Chapter 63. The Third Task
Harry was pacing back and forth in the Room of Requirement, surprisingly alone since Iris was currently in class. He had just returned from the date with Fleur, where she had blown his mind with her logic and given him the answer to the question that had been haunting him for months.
The answer had always been so simple. It was hilariously simple in hindsight. Kill Voldemort. That was it. The quest never mentioned the name Eos. Only Voldemort. Even Creator didn't specify Eos. He only told him to kill Voldemort. Even 'Observe' Perk identified Eos as Eos Blanc/Voldemort, as if giving him the option to choose. It was fucking mind games that had turned this simple quest into such a convoluted mess. Maybe Creator split the soul of Voldemort particularly for this purpose. To confuse him. Maybe this test was planned long before he was even born.
But now that he knew the answer, he was scared to take the final step and change his life. He just had to resurrect Voldemort and kill him again. That will complete his last quest. That will allow him to close this chapter of his life and walk right into the unknown. And standing before the precipice of the unknown was terrifying.
What will happen after that? This question kept ringing in his head.
Creator had revealed that completing this quest would allow him to proceed to the next step of becoming his equal. Even Isis had once told him that his gamer system would be updated when he attained the [Immortality] Perk.
Wait a damn minute, where was his system update? He had already completed that quest, hadn't he?
Creator changed the rules. Now your system will be updated only once you complete all the quests.
Harry frowned before shrugging. Whatever. He had better things to do than worry about that. Like deciding whether he should finish the quest right now or not.
But what will happen after that?
Would he be sent to another world for some new quests? Would he even be able to return and resume his life? Or would it be anticlimactic and nothing would change? There were innumerable possibilities. Some good and some bad.
Isis, as expected, remained silent on this topic.
'Fuck it! I'll do it after the third task is done.' He decided reluctantly. If something irrevocable was going to happen, something that might change his very being, then he'd rather tie up all the loose ends before jumping into the unknown. The time after the conclusion of the third task—when he would be free and away from the spotlight—seemed the appropriate time to be done with this quest.
~xXxXx~
On a particular day during mid-March, Harry and Tracey were using his [Instant Dungeon] Perk, grinding their butts to level up. Well, Tracey was; Harry had already reached his peak.
"Come on, Trace!" He sighed exasperatedly, appearing before her in a blur and striking the tall elf with an overhead slash. The Black Sword passed cleanly through the flesh of the surprised elf. And she burst into sand, not even getting any time to react.
"Sorry," Tracey said when he turned around and looked at her questioningly.
Harry bit back an annoyed retort and simply patted her head. "It's fine. Just… remember that these monsters and people are not real. You're not really killing any of them. It's just training."
"I know, I know. I just seem to freeze whenever I need to give the finishing blow." She frowned, wringing her hands helplessly.
Even after two and half months of irregular visits to the Dungeon, she had only achieved level 126, which was a very poor pace if he was being honest. Daphne had taken only two months to jump from level 30 to level 300. And while he wasn't expecting Tracey to possess that single-minded drive to gain more power, he still wished she would be more sincere during these sessions.
Then again, he had seen this problem coming from miles away. She had never been the violent sort, and asking her to kill fake people to grow strong was a bit too much. But that was the only way she could grow stronger. And she needed these levels if she wanted to create powerful enchantments, since those Skills depended on them.
Still, he could afford to allow her to grow at her own pace. They weren't in a hurry anyway. Maybe instead of months, it would take her a year to max out her levels. But that was okay; he'd be there to protect her if she couldn't do it herself.
He exhaled and patted her head again. "Don't worry. I'll take care of the humanoid monsters from now on until you feel comfortable enough to face them."
She nodded, leaning her head against his chest and pressing her face against his shirt, feeling bad that she couldn't do such a simple thing. But these people were so lifelike that whenever she raised her wand to curse them, she couldn't utter a single word. Her stupid brain always decided to give them backstories just before she could kill them. For example, when she prepared to tear a hole through the elf, her mind conjured images of sad little elf children sitting on a tree branch and waiting for their mother's return.
That was so freaking stupid that she wanted to bash her head and make it work normally.
Frankly, she was getting irritated by her own empathy. She wished she could manually turn that thing on and off.
Though she was surprised by his reaction when she told him that.
Instead of making fun of her, he smiled softly. "Well, it's naive and foolish. But it is sweet too. This is what makes you different from us. Unlike us, you still have the ability to empathise with everyone. And I can only hope that I'll be able to protect your gentle nature. Don't ever change."
Her face turned red as he said that while cupping her cheeks and looking at her tenderly.
