Jacob turned his head, saw the giant dragon, and greeted it cheerfully, "Hey, Shadow of the Destruction, we et again."
After a couple of encounters, Jacob no longer felt any awkwardness.
Queenie, on the other hand, was startled. This was her first ti inside.
Jacob reassured her, "It's fine. That's the Shadow of Destruction, a dragon that likes to help."
He still rembered the favor from John's claw. Without it, he would have been crushed to death by the Erumpent.
"The Shadow of Destruction?"
Queenie was both curious and amazed, murmuring, "This is the largest dragon I've ever seen."
"All right, little guy, ti to co down," Jacob coaxed the Demiguise clinging tightly to him, then turned back to John with a grin. "I think you scared it a bit."
"That's not just a little scared," John said, staring at the Demiguise.
The Demiguise burrowed into its nest and refused to co out.
Queenie, full of curiosity, stepped closer to John.
"All right, who's going to introduce to this lovely lady?" John's gaze swept over the wand in Newt's hand.
Newt placed the unfamiliar wand on the platform.
He still needed to deal with a small dispute with his Bowtruckle.
Looks like my wand worked.
John stared at the wand.
Queenie, who had been approaching John, suddenly stopped, looking up at him in surprise.
Jacob walked over to her side, already used to it. "It's pretty strange, right? A dragon that can talk. Is that rare where you're from too?"
"Yes, but…" Queenie's expression shifted slightly.
She had heard a voice.
I'll take the wand and leave after they're gone.
Queenie was certain that wasn't Newt or the others, nor anyone else present.
That voice had co from the giant dragon in front of her.
Jacob whispered, "He's looking at you."
Queenie snapped out of it, forcing a slightly unnatural smile. "Hello, my na is Queenie Goldstein."
"Hello, Queenie."
John greeted her.
After watching her for a few seconds, John said, "Has no one ever told you that entering soone else's mind without permission is rude?"
Queenie had been found out.
John himself had let his guard down a little. He hadn't expected anyone to try to enter a dragon's mind.
"Legilincy?"
"Sorry," Queenie stepped back, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly. "I can't control it."
"A natural Legilins?" John said in surprise. "That's quite a gift."
Seeing that he was easy to talk to, Queenie relaxed and smiled sweetly. "Sotis it can be a bit troubleso."
"I imagine your school has books on that."
"Wait, school?" Jacob perked up at the ntion of it. "There's a school? A magic school? Here in Arica?"
"Of course there is, Ilvermorny," Queenie said proudly when ntioning her alma mater. "It's the best magical school in the world!"
"No, it isn't. The best magical school in the world is Hogwarts," Newt said, having temporarily made peace with the Bowtruckle as he sorted through so plants nearby.
Queenie crossed her arms. "Nonsense."
Tina couldn't help but laugh.
The group was getting along quite well here.
"Can I ask you sothing…" Queenie hesitated for a mont, then finally decided to speak, looking at John. "Your wand… what did you an? And leaving…"
"Wand? What wand?"
Jacob was confused, and Newt looked equally puzzled.
John let out a sigh. "I thought you'd hold back from asking. That would have saved so trouble, my dear Queenie."
"What do you an?"
Newt turned to John.
John's massive body rose as he said, "Exactly what it sounds like. I think it's ti for us to part ways, Newt."
"Wait, Shadow of Destruction—"
John lifted a hand, and the wand on the platform flew into his palm.
He looked at it thoughtfully. "It's ti for to leave."
"Mirage."
The next second, mist filled the case.
John was completely concealed within it.
"Shadow of Destruction!" Newt cried out in alarm and rushed forward.
Only to see that the massive figure had vanished into thin air.
"How is that possible?" Tina's eyes widened. "How did he do that?"
A dragon disappearing right before their eyes?
Magic?
"Newt!" Jacob looked toward the plains and said, "Sothing's not right."
A thunderous crash split the air. The Thunderbird, Frank, shrieked as it shot into the sky, flapping its wings wildly. Its body turned black and gold, lightning flashing through its eyes.
"Danger," Newt said, watching the Thunderbird closely, his expression troubled. "It senses danger."
…
Night fell over Brooklyn.
A mass of black, twisted substance moved through the city's towering buildings, leaving destruction in its wake.
Cars were sent flying, sidewalks shattered, buildings reduced to rubble.
