"Mabel…"
A boy tugged at the girl's sleeve and said, "Haley… Haley might already be…"
The girl didn't speak. She just stared at Wade with stubborn, determined eyes, and her fists clenched tightly. Her frail body felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Wade asked, "Is Haley one of your companions?"
"Yes," Rita Skeeter said. "She's only nine years old… She was taken away about an hour ago."
Wade looked at their expressions and could tell they weren't lying. He then asked, "Do you know where she was taken?"
"I do." Mabel nodded forcefully, and said with a trembling voice. "I know the route."
"Mikael."
Wade waved his hand, and a firebird suddenly appeared. It circled above them once before tilting its head to look at Wade and letting out a friendly chirp.
"Protect Rita and the children. Don't let anyone hurt them," Wade said.
Mikael nodded, then perched on the railing above to watch over the children with keen eyes.
Wade turned to Mabel. "Lead the way. We're going to find that child."
"Follow me."
Mabel didn't hesitate—she started running immediately, with her long brown hair flowing behind her.
Rita Skeeter watched the two of them leave, wanting to call them back, but in the end, she didn't say anything.
Hearing the iron door close automatically, she suddenly felt very unsafe.
Rita Skeeter's magical abilities were entirely focused on being an excellent gossip journalist. When it came to combat, she was even weaker than some third-year students.
—Wade left, but Dumbledore should be arriving soon, right? He should, shouldn't he?
After all, there are so many children here. Surely the headmaster wouldn't ignore them.
But how are we supposed to escape safely with so many people? No matter how powerful Dumbledore is, he couldn't just summon a boat out of thin air… could he?
If it were just the three of us, escaping would be much easier…
As this thought crept into her mind, Rita Skeeter couldn't suppress it. At the same time, she was painfully aware of her own selfishness.
And then, she realized something she didn't dare admit—
Deep down, Rita Skeeter saw herself, Wade, and Dumbledore as wizards, as part of the same group.
But in those two people's hearts, they probably don't think that way…
Even though they have come to rescue me, if they have to make a choice, they would likely prioritize saving the younger children first…
Thinking about the terrifying methods of the Muggles on this island, and remembering how the children had helped her over the past few days, Rita Skeeter anxiously bit her nails, gnawing them into a jagged mess despite her usual meticulous care.
Suddenly, she heard a strange noise behind her. Already on edge, Rita Skeeter immediately thought the guards had woken up and quickly turned around—
Bang!
Blood splattered everywhere.
"Ah—!"
Rita Skeeter couldn't stop herself from screaming.
A red-haired boy, barely in his teens, stood over the fallen guard. He had just taken the man's baton and used it to smash his skull open. The boy looked back at Rita Skeeter with an expressionless face.
Rita covered her mouth in horror.
Luke stepped in front of her and, in his usual timid, fearful voice, said softly, "She's a wizard… She's not like them."
The other children in the same cell all moved to stand in front of Rita, and their small, thin bodies formed a fragile barrier.
Tears streamed down Rita Skeeter's face, and she let out muffled sobs.
Just moments ago, she had been debating whether to abandon these "burdens," but once again, they had chosen to protect her.
The red-haired boy turned away wordlessly. He raised the baton high again and brought it down with all his strength.
Thud!
Rita was sure she heard bones shattering. She didn't dare look. She turned away, desperately seeking help from the blazing firebird.
Mikael preened its feathers lazily with its beak.
Wade's command was only to protect the children and Rita Skeeter—not the guards.
Even though Mikael wasn't human, it could still tell who its enemies were.
This firebird had been born in a unique environment. Unlike the majestic phoenix, it thrives on destruction and chaos, and carries an innate indifference to life itself.
Seeing no help from the bird, Rita shrank back against the railing and pressed herself tightly against it, watching the scene before her in helpless horror.
Under the lead of the red-haired boy, even the children who had remained in their cells rushed out. They swarmed forward and attacked the other guards without hesitation.
They beat them with clubs, stabbed them with small knives, punched and kicked them…
Some even dropped to the ground like wild dogs, sinking their teeth into flesh with hatred.
The scene quickly turned into a gruesome massacre—bloody and horrifying.
Rita Skeeter barely managed to keep herself from vomiting. She didn't dare look, but she also couldn't bring herself to close her eyes. A deep, indescribable fear toward these children crept into her heart.
