A Heart of Regret

Voldemort had dealt with the Shadow of the Magic Dragon many times before. He had come into contact with this mysterious organization when he was young, and before his resurrection and return, he had even received their help. Naturally, he recognized the identities and origins of these people at a glance.

Although he didn't recognize the leading couple, his special perception derived from snakes told him that the magical power of the couple was by no means inferior to his own, at least at the level of a quasi-magic master. Either of them would be enough to contend with him, not to mention that there were two of them, and a group of subordinates shrouded in a strange black aura behind them.

Voldemort devoted his life to the study of Dark Arts, and his knowledge of it alone was vast, arguably surpassing that of Dumbledore and Skylar combined. He recognized the black aura; it was an ancient and terrifying spell called the "Soul-Crushing Life-Ending Curse," and those branded with this spell were called "Dark Soulers." It was a Dark Arts that sacrificed a portion of one's soul and life in exchange for magical power.

The highest potential of this Dark Arts is enough to give an underage wizard the ability to fight against an elite Auror —don't doubt it, because Dark Soulers gain is not just an increase in magical power, but also many other talents, such as increased spellcasting speed, increased physical resistance to spells, and so on. Against an underage Dark Soulers, the only Auror can rely on is his mastery of magical techniques and his rich combat experience.

However, judging from their size and height alone, these Dark Soulers were clearly not underage wizards, and the surging, violent magical power emanating from them further revealed their level of skill.

All one hundred people here are elite Auror!

At that moment, even Voldemort, with his composure, was momentarily stunned—were there really that many elite Auror- level wizards in all of Britain?

When he last launched the Great War, the Ministry of Magic had just recovered from the Grindelwald Rebellion and had at most 60 Auror. At least half of them were trainee Auror or junior Auror, meaning there were fewer than 30 elite Auror. In that Great War he led, some Auror died in battle, some retired after the war due to injuries, and some Auror from Pure-blood families betrayed the Ministry of Magic Auror joined his side, ultimately being sent to Azkaban or exiled overseas.

After a mere thirteen years of recuperation, given the population of the Britain wizarding world, Voldemort could easily estimate that the current number of Auror in the Ministry of Magic would not exceed 40, and the number of elite Auror might even be less than 10.

This shows how much of a visual impact the sudden appearance of 100 elite Auror- level wizards had on him.

The dark wizards of the Shadow of the Magic Dragon transformed into wisps of black mist, fluttering and slowly descending behind the leading couple. They stood in orderly rows, like the square formations commonly seen in ancient wizarding wars, rather than scattered. They remained in their positions, silent, yet the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Faced with this scene, Voldemort felt a strong sense of unease. The red light in his eyes flickered uncertainly. Finally, he slowly turned his head to look at Skylar and said softly, "They outnumber us... should we join forces?"

However, to everyone's surprise, Skylar seemed to have been suddenly cursed with petrification. He turned into a mindless stone statue, standing there Dazed, staring blankly into the distance.

He didn't respond to Voldemort's suggestion at all, not even glancing at Voldemort. Voldemort wasn't even sure if Skylar had heard a single word he had just uttered.

The boy's eyes had lost all their former shrewdness, ambition, and wisdom; only intense emotion remained.

Voldemort couldn't discern what kind of emotion it was, but he knew it must be related to "love," which he loathed most. Voldemort was born from a false love created by his mother with Love Potion. He couldn't accept "love," nor did he believe in its power. He even felt disgusted and abhorred simply hearing the word "love."

Today is June 24th—exactly 310 days since Meredith disappeared (August 18th).

It turns out, without realizing it, we haven't seen each other for so long...

Memories flooded my mind like a spring—our first meeting on the train, our bond outside the Potions, learning the Patronus Charm together, the touching kiss in Hogsmeade Village...

Those scenes flashed before his eyes, and familiar words and voices echoed in his ears once more, giving Skylar a dreamlike feeling, as if he had returned to the past, as if everything in his memory was just yesterday...

The woman was very tall, with long, glossy black hair that reached her shoulders. Her stunningly beautiful face was mature and alluring. It should have been a completely unfamiliar face, but in Skylar's eyes, he could vaguely recognize the features of Meredith from the corners of her eyes and brows. Meredith's former charming smile seemed like a shadow, slowly merging with the image of the woman before him...

Skylar opened his mouth slightly, as if to say something, but found that his throat was so dry that his voice was hoarse. He couldn't help but blink, only to find that his eyes were already wet.

He had fantasized countless times about what he should say and do when he saw Meredith again, now possessed, but the reality was far worse than he had imagined; he had never felt so vulnerable before.

He once thought he could let go.

He had thought that with so much time having passed, his feelings would have faded with time.

He once thought that after a whole year of arduous study and becoming stronger, after nearly turning against his brothers, after being cruelly tortured by his prisoners, and after experiencing real killing, his heart had long since become cold and ruthless.

He even naively thought that he could find solace in his other girlfriends and fill the void with the love of others.

Only in this moment is the emotion truly real—it is regret.

Merlin once said something like this in the treasure trove of memories he left for Skylar: "Love and hate may be intense, but the deepest emotion in the world is regret—the feeling of not striving to obtain what you could have; the realization that you didn't cherish what you should have had only after losing it..."

Skylar was in turmoil. He had completely lost the will to fight.

Skylar's strength was never based on powerful magic, nor on immense magical force, nor even on his vast knowledge and methods of magic. He was a strategic wizard, and his greatest strength lay in his powerful analytical mind, calm interpretation and judgment, and meticulous tactics and planning. If he lost his composure and his fighting spirit, his overall combat power might not be halved, but it would definitely be greatly affected.

Faced with a formidable enemy, he bit his tongue hard. The pain brought some rationality back to his mind, but it also made him unable to hold back his tears, which were already moist.