Krum didn't even glance at the blisters erupting on his arm; his rock-hard face burned with fury, reminding Ethan of those Angry Birds.
Krum suddenly raised his wand, his lips moving a few times.
A dark purple light shot out from the tip of his wand, hurtling toward Ethan!
"Viktor?!"
Noah exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock.
This was Dark Magic laced with a curse!
Aside from practice sessions, Krum rarely unleashed this powerful spell on anyone, even in duels!
He was actually taking a first-year wizard seriously!
However.
No matter how masterful this spell was, and no matter how much Krum's rage amplified it.
Even if Krum could hit a target from a hundred paces away, striking Ethan from three stories up.
Cerberus would not let him succeed.
"Roar!"
A massive figure lunged downward!
The spell struck its shadowy body, sinking into it like a quagmire.
At least to the naked eye, there was no visible effect.
"Tsk."
Krum frowned deeply, clicking his tongue involuntarily.
Such strong resistance to spells.
Curse-type Dark Magic had no effect at all.
Damn it! How many buffs did this monster have stacked on it?!
A scorching sensation assaulted him, like having a brazier overturned on his head.
A strong smell of rust emanated from its gaping maw.
"Bang!"
In the second before he was bitten, Krum dove down the stairs, rolled across the ground, and quickly hid behind the sofa, shielding himself from the red light.
Behind him, wood splintered and dust flew everywhere.
The massive, jet-black figure slowly rose to its feet.
Its six orange-red eyes stared intently at them, panting heavily, with saliva dripping in long strings.
Behind its bulging muscles.
An eyeball hung suspended outside the window like the moon.
Its dark pupil slowly rotated, revealing blood vessels crawling across it like earthworms.
Cerberus was bathed in red light, majestic and mysterious.
It was as if they had entered another world, where an imaginary deity was silently watching them.
Everyone immediately scattered and fled.
"Ugh!"
Penelope cried out in pain.
She had been caught off guard, her hand exposed to the red light, and it immediately broke out in red rashes.
However, in the next second.
Whether intentionally or by coincidence, the eyeball shifted its gaze, allowing her to escape the red light's range.
Not far away.
Gemma Farley, who hadn't been touched by the red light the entire time, narrowed her eyes at the sight.
—Did you give it to her too?
Just then.
A figure suddenly dashed out and stood up.
It was Sean Mike.
He was trembling all over, yet his face inexplicably held a hint of relief.
He raised his hand and said crisply, "I withdraw."
With that, Sean walked directly to the window and stepped onto the frame.
Then, he paused.
He turned to look at the people hiding in the hall, pursed his lips, and said hoarsely:
"I advise you all not to struggle anymore—just withdraw quickly." Sean's eyes widened, showing a fearful and strange expression, and he muttered:
"...We're like moths trapped in a glass jar, constantly struggling in an invisible cage—
"Even if we finally rush desperately toward what we believe is hope, we'll find that it's merely the hunter's rising flame."
Everyone looked at Sean as if he were a madman.
"Weakling."
Krum said with disdain.
Sean suddenly snapped back to his senses, and seeing that no one followed, he didn't care.
...Weren't they just like he was before? Good advice is hard to swallow.
Sean climbed out the window.
Under the gaze of the giant eyeball, he raised his wand and fired a distress signal.
Soon, an Auror arrived to take him away.
Inside the hall.
There was a deathly silence.
A strange atmosphere gripped everyone's hearts.
"...This won't work!"
Behind the sofa, Noah whispered to his captain, Krum:
"One three-headed monster is already tough to handle, let alone that sinister cursed eyeball!"
"That kid never intended for us to pass this challenge!"
Krum didn't respond.
He silently applied Dittany to his festering arm, watching the blisters sizzle and peel away.
A few seconds later, he said in a deep voice, "With such a massive magical output, Ethan won't last long."
"I'm afraid the half-hour he set is his own limit."
Noah was startled, then said with delight:
"That's right! As expected from the ace Seeker—your observation skills are sharp!"
"Then we just need to find a way to hold out for these thirty minutes! And then, when that kid is exhausted, we'll take him down in one fell swoop!"
He spoke as if they were apprehending some evil organization.
"Although that kid unilaterally set the rules, we don't have to follow them—"
Before he could finish.
Krum's eyes suddenly widened!
Before he could even utter "Get out of the way," Noah was sent flying!
As if struck by the front of a train, Cerberus's immense force slammed Noah directly against the wall!
With a muffled thud, Noah slid down limply, unconscious.
The Durmstrang team was down to one member.
"Damn it!"
Krum's eyes were bloodshot; he suddenly raised his wand and aimed it at the Cerberus right in front of him.
He had noticed that the monster had just leaped out of the shadows.
Otherwise, he never would have spotted it at the last moment!
…A Gorgon on the rampage.
What kind of dark magic had that first-year wizard used to create this monster?!
Was Hogwarts secretly teaching the Dark Arts?!
More openly than Durmstrang??
Cerberus was within arm's reach.
Its rust-scented breath sprayed onto Krum, and the crimson flames rising from its dark mane almost licked his skin.
However.
Krum's mind went blank.
He couldn't think of any spell that could harm this monster.
He could only watch helplessly as Cerberus stood on its hind legs and lunged excitedly to bite him.
Just then.
Cerberus's movements suddenly froze.
This was because their creator, from the depths of its soul, had issued an undeniable command: Do not bite.
Its six eyes rotated, meeting the cold, cobalt-blue eyes of Ethan Vincent on the high platform.
"Whimper!"
They shivered, shrinking back into their massive bodies.
This momentary pause snapped Krum back to his senses!
He flicked his wand, twisted his entire body, and vanished with a pop!
Leaving behind a large pool of blood on the spot.
"Oh?"
Seeing this, Ethan raised an eyebrow in surprise.
It was Apparition.
Although it resulted in a Splinching, he had still managed to successfully Disapparate away.
Krum looked burly and his age was hard to pinpoint…
But no matter what, pulling off that move successfully showed his strength was indeed impressive.
Was he planning to Apparate back and ambush him after the half-hour mark?
"But I could just use a Portkey to teleport away…" Ethan chuckled. "A bit of intelligence, but not much."
Ethan anticipated Krum's plan, but he had no intention of avoiding it.
"Indeed, my magic will be basically depleted after half an hour."
"But judging by the time, 'that' should be arriving soon, right?"
Ethan looked down at the screams echoing from below, courtesy of Cerberus.
The influence of the paintings had increased the soul fusion rate.
Only 1% remained until the 40% mark.
"Although those paintings are also part of my strength, since you all think I'm a glass cannon—useless without external aids—then I'll play along."
It wouldn't do if people misunderstood Hogwarts' teaching standards as being poor.
Ethan licked his lips, gazing down at the chaos below, his wand-holding hand itching to act.
Sigh, he was really looking forward to joining the fray himself!
Who gave them the illusion that he was weak, anyway?
It was truly pathetic.
Ethan sighed, closing his left eye, reflecting on the students he had eliminated—cough, eliminated—so far.
Then he raised the corners of his mouth in pleasure.
Indeed.
This way was far more efficient~
Besides Penelope and Gemma Farley.
Only one Beauxbatons student remained.
Fleur Delacour.
Let's hunt her down.
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze