"Hey, cough, cough, are you still alive?"
Cedric, who was hit hard in the chest by Alexander, just felt waves of darkness before his eyes. He gritted his teeth to support his body, using Levitating Spells and the Summoning Charm to forcibly change his trajectory, finally avoiding the fate of being smashed against the wall like a meat patty—
"What on earth is this monster?"
Alexander propped himself up, watching the mummy on the opposite side of the corridor shakily getting up. He rubbed his belly and asked instinctively.
"Good question, but I have no idea. All I know is—"
Cedric took a breath, using Alexander's outstretched arm to barely stand up. He felt like he had gained a new life rule: don't stand behind a big muscular guy, or you're likely to get hurt—"He's planning to kill us, and if I'm not wrong, this thing is a Death Eater—"
"...What Death Eater?"
(The author playing Chinese puns in an English context is genuinely amusing—)
Alexander scratched his head; the wizarding world in Russia isn't very open. He obviously hadn't heard of Voldemort and the Death Eaters, but likewise, Cedric was not as shallow in knowledge as someone like Harry. He just blinked and thought of a similar example—
"Do you know Grindelwald and his Witch Supremacist Faction? It's similar, but these guys are just a local terrorist group—"
"You sure know a lot, little guy—what's your name again?"
The mummy stood there, casting no spells and making no further moves, instead watching Cedric with those scarlet eyes, only speaking in a strange hoarse voice after Cedric and Alexander had briefly explained.
"Me? I'm Draco Malfoy—"
Cedric said firmly. If Voldemort didn't already have an answer in his heart, he would've almost been fooled.
"Haha, interesting, Mr. Diggory, are you a student of William Richard?"
"It's Diggory, unknown Death Eater."
Cedric was delighted that the opponent was just talking rather than making a move, even if it was to stall for time; it played right into his expectations.
"Looks like it, Hogwarts' champion—"
The mummy suddenly laughed; the laughter was sharp and jarring, making the other two instinctively cover their ears. Then, it stopped its wild laughter and spoke in an odd tone, "So, if you die here—Mr. Richard, will he mourn for you?"
"He's planning to kill you."
"I can understand that sentence, and do you think it's unrelated to you? Or do you have some misunderstanding about the term 'terrorist'?"
"...Okay, so any plans? I feel like I can't beat him, and you can't either."
Alexander hesitated for a moment, instinctively saying, briefly considering betraying but ultimately dismissing the thought—it was better to die than to entrust his life to a monster and sacrifice his dignity.
"Not necessarily… Don't move, I'll give you a buff."
Cedric drew out the hand he'd been hiding in his chest, along with his wand and a series of deep blue runes emerging from its tip. Those runes slithered through the air like a python, soon finding a target and creeping toward Alexander's arm—
Alexander instinctively wanted to avoid them, but finally managed to hold back, watching the deep blue runes attach themselves to his arm. He blinked.
Then, his vision brightened!
Power!!!
He felt unprecedented power! The effect was immediate. The muscles in his arms instantly swelled, looking even more robust than when he was at full power. He felt like he could lift a building—
"You've been reinforced, go!"
Cedric patted the other's shoulder, signaling him to quickly block the mummy that was already approaching nearby.
Startled, Alexander finally reacted, spreading his arms and charging straight at the mummy with his strong chest. Then, like a celestial collision, the two figures crossed their arms against each other, a vivid contrast between the slender mummy and the man's strong arms—
Cedric wasn't idle either. He began painting on Alexander's back, the deep blue patterns moving slowly, their neon-like glow reminiscent of cyberpunk tattoos making the already burly Alexander seem even larger. The stalemate between the man and the mummy began to break.
"Crack—"
The mummy's wrist was snapped, his crippled arms causing his body to lean forward, which Alexander took advantage of to hug him. The latter spun and bent, smashing the mummy's head to the ground, followed by another crisp "crack," likely snapping its neck this time.
The mummy seemed to have no close combat experience, losing all ability to resist the moment it was overpowered, promptly wrapped up by Alexander and slammed hard onto the ground, turning into a lump of dried meat. But with a golden glow, the mummy almost instantly returned to its original form—
And seeing the wand that somehow ended up in the opponent's hand, originally belonging to Alexander, Cedric's eyes widened.
"Retreat!"