Muggles… Are these really Muggles…?
Aren't Muggles supposed to be clumsy, foolish, easy to deceive, and completely unaware of what's happening around them?
What on earth is wrong with this island?
Why are these Muggles so terrifying?
...
Although Mabel always acted brave and strong, her physical stamina was actually quite poor. After climbing just two flights of stairs from the dungeon, she was already gasping for breath.
But she didn't dare stop—not even for a second. A difference of just one moment could mean life or death for Haley.
Suddenly, she heard a voice very close to her: "Get on."
Mabel turned her head and saw Wade sitting on a broomstick, reaching out his hand to her.
The broom is floating in midair!
Mabel was utterly shocked, but she didn't hesitate. She grabbed Wade's hand and jumped onto the broom, sitting in front of him.
"You give the directions," Wade said.
"Got it." Mabel steadied herself and pointed ahead. "Fly to the right!"
With a push of his feet, Wade launched them into the air.
The broom he was using was a Firebolt, capable of speeds up to 150 miles per hour.
However, inside a building, Wade naturally couldn't fly at full speed. Even so, it was far faster than Mabel running at her limit.
A burst of fire flashed outside the window, followed by the sound of shattering glass.
Now that she was out of the dungeon, Mabel finally realized just how drastically the situation outside had changed. Most of the base was already engulfed in flames, and many soldiers dressed in black lay on the ground with their fate uncertain.
"Did you really only bring one person?"
She shouted against the wind, unable to hold back her disbelief.
"Of course."
Wade replied as he adjusted the broom according to Mabel's directions. As they turned a corner, they suddenly came face-to-face with a group of scientists in white lab coats, who were clutching computers as they fled.
The scientists froze in shock at the sight of Wade, and fumbled clumsily for their guns.
But with a flick of Wade's wand, they all collapsed in unison.
Mabel saw them still groaning and struggling on the ground. She immediately shouted, "Don't let them go! These people are monsters! They all deserve to die!"
"Don't worry, they won't escape!"
Wade reassured her, but the broom didn't slow down.
Then Mabel heard a series of metallic clinking sounds. She turned her head just in time to see small, black, bead-like objects bouncing on the ground.
—Bombs?
She instinctively thought so, already picturing the scientists being blown to pieces.
But suddenly, the black beads began to rapidly expand—
They transformed into massive mantises, centipedes, spiders, and scorpionflies, all towering over a human in height.
Mabel's mouth fell open in shock.
Behind her, bloodcurdling screams filled the air.
The broom turned another corner, putting the scene out of sight. Mabel, still dazed, twisted her head back with her heart still pounding violently. A wave of sweat burst from every pore of her body, but her hands could only stiffly clutch the broomstick.
"Mabel, which way now? Mabel?"
"Oh, oh… Left. Two left turns, then upstairs, then a right…"
Mabel stammered, breathing heavily.
"Scared?" Wade comforted her. "Don't worry, those are just insects enlarged by a spell. They'll shrink back soon."
"In... Insects?"
Mabel thought to herself: Aren't those prehistoric monsters?
"Yeah." Wade assumed she was confused about why he used insects and explained, "Dumbledore wouldn't let me kill anyone—I promised him."
"Oh..."
Mabel responded absentmindedly, full of doubts. She wanted to say something, but she didn't even know where to begin.
Using insects doesn't count as killing?
Is there something a little strange about wizards' logic... ?
Come to think of it, everything that had happened today was strange. It felt like a hyper-realistic dream, blending together both her greatest fears and deepest desires...
Has the base really been destroyed? Are we really going to be saved?
Is the person behind me even real?
She looked at the empty hallway. Papers and miscellaneous objects were scattered across the floor, left behind by those who had fled. Broken glass lay everywhere, the lights had gone out, and bloodstains marked the walls and floor.
In the corner, a man lay slumped over, shot dead. His glasses had fallen off, and his face was still frozen in an expression of disbelief.
Mabel remembered that man—so many times, she had watched him standing behind the glass wall, speaking to the researchers in a negotiating tone:
"The experiment results aren't very obvious. How about increasing the dosage?"
"The blood doesn't seem special. Can we extract more bone marrow?"
