When Ethan returned to the Gringotts main hall from underground, the goblin supervisor waiting there was so startled that he fell flat on his backside!
The goblin supervisor stared at Ethan as if he were gazing upon a ghost that should have been long dead, a demon clawed back from the depths of hell!
"You, you..."
The goblin supervisor couldn't even form a coherent sentence, his eyes bulging with sheer terror!
Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead!
Ethan looked down at him, a faint smirk curling his lips, and leaned in close to whisper:
"I left you a little surprise down there."
With that, he ignored the goblin supervisor's face draining of all color, straightened up, and strolled out leisurely with Luna and a horizontally floating Professor Lupin in tow.
The goblin supervisor watched as Ethan blasted open the doors and shivered uncontrollably.
He scrambled onto a cart and hurtled downward at breakneck speed!
Why had that key thief come back unharmed...?
Why was it him who had returned?!
"Impossible...! I sent down more than a dozen goblins! Could they all have been wiped out?"
The goblin supervisor gritted his teeth, sweat soaking through his clothes.
Finally, he arrived at Vault 12.
To his surprise, the vault door was slightly ajar, just a narrow crack.
Inside, an unnatural silence reigned.
"Gulp."
The supervisor swallowed hard, his nerves frayed, and slowly pulled the door open with trembling hands.
What met his eyes was a sea of gold.
Golden sunflowers bloomed vibrantly and abundantly in the dim vault.
They stretched out endlessly, swaying gently in an invisible breeze.
It was as if he had been abruptly transported from the dark, damp underground to a sun-drenched meadow.
The goblin supervisor held his breath.
What in the world was going on?
Where were the employees?
His puzzled gaze drifted downward to the ground.
Suddenly, his heart seized!
Beneath the cheerful yellow sunflowers lay the goblins!
Their faces were pallid, and they lay utterly still.
If not for the faint rise and fall of their chests, the goblin supervisor would have sworn they were dead!!
"Ah, ah ah!"
The supervisor stumbled backward on his knees, his legs buckling beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Then, in his wide, terrified eyes, the sunflowers before him gleamed brighter and brighter, their dazzling golden light overwhelming his entire field of vision.
In his final moment, the goblin supervisor thought:
If Lord Ranrok, who had led the goblin rebellion, were still alive, how could he have allowed that wizard to so brazenly steal the treasures that rightfully belonged to the goblins...?
"—BOOM!!!"
On the first floor of the Gringotts hall, a violent tremor erupted from below!
The floor, walls, ceiling—the entire building shuddered slightly!
"What happened?!"
"Gas explosion?!"
"Honey, there are no gas explosions in the wizarding world."
Amid the chaos, only the Daily Prophet reporter, Mike McArthur, was snapping photos with gleeful excitement.
"Click, click!"
"Earth-shattering secret! Gringotts under attack again...! Aha! This headline is mine!"
McArthur was over the moon.
He trained his camera on the panicking goblins.
"Even though the last Hogwarts incident got suppressed and I couldn't report it... This time! It's definitely front-page material!"
McArthur had come to realize that wherever Ethan Vincent went, explosive news followed.
"Ethan, you're truly my lucky star! Don't worry, I'll make sure all your heroic deeds get the spotlight they deserve!"
"Click, click, click, click!"
At Luna's house, Mr. Lovegood was lounging on the sofa, sipping tea and savoring a rare moment of tranquility.
Sure, with Ethan around, Luna had a playmate and seemed more animated.
But the games they played were anything but wholesome, leaving Lovegood on edge, constantly worrying that the Ministry of Magic might come pounding on his door one day.
"Ah, this is the life~"
Lovegood sighed contentedly, his eyes drifting to the newspaper in his hand.
"Let's see what dull nonsense today's emergency edition of the Daily Prophet has to offer... Gringotts exploded?!"
Lovegood bolted upright, eyes wide, and took a swig of tea before diving into the article with rapt attention:
[Shocking! Gringotts attacked a second time, the culprit is actually...] ...A violent explosion occurred in the Gringotts underground, causing heavy losses. Related personnel are still cleaning up. The current reason given is seismic activity...]
[Many parties have raised doubts about whether Gringotts is still safe...]
[It is worth noting that before the explosion, the Goblins had presumptuously challenged a demon... Ethan Vincent?!!]
With a "Pfft"!
Lovegood sprayed out his tea!
He coughed violently, eyes bulging as if he'd just witnessed a squirrel proclaiming world domination!!
How could this be?!
Wasn't Ethan just out shopping in Diagon Alley today?
How had he suddenly blown up Gringotts???
Was this what passed for a normal day in the life of a young wizard???
Lovegood skimmed the report, his eyes flying over ten lines at once.
He read about "Ethan sweeping a smug goblin off his feet with a leg sweep, then pouncing on him and slapping him twice."
A wave of dizziness washed over him.
...What about the professor?
Oh, right! There was a professor with him!
