Daniel Stephens blinked, looking at the two people in front of him. Clearly, what Abeba had just said made a lot of sense—
The boy raised his head. Above him, the lens of the camera hovered like a ghostly eye that wouldn't blink, silently capturing every potentially wavering moment, while deep within the treetops, the Guardian Spell left by Yamamoto Shenren flickered with barely noticeable light, currently showing no signs of any goblins or trolls approaching.
Reality felt like cold rain pouring down on his head, and the recent analysis was like a sharp blade removing the final sliver of hope lingering in his heart.
The situation had overturned; the temporary alliance formed by the three of them was fragile, and with the external threat unresolved, their internal trust was beginning to tread on thin ice. Beneath that ice seemed to be a swirling vortex of doom, and no one wanted to become the target eliminated by everyone's collective fire, especially after they had likely already lost Alexander, a relatively reliable ally.
Then there were Fleur and Piero, who had shown no movement since a while ago, and their plan to gather and "eradicate" the Hogwarts champions was practically dead in the water before it even started.
"I'm saying this not for you to stare at my back, deciding whether to cast an Evil Curse—"
Heller turned back, her calm gaze as steady as a deep pool, looking at the two people in front of her with a serene tone, "Now, there's still a chance. We should first acquire this treasure piece and then look for that Russian—if things really are heading towards the worst case, then at the very least, we should trust each other—"
The final sentence she said was loud enough that it made the other two instinctively look up.
The camera continued to float quietly there.
"...Alright."
Daniel was the first to nod. Whether this woman in front of him was putting on a show didn't matter; at least until they acquired the treasure, they were an alliance, and that was enough for now. As for what would happen forty minutes later—that would be a problem for his future self to handle.
Perhaps they could all make that ancestral-defying decision together (meaning to collectively join Hogwarts)?
So, the three of them bowed their heads together, observing the protruding rock at the tree roots.
Finally, time flew by swiftly under their strained nerves. Yamamoto Shenren found a groove on the rock that was invisible to the naked eye, placed the stone slab in it, and with the sound of machinery moving, a hole appeared beneath the tree roots that was large enough to allow two people to enter side by side—
"Go!"
Heller did not hesitate, bending down despite the sharp pain in her chest and abdomen from the movement. Her body began to transform, first morphing into a sleek and agile leopard, which swiftly dived into the hole.
Daniel followed closely behind, while Yamamoto, warily taking a step back, traced a complex pattern in the air with his magic wand, muttering under his breath.
Then, a thick yet harmless white fog poured from the wand, expanding like a living entity. As the radius extended, it gradually thinned and mostly settled towards the ground, rendering the surroundings reminiscent of the Celestial Court flooring from the 1986 version of Journey to the West.
The Smokescreen Spell took effect, completely covering the hole which was almost level with the ground, possibly delaying any pursuing goblins.
Entering the hole, a scent mixed with the smell of earth, decaying moss, and a rust-like metal greeted them, exuding a chilling unease from deep underground.
"Lumos."
Daniel raised his magic wand, and a steady, bright orb of light dispelled the surrounding darkness. He followed closely behind the leopard that Heller had transformed into, stretching out his arm, and thus a downward-sloping, artificially-hewn passageway became visible to the three of them—
The walls were damp, blanketed with moss of a dark green hue; the air was stiflingly oppressive, almost suffocating. Silence reigned, save for the hollow "drip" of water falling into unknown puddles, and the heavy, suppressed breathing of two people and a "cat" echoed in the narrow space, making the footsteps sound eerily heavy.
Fortunately, it seemed this narrow passageway was designed to instill fear; aside from Yamamoto Shenren slipping on the wet steps and taking a tumble, the three incurred no other losses.
Finally, after five minutes, a stone door, thrice as tall as a person, blocked their path.
"It won't budge—"
Heller removed her claw from the stone door and shook her head.
But just as she pulled her claw away from the door, the sound of dull machinery clashing boomed like thunder in the enclosed corridor.
On either side of the stone door, tall statues that blended almost seamlessly with the rock began to move. Dust and moss pattered down, revealing the deep black stone beneath, as deep blue Magic Patterns, seemingly brimming with endless energy, rapidly spread from the chest area—
Or, in other words, the area akin to Iron Man's energy core, quickly illuminating the entire outline of the statues.
The light was cold and powerful, exuding a terrifying forcefulness.
"Back off!"
Daniel unconsciously stepped back, his shout nearly breaking his voice, as the illuminating orb he held was suddenly extinguished. Instinctively pointing his wand at the nearest stone guardian turning to face them, his heart pounded heavily against his chest— a fear that emerged not from sight, but from somewhere deep within.
