A pillar of red light shot out, exploding with a roar, as fierce flames engulfed the entire room.
Vid controlled his Magic Power, letting the flames run a circle along the walls.
The next moment, he heard the screaming of the portraits.
In the Magic World, while portraits can move between other portraits, if their original portrait is destroyed, the people in the portraits will wither and "die" like tree trunks losing their roots.
The screaming lasted for a while, and the crackling sound of burning lasted even longer.
Until all the sounds gradually disappeared, Vid walked in.
The portraits, curtains, and carpet had all been burned, leaving the room in darkness, with only the statues remaining.
Vid cast the Iron Armor Spell and Bubble Head Charm on himself, then waved his Magic Wand.
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang..."
In a series of explosions, all the statues were blasted apart, even the walls and floor were covered with huge cracks.
Gentle winds swirled and collected the Gold Powder revealed after the statues were blasted, then fell into Crystal Bottles Vid had prepared in advance.
When the Gold Powder first spewed out, it looked like a lot. But when gathered together, it couldn't even fill a normal cup.
Contained within the Crystal Bottle, Vid had a bottle of golden shimmering Mercury—it flowed and shimmered with metallic luster, smooth as a mirror when still.
A slight shake sent tiny specks of gold light flickering inside, as if it held a number of stars, exceptionally brilliant.
Vid couldn't help but stare at it for a while before reluctantly putting it away.
He didn't know what this was, but he was sure—this was an extremely special type of Alchemy Product never seen on the market.
Vid personally experienced that these Gold Powders could only dull reactions, induce sleep, and the Stunning Spell or Life and Death Potion could produce similar effects.
The advantage of the Gold Powder was merely catching people unprepared, not quite matching its special appearance.
The person who concocted it might not have superb techniques... but they surely used some extraordinary materials...
Vid's heart burned with desire, wishing Rita Skeeter could find those people's stronghold now so he could get more raw materials.
—Perhaps this is also why those people are looking for an Alchemist.
Not just to produce Poppet for war and slaughter, but also because they had a treasure trove but couldn't fully unleash its true power...
He thought while wreaking havoc inside and outside the hall until it was unrecognizable from its original form.
Afterward, Vid set another fire, setting both upstairs and downstairs ablaze, slipped into the secret passage to leave the building, made some arrangements, and then moved out all the Alchemists except for Gul.
The Gold Powder on them was also collected, Vid threw the spare Magic Wand into the wardrobe space, then transformed the wardrobe into a pencil case and stuffed it into his pocket.
Then he lay on the ground, closed his eyes, and as he reached out he whispered, "Aguamenti!"
A torrent of water poured down on everyone.
With his eyes shut, Vid feigned sleep and heard someone coughing.
"Cough cough... Oh, damn! Where is this? I can't see! Why is it so dark?... Lumos! Where's my Magic Wand? My Magic Wand is gone!"
The first to awaken was a restless young man, who shouted and quickly woke everyone else.
A Witch proficient in Wandless Magic soon lit up the secret passage, providing everyone with light.
"What is this place? What happened?"
Though everyone was aware that those around them were just as confused, they kept asking.
Still groggy, Professor Morry wiped the water off his face, propped himself up on the floor, looked around, and worriedly called out, "Vid! Vid!"
"I'm here, Professor!"
Vid replied, squeezing past the people in front to get to Professor Morry's side.
His hair was equally soaked, with dirt clinging to his clothes, looking as disheveled as everyone else.
Professor Morry sighed in relief, "As long as you're okay... Are you injured?"
"...No," Vid hesitated for a moment, then said, "I can't find my Magic Wand."
"Neither can I." Professor Morry sighed and said, "I don't know what Gul is trying to do... Let's first find a way out of here."
"We can't Apparate... we're still in an Anti-Disapparition Charm area," a Wizard said in panic.
"Are we imprisoned?" another person said fearfully.
But regardless, it was impossible for everyone to just sit there and wait for the mastermind to appear.
At one end of the passage, hot air and flickering flames made everyone naturally choose to move in the opposite direction, walking until someone at the front suddenly exclaimed and stopped.
"What's wrong?" someone from behind asked, "Why did you stop? Is there no exit up ahead?"
"...No," the person slowly turned around with a strange expression, "It seems Gul left us a message."
"What?!"
Everyone crowded forward, and because there wasn't enough space, they decided to have the person in front read it out loud for everyone.
In the silent passage, only the sound of their hurried breathing could be heard. After a few seconds, a slightly trembling voice rang out—
"They want to imprison and use you.
I was controlled by the Imperio Curse, becoming an accomplice.
In the last moment, I became clear-headed... not sure for how long this clarity will last.
If you awaken and are free,
Go home immediately! Go home immediately! Go home immediately!
Do not make a fuss, do not report to the Ministry of Magic!
They are everywhere!
I'm very sorry, my friend—"
The chilling cold made everyone mute with shock, leaving a mix of post-fear, terror, sorrow, and nostalgia in their hearts.
After a long while, someone said with a trembling voice, "Let's… let's hurry up and leave… what if those people come back? We don't even have our Magic Wands..."
Everyone snapped out of it: "Right, let's go! Let's go!"
"Where did the Magic Wands go?"
"There is no doubt! They must have been taken by those thugs!"
In their haste, no one had the mind to discuss or even think about the oddity of the situation.
Only when alone or in pairs might they have thought more clearly, but at this moment, under the influence of group mentality, they all began to run blindly.
Yet as each passed that message, they couldn't help but pause.
The letters carved into the dirt wall had completely deformed, evidently written in Gul's hurried panic. The last line wasn't even finished, with the final stroke of the 'e' stretched long and thin.
It was unclear whether "Gul" was controlled once again by the Imperio Curse or encountered a danger forcing a quick escape.
Imagining the scenario at the time, tears nearly fell from their eyes.
They fled the passage without saying much, agreeing to connect through the Friendship Book later, then quickly Disapparated, vanishing from the spot.
[Go home immediately!]
The repeated warning from "Gul" had already been imprinted in everyone's heart.
"Follow me, Vid!"
Professor Morry, lagging behind, reached out to grab Vid's arm, intending to take him along for Apparition.
"Professor!" Vid held his hand, saying, "I want to go home, Professor."
Professor Morry furrowed his brow, "By yourself..."
"Alastor Moody lives next door to my house," Vid said.
"Alright." Reassured by his words, Professor Morry then changed his destination and Disapparated once more.
"Bang!"
The last two figures vanished from the spot.