The silver light appeared without warning.
Without hesitation.
It shot forward like a meteor.
Logan barely had time to react before the streak of silver pierced directly through the monster's body.
BOOM!
A deafening crash echoed across the clearing as dust and smoke exploded everywhere.
The silver light carried terrifying force. Not only did it blast straight through the creature's chest, but it continued onward and embedded itself deep into the ground only a few feet away from Logan.
For several seconds, Logan simply stood frozen in shock.
Then his attention immediately returned to the monster.
The silver light had just saved his life.
Otherwise, he genuinely might have resorted to throwing random poisonous plants at the thing and praying for a miracle. He briefly wondered whether those explosive dung fruits would've worked.
Probably not.
Meanwhile, the creature's condition looked horrific.
A massive hole had been torn directly through its chest.
Silver light shimmered inside the wound while countless cracks rapidly spread across its pitch-black body.
The monster staggered violently.
Pain.
Something it had never experienced before now tore through its existence.
It let out distorted, hoarse growls completely unlike any normal living creature.
Even taking another step forward seemed incredibly difficult.
Then finally—
ROAR!
Its entire body became covered in fractures.
The next second, the grotesque creature collapsed into ash and scattered into the wind.
Gone.
Logan stared cautiously at the empty space where it once stood.
"…Is it dead?"
Everything had happened too suddenly.
If the silver light hadn't appeared at the final moment, he probably would've died here today.
Slowly, Logan approached the smoking crater left behind by the impact.
The ground still radiated faint heat.
Then he finally saw it clearly.
A silver cup.
Just as he suspected, the object embedded stubbornly within the earth was indeed Hufflepuff's Silver Cup.
But honestly…
It looked disappointingly ordinary.
There was no extravagant decoration. No dazzling jewels. No overwhelming magical aura.
The cup was relatively small and entirely silver in color without any carvings or symbols.
Yet despite the passage of countless years, not even the slightest sign of corrosion existed upon its surface.
Logan cautiously touched it with one hand first.
Nothing happened.
Only then did he grab the cup with both hands and yank it free from the ground.
The instant he pulled it out—
Golden dust suddenly began floating from the cup's surface.
The glowing particles slowly gathered together in midair before gradually forming the outline of a woman.
Logan's pupils contracted.
He recognized her immediately.
Helga Hufflepuff.
He had already seen her once before inside the fragmented memory world.
The beautiful woman formed entirely from golden light quietly gazed down at the stunned young wizard below.
"You don't seem very surprised by my appearance," she said gently.
"Do you know who I am?"
Logan immediately became awkward.
How exactly was he supposed to answer that?
"Yes, I met you inside strange supernatural memories connected to a forbidden grimoire" didn't sound like a particularly good explanation.
While Logan struggled to respond, Helga slowly looked around at the surrounding forest.
A faint sigh escaped her lips.
"So much time has passed…"
"Everything looks unfamiliar now."
Her expression became nostalgic.
"What about Salazar?"
"And Godric… and Rowena?"
"How are they doing?"
She looked toward Logan hopefully, clearly expecting an answer.
But Logan remained silent.
Because he genuinely couldn't answer.
History remembered their names.
But the details of their later lives had long since vanished into the passage of time.
Seeing his silence, Helga simply smiled softly.
"I was too impatient," she said kindly. "How could a child like you possibly know such things?"
Then her expression became gentler.
"I already destroyed the monster guarding the Silver Cup, so you no longer need to fear it."
"However, because of that… my remaining time has also come to an end."
"There are no more ships left in this new era capable of carrying someone like me."
The golden dust around her body slowly began drifting apart.
She was disappearing.
"Goodbye, interesting little wizard."
"This is merely the final trace of my existence. You needn't feel sad for me."
Logan immediately replied, "I wasn't sad."
Then after a pause, he added seriously, "And you shouldn't randomly make assumptions."
Helga blinked briefly before laughing softly.
As her body continued dissolving into golden particles, her expression gradually became serious once more.
"There is something extremely important hidden within this Silver Cup," she said quietly.
"It is not something a young wizard like you should become involved with."
"I don't know how you managed to find it, but I hope you'll hand it over to the greatest wizard of this century."
"Let him face what lies within."
"Or…"
"You may bury it once more somewhere nobody will ever discover."
"Allow the secret to remain asleep forever."
After speaking, Helga looked deeply at Logan several times, as though trying to memorize his face.
Then her figure slowly floated upward.
Higher and higher.
Until she could finally see the distant outline of Hogwarts Castle far away.
A warm smile appeared on her face.
At least they truly protected Hogwarts well.
The legacy of the school still endured after all these years.
In that case, perhaps the tragedies of the past no longer mattered.
Being able to see Hogwarts one final time…
That alone was enough.
"Salazar…"
The final golden dust scattered into the air.
And Helga Hufflepuff's lingering remnant vanished completely from the world.
No one would ever know that one of Hogwarts' legendary founders briefly appeared inside the Forbidden Forest today.
Only Logan remained standing there speechless.
"…What the hell was that?"
Although he was deeply grateful that the Silver Cup had just saved his life, the entire encounter felt bizarre.
She appeared dramatically.
Killed the monster.
Spoke nostalgically about the past.
Warned him about a dangerous secret.
Then vanished.
That was it.
Where was the legendary inheritance?
Where was the hidden cheat ability?
Wasn't he supposed to suddenly receive some ancient founder-level power and instantly rise to greatness?
Then Logan remembered the Grimoire.
"…Actually never mind. I'm already cheating enough."
Still, Helga's warning continued bothering him deeply.
A secret hidden within the Silver Cup.
Something so dangerous that she believed only the greatest wizard of the century should confront it.
Or else it should remain buried forever.
The greatest wizard of the century…
Dumbledore, obviously.
Well…
Currently Dumbledore.
Logan planned on stealing that title eventually.
But maybe not today.
Which meant…
Should he actually hand this thing over to Dumbledore?
Logan lowered his gaze toward the silver cup in his hands thoughtfully.
Yet something else bothered him more.
Why hadn't the mission completed yet?
He already found the Silver Cup.
He even met Helga Hufflepuff's lingering spirit.
So what was missing?
Then suddenly, Logan's expression changed slightly.
Wait.
Don't tell me…
Was the Grimoire expecting him to uncover the actual secret hidden inside the cup before counting the mission as complete?
"…This is such a pain."
At this point, though, he couldn't back out anymore.
He was already one step away from finishing the mission.
Unfortunately, no matter how carefully Logan examined the Silver Cup, he still couldn't discover anything unusual about it.
Then suddenly—
Silvery liquid began appearing inside the empty cup.
Ripples slowly spread across the mysterious surface.
.....
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