Seeing this, Nightingale immediately raised a dense mist of ice to slow down the monsters, then decisively used a Banishing Charm to push Sagres away, trying to distance him from the battlefield.
"Don't mind me—kill him!"
Sagres endured the pain and issued the command, then cast Mechanical Mind on himself.
A sweep of blue light passed over him.
Though the physical pain remained undiminished, the clarity that had been eroded by agony returned to him once more.
Sagres turned and cast an Exploding Charm. The terrifying blast scattered the horde of monsters, but some, already eroded by the curse, had managed to approach, and the situation remained dire.
From the shadows, Erios was startled by Sagres's astonishing destructive power. Realizing things were getting out of control, he immediately decided to flee.
Sagres sensed his intention at once. He blasted the monster in front of him to pieces with a Blasting Charm, then instantly pointed his wand at the old man from a distance.
"Protego Muspelheim~!"
Pale flames ignited at the tip of his wand, and a pure white Patronus, trailing roaring fire, charged swiftly toward Erios.
The flames incinerated all the monsters in its path, clearing a direct line between Sagres and Erios.
Erios hastily cast a dark curse to block the incoming Patronus.
The old man cast several Banishing Charms in succession before finally managing to dispel Sagres's Patronus.
"Huff.. huff.. huff.. This guy is dangerous.."
He panted heavily, then steeled himself and released a red curse toward the monsters.
As the hoarse voice fell, all the monsters' speed suddenly increased. The black veins on their bodies bulged grotesquely, then burst open, spraying poisonous, curse-laden blood.
The situation grew increasingly dire. Sagres used a Blocking Charm to hurl several approaching monsters away, then followed with a Cutting Charm to shred them mid-air.
"Holy Light Expulsion!"
A pure white blade of light shot from his wand. The cursed monsters struck by the light blade disintegrated into scattered bones on impact.
At that moment, Nightingale quickly closed in on Erios, but several dog-like monsters pounced at her from the side.
The dog-like monsters were instantly sucked into the vortex of quicksand and buried.
A long, marshy barrier appeared between the monsters and Sagres, halting their frenzied charge.
At last, Sagres had his hands free.
Erios Apparated hastily from the spot and popped at a distance.
"Fuck, that was close!" Erios was just about to seize the chance to escape again, but Nightingale had already approached from the side.
Cold currents condensed in the air as ice spikes flew. The old man fled in panic, using an Acceleration Charm in haste, barely managing to dodge the fierce attack.
Cold sweat trickled down his smooth scalp. Erios turned around in exasperation, cast another Killing Curse toward Nightingale, and then, without even glancing back, prepared to Apparate away.
Nightingale controlled the ice spikes to block the green light of the Killing Curse, then a precise Blocking Charm instantly sent the old man flying.
Erios still tried to risk splitting himself by Apparating mid-air, but before he could cast the spell, he was struck by another of Nightingale's spells.
"Expelliarmus!" The red light hit his chest, and the wand in his hand immediately flew out.
"Silencio!" Old Erios crashed through the corner wooden shelf and hit the ground, unable to even groan.
"funiculus Immobilize!" Magical ropes appeared out of thin air, binding him tightly.
A Freezing Charm extinguished his last shred of hope.
Several rapid spells in quick succession completely subdued Erios. Nightingale then used magic to lift him from the ruins.
After lifting the Silencing Charm from the old man, Nightingale pointed her ebony wand at Erios's neck and coldly threatened, "Make them stop!"
"Keh.. keke.. this curse has no counter-curse…"
"I said, make them stop!"
"Kill me, you foolish woman…"
"Ha! Filch Erios will never yield to you! Kill me! With that broken stick of yours—kill me… right now!"
"Stop, Nightingale." Sagres's voice brought Nightingale back to her senses.
She turned her head and saw that Sagres had already dealt with all the monsters and was now walking over, stepping on severed limbs.
Pale fire crows danced around him, and wherever they passed, flesh and remains turned to ash and scattered.
Sagres walked up to Old Erios and lightly touched the old man's gaunt chest with his wand.
He had now completely mastered the use of Mechanical Mind; altering a person's emotional state was as simple as operating a machine. It was a more refined emotional magic than Cruciatus, capable of selectively stirring various emotions hidden deep in the heart.
Old Erios was still dazed, but suddenly, an intense anger surged within him. Bluish-gray veins bulged at his temples as rage overwhelmed him.
Losing all sense of reason, he began to curse furiously, "You fucking parasites, fucking robbers—get out of my domain! Failures who don't even deserve hawthorn wood, and you want to steal my wand? Ha! Don't even think about it! It's fused with my bones and blood. Anyone else who tries to use it will suffer backlash—your organs will come spewing from your nostrils!"
"Did that idiot Gregorovitch send you? Is that it? Wasn't he always hiding in his workshop, dreaming day and night of surpassing Garrick Ollivander? What? To achieve that, that pig who uses the old wand as a gimmick has started to covet my research too?"
Sagres tapped Erios again with his wand, and an indescribable sadness immediately enveloped the old man, who let out a sorrowful, guttural wail.
Sagres continued casting spells, and Erios then fell into a state of ecstasy. His wild laughter echoed through the ruins.
Finally, Sagres lightly touched the old man's head with the tip of his wand, and an overwhelming calm took hold of all his thoughts.
Sagres endured the pain in his arm, his voice cold: "We are following a prophecy to find the wand. You are just a marginal figure, loosely connected to it. We have no interest in your techniques or research—your own greed has brought you this misfortune."
He looked at the old man, now like an empty shell, and declared icily, "You shouldn't have taken what didn't belong to you. And you definitely shouldn't have attacked Veiliss with Dark Arts."
As the words fell, the Unforgivable Curse was instantly cast, and Old Erios was immediately placed under the Imperius Curse. Trembling, he extended a finger and slowly reached for the dark curse on Sagres's right hand, peeling it off little by little and transferring it onto himself.
Once the curse was completely removed, Sagres ended the Imperius, then extended his palm to the old man. "Now return the Kraken Heart."