Acolyte Assembly

In fact, he had a more direct way of summoning; Gellert Grindelwald had taught him a spell called the Black Mantle Flowing.

It can summon black curtains invisible to Muggle, which, when hung on buildings, are far more conspicuous than these hidden codes.

The wizards of Paris were no strangers to this spell; Gellert Grindelwald had used it when he caused trouble in Paris.

But Tom dared not use it; if he did, he would likely be met not with Acolyte, but with all the Auror of France.

And then Albus Dumbledore, who'll be rushing from Hogwarts as fast as he can after being notified; that could cause a lot of trouble.

In the end, Tom chose a wizard café with a nice decor.

He pushed open the door, ordered a Lecce coffee and a truffle chocolate, and leisurely sat down by the window, eating and waiting.

Before long, the customers in the coffee shop quietly left one by one.

Even the staff walked out of the shop looking dazed, and in the end, Tom was the only one left in the entire coffee shop.

Just as he finished the last sip of coffee and wiped his mouth, the coffee shop door was finally pushed open.

Macduff entered cautiously, somewhat surprised, followed by several wizards.

They were all the Acolyte that Tom and Newt Scamander had dealt with that day, even the unlucky guy whose arm had been pierced by a cactus was standing inside wrapped in bandages.

Upon seeing Tom, the group instinctively pulled out their wands, their expressions wary and their entire bodies radiating alertness.

"Looks like you haven't forgotten this code." Tom put down his coffee cup, slowly turned around, and looked at Macduff and the others with a half-smile on his face.

"Who are you? Why are you using the Acolyte ' secret code?" Macduff gripped his wand tightly, his tone accusatory.

There was also a hint of barely perceptible anger, "Many among the Acolyte can decipher codes, but only Lord Gellert Grindelwald is qualified to use them!"

"Me?" Tom straightened his tie, his posture composed, and slowly began to speak, "Let me introduce myself. I am Tom Riddle, Gellert Grindelwald's student."

"Impossible!" Macduff's question was almost a shout.

Who doesn't know that their elders are imprisoned in Nurmengard? The International Confederation of Wizards values that tower more than their own lives.

On the surface, it seems like only one Squib is responsible for delivering food and guarding the area, but what's going on behind the scenes?

The entire tower was completely covered by various triggering and restricting spells, and a new batch had to be replaced every few days for fear of making the slightest mistake.

Why not send a wizard to guard them? It's because their parents have such a terrible criminal record!

He can seduce anyone he goes, from the head of the Auror to the clerks in the Ministry of Magic. Once they've been swayed by his smooth talk, they're guaranteed to betray him.

This has made the Ministry of Magic of various countries afraid, and they dare not send their own people to serve as jailers. Only the rigid and inflexible magic circles can give them a sense of security.

Tom didn't reply. He picked up his coffee cup, took another sip, and found the bitterness even stronger.

The unfortunate guy whose arm was pierced by a cactus already disliked Tom, and now he jumped out to argue with him.

"Boy, Lord Gellert Grindelwald is imprisoned in Nurmengard. Did you grow wings and fly in to become his disciple? I think you are..."

Before he could finish speaking, it suddenly felt like an invisible hand was gripping his throat, his face turned bright red, and he couldn't even breathe.

The others weren't much better off; their eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets, and their mouths were agape, completely stunned by the sight before them.

Tom simply raised his right hand, palm up, and blue flames shot out from his fingertips, quiet and gentle, like a blooming cornflower.

The flames began to Transfiguration, stretch, and expand, before the horrified eyes of the Acolyte.

The cluster of blue flames gradually transformed into a strange bird with bull horns and bronze feathers covering its body.

It let out a sharp roar at them, and the chill of death instantly swept through the entire area, causing everyone's forehead to be covered in a dense layer of cold sweat.

Stymphalian Bird, the messenger of purgatory in Greece mythology!

The bronze bird feathers were as hard as armor, the bronze ox horns were as sharp as blades, and the razor-sharp tail feathers could be shot out like arrows, a hundred times sharper than ordinary arrows.

When this thing first appeared, it would take away a large number of innocent lives; it was definitely a messenger of Hades and a frequent visitor to purgatory.

Interestingly, the Stymphalian Bird has an inextricable connection with Gellert Grindelwald and Andros.

This Sickle just something that exists in mythology; Andros personally slew the last one.

It was incorporated into mythology, which is Heracles ' sixth great achievement.

Gellert Grindelwald's Fiendfyre form happens to be the Stymphalian Bird.

Andros often teased him about this, saying that he couldn't even learn to cut down birds properly from his own attempts.

Macduff's wand drooped, and the people behind him exchanged bewildered glances, unsure how to react.

Tom held the firebird in his palm and let it fly around once. The flames swept across the coffee shop ceiling but didn't burn anything.

"Lord Gellert Grindelwald's Fiendfyre..." a young Acolyte murmured to himself.

"It's not just Fiendfyre." Macduff stared into the bird's eyes, the pupils reflecting a blue light.

Macduff and the others felt a sudden tremor in their hearts at the elegant way the Fiendfyre was manipulated.

There's also Fiendfyre's unique Stymphalian Bird design; even Tom and Gellert Grindelwald themselves wouldn't believe they're unrelated.

Could this kid really be the master's disciple?

Tom gently clenched his fist, retrieved the firebird, and let it coil around his finger like a blue ring.

His gaze swept past the astonished and suspicious Macduff and the others, and looked towards the door of the coffee shop.

In a calm tone, he said, "Hey you outside, stop hiding, come in."

"I've already proven my identity. There's no point in wasting time talking to you juniors. It's time for some heavyweights to come."

The coffee shop was quiet for a moment, then several figures appeared at the door.

Upon seeing this, Macduff and the others immediately and instinctively made way for each other, their expressions extremely respectful.

Entering were three men and one woman, four elderly people with white hair, their faces etched with the marks of time, yet still exuding an aura that could not be underestimated.

The elderly man leading the group walked up to Tom and bowed slightly.

"Mr. Riddle, please forgive our caution, but these are not good times for us, and the Acolyte cannot afford any more losses."

Besides the dozen or so people inside the coffee shop, there were actually quite a few more outside, making a total of twenty people – quite a large group.

The reason so many of them came was partly because of the coded hand signals Tom used last time; they needed to figure out Tom's background.

On the other hand, they were also afraid that this was a trap set by the Ministry of Magic of various countries, a pretext to wipe them all out.

After much deliberation, we decided to bring so many people along; if it really is a trap, at least we'll have someone to look out for us.