Hadn't he kept Ethan in line?!
Just then, "Click."
The door swung open.
Lovegood watched as the accompanying professor floated in horizontally, battered, bruised, and out cold.
Lovegood: "..."
Ethan glanced curiously at Luna's dad, who had suddenly slumped back onto the sofa.
He pondered for a second, then turned to Luna with a grin:
"We picked up some really useful knowledge today, didn't we, Luna?"
Luna nodded.
She flashed her 'soft-hearted' dad a radiant smile:
"Explosions are art!"
Mr. Lovegood's fragile hopes shattered completely.
He stared at the Hogwarts professor being levitated upstairs and thought in utter despair:
Is there no one left in this world who can rein in Ethan...?
"Heave-ho."
Ethan settled his next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor into the stone coffin, even considerately sliding the lid shut for him.
Ethan had acquired this from an underground market known as the "Undead Gathering."
It was rumored to have been handed down through one hundred and eight generations, housing all sorts of ancient remains.
Ethan's checks confirmed its authenticity and high quality.
Sometimes, at night, Ethan would lie inside it, quietly attuning to the lingering echoes of ancient wails for inspiration.
He figured it would provide Professor Lupin with a similarly snug experience.
Ethan smiled warmly.
He turned away, pulling out the glowing white bone, and murmured:
"Alright, time to figure out what sort of sacred masterpiece to craft from this..."
Yes, this spine was called a "Holy Relic," so naturally, it had to embody something divine!
Ethan was brimming with confidence.
He was, after all, a pure-hearted soul.
His previous creations had brought joy and laughter to so many.
Ethan could swear that no one understood holiness quite like he did.
"Hmm, since it's a creature, let's give it more legs..."
"And a few extra heads, to make it look smarter..."
"Oh, and blend in that 'Chilling Aura' effect for a stunning frozen vibe..."
"And that Ald rune... Toss it in! Add it all!"
Ethan muttered with fervent enthusiasm, his eyes gleaming.
His head was practically glued to the sketchpaper, pencil scratching away in a frenzy.
He was utterly lost in his artistic trance.
After forging this new masterpiece from the holy relic, Ethan planned to use the silver key to journey back to ancient times and uncover the secret treasure marked on the map!
He couldn't wait to see what wonders the long-lost ancient magic held in store...
Scratch, scratch.
As the pencil's relentless whisper continued, the sun dipped below the horizon, and night began to cloak the sky.
Lupin gradually stirred from the void.
The moment awareness returned, he hissed in agony, feeling like he'd been trampled by a troll.
Memories rushed back.
Lupin recalled being pummeled by Ethan over and over, like a lump of dough being kneaded.
Lupin: "..."
How about you just take the Defense Against the Dark Arts job yourself?
Then, Lupin remembered that after the beating, he'd actually regained his sanity and reverted to human form from his werewolf state.
Lupin's eyes widened slowly.
How had Ethan done it?!
Not just for him—it was unprecedented in the wizarding world!!
Even Snape's refined Wolfsbane Potion only preserved consciousness during the change.
No method existed to fully suppress the wolf's instincts.
Though it had been an unexpected transformation, not the fiercer full-moon frenzy, this was still nothing short of a miracle!
Lupin was desperate to track down Ethan and demand answers.
But first, he needed to escape this godforsaken spot.
"Thump."
Lupin's hand brushed against the narrow walls.
It was rectangular, just like a coffin.
Lupin: "..."
Who the hell was this twisted?
Lupin felt profoundly uneasy here.
Not merely because this was a damned coffin meant for the dead, but because he could faintly hear a chorus of whispers closing in from all sides.
The voices were shrill, a cacophony of countless murmurs blending together, encircling him, slicing at his nerves like blades, making his head throb!
Had he been dumped in some cult's den?!
It was downright malevolent!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Lupin hammered desperately on the coffin lid, even blasting it with magical bursts.
Yet the lid didn't budge, only worsening his headache.
Until footsteps approached from outside.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
They halted right beside him.
!!
Lupin held his breath, clutching his wand tightly.
He was mildly surprised the cultists hadn't confiscated it.
Then—
"Creak, creak."
The lid twisted open slowly, revealing Ethan Vincent's strikingly handsome face.
Lupin: "...???"
In his bewilderment, he heard Ethan speak in a soft, almost paternal tone, as if addressing someone with a learning disability:
"It's a screw-top lid. You can't just push it open."
Lupin: "..."
His face contorted in sudden anguish.
Not from his wounds, but from the realization that he'd have to stick close to Ethan and keep an eye on him for the long haul—it hurt, oh how it hurt!
Headmaster Dumbledore, I demand compensation for emotional distress!!
Lupin hauled himself up, ready to grill Ethan on how he'd reversed the transformation.
His eyes shifted, landing on something nearby.
He sucked in a sharp breath, blurting out:
"Merlin's beard! What in the world is that?!"
Had Ethan summoned one of his own demons?!
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