It was an Obscurus. An Obscurial had gone out of control.
At the top of a building.
A white-haired wizard stood atop the building, idly twirling a newly made wand in his hand.
The white wand spun between his fingers as a breeze brushed past his hair.
John looked at the raging black mass and said in surprise, "An adult?"
It was rare for an Obscurial to live to that age.
The power it displayed was astonishing.
A car was struck and sent flying, crashing toward where John stood.
John raised a hand and casually waved it, sending the car flying off in another direction.
An eight-year-old boy stood with his friend.
The rampaging Obscurial shattered a building, and debris ca crashing down, threatening to bury them.
Just as it was about to hit the two children, the car John had deflected smashed into the falling rubble, knocking it aside.
"Run, Steve!"
"Bucky, soone over there needs help!"
The skinny boy spotted an injured woman and ran over to help her.
The other, sturdier boy, worried about his friend, hurried after him.
John had no idea that his casual motion had just saved lives that were to die in this world. With a light flick of his wand, he appeared on the rooftop of another building.
He looked up toward the opposite side. Beneath a large sign reading "Squires," Newt and the others had also co out, witnessing the chaos caused by the Obscurial.
Sirens blared, the entire city of New York already in an uproar.
Newt's expression turned grave. "This is stronger than any Obscurial I've ever known."
The situation was far from optimistic.
The Statute of Secrecy was on the verge of collapse, wizards exposed in the heart of the city.
A thunderous explosion echoed in the distance, and flas began to spread across the city.
Newt couldn't stand by and do nothing. He knew Obscurials were born out of desperation.
He wanted to save that child. Entrusting the case to Tina as if leaving behind sothing precious, he pulled out his notebook from his pocket.
"If I don't co back, take care of my creatures," Newt said, not daring to et Tina's eyes. "Everything you need to know is in here."
"What?" Tina said.
Newt looked toward the Obscurus, then turned back to those beautiful eyes, holding her gaze for a long mont. Everything was left unsaid.
He leapt from the rooftop and Disapparated.
"Newt!"
Tina hurried after him, shoving the case into her sister's hands.
Queenie turned and passed it to Jacob, but Jacob grabbed her hand tightly, refusing to let go.
She read the thoughts in Jacob's mind.
And hesitated.
Jacob's past in the war left Queenie deeply shaken.
"What a pair of star-crossed lovers."
John had seen enough of the scene. He casually stepped forward.
His body plumted rapidly, then vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already in Tis Square.
The Obscurus churned at one end of the square, its power growing even more violent.
Born from loneliness and abuse, layers upon layers of accumulated pain and suffering erupted all at once.
Flashes of red light roared within it. Amid the writhing mass, Credence's face could be faintly seen.
Twisted, anguished, isolated, sorrowful…
Countless emotions churned together, greatly amplifying the Obscurial's power.
A wizard's strength was rooted in the mind. The more sensitive a person was, the greater their power tended to be.
"It's inside you, and you've survived this long."
"Credence, this is a miracle!" Graves appeared on the street, shouting, "You are a miracle! Co with , just think of what we could achieve together!"
He was still trying to recruit Credence, but unfortunately, Credence's heart had already been shattered by Graves's earlier abandonnt.
"Why does that guy look so much like a charlatan?" John appeared atop a streetlamp, looking toward the man who had been knocked down by the Obscurial. He had to admit, there was sothing about him that he found particularly unpleasant.
Behind an overturned car, Newt cautiously peeked out and spotted the mysterious wizard standing on the streetlamp.
Tina followed and hid behind a burning car, exchanging a glance with Newt.
"It's the boy from the Second Salem group. He's the Obscurial," Newt said to Tina.
Tina had once been punished by MACUSA for helping that boy. Newt had seen that mory of hers through the pool during the execution.
"But he's not a child.. He should have died already.." Tina said, confused.
"Yeah.. His power must be incredibly strong for him to have survived this long," Newt said with a sigh. "It's extraordinary."
The Obscurus scread again. Tina made her decision.
"Newt! Save that child!"
With that, Tina rushed toward Graves. She intended to stop him.
Just as Graves was about to subdue the Obscurial, Tina interrupted him.
Seizing the opportunity, the Obscurus surged down the street.
Newt was about to follow when he looked up at the streetlamp.
The white-haired wizard was gone.
____
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