"Walk through the blue flames and join me!"
Cyrus issued his invitation. Under the dark night sky, the ghostly blue flames reflected on the pale faces of the Death Eaters.
They were either shocked, angry, or tempted. In fact, quite a few had already risen from the ground, taking stiff steps toward Cyrus.
However, having witnessed the terrifying power of those blue flames, none dared to touch them, fearing they might be reduced to ashes the moment they made contact.
"Stop!" Barty Crouch Jr. shouted angrily. "Are you trying to betray us?"
The Death Eaters paused, but the silence lasted only a few seconds before someone stepped forward to counter Barty.
"We are loyal to the Dark Lord, and now we want to return to his side. How is that betrayal?" The one speaking was Osis Nott from the Nott family. To be honest, it didn't really matter to him who the real Voldemort was.
At this point, it's not about choosing sides but about choosing between survival and death.
However, because he feared the flames, he didn't want to be the first to step forward.
Cyrus quietly watched them from across the flames. To be honest, given their loyalty, there weren't many among them with the guts to walk through the flames and stand by his side.
However, Cyrus didn't intend to eliminate them completely. In reality, he had lowered the standard; at this moment, as long as they were willing to submit, they wouldn't be burned to death by the fire shield. But their souls would experience the pain of being scorched by flames.
Barty Crouch Jr. glared angrily at the group of Death Eaters who were ready to defect.
Holding his wand, he seemed ready to cast the Killing Curse at anyone who showed even a hint of siding with Cyrus, making them pay for their disloyalty with their lives.
But what he didn't expect was that the first person to rush into the flames wasn't Osis Nott, the one who spoke, nor was it Lucius Malfoy, whom he had always considered to be spineless.
It was,
Bellatrix Lestrange!
The woman darted into the flames like a crazed black snake, crossing into them in the blink of an eye!
She laughed loudly, and the flames didn't harm her in the slightest; instead, they enveloped her like a warm spring.
"B.. Bellatrix?!"
Barty Crouch Jr. never dreamed that the first person to betray them would be Bellatrix Lestrange, whom he thought was the most loyal. Among the Death Eaters, who didn't know of Bellatrix's devotion and affection for the Dark Lord?
Yet now, she staggered over to the side of that impostor, her smile almost blinding.
"What are you doing, Bellatrix?" Barty shouted angrily.
However, Bellatrix turned around in the flames, spreading her arms as if embracing them. Her expression was infatuated and wild, and when she looked at Barty, there was a natural arrogance about her.
"Of course, I'm returning to my real master's side!"
She danced in the fire, her tone as gentle as if she were whispering to a lover.
Then, under everyone's gaze, Bellatrix gave Cyrus a slight bow before kneeling at his feet and kissing the back of his shoe.
"Rise, Bellatrix. Only servants kneel before me. You, however, should stand behind me and follow in my footsteps," Cyrus extended his hand but did not bend down.
"M.. Master.."
Bellatrix raised her head, her eyes filled with fervor, as if this was an honor bestowed upon her by Cyrus! She reached out solemnly, grasped Cyrus's hand, and stood up, spinning gracefully like a black swan in ballet before taking her place behind him, her gaze never leaving his figure.
With Bellatrix as the leader, the other Death Eaters who had been hesitant to face the flames were now eager to act. Nott was the second to step into the fire.
Having recovered from the shock of Bellatrix's betrayal, Barty Crouch Jr. was now furious. Without hesitation, he raised his wand and aimed at Nott's back!
"Avada Kedavra!"
The green Killing Curse shot out, on the verge of striking Nott's back. However, at that moment, Cyrus raised his wand, lifting it like a conductor, and the flames instantly grew higher, engulfing Nott completely.
Boom!
The power of Barty's curse in front of Cyrus was almost comical.
The blue flames blocked Barty's Killing Curse, and the heatwave generated by the fire instantly blew Barty back, scorching his skin red.
"How dare you attack my servant?" Cyrus said coldly.
For Nott, he used the term "servant."
Unlike Bellatrix, who crossed the flames with ease, Nott felt as though his very soul was being torn apart the moment he touched the fire.
It was as if he had truly stepped into a blazing inferno, with every inch of his skin burning red.
"AhHHHhhhhHHHhhh—!"
After just a few steps, he showed a look of agony, his pale fingernails digging into his chest as he collapsed to his knees in the flames, unable to move forward.
"MaAAss... Maasteeerrr!"
Nott reached out desperately, his eyes pleading with Cyrus.
But Cyrus remained indifferent.
"It seems you were having second thoughts. This is your punishment, Nott, don't worry, the flames will only hurt not kill you," Cyrus said coldly. "Crawl over!"
Bellatrix curled her lips coldly as she looked at Osith Nott, who was crawling on the ground, her eyes full of disgust and mockery.
Osith Nott could only lower his head like a dog. His hands and feet felt as if they were stepping on red-hot iron, and every bit of progress was accompanied by a scream like that of a tortured soul.
Tears of pain streamed down his face, only to evaporate instantly.
He wanted to retreat, but there was no longer any way back.
Turning back now meant death!
Of course, cowardice and hesitation would not lead to any good outcome either.
The Death Eaters outside the circle of fire, upon seeing Nott's miserable state, were instead more determined to move over to Cyrus's side.
Their previous doubts about whether Cyrus was truly the Dark Lord were nearly dispelled.
This cold demeanor, was it not exactly like the Dark Lord's?
This was the real Dark Lord! Elegant, charming, yet cruel!
The crowd began to move. About half of them, filled with fear, headed toward the flames. Like criminals in shackles, they walked barefoot over a mountain of blades. Once engulfed by the fire, they all fell to their knees.
But soon enough, the second person who could pass through the flames like Bellatrix appeared.
It was the elderly Bulstrode, an old wizard who was extremely loyal to Voldemort and still remembered the Dark Lord in his younger days and the one who had told others about him returning to youth after seeing the news in Azkaban.
He strode through the flames and quickly overtook Nott, who was the second to enter the fire and was still crawling.
"Welcome Bulstrode. Stand behind me," Cyrus said with a smile.
He had a deep impression of this old wizard. As one of the earliest followers of the Death Eaters, Bulstrode occupied a significant place in Voldemort's memories. They were not only awed by Voldemort's power but also possessed a considerable degree of ideology.
Of course, they also carried with them a sense of pureblood arrogance and a disdain for Muggles!
This was the most fundamental belief of almost all Death Eaters. From the very beginning, they followed under the banner of Voldemort's "Pureblood Supremacy"!
There were still many remaining Death Eaters, most of whom had come out of Azkaban. They did not believe that the powerful Dark Lord had been defeated so easily, and there were also some who had not yet decided what to do, a group of fools who were indecisive, and there were quite a few of them.
The Death Eaters who had stepped into the fire crawled on their knees toward Cyrus, one by one kissing the tips of his shoes and the hem of his robes. They swarmed around him like ants, lifting Cyrus to a higher position as if he could touch the sky.
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