The Auror captain's gaze lingered on the interim leader's face for a beat. He swept his eyes over the remaining people watching him—some lowered their heads, some turned their wand tips aside, while others stood motionless but had already shifted their gazes toward the ground.
"Ah... it seems you still misunderstand me. How about this? We each take a step back. I can write in the report that you cooperated with my operation, that the enemy's firepower was too fierce, that we were outnumbered, and that everyone fought until the very end. That explanation benefits everyone. But the premise is that you follow my arrangements—"
"Follow your arrangements? You didn't seem interested in giving anyone a way out when you threw Gravity Charms and Binding Charms at us just now." The interim leader cut him off, raising his wand from where it pointed at the ground to waist height—a preliminary attack stance taking shape.
The Auror captain's pupils changed twice in that instant—first narrowing, then widening.
His body took half a step toward the interim leader. The placement of his weight in that step was clearly different from before—the ball of his front foot touched down first, his knee bent, and his upper body naturally leaned to one side.
His right hand lightly tapped the wand holster at his waist. The wand slid out swiftly with the momentum, and the battle began.
"You really think I got this position through connections? Let me show you what I rely on—Fiendfyre Frenzied Fox!"
His entire bearing changed. The motion of drawing and swinging his wand was firm and forceful. Dark red flames spurted from its tip as it emerged, lacking the diffuse heat of ordinary Fiendfyre but carrying an added sense of concentrated solidity.
The dark red flames extended from the wand