Shoving him away, she jumped back in embarrassment and covered her bright face, groaning, "Don't be so mushy all of a sudden. It's jarring."
He snickered and closed the distance between them in a single stride, coiling his arms around her and picking her up by the waist.
"Eep! You evil brute! Put me down! I won't allow you to take my maidenhood!" She protested dramatically as he carried her to the door leading to the next dungeon.
Harry rolled his eyes and pressed his lips against hers, smiling as she turned the chaste kiss into a passionate snog.
She crossed her legs behind his back and melted in his embrace, clutching his head with her fingers and flushing her body against his. When he pulled away, he quirked his eyebrow at the way she was staring at him with saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth. "Take my maidenhood. Take my everything," she mumbled dazedly.
He snorted at her tone, putting her back down as they reached the next chamber. "We'll come to that later when you're... sober? For now, focus on that minotaur. I'll take care of the small monsters."
She squeaked as he lightly smacked her buttocks and pushed her forward. "I'm not some cattle to be herded around!"
"Not yet." He smirked, briefly glancing down at her 'normal-sized' breasts.
The minotaur's furious roar interrupted their quips.
The room they were in was easily bigger than the last one. It was round and sunken a little, with a thin strip of raised platform encircling it, on which they were currently standing. A set of steps led down to the main area, where the fighting would commence. And just like always, there was a giant double door on the opposite side, which would grant them entry to the next chamber.
Sending him one last glare for disrespecting her boobies, she jumped down the steps and ran towards the giant bullheaded beast. Thankfully, this time her empathy didn't hinder her, and she jabbed her wand, ignoring the silver automatons closing on her and trusting Harry to watch her back.
A red jet of spell struck the minotaur right on the chest, only managing to stagger him.
"It is level 150. You won't be able to defeat it in one strike." She heard Harry calmly saying that from where he was sitting on the stairs behind her, apparently already done with the automatons. Of course, the bastard needed only a second to overpower the poor automatons.
Ignoring him, she concentrated on the howling monster.
Her eyes widened in horror as the 20-foot-tall beast threw his club at her. She yelped and hid behind the shield charm, hoping that it would survive the clash.
Situations like these made her curse herself for not choosing a single combat-oriented skill. What she wouldn't give to have the [Teleportation] Perk right now.
As expected, the ten-foot-tall club easily shattered through her shield. It was only the timely arrival of Harry that stopped her from getting brained. He batted the club away but didn't remain there to help her any more, opting to teleport back to the stairs from where he could spectate the match.
The minotaur gave Harry a wary look before picking up the club and deciding to only focus on the weak one.
As the monster stepped in her direction, she swept her wand up, and the earthy ground beneath him gave away, burying him from neck down. Knowing that she didn't have enough power to kill it quickly, she pulled out a small, enchanted steel ball from her pocket. Just because her Perk and Skills weren't combat-oriented didn't mean she couldn't use them in combat.
Bang!
Harry whistled as the minotaur's head exploded in sand. Normal wizards and witches would've missed what happened, but he saw everything from the start.
In a fraction of a second from when it left her hand, the steel ball grew from the size of a marble to as big as a fist. Then it accelerated towards the monster way faster than any bullet fired from a gun. And the result was clear to see.
He flew through the air and dropped before her as she summoned the steel ball. It was back to its original size, and she pocketed it. "A bullet without a gun?"
She nodded proudly. "I got this idea from guns. What makes these tiny bullets so lethal? The answer is its momentum. So I enchanted this steel marble to achieve that result. The first enchantment increases its mass by making it temporarily bigger once magic is applied, while the second one boosts its velocity. The third enchantment, on the other hand, is simply a summoning charm tied to me."
Harry's lips twitched at the irony. "For someone who doesn't like violence, you surely are good at making weapons. What next? A magical version of a nuclear bomb?"
"What? No! I don't like making weapons. I just wanted to make some defensive equipment." She complained, not liking the way he worded the compliment.
Defensive equipment she says, he mused with a wry grin.
"Sure, sure. Whatever makes you sleep better."
He dodged her girly punch with a laugh and smacked her behind before dancing away.
"Stop targeting my butt!" she yelled, running after him with her fist raised.
"Make me."
~xXxXx~
All three teams were standing in the centre of a large field. The field was probably as big as a football field. And just like for the last two tasks, stands were constructed around the ground while a giant screen hovered over them, displaying a close-up view of the champions.
Three doors faced away from each other, forming a triangle around the gathered champions. These were the entrances to the underground maze. Yes, that was the last task. An underground maze filled with dangers that the champions needed to conquer. More precisely, they had to find the Golden Chalice hidden in a room somewhere in the maze.
