American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Chapter 94 The Minister of Magic with a Hand Fan

Upon hearing Rune's words, some wizards understood something, and among them were many Aurors. The entire hall instantly became bustling with noise.

Harry frowned and looked at Ron, who also looked completely bewildered. Then the two of them looked at Hermione.

Seeing the clear confusion in their eyes, Hermione, feeling a chill run down her spine, could only explain to them, "It's just that some Muggles want to live longer, so they buy and sell magical items from other wizards, and so on."

Hermione's clever little brain instantly clicked, and she began to mutter to herself. The recent disappearance, Rita Skeeter's inexplicable silence for weeks, and Rune's ruthless murder—it all seemed to connect.

Rune added, "Some scoundrels have informed those in high positions within Muggle society about this, and they're trafficking wizards—it's become a well-established industry." He continued loudly, "Unfortunately, my fellow countrymen, those Muggles have already created drugs made from the flesh and blood of wizards, and the drugs are quite effective..."

Rune turned his head and looked at everyone present. Many of them were pale, especially the young wizards, some of whom even covered their ears in fear, unable to listen to what Rune would say next. The Aurors were somewhat at a loss; they should have continued pointing their wands at Rune, but now they hesitated.

But Fudge reacted quickly. His face paled for a moment, then he realized what was happening. He had indeed been misled, but at this moment, the most important thing wasn't figuring out who had misled him, but rather preventing Rune from continuing!

If Rune is allowed to continue, no matter how much Fudge defends himself, he will never be able to shake off the label of "incompetent".

The best course of action now would be to interrupt Rune's speech, arrest him, pretend to interrogate him, find a few scapegoats, publicly declare that Rune is the mastermind behind the human trafficking of wizards, and then claim all the credit for it.

Even so, it was merely a way to atone for one's sins, because far too many wizards had already been abducted and trafficked before this.

That's what Fudge thought, and that's what he did. Moreover, thanks to years of political infighting, he started by blaming Rune as soon as he opened his mouth, in order to strengthen the credibility of his words.

"You're lying! Nobody here will believe the ravings of a murderer!" he shouted, then turned to the Aurors and gave them a direct order: "Arrest this murderer immediately! Stop letting him spread his lies!"

However, to his surprise, the Aurors looked at each other, none of them willing to move. Rune, too, was drawn to the Minister of Magic's speech.

The other Aurors watched helplessly as Rune approached Fudge. Some of the younger Aurors wanted to make a move, but were restrained by the others. Having been Aurors for so many years, they already knew Fudge's level.

When he awarded himself the Order of Merlin, did he consider the ridicule the Aurors would face when they went to other countries to assist in law enforcement? When he arbitrarily gave orders, causing heavy casualties among the Aurors, did he truly care about their lives? When he casually deducted the Aurors' allowances for a banquet, did he consider the feelings of the heroes who risked their lives for the wizarding world?

After Voldemort's resurrection, Fudge's mistake wasn't just in spreading the rumor that the Dark Lord hadn't returned to life. His years of manipulating the Aurors laid the groundwork for Voldemort's later easy control of the Ministry of Magic.

Rune walked up to the Minister of Magic and coldly stared at the somewhat overweight man. Only after Fudge was drenched in cold sweat did Rune say, "I'm glad you came, Fudge, because your presence proves you haven't colluded with those scoundrels. You've simply been deceived by your incompetence; at least the Ministry of Magic isn't so rotten that I need to personally clean it up."

His voice startled everyone except Snape. Erasure of the Ministry of Magic? Many whispered among themselves.

The Ministry of Magic represents the largest violent organization in all of Britain, and it is full of talented individuals, especially the Aurors, each of whom is one of the most combat-ready prefects at Hogwarts. Even though the number of Aurors admitted has gradually decreased in recent years, this has only increased the prestige of the title "Auror."

But Severus simply watched silently. He understood that these few Aurors were no threat to Rune, and just as Rune had said, he could easily wipe out the Ministry of Magic himself. If he had to describe it, Snape would compare Rune to a humanoid dragon who had mastered spells—able to ignore most spell attacks, effortlessly catch the force and speed of bullets, and possess precise control.

Snape thought even dragons were easier to deal with than runes.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Fudge said, picking up his wand to cast a spell on Rune. But in a flash, he saw his wand in Rune's hand. He panicked and screamed for the Aurors to seize Rune. "He dared to attack the Minister for Magic! Are you all idiots?! Grab him right now!"

However, the Aurors whom Fudge had clung to as a lifeline were as weak as children when facing Rune. Rune did not choose to kill these dozen or so Aurors, but instead seized all of their wands with incredible speed and turned their clothes into ropes, comically hanging them from the large ceiling.

Then, Fudge was slapped and immediately passed out. Rune's slap was quite hard, but not with his full strength. If he had used his full strength, Fudge wouldn't have survived with a whole body.

Fudge's panic just now allowed Rune to see his memories. Fudge truly hadn't participated in the wizards' human trafficking, nor did he know about Rita's warning. This fool had simply been consolidating his power and trying his best to maintain a kind persona. But today, his persona was completely shattered.

Furthermore, if even Fudge could be kept in the dark, it meant that Rune had turned his attention to Umbridge, who had remained silent from the beginning. Umbridge had every reason to persecute non-pure-blood wizards, and most importantly, she possessed the ability to do so. Therefore, under the watchful eyes of the many Aurors, Rune directly used Legilimency on her.

It turned out that Umbridge valued her life highly, or rather, all of these high-ranking scumbags valued their lives highly, whether Muggles or wizards. If she, like those researchers, had been cursed or subjected to some kind of torture, then Rune would have had a harder time confirming her guilt. But her only defense against Legilimency was Occlumency—which would be sufficient for an ordinary wizard, but far from enough for Rune.

"Professor Snape, please give me some truth serum." Rune looked at the woman in front of him with a cold smile, and as expected, she began to struggle frantically after hearing the word "truth serum."