Ron watched in shock, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
However, his fear flickered out as quickly as a spark, because in the scene before him, Cyrus hadn't even raised his wand.
He simply used his bare hands, slender compared to the Sphinx's, to catch its claw!
In the next moment—
Boom!!!
Ron couldn't hear any sound, but it felt as though even the image before him was shaking!
Cyrus, with a swift maneuver—no, a perfect shoulder throw—slammed the Sphinx directly onto the ground!
Then, he followed it up with a punch that landed squarely on the Sphinx's head.
In Ron's mind, he could almost hear the sound of bones cracking...
He shuddered, thinking that a wandless Cyrus might be even more dangerous than when he uses his wand.
At least with the latter, you'd get a quicker death...
"Oh! Poor Sphinx, I knew it would be unlucky to meet Cyrus!"
Hagrid was crying like a three-hundred-pound child.
Ron patted Hagrid's shoulder, feeling genuine sympathy for the first time as he tried to comfort him.
The scene shifted back to Cyrus.
"You thought that giving the right answer would make me spare you? I have no magical restraints."
He sneered, looking down at the unconscious Sphinx.
This type of magical creature may let someone go if they answer its riddles correctly, but a monster that self-righteously forces others into its rules, and then smugly spares them to craft its own legend? Cyrus had no fondness for such things.
Isn't that just a form of manipulation?
Without giving the Sphinx another glance, Cyrus ignored it and continued walking deeper into the Ministry of Magic.
The most pressing matter now was to figure out which floor he was on and how to reach the next level. Ever since the Ministry had shut down the elevators, Cyrus had no idea how to access other floors.
Walking alone through the vast, black corridor, the darkness felt even heavier than during his previous visits. The Ministry's firelight and lamps had all been extinguished, leaving only the option of creating light oneself.
Cyrus wasn't particularly bothered by this. His eyes could see perfectly clearly in the dark, but the same couldn't be said for the other champions.
...
The Third Floor of the Ministry of Magic.
Fleur quickly dispatched a ghoul, her wand's glowing tip casting light on a mass of writhing Devil's Snare, which resembled a nest of serpents.
Under the bright illumination, the Devil's Snare began to retreat, revealing a narrow path.
"Ultimate Lumos!" Fleur cast, her voice sharp and resolute.
Her magic illuminated the dark surroundings, with the black marble reflecting the light and making every shadowy corner seemingly inescapable.
Seeing this, Fleur let out a breath of relief, the fear in her heart dissipating alongside the darkness.
What she didn't realize, however, was that in an entirely unfamiliar environment, light was as conspicuous as a torch or beacon, drawing monsters to converge upon it!
Before long, Fleur began to hear strange sounds emanating from the far end of the narrow, dark passageway.
Her fear returned with a vengeance. She crouched slightly, her beautiful eyes fixed on the dark shadows ahead, as if they were poised to devour her.
She suppressed her breathing, listening intently as the tap-tap sound echoed closer and louder, growing sharper and more pronounced.
The ground beneath her feet seemed to tremble. It felt as though a massive army was surging toward her out of the darkness!
Fleur's instincts weren't wrong.
In an instant, the shadows ahead seemed to be tinged with a fiery red hue. Then, the shadows themselves appeared to move—or rather, something within them began to shift and surge in waves!
Fleur quickly recognized the creatures—something that looked like a cross between turtles and crabs, with numerous legs encased in shells—
The countless jointed limbs clattered against the ground, producing a sound that made her scalp tingle.
"Fire Crabs?"
Fire Crabs, with a danger rating of only three X's, wouldn't normally pose much of a threat—if their numbers weren't overwhelming.
But now—
They were like a swarm of locusts!
Terror instantly gripped Fleur's heart. She gasped sharply, her mind completely void of any thoughts of breaking through. Without hesitation, she turned and ran back the way she came!
Thousands upon thousands of Fire Crabs surged forward, overwhelming everything in their path, leaving nothing but devastation.
The Devil's Snare that had begun to spread again in Fleur's absence was devoured in an instant, leaving not even the slightest remnant behind.
And yet, the swarm of creatures showed no signs of stopping.
The Fire Crabs propelled themselves forward with sparks shooting from their tails, rapidly closing the distance between them and Fleur.
Everyone watching couldn't help but feel a chill of fear. If someone were caught by these creatures, it would only take a few minutes for them to be reduced to nothing but bones!
Countless crab-like pincers would shred every inch of flesh to tatters before devouring it entirely!
Except for Hagrid—he didn't see them as dangerous.
"Now, if they were Blast-Ended Skrewts, that'd be interesting," he said.
Ron rolled his eyes beside him. If it were Blast-Ended Skrewts, Fleur Delacour would probably die even faster.
In fact, Ron couldn't help but wonder how Fleur was supposed to escape this predicament. After all, the champions had no way out!
As expected, Fleur soon reached a dead end.
She had been transported there by Portkey Apparition, but the enchantment on the handle had vanished after it activated. Now, the path she was on had become a trap with no exit!
Clenching her teeth tightly, Fleur turned around, gripping her wand in her hand.
She was ready to gamble everything on one last desperate attempt.
At that moment, a clear incantation echoed from the depths of the dark corridor.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Then, from the deepest darkness of the hallway, it was as if a sun had risen!
The spell's light illuminated the shadows, streaking through the air like a meteor and tracing a brilliant arc before landing on the leading swarm of Fire Crabs.
The ones at the front were immediately affected by the spell, turning into rigid, lifeless stones.
This disrupted the movement of those behind them, causing a chain reaction as they collided and piled up on one another like crashing waves.
Their tangled limbs and bodies became an impenetrable mess, leaving them momentarily unable to separate.
"What? W-Who..?"
Fleur was stunned. Then, another spell shot out from the darkness!
"Bombarda Maxima!"
Boom!
A thunderous explosion echoed as the mountain of Fire Crabs was obliterated. The spell's force scattered their remains like a storm of dust and debris, showering Fleur's face.
Just like that, the crisis was resolved.
But Fleur felt no relief.
She already had a strong suspicion about who was helping her, and that thought only made her mood worse.
Sure enough, Cassandra emerged from the shadows, her maroon robes swaying as she walked. Holding her wand delicately like a hairpin, she studied Fleur with her piercing green eyes.
"It seems the Beauxbatons champion isn't living up to her reputation. Can't even handle a few Fire Crabs? Maybe you should just withdraw from the competition now."
Cassandra strode forward gracefully, stepping over the shattered remains of the Fire Crabs.
Even in death, the creatures retained faint traces of magical energy.
Each step Cassandra took caused tiny sparks to flicker beneath her feet, like fiery blossoms igniting in her wake.
___________
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