"Go!" Crouch barked, looking at his watch.
Daphne, Chloe, and Krum stepped into the three different doors that would lead them down to the maze. Since they had accumulated most points from the last two tasks, they were getting a five-minute head start.
Why did they enter the maze from different entrances?
Because that was part of this task. Before finding the Golden Chalice, they'd have to first find each other. Since the portkey in the Chalice would only work if all three members of the team touched it together, it was therefore vital that the team first reunite before searching for the Chalice. Of course, they weren't meant to stumble randomly into one another. Each champion was given a silver bracelet that worked as a compass, telling them where their teammates were.
Harry stood there lazily, wishing he could see Daphne through the large display. But since it was right over their heads, he couldn't do that. Well, he could use some magic, but he didn't think it was worth the effort. In a couple of minutes, their turn would come to enter the maze anyway. His eyes twitched as the audience gave a raucous cheer. Daphne must have done something grand to get that reaction.
No worries; he wouldn't be considerate this time and would display more of his powers.
He took Fleur's and Elitsa's hands, giving them a squeeze, hoping to ease their nervousness. Honestly, it was just the pre-game jitters. They'd already practised and knew they weren't going to lose. After all, they'd been informed about the details of this task a month ago by the organisers, giving them more than enough time to prepare.
His teammates returned the gesture, intertwining their fingers with his.
"Team A, be ready."
They stepped away from each other after giving one last squeeze and took their positions before the doors, their backs facing one another, standing tall and proud with their red-black battle robes shining in the bright morning light.
"Go!"
Harry closed the door behind him and descended the stairs rapidly, ignoring the flying camera orb that followed him.
The corridor was narrow. The walls were made up of red bricks, and the ceiling wasn't high either. He was thankful that he didn't have claustrophobia because this situation would've surely exacerbated it. After running for half a minute, he came to a halt before a red door.
Shoving it open, he found a dusty room filled with gigantic acromantulas. He simply swiped his wand and mumbled, "Agni!" He was in a hurry after all and didn't have the time to fight them one by one.
The spiders screeched in horror as a dragon made of blue flames burst out of his wand and turned them into ashes. Not wasting a single moment, he looked around and found that all four walls had doors leading to the next rooms or corridors. Looking at the bracelet on his wrist, he was astonished that one of his teammates was in the direction from where he just came.
He let out a chuckle, understanding that either the rooms themselves were moving or they were at least rotating on their axis.
Instead of choosing the new doors, he went back through the one from where he just arrived. Now there was a wide corridor that parted in two after a dozen steps. It was totally different from the one he had walked through, confirming his theory.
Again looking at the bracelet, he ran to the left corridor.
Increasing his pace just a little, he shoved through the door and found a pack of magical wolves ready to pounce on him. Jabbing his wand forward, he sent blades made of compressed air slicing through them, painting the white walls red with their rich, vibrant blood and silencing their growls and whines.
This time, there weren't only doors on each wall, but a trapdoor on the floor too. Jumping through it, he found himself in another corridor. Instead of red bricks, this corridor was made from red sandstone. Running again—being mindful not to be too fast to leave the camera orb behind—he smashed through a white door.
It was already occupied by another champion.
Daphne had just finished killing a troll when he barged in.
~xXxXx~
This task was simply a race to reach the Golden Chalice. And the best strategy to win this race was for the most powerful member to find the other two quickly and then speedrun the challenges. That was what Daphne was doing. And she knew that was what Harry would do too. There was no need for complex strategies for this task. The faster you ran, the quicker you'd reach the finish line.
But finding each other so early in the game was unexpected.
"How about we ignore each other and continue where we were going?" Daphne proposed with a strained smile, pointing her wand at him. She wasn't delusional, and she knew that she'd lose if they clashed directly. All she could do was hope he'd be reasonable.
He wasn't.
Harry smiled with bared teeth and shook his head. "Can't do. I can't allow this opportunity to cripple Team B slip away. Brace yourself, love."
Instantly, Daphne activated her [Reset] Skill and an area of anti-magic formed around her. Harry's disarming charm fizzled into nothing as soon as it came near the affected area. Well, this was the worst outcome, but she wouldn't go down without a fight. There was still a very tiny chance that she could defeat him if he held back like always.
But before she could smirk at the successful defence, she leant back by her waist, narrowly dodging a kick that would've caused her skull to explode. "The fuck! Are you trying to kill me?"
"Nope. I knew you'd be able to dodge that." He laughed, executing a spinning kick that she avoided by stepping away.
It seemed like Harry wasn't trying to hold back anymore. Which meant she was fucked. Still, she wouldn't just drop to her knees and give up. She had her fucking pride, dammit!
