translating_wizard
patreon
Chapter 1093: For the Greater Good
🕑 Added 2024-04-27 19:27:24 +0000 UTCLike Azkaban, there was very little information about Nurmengard in the Wizarding World, and some were only rumors.
Among these rumors, the most frightening and at the same time the most mythical was that of the guards of Nurmengard.
Some people said that those guards, like the Dementors in Azkaban, were nightmare monsters from the deepest depths of hell, and no one could resist them.
Others said that Nurmengard's guards were dreadful curses, incarnations of Death himself.
No matter what the rumors themselves were and what the truth behind them was, one thing could not be denied, that was, all the prisoners who tried to escape Nurmengard eventually died, disappeared from the world, and never appeared again.
But no one knew what Nurmengard actually looked like and what kind of creatures its guards were.
Only those who had been there personally knew the specific conditions there and how terrifying it was, and it was a topic of fascination among ordinary wizards.
Whether it was its past or present, the imprisonment of criminals or the legendary tales hidden within its walls, Nurmengard remained shrouded in mystery.
Evan originally thought he would see a chilling and terrifying building like Azkaban, with fearsome jailers wandering the ruins, sucking away all joy and vitality from the land, leaving behind only fear and despair.
But no, he and Dumbledore Apparated, and what appeared in front of them was a desolate town.
Though in disarray, there were still traces of human activity, but it was just not that pleasant.
Speaking of which, this place was a bit like Knockturn Alley.
In the darkness of night, filthy alleys extended in all directions, with nothing but darkness visible at their ends.
The ground was littered with debris resembling slag, and the shops and houses lining the streets were all constructed from black rocks, haphazardly and irregularly, resembling grotesque monsters with their whimsical, rule-defying shapes, each seeming to bear teeth and claws.
As for the shops themselves, they were all Dark Magic shops.
In the storefront window closest to Evan, shrunken heads were displayed, arranged in rows, with faces painted with different oil paints, awaiting customers' selections.
There was a corpse hanging outside the house next to the shop. The corpse was covered with wounds and the skin had been cruelly peeled off.
Evan stared for a while but couldn't discern what kind of creature it was.
It looked a bit like a human being, a dismembered corpse, but there were two big horns on its head.
Dark red blood and unknown mucus slowly flowed downwards along the corpse and landed on the ground, making a dripping sound.
This was the only sound Evan heard. Apart from that, there was no sound at all in this terrible town.
Even though it was late at night, this was still unusual.
The surroundings were deathly silent, even the sound of the wind stopped here.
At the end of the alley, figures swayed, and several hooded wizards hurried past, proving that there were still living people here.
But no one dared to speak, even holding their breath for fear of waking up some terrible monster.
"Professor, is this Nurmengard?" Evan whispered. "It looks like a gathering place for Dark Wizards."
"This is a small town outside Nurmengard, called Gadeburg," said Dumbledore, leading Evan down a narrow alley. "When Gellert was at the height of his power, he built Nurmengard as a symbol of his evil rule, the strongest fortress of dark forces. Many Dark wizards and greedy individuals flocked here. Most of them did not have the strength or qualifications to join Gellert's army, but he did not drive them away. Instead, he allowed them to stay on the outskirts of Nurmengard. Eventually, it developed into the town you see before us. After Gellert's failure, this town was not abolished. Instead, it became the largest gathering point of Dark Wizards in Germany."
"The German Ministry of Magic doesn't intervene?" said Evan in surprise. "They allow Dark Wizards to gather here?"
"Existence is rational, Evan. We abhor Dark Magic, oppose the use of those evil spells, but that does not mean everyone does, and it is impossible to erase a category of magic that has been passed down for thousands of years," said Dumbledore. "In a way, it is like Knockturn Alley and the Underworld in England, you have been there, the Ministry of Magic allows them to exist, but they cannot cross certain lines."
Indeed, that was the case. The Wizarding World wasn't simply black and white, nor was it as straightforward as Hogwarts, with clear rules forbidding students from studying Dark Magic, unanimously regarded as undesirable and resisted, not openly discussed.
In the real Wizarding society, the lines between good and evil were blurred.
Light and darkness intertwined, coexisting.
It was unrealistic and impossible to eliminate all Dark Wizards and Dark Magic.
As long as they didn't engage in illegal and evil activities, the Ministry of Magic had no reason to arrest them.
But if it was not evil, was it still Dark Magic?
Moving forward down the alley, after passing a shop, Evan saw a towering building appearing in front of him.
This building looked like a palace with many tall towers; the most eye-catching was the main tower in the center.
The main tower stood tall and extended to the clouds, with no end in sight, inspiring awe.
A mysterious atmosphere shrouded it, which seemed to be a kind of power. People who stared at it quickly shifted their gaze.
To be honest, this building was nothing short of a marvel, a miracle built by Grindelwald.
Nurmengard was located on an island in the middle of a lake, surrounded by a huge pool of black water, calm and deep.
Other Dark wizards in the town seemed to be afraid of this lake and dare not approach it easily.
They hid in the dark doorways, and when they saw Dumbledore and Evan walking straight there, they all showed uncontrollable panic expressions.
What could be hidden in this calm black water that made these Dark wizards so scared?
"That is the true Wizarding prison, Nurmengard," said Dumbledore simply.
Following his gaze, Evan looked at the pitch-black main tower, where Grindelwald himself was imprisoned, repenting for his sins at the top.
It could be seen from the fact that he treated Caresius that he had a certain degree of freedom.
As a powerful Dark wizard, it was almost impossible to completely control him.
So, Grindelwald being imprisoned here, confined in the fortress he built himself, was entirely voluntary.
But Evan still didn't quite understand; not everyone was like Grindelwald, willing to be imprisoned in this Wizarding prison.
This prison was so close to the gathering place of Dark wizards. What protective measures did Nurmengard have to ensure that no one escaped from prison?
Facing the main tower, the main building also extended forward on the ground, forming a symmetrical L shape between them.
The main structure of Nurmengard was stretched out, spanning most of the lake, built all the way to where they stood, which was also the location of Nurmengard's entrance.
As soon as Evan walked over, he saw a striking sentence carved on it: "For the Greater Good!"
