The atmosphere in the entire office changed in an instant.
As space gradually shattered and finally turned into a doorway, the aura it gave off was simply too terrifying.
That instinctive fear humans felt when faced with overwhelming danger completely froze the Muggle Prime Minister.
At that moment, everything else disappeared from his perception.
Only the pitch-black doorway remained, along with the figure slowly walking out of it.
Every cell in the Prime Minister's body screamed warnings to his brain, urging this body to run.
But the overwhelming fear had completely robbed him of control over his body. Even moving a finger was incredibly difficult.
In the end, Link completely stepped out of the doorway.
The spatial doorway quickly collapsed and disappeared, and only then did the overwhelming sense of danger filling the office instantly fade away.
The Prime Minister let out a long breath. Beads of sweat the size of beans poured from his face like a burst dam, soaking through his shirt in no time.
Only then did he finally have the chance to properly look at Link, who had just walked out of the spatial doorway.
From the Prime Minister's point of view, he was just a young man.
Although this young man had sharp brows and bright eyes, with a heavy air of sternness and brutality between them, making it obvious at a glance that he had long held a position of authority and had developed the unique bearing of someone at the top, he was still only a young man.
Compared to the overwhelming terror brought by the spatial doorway, the pressure the young man gave off was nothing worth mentioning.
With the contrast between the two, the Prime Minister even began to look down on him.
That was what he thought, and it was exactly what he did.
As he wiped away his sweat with a trembling hand, he struggled to say, "Ha! Hahaha! You... you're Link Flamel, right? Aren't you a little too young? Your wizard leader is actually such a young brat? That's just... just too funny!"
By the end, the Prime Minister could no longer speak. Only his harsh, owl-like laughter echoed through the office.
Seeing this, both Dumbledore and the portrait of Ulric Gamp stared at him with incomparably strange expressions.
They seemed to be astonished by the Prime Minister's boldness and ignorance.
In the wizarding world, no wizard would ever dare treat Link this way.
Even without knowing Link's identity, just seeing the way he had appeared should have made it obvious that he was no ordinary wizard.
Yet the Prime Minister had done exactly that.
It was understandable, though.
After being crushed by the terrifying pressure of the spatial doorway, the Prime Minister's nerves had been compressed to the limit like a tightly wound spring.
Now that the pressure had suddenly vanished, losing control of himself was only natural.
But that didn't mean Link would forgive him.
Standing in the middle of the office, Link frowned slightly.
The cursed magic within him sensed its master's emotions and slowly spilled out, forming a hazy mass of black mist behind him.
The black mist twisted and condensed continuously before finally turning into a pitch-black, ferocious beast that greedily stared at the Muggle before it with a pair of crimson glowing eyes.
That wasn't all.
The basilisk, Arkham, also crawled out from Link's collar and slowly slithered toward the Prime Minister.
This was its first awakening after a long hibernation, so it seemed especially excited.
Moreover, as Link's strength had increased, Arkham had absorbed quite a bit of curse-attributed magic from him.
That dense and pure cursed magic had made Arkham's body even stronger. The death ray hidden within its eyes had also grown more powerful. Besides that, the terrifying dark green-black color of its scales had gradually faded, becoming as white as jade.
But that change hadn't made it any friendlier.
On the contrary, while the change in color made Arkham more beautiful, it also gave it even more terrifying traits.
Looking at everything before him, the Prime Minister's laughter stopped abruptly.
His whole body froze again, as though someone had pressed a pause button.
Arkham effortlessly climbed up from his calf, eventually coiling around his neck. It raised its body and stared directly into his eyes.
At such close range, even though Link had sealed Arkham's eyes as a safety measure, the power within them still affected the Prime Minister.
His body, which had been trembling slightly, became completely motionless.
He stiffened like a stone statue. He couldn't even blink, and the life force inside him slowly began to leak away.
Meanwhile, Ulric Gamp's portrait had disappeared long ago, hiding in some other frame.
He was far smarter than the Prime Minister.
He also knew perfectly well that before a "Minister for Magic" as unprecedented as Link, the founder of the British Ministry of Magic had no standing whatsoever.
Especially since, just as Dumbledore had said earlier, he knew many things that a mere portrait should never have known.
Rather than stay and be held accountable by Link later, it was better to run while he still could.
Link paid little attention to his departure. Instead, he looked at Dumbledore with a slight smile and said,
"Professor Dumbledore, I really didn't expect to meet you here."
"I don't think it's strange at all," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Aren't you here as well? It just proves that we're thinking the same thing."
The smile on Link's face deepened, and he nodded to Dumbledore.
Although wizards generally looked down on Muggles, wizards at Link and Dumbledore's level understood very well how powerful and unique Muggles really were.
Under normal circumstances, that power wouldn't amount to much.
But now that Sky City Deterrence had enveloped the entire world, it had become rather important.
Link and Dumbledore looked at each other for a moment before Link turned his gaze back to the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister's face had already turned bluish gray. Even his pupils were slowly dilating. That only happened when a person's life force had leaked away to a certain extent.
"Hisssss..." (Come back, Arkham.)
The terrifying Parseltongue echoed through the office.
Receiving the order, Arkham loosened itself from the Prime Minister's neck and happily slipped back into Link's clothes.
In truth, unless necessary, it didn't want to leave Link's side.
As long as it stayed on Link, it could continuously enjoy the nourishment of Link's cursed magic, a feeling it found utterly intoxicating.
Once freed from Arkham's grip, the Prime Minister clutched his throat and collapsed to the floor.
Tears streamed endlessly from his eyes as he sobbed uncontrollably.
