The attack was surprisingly not from afar, nor from the hunter's cabin that Fontana felt threatened by, but from directly beneath where they were standing!
Crimson tongues of fire, mixed with shredded earth and stones, erupted violently upward like a volcanic eruption!
In an instant, the blinding light and the deafening roar seemed to overwhelm Laira's senses. Her eardrums buzzed from the shock, and a white light flashed before her eyes!
The exposed skin felt a burning sting, and she could vaguely smell the scent of scorched ash.
She felt as if a frenzied wild bull had viciously rammed into her, her body thrown by the violent shockwave, only to be pulled back forcefully by a beam of magic.
Her internal organs were a tangled mess, a strong taste of blood surged in her throat, and blood uncontrollably spurted from her mouth.
At that moment, Laira's mind was almost blank. She didn't even feel much pain, and her brain, like a short-circuited device, refused to think.
She landed heavily in a distant bush, rolling a few times before stopping.
Lying on the ground that reeked of gunpowder, her consciousness gradually returned, accompanied by sharp, intense pain. The world spun around her, with buzzing and the roar of rushing blood in her ears.
In a daze, Laira heard angry shouts coming from somewhere, but she couldn't make out what they were saying at all.
She struggled to lift her head and vaguely saw a few figures moving around, with small wooden wands in their hands shooting bright-colored beams of light.
Laira looked on blankly, her brain struggling to comprehend.
The faces of those people were unfamiliar, as if the explosion's impact had torn apart her understanding, scattering it like countless pieces of torn paper, unable to form a complete picture.
Suddenly, an old, trembling hand grabbed her still intact right arm with such force that it almost crushed her bones.
——Let me go!!
Laira wanted to shout, wanted to struggle, but a terrifying feeling of compression instantly enveloped her, as if it was going to twist her fragile bones and organs into a mass and stuff them into a narrow pipe!
The pain was amplified countless times, and she nearly fainted.
"Bang!"
Another explosive sound, the two fell to the rough ground like broken sacks, Laira landing on her side, with her vision completely blurred, only able to feel the glaring sunlight.
The rough, burning touch of rocks and gravel came from beneath, the air startlingly dry, with a peculiar scent of sulfur and minerals mixed in.
"Safe for now… not many wizards have been to this place…"
The man beside her said, panting heavily, and then looked at her: "How do you feel? Sorry, I didn't expect their attack to come from below… Laira? Can you hear me? Laira? Laira!!"
Boom——!!!
An invisible sound roared in her mind, and Laira's body jerked as if a broken circuit had been reconnected.
In an instant, the chaotic snowflakes receded, and all the information and memories surged back like a tsunami, making a deafening sound.
"...Sir?"
A dry voice squeezed out from her throat, every breath felt like a knife stirring in her lungs.
"Thank Merlin." Fontana couldn't help but murmur, then said, "Don't move…"
A cold wand tip pressed against Laira's wound, a gentle warmth slowly set the broken bones right, the excruciating pain began to ebb away, and the chill from blood loss seemed to finally start warming up.
Laira strained to focus her vision and first saw that Fontana's face appeared to have aged twenty years in an instant.
There was a deep gash on his forehead, blood mixed with sand making the old principal's appearance extremely ghastly.
Laira breathed with difficulty, turning her gaze to see the vast and desolate volcanic rock behind Fontana, layers of orange, ochre, and gray stone steamed with twisted heat in the blazing sunlight.
The wind howled across the barren land, taking away moisture from the surface of her skin, making her feel thirsty instantly.
"I… I want some water…" Laira murmured softly.
Fontana decisively refused, "No, you can't drink water now!"
He hesitated for a moment, then thought, if he hadn't taken Laira's magic wand at that time, perhaps she wouldn't have been so seriously injured.
Fontana pulled a bottle of magic potion from his pocket, brought it to Laira's mouth, and gently reassured her, "Drink it! You'll feel much better after you do."
This was an extremely precious life-saving potion, with three drops of tears actively shed by a Phoenix—Fontana didn't keep a Phoenix as a pet, and getting such materials had taken a lot of effort.
A few moments later, Laira's breathing finally steadied, the pain that seemed to drag her into Hell also vanished.
Suddenly, her gaze captured something behind Fontana, about a hundred meters away, under a towering, fang-shaped volcanic pillar.
As if from the heat's effect, the air in that place seemed distorted…
"Boom!"
A familiar explosion sound came, a few blurred figures squeezed out from the air, and barely had they steadied themselves when the nearby space began tearing at the air again!
——More people are apparating over!
They were all in grayish-brown robes. As soon as one of them appeared, the tip of his magic wand unhesitatingly pointed in their direction, the tip gathering a point of dangerous dark light.
It was as if he already knew who was in this direction.
Laira's eyes widened suddenly, her face, which had just regained a touch of color, turned pale as paper again, and her throat let out a short, gasp of terror.
Fontana turned immediately upon hearing the sound, but it was already too late!
"Reducto!"
"Confringo!"
"Defodio!"
"Stupefy!"
The light of spells crazily flickered, collided, and exploded between the desolate volcanic pillars! The air was torn by magic power, letting out shrill whistles.
Fontana, like a dying old wolf, with blood mist blooming on his shoulder, still swung his magic wand with effort, barely deflecting or blocking the deadly curses, but with little chance to counterattack.
Laira was forcefully pushed by him, stumbling into a rocky recess.
She wanted to help, but without a magic wand, Laira could only wave her arms and shout, "Iron Armor Protection!"
A red light shot straight through the flimsy shield, Laira didn't even know if she had delayed them for a moment.
Suddenly, Fontana, like swinging a sword, fiercely swung his magic wand in a circle. Dust erupted all around them, a whirlwind sweeping up sand and stones, obstructing the enemy's vision, even somewhat blocking countless spells!
Laira watched as Fontana's robe was whipped like a tattered flag by the raging wind, the magic wand in his hand trembling, almost slipping away, but every spell that exploded from the wand's tip was swift and incredibly powerful.
The sandstorm shrouded the world like a thick yellow curtain, yet at this moment became a backdrop highlighting his power. The Principal of Ilvermorny's dignity was vividly demonstrated at this moment.
Through the yellow sandstorm, Laira faintly heard someone letting out a short scream.
However, this scene did not last long.
Fontana, after holding them off for a moment, took two steps back, grabbed Laira's arm again, Apparition!
"Bang!"