"I have to say, Gellert was indeed a person with great charisma. At that time, we were all young and impetuous, and initially, we didn't know about the Undying Elixir. Rune Serpent only asked us to find ways to hunt magical beasts for him. So, besides completing ordinary smuggling and hunting missions for the leader, we mostly acted as Acolytes," Thunderbird sighed with a hint of melancholy.
"Life back then was much simpler than now. We followed Grindelwald, fought together, attracted like-minded individuals, and helped him establish the Acolytes," Thunderbird muttered with considerable emotion. "And at that time, being young and impetuous, the seven of us emulated our adoptive father... Rune Serpent's past, and created the Silver Spear Dueling Club. After all, our leader back then often told us stories of his time in the club—before the discovery of the Undying Elixir, of course."
"Young people always like to band together to form strange societies and organizations, as if that would allow them to control the world. In reality, it's just about asserting their presence. Alan, you haven't started any societies, have you?"
Thunderbird's face was haggard, and the resentment and hatred in his eyes toward Alan had lessened. He sounded as if he were conversing with an old friend of the same age, or perhaps he saw the shadow of such a friend in Alan.
"No," Alan shook his head. "I have my own company. I'm much more practical than you all were."
"Then you are more mature than we were back then," Thunderbird sighed. "At that time, Grindelwald had ideals, and we had the skills. The most crucial thing was that he truly painted a beautiful blueprint of the future for us. So, we were wholeheartedly establishing the Acolytes, and the Silver Spear Club was somewhat like an affiliated organization—similar to collaborators. Initially, it was just the seven of us creating it for our own amusement."
"Later, when Rune Serpent discovered that we had re-established the club using the Silver Spears name, he joined in."
"So, you established the club first, and he just tagged along for the fun of it?" Alan realized he had misunderstood earlier after hearing Thunderbird's description. He had thought the club had always been the brainchild of that leader.
"Exactly. Rune Serpent only cares about himself and magical beasts. He's just a coward!" Thunderbird curled his lip in resentment. "But his power is indeed formidable. You simply cannot comprehend how terrifying a wizard who has lived for hundreds of years and possesses full power is!"
"Although the leader did not share our aspirations, with his resources and power, the Silver Spears developed very quickly. Under his guidance, the club became a smuggling group that collected and hunted magical beasts. However, we weren't very concerned at the time. Smuggling was smuggling, and the resources we gained also helped us better develop the Acolytes. Yes, our focus was always on the Acolytes."
"Until... until our cause almost completely failed. My goodness, we had so many supporters back then. Overthrowing the Ministry of Magic of a country would have been effortless for us. But we still failed. Gellert was also defeated by Dumbledore. He was so strong, yet he still couldn't defeat Dumbledore."
Thunderbird seemed to recall the glory of the past, a faint smile appearing on his face, but soon he remembered certain things that brought him despair, and his expression darkened once more.
"But even if we were defeated, it didn't really matter. At worst, we would start over. He hadn't been arrested before, and didn't we still rescue him? But what I found most unacceptable was... that Gellert actually surrendered and locked himself up in that wretched place, Nurmengard. How could he surrender? He... that coward!" Thunderbird seemed to recall those painful years, recalling the man he both respected and despised.
"Even with your power, you couldn't defeat Dumbledore at the time? And your leader, wasn't he willing to help you?" Alan was quite curious about his old Headmaster.
"Rune Serpent is a selfish, cowardly wretch who fears death. To cover his molting period, he wouldn't even appear before us for an extra second. We weren't as strong as we are now, and the enemies we faced weren't just Dumbledore alone. We were practically at war with the world at that time. Three of the original seven members of the club were lost during that period, but we weren't afraid of death then; we were willing to sacrifice ourselves for a common ideal."
"Until that man, who carried our ideals, admitted defeat and abandoned our future. He is a betrayer!" Thunderbird's eyes turned bloodshot with anger once more. "So, even though the Acolytes still retained a considerable amount of power at the time, what could we do when the leader himself surrendered?"