Not only did he shout out, but the moment Cedric realized what was happening, he extended his magic wand. A coyote leapt out from Alexander's pocket, blocking the green flash of light aimed at his face — but the Iron Armor Spell couldn't stop Avada Kedavra.
The coyote was blasted to pieces, but Cedric seized the opportunity and cast three consecutive Disarming Spells, though his opponent was ready and blocked them.
"Die! Die die die die!!!"
A shrill, harsh scream resounded continuously, with each word "die" accompanied by a brilliant green flash.
"..."
He needed a wand to cast spells! Cedric finally realized what was odd, but it was a bit too late.
The green flashes came at him like a torrential storm, forcing Cedric into a desperate defense. The powerful magic nearly shattered his defenses, but fortunately, he had enough odds and ends on him to intercept all the Killing Curses for a short time, but — beyond that…
Cedric glanced at Alexander beside him and realized that as long as it wasn't a Killing Curse, the spells only caused slight ripples on the Iron Armor Spell in front of him.
Good, there was still a chance!
Cedric didn't delay any longer, raising his wand skyward, "Protego Diabolica!" (Fire Shield Protection)
A surge of warm yellow flames erupted from his wand, filling the entire corridor almost instantly. The green flashes of light were incinerated upon contact with the fire, and a warm sensation filled Alexander's heart. His muscles tightened again, his legs slightly bent—
"Boom—"
The "blue fluorescent tattoos" that covered his body suddenly lit up, and he burst out of the flames like he was gliding along the ground, evading the Killing Curses overhead and lunging toward the mummy. The man seized its legs with force, and with a crack, the mummy's body instantly fell—
"Bang—"
Then came another crisp sound, this time the break was the mummy's wand. Just as the flames roared up, he heard Cedric's reminder — snap that wand — Alexander didn't hesitate. Thanks to his combat practice, he was extremely skilled with wandless magic. Besides, with his financial resources—
Not everyone had a family so poor they couldn't afford a single wand (no offense) with red hair.
One or two wands made no difference to him, so Alexander didn't hold back at all. Pure explosive power instantly crushed the mummy into an unrecognizable husk, but seeing the golden glow reignite on its bandages, Alexander felt a headache coming on—
"Avada Kedavra!"
Suddenly, a green flash shot out from the shadows, bypassing Alexander and striking the mummy square in the chest.
Even though it didn't hit him directly, Alexander felt a pressure on his chest, but the mummy was a dead thing, how could it... wait, it actually stopped?
Looking at the mummy pinned beneath him, no longer struggling, Alexander gasped for breath. He leaned over in confusion to take a look and saw that the red flames in the mummy's eyes were trembling violently, and then with a "sizzle," they went out—
A mass of black fog billowed out from the mummy's orifices, faintly forming a human shape, but it dissipated in an instant.
"What is this..."
Cedric retracted the warm yellow flames and cautiously watched the shadowy corner.
"It's me, Ced."
Harry walked out from around the corner with his hands raised, and "the shadow" followed behind him — oh, he was mistaken; that black mass was Abeba Hailu.
All three of them fixed their gazes on Harry, with a touch of disbelief — that had been Avada Kedavra, an Unforgivable Curse.
"That person was Voldemort — I don't know if he introduced himself; I had to kill him before things got worse."
Harry grinned, the blue shimmer in his eyes fading. He had just used Emotion Magic to simulate malice, allowing him to cast a Killing Curse with power not inferior to Voldemort's. If he had done it without assistance, it might have just given Voldemort a nosebleed — if mummies could bleed, that is.
"Alright, it seems the Killing Curse might have been the only option at that point—"
Cedric sighed, twirling his magic wand, and his gaze swept over the other two besides Harry — this had to be kept secret, as Unforgivable Curses weren't trivial matters in the British Magic Realm, and if either of them spilled the beans—
"Wait, it's not dead yet!"
Alexander suddenly shouted. The mummy pinned beneath him began to convulsively shake—
"Buzz—"
Suddenly, a golden light flashed, and a golem, gripping a giant sword, appeared, completely blocking the corridor. The next moment, it chopped off the mummy's head with its sharp blade.
"Well done."
William emerged from behind the golem, looking at the panting Cedric and Harry (the latter probably from running), nodding in satisfaction.
He had intended to make a dramatic entrance like Xiao Huohuo, but it turned out the little guys had really made impressive progress.