What the hell is this?
"Bang!"
A heavy, dull thud that made one's teeth ache.
A massive stone sword nearly grazed Daniel's chest, smashing into the stone wall behind him—splinters flew, striking Daniel and Heller like shotgun pellets. Even with a protective layer of leopard fur, the witch, adept in Human Transfiguration, let out a pained growl.
Yamamoto Senren had already rolled on the ground like a nimble monkey using the darkness and fog, narrowly avoiding the heavy footsteps of another stone statue, which stomped exactly where he had stood a second before. The whole cavern seemed to tremble slightly as a result.
Deep blue magic patterns flickered intensely as the stone statues moved; their bulky forms took on a speed and precision that was eerily mismatched with their heavy and massive bodies.
"Expulso!"
After dodging the deadly blow, Daniel finally found his rhythm in retaliation amidst his panic, launching a powerful Reductor Curse accompanied by a bright light, hitting hard at the knee joint of the statue attacking him. The next moment, the curse burst, stone fragments flew, yet the statue merely staggered slightly—
The deep blue magic patterns surged like veins for a moment, and the cracks began healing visibly fast—then, the magic pattern at the joint dimmed briefly before shining brightly again.
"What the—?!"
The three of them almost simultaneously let out a curse. They knew that even the armored trolls in the jungle earlier couldn't achieve this level of performance! What on earth were these things? Such powerful magic constructs shouldn't be here, but rather on a battlefield!
Wait, does the British Ministry of Magic want to provoke a war? Or is it just to show off their magic prowess?
In a matter of seconds, a plethora of wild thoughts streaked through their minds. As the stone statues approached again, they composed themselves, "Incendio!" Yamamoto Senren's deep incantation rang out, and thick flames surged toward the statue's face—
He was trying to disrupt its possibly existing "visual" detection area; the fire scorched the unknown stone, sizzling lightly. The deep blue magic pattern flickered to resist, and the fire clung stubbornly for a moment before being forcibly dispelled, leaving a charred scorch mark on the statue's face but causing no effective damage.
"Oh."
Yamamoto Senren grimaced, his form disappeared into a piece of wood, which the heavy stone sword shattered into splinters the next instant.
"Roar!"
Meanwhile, Heller could no longer maintain her leopard form, though that form was indeed useless against non-living entities—
The next moment, forced by the sweeping arm of the statue cutting through the air, she reverted to her human form, her back crashing heavily against the cold, damp wall of the passage. She groaned but gritting her teeth, she raised her wand again, "Protego maxima!"
The next moment, the suddenly bright gold-red light barely deflected a pursuing fist, only holding for an instant before the light shield emitted a strained hum and blinding flickers. Abeba Hailu's face turned pale instantly, and she staggered back several steps—
The massive force transmitted through the charm numbed her wrist; blood surged to her throat, but she forcefully swallowed it down.
Are you kidding me?!
Is this something a newly-come-of-age young wizard can withstand? Not to mention that there are two more here—despite their current number of three.
The narrow passage had now become a trapped battlefield, one side with tireless, strong-repairing, strength and speed-combined stone statues, each attack carrying power capable of smashing flesh to pulp, and the other side, a group of as-yet-ungraduated young wizards, whose spells hardly had any effect.
You'd have to be a fool not to see which side would win.
And so, at the viewing field by the Forbidden Forest, led by students from Ilvermorny, a host of young wizards from other schools unhesitatingly began to shout the word "rigged".
"Dumbledore, I think you owe us an explanation?"
Tessa Stephens, with a grave expression, challenged Dumbledore sitting at the center of the main guest seat, "Is this the level of difficulty a selection project for in-school students should have? Also, those goblins just now, you said they were 'staff' borrowed from Gringotts, but why did they end up... fighting with the referee?"
"Because they belong to two different systems, and to ensure the champions weren't at a disadvantage, we haven't provided this information to Mr. Hunter—"
Bagman explained hurriedly, jumping in before Dumbledore could speak, "If those goblins hadn't stopped Mr. Hunter, the competition might be over already—I don't deny that there were indeed some unexpected events moments ago, leading to temporary video loss, but hasn't it been restored now?"
"But..."
"If you want to learn how to defeat these stones, how about we see how others do it?"
Bagman continued to cut off Tessa's retort. As his words ended, Lupin decisively switched the screen source, and again, it was three people facing two stone statues, but the scene on the other side was markedly different from just moments ago—