"After that, Gellert locked himself in the birdcage of Nurmengard. Most of the other Acolytes scattered like birds and beasts, and we inherited a portion of the legacy."
"So, there are many Acolytes in the current Silver Spears?" Alan now understood why Minister Bagnold and Newt were so concerned about the organization.
"Exactly. The Spears and Short Spears within the Silver Spears are basically all Acolytes. And Sphinx, though young at the time, was also our companion. He once regarded Grindelwald as a father," Thunderbird murmured softly, staring blankly at the empty space before him.
"If that's the case, then what did you mean by 'Conservative' earlier?" Alan looked at him with a strange expression. The Thunderbird before him gave off a feeling of utter despair.
"There are differences even among Acolytes," Thunderbird said, raising his eyes to look at Alan. "Ever since Grindelwald admitted defeat, the Acolytes virtually collapsed. The remaining members basically split into two factions. One part is us, the die-hards. Grindelwald abandoned his original ideals, but we didn't. We refused to admit the failure of the Acolytes and continuously accumulated power, attempting to reignite the wave of revolution."
"The other part of the wizards, they were more loyal to Grindelwald, even willing to accept the consequences of failure with him. These people are the Conservatives. Most of them are young people who did not experience the initial founding stage of the Acolytes with us. They mostly saw Grindelwald as their leader and obeyed him unconditionally. Even now, there are Conservatives guarding Grindelwald outside Nurmengard."
"Sphinx is a Conservative. Besides abandoning revolutionary ideals, he couldn't even stand to see us reignite the revolutionary wave. They believe this would make the peace Grindelwald fought for through surrender come to naught. It's ridiculous! The Acolytes isn't just his alone."
Thunderbird curled his lip in disdain, clearly looking down on those blindly loyal individuals.
Alan hadn't expected such ideological differences to emerge among the Acolytes of that era. The die-hards led by Thunderbird, in his view, had turned from devoted followers to bitter critics, now even hating their former leader. The Conservatives, on the other hand, were more like loyal protectors, completely unconcerned with what their idol had become.
"Alan!" Thunderbird looked up, staring intently at the young man who had defeated him, his eyes filled with both longing and resentment.
"What is it?" Alan could sense that the resentment in Thunderbird's eyes was not directed at him.
"Can you grant me one request?" Thunderbird asked with a sincere tone.
"You can say it. I'll see if I can help, depending on the situation," Alan said, looking calmly at him.
"I hope you can help me kill that bastard, Rune Serpent!" The resentment in Thunderbird's eyes deepened.
"Oh? Why do you have such a thought? After all, he is your adoptive father, and why do you think I can do it? From what you said, his power is not weak." Alan felt he understood the man's thoughts, but couldn't fully comprehend them.
"Hahahahaha, adoptive father! Yes, to outsiders, he is indeed our adoptive father, but we actually knew long ago that that guy is just a worm, a leech sucking blood from others. We were misled by him, which is why we later drank that so-called Undying Elixir, and then constantly faced the fear of death while also being obsessed with the pleasure that power brought. But even more, it brought endless loneliness."
"How spirited we once were! Even death held no fear for us. But because of the Undying Elixir, because of Rune Serpent, he stole all our last courage, turning us into rats that only knew how to hide in the shadows. I can feel it—that group of us from back then has long lost their drive. The so-called die-hards, the so-called ideals, are nothing but slogans. Now, in their minds, they probably only want to cling to life and enjoy that false sense of power. What was left for us was endless emptiness and madness. Without exception, those Spears who took the Undying Elixir have all become madmen like me."
"As for why I think you can succeed... naturally, it's because you are very strong, and you will become even stronger in the near future. I am very certain of this. As an old man who has long failed but has always been unwilling to admit failure, I think I can finally face myself now."
"I was actually a weakling from beginning to end, a pathetic creature trapped in the snare of eternal life." Thunderbird seemed to have come to terms with it, candidly pouring out his heart to Alan.