Krum didn't even glance at the pustules sprouting on his arm, his rock-hard face burning with rage. The expression made Ethan think of an angry bird ready to explode.
Krum suddenly raised his wand, his lips moving rapidly in silent incantation. A dark purple light shot from his wand tip, flying straight toward Ethan!
"Viktor?!" Noah called out, his eyes showing genuine surprise.
This was Dark Magic containing lethal curses! Except in practice sessions, even during official duels, Krum rarely used such powerful spells on actual people! To get this serious with a first-year wizard showed just how furious he had become!
However, no matter how sophisticated this magic was, no matter how much Krum's anger amplified the spell's destructive power, even if Krum could hit a target from a hundred paces and strike Ethan from three floors away, the three-headed dog wouldn't allow him to do as he pleased.
"ROAR!"
A massive figure pounced down from above! The spell hit its shadow-like body and seemed to sink into a bottomless swamp. At least visually, there was no apparent effect whatsoever.
"Tch." Krum frowned and clicked his tongue in frustration. Such strong spell resistance. Curse-based Dark Magic had absolutely no effect. Damn! How many protective enchantments were stacked on this monster?!
Scorching heat hit his face like an overturned brazier. A thick, rusty smell poured from that gaping bloody maw, making his stomach churn.
"Bang!"
One second before being bitten, Krum threw himself down the stairs, rolled across the ground, and quickly dove behind a sofa, blocking the crimson light that had been tormenting him.
Behind him, wood chips scattered and dust flew everywhere. The massive black figure slowly stood upright, shaking debris from its mane.
Six orange-red pupils stared at the hiding contestants intently, the creature panting heavily with saliva dripping in long strings from its fangs.
Behind its muscled back, the eyeball floated like a malevolent moon outside the window. The pitch-black pupil slowly rotated, visible blood vessels crawling around it like writhing earthworms.
The three-headed dog bathed in red light appeared both majestic and otherworldly, as if they had entered some fantasy realm where ancient deities silently observed their struggles.
Everyone immediately scattered and fled in different directions.
"Ugh!" Penelope cried out in pain. Caught off guard, her hand had been exposed to the red light and immediately broke out in angry rashes.
But the next second, whether intentionally or by coincidence, the eyeball's gaze shifted away, freeing her from the crimson illumination's coverage.
Not far away, Gemma Farley, who had managed to avoid the red light from the beginning, narrowed her eyes at this scene. You're protecting her too, aren't you?
Just then, a figure suddenly stood up on trembling legs. It was Sean Maikes. His whole body shook uncontrollably, but his face strangely showed a hint of relief.
Raising his hand in surrender, he said simply: "I withdraw."
Sean walked directly to the nearest window and climbed onto the windowsill. Then he paused, turning to look at everyone still hiding throughout the hall. He pressed his lips together and spoke hoarsely:
"I strongly advise the rest of you not to keep struggling. Withdraw quickly while you still can."
As he spoke, Sean's eyes widened with a fearful yet oddly enlightened expression as he murmured: "We're like moths trapped in a glass jar, constantly struggling within an invisible cage. Even when we finally throw ourselves toward what we think is hope, we'll discover it's just the hunter's flame."
Everyone looked at Sean like he had completely lost his mind.
"Weakling," Krum said with pure disdain.
Sean snapped back to attention. Seeing that no one intended to follow his advice, he shrugged with indifference. Weren't they just like his former self? Good advice always falls on deaf ears.
Sean climbed out the window. Under the giant eyeball's watchful gaze, he raised his wand and shot a bright distress signal into the stormy sky.
Soon, an Auror appeared to escort him safely away from the nightmare.
Inside the hall, deathly silence descended. A strange, oppressive atmosphere gripped everyone's hearts like icy fingers.
"This approach won't work!" Behind the sofa, Noah whispered urgently to team captain Krum: "One three-headed monster is difficult enough to handle, let alone that evil cursed eyeball! That brat never intended to let any of us pass this challenge!"
Krum didn't respond immediately. He silently dripped Dittany essence onto his festering arm, watching the pustules sizzle and fall off like burned skin.
