[Attack detected. Counterattack mode activated.]
[Protocol confirmed. Action One—executing.]
A calm, emotionless, gender-neutral voice echoed from within the doll's head.
Swoosh~!!
In the next moment, a three-foot-long blade extended from the palm of the doll's left hand, while its right arm instantly reshaped itself into a half-human-sized shield.
Whoosh—!!
Flames erupted along the blade, burning fiercely.
Kingsley's gaze hardened. Seriously? It's not even treating me like a wizard? Daring to fight me in close combat—
His mind raced, preparing to unleash a powerful, heavy spell to strike the doll down—but before he could finish the thought, the doll appeared right in front of him.
Apparition?! That's impossible!
Kingsley's expression changed drastically.
He knew how to Apparate too, of course, but in a battle that demanded complete concentration, few wizards could afford the focus and precision needed to cast it mid-fight.
And yet this was a doll—an artificial construct without a mind or soul. How could it possibly perform Apparition?
Still, Kingsley was an experienced veteran. Though shocked, his hands moved without hesitation, summoning the translucent magical barrier of his Shield Charm before him.
Boom!
A deafening sound like the toll of a great bell shook the hall, leaving the onlookers' ears ringing.
While Kingsley and Dawlish were fighting the doll, the crowd watching had already, with silent understanding, backed away to give the automaton space to perform.
As the battle grew fiercer, they retreated even farther—pressing themselves into the corners of the hall to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Kingsley staggered backward several steps. His Shield Charm had already been shattered, and a long, gaping tear had appeared across the chest of his robes, faint tongues of fire still licking at the fabric.
If he hadn't cast the Shield Charm in time, that single strike would have gutted him on the spot.
The doll showed no sign of holding back. It continued to close in, blade poised for another strike.
As a seasoned Auror, Kingsley couldn't possibly let it have its way. Fighting and retreating at once, he used every ounce of skill he had to block its advance.
Seeing that it still couldn't shorten the distance, the doll suddenly lifted its blazing sword and made a slicing motion through the air.
The flames coating the blade detached, forming a two-foot-long wave of fire that shot forward like a shockwave.
Kingsley: ?!
Caught completely off guard, he was struck head-on—the fiery arc hit him square in the torso, and flames instantly engulfed his upper body.
"Petrificus Totalus!" a voice shouted as a Petrification Spell flew in from the side.
Dawlish, who had been knocked unconscious earlier, finally regained consciousness. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Kingsley being pummeled by the doll. As his colleague in the same office, he couldn't just lie there pretending to be dead.
Earlier, Professor Smith White's advertisements for her dolls had offended many Aurors. They had already decided to teach the automaton a lesson—to show everyone that becoming an Auror wasn't something a mere puppet could imitate. A simple construct, daring to claim equality with rigorously trained Aurors? What a joke!
Yet the result was humiliating. One of them had been taken down in the very first exchange, while the other had been beaten from start to finish—proving that the Aurors were no match for the doll at all.
The thought of what this defeat would mean for their reputation made Dawlish's blood boil. Forcing himself up despite the pain, he joined the fight to help Kingsley.
But his sneak attack achieved nothing. The doll's built-in Shield Charm deflected his Petrification Spell with ease and immediately shifted its target toward him.
As its focus locked onto Dawlish, the emotionless voice inside its head sounded again—
[Threat level increased. Protocol Two approved. Commencing execution.]
Dawlish had intended to show off his skills, but before he could act, Kingsley—still smoking from burns—lunged toward him. With his left hand, he tossed a handful of Floo Powder into the nearby fireplace, and with his right, he grabbed Dawlish by the collar and dragged him straight into the flames, which turned green at once.
At the same moment, he shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and the green fire swallowed both of them, whisking them away from the Ministry's hall.
Unlike Dawlish, who had merely been knocked out earlier, Kingsley had endured a full three minutes of relentless beating from the doll—and he had absolutely no desire to continue that fight for even one more second.
That doll was absurdly powerful—and it hadn't held back in the slightest, even though its opponents were Ministry Aurors.
When Kingsley heard it announce the activation of "Action Protocol Two," he immediately realized that continuing the fight would only end in casualties. Without hesitation, he decided to retreat.
Being yanked along, Dawlish felt a surge of indignation. With the two of us together, that doll wouldn't necessarily win! he thought. Running away now—how are we supposed to face our colleagues at the Ministry later?
But then he saw a spell of terrifying power surging straight toward them.
The curse obliterated the fireplace with ease, reducing it to powder and even tearing into the Floo Network itself—its force carrying the clear intent of turning Dawlish into minced meat.
Fortunately, the network had already activated, whisking the two of them toward Diagon Alley. That was the only reason Dawlish survived—he could even feel the ash and debris from the spell brushing against his face!
When he crashed onto the floor and looked up at the familiar ceiling of the Leaky Cauldron, he spoke from the bottom of his heart.
"Thank you, Kingsley."
After forcing two veteran Aurors to flee in panic, the doll retracted the sword from its palm and the shield from its arm, returning calmly to standby mode. Despite the fierce one-sided battle, not a single speck of dust marred its robe.
Watching the composed automaton standing silently in the middle of the hall, the surrounding wizards couldn't help whispering among themselves.
"How many Aurors do you think that thing could take on?"
"Three or five, easily."
"I bet even a whole office of them wouldn't hold up!"
"Keep your voice down—Scrimgeour's right over there…"
"I wonder how much it costs—and what about the quality?"
"Ms. White said it comes with a warranty, but the price definitely isn't friendly. You can forget about ever affording one in your lifetime."
"Don't be ridiculous. If I save six or seven hundred Galleons a year without eating or drinking, I could buy one in, what, twenty years?"
The doll suddenly tilted its head toward the crowd, startling the wizards so much that they flinched in unison, afraid it might suddenly initiate an "action protocol."
[Ms. White asked me to deliver a message: As it is the Christmas season, all autonomous combat dolls and upgrade modules are currently being sold at a twenty percent discount. Prices will return to normal after the holidays. Orders will be fulfilled in the order they are received.]
Under Helga's control, the doll cast a miraculous "wallet charm" over the Ministry officials. It seemed like nothing more than a snap of the fingers, yet within moments, everyone's wallets had deflated—and their vaults felt emptier than ever. (lol)
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