"When did..." Dudley's expression turned ugly. He had no idea when this massive shadow had appeared behind him. He hadn't noticed it at all.
"Solar Holy Light!" Dudley hesitated no longer and directly used the Solar Ring to summon a golden holy light, sending it toward the massive shadow behind him.
Hum!
Golden light emerged, filling the entire cave with the aura of bright sunlight, dispelling the cold and chill.
By this holy light, Dudley saw what that black shadow was.
However, he couldn't describe it with specific language. That thing seemed to have no substance, but wasn't a ghost either. Like flowing mist...
After the Solar Holy Light appeared, it fell directly on that thing, producing large amounts of white smoke.
"Wraiths are prohibited here! Living corpses are prohibited here!"
After the Solar Holy Light burst out, Dudley whispered in Hermes.
Although uncertain what that thing was, judging from the aura it emitted, Dudley felt this thing should be somewhat related to wraiths and living corpses. Regardless, better to prohibit it first.
Hum!
As Dudley pushed out with his right hand, a transparent ripple emanated from his body, spreading throughout the entire cave.
Suddenly, that strange black thing trembled violently, then silently dissipated, disappearing before Dudley just like that.
Could it really be a wraith?
Regardless, the prohibition seemed to have worked. He didn't continue exploring this place's secrets and immediately walked toward the outside of the cave.
This place was too evil. Some things even magic couldn't explain.
Moreover, he'd used the Trunsoest Brass Book too much and needed to leave here quickly to seal the rule book again.
This time, Dudley's speed was very fast. A breeze still blew around him, just not as intensely as before.
Just as Dudley was about to reach the entrance, his gaze suddenly changed. At the cave entrance, a person was standing there, back facing him.
"It's him!" Dudley's pupils constricted sharply.
That person was none other than the corpse that had been lying under the large tree.
"Turn me over and look..."
The strange voice appeared in Dudley's ear again.
"Damn it!" Dudley's expression was extremely ugly.
This thing seemed to have latched onto him.
Spiritual power fully erupted, pouring into the Trunsoest Brass Book. Terrifying authority burst from Dudley's body. At this moment, Dudley's form seemed infinitely elevated, looking down at the corpse below.
His body slowly rose, completely ignoring the laws of physics.
At this point, the corpse also seemed to notice something was wrong and trembled violently. However, the current Dudley, merely with his gaze, was enough to suppress it in place, preventing its escape.
Dudley slowly raised his right hand, pointing at the corpse, and recited in Hermes.
"Banishment!"
Hum!
As Dudley's words fell, a void door appeared behind the corpse, its dark color slowly spreading as it slowly opened. Immediately after, an irresistible force came, directly sweeping the corpse into the dark door where it disappeared.
Thud.
Dudley fell back to the ground. Everything around seemed to return to normal. Dudley now showed signs of exhaustion.
He'd just forcibly used the Trunsoest Brass Book to display the extraordinary ability Banishment that only a Sequence 4 Imperative Mage could use. This ability could directly banish enemies to the unknown void, the simplest solution Dudley could think of to deal with that corpse.
Taking a breath, Dudley immediately ran toward the outside of the cave.
Swoosh!
Dudley rushed out of the cave.
The next moment, his vision suddenly brightened as he opened his eyes.
"This is..." Dudley looked at the scene before him in shock.
He was standing in front of the cave, looking at the pitch-black interior. The magical orb floated beside him, illuminating everything around brightly.
Just now... I didn't enter the cave?
Dudley was extremely shocked. He clearly remembered rushing out of the cave, yet with a flash, he was facing the cave.
Dudley looked at the Trunsoest Brass Book in his hand, momentarily uncertain what was real and what was fake. His brain throbbed. At this moment, Dudley felt the massive consumption of spiritual power.
No, everything just now should be real. My spiritual power consumption is indeed very large. Moreover, I really did use the extraordinary ability of Banishment. But was all that just now real, or all an illusion in my mind?
Dudley couldn't determine the situation at the moment. In the magical world, this was the first time he'd encountered such a strange situation.
If this were in that world, he might be able to deduce some specific sequences and abilities, like Mirror World and so on. But in the magical world, Dudley currently didn't know which wizard could do this.
Leave here first.
Dudley glanced at the pitch-black cave before him, not daring to linger, and immediately turned to leave.
Passing other rooms, Dudley looked inside. Two rooms he hadn't entered, and two rooms had already been looted clean by Dudley. Among them, Slytherin's notebook now lay in the Mirror of Erised.
If everything just now was an illusion, when exactly did I enter the illusion? Was it when standing at that cave entrance? Or had I already entered the illusion in the third room?
Dudley carefully recalled everything that happened before but found no suspicious points.
"Dudley, how are you? Did anything happen?" Harry's voice came from outside the passage.
"Why were you inside so long?" Ron's voice also came in, filled with anxiety.
"I'm fine," Dudley immediately replied. "How long was I inside?"
"Almost an hour," Harry said. "We were all worried sick. We called you, but you didn't answer. We were thinking about how to get in to rescue you."
"An hour?" Dudley's gaze narrowed.
From his own feeling, the entire process was only about ten minutes. How could it be an hour? This was completely different from the flow of time he sensed.
Dudley continued forward. After turning a corner, he looked toward the end of the passage. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were squeezed together, trying to crawl in from the passage entrance, but all three were stuck together.
"Dudley, quick, give me a hand," Harry extended his hand toward Dudley.