Translator's Note:
First, I would like to sincerely apologize for not uploading the chapters as scheduled, and second, for not informing you all beforehand about the delay.
I understand that many of you look forward to regular updates, and I take full responsibility for failing to meet those expectations. I promise this will not happen again.
Moving forward, even if I cannot upload for a day, I will make sure to inform you all about any delays in advance.
Thank you for your patience and continued support.
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Giant Purple Toad Cave
The uneven ground was waterlogged with lake water, and a salty, fishy smell filled the air. Large patches of water vapor condensed on the walls, making them extremely slippery. Clusters of stalactites pointed toward the dark cave ceiling above, emitting a purple phosphorescent glow that vaguely revealed the intricate network of tunnels within.
"Slytherin's prefect has already gone in," Penelope said. "Let's hurry too—Ah!"
She suddenly screamed, startling Sean in front of her.
"Are you trying to wake up all the monsters?" Sean snapped, but then saw Penelope with her mouth agape and eyes wide. As if she had seen some indescribable terror, she stared fixedly at something behind him.
Sean's heart skipped a beat. His hair stood on end all over his body. He trembled as he slowly turned to look at his own back—
Nothing was there.
"Are—are you crazy?!"
Sean immediately breathed a sigh of relief, becoming even more embarrassed and angry.
"..."
Penelope was silent for two seconds, bit her lip, and said, "...Sorry, I must have seen wrong."
Just now, she seemed to have seen an eyeball on Sean's back. An eyeball that seemed alive and was rolling around. But in the blink of an eye, it disappeared.
Just recalling that terrifying appearance made Penelope shudder involuntarily. She must have... just seen wrong.
Penelope shook her head, suppressed that fleeting sense of dread, and continued forward.
In the darkness where no one could see, a round eyeball slowly opened again from behind Sean.
...
Deep in the cave
Professor Snape stood in the cold and foul-smelling nest, his face so dark it merged with the surrounding environment.
Damn it.
Why wasn't he sleeping in his perfectly good bed instead of standing here in the middle of the night for "punishment duty"...
Behind him were large piles of treasure covered in toad slime. And behind the treasure, a massive, dark silhouette that almost filled the entire tunnel was rhythmically rising and falling.
That was the sleeping Toad King.
It had drunk Snape's specially prepared Draught of Living Death. As long as it wasn't directly attacked, it wouldn't wake up even if the students' footsteps sounded like trolls.
Of course, Snape believed that no student would be stupid enough to want to anger the entire group.
Slytherin's excellent prefect, Miss Gemma Farley, had better be the first to arrive. And then there was Ethan Vincent.
Undeniably, Professor Snape had taken on the final and most crucial part of the entire selection process. Just to see which place that brat Ethan would arrive in.
Thinking of this, Snape unconsciously touched his chest. At the position of his heart inside, the portrait that Ethan had once drawn for him was safely stored.
Hmph.
Although that brat was a bit sinister, this selection shouldn't be too difficult for him. He wasn't like other professors who thought grade level represented everything. When he first entered school, he knew more Dark Arts than most seventh-years.
This was a matter of talent.
Snape rehearsed in his mind how he would mockingly taunt Ethan when he appeared covered in slime and filthy. Just thinking about it, Snape couldn't help but curve his lips.
However, a cold draft that followed made Snape shiver, and with a gloomy expression, he wrapped his robes tighter and cast another Warming Charm.
Drip, drop, drip, drop.
Water droplets from the stalactites kept falling.
After waiting for who knows how long, finally, the sound of splashing footsteps came from not far away. A tall, slender figure flashed out.
She had dark golden curly hair tied high behind her head. It swayed with her movements, efficient and neat. Her pale face was streaked with dirt, and her emerald-like eyes shot out calm and determined light.
It was Slytherin's prefect, Gemma Farley.
"Professor Snape."
Seeing her house head, Gemma wasn't surprised and called out softly.
"Mm, not bad."
Professor Snape nodded with satisfaction and stepped aside to let her and her team members choose their spoils.
Next should be Ethan, right.
Although he didn't get first place, it was understandable. After all, his opponent was his excellent Slytherin prefect.
However, Snape was wrong.
After Gemma Farley and her team left, soon after, with a series of thumping footsteps, a burly figure burst in.
?!
Snape raised one eyebrow and silently stepped back half a pace.
Gryffindor's Quidditch team captain, Oliver Wood, stood up like a bear, eyes wide, alertly scanning the surroundings. When he saw Professor Snape, his expression was like Slytherin had caught the Golden Snitch.
