In Slytherin's secret room, a green light shone through the crystals in the ceiling. In front of the Slytherin statue, a low figure stood there, surrounded by a dozen strange machines that were as tall as one person. The room was silent, save for the occasional dripping water and the sound of gears turning.
After all the preparations were done, Tim Hortans took a few deep breaths to adjust his body condition. After that, he read out the narcissistic door code in snake language.
"Speak to me, Slytherin - the greatest of the Big Four at Hogwarts."
As soon as the voice fell, Slytherin's huge stone face moved. His mouth grew bigger and bigger, and finally turned into a huge black hole. There was a rustling sound from the black hole, as if something was about to crawl out.
Tim Hortans released a floating spell on himself and tightened the hook on his left arm, and then the whole person was taken behind a statue by the hook.
After releasing the floating spell, Tim Hortans grasped the black cloth on the rooster cage while sensing the position of the basilisk through the magic circle.
The basilisk's behavior was no different from that of an ordinary snake. When it swam out of the hole and started to stop, spitting out snake letters to detect the surrounding environment, Tim Hortans started.
He activated the magic circle on the floor, and the magic circle released golden light, forming one golden ring after another on the basilisk. At the same time, Tim Hortans lifted the black cloth covering the cage, and the roosters in the cage began to croak when they saw the light.
The basilisk was obviously blinded by the sudden attack. After all, this was the first time it responded to the call after fifty years of sleep. It had expected to welcome a new Slytherin descendant and complete its mission under their command but was instead met with a brutal ambush.
Tim Hortans urged the spiritual power in his body to twist the basilisk's head to the predetermined position through the golden ring around it. Fortunately, because of the sudden attack and the crowing of the rooster, the basilisk was in a state of confusion, and Tim Hortans could feel that the pressure from the circle was not too great.
After twisting the basilisk's head to the designated position, Tim Hortans shouted, "Shoot!"
Those weapon stations began firing crossbow bolts in the intended direction after receiving the voice command. After that, Tim Hortans felt the pressure from the magic circle suddenly increase. After the intensive explosion sound, Tim Hortans took out a mirror from his arms and stuck it out behind the stone pillar to check the status of the basilisk.
The results of the investigation were mixed. The good news was that two-thirds of the crossbow arrows successfully hit the target, exploding in the body of the basilisk. The head, which was the primary target, had suffered heavy damage. Where its eyes once were, there were now terrifyingly empty sockets, oozing black blood.
A lot of places on the snake's body were also hit with large and small wounds, exposing bone in some areas. The scales had peeled off significantly, revealing the raw flesh underneath.
But the bad news was that the basilisk was still alive—and enraged. Tim Hortans saw the apertures that had restrained the basilisk crack and then shatter. At this moment, the basilisk had exceeded the upper limit of the magic circle's strength, and after the final flicker, the restraint was completely destroyed.
Breaking free, the furious basilisk let out a chilling hiss and charged toward Tim Hortans's location.
It was a very bad development. After all, his experience from playing online games had taught him that once an unplanned situation like this happened, the chances of a total wipeout were high.
Losing both eyes and sustaining severe injuries was fatal to most creatures. While snakes generally don't rely solely on their eyes to navigate, the loss of its vision, combined with severe injuries, was a traumatic experience for the basilisk.
Although the basilisk normally remained dormant under the influence of Slytherin's magic, that didn't mean it liked being motionless. Tim Hortans's attack had significantly affected its mobility, and now, the basilisk's simple mind had marked him as a mortal enemy.
After locking onto Tim Hortans's position, the basilisk ignored the annoying crowing of the roosters beside him and charged straight at him.
Seeing the enormous basilisk lunging toward him, Tim Hortans hooked onto the raised pattern on the upper part of the opposite stone pillar and swung over. The basilisk, still off-balance due to its head injuries, crashed headfirst into the pillar with a loud bang.
The stone pillar shattered in the middle, and the basilisk's momentum carried it into another pillar, then another, before it finally stopped under the third one.
Tim Hortans looked at the rising smoke and swallowed hard. If he had moved a second slower, he would have been reduced to pulp.
As the dust settled, the basilisk's body reappeared, more battered than before. More scales had peeled off, and its exposed flesh was riddled with fresh wounds from the impact against the shattered rock.
"Break to pieces," Tim Hortans muttered, pointing his wand at the weakened section of the ceiling-supported pillar above the basilisk's head.
The already crumbling fragment was struck and collapsed directly onto the basilisk.
The basilisk, hearing the movement, tried to dodge, but its massive size and injuries made it impossible to escape completely. The falling rock struck its tail, crushing it. As the basilisk yanked its tail free, Tim Hortans noticed that more scales had shattered, and the tail had slightly deformed.
A furious hiss escaped the basilisk's mouth, followed by a release of green gas.
Tim Hortans felt dizziness wash over him instantly.
Poison.
Realizing the danger, he quickly pulled a talisman from his pocket and slapped it onto himself. Then, he retrieved a tube of broad-spectrum antidote he had made while assisting Dr. Zombie Bruce with medicinal preparations. He bit off the cork and downed the potion.
Thanks to Dr. Zombie Bruce's high-quality potions, even his so-called "inferior" ones were of excellent use. Now, they were proving invaluable.
It was clear that the relics of the Big Four at Hogwarts were not to be underestimated. No record he had ever read—neither from books in his previous life nor research in this one—had mentioned that basilisks could release poisonous gas.
Fortunately, Tim Hortans always came fully prepared for every adventure, carrying all sorts of potions and spells. Otherwise, he might not have survived this encounter.
But even so, the realization was sobering. If just inhaling a trace amount of the basilisk's poisonous gas from a distance made him dizzy, then a direct bite would be fatal.
He had no antidote capable of countering basilisk venom.
At this moment, Tim Hortans felt a surge of gratitude for his initial all-out assault on the basilisk. Had he not attacked with full force immediately, things would have been much worse. Even now, with the basilisk severely crippled, its power remained terrifying. If it had been at full strength, he might not have even had the chance to flee.
But now, its deadliest ability—instant-kill eye contact—was gone. Its perception was nearly nonexistent, and its body had taken extensive damage.
Tim Hortans tightened his grip on his wand.
The fight wasn't over, but now, he was confident.
The basilisk was going to die.
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