Dark Magic Descent

Yunus Khalifa was naturally no simple man, having built a down-and-out Pure-blood family into one of the most powerful ruling families in the Wizarding World.

In fact, twenty years ago, he had merely been an ordinary Pure-blood wizard who had graduated from Slytherin House.

At the time, not only were Muggle-born wizards of low status, but shallow-rooted Pure-blood families like his were likewise not taken seriously by the true Pure-blood aristocracy.

Freshly graduated, Yunus faced the same predicament Muggle-born wizards faced now: he possessed talent and ambition, yet had nowhere to put them to use.

At the time, he had only two paths to choose from. One was to serve those truly old-established Pure-blood families, becoming their household servant, while the entire Khalifa Lineage became one of their vassal families.

The other was to follow most Muggle-born wizards who graduated from Hogwarts and take on simple work for meager wages.

But Yunus, blessed with extraordinary talent, neither chose to serve the old Pure-blood families nor wished to bury his gifts in some obscure job within the Wizarding World.

Fearless as a newborn calf, he chose the most dangerous yet most rewarding profession: explorer!

Everyone knew that old aristocratic families possessed supreme power not because of the bullshit bloodlines they bragged about, but because of the vast resources and connections their families had accumulated over thousands of years.

Take the Malfoy family, for example. They had clearly been Voldemort's foremost supporters and had even helped Voldemort commit countless evil deeds, so why had the Ministry of Magic not thrown them into Azkaban?

Wasn't it because nearly one-third of the entire British Wizarding World's economy depended on Malfoy family businesses? If they were truly driven into a corner and relocated abroad wholesale, the British Wizarding World's economy would regress by decades at the very least. Not to mention how the masses of unemployed wizards would express their dissatisfaction to the Ministry of Magic.

If mishandled, once unemployed wizards could not even find room to survive in the Wizarding World, they would immediately spark a riot. Then the entire Wizarding World would fall into a war even more terrifying than Voldemort's dark era: a people's war!

Therefore, even Dumbledore, the greatest white wizard of the twentieth century, had tacitly accepted the Ministry of Magic's release of those old Pure-blood families.

Otherwise, with the old man's prestige at its height and the public's hatred for the Death Eaters, if he had forcibly demanded the execution of those war criminals, who could have stopped him? Those few Ministry of Magic officials? Would they have dared stand in Dumbledore's way?

Thus, old aristocratic families could do as they pleased in the Wizarding World not because of bloodlines, but because of wealth and knowledge.

And explorer was the best career choice for countless ordinary wizards seeking to rise up and become masters of their own fate.

As long as one was fortunate enough to survive an expedition through an ancient ruin and emerge with abundant treasures and lost ancient magic, congratulations: one had gained the qualifications to become a Pure-blood family. At that point, one had the ability to challenge the old Pure-bloods.

Yunus had risen from humble beginnings entirely through one ruin expedition.

It was an ancient ruin located in China. At the time, China was in the midst of reform and opening up, and this mysterious eastern land was unveiling its veil to the West for the first time.

Yunus immediately seized the opportunity, posing as a British investor and entering the Huaxia Continent alongside a Muggle investment delegation.

The moment he entered China, Yunus, disguised as a businessman, began throwing money around and hiring people to gather information on strange places across the Huaxia Continent.

At last, Heaven did not disappoint the determined. Yunus eventually discovered an ancient ruin amid a mountain range called the Kunlun Mountains. After surviving trials that nearly killed him nine times over, Yunus not only learned two ancient dark magics from China, but also obtained the immense wealth left behind by the ruin's owner.

Thus, carrying immense wealth and powerful dark magic, Yunus began his path to rise the moment he returned to the British Wizarding World.

With wealth paving his way and the two powerful dark magics he possessed, Yunus's political career was utterly unobstructed. Furthermore, after Voldemort's defeat, the old Pure-blood families on the losing side had paid enormous war reparations to save their lives, causing his strength to surge even further.

It could be said that if the legendary white wizard Dumbledore had not still been alive, Yunus would have already seized sole control of the Wizarding World.

Now that he held high office, he had gone too long without seriously making a move, allowing mere ants to dare provoke him.

"Dark Magic Descent!"

With Yunus's furious roar, surging black mist erupted wildly from his body as though out of control. The negative emotions of everyone around him were also drawn toward Yunus's body like dust into a vacuum, becoming his magical power.

As the black mist continued to emerge, the Fiendfyre that had been relentlessly scorching Yunus's body actually went out at once, as though it had been placed in an oxygen-free environment.

At the same time, Yunus's entire body transformed into a humanoid mass of black mist. Only a pair of scarlet eyes remained exposed beyond the fog, continuously radiating a bloodthirsty gleam.

That was right. This was one of the dark magics he had obtained from that ancient Chinese ruin: Dark Magic Descent.

"Not good!" The moment Lester heard Yunus suddenly utter those Chinese words he knew so well, his heart clenched. Now, seeing black mist pouring from Yunus's entire body, a growing sense of foreboding filled Lester's heart.

But no matter how frightened he was, Lester understood that one could not lose momentum in a fight.

"Die!"

Lester's gaze hardened, murderous intent bursting from his pupils in an instant. The Fiendfyre Whip in his hand lashed viciously toward the mist-formed Yunus.

The shrill sound of Fiendfyre tearing through the air displayed the boundless might of Lester's strike. If an ordinary adult wizard were hit by it, he would likely be whipped cleanly in two, not to mention the terrifying Fiendfyre attached to it.

Watching the Fiendfyre Whip lash toward him with lightning speed, Yunus's eyes flashed with disdain. He merely raised his right hand.

The next moment, a stream of black mist appeared directly in the Fiendfyre Whip's path and blocked it.

The previously unstoppable Fiendfyre encountered this bizarre black mist and was somehow unable to display its true power. It was effortlessly stopped by the mass of black mist, unable to stir even the slightest ripple.

Suddenly, Yunus moved. He merely waved his hand forward, and a thick stream of black mist shot fiercely toward Lester.

The roar of the air blast echoed throughout the entire third underground level.

Whether they were the prisoners who had come to cause trouble or the Ministry of Magic officials forced to defend themselves, all of them stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at this earth-shaking duel.