"ah-"
"...I really don't know...it is impossible for me to see the contents of those documents before the confidentiality level is lowered..."
"Don't... don't... uh!"
Heart-wrenching screams kept ringing from the room next door, one after another, as if their throats were about to be torn apart. Joshua held his head and huddled in a corner of the room, covering his ears hard, but the sound could still penetrate all obstructions and penetrate deeply into his cochlea.
Joshua, who had been suffering from punishment for many years, would tremble and shrink into a ball almost as soon as he heard the miserable howl that contained pain. Even though he was not the one suffering at the moment, he seemed to feel the same.
That kind of double mental and physical torture that could not even cause fainting must be the Cruciatus Curse—Joshua knew it must be that one.
After a long time, probably because the "master" didn't want the woman to go insane due to pain and torture, the screams finally stopped.
As the door to the next door closed again with a bang, silence returned here again.
Yes, Joshua had the misfortune to encounter the obscurant's exploration operation during an accidental outing - he was captured by his former companions and brought back to his master, and what was waiting for him was a woman even worse than the one just now. Horrible torture and punishment.
The Obscurus is more resistant to the Cruciatus Curse than ordinary wizards. Maybe it's because of physical constitution, or maybe it's the patience brought about by countless repetitions. But no matter what the reason was, it would only make Joshua suffer more and longer intense pain.
"...Ah, is it really wrong to betray your master?" Joshua fell on the floor and thought with some confusion, "Even if he is abandoned, he should not betray his master... let alone let that person I have removed the brand mark given to me by the master... The master... is angry... "
"Click—"
Just when he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard the sound of the door lock being opened. Without hesitation, he immediately got up again and huddled into the corner of the room again.
"Master, don't... I have told you everything... really..."
"Bring him out!"
The black-robed wizard had already taken off his hood. It can be seen that hidden under his hood is an old face full of wrinkles.
The messy white beard is as conspicuous as the white hair on his head. There is a pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose. His physique does not look as thin as that of ordinary old people, but he looks very strong.
If anything, this old wizard actually has some similarities with Dumbledore's brother Aberforth. But the biggest difference between the two is the eyes.
There seemed to be some kind of morbid evil and madness hidden deep in the old man's black pupils.
As soon as he gave the order, an Obscurial following him immediately walked into the room and effortlessly dragged Joshua out who did not dare to resist at all.
He held Joshua's wrist tightly with one hand, followed the old wizard step by step, and followed the master to the door of the next room.
The old wizard reached out to unlock the enchantment on the door, then turned the doorknob and opened the door again.
"Throw him in -" the old man snorted coldly, "There are a little few rooms in this stronghold, but we can't waste it on you kid... Just stay with that stupid girl!"
The Obscurial behind him faithfully carried out the old wizard's order and pushed Joshua into the room. But just as the old wizard was about to close the door, he paused for a moment.
"Joshua," the old wizard looked at him and said, "If you still want to return to our big family, just convince that girl to cooperate. Do you understand?"
Then he immediately closed the door again without waiting for Joshua to reply.
"Say, convince?" Joshua lay on the floor, muttering to himself, "How to convince? What should I say... What should I do..."
When his mind was full of confusion, he heard a weak and soft voice from behind him.
"...Don't waste your efforts."
Joshua quickly turned over and looked back. Not far behind him, the haggard-looking woman was lying on the floor, looking at him with half-dragged eyelids.
"What?" he said subconsciously.
"I mean... I really don't know anything..."
After the woman finished speaking, she closed her eyes slightly, obviously not wanting to say it a third time.
She is Zoe, who was kidnapped by the old man from Woolworth Building, a small copywriter who unfortunately got involved in this dispute.
Although her position is very low, she is not stupid. She knew that the torture of her by that hateful old man had probably just begun!
That's the Cruciatus Curse! Even the top Aurors may not be able to hide many secrets under such a curse. How could she, a girl who had just graduated from Ilvermorny less than two years ago, be able to withstand it
But no matter what she said, the other party would not believe it—Zoe, who knew something about those crazy dark wizards, knew it very well.
