Shafiq said calmly, "Use Transfiguration to trap them, then use the Fire-Making Spell to burn them to ashes."
"And if the Fire-Making Spell won't ignite?" Victor pressed, his gaze locking onto him sharply.
"Then use Fiendfyre!" A flash of ruthlessness crossed Shafiq's eyes; he didn't hesitate for a second.
A low stir rippled through the group of freshmen...
The students who knew the nature of Fiendfyre were all wearing expressions of shock. Fiendfyre? That was Dark Magic!
However, Victor suddenly smiled, his tone carrying a hint of approval. "Exactly. Don't be shocked. In a life-and-death struggle, you can use any means that allows you to survive and win... This is the second core foundation of our defense class: by any means necessary!"
Hermione frowned and spoke softly, her voice filled with hesitation. "But... isn't it inappropriate to use Dark Magic?"
"No, Miss Granger." Victor shook his head and posed a counter-question. "Consider this: in the Muggle world, when the police are chasing a criminal, if the criminal opens fire to resist arrest or intentionally harms people, should the police shoot back?"
"Well... of course they should! Otherwise, the police would be in danger..." Hermione nodded instinctively, but as soon as she spoke, she felt something wasn't quite right, and her frown deepened.
"It's the same principle," Victor's voice turned somber. "Why should the villains be allowed to use Dark Magic to hurt us while we just sit and wait for death? Besides... you haven't realized that the real threat isn't the Inferi at all!"
Victor's expression became solemn.
The students' eyes focused on him in unison, waiting silently for him to continue.
"When you encounter Inferi, you must deal with them as quickly as possible!" Victor's voice carried an unquestionable seriousness. "Because where Inferi appear, there is a high probability that another, more terrifying threat is hidden!"
The students looked at one another, their confusion growing. Some couldn't help but whisper among themselves, but no one dared to interrupt Victor.
Victor slowed his pace, guiding them gradually. "Do you remember? Where do Inferi come from?"
As soon as he finished, Hermione's eyes lit up. She immediately raised her hand and answered, "They are created by Dark Wizards! I see! If Inferi appear in clusters, it means they are guarding something for a Dark Wizard—or perhaps they are guarding the Dark Wizard himself!"
"Quite correct." Victor nodded in affirmation. "If the Dark Wizard who created these Inferi is also present and we fail to clear them out quickly, then what awaits us is likely a fatal attack from the Dark Wizard hiding in the shadows... Once caught in a pincer attack, you won't even have time to react."
Upon hearing this, everyone had a sudden realization. The relaxed atmosphere vanished, replaced by a wave of solemnity.
In fact, only someone like Victor, who had truly fought Dark Wizards face-to-face and seen blood, would teach them these life-or-death details word by word.
Victor suddenly pulled out his pocket watch, glanced down, and his tone returned to a peaceful state. "Class time is almost up. When you get back, I want everyone to write a short essay on how to deal with Inferi and how to guard against the Dark Wizards that might be behind them. There is no word limit; the focus is on exercising your imagination."
"Professor... can you show us how you destroyed those Inferi back then?" Neville hesitated but gathered his courage to raise his hand, his eyes full of anticipation.
The students, who had already breathed a sigh of relief and were preparing to leave, all stopped in their tracks. They turned in unison to look at Victor, their anticipation almost overflowing.
Harry was no exception, his gaze locked tightly on Victor, filled with curiosity.
"Uh... that might not be a good idea." A look of hesitation appeared on Victor's face, his tone somewhat troubled. "After all, my methods are a bit different from other wizards. They're quite unique. Even if you watched, you'd find it hard to learn at your current level."
"We just want to see! It doesn't matter if we can't learn it!" Hermione chimed in immediately, her voice carrying a hint of excitement. "Besides, whatever you use must be advanced magic. Even if we can't learn it, we can broaden our horizons!"
Looking at the burning, expectant gazes of the students around him, Victor's expression shifted imperceptibly. It was as if he had recalled a past he didn't want to mention; a flash of complex emotion flickered in his eyes.
Ultimately, he shook his head helplessly and compromised. "I suppose I can't say no... Alright then. However, you've just been through a simulation and haven't fully recovered. I'll turn off the real-world simulation module and just use a projection to show you."
"Great!" the students cheered in unison, their voices full of joy.