After several tense seconds, he said in a deep, calculating voice: "Such massive magical output... Ethan can't possibly sustain it for much longer. The half hour he specified is probably his own absolute limit."
Noah's eyes lit up with sudden understanding, then excitement: "Right! Worthy of an ace Seeker, such keen observation! Then we just need to survive these thirty minutes! When that brat is completely exhausted, we'll capture him in one decisive strike!"
He spoke as if they were planning to take down some criminal organization.
"Although this brat arbitrarily created new rules, we don't have to follow them. We can..."
Before he could finish his strategy, Krum's eyes suddenly widened in alarm!
Before he could shout "dodge quickly," Noah was sent flying through the air! Like being struck by a speeding train engine, the three-headed dog's massive impact launched Noah straight into the wall!
With a sickening thud, Noah slid down limply and collapsed unconscious in a heap.
The Durmstrang team was now down to just one person.
"Damn it!" Krum's eyes blazed with pure fury as he raised his wand, aiming directly at the three-headed dog looming before him.
He realized this monster had jumped directly out of the shadows without any warning. Otherwise, he definitely would have detected it sooner!
What kind of advanced dark arts had that first-year wizard used to create this abomination?! Was Hogwarts secretly teaching Dark Magic? More openly than even Durmstrang?!
The Cerberus stood right in front of him now. Its rusty-smelling breath washed over Krum while crimson flames rising from its black mane almost licked his exposed skin.
However, Krum's mind went completely blank. He couldn't think of any spell that might actually damage this supernatural creature. He could only watch helplessly as the three-headed dog reared up excitedly and prepared to bite down on him.
Just then, the three-headed dog's movement suddenly froze mid-attack.
From the depths of their souls, their creator had issued an unrefusable command: Don't bite.
Six glowing pupils turned upward to meet the cold cobalt-blue eyes of Ethan Vincent on the platform above.
"Whine!" They shivered and reluctantly pulled back their massive bodies.
This moment of hesitation snapped Krum back to full awareness! He swished his wand desperately, his whole body twisting together before disappearing with a sharp pop!
Only a large pool of blood remained where he had been standing.
"Oh?" Seeing this unexpected development, Ethan raised his eyebrows in genuine surprise.
Apparition. Though he'd splinched himself badly, he'd ultimately succeeded in escaping.
Krum had looked burly and tough, his exact age difficult to determine... But regardless, being able to successfully perform such advanced magic under extreme pressure showed his abilities were indeed considerable.
Was he planning to Apparate back for a surprise attack after the specified half hour elapsed?
"But I can also teleport away instantly with a Portkey," Ethan chuckled softly. "Some intelligence there, but not quite enough."
Ethan had anticipated Krum's desperate strategy, but he had no intention of avoiding the coming confrontation.
"Indeed, after half an hour my magical reserves will be nearly depleted," he mused aloud. "But calculating the timing, 'that one' should be arriving very soon, shouldn't they?"
Ethan looked down at the continuous screams and chaos caused by the three-headed dog below. The influence of his artwork steadily increased his soul fusion percentage. Only 1% remained until reaching the crucial 40% milestone.
"Although those artworks represent my true strength, since you've all concluded that I'm just a glass cannon with nothing but external aids..." Ethan's smile turned predatory. "I'll gladly play along with that assumption."
It wouldn't reflect well on Hogwarts if people thought their teaching standards were inadequate.
Ethan licked his lips, gazing down at the beautiful chaos unfolding below, his wand hand practically itching for direct action.
Honestly, he was clearly looking forward to joining the fight personally! How could they possibly conclude he was weak based on this limited display? Truly disappointing.
Ethan sighed dramatically, closing his left eye and mentally reviewing the students he'd eliminated... ahem, defeated so far.
Then he joyfully raised the corners of his mouth in anticipation.
This approach was indeed much more efficient than hunting them individually.
Besides Senior Penelope and Miss Gemma Farley, only one Beauxbatons student remained active.
Fleur Delacour.
Time to hunt her down.