"We should run more comparative tests. It's fine if they fail—these are just disposable subjects. There will be new ones arriving next month anyway."
Mabel pinched herself hard, and the pain brought tears to her eyes.
It didn't feel like a dream.
She hesitated, then reached out her hand—perhaps to verify if Wade was real.
Although they were sharing the same broomstick, Wade had remained on high alert the entire time. He had never taken off his metal-threaded cloak.
Now, seeing Mabel's dazed expression and her outstretched hand as if she were about to pinch him, Wade immediately warned:
"If you touch me, I'll throw you off—have you forgotten we're on our way to rescue Haley?"
"Haley!"
Mabel snapped out of her trance, and finally regained her focus.
"The doors here require internal personnel's eye scans to open. We need to find someone wearing those green surgical gowns..."
Before Mabel could finish speaking, she noticed that the tightly locked metal door ahead had been left slightly ajar. A trail of bloody footprints stretched out messily from inside.
A terrible premonition surged in Mabel's heart. Without hesitation, she jumped off the broomstick, rolled on the ground, then scrambled to her feet and rushed inside.
Wade glanced at the bloodstained footprints. Seeing they all belonged to adults, he tossed out another handful of black beads.
Dozens of insects rapidly enlarged. With a flick of his wand, they skittered off in the direction of the footprints.
As he stepped through the doorway, he heard Mabel let out a scream—one filled with both pain and terror.
Wade quickened his pace into the room and was met with the sight of several conveyor belts, resembling those in a factory assembly line.
But as he took in what was on them, he realized—this was a "processing plant" where humans themselves were the raw materials.
He recalled the confession of the administrator earlier—
"Blood, organs, bone marrow, skin... anything at all… As long as someone pays the price, we can provide it… Some specifically collect bones and eyes… especially the sphenoid bone..."
On one of the conveyor belts, a severed head with its sphenoid bone removed was casually placed there. It was likely about to be "disposed of," but a sudden power outage had left it stranded midway.
Mabel, on the verge of breaking down, suddenly caught sight of the hair on that head. She gasped sharply and clutched her chest as she struggled to breathe.
"No... That's not Haley… Haley—Haley might still be alive… I have to find her…"
She took two steps forward before suddenly collapsing and her entire body convulsed violently. Her hands clutched at her throat as she let out strangled, gasping sounds, like a fish suffocating out of water.
Wade rushed to her side, pulled out a healing potion, and forced it down her throat. He cast a Body-Bind Curse to stop her convulsions, then pried her hands away to see what was happening.
A black collar was embedded deep into Mabel's neck, buzzing faintly. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
Her neck was covered in fresh, raw burns—so red and severe that it looked as if her head had already been severed and blood was spilling out.
Wade frowned and tapped the collar with his wand. It made a sharp crack, but didn't break completely—only a few cracks appeared on its surface.
However, the buzzing noise stopped. Mabel gasped desperately for air, then broke into violent coughs.
Wade was about to break the collar off completely when she suddenly pushed him away.
"D-Don't worry about me... Find Haley..."
"…Alright. Be careful."
Wade knew time was of the essence. He left two small magical dolls by her side before quickly sprinting deeper into the room.
—If one end of the conveyor belt led to the disposal area, then the other must lead to the operating room.
With a loud bang, he kicked open the door.
He ran through a space filled with old picture books and toys, then passed an empty operating room.
And in the third room—
He saw a figure.
A girl lay on the bloodstained hospital bed, her abdomen was sliced open.
She was pale—so pale she looked like a fragile paper doll.
She seemed so small, so weak, as if her soul had already left for another world, leaving behind nothing but an empty porcelain shell.
Wade froze.
Even though he hadn't held much hope to begin with, the scene before him still struck him like a hammer.
He stood there, stunned, until—
He suddenly noticed—
The girl's eyelids trembled ever so faintly.
—
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Mabel lay on the ground and coughed violently. She tried to stand, but failed.
She didn't understand why her body had become so weak—her heart was pounding as if it would explode from her chest. Her entire body was drained of strength. Her mouth was dry, her head was spinning, and every breath was a struggle.
Suddenly, Mabel stopped struggling.
She turned her head toward the side.
Ding-ling-ling...
She heard a familiar chime.
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +235 Chapters
⭐MCU: Druid's Adventures (MCUDA)(⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 460
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