Knowing that she couldn't keep up with him in hand-to-hand combat, she turned off [Reset] and activated [Weapon Master] before flicking her wrist and summoning her sword.
Harry ducked under her slash and retreated, putting distance between them. "Now who's trying to kill who?"
She smiled sharply, brandishing her sword and wand in either hand. "I knew you'd be able to dodge that, love."
"Touche. But I don't have time to play today."
Her eyes widened when he suddenly appeared right in her face. Both her wand and sword dropped to the floor as he gripped her wrists and pinned them over her head. Metal bindings snapped her wrists and ankles against the wall, leaving her in a spread-eagle position. She could almost feel his breath on her lips as he pressed himself against her. If it were some other occasion, she'd have blushed and welcomed it. But not right now. Not when she was getting restrained.
"See you later." He pecked her on the lips and stepped back before going through the door on the right, closing it after him and leaving her alone with the dead troll.
"Harry!"
"HARRY!"
"POTTER!"
"YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH! COME BACK!"
Even when she began using her full power, she was unable to break free of the restraints. All she could do was wiggle in frustration. If she wasn't able to get these binds off of her, then her team was done.
~xXxXx~
Sometimes, Fleur thought that the world hated her. Because why else would there be a twenty-foot-deep swimming pit in her path?
Yes, a swimming pit. Because for her, any body of water deeper than five feet was a death trap. A literal pit to hell. And if this pit wasn't already enough, it was also infested with grindylows, who ducked in and out of water and looked at her as if she were their next meal.
She turned around and tried to retreat, knowing this wasn't the battle she wanted to fight. There were other doors in the previous room. Maybe one of them would be better than this torture room.
But the door through which she had entered was no longer there.
She smiled emotionlessly. Of course, the entrance had to disappear only when she needed it the most. It wasn't as if the world hated her or anything. It was just a bad coincidence. Right?
There was an easy way to cross the swimming pit and reach the other side safely, where the door was situated. She just had to transform into her avian form and fly over it. But the problem was that the ceiling was very low. If she even raised her hands, then her fingers would rake the roof. And flying needed space, particularly for someone like her who wasn't adept at it. So that plan wasn't feasible in this case.
Breathing through her mouth, she calmed herself and pushed down her fear.
She was a witch. She had her wand. Anything was possible for gifted people like her.
Sweeping up her wand, she planned to transfigure the water into stone and walk on it.
Her eyebrows twitched. The water remained inert. Apparently, it was enchanted to retain its state. Still, she was a powerful witch; she could easily overpower it. Right?
Nope.
Fleur pursed her lips and ignored the traitorous water. She looked at the walls instead, at the red sandstones. This should be doable. Then she tried to transfigure them, hoping to transform them and make a small bridge connecting the two sides.
The world did not hate her. It was just a coincidence that both the walls and the water were enchanted, so they couldn't be messed with.
Fine then, there was the third element. The air. No one would enchant it to annoy her. Right?
Wrong.
Even the air didn't heed her call.
That made her pause. Even the air? That seemed far-fetched. No one would be sadistic or pervy enough to go to such lengths just to force her to get wet in the swimming pit.
"Lumos!"
No, it wasn't just the water, walls, and air. The entire room was anti-magic. Even the lighting charm wasn't working.
So what now? Did the organisers think she was freaking Hercules? Did they think she'd step into the pit and wrestle with the ugly cretins? What the fuck were they thinking? Could these morons even think?
Alright. She shouldn't panic. There must be a way to cross the swimming pit without getting into it. There should be. There must be.
She walked over to the edge, keeping her wand trained at the grindylows. Her magic wasn't working. But they wouldn't know that. They didn't need to know that. Thankfully, for the first time after coming to this room, something went her way. And the grindylows screeched and slowly moved back.
Fleur suddenly barked out an incredulous laugh as she leant over to look at the pool.
Gleaming at the bottom of the pit was a yellow ward stone. She assumed she'd be able to use her magic if she went in there and broke it.
"Fuck!" She hissed mid-laugh, stomping away from the edge.
"Incoming!" A muffled yell came from somewhere.
Before she could even guess from which direction the scream came, the ceiling gave in. She squeaked and ran towards the wall, pressing her back against it as she witnessed large pieces of debris falling into the water and near the edge.
That was cutting it close. She almost got buried to her death.
Though she was surprised, she did enjoy the terrified screams of the grindylows as they got pushed under the debris.
Once the dust fog cleared, she saw Harry walking towards her while carrying Elitsa on his back.
"You stupid boy, vat vere you trying to do? Kill Fleur?"
