Seeing the terror on his subordinate's face, the man instinctively sensed something was wrong, but he had already lost the ability to think—his thirst for water overwhelmed all else. Opening his mouth, he managed to say:
"You… look so juicy—!!!!"
He lunged at his subordinate, sinking his teeth into the man's throat, greedily draining his blood.
Hot blood flowed down his throat, bringing a brief moment of vitality back to him. But as a red mist slowly rose from his body, he reverted to his corpse-like state.
This time, though, he completely lost the strength to move, slumping against the wall as his consciousness grew faint and faded away…
Water droplets began to form on the wall, coalescing and gathering until they took on a human shape.
Rhys emerged from the wall itself.
"Egypt is rather excessively dry," Rhys muttered, waving his hand in discomfort at the arid air surrounding him.
He glanced at the corpse in the corner, then murmured, "With this, the trap is set."
Snapping his fingers, everyone in the Order's base started writhing in agony—they couldn't breathe, and their skin visibly dried, their bodies rapidly dehydrating, transforming into withered corpses. The water, controlled by Rhys, filled their lungs.
In the future, if the Secret Order examined their fallen members, they would find that each corpse had drowned.
Rhys considered this method extremely efficient.
He had targeted the man while he was busy writing reports, embedding his magic into him.
By the time the man reached the base, his body's water content had already been evaporating under Rhys's magical influence.
Unknowingly, the other people in the base inhaled this water, infused with Rhys's magic, which allowed him to control their bodily fluids too, capturing them all in one sweep.
This approach meant Rhys didn't have to clear each room individually, ensuring none of the Esoteric Order's adherents could escape, making it exceptionally efficient.
After eliminating the Order's adherents in the base, Rhys began his search of the premises.
He had already reviewed the documents the man had left behind in his apartment—mostly useless reports and sanitation inspection records.
From these files, Rhys confirmed that this base was far less valuable to the Order than he and Ravenclaw had previously estimated. Ironically, the base's most valuable assets to the Order were likely the adherents worn out by Vigo's demands.
Unfortunately, the sixth-degree adherent had entirely misunderstood the true foundation of the Order.
Relics, spells, and collected magic books were undoubtedly essential, but the most crucial asset was people. The core of the Order's system—"fusing with relics to attain mastery"—required sufficient numbers, something that family lineages alone could not sustain.
Vigo was a prime example.
Once she was trapped at Hogwarts, her family's defenses would crumble immediately, as she and her family's treasured relic had been lost together in Hogwarts.
In contrast, Secret Order members like Capricornus, who had risen from the lower ranks, were the most troublesome. These individuals often possessed impressive natural talent, and with the aid of relics, could potentially overpower anyone at Hogwarts, excluding Rhys and Ravenclaw—Dumbledore being the only possible exception.
Thus, by eliminating a significant number of adherents, the Secret Order would eventually collapse. This was exactly what Rhys was now carrying out.
Not only did he eradicate every adherent within the base, but he also left inconspicuous traps behind, ensuring this base would become a "black hole" for Secret Order members—one where anyone who entered would perish.
While relics and accumulated items didn't hold the same value as skilled members, Rhys still saw no reason to ignore the base's inventory.
He had already packed up all the documents and magical books, ignoring the food and liquor in storage. The remaining magical artifacts and remnants of divine bone relics, however, were worth a thorough check.
Following the traces of magical flow, Rhys easily located the Esoteric Order's vault within this base.
Upon opening the vault door, Rhys noted that the space was limited, with only a few items stored inside.
This was expected, as this was just an ordinary, unremarkable base of the Secret Order—of which there were likely more than thirty. It would have been odd if it had a wealth of stored items.
Rhys examined the two relics within, finding them less effective than the bones he had extracted from the man's own body. The only relic of interest was the bone ring worn by the man.
Apart from the relics, the small storage room also contained some potion ingredients, with a distinctly North African style. Rhys unceremoniously accepted them all.
After collecting the raw potion materials, Rhys turned his attention to the last item in the small warehouse: a small bronze cup.
The cup was tarnished with verdigris, showing signs of considerable age.
Initially, Rhys hadn't paid much attention to the unassuming little cup, which was tucked away in the corner of a cabinet.
Without a careful search, it would've been easy to overlook.
This was another aspect Rhys found particularly amusing.
Everything in the vault had its designated spot, complete with positioning labels and name tags. Nearby, one could even find a brief description of each item!
To anyone who knew, this was the vault of a secret organization; to anyone who didn't, it could easily be mistaken for a museum display!
Rhys felt the urge to complain: what's the point of all this?
Is it supposed to help an intruder like me identify their treasures?
It was almost too considerate! Bringing treasures to his doorstep with attached descriptions was something he'd never seen or heard of before.
Vigo was indeed a marvel!
However, when Rhys picked up the bronze cup, he quickly noticed something unusual about it—something only he would recognize: the cup had a handle, and the tip of the handle was carved into the head of a small animal.
As time went by, the handle was covered with rust, which was why Rhys didn't notice the copper cup at first.
But he looked at it carefully, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt that the animal head looked like a badger.
He took out his wand and carefully cleaned the rust on the copper cup.
After the copper cup was cleaned, Rhys' eyes became complicated, because the handle of the cup was really carved with a badger head!
He would never mistake this style!
_________
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