Manchak Swamp is located near New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Most of this wetland is soaked in stagnant water and putrid mud. It has a name that is widely circulated in the Muggle world - "Ghost Swamp".
Since ancient times, many people have been buried in this strange swamp. Whether they are Muggles or wizards, there have been many unfortunate deaths.
To this end, the United States Department of Magic has already sent Aurors to cast spells to drive away Muggles.
After all, wizards usually stay away after knowing that there is inexplicable danger there. But Muggles are always like a curious cat, knowing where there is danger but just trying to get there.
Of course, sometimes don't always take what wizards say seriously. Because they often talk about it, and when they turn around, they might run away to find out what happened!
Just like recently, an old wizard appeared on the edge of this ghost swamp. Maybe it's because he's old and has nothing to do, or maybe he's using his remaining energy... In short, he is obviously such an "old adventurer" who wants to go in and feel the mysterious atmosphere.
Just because he knew in his heart that there were abnormalities that could not be judged by common sense, he just stayed on the periphery and did not dare to get involved easily for a long time.
These days, it is the time when miasma breaks out in the swamp. Looking in from the outside, everything is green, and it is almost impossible to see very far away.
"... It's been several days since the time to take action. Is there something wrong with the plan?"
The old wizard stood on the edge of the swamp, his eyes looking directly at the miasma in front of him, his deep and sharp eyes almost piercing it, going straight to the center of the swamp.
This old wizard is not an "old adventurer", but the first generation of the Dark Lord, a powerful dark wizard who turned the entire European magic world upside down - Mr. Gellert Greenwald.
But now he is no longer a strong man. After losing to his old friend and rival Dumbledore, all the magic in his body was completely imprisoned by Dumbledore. Even he was imprisoned in the Nurmengard Wizarding Prison. It lasted for more than fifty years.
Now that he has left the prison tower, the spell that imprisoned him has been automatically lifted. But the magic power has been unable to flow for many years, and has long lost most of its activity. Even if it can be used with magic, it only has the ability to light a fire and cook a meal. And this is because of his strong talent and abundant magic power. If it had been anyone else, he would now be a squib unable to use any magic.
But his powerful magic can't be used, but his brain is not broken. Like him, a rare hero in the world, his shrewd mind may be much more terrifying than magic.
Let's look at Maka, who possesses unparalleled strength, and her brain is not slow, but she still fell into his trap unknowingly. The depth of his wisdom is evident from this.
This time, his purpose is actually very simple.
The long period of imprisonment made him understand many things and some of his past mistakes. But he was not repenting for the killings and ambitions of the past years. He just felt that everything he had done in the past was redundant and ridiculous.
He and Dumbledore, once close friends, may be similar in some ways, because they both have the belief to pursue firmly. But between them, there are more completely opposite philosophies.
He failed that year, and after the failure he also reflected on it, and even had the idea of moving closer to Dumbledore because of his admiration for him.
But Greenwald is always Greenwald. Even if he turns his many desires into a desire for a personal magical path, he still walks on his own path.
A long time ago, Greenwald obtained the fragmentary notes of the despicable Herbo and deciphered some information about this swamp. When he knew that he might be able to catch up with Dumbledore quickly with the help of that ancient mirror, he did not hesitate to leave Nurmengard and go on a journey to pursue Dumbledore.
However, no matter how careful the plan is, changes may occur due to actual circumstances. This is the unbreakable truth of the world. The scene originally expected did not seem to arrive on time.
Just as Greenwald stooped slightly and had some doubts in his heart, a change that he had been waiting for for a long time happened - deep in the miasma-filled swamp, there was a slight vibration suddenly, and in an instant, there was a slight vibration. To the ground he stepped on.
The vibrations came one after another, with a gap of more than ten seconds each time.
"It's begun... It's finally begun..."
Even with Greenwald's current state of mind, he couldn't help but feel happy at the moment. On his calm inner lake, waves surged with the shocks one after another, and there was a clear trend of getting stronger.
In fact, if Maka were here, he might be able to sense a strange scene - the magic power around him surged in like a tsunami in waves that were stronger than the others, but the gathering place was not the same. one place.
