Ali and Aisha crouched dowhe children, speaking softly to calm them while quickly cheg for any injuries. Oisfied they were physically unharmed, Ali gnced back at Maverick.

  "What's , boss?" he asked, his voice low but urgent. Though physically unharmed, the children were mentally shaken and in desperate need of attention.

  Maverick didn't respht away. With his eyes closed, he pushed his Magical-Seo its limits, sweeping across the entire castle. After about half a minute, he opened his eyes again, his expression growing cold with barely cealed anger.

  "No more children," he said, pausing as his eyes narrowed. "But..." It was clear to Ali and Aisha that he had discovered something far more horrific than what they had already seen.

  Aisha frowned. "But what?"

  "Follow me," Maverick ordered. Rather than expin, he felt it would be better for them to see for themselves.

  Before that, Maverick first cast a charm to make the children fall asleep, theed a magical struct to envelop them before levitating them into the air, keeping them close as he moved.

  He led them deeper into the castle, moving cautiously through dimly lit hallways until they reached a massive door etched with dark runes. He didn't hesitate and bsted it open with a push of his magic.

  Clearing the dust, the group slowly stepped inside, but they froze the moment they entered.

  This was most likely the ritual hall, and it was horrifying. The room reeked of death and dark magic, the air thick with malice. In the ter of the room stood a small mountain of bones, clearly those of children.

  Ali turned away, his face pale with rage and disgust. Aisha stared at the sight, her wand trembling in her hand. "Monsters..." she whispered, her voice breaking.

  Just from a g the small skulls, they could estimate the o be well over a hundred.

  Maverick's expression remained unged, though his ched fists revealed his true emotions.

  "Make sure to capture everything... but be quick about it," he said coldly, snapping them out of their shock.

  Along with the rescue and clearing of the dark wizards, they had brought magical cameras to dot everything they saw.

  "I'll sweep for any other evidehat tie this all baorvain."

  The three worked quickly, their movements effit and silent as they bed the castle. They found grim artifacts, cursed tools, and dots detailing Morvain's operations.

  The old fool had grown overfident with turies of experiend authority, ing to remove the physical evidence here.

  This castle was his most secretive pce. Perhaps he believed none of his direct tacts or aplices would betray him or reveal its location. After all, he was a Great-Magus, with only seven others iire wizarding world who surpassed him in power and authority within the ICW.

  The old witch, Ruby, was clearly skilled in Occlumend would never have betrayed him, but who made her assume Maverick was an Arch-Magus?

  He didn't even have to try; she spilled everything out of fear of the absolute power that surpassed her master's.

  Everything they collected painted a clear picture of Morvain's atrocities, leaving no doubt about his guilt.

  Half an hour ter, they stood outside the ruins, along with the three children ed in cloaks, peacefully sleeping within a protective magical struct.

  The entire operation had sted three hours from start to finish, and Morvain never appeared. Maverick was certain that by now, he would be aware something had happened here.

  Maverick figured his teacher had something to do with holding Morvain back, as that was the task he had set out to plete while they carried out the raid.

  Even if Morvain had shown up, Maverick was fident he could defeat him—or at least hold him off until he could signal for his teacher to arrive.

  "Let's go," he said, his voik. Without another word, he made a gesture with his hand, and a craed in front of him, expanding to create a gateway.

  He didn't want to Apparate away, not wanting to cause any more disfort to the children.

  They all then disappeared from the ruins of Ani, returning to Egypt.

  ...

  Back at their temporary underground base, Maverick's first priority was to che the children. He knew many spells—not just the standard ones, but also more advanced and specialized healing and diagnostic magic he had learned during his travels.

  The three children were still asleep when Maverick began his treatment. Ali and Aisha stood nearby, watg as he worked. After about half an hour, he finished and was relieved to find no major physical injuries on any of them.

  "How are they?" Ali asked as Maverick stepped out of the room where the children were sleeping.

  "Physically, they're fine," Maverick replied. "We'll only know the extent of their psychological injuries ohey wake up." He turo Aisha. "Could you prepare something light for them to eat? Maybe pe and fresh juice, if possible."

  Aisha nodded silently a without hesitation.

  Maverick turned back to Ali. "The teacher's not here yet. Let's anize what we've gathered before he returns."

  "Right," Ali agreed, theated for a moment before tinuing, "So... you're Speaker Garling's student?"

