After ending the Teleportation Magic, Voldemort's face was deathly pale, and he could barely conceal his exhaustion.
He had come this close to losing to a bunch of Ministry of Magic lackeys!
"Cough, cough, cough, cough."
The weakness brought on by his depleted magic was giving him a terrible headache, but he had no time to worry about such trivial matters now.
He turned and glared at Barty, furious.
"What in the world happened?"
"Wait, Master, let me explain."
Meeting that terrifying gaze, Barty dropped to his knees in trepidation.
"This was my failure, and I'm willing to accept any punishment. But this operation came out of nowhere. I didn't have time to—"
"Out of nowhere? You're a department head. How could you not know the Ministry of Magic was planning an operation?"
Voldemort narrowed his eyes, growing angrier by the second.
Barty was his spy in the Ministry of Magic.
And now, it seemed, that spy had become useless.
Which meant...
Was there any point in keeping him around?
"I swear to heaven, I really didn't know, Master. This operation was initiated by the Ministry's Special Advisor, Glinklai.
Nobody knew about it—not even Dumbledore!"
Barty swore vehemently and clung to Voldemort's leg.
"Glinklai did it on a whim. There wasn't the slightest warning. I—I still haven't managed to get my hands into the Auror's Office or the Department of Mysteries!"
"Glinklai?"
At the name, Voldemort's expression darkened.
"Yes, Glinklai, the Special Advisor hired by Dumbledore. Apparently, he used to be a wandering mage who traveled the world.
Now he's in control of two major combat departments, the Auror's Office and the Department of Mysteries. He's highly influential.
Oh, and apparently his strength is on par with Soren's."
Barty hurriedly explained.
"Heh. Then can you tell me where such a