The gloomy and terrifying atmosphere of Knockturn Alley made Hermione pull her cloak tighter around herself.
She looked around; before her lay a filthy alleyway, lined on both sides with what seemed to be exclusively Dark Arts shops.
In a shop window nearby, several shrunken heads were grimly displayed.
Two doors down, a large cage was crawling with a mass of huge black spiders.
In a dark doorway, two ragged wizards were watching her and Kyle, whispering to each other.
She followed nervously behind Kyle, gripping his arm tightly, as if that could provide her with a sense of security.
Despite the concealment of her cloak, Hermione's height, along with the chin exposed beneath her hood, revealed the fact that she was still just a child.
An old hag, holding a plate containing what looked like entire human fingernails, blocked Kyle's path.
"I smell the scent of youth radiating from a young body... truly excellent material for crafting Dark Magic items."
She looked askance at Kyle and Hermione, then extended her tongue in a disgusting manner to lick her dry lips, revealing mossy teeth.
Holy crap, how many years has it been since she brushed her teeth?
"Close your eyes."
Hermione obediently did so.
Kyle lifted his leg and delivered a Heavenly Foot of Pain, bringing his heel down heavily onto the old hag's skull, smashing her head directly into her torso.
A large crater instantly appeared on the cobblestone ground, with the old hag's headless corpse lying right in the center.
The dark wizards who had been watching the show scattered instantly.
Such a violent kill obviously delivered a massive shock to them, and of course, it brought a significant shock to Kyle as well.
This was his first time killing someone.
It was because he had overestimated the opponent's strength.
Look at who usually accompanied Kyle in combat practice?
Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Alfred...
Which one of them wasn't an elite wizard with rich combat experience and high magical attainment?
So, how could Kyle have imagined that this time, his opponent wouldn't even be able to cast a Shield Charm?
Not to mention the top-tier powerhouses in his family, even Konan could have easily blocked his attack.
Fortunately, Kyle had nerves of steel; his face only went pale for a moment before he recovered.
Kyle had actually prepared himself psychologically for killing long ago.
He knew that if he wanted to inherit his father Gellert's legacy and become the third Dark Lord, the blood on his hands would definitely not be insignificant.
This was a hurdle he inevitably had to pass.
"Let's go." Kyle pulled Hermione along, preventing her from looking back at the old hag's miserable state.
In a secluded alley deep within Knockturn Alley, Mr. Granger was being held upside down in the air by some kind of magic.
Before him were three dark wizards who clearly weren't good people.
A wallet lay on the ground, empty. Obviously, he had been robbed clean.
As a dentist, Mr. Granger wasn't short of money.
Every year, Mr. Granger would basically use up the full two-hundred-Galleon exchange limit that Gringotts allowed for Muggle wizards.
You have to realize, two hundred Galleons is a significant sum in the wizarding world.
So, the unlucky Mr. Granger was targeted by these ill-intentioned dark wizards right after leaving Gringotts.
"Let me think, what magic should I use to torture you?"
"Should I use Crucio? or use the Blasting Curse to shatter the bones in your whole body?"
Merely robbing Mr. Granger clean wasn't enough; these dark wizards were using Levicorpus to hang Mr. Granger upside down and torture him.
"No! Please don't!" Mr. Granger's voice was filled with terror. "I beg you, let me go!"
He struggled desperately, but the power of magic was not something a Muggle could break free from.
Hearing Mr. Granger's pleas, the cruel smiles on the three dark wizards' faces became even more hideous.
One tall wizard among them raised his wand, pointing it at Mr. Granger. Crimson light gathered at the tip of his wand—representing the Cruciatus Curse.
"Cruc..."
A Flying Thunder God kunai suddenly appeared and embedded itself in his forehead, stopping his intent to continue the incantation.
Seeing their companion suddenly fall, the other two dark wizards were startled.
"What the hell!"
A white figure abruptly appeared in front of the dead dark wizard.
Spiraling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three!
Dazzling golden light bloomed in the dark alley.
When Hermione, who had lagged slightly behind, arrived, she saw her father sitting on the ground leaning against the wall.
Kyle was squatting beside him, his hands glowing with a vital fluorescent green light, evidently treating him.
As for the three dark wizards who kidnapped her father, they were lying on the ground, their status unknown.
Hermione threw herself into Mr. Granger's arms. "Dad!"
"Oh! Hermione! It's so good to see you again!"
Mr. Granger's tone carried a heavy sense of lingering fear, as well as the relief of surviving a disaster.
Kyle didn't disturb the father and daughter's reunion. He silently dragged the corpses of the three unlucky guys to a spot invisible to the Grangers.
After setting a fire, Kyle casually cast a Water Release: Water Shockwave, flushing the remaining ash into the street gutter.
Less than ten minutes after his first kill, Kyle had already mastered high-end skills like destroying corpses and erasing traces.
After doing all this, Kyle slowly walked out of the alley.
"Let's go, I'll take you out."
Only then did Hermione poke her head out of Mr. Granger's embrace.
She discovered the three dark wizards lying on the ground were gone.
The smart little beaver guessed what happened immediately.
Seeing Kyle's calm and breezy demeanor, Hermione felt a wave of inexplicable panic in her heart.
She kept telling herself internally that Kyle did this to save her father, that Kyle was not a murderer.
Moreover, those people Kyle killed were the scum of society.
Just imagine, if Kyle hadn't arrived in time, and those dark wizards got bored of torturing her father and decided to kill him, what would she have done?
This psychological suggestion helped a little, and the little beaver's emotions soon calmed down somewhat.
Kyle led the two back the way they came. Before long, a familiar snow-white marble building appeared before the three of them.
Mr. Granger's steps were still unsteady. Although Kyle had healed his physical injuries, mental trauma wasn't something Kyle could fix.
If he didn't cast Obliviate on Mr. Granger, this memory would likely leave deep fear in his heart.
The best way to eliminate fear is to face fe... no, it is to eat some sweets.
However, Mr. Granger was an adult. Kyle felt that taking Mr. Granger to the Leaky Cauldron for a glass of Firewhisky would be much more effective than taking him to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour for sweets.
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