"This...!" Daphne's eyes flashed with a hint of disappointment.
She hadn't expected Rhys to pull out such a crystal ball, completely shattering her chances of following him.
She didn't refuse to use the crystal ball or complain about the quality of the view within it, as that would have been unreasonable.
She understood very well that Rhys had already done too much for her, going above and beyond what was necessary.
While Rhys himself might not care about his own sacrifices, Daphne's upbringing made it impossible for her to accept such generosity without feeling uneasy, and she certainly couldn't take advantage of Rhys's kindness.
Sometimes, in the quiet moments of the night, Daphne would feel a sense of panic: she couldn't understand what Rhys was after by doing all of this for her.
Daphne even thought that it would be easier if Rhys one day asked for the Greengrass family fortune—it would at least put her mind at ease. She wouldn't even mind giving him half of it.
If Rhys knew what she was thinking, he would definitely suggest that Daphne stop being his student and learn from Gryffindor, as that is exactly what that fucker did, wasting his own money from the missions on booze while relying on his three friends for life expenses.
Once Daphne accepted the crystal ball, Rhys adjusted the monocle on his eye, making sure it fit more snugly. This lens would reflect everything Rhys saw back to the crystal ball, providing Daphne with a "live broadcast."
At the same time, the ground beneath his feet softened, becoming a mixture of liquid and solid, just like the quicksand that had appeared in the dungeon earlier.
This time, Rhys was well-prepared and wouldn't be as helpless as he was last time.
With his preparation complete, Rhys, along with the patch of quicksand beneath him, silently slipped into the corridor around the corner—where Ravenclaw awaited.
After the corner, a downward passageway led to a vast, open platform. At the center of this platform, Ravenclaw's ghost was controlling her physical body, locked in battle with a monstrous creature.
The scene was almost identical to what Rhys had witnessed the last time, except the creature she was fighting was different.
It was a massive, transparent dragon, with an occasional flash of silver across its scales, affirming its existence. With each movement, the air around the dragon would tear with black cracks, and whenever it breathed, a narrow dimensional rift would appear in front of Ravenclaw, forcing her to either change her position or use other spells to mend the ruptured space.
'A space dragon? How did this thing end up here?' Rhys was astonished to witness a space dragon, a creature he had only heard of in legends.
They hadn't sealed such a creature in the dungeon because it would have been an unrealistic task. Space dragons are natural masters of spatial magic, similar to house-elves, capable of Apparating almost anywhere.
Sealing such a creature was far less feasible than figuring out how to kill it.
This dragon might have been attracted by something or perhaps stumbled upon this place by accident, only to be caught by the patrolling Ravenclaw.
In the battle with Ravenclaw, the space dragon appeared to hold an unbeatable position.
Whenever Ravenclaw attacked, the dragon would simply open a spatial rift in front of itself, absorbing all the attack spells into the fissure. It could even reopen the rift near Ravenclaw's body, returning her attacks to her in their original form.
However, the situation quickly changed: Ravenclaw raised her wand-wielding hand, pointing it straight at the space dragon's head, while her other hand traced a semicircle in front of her, forming a protective shield to deflect the various attacks that the space dragon redirected toward her.
The space dragon, as usual, created a spatial rift along the path of the spell, ready to absorb and transfer Ravenclaw's attack.
But this time, no visible spell emerged from the tip of Ravenclaw's wand. It was as if she was merely intimidating the space dragon, raising her wand and then lowering it without casting anything.
The space dragon seemed slightly perplexed, but in the next moment, it let out a cry of agony.
"RoooOOaarr!"
Its scales flickered with silver light. As it exposed a weakness, Ravenclaw swiftly waved her wand, and dozens of spells struck the dragon, tearing its body apart. Silver blood and scales scattered everywhere.
Rhys's brow furrowed: this was Ravenclaw's unique soul-targeting attack, something that ordinary spatial rifts could not block. After taking that hit, the space dragon's soul was likely torn apart.
The space dragon was indeed unlucky. Normally, its innate talent for spatial magic would have made it nearly invincible, but it had the misfortune of encountering Ravenclaw, who was extremely effective against it.
Grievously wounded, the space dragon didn't hesitate for a moment. It immediately tore open a massive spatial rift behind itself and retreated into it, attempting to flee. Just as the rift was about to close, hundreds of wind blades rushed into the gap.
The rift sealed shut, but the air was filled with the sound of the dragon's pained screams, and large amounts of dragon blood, mixed with bits of flesh and scales, rained down onto the ground.
While Ravenclaw was busy battling the space dragon, Rhys retrieved a set of potions he had specifically prepared for Ravenclaw. Seeing that she had successfully driven the dragon away, he was about to seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on her.
But to his surprise, Ravenclaw, having just defeated the space dragon, immediately looked up at the spot where he was standing without a moment's hesitation.
Rhys: "???"
He couldn't understand why he had been exposed, but years of battle experience left no room for unnecessary thoughts.
He immediately manipulated the mud, raising a wall of sludge between him and Ravenclaw, and submerged himself into the mire.
Woosh! Boom!
The next moment, the wind blades struck where he had just been.
The mud wall he had summoned held for only an instant before it was blasted back into a shapeless mass. The residual force of the wind blades carved marks into the wall, leaving traces of Ravenclaw's lingering magical power.
Ravenclaw seemed to have the upper hand, but the ground near the platform had turned entirely into a quagmire after this round of attacks.
Rhys emerged from the swamp, flinging a series of potion bottles toward Ravenclaw's position.
These bottles, of course, posed no real threat to Ravenclaw. They were shattered mid-air by her wind blades, their contents spilling onto the ground.
What followed was almost like a game of "whack-a-mole" between Rhys and Ravenclaw. Rhys would occasionally pop up from the mire to toss a few potion bottles, while Ravenclaw would effortlessly shatter them and counterattack with wind blades.
However, those wind blades, capable of slicing through dragon scales and cleaving iron and stone, were nearly powerless when they hit the swamp. All they managed to do was splash some mud, their strength entirely diminished.
Even more astonishing, as the wind blades entered the swamp, their magical energy was rapidly assimilated by the mire, becoming nourishment for the quagmire and causing it to spread even faster.
When Ravenclaw had first defeated the space dragon, Rhys' quagmire had only occupied a corner of the platform. But after just a brief exchange, the swamp now covered nearly a fifth of the platform, and the entire corridor outside had turned into a marsh.
The spilled potions on the ground were quietly taking effect...
_______
Read 12 Chapters ahead of WN:
Patreon.com/HornyFBI