"I warned you already."
Dumbledore spoke with pity. With a slight lift of his wand, an invisible force helped the Prime Minister back into his chair.
"Now, you'll agree to my proposal to let your people evacuate, won't you?"
The Prime Minister nodded with difficulty.
Seeing this, Link frowned again and looked at Dumbledore.
"You only asked them to evacuate?"
"Of course. What else do you want them to do?" Dumbledore said as he stuffed a bottle of restorative potion into the Prime Minister's mouth.
"That's too much of a waste."
Link looked at the gradually recovering Prime Minister and said, "Besides providing shelters for ordinary civilians, I also need your military to prepare to assist the British Ministry of Magic in defense and counterattacks."
Link tossed a crystal ball engraved with "Sky City Deterrence" into the Prime Minister's arms.
"You may pass this information to the other Muggle leaders. I need you to use satellites for surveillance, and when I require it, I need you to provide support attacks at any cost."
"This crisis isn't aimed only at wizards. It's aimed at everyone in the world."
"So remember this. I need you to do whatever it takes!"
"Which also means that if the situation becomes irreversible, you'll need to use nuclear weapons!"
"Link, this is our war. Don't drag the Muggles into it," Dumbledore said immediately afterward.
"It's enough for the Muggles to mind their own affairs. If they officially enter the war, things could easily spiral out of control. And when that happens, the Statute of Secrecy will collapse completely. You know what kind of consequences that would bring!"
Link said expressionlessly, "Yes, of course I know. That's why I also said Muggles are only allowed to use nuclear weapons if the situation becomes beyond saving."
"More importantly, don't you think the Statute of Secrecy already exists in name only? After all, the International Confederation of Wizards has already been occupied!"
Dumbledore lowered his head and fell silent.
The Statute of Secrecy had been enforced for more than three hundred years.
Many modern wizards hated this outdated law.
The reason was simple.
The Statute of Secrecy harmed their interests.
It left them possessing immense power, yet unable to display magic before Muggles. In many dealings with Muggles, they even had to keep giving way instead of gaining greater benefits.
The Malfoy family was a perfect example.
Before the Statute of Secrecy was enacted, the Malfoys had flourished in Muggle society.
They had even obtained a noble title from the queen of that era by displaying magic!
As for the land and wealth they acquired, there was no need to mention it.
Without the foundation they accumulated back then, the Malfoy family probably wouldn't be able to enjoy such a luxurious life today.
But after the Statute of Secrecy was introduced, all of that came to an end.
How could those wizards not hate it?
And yet the Statute of Secrecy had to exist.
Because not every wizard had the ability to gain benefits in Muggle society.
Although wizards possessed magic, and many of them truly stood above others like gods, most wizards were actually in a weaker position when facing Muggles.
Europe's long witch hunts had been devastatingly effective. Countless young wizards who had shown talent, and even adult wizards, had been killed during those persecutions.
The persecution of wizards by Muggles had never truly ended.
Even Dumbledore's own sister had become an Obscurial after suffering abuse from Muggles as a child.
The Statute of Secrecy protected those weaker wizards.
It sacrificed the interests of the wizards at the top of the pyramid to protect the vast majority at the bottom.
So the Statute of Secrecy had to be maintained.
Once the true existence of wizards and the supernatural world became widely known, a new witch hunt would inevitably begin.
The difference was that, unlike last time, what drove the Muggles would no longer be fear, but greed for supernatural power.
That would inevitably cast the lower-ranking wizards into an even more terrifying hell.
Just imagining that possible future was enough to make Dumbledore's eyes redden.
"Then we'll rebuild order!" Dumbledore finally said. "And we have to do it quickly. We have to cut through the chaos without hesitation! Otherwise, something terrible may happen!"
Link nodded slightly.
"That's exactly what I think. Although I believe the Statute of Secrecy is outdated, even if we want to reform it, we should first stabilize the current situation and then make changes step by step."
"I'm very glad to hear you say that. That's also the greatest difference between you and Voldemort, or even Grindelwald."
Dumbledore looked deeply gratified.
"The things they did were spectacular and seemed incredibly bold, but in truth, our people are simply too few. Any extreme action is enough to bring catastrophic harm to us. That's exactly why they all failed."
Smiling, Link turned back toward the Prime Minister.
"So then, Mr. Prime Minister, what do you think of what I proposed earlier?"
The Prime Minister had already recovered considerably. Hearing that, he nodded frantically.
After personally experiencing Link's overwhelming presence, every bit of pride he had as the British Prime Minister had been shattered.
He wasn't Churchill. He didn't possess that spirit of never giving up, nor did he want to be any kind of hero.
To him, his own life was the most important thing.
"I dare say this is the wisest decision you've ever made in your life."
Dumbledore spoke with a smile.
The Prime Minister finally reacted and said awkwardly, "However, the things you two are asking me to do aren't something I can accomplish alone. They'll need to be discussed by the Cabinet, as well as approved in joint meetings. Which means... we may need just a little bit of time."
As he spoke, the Prime Minister made a gesture that would have every man in Bang Country jumping to his feet and cursing.
But both Link and Dumbledore understood that by "a little bit," he probably meant "a whole lot."
"Don't worry. I'll send you someone to help. With his assistance, I'm sure you'll get it done."
Link spoke expressionlessly before making an inviting gesture toward Dumbledore.
A pitch-black spatial doorway opened once more, carrying the two of them away as they disappeared from the office.
At the same time, a house-elf wearing a tailcoat appeared on top of the desk, staring at the Prime Minister with its pair of bulging eyes.