In the huge swamp in front of Greenwald, there are a total of six locations that are absorbing a large amount of magic power. What's even more surprising is that something invisible to the naked eye suddenly sprang out of the swamp, mixed in with the wave of magic, and swam inward quickly.
Those little things were like wisps of tiny black smoke, but they were also like tadpoles dragging their tails. Yes, they are more like some unknown living creatures than smoke.
Normally, most of them lurk underground in the swamp and prey on people, but the strange movement at this moment seemed to attract them, and they gathered in large areas deep in the swamp.
Greenwald did not have the ability to sense these strange scenes, but he always stayed where he was and did not show any impatience. Haierbo's notes clearly stated that one must wait patiently at this time, as it was not yet time to go in and harvest the results.
At this moment, a soft "click" sound came faintly from the depths of the swamp. The sound seemed fleeting, and if you didn't pay attention carefully, you wouldn't notice it at all.
But as this inconspicuous movement suddenly occurred, Greenwald immediately felt the vibration under his feet become even greater! The astonishing tremors no longer appeared in bursts, but shook continuously. Greenwald quickly held on to a big tree next to him to prevent him from being knocked to the ground.
But the shock came and went away just as quickly. In the blink of an eye, six points of light suddenly appeared in the swamp. They reflected the sunlight in the sky and turned into six arcs and gathered in the center of the swamp.
If you were closer, you might be able to see clearly that they were six mirror fragments that were as clean as new. Look at the posture of flying together, it seems that they are about to merge into one.
Almost at the moment when the fragments of the ancient mirror were put together, the "little tadpoles" that had previously gathered in the depths of the swamp all merged into the mist-like mirror as if they had found their mother.
The earthquake stopped, and the ancient magic mirror successfully broke away from its seal. The source of disaster, which was enough to create a huge disaster, reappeared in the world.
Greenwald was waiting calmly on the edge of the swamp, but at some point there was a silver-gray necklace in his hand. The black gemstone inlaid on it exuded a calm aura.
Not long after, an invisible and obscure wave suddenly spread from the center of the swamp. In just an instant, it swept across the entire swamp and spread even further.
Needless to say, Greenwald was also caught in the scope of the fluctuations.
However, before the strange vibration and contraction could occur, he hung the necklace around his neck. Suddenly, a circle of dim gray energy spread out from the black gemstone necklace hanging on his chest, covering his entire body.
"Bang!"
The soul shock caused by the mysterious ancient mirror finally began to show its power, and several villages close to here in the distance were within the scope of its coverage. For a time, nearly a hundred translucent souls were shaken out of people's bodies, and were forced to fly towards the center of the swamp under a suction force that only targeted souls.
Of course, they couldn't hear the sound like beating war drums. The only one who could hear it was Greenwald at this moment.
The necklace he got from nowhere resisted the shock and protected his soul, allowing him to barely escape this disaster.
But it was vaguely visible that the gray energy around his body was also a little less.
He knew that this necklace might not be able to withstand too many shocks. In order to successfully control the magical ancient mirror, he had to get to the center of the swamp as soon as possible.
Greenwald did this naturally not to bring it to Dumbledore's body for use. He had never been such a hypocritical person. That plan was just the icing on the cake. What he wanted was to become the owner of that ancient mirror and hold that passage firmly in his hands!
It's not Greenwald's style to leave and never come back.
…
Deep in the mountains of Albania, in an underground palace and stone chamber.
Maka stood aside, looking at the broken mirror of the Mirror of Erised, with a somewhat thoughtful expression on her face. And his left hand was gently supporting Helen, who had fainted, and placed her on the spread blanket.
Just now, he took out the Mirror of Erised and then readily handed over the rest to Helen. Although she was still hesitant at first, she soon seemed to remember something and suddenly made up her mind.
She didn't know what Greenwald told her. Maka only knew that when Helen stood in front of the mirror, the power in her body boiled up soon after. And just inside the mirror, a clearly visible black mist was shrinking, trembling, and shrinking again...
In the end, the black mist in the mirror seemed to be about to explode. It suddenly expanded and completely shattered the mirror!