Newt led Vader to a door.

When he pushed it open, an enormous world stretched out before them.

Long, intersecting staircases led toward multiple arched stone gates, and each gate opened into a completely different environment.

Even from the doorway, Vader could see forests, deserts, grasslands, snowy plains, and lakes.

"That's incredible."

Vader couldn't help marveling at the sight.

"To make these creatures comfortable, I've spent quite a lot of time studying the Extension Charm and Weather-Making Charms."

"Come on. I'll introduce you to them."

Newt walked lightly down the stairs.

Despite being nearly a hundred years old, he didn't seem tired in the slightest.

Vader followed him into a garden and saw groups of Pixies carrying tiny wooden buckets and collecting nectar like bees.

"I originally planned to release them back into the wild, but they clearly fell in love with this flower garden and refused to leave."

"That's understandable."

Vader shook his head with a laugh.

"If I'm not mistaken, this flower garden only ever experiences the vitality of spring."

"They don't have to endure the heat of summer, the bleakness of autumn, or the bitter cold of winter."

"They get to live in the best possible environment every day, and they never have to worry about going hungry."

"Of course they don't want to leave."

Newt smiled unconcernedly and led Vader toward a lake.

Several creatures completely covered in aquatic vegetation suddenly emerged from the water, sending a large spray of water into the air.

"Kelpie. They can be rather temperamental."

"These were rescued from a group of poachers by my son."

"After some time, he'll release them back into the wild."

They continued their tour.

Vader saw adorable Mooncalves, enormous dung beetles pushing balls of manure, Bowtruckles resembling tiny tree saplings, Augureys that looked somewhat like small vultures, and fluffy, round Demiguises that occasionally Apparated from one place to another...

After making the entire circuit, Vader was amazed by what he'd seen, but he couldn't help feeling somewhat disappointed as well.

Quite a few of the magical creatures here couldn't be found in Diagon Alley.

Knockturn Alley probably wouldn't have them either.

But none of them attracted the attention of the Blasphemy Slate.

In other words, there were no substitutes here for the main or auxiliary ingredients he needed for his potions.

"Mr. Scamander, may I ask you something?"

"Are these all the magical creatures you keep at home?"

Newt smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Don't laugh, but my son took my suitcase."

"I suppose that's what you call inheriting the family business."

"The creatures I keep here are relatively harmless."

"Tina wouldn't approve of me keeping dangerous creatures like Erumpents or Vampiric Werewolves."

Vader gave him a long look.

"Your wife is right to worry."

"After all, you're not exactly young anymore."

"I know."

Newt stubbornly shrugged.

"I retired a long time ago."

"Enzo, did you find what you were looking for?"

It might be in that suitcase.

But there's probably nothing useful here.

Vader silently complained.

He was about to use divination one last time to see whether he'd overlooked anything when a sudden blast of cold wind interrupted him.

Newt's expression changed.

He smoothly drew his wand and moved in front of Vader, shielding him.

But after a moment, nothing seemed to happen.

Newt relaxed slightly and hurried toward the snowy area.

Within this snow-covered world, a dense mass of black gas floated quietly in midair, enclosed within a transparent bubble.

Red and white lights occasionally flickered inside it.

The instant Vader saw it, the Blasphemy Slate in his mind trembled violently.

A new piece of information emerged.

An Obscurus can replace one Sequence 4 main ingredient.

Vader froze.

Then, once he understood what that meant, overwhelming joy surged through him.

A Sequence 4 main ingredient was worth one hundred thousand Galleons.

Moreover, he had already obtained another Sequence 4 main ingredient and one auxiliary ingredient.

That meant he was already close to completing the ingredients required for the Sequence 4 potion.

He wouldn't have to spend nearly as much time and effort searching for them in the future.

"Mr. Scamander, what is that?"

"An Obscurus."

"A highly unstable and uncontrollable form of dark power."

"When young wizards excessively suppress their magical abilities, an Obscurus can be born."

"These young wizards are known as Obscurials."

"They usually don't live past the age of ten, but their destructive power can surpass that of even adult wizards."

"When an Obscurial dies, the Obscurus usually disappears with them."

"This particular Obscurus was separated from an Obscurial who had died several decades ago."

Newt frowned.

"It has remained sealed and dormant all these years."

"Why has it suddenly become so active today?"

"It might have something to do with me."

Vader cautiously tested the waters.

"I can feel that it's important to me."

"Mr. Scamander, I know this may be rather presumptuous, but could you give it to me?"

"I might have a use for it someday."

Newt fell silent.

If it were anything else, he probably wouldn't care much.

But an Obscurus was different.

Although an Obscurus without a host wasn't particularly dangerous and would eventually dissipate on its own without its protective bubble, that didn't change the fact that it was fundamentally a form of dark power.

"Enzo, I'm afraid I..."

"I promise I won't use it to do anything harmful."

Vader interrupted him.

"Purely for academic research."

"I have a feeling that I'll gain something from studying it."

"But even so, I still..."

Before Newt could finish, Vader drew his wand and pointed it toward the sky.

Vmmm!

Silver-white energy burst from the tip of his wand and transformed into a massive bat-shaped Patronus.

As it spread its wings, waves of silver-white radiance rippled through the sky, melting every snowflake that fell into its light.

Newt stared at the sight before him.

The words he'd been about to say were swallowed back down.

In a certain sense, the Patronus Charm was another form of identification.

Being able to summon a Patronus didn't necessarily mean someone was kind-hearted.

But someone truly evil could never summon one.

The incredibly powerful Patronus Vader had produced proved not only his strength, but also the kindness within his heart.

"If you're still worried about trusting me, Mr. Scamander, we can sign a magical contract."

"No, no, no."

Newt hurriedly waved his hands.

"I trust you. I never said I didn't."

The other party had already gone this far.

Newt genuinely didn't know how to refuse anymore.

"All right."

"You can take the Obscurus."

"Besides, I haven't managed to discover anything useful from it after all these years."

Vader hadn't expected Newt Scamander to be so easygoing.

After politely expressing his gratitude, he took out a clean glass bottle and carefully stored the Obscurus inside.

He had obtained the Sequence 4 main ingredient.

Vader felt satisfied.

But at the same time, there was a faint sense of melancholy.

Finding high-Sequence potion ingredients probably wouldn't be this easy again.