Chapter 138: Werewolf
Nava was well aware that her own talents were not exceptional. Whether it was the back-and-forth of the business world, the battles of capital, or the pioneering exploration of scientific research, she was not cut out for any of it. She was just a common person, even if a common person like her appeared to be a genius in the eyes of others. All she could be was a perfectly ordinary heiress to a vast fortune.
But perfectly ordinary heiresses do not encounter werewolves. Nor do they have friends who can shoot giant flames from a small wooden stick.
For Nava, whose material world had been rich since birth but whose spiritual world had been lacking, this was the first time in a long while that she had felt that things were interesting. A very, very interesting world. An interesting encounter. It was as if the world had lifted its veil for her, revealing a side unknown to ordinary people.
The werewolf continued to roar, hesitating, not daring to advance, only putting on a ferocious display. It was all bark and no bite. He seemed to fear the witch with the wand, but even more so, he seemed to fear the woman she was holding onto, the one without a wand. In the werewolf's mind, what little reason he had left, combined with years of experience hiding from the wizarding world, told him that a person who didn't even bother to draw a wand must be an Auror who considered him beneath her notice. She was probably using him as a training exercise for the little rookie Auror beside her. After all, a witch who looked like an Auror in every way must have a wizard friend. And from the looks of it, a very powerful wizard friend at that.
And so, his already fragile reason became even more muddled. He was trapped in a state of indecision, his back constantly arching as if to pounce, yet he only took two self-defeating steps forward. A wolf, when it attacks, crouches low and draws back to build momentum...
The sight of this brought Julia back to her Auror training. He's afraid of me. The moment she realized this, her own courage surged. She raised her wand and fired off two Cutting Curses.
Two bolts of red light shot through the air. One hit the werewolf, while the other missed and struck the trunk of a tree behind him, splitting it from top to bottom.
Such power, Nava thought, a hint of shock in her eyes. It wasn't that she hadn't seen firearms before—in the land of the free, there was no shortage of weapons—but this was the first time she had seen someone create an effect comparable to a hand grenade with a small wooden stick.
What surprised her even more was the werewolf. After being hit by a blast of that magnitude, he wasn't immediately torn apart. A deep gash had opened up on his body, but he hadn't even lost the ability to move!
Good heavens, what kind of freaks are these? Nava kept her mouth shut, not wanting to disturb her flustered little sister.
Though injured, the werewolf was far from incapacitated. The searing pain only served to awaken his animalistic nature. He became more aggressive, seeming to truly enter a combat state.
Julia's expression tightened. Stunning Spells, Freezing Charms, Petrification Curses—she unleashed a barrage of them. Under the suppressing fire, the werewolf lunged left and right but could not break through. The ancient bricks, tiles, trees, and flowers around him were ravaged by the onslaught of spells, as if the ground had been plowed by heavy artillery.
After the intense exchange, Julia was breathing heavily. The fight had been too intense, demanding her full concentration. It was completely different from her usual Auror training. The beast in front of her, with its high magic resistance, had finally begun to slow down under the effect of the multiple spells.
For the crowd that had initially been so bustling, watching a spectacle is something ingrained in human nature. After the initial chaos, a few of the bolder individuals had started taking pictures. Soon, everyone was gathered at what they considered a safe distance, snapping photos. When Julia gained the upper hand, they screamed, clapped, and cheered, as if it were all a carefully choreographed street performance arranged by the French Ministry of Tourism.
From the werewolf's transformation to the crowd taking pictures and the news spreading online, only two or three minutes had passed. The werewolf grew increasingly agitated by the environment. With a loud roar, it postured aggressively. Just as Julia was cautiously preparing for its next move, it suddenly turned and charged into the crowd.
"Oh, my God! Run!"
"Run from what? It's just an actor."
"This interactive part is so cool."
"Over here! Hey, Mr. Werewolf, let's get a picture!"
When a crowd grows large enough, reason is often the first casualty. The few voices of sanity were drowned out by the roar of the senseless. The werewolf closed in, but the crowd still showed no fear, only growing louder and more boisterous.
It was only when the claws sank into flesh, when joy turned to tragedy, that the screams of terror and regret began.
In the span of a single leap, a pool of blood spread through the crowd.
"Help me!" someone screamed, their left arm torn clean off. They writhed on the ground in agony as blood sprayed everywhere, the metallic scent of it filling the air.
"It's all your fault! You wouldn't let me run!" The sane person who had been shouting for everyone to flee was now trapped by the mob of shutterbugs. Luckily, he had only been swiped by the werewolf's tail and knocked to the ground, escaping serious injury.
"F*ck! Where are the French police?! How could something like this happen?!" someone who had managed to get away screamed, running for their life, their face a mask of terror, cursing their parents for not giving them two more legs.
Nava tugged on Julia's sleeve. "I'm not familiar with how you handle these things. What do we do now?"
Before Julia could answer, a clear male voice spoke up beside them. "Generally, a mass Memory Charm is used, to make all the ordinary people forget what happened."
As if realizing his sudden appearance might be impolite, the voice added, "Pardon the intrusion. My name is Ryan Welles, acting professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts."
Another voice chimed in. "You can just call me Ralvin. I'm the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Transportation at the British Ministry of Magic."
Nava turned in curiosity, while Julia turned with a nervous tremor. They saw two male wizards, one older, one younger. The younger one looked to be in his teens, dressed in casual clothes. He had sharp eyebrows and bright, heroic eyes, and a very friendly air about him. But he lacked the mysterious aura of a wizard, looking more like a handsome, interesting young man. The older one looked to be in his early twenties, dressed in a sharp suit, but without a tie and with his cuffs unbuttoned, giving him a relaxed air. His hair was slightly tousled, with perfect, natural-looking curls, as if he'd had it professionally styled. He had a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes were full of a devil-may-care attitude.
Nava's first thought was: Are wizards chosen based on their looks? Do only attractive people get to be wizards? She glanced at her newly-acquired little sister, Julia, and decided the theory held up.
Her second thought was that they were both abnormally young. And yet, one was a professor, and the other a department head... Shocked, she was reminded of the brilliant young geniuses of her own world, full of ambition and drive. She felt she had just encountered two of them. While she could look down on a flustered young girl like Julia with a big-sisterly attitude, and pretend not to notice when her flimsy disguise slipped, when faced with such brilliant, driven young men, she felt her own composure start to waver. "A pleasure to meet you. Gentlemen, could we perhaps solve this problem first and then find a place to talk?"
Julia (internally): I'm a genius too! Auror training is really hard! Notice me! Notice me!
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