Chapter 46: Maheshwara (1)
Inside a dark room, Devdan sat with his eyes fixed straight ahead. His red eyes glowed in the darkness of the room, while the smell of blood permeated the room. A man was kneeling in front of him, his head pressed to the floor, trembling slightly.
"Speak..." Devdan opened his mouth, exposing his sharp fangs dripping with blood and licking his lips. The kneeling man didn't want to lift his head. He had already seen the state of the room when he entered, which scared him, but if he didn't, he knew he could die.
Then, when he raised his head with his eyes open, he saw the same thing he had seen when he entered the room. Two lifeless bodies next to the chair where Devdan was sitting. One of the bodies had no head; it was in Devdan's left hand, leaving only the skull, strips of flesh and stained with blood that slowly dripped to the floor, creating a small dripping sound.
"Sir... we've tracked Harry Potter and Anand Arya in Kululu. We currently don't know what they're planning, but we suspect they might try to stage a coup against us."
Devdan immediately narrowed his eyes, thinking as he squeezed the skull in his hand slightly, causing cracks to echo around the room. Just hearing Anand's name caused him to seethe with rage. But he soon relaxed; his lips curled slightly, and he looked at the still-kneeling man.
"That's fine... very fine indeed. Get the men ready, we'll leave immediately. We'll wait for the right moment, and when they leave Kalale..." Devdan grinned, baring his bloody teeth as he smashed the skull in his hand into pieces...
"We'll destroy everything on site!"
As Devdan and his men prepared, Harry Potter was speaking with Anand and several other men inside a meeting room in Kalale.
Umeesh Rao, the man in charge of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in India, was talking about public safety and how to deploy equipment to increase that security. At the same time, they were planning to attack Devdan without harming innocent people or destroying too much of the infrastructure.
Harry realized the differences between Voldemort and Devdan the more they talked. The former was more cunning and intelligent, choosing carefully where and when to attack, and not using too many men, trying to have as few casualties as possible and achieve the best possible outcome. However, this also made it easier for ordinary people to defend themselves.
Devdan was different; he didn't seem to mind charging all his men to destroy and kill as many people as possible. This made him a little more difficult to deal with, given the large number of men needed to fight him each time he appeared and the potential destruction this could cause.
The worst part was that it was almost impossible to try to lure Devdan into a trap or guide him to a more remote location to fight. The moment he found out he was being led, he wouldn't hesitate to turn around and continue destroying and continuing what he started, or simply retreat to whatever base he had. Despite being someone who preferred numbers and power, he was no fool.
Harry rubbed his eyelids while keeping his eyes closed. However, his body froze for a few seconds before he squinted and looked to the left. There was only a wall there, but his eyes seemed to be able to see through it and look for miles around. It wasn't his vision or his eyes, but his Observation Haki that was sensing something in that direction.
"I don't think they have time for further planning," Harry commented seriously, drawing the attention of everyone in the meeting room.
"What do you mean?" Umeesh frowned.
"Two kilometers away, in the southwest direction, more than a hundred people have just appeared. One of them has the level of power I sensed from Devdan. They are not moving out of that direction, but they seem to be waiting for something."
"What?!" Anand was shocked and began to fear an attack.
Harry frowned. This didn't make much sense. Those people were obviously waiting for something, but if it really was Devdan and his followers, how did they know they were still here? It was as if someone was...
Harry's thoughts stopped when he glared at Umeesh; his green eyes seemed to bore into the man's brown ones as he used his Legilimency with all his might. Umeesh began to sweat as he tried to resist, but no matter how much effort he put in, his defenses were being pierced with precision and power beyond his own. Before long, he collapsed to his knees, grunting in pain.
"It seems you have a traitor, Mr. Anand," Harry said coldly.
"What?! Umeesh, you really are a traitor! Answer me?!" Anand was no fool, and seeing the clear signs of someone being forcibly pierced with Legilimency, he immediately realized. The rest of the men immediately stood up, shouting as they pointed their wands.
"I... I underestimated you... Harry Potter..." Umeesh grunted as he struggled to his feet; his head was pounding and felt like it was about to split in two.
"Many do, Umeesh Rao. And they end up suffering losses because of it."
"What do we do now?!" Anand growled. "Devdan is probably waiting for information on this traitor."
"There are several ways to deal with this, but they're all dangerous," Harry growled. "We can go and fight right now. There's also the possibility that he'll attack even when information doesn't come through, but he could also escape."
"You can deploy Auror teams to surround Kalala and wait for an ambush attack. But then again, we don't know if he'll escape or not."
"Also..." Harry sighed at this point. "Someone could use Imperio on him and send him toward Devdan. This could be an effective way to deliver information that we've left the city, which is likely waiting for its attack. This way, you could also deploy the equipment and wait for an attack that would definitely pass, but with a higher chance of catching him."
"I'll do it! I'll launch Imperio!" a man exclaimed with a determined look.
"Ali!" Anand exclaimed in surprise.
"Mr. Minister, I'm the man under Umeesh, and I failed to see through your betrayal. Now we're in a complicated situation, and it's just you, Harry Potter, and myself. Please let me do this. All I ask is to keep it a secret."
Even if many countries have different methods or slightly different conceptions of magic than others, the vast majority were prohibited from casting the Three Unforgivables. Of all magic, the Three Unforgivables were no longer about learning, but more about spiritual energy, desire, and will; The reason they were considered so dark: each required a considerable amount of spiritual energy (magic), but a greater desire and will; with Imperio, it required the desire and will to dominate, with Crucio, to cause harm and torture, and finally, with Avada Kedavra, the desire and will to kill. But, in this type of situation, it was something that could save lives and defeat a dark lord.
Harry kept watching Umeesh, using Legilimency little by little to keep him still and read more of his memories for information.
Anand closed his eyes with a listless expression before nodding: "Fine... You have my word, Ali, I won't tell anyone, I'll keep this a secret."
"So do I..." Harry said, having a greater respect for the man called Ali. He could only shake his head slightly, because while he could go and end this whole thing, he didn't want to just be taken as a hero who could solve everyone's problems. Besides, even if people died, he could solve that problem with the ability he gained from discovering the Information Dimension with Hermione.
"Then... I'll begin," Ali closed her eyes and inhaled sharply before exhaling slowly. Her eyes were determined when she opened them and a single word was expelled from her mouth as the wand in her right hand pointed at Umeesh's face.
"¡Imperio!"
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