Traitor

Vogel went in second, then the third, then the fourth.

One by one, the old Acolyte passed through the flames and stood behind Tom. The younger ones looked at each other, hesitant and struggling.

Under the stern gaze of the old Acolyte, he finally rushed forward with his eyes closed.

When they found themselves unharmed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and their gazes toward Tom held a newfound respect.

They had only heard of the ability to let people pass through the Fiendfyre unharmed from their elders; they never imagined that Tom could actually do it.

At that moment, they had no more doubts about Tom's identity.

A moment later, only one person remained standing outside the ring of fire in the quarry.

The young man, in his early thirties, wore a gray robe. His hands and legs were trembling. Tom looked at him.

Aren't you coming in?

"Étienne, what are you dawdling for!" Vogel snapped.

His tone was full of anger, "Come here now and show Mr. Riddle your loyalty to the master!"

Étienne tried to remain calm, but his face was already pale. He shouted at Vogel:

"Vogel, wake up! He can't possibly be Lord Gellert Grindelwald's disciple; this is just a smokescreen!"

"This kid is just a pawn of the Ministry of Magic, don't be fooled by him!"

At this moment, Vogel and the others also noticed that something was wrong. Étienne's shifty eyes and flustered expression had already betrayed him.

Tom looked at him; the man's eyes were darting around, and his hand unconsciously reached for his pocket.

"Grab him. Feed Veritaserum." Tom casually tossed out a sparkling crystal bottle, Vogel caught instinctively.

Étienne's expression changed drastically, and he turned to use Apparition to escape.

But the steadily burning Fiendfyre suddenly burst forth with a tongue of fire, instantly forcing him back and giving her no chance to escape.

Seeing that he still dared to run, Vogel finally understood: this kid was definitely up to something!

Enraged, he attacked, and several Acolyte immediately followed suit, surrounding and attacking Étienne.

Before long, Étienne's wand was taken away, and she was forced to the ground and kneel before Tom.

Vogel roughly pried open Étienne's mouth and dripped a few drops of Veritaserum into it.

Moments later, the Veritaserum took effect, and Vogel began the interrogation.

"Whose side are you on?"

"The French Ministry of Magic."

"Who sent you?"

"Minister Deneuve, she had me infiltrate the Acolyte to collect lists. She said she'd catch them all when the time was right."

After asking only a few questions, Vogel's face turned extremely gloomy, and he also looked somewhat ashamed.

The truth came out: Étienne, and indeed the entire Étienne Family, had betrayed the Acolyte.

They were spies planted among the Acolyte by the French Ministry of Magic, specifically to monitor the Acolyte ' every move and secretly pass messages to the Ministry of Magic.

It's laughable that they just thought Tom was suspicious and that his test was unnecessary; now they've been slapped in the face.

The old woman trembled with rage, raised her wand, and cast the Cruciatus Curse on Étienne.

A piercing scream echoed through the quarry. Tom frowned, and with a casual wave of his hand, Étienne's tongue instantly tied in a knot, rendering him unable to utter a sound.

"How do Acolyte usually deal with traitors?" Tom asked casually, fiddling with his wand.

His tone was completely flat, as if he were talking about something trivial.

Vogel's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was deep and ruthless:

"Exterminate them completely, leave no one alive. Mr. Riddle, and every member of the Étienne Family, will not see the sun rise tomorrow."

"Make it clean, don't leave any traces," Tom instructed casually.

"Yes!" Vogel replied respectfully.

During the interrogation, Tom also learned that the Étienne Family now wields considerable influence in the France Wizarding World, comparable to the Malfoy family in Britain.

It is even more powerful than the Malfoy family, with a large and influential family spanning three generations, including more than ten core members.

But with just one sentence from him, this long-established family, with its rich heritage, was about to be completely destroyed.

"Is this the allure of power?" Tom murmured to himself, a fleeting glint of exhilaration in his eyes.

But soon, he fell silent again. "No, this is power, but not my power. This is Gellert Grindelwald's power."

Inside the Study Space, the unruly first Dark Lord laughed arrogantly and proudly, "Tom, from now on, this power is yours."

After identifying the sole traitor, the ring of Fiendfyre used for identification became useless.

Tom flicked his wrist, plunging his wand downwards into the ground. Golden light instantly spread out, firmly suppressing the blue Fiendfyre.

Once the golden light completely covered the entire quarry, the arrogant Fiendfyre obediently went out, leaving not even a spark.

"Finite Incantatem?" His voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

"As expected of the master's disciple! You were able to cast the Finite Incantatem single-handedly; this magic power is simply outrageous!"

Vogel quickly stepped forward to flatter him, and the Acolyte behind him echoed him, their eyes filled with awe.

To put it simply, "Finite Incantatem" is just an enlarged version of "Finite," a very basic cessation spell.

However, this spell requires several powerful wizards to activate it together for its power to be fully transformed.

It could even stop ruthless Dark Magic like Fiendfyre and Killing Curse.

Tom's ability to unleash this magic single-handedly undoubtedly proves once again his terrifying power.

"Stop with the pleasantries, enough with the small talk," Tom waved his hand impatiently.

"Tell me about your current situation. Are there only about twenty of you left among the Acolyte?"

"It hasn't declined to that extent, but it can never return to the glory days when 100,000 Acolyte stood shoulder to shoulder."

"Back in its heyday, Lord Gellert Grindelwald was only responsible for the overall direction of Continental Europe; the specific scheduling was handled by Vinda Rosier."

Vogel's voice lowered, "After the defeat, most of the most stubborn Acolyte were imprisoned, and those who managed to escape were all scattered."

Vogel sighed, his face full of regret, and slowly began to speak of the Acolyte ' current situation.

Having witnessed Étienne's betrayal firsthand, Vogel's mindset completely changed.

He finally understood that not everyone was as loyal to Gellert Grindelwald as they were, these old bones.

Some chose betrayal for the sake of family interests, others for the sake of their descendants' security.

Betrayal is betrayal, and no matter Diadem the reasons, they cannot change that fact.

Since their defeat decades ago, the national Ministry of Magic and International Confederation of Wizards have joined forces to suppress them.

The Ministry of Ministry of Magic deployed people to keep a close watch on them, effectively severing all communication between the Acolyte.

These dark and hopeless days did not improve much until the 1990s, when those who advocated suppressing the Acolyte back then basically withdrew from politics.