"I will give you my last act of kindness," said Edward, looking directly into Charles' eyes. "Do you know who the most threatened being on this planet is?"
Charles immediately frowned after hearing the question. The obvious answer was Voldemort or someone like Dumbledore or Grindelwald. However, based on the latter's tone, he knew they could not be the answer, so he shook his head.
"It's Herpo the Foul."
"The Greek Wizard who invented the Horcrux?"
"Yes. He successfully became a Death God and created the Deathly Hallows," said Edward. "He is stuck in the Underworld, trying to get out. However, your little war with the muggles generated enough death energy for him to regain his freedom. Soon, he will come for you. By then, your only fate would be to die, run away, or become his follower and dedicate your soul to him."
Charles' face became ugly.
"Was he the mastermind behind the war?" He had suspected something was wrong with the war. His attempts at finishing as soon as possible always ended in failure. He suspected someone was manipulating things behind the scenes, allowing the muggles to last longer than they should have.
"Most likely," nodded Edward.
"How strong is he?"
"Tier 8," replied Edward. "In my timeline, he did not have followers and was still stuck, so he was weakened. But, it should be different for you."
Charles suddenly remembered a new terrorist group that had appeared in the Empire; they seemed to worship the very concept of death, and their mission was to spread it as far as possible.
He did not pay much attention to them as cults often appear occasionally; they are usually the result of some wizard or muggle who became lost after acquiring some lost dark magic knowledge.
Or, some noble wizards will create a cult for their own benefit. But based on this information, he knew more sinister things were going on.
"Thank you," said Charles with great difficulty. Edward nodded but did not say more. He did not tell the latter about the Atlanteans, a Tier 6 civilization, or the Martians, who were experiencing an intense civil war, or the future where Guzznad shows up.
Anyway, his warning was only because of his softness for the little girl, Phoebe. However, his kindness only goes so far.
Charles excused himself with his family. They placed the children to sleep before heading to a special room in the palace. The room was full of large tubes with bodies floating in green water.
"Are you really going to go with him?" asked Bellatrix.
"What choice do I have?"
"We can use our Nexus Weapons. I don't believe this sissy-looking man can resist the Bloodline Curse."
Charles sighed. The Bloodline Curse was indeed powerful. He created it by combining the resentments and hidden Wills of all bloodlines, turning it into a weapon that can ignore tier.
"You don't understand how developed his Empire is, and it's in all fields."
He knew the Empire had dragons, which were true dragons, not the wyvern that the Harry Potter World had. There is only one way for such a fact: they could purify bloodline, which he is still working on.
"Then, let's explode the Death Chamber," argued Bellatrix.
"Let's say we succeed in your plan; what's next?" asked Charles as he waved his hand to cast a Floating Charm on the tube labeled number 1.
"After the death of their Emperors, the Empire will want revenge. To do so, they only need to send a couple of Tier 6 Arcanists and have them destroy the planet. How can we survive then?"
The room quieted down, with only the sound of heavy breathing.
"That's on the best-case scenario. In their anger, they might destroy the entire galaxy to bury their ruler. Even if we successfully run to other dimensions, they have the technology to chase us."
For the first time, this royal family felt powerless and despair. Besides the war, most things have been going well for them. But today, they understand the cruelty of the universe and the fate of weaker civilizations when facing powerful ones:
They had no dignity, pride, or even the will to resist—the fate of billions of people decided by one individual's desire.
"Is there really no other way?" Hermione asked, her voice full of unwillingness and anger. Charlie's body trembled. Although he looked calm, how could he not be full of anger and grievances? He has always shown his invincible and invulnerable side to his family, showing them he could protect them no matter the circumstance.
However, as soon as that man showed, his pride and accomplishments became worthless; the image or facade he created for his family crumbled.
"At least he has given us a way to survive."
Charles' only goal now is to survive. As long as he accomplishes this, everything else does not matter. He will have a chance to rise to the pinnacle of this universe and beyond.
After sighing, he carried the large tube to another room in the castle; to be exact, it was the Room of Time from the Ministry of Magic. Without hesitation, he began to write numerous runes on the floor with his wand after placing the tube in the middle.
Finally, he closed his eyes and accessed his ability before activating the runes.
Clink!
A naked body walked out of the tube, and his face and body were the same as Charles's. The clone was momentarily confused, taking some time to synchronize his memory with the main body.
"What's the success rate this time?" asked Charles.
"12 hours."
"That's enough," he said. The clone now had his ability but was limited to 12 hours, only half of his. Regardless, it was better than nothing.
"You have to prepare for the eventual possibility that I won't return while also dealing with Herpo," said Charles. "There might also be other threats he did not tell us, so be prepared for the worse."
"I know." The clone knew many of their plans had to be accelerated, especially their focus on interstellar traveling; that's the only chance the Magic Empire had to survive the upcoming catastrophe.
"Very well, I will leave everything in your hands."
Charles exhaled deeply before walking out. He looked at his family and chose not to say goodbye; he knew he might be unable to resist and break down.
"Ready?" asked Edward calmly.
"Yes."
"Let's go."
Edward led him to his ship, and as soon as Charles walked, he passed out and was taken away by a golem. The ship opened a gate back to outside his timeline before going through the proper procedure for entering.
After returning, Edward acted swiftly. He sent Charles' body to the Timr Auror, asking them to accelerate their research on Time Lords. He promised them as much funding as needed, and he only asked for results. He then sent C-137's body to the lab to research the combination of mana and divine energy.
Without wasting time, he contacted Lunar to determine how things were proceeding. However, he learned that she was still trying to divine more information and required more time.
So, Edward began to unravel the mystery of the Magus Race Cube while also waiting for the team he sent into the Multiverse to get the other cubes.