— — — — — —

"My lord, are you alright?"

The moment Grindelwald landed back on the ground, several Acolytes hurried over anxiously.

"I’m fine. That man is indeed powerful, but he still can’t do anything to me. Next time... next time I’ll make him pay for this."

’Fine my ass. I’m hurting so badly I’m about to die.’

At this moment, Grindelwald was entirely bluffing. He was using dark magic to numb his body’s senses, barely maintaining an appearance of calm dignity.

Losing to Dumbledore? That was acceptable. Dumbledore’s status and reputation had been built over centuries.

Losing to Tom? Also acceptable, because Dumbledore lost alongside him. In essence, his standing and deterrence remained unchanged.

But Andros was different.

Nobody knew he was the invincible Greek wizard from two thousand years ago. All they knew was that he was one of the Sun Chasers.

Right now, Grindelwald absolutely could not show weakness in front of the Acolytes, the students, or the professors. Otherwise, unrest might spread internally and affect everything going forward.

"My lord, where exactly did this Sun Chasers organization come from?" One of the Acolytes asked in confusion. "I thought about it, and that guy seems to be the same thief who robbed dozens of families in Africa recently. But why did he suddenly come after you? And how is he so strong?"

"That lunatic’s got something wrong with his head," Grindelwald said darkly. "I originally didn’t even want to bother with them, and now they’ve come looking for trouble anyway..."

"Let’s head back first. Tomorrow, I’m going to settle some accounts."

The Acolytes immediately perked up. As expected of Lord Grindelwald.

They themselves had almost no information about the Sun Chasers, yet Grindelwald had already investigated them so thoroughly. Alone.

...

..

Meanwhile, back in Dalaran, the banquet was finally nearing its end, and tonight’s main event had at last arrived.

The fireworks show. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The fireworks themselves weren’t actually the important part. The important part was that everyone finally had the chance to witness the full view of the city.

The colorful crystal walls gradually lost their color, transforming into transparent glass.

Although the banquet hall only occupied the second and third floors, the third floor alone rose more than thirty meters high, about the height of the eighth or ninth floor in a normal building. The view was absolutely spectacular.

Crowds gathered in front of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, waiting for the breathtaking moment the fireworks would bloom across the sky. Others carried wine and desserts onto the terraces, enjoying the cool evening breeze.

...

"Tom, I’m baaaack!"

On a terrace reserved specifically for Tom and the girls, Daphne burst through the doors excitedly. In just a few quick steps, she threw herself into his arms, wriggling around like an overjoyed puppy.

At least, that was how it looked in her younger sister Astoria’s eyes.

Seriously, where was her dignity?

"Sis, where have you been all night?" Astoria asked curiously.

She’d barely seen Daphne the entire evening. Only a few fleeting glimpses, where her sister appeared at the floating food tracks, grabbed something to eat in two bites, then immediately vanished again.

"Hehe, I was counting presents!" Daphne giggled foolishly. "There are sooo many gifts! They’re piled up like little mountains in the storage room. I spent two whole hours opening them and still didn’t even finish one pile. It was amazing."

"That many?" Tom laughed softly. "Then I’ll help you open them tomorrow."

Daphne nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, yes!"

"Me too! Me too! Gabrielle wants to open presents too!"

The little girl had actually already eaten her fill and had been half-asleep in Fleur’s arms, waiting to go to bed. But after hearing Daphne talk about the mountain of gifts, she instantly perked up, waving her tiny hands as she eagerly begged to join.

"Alright, alright, everyone can join!" Daphne laughed so hard her mouth wouldn’t close. Then she grandly declared, "If Gabrielle likes anything, she can take it! Even though these gifts were technically for Astoria, I’m her big sister, so I can make the decisions."

Astoria rolled her eyes so hard it was almost impressive.

The other girls could only sigh helplessly as well.

Honestly, it was no wonder Tom and Daphne got along so absurdly well. Neither of them lacked money, yet both were hopelessly addicted to the excitement of opening mystery gifts, acting like little treasure-obsessed gremlins.

And now there was little Gabrielle too.

Bzzzzzt!

A sharp humming sound suddenly rang through the sky, followed by a dazzling streak of light cutting across the night like an electric circuit.

Midnight had arrived.

A moment later, magnificent magical fireworks exploded into the sky.

As the crowd admired the brilliant display, they also found themselves captivated by the city beneath it.

The city, built primarily from smooth white stone, looked clean and immaculate. The jade-like material emitted a warm, gentle glow, while tall towers stood at regular intervals throughout the city. Between them stretched interconnected rails.

"Those tracks are..." Fudge hesitated before guessing, "Riddle intends to build trains here?"

Dumbledore clinked glasses with him lightly.

"More likely light rail," he said with a smile. "The entire city is covered by anti-Apparition wards. Public transportation would naturally become very important."

"What an incredible place." Fudge sighed in admiration before jokingly adding, "I almost want to move the Ministry of Magic here. Albus, do you think Riddle would give me a discount? The Ministry definitely doesn’t have enough money to build another headquarters."

"That, I couldn’t say." Dumbledore chuckled warmly. "But if you truly have that idea someday, I’ll put in a good word for you."

The relationship between Fudge and Dumbledore was excellent now, much like it had been at the very beginning.

No, actually better than before.

The invisible tensions and conflicts between them had completely vanished.

Back when Fudge first became Minister, he had treated Dumbledore with a complicated mixture of respect, fear, and gratitude for supporting his rise to power. He had never been this relaxed around him.

...

Meanwhile, on other balconies and before the towering windows, guests admired Dalaran’s fantastical beauty.

And alongside their fascination came a strange sense of disorientation.

A city of magic?

A city that belonged solely to wizards?

It was something that had never existed before, something many witches and wizards had never even considered.

Even in the subconscious minds of the proudest pure-bloods, wizards either secluded themselves in remote places or hid among bustling Muggle cities while carefully concealing traces of magic.

It was as though everyone had unconsciously accepted that this was simply how wizard life was supposed to be.

Yet tonight, after seeing this city of magic, countless people suddenly awakened to a new possibility.

That’s right.

Why couldn’t wizards have a city of their own?

Why couldn’t they live openly within it, and use magic openly as well?

A tiny seed had quietly been planted in countless hearts.

And all it needed was the right opportunity to break through the soil, grow skyward, and one day completely overturn the way they viewed the world.

.

.

.