The middle-aged wizard at the head of the group nodded. It seemed that Alicia was still in the shop.
He turned to Ralph and said:
"Take them upstairs and keep an eye out. Don't split them up too much, and especially don't touch anything in here!"
"Don't worry, we know she won't get away with it…" Ralph grinned, then beckoned the three black-robed wizards to join him upstairs.
After watching Ralph go upstairs, the middle-aged wizard in the lead instructed the remaining black-robed wizards to search the first floor in pairs for secret passages or underground rooms.
Fighting the owner of a wizarding shop was not a smart move, but they had the numbers, and they were strong.
Additionally, according to intelligence, Alicia had a child under the age of thirteen with some talent for potions.
This was also the reason why they chose to take action today. With such a burden by their side, they should be confident of success…
Ivan, wearing the Invisibility Cloak, listened to their conversation quietly from a corner of the first floor. His lips curled up. It was good that they were willing to split up.
Ivan couldn't think of a better way to deal with them if they insisted on sticking together.
…
On the second floor of the Wizarding Shop, Ralph and the others searched the living room but found nothing.
Perhaps he felt that the search was too slow, as Ralph waved his hand and sent two of the black-robed wizards to search the rooms, while he and the other black-robed wizard went to the kitchen and storage room.
If anything happens, let each other know and they'll be there.
Ralph cautiously entered the kitchen and took a look around. It was quite spacious, and there were a lot of processed ingredients stacked nearby.
Kitchenware such as knives and spoons were laid out neatly to one side.
However, Ralph could see that the cookware had been enchanted, and that they were solid magical props.
"Armour!"
Before entering, Ralph cast an Armor Charm on himself,
He worried that it might be a trap, such as the kitchenware that would fly up and hack him to death the moment he entered…
Fortunately, none of this happened, and the cookware was left sitting there in one piece. Ralph was relieved to see that it was nothing more than the usual magical stuff that most wizarding families owned.
Ralph then searched the kitchen.
It was quite a large room, but aside from a few large cupboards that might have been used for hiding, there was nothing else worth looking for.
Ralph turned to ask his partner to leave, but found him staring blankly at a cupboard…
"Did you find anything, Laurens?" Ralph asked, raising his eyebrows.
The latter did not respond at all, and Ralph, vaguely aware that something was wrong, moved closer and found a cracked crystal skull on top of the cabinet, its empty eye sockets ablaze with brilliant purple fire …
Ralph was so entranced that he felt as if the crystal skull in front of him had come to life, pink flesh squeezing out of cracks in the skull, twisting and squashing each other in a disgusting fashion…
Ralph, however, soon broke free and returned to normal.
However, Laurins seemed to be possessed as he slowly reached out to grab the skull.
"No! Don't touch that!" Ralph waved his wand, and a black magical light hit the crystal skull, cracking it.
Unfortunately, it was too late, as Laurens' finger had already touched the crystal skull, and purple flames shot out of the skull's eye sockets, burning through the finger like maggots through a tibia, causing the entire arm to be covered in flames…
"Aaaaaargh!"
An ear-piercing scream filled the Dark Arts shop, and Laurins rolled on the floor in pain, trying to put out the flames.
Ralph silently cursed him for being such a loser, but immediately drew his wand to put out the strange purple fire.
Just as he was distracted, a white light suddenly shot out from the thick wall and charged towards him like a bolt of lightning…
Ralph could hear a faint whinny in his ear and turned to see a white light growing larger in front of him.
Alarm bells went off in Ralph's head, and he tried to turn away,
However, the white light was too fast. In a moment, it was within reach. The horned beast raised its front hooves and stomped down!
Ralph barely managed to get out of the way, the Shield Charm's magical barrier in front of him, and then it shattered…
The unicorn's hooves slammed into Ralph's chest, and he was thrown back against the wall as if he had been hit by a bull.
Even with the protection of the Shield Charm, Ralph was still badly injured. He straightened up and coughed up a mouthful of blood…
To Ralph's bewilderment, the white blur that had attacked him earlier had vanished,
"What's going on?" The two black-robed wizards on the second floor had heard Laurins's screams, and came to find out that the situation was worse than they thought.
"Help me, help me!" Laurins screamed like a madman.
"It's a trap, get out of here!" Ralph shouted, reacting quickly.
Two black-robed wizards had already stepped inside, and when they heard Ralph's voice, their faces changed and they tried to run.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The white Unicorn's Shadow was blocking the door, its blue eyes fixed on the people in front of it.
As the two black-robed wizards entered the kitchen, the magical kitchenware on the wall began to move of its own accord, and the knife, spoon, fork, and iron pot slowly floated into the air…
It clanked and clanked…
It was time to cook!
"Fire roaring!"
"Shattered!"
The two black-robed wizards cast spells at the Unicorn's Shadow in a panic.
All kinds of magical rays passed through the unicorn's illusory body, creating white mist… as if the thing in front of it was not real.
They were well aware of the Patronus Charm, which could not harm wizards directly, but the scar on Ralph's chest was a reminder that the Patronus before them was not as simple as they thought.
As they hesitated, the Unicorn's Shadow let out a sharp cry and charged at them through the white mist. The magical kitchenware that was suspended in the air flew out…
Soon, the kitchen was filled with the sound of cooking…