American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

After listening to Rita recount her experiences, Rune nodded: "You can come with me; I can guarantee your safety."

Under Rita's fearful gaze, Rune granted her request for refuge. However, as Rune prepared to leave, Rita stood still, her toes shifting involuntarily, her eyes darting around, and she opened her mouth several times, only to stop herself from speaking.

"Just say what you want to say." Rune was getting impatient with Rita's hesitant manner. Rita raised her head, a hint of fear in her eyes, her lips trembling slightly, her voice barely audible: "I want to continue investigating."

When Rita first received Rune's protection, most of her fear had disappeared, even though she was still unaware of Rune's strength.

After calming down, her first emotion was regret. Regret for what? Of course, regret for her own report! Wizards' greatest concern is naturally their children, especially pure-blood wizards, who have a natural obsession with continuing the family line. Otherwise, Rune wouldn't have won the Order of Merlin with just a recipe for brown sugar ginger tea that could slightly increase the chances of conception.

Whether further investigation into the missing wizards would be profitable is unclear, but fame is certainly within reach. If the wizarding world had a Pulitzer Prize, Rita, who wrote this report, would definitely be a strong contender. So Rita is unwilling to accept this; how could she possibly accept it? Back then, to grab attention, she was even willing to attack Dumbledore! And now? She's willing to pay the price with her life!

But Rita knew she was asking the impossible. The boy who promised to protect her had only said he was willing to shield her from Voldemort, not that he would snatch her from the Ministry of Magic. Yet he had still agreed, which was enough for Rita to be grateful for. Therefore, she believed that if she didn't ask this question now, this desire to continue investigating might become a regret years later.

However, to her surprise, Rune didn't even hesitate and nodded in agreement. Rita's eyes gradually reddened, tears welled up, and finally, she couldn't hold back any longer, letting them slide down her cheeks and drip onto the ground. All the grievances, fears, and gratitude of the day were released in that moment. To be honest, she wasn't particularly beautiful; she was only of average appearance, and crying like that made her look even uglier.

Rune turned around, giving Rita some time to compose herself. After a long while, the sobbing finally stopped.

"Thank you, I really... thank you, I'd do anything for you..." Rita choked out. She felt that Rune had made a huge sacrifice for her willfulness, after all, even the most powerful white wizard was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic, yet Rune was going to fight against the most powerful violent agency in Britain for her.

"No need, you can investigate all you want." Rune turned his back to her, then slightly turned his head. "But you need a way to be able to come to my side at any time, or to let me come to your side at any time."

Rita immediately understood and quickly took out a glove from the bag, which was the same style as the previously destroyed crocodile skin bag but a different color. "This is a door key. If I need help, this glove will fly up, and you can just shake its hand."

Rita forced a smile, her heart heavy with the impending hardship ahead.

"Hmm." Rune nodded, letting Rita leave on her own. He examined the gloves carefully and finally found a note inside with instructions on how to make a Portkey. Rune couldn't help but chuckle. Fortunately, it wasn't yet the time when Voldemort would appear, and the Portkey could still be used at Hogwarts.

Outside of Hogwarts, the use of Portkeys is strictly limited. A wizard needs authorization from the Ministry of Magic to create a new Portkey, and creating an unauthorized Portkey is punishable by some form of penalty. It's conceivable that if Rune is unwilling to protect Rita on this trip, Rita certainly won't hand over the method for making Portkeys.

Moreover, Rita decided to wholeheartedly serve him after this trip, diligently collecting magic for Rune. Only when facing Rune did she finally understand the thoughts of the Order of the Phoenix members.

However, Rita didn't expect that the reason Rune agreed to let Rita continue the investigation without hesitation was not because he was considerate of his subordinate or because of a sense of justice. It was simply because in the entire Harry Potter world, not only was there no one who could match him, but there were also very few items and spells that could truly harm Rune.

Take nuclear bombs, currently the most powerful weapon in human history, for example. As long as Rune isn't at the very center of the explosion, he can basically withstand it. Wolverine survived a nuclear blast less than two kilometers away, so Rune, who has merged with Superman's bloodline, would be even more resilient.

Perhaps the Avada Kedavra curse could indeed harm runes, since it directly attacks the victim's soul; those killed by the Avada Kedavra curse do not leave behind a soul and therefore do not become ghosts. But even if it could cause harm, at runes' current speed, they could easily smash the caster's head into their stomach before the caster even finishes chanting the spell.

So Rune can do more than just flip tables; he can lift the floor. Forget the British Ministry of Magic; even fighting the entire wizarding world would just be a tiring task for Rune—killing wizards one by one. Moreover, dealing with people like Fudge wouldn't even subject Rune to any moral scrutiny.

Turning to watch Rita tidy herself up, transform into a beetle, and leave, Rune seemed thoughtful. He believed Rita's journey was quite dangerous. There were essentially only two possibilities for the Ministry of Magic to issue a warning: one, the disappearance was too difficult to investigate, and the Ministry didn't want Rita to stir up public opinion, hence the warning; two, the so-called disappearance was actually human trafficking, and the Ministry itself was a beneficiary, or even the perpetrator. Considering the death threats Rita received while sleeping, Rune thought the latter was more likely.

Furthermore, according to Rita's report, almost all the missing persons were half-blood wizards or Muggle-born wizards, meaning pure-blood wizards were very likely involved as well. Therefore, Rita was actually conducting her investigation under pressure from the most powerful and wealthy group in the entire British wizarding world. Perhaps she was doing it for fame and fortune, but Rune would still choose to help Rita.

The reason is simple: Rita can find him valuable magical knowledge, and her troubles are nothing more than a matter of practicing her martial arts, plus killing a few insects to relax her anxious mind, nothing more.

Back in his dorm, Rune couldn't fly back. It was late at night, and he wasn't sure if Filch was there. While Rune didn't mind losing points, being put in solitary confinement or even grounded would be troublesome.

Strolling through the Forbidden Forest, the towering trees around him, their intertwined branches blocking out the moonlight and leaving only dappled shadows, cast a light mist. A thin fog hung in the air. Rune looked around, hoping to find some wondrous creatures, like unicorns or something… He quite liked ponies, especially the purple unicorn.