"How did those three end up here?"
Dudley's face darkened. Fortunately, he had made some disguise, wrapping himself in a black robe. Otherwise, he would have just been spotted by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Wait, the Slytherin common room is underground. It seems they encountered the curfew on their way back and had to temporarily hide in this classroom."
Dudley quickly figured out the situation. Without paying further attention to Malfoy and his group, Dudley's body continued drifting forward, stopping at the door of the next underground classroom.
In the adjacent classroom, Goyle said, trembling, "What was that thing that just flew by? A person or some kind of monster..."
"It looked like a human shadow," Malfoy replied, his face also pale. This year's Halloween was far too terrifying.
"We'd better not go out. I feel the castle is full of danger right now," Crabbe said hurriedly.
Malfoy also hesitated. He had originally wanted to go find a teacher or return to the Slytherin common room, but now, after seeing that unknown black shadow, he too became frightened.
"Let's wait a bit longer. I'll practice the Levitation Charm," Malfoy said after thinking. His Levitation Charm might not succeed, and if problems arose outside, he might have to endure several consecutive lashes. However, the thing that had just flown by also proved Malfoy's earlier hypothesis—as long as you weren't walking in the corridors, you wouldn't be subjected to flogging.
Meanwhile, Dudley stood at the door of the adjacent classroom. His left hand gripped the door handle, and just as he was about to push open the door, his expression suddenly changed. His spiritual intuition was triggered.
"The Brass Book is inside!"
Dudley felt it in his heart—this was an extremely subtle intuition. Even though he hadn't discovered any clues about the Brass Book, he just felt that the Brass Book should be in this classroom.
Taking a deep breath, Dudley opened the classroom door and walked in. The classroom was completely dark, with only a ray of light from the corridor allowing him to vaguely see the situation inside. Dust-covered, messy desks and chairs were randomly placed throughout the classroom. Deep in the classroom, about ten meters from the door, on a table sat a thin book made of brass, spread open.
"Found you!" Dudley's gaze focused. He had finally found the Trunsoest Brass Book. The question now was, how could he seal this book?
Rustle, rustle...
As if aware of Dudley's arrival, the Brass Book began flipping rapidly, displaying one formed rule after another:
"The 'Trunsoest Brass Book' is the most precious thing. No living being may touch it without permission. Violators: death penalty!"
"...No one may change the state of the 'Trunsoest Brass Book' in any way. Violators: death penalty!"
"All living beings approaching the Trunsoest Brass Book will have their sanity reduced. When sanity drops to 20% of the original, signs of losing control will appear..."
Dudley felt a wave of dizziness, heavy whispers echoing in his ears, and his originally calm face began to become distorted.
"My sanity is declining." Dudley clearly perceived that sanity was leaving him. He was becoming increasingly impulsive and finding it harder to control his actions.
"How can I seal this book?" Dudley clenched his fists, struggling to recall details about the Trunsoest Brass Book. He had to quickly find a way to seal this book, or its decrees would become increasingly strict until all violators were executed.
"Can't touch it, can't change its state..." Dudley's expression grew increasingly ugly. He had originally thought the two decrees the Trunsoest Brass Book had announced were all the rules, but he hadn't expected the Brass Book to have already left itself ample room for maneuvering. It had even placed the most severe punishment—death—entirely on itself.
"The front part of the rules appears gray-black, seemingly in an unchangeable state... This requires the book to awaken further? If it awakens to the point where it can change the front part of the rules, could it make Beyonders lose control the moment their sanity drops even slightly..."
"The text at the back appears mercury-colored... This indicates this part of the rules can be modified or added to?"
"Can't change the Brass Book's state, but can I change the surrounding state..."
Dudley struggled to keep himself lucid, thinking of countermeasures.
Just then, the Trunsoest Brass Book turned to a blank page, and mercury-colored words began appearing one after another. In the blink of an eye, these mercury-colored words formed a new clause:
"The seventh underground classroom of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the place where the 'Trunsoest Brass Book' is stored, a location that must be strictly protected. Any living being that enters here without permission from the 'Trunsoest Brass Book' will be punished."
Crack!
The moment this decree appeared, a sharp pain came from Dudley's back, and bloody lash marks appeared. But this wasn't all—what followed was continuous, relentless flogging that seemed endless, only stopping when Dudley left this classroom.
"Ahh..." Dudley let out a low roar. His sanity was declining, and the severe pain from his body made it difficult to maintain his rational state. He charged directly toward the Trunsoest Brass Book without regard for his life. As for what to do after charging over, how to deal with the Trunsoest Brass Book's death penalty punishment—he didn't know. In the last moment of maintaining his sanity, he instinctively made this decision—a decision with no retreat.
The bloody lash marks on Dudley's body multiplied, and his facial expression became incredibly ferocious. Not only that, the flesh on his face, hands, and neck began constantly surging, as if trying to separate from his body. His eyes were no longer their original color but had become pitch black.
The next moment, Dudley suddenly stopped. The flesh on his face no longer twisted and changed, and his entire being seemed to enter another state. The blackness in his eyes slowly faded, revealing a strange pattern woven from iron-black and dark red, surrounded by numerous bizarre lines that seemed both chaotic and following some pattern.
A terrifying, majestic aura was released from Dudley's body, but it only covered a very small area around the classroom, not spreading further.
At this moment, Dudley was already standing in front of the Trunsoest Brass Book. He extended his hand, breaking open a wound at his fingertip, letting blood fall.
"Dudley Trunsoest, as the master of the Trunsoest Brass Book, may touch the Trunsoest Brass Book."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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