Victor sighed softly, raised his wand, and tapped the air. In the next second, the Ancient Rune sequences that had dimmed earlier lit up again, flowing with a faint, shimmering light.
The once-stationary Inferi immediately resumed their movements. Low rasps and growls issued from their throats. With twisted limbs, they lunged toward them with incredible speed!
Seeing this speed, Harry's face went pale. Just moments ago, he had been thinking about running away if he encountered an Inferius, but now it seemed that with their speed, he wouldn't be able to outrun them at all!
Neville also shrunk back. At this speed, if he really ran up with a wooden stick...
Just as the Inferi were about to pounce in front of everyone, a young figure suddenly appeared in the image.
It was a young Victor Wick. His face was excessively youthful, yet it carried an air of chilling aloofness that kept people at a distance.
The students held their breath instantly, their eyes glued to the projection. They even lightened their breathing, for fear of missing any detail.
In the projection, the moment Victor saw the appearance of those Inferi, his calm face suddenly contorted. Surging anger and pain flooded his eyes, and his voice was as raspy as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. "How... how dare you... turn my friends into this..."
These words reached every student's ears clearly. Their hearts sank, and the excitement and anticipation on their faces vanished without a trace.
These Inferi... were actually Professor Wick's friends? No wonder he had hesitated and been reluctant to let them see.
This was no mere demonstration; it was clearly tearing open the deepest scar in his heart.
At that moment, a raspy, jarring laugh echoed from all directions, carrying thick malice and mockery. "They're just a few lowly Muggles... Heh, can you not bear to hurt your friends' corpses? Then just stand there and let them tear you to pieces!"
Thud!
With a muffled sound, the clawing Inferi that were just about to pounce on Victor suddenly seemed to hit an invisible wall of air. They were instantly bounced back, unable to move forward another inch no matter how they struggled.
The Victor in the projection slowly closed his eyes and sighed softly. When he opened them again, the pain in his eyes had been replaced by determination. He raised his wand, and several streaks of golden light shot out, sinking precisely into the heads of the Inferi.
In an instant, all the struggling Inferi froze. The snarling stopped abruptly. They just stood there, ramrod straight and motionless.
"What... what is happening?!" The raspy voice suddenly turned into a panicked shriek, filled with disbelief. "How could you possibly make them stop?!"
Several spells were covertly fired from different directions in the woods, making it impossible to pin down the caster's true location.
However, Victor was standing behind the Inferi. Only a few of the spells hit the motionless corpses; they couldn't hit Victor at all!
Seizing this gap, a translucent screen suddenly appeared in front of Victor. It was densely packed with complex Ancient Rune sequences, glowing with a faint golden light.
Victor's voice was very soft, carrying a hint of imperceptible sorrow, yet it was incredibly firm. "I've felt your pain... and your hatred... Go then, my friends. Go and seek justice for yourselves."
Having said that, he raised his wand and moved his fingertips lightly across the screen, rearranging the order of several runes.
In the next second, the once-frozen Inferi suddenly turned around slowly. They charged toward the dense woods on the left like madmen!
"No! Impossible!" The raspy voice broke down completely, screaming in a frenzy. "How could you seize control of my puppets?! How could you know my location?! No... why has my Apparition failed?! My spells! My spells are useless?! Get away! You brutes!"
The Inferi swarmed into the woods to the left. Before long, loud explosions of bursting spells echoed from the forest, mingled with the shrill screams of the Dark Wizard. The sounds were so piercing that the students present felt their scalps go numb and their bodies go cold.
The real Victor Wick quietly watched this scene in the projection. He raised his hand and wiped the air gently, as if brushing dust off a mirror.
Following his movement, the projection, the rune sequences, and the silhouettes of the Inferi all turned into dissipating Ancient Runes, slowly vanishing into the air.
The students only then realized they had returned to the pure white wasteland from the beginning. Everything that had just happened was merely a projection.
Victor withdrew his hand, his tone returning to calm, though his voice still carried a trace of imperceptible raspiness. "Mr. Shafiq, lead the students out. Remember to repeat the homework requirements for me so they don't forget."
Harry, Hermione, Neville, and the others all had a stomach full of questions. They wanted to ask who those friends were, who the Dark Wizard was, and what he had gone through back then.
But seeing Victor's dejected mood, everyone swallowed their words...
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