Elitsa was sighing and clutching his back, her accent showing in the moment of distress.
Harry wasn't affected in the least by her reprimand. "I sensed where Fleur was before destroying the floor. And I'm getting annoyed by these ever-shifting rooms."
"Still—"
"Let's be done with this task before you start lecturing me."
Fleur relaxed and released a sigh.
"You okay?" Harry asked, stopping before her.
She nodded. "I'm fine. Almost died, but fine."
"Good. Then let's get this over with."
They all looked at their bracelets, and now that they were together, it showed the direction where the Golden Chalice was instead of each other's locations.
Harry put Elitsa down on her feet and pulled out his wand.
Pointing it at the biggest piece of debris, he twisted his wand and began transfiguring it; apparently, he was able to use his magic in this room. Did that mean the yellow ward stone at the bottom of the swimming pit was destroyed? Or was he just overpowering everything like always? She didn't know.
But instead of asking him about that, she blurted, "Why a horse?"
Because that was what stood before them. A majestic horse neighed at him before bowing.
"Why not a horse? This seems like the perfect creature for the great Harry Braveheart to ride into the horizon with his two beautiful lovers. Yes, a fine story indeed."
It was telling how mentally exhausted the girls were that none of them argued about being called his lovers. Well, truth be told, Fleur was his lover, but the knowledge wasn't known to everyone. They simply resigned themselves to being his temporary lovers in this fairy tale. Only in name, of course.
Harry climbed up the Horse and told them to hurry up. Fleur sat before him in a sideways position, throwing her hands around his neck. While Elitsa positioned herself behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Ready?"
"Do you even know 'ow to ride?"
"No."
Did the girls know what he was going to do? No, but they trusted him enough to follow him blindly.
The horse neighed once again and charged at the door.
Harry simply waved his wand in front of him, and the wall containing the door crumbled into dust, showing a wide corridor.
"Uhm, Harry, slow down?" Elitsa suggested (screamed) in his ear. But with an annoyed frown, he further increased the speed of the horse, having been thoroughly pissed at the way the maze ran him in circles.
"Fuck the maze." His whisper was carried away by the wind as they rode through the corridors and destroyed the rooms.
Nothing was able to stop him. He destroyed everything in his path with a jab of his wand. There was no art to this madness. There were no beautiful spells. It was just pure, raw power that tore through walls and obstacles.
Sooner than they thought, they reached their destination.
Harry jumped off the horse and helped the girls down. Their legs were shaking, but they didn't complain, becoming ecstatic that they were at the end.
He vanished the horse and led his team to the altar, where the Golden Chalice sat.
"This is it." He couldn't hide his triumphant smile.
Exchanging nods amongst themselves, they touched the chalice at the same time.
As expected, they were pulled away from the crumbling maze and reappeared on the stage set for the winners.
They had won.
Even after losing the first two tasks.
~xXxXx~
Daphne wore a blank look as she was pinned to the wall.
How many hours had it been? An hour or two, maybe even three? She couldn't know. Her sense of time was skewed. The boredom was making each passing second feel like a minute.
"Anyone there?" She asked blandly. Hopefully.
No one was there.
She suddenly grinned, thinking of all the ways she could torture her boyfriend once she was out of here.
Revenge she desired, and revenge she would get. Even if that was the last thing she got before dying. She would skin him alive and break every single bone in his body. His screams would be music to her ears. She'd fashion an armour from the ribcage of his corpse. And she would put his skull on display in the Greengrass Manor, so everyone would know not to mess with her.
No, no, that was too merciful.
She'd first boil him alive in bubbling oil until his flesh cooked and crisped. Then she'd put him in a cell without food or water.
Ha! He'd have to eat his own cooked flesh to survive. He'd have to drink his own piss to quench his thirst. Take that, you nincompoop!
Hmm, there were many other ways to inflict pain on him. Oh well, he was immortal now; she'd be able to try everything on him before finding a way to snuff out his pathetic life.
Though her eyes began watering as soon as he teleported before her.
Harry wore a sheepish look and undid her binds hurriedly.
He was surprised when she hugged him and buried her face in his chest.
"I hate you." She sniffled cutely, glad that he had come back. She almost thought that she'd be caged here forever.
"Sorry." He grinned and kissed her hair, embracing her tightly. But when she started wriggling, he let her go.
"Ouch!" Harry grunted exaggeratedly as she drove her fist into his stomach. He had expected this and had prepared in advance to act as if it hurt, even when it didn't.
With the way her eyes narrowed, she knew that too. But instead of punching him again, she offered her hand and gave him an expectant look.
Taking her arm in his, he teleported away.