  Maverick blinked, momentarily taken aback by the suddeion. Then he remembered—they hadn't had the ce to discuss mu the rush of ret events. He nodded after a brief pause. "Yes, he's my mentor. I've learned most of what I know from him."

  Ali let out a small sigh, his expression softening into a smile. "Well, with his help, we deal with Morvain without w about him interfering in the process… right?"

  "That's the pn," Maverick said. "We'll know more ohe teacher gets back."

  Another hour passed as Maverick, Ali, and Aisha busied themselves s through everything they had taken from Morvain's castle.

  When Edward finally returned, Ali and Aisha went to che the children, giving them space to talk privately. Though they were loyal to Maverick, they weren't as familiar with Edward. Maverick appreciated the unspokeure, even though it wasn't required.

  Ohey were alone, Maverick cast the illusion spell again, showing everything they had aplished during the raid. Edward scrutinized every detail carefully, his expression unreadable—a clear sign of his mastery in trolling his emotions, even in the face of the horrifying acts Morvain had itted.

  "It's good you left when you did," Edward remarked as Maverick finished his demonstration. "He was impatient to leave, and I knew he'd beeed to his wards being breached." Edward chuckled. "The old fool was too timid to mention it, probably afraid I'd try to dig deeper."

  "But what did you say to keep him there? I meaing him out of the blue like that—didn't he find it suspicious?" Maverick asked.

  "You don't o worry about that," Edward replied. "There are plenty of reasons for someone like me—a speaker—to meet someone like him, the director of ISAU, without warning." He paused, then added, "Anyway, I'm sure he went to check the moment I left. But I pced a trag spell on him. Unless he's as skilled as I am—or as you are—in mana perception, he won't notice a thing."

  Maveriodded, relieved that the pn had gone smoothly. "What about the memory vials?" he asked.

  "Handled," Edward replied. "By tomorrow, the major neers will run headlihat will destroy his reputation—enough for the ICW to issue a summons."

  "A summons?" Maverick echoed, uain. "Teacher, with your authority, 't you just issue a warrant directly?"

  Edward raised an eyebrow. "I ," he said calmly, "but think about what I've taught you about maintaining order."

  Maverick frowned initially, but after a moment of refle, he recalled the lesson and uood the meaning behind his teacher's words.

  Notig the realization on his apprentice's face, Edward added, "So, do you really wao do it, or...?"

  Maverick didn't answer immediately, taking a moment to think. His teacher wasn't just a speaker; he was one of the most powerful figures in the wizarding world, both in terms of magical ability and political influence. For Edward to intervene directly without solid evidence against another official wouldn't be the wisest move.

  Maveriderstood the deeper meaning behind his teacher's words: "Py by the book, use the w as your leverage, and bend it just enough—never break it."

  These were the lessons his teacher had drilled into him from the very beginning.

  With a steady gaze, Maverick looked at Edward and said, "We've got footage, paper trails... enough evidehat, if it's made public, it'll stir up enough o force the ICW to issue a dead or alive warrant for him."

  Edward nodded, signaling him to go on.

  "If there's a hearing, sure, he could deny everything or exploit a few loopholes to slip away... With his turies of es, he'd py every card in his hand." Maverick paused, his eyes narrowing. "But that warrant is all I need. Dead or alive, out in the open. I take him down before he eves a ce to speak."

  Edward gave Maverick a long, thoughtful look before smirking. "Good," he said, his voice full of approval.

  Maverick handed over everything he had collected from Morvain's ir, including his own memories of what they had withere.

  Maverick would still rely on Edward's influence, but only to work behind the ses and pull a few strings.

  Getting the press to publish dirt on someone like Morvain—politically and magically powerful—would be nearly impossible for Maverick alone, even with the solid evide required someone even more powerful, and that's where his teacher came in.

  Ohat was do would be a waiting game for the world and the authorities to take a. And when they did, Maverick would be there, ready to deliver the checkmate.

  Just as they were finalizing their pns, Ali came to report that the children had awakened and asked Maverick to che them again. Edward, too, decided to join, wanting to see for himself, offer help if necessary, and to uand from them what had happened.

  Of course, Edward wouldn't ask directly—such questions could only add to the trauma of their already fragile mental state. Fortunately, as wizards, they didn't o ask; they could simply delve into the memories and uand the truth directly.

  —————————

  Author's Note:

  Just a quick update — up to Chapter 82 is already avaible on P AT r30n!

  PAT r30n [.] / RyanFic