Blazing white Fiendfyre covered the entire sky.
Under the firelight, Krakow below was filled with endless air raid sirens, mixed with intermittent screams and roars.
The operators of the Sky City had clearly realized that the magic cannons were useless against the Fiendfyre.
They finally stopped firing. After retracting the cannon barrels, they reopened the original deployment ports, looking ready to deploy the Space Shattering Devices again.
However, by now, the Fiendfyre had completely matured.
Its hunger for magic drove it to charge toward the Sky City without stopping. It could clearly sense that inside that enormous city in the sky was an almost endless supply of magic!
The Space Shattering Devices were finally deployed and activated again.
The space that had only just begun to heal, along with vast stretches of Fiendfyre, was torn apart once more.
But this time, with the Fiendfyre acting as a barrier, the speed at which space shattered dropped dramatically. Combined with the spatial force field created by the Space Lock, the two sides barely reached a stalemate.
Meanwhile, inside the conference hall, Link's wand remained embedded in the spatial rift, never once pulled out.
The reason the Fiendfyre hadn't spread to the rest of Krakow earlier was entirely because he had been controlling it.
Looking at the stalemate displayed by the holographic projection before him,
a cold smile flashed across Link's face. Then an even greater surge of magic poured out from his body.
BOOM!
A terrifying pillar of magical power shot into the sky from the center of Krakow, flying straight toward the Sky City.
It was composed of the purest curse-attributed magic, and it likewise ignored the restrictions imposed by the surrounding spatial force field created by the Space Locks.
Yet unlike ordinary curse magic, which gave people feelings of cruelty, evil, and misfortune, this pillar of magic in the center of Krakow was perhaps so pure that it instead filled people with an overwhelming sense of holiness.
Like a holy sword, it pierced straight through the spatial force field, drew nearly all of the Fiendfyre into itself, then stabbed fiercely toward the Sky City.
Amid a violent explosion, blinding white light engulfed the entire world.
When the white light gradually faded, the Sky City that had been floating among the clouds had quietly disappeared.
The spatial force field over Krakow had also been shut down.
Countless citizens stood in the streets, staring blankly at the cracks in space that still remained in the sky.
Gulp.
A loud swallowing sound echoed through the conference hall of the British Ministry of Magic.
Normally, anyone rude enough to make that kind of noise during a meeting would have been dragged out by the collar and thrown outside.
Even if they were the Minister of Magic of another country.
But now, after Link had just demonstrated his battle against the Sky City, no one had the mind to care about something like that.
"Y-You... you destroyed the Sky City..."
the Polish Minister of Magic said with a trembling voice.
Halfway through, he became so emotional that he started stammering, and could only clap both hands together hard, as though swatting a mosquito.
"You're overthinking it."
Link shot the Polish Minister of Magic a cold glance.
"If the Sky City were really that easy to deal with, I wouldn't have needed to gather all of you here for this meeting."
"Then... the Sky City we just saw?"
"I only drove it back."
"So... it will keep attacking?" The Polish Minister of Magic turned pale.
Link didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked around at the Ministers of Magic present and said, "As you've seen, I possess spatial technology that also originated from the Sky City. Using that technology, I've developed a series of related technologies and creations."
"With them, the British Ministry of Magic has established uninterrupted twenty-four-hour surveillance over the skies above every Ministry of Magic represented here."
"As soon as the Sky City appears, I'll do exactly what I did just now and drive it back again."
"Of course, this help is reserved only for my friends."
"As for whether you want to be my friends, that's for you to decide."
"I am absolutely your most loyal friend!", the Polish Minister of Magic blurted out without hesitation.
The scene shown in the holographic projection had made him truly understand the terror of the "Sky City deterrence." The overwhelming fear it inspired had shattered every bit of his dignity.
Now, just to stay alive and protect his family, he would even kneel down and kiss Link's shoes.
Fortunately, Link clearly had no need for anyone to polish his shoes.
