All rain eventually ceases. Even the storm over the Ivo Family Manor found its end.
But unlike most storms, this one had rained down fist-sized stones, not water.
Below, chaos reigned.
Among the scattered debris, a few quick-reacting wizards still stood, their Shield Charms shimmering faintly in the air. Dust covered their robes, but they were otherwise unscathed.
Others weren't so lucky.
One wizard lay groaning on the ground, blood pouring from a head wound. His wand, cracked and useless, lay just out of reach. All around him, similar scenes unfolded—wizards writhing in pain or barely conscious.
Floating above it all, Kai Adler's gaze remained fixed on the grand entrance of the manor.
There, framed by torchlight and smoke, stood a man cloaked in grey robes, his face a landscape of scars and malice.
"You must be the head of the Ivo Family?" Kai asked, his voice calm and unhurried.
Kai floated over the heads of the crowd, and not a single wand was raised to stop him. The sight of him confronting them all alone—and winning—had stunned the dark wizards into submission.
They parted silently, allowing him to approach their master.
The scarred man looked up without a trace of anger. The cries of his wounded men didn't even stir his expression. It was as if their suffering had nothing to do with him.
"I am Jierke Ivo, head of the Ivo Family," he replied coldly. "Sir, you've come to us… regarding the kidnapping, I presume?"
Kai raised an eyebrow, catching the flicker of calculation behind Jierke's eyes.
He's guessing.
He'd already gambled that the boy had come because someone had been taken. That guess gave him leverage—or so he thought.
Jierke had seen the Fiendfyre. He had tried to escape. But the towering wall of living flame had thwarted every attempt, swallowing magic whole like a bottomless sea. Even when he and his closest allies tried to blast through it, the flames only grew fiercer.
Then, from the shadows, he had witnessed the impossible—a boy crush the Killing Curse in his hand.
So now, rather than flee or fight, he returned with a smile. He was calculating, hoping diplomacy would save what brute force could not.
Kai, still floating calmly, didn't answer immediately.
"You're surprisingly honest," he said, wand casually aimed at Jierke.
"A friend of mine was taken by your people."
"Ah," Jierke said smoothly, and gestured behind him. "Come out."
From the darkened hall behind the Ivo Patriarch, two guards emerged, prodding forward a group of terrified children with their wands. There were at least a dozen—boys and girls of various ages. The oldest appeared to be Kai's age; the youngest could not have been more than seven.
Their clothes were torn. Their faces pale and hollow. They gazed up at the figure in the sky with fearful, confused eyes.
"If your friend is among them," Jierke said, "you may take them."
Despite Kai's usual calm, his fingers curled tighter around his wand.
Disgusting.
"What do you mean by this?"
"I can see you are powerful," Jierke said calmly, "and you haven't killed anyone. So you likely came not for vengeance, but for rescue. I am willing to return your friend."
He tossed a coin pouch forward.
"Here—1,000 Galleons. Consider it compensation. You go your way, I go mine. We call it even."
A flash of pain passed through his eyes at the thought of parting with such a sum, but the fire still roaring around them reminded him of his position.
Kai's eyes narrowed. "Unfortunately… my friend isn't here."
Jierke blinked.
All the "goods" were accounted for. Anyone else had already been sold off.
He cursed inwardly. He had warned his men not to provoke anyone powerful—but clearly, they had failed.
He began reaching for his wand, but Kai's voice halted him again.
"My friend was rescued—by me—on the day she was taken."
Jierke froze.
Then why are you still here?! Just to humiliate me?!
But the wall of fire said it all: this was not a man to insult lightly.
He swallowed the rage and said through gritted teeth, "If my men frightened your friend… and you've injured my people… let's call this matter closed."
But behind the calm mask, his heart seethed with hate.
If I can't get him, I'll get the girl.
Kai, still hovering above him, gave a quiet laugh.
"If I didn't have this power, my friend would be standing behind you right now… starved, stripped of dignity, and scared out of her mind."
His voice turned cold, cutting.
Jierke's heart dropped.
This boy was not going to let it go.
"What do you want, then?" he snapped. His wand was already in hand.
Kai only smiled. "Don't worry. I'm very fair."
"Fair?!" Jierke's face twisted. "You've crippled half my men!"
"If I weren't fair," Kai said softly, "there would be nothing left of them."
He raised his hand toward the manor.
"I spared your people. So it's only right that I take something in return… your wealth."
He clenched his fist, and behind him the sea of fire roared louder. The sky darkened with flame.
Then, through the blue inferno, a dragon emerged.
A massive, sinuous creature of fire and fury, its scales rippling with light and shadow. It swam through the sky like a leviathan, its roar silent but thunderous.
No one moved. No one breathed.
Even the children flinched, but none of them cried out. They only looked nervously at the wizards flanking them.
They'd been trained.
A darker light entered Kai's eyes.
"Stop!!"
Jierke's scream echoed over the dragon's roar. He pointed his wand in desperation—not at Kai, but at one of the children.
He yanked a girl forward by the hair. Her pale face twisted in pain, but she made no sound.
She looked about Hermione's age. Her emerald eyes filled with tears, but she bit her lip hard and said nothing.
"Let her go," Kai said, his voice suddenly tight.
"Lower the spell!" Jierke barked. "Remove the fire or she dies!"
Kai lowered his raised hand.
The dragon froze, then disintegrated into glowing cinders.
Jierke sneered. "As expected… still just a boy."
He didn't release the girl.
"Remove the wall of fire and let us go."
Kai tilted his head. "If I remove it… who will punish you for the girl?"
"Don't test me!" Jierke pressed his wand to her throat. "She dies because of you!"
But Kai only stared back. "You think I'm a good person?"
A pause.
"Do you know what fire surrounds your manor?"
"What fire?"
"Fiendfyre."
Jierke's hand trembled.
Fiendfyre?! That's forbidden! That's… that's Death Eater magic!
And to control it on this scale… it was unthinkable.
Before he could react, a sharp voice rang in his mind.
"Look down!"
A sharp, cursed tone—a charm embedded with mental coercion.
He obeyed.
At his feet, a coil of azure flame surged upward like a spring trap.
It consumed him.
The girl too was engulfed—along with the guards near the other children.
Jierke screamed in agony. The pain tore through him—fiery, mind-shattering.
He turned his head in disbelief toward the floating boy, who stood calmly above him.
"You…"
Kai's expression didn't change.
"I'm not a good person," he repeated softly. "But I'm not evil, either."
Jierke turned, expecting to see the girl reduced to ash.
But she stood there in the fire—untouched.
Her rags fluttered in the heat. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she stared at her own hands.
No burns. No pain. No harm.
Jierke choked.
"W-what… what is this?!"