"Let's go!" Now that he had a target, Alyosha sprang into action immediately, pulling out two grenades from his chest, removing the safety pins, and throwing them. "Cover your ears and mouth!"
As soon as he said this, two muffled explosions were heard, debris, dust, and a wave of air followed. It seemed that Alyosha, as a daring child, had dared to use grenades at close range without any regard for safety. Luckily, Tom was quick enough to cast a Protego spell, and the snakes were so dense that they formed a significant physical barrier. Otherwise, the two shockwaves alone would have killed everyone present.
Although the bodies of the snakes blocked most of the shrapnel, and the Protego spell blocked two shockwaves, Tom was still at close range when the two shockwaves hit him. He felt as if someone had slapped him in the face with a keyboard. His mind was buzzing, and his ears were ringing.
Alyosha pushed some people, gesturing for them to hurry, and ran ahead.
Needless to say, although the risk was extremely high at this moment, the rewards were not small. Alyosha used two highly explosive offensive grenades, and with the point of impact as the center, the group of snakes within a radius of more than 20 meters were swept away. Even the debris on the road was cleared.
Alyosha led the way, acting as a human shield alongside Tom, so that the five people behind them wouldn't receive too much impact.
Tom gestured for the group to follow him and then ran with his wand in one hand and his revolver in the other.
Soon, the snakes scattered by the explosion began to regroup, and Tom raised his wand and shouted, "Bombarda!"
The spell brought good news: he discovered that he could hear again.
Alyosha rushed forward, firing his rifle at point-blank range, taking down one snake with each shot. Occasionally, he grabbed a grenade and threw it from a distance. Tom followed, using a combination of Protego Diabolica and explosive spells to make his way through with gunfire towards the pyramids.
They hurriedly climbed the steps of the pyramid, running as fast as they could upwards. The light was in sight, and they could see a small door at the end of the stairs, meant for one person to enter and exit.
"Oops!" Hermione slipped and fell, and a rattlesnake as long as an arm jumped and bit her on the top of her foot.
"Diffindo!" Tom cut the snake into pieces and quickly climbed the stairs with Hermione.
Indeed, when the snakes reached the pyramid, they didn't dare to advance any further. Tom looked back and saw black smoke rising throughout the city, the flames of his Protego Diabolica. It was hard to tell when these flames would extinguish. Tom looked around and saw the black cat standing on a rooftop not far away, watching them coldly.
Tom raised his hand and cast a spell at the cat, but it dodged with a slight twist, then jumped off the roof and disappeared.
For the moment, they were out of danger.
Alyosha sat on the steps and wiped the wounds on his face caused by the debris, while the others searched for places to sit, regain their strength, and assess their health. The day's races had taken a toll on Sara, who even vomited acid.
Tom noticed that Hermione was sitting with a furrowed brow, covering her ankle.
"Is your leg alright?" Tom asked, concerned, crouching in front of Hermione.
"It's probably... twisted," Hermione said, furrowing her brow.
"Well, let's take a look," Tom said, not waiting for Hermione to respond, and in an instant, he gently lifted Hermione's left foot.
"Wait... wait a moment!" Hermione panicked but didn't dare to raise her voice for fear of being heard by the others. "I can handle it myself!"
"Don't move, or you'll hurt yourself more," Tom said seriously, and as he did, he turned around and sat down, gently placing Hermione's left foot on his lap, and observed it for a moment.
Hermione was wearing a pair of black Martin boots, with the top reaching just above her ankles.
There was no way for Tom to see the ankle, so he had to untie the boot laces.
With a tug, the laces came loose and hung on the sides of the boots, and the tightly tied upper part loosened.
Tom took hold of Hermione's foot with both hands and gently held onto the heel of the boot, pulling it slowly to reveal the white cat-patterned socks inside.
"Mmm..." Although Tom was gentle enough, Hermione winced in pain.
Tom leaned in a little closer, examining Hermione's ankle more closely.
"Is it here?" He gently rubbed the top of the ankle, and Hermione shook her head.
"Is it here, then?" His hand moved to the side of the ankle, where there was a raised bone, and just touching it made Hermione grimace in pain.
"I'm sorry." Tom immediately removed Hermione's socks, exposing her small, white feet. Although the ankle was still not visible, it would likely swell to the size of an egg in a few minutes.
Tom took out his wand and pointed it at the injury, casting a healing spell: "Cúrar!"
One spell later, Hermione felt the tip of Tom's wand pressed against her foot, and a coolness spread over her ankle, and the sharp pain had vanished.
At that moment, with the breeze blowing on her face, Hermione only felt that her feet were cold.
"There you go," Tom said, his face almost dripping with water, "I've healed it..."
"What is this?" Tom suddenly exclaimed, seeing two small black spots on Hermione's white feet.
"I... I don't know, it's better if you put the socks back on me." Hermione was so embarrassed and anxious that she wanted to put on the socks and run to the pyramid to be alone.
Tom remembered the venomous snake that had just bitten Hermione on the top of her foot and winced in pain.
"Don't you dare move!" He grabbed his wand and tapped her foot. "Heal!"
The black mark didn't change, but it expanded at a visible rate. Tom immediately extended his hand and pressed his index fingers onto the wound on the top of the foot, massaging it forcefully, but it was in vain. The black part grew larger. Tom was so desperate that he simply leaned in and sucked twice, finally managing to draw a few drops of black blood.
Hermione felt an electric shock and pulled her foot back, but Tom held her tightly, preventing her from moving. Soon, the strange sensation passed, the venomous blood surged, she felt the itching, couldn't help but let out a giggle, laughed twice, and then felt pain, and immediately tears welled up in her eyes.
Hermione felt that her heart had never beaten so fast, and she couldn't help but pull on Tom and beg him, "Tom... It's okay, it's okay, let me go... you've had enough... ah... Yodel... Stop!"
Seeing that Hermione didn't quite understand, Tom said helplessly, "You were bitten by a venomous snake! My goodness, it's not time to joke!"
Hermione froze.
Seeing that even sucking the venomous blood had no effect, Tom immediately transformed into a phoenix and did his best to produce two tears, which he dropped onto the top of Hermione's foot.