Because Joshua didn't know what to say, and Zoe wanted to take a good rest, the room became quiet again for a while.
To be honest, Zoe is indeed a very beautiful girl.
With delicate and white skin, long and smooth black hair, long eyelashes, and a good figure, her whole body exudes a feminine atmosphere. Even though she looked haggard due to the torture just now, it seemed to add a bit of fragility to her.
Even Joshua, who was somewhat uncomfortable with the opposite sex, couldn't help but look at her a few more times.
Because he grew up in a special environment, the girls living around Joshua didn't know how to dress up, let alone put on makeup.
After all, they were almost all children raised by the old wizard. Although the other party still valued these "experimental subjects", even if their education was biased, they were very attentive.
But you want an old man who can only study magic to take care of dressing up, which is obviously a bit difficult for him.
So, when Joshua saw Abigail, the girl Maka took to the shack, he was already secretly amazed by her. But the woman in front of him is undoubtedly more concerning.
After a while, Joshua couldn't help but moved his body and made a rustling sound.
"...Are you...are you awake?" he asked cautiously.
Zoe opened her heavy eyelids and glanced at him feebly, followed by a self-deprecating smile.
"Stop staring at me, coward—" she said perfunctorily, "My name is Zoe... Also, don't talk to me casually, stay away from me..."
"I, my name is—"
"Your name is Joshua, I know!" Zoe immediately interrupted him, "Didn't I tell you not to talk casually?"
She said this weakly, obviously because her physical strength had not yet recovered. But the rejection contained in the words was sonorous and powerful.
Joshua opened his mouth again, but found that he no longer dared to say anything, so he had to close his mouth again and became silent again.
Perhaps because it was the first time he saw such a beautiful member of the opposite sex, Joshua became increasingly confused. He really wanted to say a few more words to Zoe—anything, but he couldn't.
In this world, some things are just so funny. At this moment, Joshua was like a little boy who met the beautiful elder sister of his host family, and his heartstrings were touched unintentionally.
If Maka were here right now, he would definitely sigh for it. The so-called "power of love" hidden deep underground in the locked room of the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic is indeed, as Dumbledore said, inexplicably powerful.
This kind of power can suppress the fear, depression, and even hatred that have been tortured by the dark wizard for more than ten years in an instant.
Although Maka always felt quite awkward when the word "love" was mentioned, its power was something he could not deny or ignore.
In order to protect her child, Harry's mother Lily can use this spiritual power to cast an ancient spell of love and rebound the death curse that was shot at Harry; and Joshua in front of him is in this wonderful way. Underneath the strength, there is actually a faint desire to try to break free from the constraints of childhood.
"... Zoe, Zoe... do you... want to escape?" Joshua's voice trembled slightly, and he said hesitantly, "I... can help you."
"What?" Zoe immediately opened her eyes, stared at him hesitantly and said, "How can I help?"
Her Legilimency talent allowed her to vaguely understand that although Joshua's words were a little hesitant and vague, the thoughts contained in them seemed to be real.
"Master... He thinks that without the brand mark, I can't use my power properly..." Joshua lowered his head timidly and whispered, "But I think I should... still be able to use it..."
As he spoke, his whole body trembled suddenly, and a black mist instantly dispersed around him.
"I'll take you out to find that person..." Joshua muttered, as if talking to himself, "Yes, find that person! That person is terrifyingly strong and can definitely help us escape far away." of… "
"… 'That person'?" Zoe stared at him closely and asked, "Who is 'that person'?"
"I... his name seems to be... McClain..." The black fog around Joshua gradually became thicker and thicker, and his voice became more and more indistinct, "I... that person... found he… "
In just a moment, the majestic black fog almost covered most of the room. Zoe, who did not dare to touch the black fog, barely supported the floor and pushed to the corner of the room with difficulty.
But at this moment, the door of the room was opened with a bang from the outside, and the two Obscurials rushed straight towards Joshua's place in the middle of the room.
"Hmph... I wanted to see if I could get some truth out of this little girl's mouth, but I didn't expect... I would get something unexpected... "