Harry Potter: I am the Legend

Amid the scene of chaos, Chloe was unexpectedly calm. Surrounded by corpses, she didn't break down crying. Instead, memories of her harrowing nightmare resurfaced, and she thought of Hoffa's composed demeanor in the face of danger. Her own response surprised her: calmness.

"If you want me to tell you what will happen in the future, I'll need time and magic. I can't possibly tell you everything here and now," she said evenly.

Mance studied her eyes carefully, momentarily stunned. "You've changed, Miss LeMay. You're not the same person who left Paris. Back then, all you could do in my presence was cry. Now, you dare to negotiate with me?"

"I'm not negotiating," Chloe replied. "I'm simply stating the facts."

"Facts or stalling for time?"

Mance narrowed his eyes and pulled out a pistol from his waist. "It seems my scapegoat has arrived."

Scapegoat?

Before Chloe could decipher his words, Mance suddenly grabbed her arm and locked her in front of him, the cold barrel of the gun pressed against her temple.

"Enjoying the show, Mr. Bach?" Mance called out, his voice steady. "If you're satisfied, why don't you come out and have a chat?"

Chloe's heart pounded as she stared at the empty night. Slowly, a transparent figure emerged from the darkness—a man holding a steel spike poised for assassination, the weapon mere millimeters from her throat.

Hoffa stepped back, lowering the spike. He hadn't anticipated his meticulously planned ambush would be so easily foiled by a mere mortal.

"How did you see me? You're just a Muggle," Hoffa asked, puzzled.

"I never underestimate my opponents. It's a habit," Mance said with a wry smile. "You gave me quite a scare. To think you could silently get behind me… If I had acted a moment later, I'd have been skewered. Truly terrifying, these wizards."

Hoffa glanced around and replied coldly, "You slaughtered so many, yet you claim to fear wizards? It's they who should fear you."

"Ah, just lucky," Mance said humbly. "Maybe they were careless. Had they been more cautious, who knows? Perhaps some might have survived."

Hoffa was at a loss for words. Mance had turned his sarcasm into self-praise, responding with an air of shameless confidence.

"For her, you killed your superiors and subordinates without hesitation. Aren't you afraid German wizards will come after you?"

"Who says I killed them?" Mance replied innocently, still pressing the gun to Chloe's head.

"If not you, then who? Me?" Hoffa froze mid-sentence, catching sight of Mance's mocking gaze behind Chloe's terrified face.

"Mr. Bach, so astute," Mance said, feigning admiration. "You've identified the true culprit so quickly. As Grindelwald's prodigious disciple, it's no surprise you could annihilate a clan of vampire wizards and devastate Germany's magical society in mere moments. I'm in awe."

"Rubbish!" Hoffa's heart turned cold. His teeth clenched as he hissed, "Do you think anyone will believe your nonsense?"

"Who said they wouldn't?" Mance cocked the gun. "If you kill me now, this lovely nun dies with me. If I escape with her, you, Mr. Bach, will be the only survivor here. And who else could be the culprit, if not you?"

Mance licked his lips and retreated a step, dragging Chloe along. "Think of the accolades: destroying the vampire clan Russvan, crippling the German Wizarding Association. Only you deserve such glory."

Hoffa's face darkened. "And endless retaliation from German wizards?"

"What's there to fear? Surely you don't think Germany will win in the end? Their defeat is inevitable. Even from a Muggle perspective, a lunatic like Hitler could never outmatch the world's heroes," Mance sneered, pulling Chloe further back. "Let's make a deal. Let me go, and I'll disappear. You're here for the nun anyway, not me. Once your task is done, you'll leave her behind. Why not let me escort her instead?"

"Save me the trouble?" Hoffa cut him off with a weary sigh. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Before Mance could react, Hoffa vanished into the shadows.

Startled, Mance pulled Chloe close, retreating to a Roman column for cover.

The next second, Hoffa leaped from the darkness. He appeared before Mance in a flash, intercepting the gun aimed at Chloe's temple.

Mance let out a short laugh and pulled the trigger.

