As soon as Hermione finished speaking, the white shadow that had been granted permission completely lost control.
Lia transformed into a pure white lightning bolt, with unprecedented joy and excitement, and plunged headfirst into the magnificent "banquet table" piled high with endless gold and malicious curses!
Hum—!
There was no deafening explosion, nor any heart-stopping magical collision.
The moment Lia's small body touched the mountain of gold, all sounds within the vault seemed to be swallowed by an invisible vortex.
The black-red curse mist entwined around every gold coin and piece of jewelry seemed to have encountered the most terrifying natural enemy in the world at this moment.
They were no longer ferocious venomous snakes ready to devour anyone, but trembling lambs awaiting slaughter.
A pure white light, centered on Lia, spread out like a gentle yet irresistible ripple!
Wherever the white light passed, time seemed to have been muted.
The gold coins, restless due to the "Replication Catastrophe," instantly solidified, the glow of the magical patterns on their surfaces dimming like extinguished sparks.
The armor and weapons glowing with ominous red light due to the "Burning Hand" curse lost their high temperature in an instant, returning to the cold texture of metal.
Hermione stood in place. The transplanted madness of Bellatrix Lestrange's soul should have made her excited by such chaos and destruction, but now, her brown eyes held only pure astonishment.
She couldn't hear any sound.
But she "saw" the sound.
She saw Lia rolling happily in the mountain of gold, like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar.
Every swipe of her little paws, every step, stirred up a white halo.
Where the halo passed, hundreds or thousands of malicious curses, along with the magic power they contained—enough to kill any Wizard instantly—were decomposed and devoured, leaving not a single trace.
Lia opened her small mouth and took a sharp inhale toward a pile of gold coins shimmering with the "Replication Catastrophe" magical patterns.
Whoosh—!
The black-red mist on the gold coins was sucked into her mouth like a noodle. She chewed contentedly, making "gurgle" sounds in her throat as if savoring some exquisite delicacy.
"Crackle... Interesting..."
Her voice echoed directly in Hermione's mind, filled with muffled satisfaction.
She then jumped onto a suit of armor covered with the "Burning Hand" curse, extended her pink tongue, and gave the cold metal a gentle lick.
Sizzle!
A thick black smoke rose from the armor. The curse power, enough to melt steel, was completely purified the moment it touched Lia's tongue, like ice and snow meeting the sun.
"So spicy! So numbing! I like it!"
Lia wagged her tail excitedly, her sky-blue cat eyes filled with enjoyment.
Hermione watched all this in silence.
Watching this little creature she treasured treat the complex curses that countless Dark Wizards could never unravel in their lifetimes as dessert.
So-called rules, so-called magical systems, were as fragile as a thin sheet of paper before Lia's innate "devouring" talent rooted in the essence of life.
The corner of Hermione's mouth, bearing her own helpless and doting smile, became even more pronounced.
Her Lia, her cat, was indeed the most unique treasure in the world.
Lia strictly followed Hermione's command.
She only "ate" the curses blocking the path, clearing an absolutely safe route to the top of the gold mountain for Hermione.
Her movements were extremely fast, her efficiency astonishingly high, like the most efficient scavenger, eating her way through and leaving behind a "clean" area shimmering with pure metal and gemstone luster.
Hermione took a step forward, following behind Lia.
Her Gothic Long Skirt brushed against the purified gold coins, making a crisp and pleasant "clinking" sound.
Soon, the human and the cat reached the top of the gold mountain.
There, a plain and unadorned golden cup lay quietly among a pile of dazzling jewels.
It had no magical fluctuations, its appearance even somewhat worn, with a lifelike badger carved on its surface.
The Hufflepuff Cup.
But in Lia's [Eye of Truth], inside this golden cup, lurked a darkness more concentrated and foul-smelling than all the curses in the entire vault combined.
That was Lord Voldemort's soul fragment.
"Hermione," Lia's voice echoed in Hermione's mind, tinged with a hint of disdain, "today's main course... looks like a rotten, moldy tooth that's been left for too long, smelly and hard."
"Can you eat it?" Hermione's voice was calm; she completely trusted Lia's judgment.
"Yes," Lia affirmed, but her tone was full of reluctance. "But it's disgusting; eating it will definitely upset my stomach... no, my brain."
She looked at the golden cup, wrinkling her small nose as if it were some kind of ultimate poison.
"Then don't eat it," Hermione said without hesitation.
She took out a larger bag, modified with an Undetectable Extension Charm, from the inconspicuous Beaded Purse on her wrist.
Since Lia found it disgusting, she would pack it up and take it away to deal with later.
She bent down, ready to pick up the golden cup.
However, the moment her fingertips were about to touch the cup, a sudden change occurred!
Hum—!
The golden cup shook violently. The Lord Voldemort soul fragment lurking inside, as if sensing a pure and powerful soul approaching, was instantly activated!
A malice far more insane and violent than Bellatrix's erupted from the golden cup!
"mudblood!"
A venomous, twisted, hoarse roar exploded directly in the depths of Hermione and Lia's souls!
This mental shock was enough to turn any Wizard with weak willpower into an idiot on the spot.
Hermione's body stiffened abruptly, her face instantly turning pale.
The transplanted madness of Bellatrix, in the face of this more primal insanity, was like a stream meeting the ocean, nearly shattered.
"Hermione!"
Lia screamed; she felt Hermione's pain.
"No!!!"
Her own fury made her pupils instantly turn into cold slits.
She leaped into the air, transforming into human form, and blocked the space between the golden cup and Hermione.
Then, she opened her mouth toward the golden cup emitting infinite malice.
That small, cute mouth, at this moment, seemed to have become a black hole connecting to endless void!
A terrifying suction force targeting the "soul" itself erupted from Lia's mouth!
Inside the golden cup, the Lord Voldemort soul fragment, which had just awakened and was preparing to wreak havoc, didn't even have time to let out a second roar before being firmly gripped by this suction force!
It struggled frantically, stirring the golden cup into emitting a "humming" lament, but it was all in vain.
Before Lia's devouring instinct from an unknown existence, it was like a moth caught in a spider's web.
Hermione leaned against Lia's warm and soft body, the stinging pain in her soul quickly soothed by the gentle aura emanating from Lia.
She looked up just in time to see the pitch-black smoke representing the twisted soul of Lord Voldemort being forcibly pulled out of the golden cup by Lia and, with a desperate and unwilling shriek, swallowed by Lia in one gulp.
The entire process took less than three seconds.
"Burp..."
Lia let out another burp, but this time, her face was no longer filled with satisfaction but written with "disgust" and "nausea."
Her small face scrunched up, complaining to Hermione, "Hermione... it's so disgusting... ten thousand times worse than booger-flavored beans..."
Hermione's mind was preoccupied with something else entirely.
So, how many things had Fred and George fed Lia without her knowledge?
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