He merely nodded to him with satisfaction before turning toward everyone else, who had remained silent.
With the Polish Minister of Magic setting the example, along with the intimidation from the holographic projection, everywhere Link's gaze landed was met with endless flattery and promises.
By the end, in the enormous conference hall, everyone except Picquery, representing the Magical Congress of the United States, and August, representing the Russian Ministry of Magic, had expressed their "friendship" toward Link.
Even the German Minister of Magic, the well-known follower of both America and Russia, was no exception.
Link wasn't in a hurry. After returning to his seat beside Dumbledore, he quietly watched the two of them.
"Hoo..."
Picquery took a deep breath and said seriously, "Lord Link Flamel, I still have a few final questions."
Link nodded, signaling her to continue.
Seeing that, Picquery exchanged a glance with August before asking, "Why did the Sky City launch a surprise attack on the Polish Ministry of Magic? And why did you establish surveillance points over the cities where our Ministries are located ahead of time?"
The moment she finished speaking, the ministers who had just pledged their loyalty and friendship to Link all turned to look at him again.
Picquery and August weren't the only two who wanted to ask those questions.
No one present was stupid. They could all see that something about this was suspicious.
After all, it really did look as though Link might have staged the whole thing.
But for most of them, those questions had no real meaning.
Their Ministries were simply too weak.
To put it bluntly, Link could have forced them into cooperation through overwhelming military power alone.
The fact that he was willing to put on this performance for them was already giving them plenty of face.
Under everyone's gaze, Link slowly stood up.
He calmly met Picquery's eyes, and after a long silence said, "Unfortunately, I don't know."
"You don't know?" Picquery clearly hadn't expected that answer, and looked completely stunned. "Don't you think that's a rather childish answer?"
Link shook his head.
"No. Not at all. Because I'm telling the truth. I really don't know why the shadow figure controlling the Sky City attacked the Polish Ministry of Magic. In fact, I think that guy is insane. If I had to put it one way, I'd say he just wants to spread love."
"Through war?" The surprise on Picquery's face deepened.
"Perhaps. Who knows?" Link shrugged. "Anyway, I'm not willing to live every day with something like that hanging over my head, threatening me. I believe everyone here feels the same way."
"The only difference between me and all of you is that I'm strong enough, strong enough to have both the ability and the confidence to overturn that deterrence."
"As for why I monitored the cities where your Ministries are located, I'll tell you honestly."
"Those surveillance systems originally existed to make wiping you out more convenient."
The moment Link said that, the conference hall erupted.
Picquery, August, and the other ministers all took several steps back together, widening the distance between themselves and Link.
Although they had all guessed something similar long ago, none of them had imagined that Link would state such a terrifying fact so plainly.
Spreading his arms, Link smiled.
"There's one thing I hope you understand. In my eyes, so-called neutrality is nothing more than waiting for both sides to wear each other down so you can reap the benefits. So I don't accept neutrality."
"If any of you want to play the role of some neutral non-aligned nation, then I'm sorry."
"You won't even have to wait for the 'Sky City deterrence' to arrive. The British Ministry of Magic will destroy you first."
"So, what's your answer now?"
Picquery and August looked extremely grim.
At this point, Link had completely torn away the mask, revealing the savage beast hidden beneath his refined appearance.
After receiving such an outrageous threat, if they could have, they truly would have flipped the table on the spot.
But the battle over Krakow had already proven one thing.
They were no match for the young man before them.
"Very well."
Picquery and August sighed before bowing.
"I, Sally Picquery, on behalf of the Magical Congress of the United States."
"I, Sofia August, on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Magic."
"We officially join your alliance! We shall become the sword in your hand, the shield in your hand, and cut down all who refuse to submit!"
"I accept your loyalty and acknowledge your position!"
After saying that solemnly, Link smiled and helped the two of them to their feet.
Taking the opportunity, August lightly scratched Link's palm and licked her lips.
