by the vortex and couldn't harm Andros.

"Grindelwald, you scoundrel! You were the one in the Department of Mysteries that day!" Andros shouted angrily, half of his body submerged in the vortex.

Sean, who had been silent, raised an eyebrow. "It's so obvious, and you're only just realizing it?"

He wanted to make it a fact that Grindelwald attacked the Department of Mysteries, so that the Returners wouldn't suspect that Grindelwald was the one who caused this time travel accident.

Andros Sean a dark look, and just as his head was about to sink into the vortex, he suddenly laughed.

"Grindelwald, haven't you always been curious about why Dumbledore betrayed you? You saw that, didn't you? Let me tell you, we sent someone to take Dumbledore to the Baron Skinner's Manor."

"Hahaha, Grindelwald, I know what you want, but Dumbledore, he has become your eternal enemy!"

The vortex disappeared from the room, and Andros's loud laughter came to an abrupt end.

"Lord Grindelwald ..." Rosier looked at Sean.

Sean waved his hand. "Go and take care of the rest of them."

"Yes!"

Sean sat down heavily after everyone had left the room.

This is big news...

He knew what the Baron Skinner's Manor was for.