The bullet struck Hoffa's black, metallic hand, creating a burst of sparks that illuminated their faces. The gun, a Browning, exploded in Mance's hand, sending shrapnel and recoil into his face, leaving half of it bloodied.

Failing to take Chloe down with him, Mance quickly adjusted. He kicked her hard in the back, sending her tumbling onto the sand. Using the momentum, he retreated to a Roman column and pulled a detonator from his waist.

With a loud bang, the Roman column was shattered by a single punch.

A sharp splurt followed as a steel spike pierced through the column, stabbing straight through Mance's chest and penetrating his heart.

The moonlight was swallowed by thick clouds, plunging the scene into a suffocating darkness. Mance, his expression filled with disbelief, looked down at the spike in his chest. He uttered no sound.

Behind the column, Hoffa twisted Mance's arm and snatched away the detonator. "Why think so much?" Hoffa sneered. "As if you could actually take her from me."

Mance didn't respond. His arms slowly fell limp.

Hoffa yanked the spike free, and Mance collapsed face-first onto the ground with a dull thud. After two slight spasms, he lay still.

Not taking any chances, Hoffa stepped forward. His right hand morphed into a blade, stabbing three more times into Mance's chest, ensuring his heart was nothing but a mess of shreds. Only then did he stop.

It wasn't Hoffa's nature to kill mercilessly, but this man was an extraordinary threat. He had eliminated so many vampires and wizards effortlessly. Even though he was a Muggle, Hoffa treated him with utmost caution and respect—through a proper follow-up strike.

After finishing, Hoffa even checked for a pulse on Mance's neck. Finding none, he exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Damn it."

The moonlight peeked back out from behind the clouds.

"H-Hoffa..."

A trembling voice broke through from behind. Hoffa turned and found Chloe standing before him. Their reunion, though spanning only three days, felt like an eternity. Neither of them spoke, the air thick with unspoken tension. As they gazed at each other, Chloe's eyes turned red.

Her expression shifted from sadness to grievance, then to fury. "You promised to escort me safely to London, but the moment I closed my eyes, you were gone!"

She sat on a table, her chained hands pointing accusingly at Hoffa. It seemed she had a thousand words to curse him with, but in the end, she merely flung her hands down, jumped off the table, and began removing the gaudy golden adornments from her head. Tossing them to the ground, she stormed toward where the children were imprisoned.

Hoffa quickly grabbed her arm. Finding her alive lifted a heavy weight off his chest. She was still the kind-hearted nun—unchanged, neither a vampire nor a monster.

"My fault. I swear it won't happen again."

"If it does, don't bother coming back!" Chloe snapped, her voice thick with emotion.

"Alright, alright," Hoffa said, patting her back gently.

"Let's deal with these handcuffs first. I've found a Hogwarts companion; once we leave here, we'll be safe."

"Hmph!"

Chloe extended her chained hands with an annoyed huff.

Hoffa bent down to search Mance's body for the keys. However, when he looked, the man's corpse had vanished.

At that moment, the sound of something slicing through the air approached swiftly.

Hoffa spun around.

Splurt! Blood sprayed into the air.

Chloe's expression froze.

Hoffa's smile faltered, replaced by shock. A chilling coldness radiated from his chest. It took him a full three seconds to process the excruciating pain. Looking down, he saw the same steel spike protruding from his chest, now dyed a deep crimson.

"You should think things through more carefully, Bach," a whispered voice taunted close to his ear.

The man behind him, Mance, grinned wickedly. "If this is all you've got, I wouldn't be qualified for this mission."

Hoffa turned his head and locked eyes with Mance's malevolent gaze. The man was alive, his expression twisted with glee.

The next moment, Hoffa fell backward under the force of the attack. Mance straddled his chest, half his face soaked in blood, a grotesque sight. Through the hole in his chest, the moon was faintly visible.

"Do you know what fate awaits you, Bach?"

Mance's tone was casual, almost like chatting with an old friend, but his actions were ruthless. He twisted the steel spike with brutal force, shredding Hoffa's heart into fragments. Blood gushed from Hoffa's mouth in great streams.

"No answer? Then let me tell you—it's nothing but death."

(End of Chapter)

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