"Then, Your Majesty Flamel, now that the alliance has been formed, what should we do next? Organize a coalition army and attack the Sky City directly?"
"No. Before the final battle against the Sky City, I think attacking Beauxbatons first would be a very good choice."
Without changing his expression, Link withdrew his hand.
"Beauxbatons? Isn't that a magic school? Well, never mind. You're the big boss. Whoever you say we fight, we fight." Picquery said excitedly.
"But before that, shouldn't we settle some details first? Things like the division of authority, how to split the spoils, postwar reconstruction, and... can you also give us a few of those Space Locks?"
She was asking for benefits.
Link understood that very well.
The reason Picquery and August had joined the alliance through "pledging loyalty" instead of as equal partners was because they wanted to use their own strength and apparent loyalty to claim a larger share of the benefits.
And those benefits weren't limited to the spoils from the Sky City or whatever price the British Ministry of Magic could offer.
In fact, the other Ministries of Magic present were also "benefits waiting to be harvested" in their eyes.
After all, both the Magical Congress of the United States and the Russian Ministry of Magic had already begun using various methods to bind the smaller neighboring Ministries to themselves and establish economic domination.
Had they been allowed to continue, and had the British Ministry of Magic not risen again under Link's leadership, the magical world would likely have ended up divided among three major magical powers: America, Russia, and the East.
Link's appearance had both disrupted that process and, to a certain extent, accelerated it.
Of course, Link actually approved of such a situation.
He believed wizards should move away from their old, scattered existence and toward a more unified structure.
If they failed to do so, if wizards couldn't unite all the resources and strength available to them, then in the near future they would very likely be left far behind by Muggles.
So after hearing them, despite the uneasy expressions on the faces of the ministers from the smaller Ministries, Link still nodded with a smile.
"The details of those matters will be discussed thoroughly with all of you by the other two commissioners of our Ministry."
As soon as Link finished speaking, the doors of the conference hall opened again.
Old Barty and Percy walked in and bowed to everyone.
Picquery and August became even more excited. Seeing this, the ministers from the smaller Ministries forced smiles onto their faces and eagerly greeted Old Barty and Percy.
As for Link himself, he quietly left the conference hall together with Dumbledore.
Bang!
The heavy conference hall doors closed behind them.
Dumbledore said calmly, "That wasn't quite so easy just now, was it?"
Knowing Dumbledore was referring to driving back the Sky City over Krakow, Link nodded expressionlessly.
"Of course. If driving back the Sky City were really that easy, there would've been no need to gather that group here for a meeting."
"So where exactly was the problem?"
Dumbledore gave his shoulder a shake, and a soundproof barrier enveloped the two of them.
"As you saw, the durability of a single Space Lock is too low. The spatial force field it creates can't withstand the Sky City's attacks for long. In the end, I still had to step in and drive the enemy back."
Link sighed.
"But both of us should know that the Sky City wasn't using its full strength in that attack. It was only carrying out a routine attack, or rather, a probe. And the reason it withdrew wasn't because it couldn't win. It was simply because there was no need."
Looking disappointed, Dumbledore took the Space Lock out of his robes.
"So that means this thing isn't actually as useful as we hoped."
"If you just throw the Space Lock out and use it the way I did, then naturally it isn't that impressive."
Link glanced at Dumbledore.
"But if you install a fixed amplification device for it, and have a legendary great wizard like yourself stationed there as well, then protecting Hogwarts Castle alone shouldn't be a problem."
"Of course, when I say it shouldn't be a problem, I only mean under normal levels of attack, or if it's struck by the aftershock of the Sky City's self-destruction."
"If the Sky City chooses to detonate directly above Hogwarts, then I'd advise you to prepare a safe room in advance and reduce the coverage of the spatial force field to increase its strength. Otherwise, even the Space Lock won't last very long."
Hearing that, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Dumbledore's face.