Chapter 147: An Abnormal Bat
A giant bat with no brain... that's just an airplane. Wait a minute... An airplane?
"Finite Incantatem!" Ryan pointed his wand at the giant bat. A beam of light shot out and struck it. This spell, not typically classified as an attack, had a far greater impact than any of his previous efforts. The bat's body began to shake violently, its joints emitting nauseating creaking sounds, like poorly maintained machinery that had lost all lubrication.
Seeing this, he continued casting the termination charm, targeting the bat's joints and the core area of its abdomen. Soon, the bat could no longer maintain flight. It plummeted from the sky, letting out a whistling shriek as it hurtled toward the ground.
Ryan aimed his wand at the falling behemoth and cast the counter-curse for Fiendfyre, avoiding a repeat of the "Paris Fireworks Incident." The flames engulfing the beast gradually dimmed, leaving behind a charred black carcass from which large chunks of black residue occasionally broke off, accelerating downwards before being pulverized by air resistance into fine black powder.
Below, the wizards, who had been watching the aerial chase with rapt attention, finally found a use for themselves beyond being amazed background characters. They drew their wands and cast Levitation Charms at the falling bat. While no single one of them could support such a massive object, the combined effect of their spells was enough to slow its descent until it hovered half a meter above the ground.
"Unbelievable, Headmaster," Ryan said, suddenly appearing on the ground beside Dumbledore, his voice filled with shock. "I originally thought this bat was some kind of mutated vampire. Now I realize it's actually an application combining alchemy and biotechnology."
The fusion of magic and technology he had envisioned had materialized right before his eyes. Although the design wasn't exactly elegant, the giant bat was undeniably a product of this fusion, and its biological exterior had withstood Fiendfyre for a considerable time. The level of alchemy involved was terrifying.
This must be the work of the force behind the Dagger of Slaughter! It couldn't possibly be yet another random, wild alchemist who just happened to be interested in technology. The magical world was too small for so many independent organizations and powerful individuals to pop up out of nowhere.
Dumbledore had clearly reached the same conclusion. He used magic to tear open the dried muscle tissue, examining the metallic, gleaming structure that served as its skeleton.
Ryan, while marveling at Dumbledore's unfathomable power—casually ripping apart biological tissue that could withstand Fiendfyre—tapped the skeletal structure, trying to sense what material it was and what kind of alchemical techniques had been used. Magic flowed from his fingertips, traveling through the metal frame. He discovered that this unknown metal was highly conductive to magic, but he couldn't sense any trace of traditional alchemy.
"Headmaster, this structure doesn't seem like pure alchemy," he reported. "It looks more like an alloy. Some of the metal components might have been made using alchemy, but the main structure seems to be cast alloy."
Dumbledore had noticed this as well. He sighed, "And that is precisely the problem, Ryan." He turned. "Ralvin, could you ask the vampires why this giant bat was chasing them?"
After a moment's pause, Ralvin's reply came. "Please wait a moment, Headmaster. We'll ask..." A commotion arose from the crowd of wizards behind him. They had only just now remembered to investigate the cause, process, and outcome of the incident. Seeing the metallic gleam of the skeleton had stunned them all into silence. Even though some were elite Aurors and others were knowledgeable Ministry officials, none had ever seen a hundred-meter beast before, let alone understood concepts like "alloy technology" or "creations born from the fusion of magic and science." All they knew was that this giant beast wasn't truly alive but an alchemical construct—a hundred-meter-long construct! And they had all clearly seen Ryan use Fiendfyre; they knew this creation could resist it to some extent. The level of alchemy required to create something that could remain functional after burning for so long was beyond their comprehension.
While the Aurors turned the plaza into a makeshift interrogation room, Dumbledore took Ryan and the "remains" of the hundred-meter bat back to the magically expanded private room. Even the vast, palace-like space felt somewhat crowded with the addition of the giant carcass.
Of the four people remaining in the room, Gellert broke off a piece of the skeleton. Blue sparks flared at his fingertips, turning the bone fragment to ash in the blink of an eye. "It's not that sturdy, really," he remarked casually.
Ryan: ...
After careful examination, Nicolas Flamel concluded, "It is indeed an alloy. One of the metals was created through alchemy, but the rest are common metals like iron, nickel, copper, lead, and silver."
"Professor," Ryan asked, "can you reproduce the alchemically created metal and determine its composition? As a magical conductor, it might have potential for large-scale use."
In the current magical world, conductors of magic were either naturally occurring materials from magical creatures (like unicorn hair or phoenix feathers), certain woods with mystical properties, or alchemical items. All were generally expensive. The fact that this core material could form the skeleton of a hundred-meter beast suggested its production cost wouldn't be prohibitively high. One of the many shelved plans in Ryan's proposal required a large quantity of magical conductors...
Nicolas Flamel waved a dismissive hand. "It's not difficult at all. Give me three to five days."
Nava, who had been listening intently, whispered to Julia, "Do you know about this kind of technology? Is it for making giant... biological battleships?" Having watched the entire fight from the sidelines, her first thought upon seeing the giant beast had been that the magical world must have an incredible ecosystem. But after it was shot down, revealing the metal skeleton, the image of a biological battleship—or rather, an aerospace bio-battleship equipped with sonic weapons—had sprung to her mind.
Such mysterious magic! Such advanced magic! I must learn magic!
"I—I've never encountered anything like it. I don't know," Julia replied, her eyes wide with bewilderment. Her mind was reeling. She felt as if MACUSA was like a frog in a well, completely out of touch with the real advancements in the magical world. Here she was, the daughter of a prominent MACUSA family, the daughter of the Head of Security, and seeing the true magical world made her feel like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time.
How could the magical world develop so secretly without including us? Unacceptable! I must study here and bring this advanced technology back to MACUSA!
She looked around at the powerful figures in the room. "Headmaster Dumbledore, sir, may I ask if I could study at Hogwarts for a period of time?"
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