Vid's gaze narrowed slightly.
They actually have this thing?
Could it be that this place is not only a small Magic Academy, but also assumes the duties of the national "Ministry of Magic"?
Vid knew that not every country's Ministry of Magic was as large, with stringent regulations and hundreds of employees like in the United Kingdom or the United States.
In some small countries, the entire nation's Wizards were fewer than a hundred people, making it impossible to form any government agency.
They only kept in touch with a few friends or held small gatherings in bars and similar places.
When they needed to shop or learn about news from the Magic World, they often didn't search domestically but used Muggle modes of transport to reach Wizard shopping centers like Diagon Alley.
The reason they didn't use Portkeys or Apparition is that many Wizards in these small countries either hadn't mastered these convenient magics or didn't have the licenses for Apparition in other countries.
Of course, these rules always restrained those law-abiding Wizards.
Actually, as long as Muggles didn't see them, even if foreign Wizards Apparated in the United Kingdom, the chances of being caught by the Ministry of Magic were slim, and Aurors generally couldn't be bothered with such small matters.
In his past wanderings, Lupin had met many lower-level Wizards. These tidbits of knowledge, unfamiliar to most people, were things Lupin shared like stories during casual chats.
From Dumbledore's words, Vid also learned about another side of the Magic World—
Some countries, even without a Ministry of Magic, have something akin to a Department of Mysteries, taking on the duties of the "Ministry of Magic" and guarding or protecting the world's most dangerous and mysterious forces.
Could it be that underneath that entrance lies this country's "Department of Mysteries"?
Such a place…
Vid contemplated as he walked towards the entrance—although Jensen in the past hadn't been assigned to the Chamber of Secret below, perhaps with the wondrous effects of the Pensieve, part of the chamber scene could still be revealed?
He had just reached the entrance when a figure suddenly bolted out in a panic, rushing straight past Vid, collapsing on the ground, and hoarsely screamed:
"Help… help!!!"
As the words fell, the soldier clutched his chest tightly, as if he couldn't breathe.
Next, with a "bang," he fell to the ground, his helmet rolling away to reveal the gray-white hair underneath.
Everyone was stunned, standing still, watching him.
A minute ago, this soldier was a burly man, standing six feet tall and weighing two hundred pounds.
But now, the figure lying on the ground had shriveled muscles, a withered physique, and a face full of deep wrinkles, even covered with age spots!
Jensen swallowed hard: "Is… is that still Hayden?"
His voice seemed to attract undesired attention, as the man interrogating the Wizard suddenly turned, his eyes revealing a contemplative look as he glanced at Jensen.
Jensen shrank his neck in fright, daring not to make another sound.
Vid stood at the entrance, observing that the passage beneath him seemed like a drawn map; though it appeared to extend downward, when he tried to walk in like those soldiers, he merely stepped onto flat ground.
Although the magic of the Pensieve could immerse one into a memory and even recover scenes unnoticed by its owner, clearly, it couldn't construct places unvisited in memory but real in existence.
Screams rose continually from below, yet no one else ran out.
The terrifying, frenzied cries brought fear to the faces of the battle-hardened soldiers, prompting them to glance at their commander again and again, some even suggesting: "Should we pull out for a bit? Who knows what's down there…"
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out suddenly, making the elderly man on the ground grunt as blood spurted from his arm.
"Speak!" the commander angrily low-whispered, "What's hidden down there? Why did my men turn into that kind of monster?"
But the old man's cracked lips pulled into a bizarre, pained, and mocking grin.
Blood gurgled from his shot-through arm, staining the pale gray stone beneath his body.
His eyes were murky yet seemed to pierce through the man before him, looking toward a more distant, more ethereal place, hoarsely saying:
"Duty… my long-time duty… finally finished… you've broken the taboos, shattered… cough cough… shattered what shouldn't be touched…"
The commander looked at him coldly, turning to tell his subordinates, "Bring those children here."
"It's useless!"
The old man interrupted him, smiled and said, "I am dying… When you... placed the Magic Wand back into my hand… I had already… killed myself… cough cough…"
He coughed, brightly colored green blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.
"By the time you bring the children… I will already be dead… Threatening a… a corpse… what's the point?"
The old man coughed and laughed, his gaze gradually becoming unfocused and, looking at the commander, was no longer filled with hatred, but only pity.
"Down there, down there isn't a weapon… nor a monster… it's… a god's curse… it will devour everything… all of it… you invaders… those behind you… and countless ordinary people…"