Snape opened his mouth, originally wanting to make some sarcastic remarks. But seeing the muscles bulging under Wood's wizard robes, he paused and closed his mouth again.
Forget it, no point arguing with a troll.
But... strange, how could Ethan be behind this kind of troll?
Snape watched Wood and his team clanging around looking through the spoils, feeling his temples twitching. If he hadn't drugged the Toad King beforehand, the entire nest would have been in chaos by now!
Could they have been lucky and stumbled here by accident...? Tsk, luck was also part of strength. That brat Ethan would just have to accept his bad luck.
Although he lost to a muscle-bound troll, surely Ethan wouldn't give up third place to someone else.
After another moment, finally, the sound of third footsteps came.
—Here they come!
Snape perked up, lifted his eyelids, and looked toward the end of the tunnel.
It's Ethan, right? It must be Ethan!
That brat had caused him so much trouble before, creating so many incidents, almost turning Hogwarts upside down. Now, surely he couldn't fail to even secure third place—
However, reality shocked Snape once again.
It wasn't Ethan who came, but two top Ravenclaw students and two students from his own house. They were all filthy, as if they had rolled in a mud pit. Seeing the treasure, they all breathed a great sigh of relief.
"...Did you see Mr. Ethan Vincent on your way here?" Snape couldn't help but ask.
Unexpectedly, these students looked at each other, and one of the Ravenclaw youths said contemptuously yet cautiously:
"He seems to still be at the starting point, Professor."
"Probably gave up because he felt advancement was hopeless."
"..."
Professor Snape raised his eyebrows high.
Still at the starting point?
How was that possible?! That brat was definitely not the type to sit and wait for death.
Snape narrowed his eyes, looking at this Ravenclaw youth who was sticking his butt out and smugly rummaging through the spoils.
Ethan, although he appeared peaceful on the surface—peaceful my ass!
As long as someone had nothing better to do than poke at him and cause him trouble, Ethan would definitely return it double. Just look at Draco, who had been as docile as a little lamb lately.
Snape had been dealing with the Malfoy family for so many years and had never seen that little blonde so obedient.
Not making a sound—he was definitely brewing something big.
A thick sense of unease gradually spread like a tide in Snape's heart. He gripped his wand tightly, his palm breaking out in a cold sweat.
What was Ethan going to do? What was this naturally evil brat planning?!
Snape felt his breathing becoming heavy. The humid water vapor covered his nasal cavity like a net, making it difficult to breathe. He kept looking around.
Ethan's figure seemed to be hidden in the darkness, curving those cobalt-blue eyes, smiling as he watched him, watched these oblivious students.
—Where? Where?!
But until this team finished selecting their spoils, nothing happened.
"..."
Heh, he was probably overthinking it.
Snape slowly relaxed his body, feeling that his earlier nervousness was somewhat ridiculous.
Just then, Snape casually glanced and caught sight of a blood-red round eyeball growing on the Ravenclaw youth's back, who had his back to him.
In an instant, Snape's heart stopped beating for a moment. Under the massive shock, his body stiffened, and he couldn't move for a while.
The next second, a pitch-black portal tore through the void, slowly opening before his eyes.
And on the other side of the portal, a thin figure slowly appeared.
—It was the "missing" Ethan Vincent!
Just as the Ravenclaw youth had described, Ethan wasn't in the cave, with the open cliff edge behind him. But the difference was that Ethan hadn't "sat waiting for death."
Instead, he held a paintbrush. Around him, golden birds circled, sacred and beautiful. Like creations of angels, sprinkling beautiful songs of joy for the world.
!!!
Snape suddenly widened his eyes, his eyes nearly splitting with rage, and shouted:
"No—"
However, it was too late.
In an instant, those sacred and beautiful golden birds all pointed toward Snape's back. Transforming into arrows, they shot through the portal!
Like brilliant and extremely sharp meteors, they tore through the dark cave. Shooting straight at the sleeping Toad King!
Splurt!
Blood spurted out.
The Toad King's skin was as resilient as rubber—it was only a superficial wound. But it was enough to wake it from its slumber.
"—CROAK!"
The earth shook—truly shook!
Sound waves like a tsunami shook the entire cave, dust fell like rain, hanging stalactites cracked and crashed to the ground like a rain of arrows.
"Wh-what's happening?!"
Sean and the others, holding their spoils, turned around in confusion and terror, only to see this terrifying scene. It was as if they had instantly gone from a peaceful school selection to an apocalyptic disaster film where someone died every three seconds.
Snape—responsible for the safety of the final checkpoint—Professor Severus.
His eyes were already dead.
In his mind, only two words:
It's over!
[Chapter Complete]
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