"What were you just imagining? A blue cloud?"
Daphne asked curiously after seeing the cloud Rhys had conjured. She reached out a finger to poke at the mist.
( ๑‾̀◡‾́)σ" Poke! Poke! Poke!
Rhys watched her with a cold expression, not stopping her.
"Ah!" ヾ(oﾟДﾟ)ﾉ
Daphne yelped as a drop of bright red blood welled up on her fingertip.
As she poked the mist, she felt a sharp, needle-like pain and immediately pulled her hand back, finding that her finger had been sliced in several tiny cuts.
The mist seemed to be made up of countless razor-thin blades that could slice skin upon contact.
"Why didn't the Sorting Hat place you in Gryffindor? Haven't I told you to be cautious with unknown things?" Rhys pointed out Daphne's mistake without any mercy.
"B-But it's something you created! How was I supposed to know?"
Daphne responded, her voice full of grief and betrayal.
Rhys paused for a moment and then sighed.
"Haah.. Just be careful next time. Don't touch things you don't recognize," he added. "This is the manifestation of that person's magic. I can use this cloud to track their presence."
What Rhys had imagined was the essence of Rowena Ravenclaw's magic, and with the help of the wish-fulfilling potion, he had simulated a tangible form of her magic. The sky-blue, razor-sharp mist was the manifestation of Ravenclaw's magic.
The mist would instinctively drift toward the area with the densest concentration of Ravenclaw's magic, leading them directly to her.
After explaining the mist to Daphne, Rhys slightly relaxed his control over it, allowing it to drift on its own.
The mist floated deeper into the dungeon, and Rhys and Daphne followed closely behind.
This time, they were fortunate enough not to encounter any monsters along the way, making quick progress.
The cloud led them through twists and turns within the dungeon until they arrived at the cavern where Rhys had previously encountered Rowena Ravenclaw. However, aside from the cuts and slashes covering the floor and walls, the place was empty.
These marks still radiated a strong residual magical energy, distinctively Ravenclaw's. As Rhys stepped into the cavern, he felt a prickling sensation on his face.
Daphne, following behind him, was wide-eyed in shock upon seeing the marks for the first time. The cuts on the walls made her hair stand on end; she had the distinct impression that any one of them could easily slice her in half.
"Were these... naturally formed?" she asked.
Rhys glanced back at her and told her that they were caused by magic.
"It's done with a spell like this," Rhys said, casually waving his wand. Woosh! The air in front of him distorted slightly, leaving a shallow scratch on the ground.
"The simplest spell can become something entirely different when wielded with sufficient power."
Listening to Rhys and looking at the countless slashes on the stone walls, Daphne suddenly gained a deeper understanding of magic. A thought flashed through her mind: Could the spell "Big Rhys" used that day to drain all the moisture from Quirrell's body be the same one Rhys used on the first day of school to dry her hair?
She couldn't help but voice her question.
Rhys blinked. "If you have a deep enough understanding of that spell and enough magical power, it could indeed evaporate the water inside a human body—but from what you've just described, it's not the same spell."
"Then which spell was it?"
"I wouldn't know, I wasn't there," Rhys replied, refusing to take the bait and ending the discussion.
The concentrated Ravenclaw magic that had been guiding them stopped working once they entered the cavern. The residual magic in the area was too strong, interfering heavily with its ability to lead them any further.
But all was not lost.
Since the problem was the overwhelming presence of Ravenclaw's magic, why not simply erase it? Besides, Rhys had a trick up his sleeve, making this task less difficult than it seemed.
Rhys pulled out several small bottles from his pouch, uncorked them one by one, and used his magic to disperse their contents—potions, ointments, and vapors—throughout the cavern.
Simultaneously, he channeled his own magic to gradually erase the "echoes" left behind by Ravenclaw's magic in the cave.
While he worked, Rhys explained to Daphne the reasoning behind his actions.
However, when they reached a second site of magical conflict, Rhys abandoned the idea. At this rate, it would take forever to find Ravenclaw. Over the past thousand years, Ravenclaw had left her mark all over the dungeon, engaging in countless battles with the creatures sealed within. Clearing them out piece by piece would take so long that he might not even be done by the start of the next school year!
He switched to the second plan.
A flurry of wings filled the underground chamber as thousands of bats appeared. With a wave of his wand, Rhys sent them flying through several of the dungeon's exits.
Some of these bats were caught by the carnivorous creatures lurking in the dungeon, while others fell victim to monsters that had escaped their seals. Whenever the number of bats spread throughout the dungeon dwindled too much, Rhys would release another batch.
Not long after sending out the third wave of bats, he suddenly sensed a familiar fluctuation. In the next moment, he pinpointed Ravenclaw's location.
As expected, she was engaged in yet another battle with a monster. One of Rhys's small bats had inadvertently gotten caught in the crossfire, turning to dust.
He hurried toward the last known location of the bat's signal, but as he neared the spot, he came to a halt and began pulling out various potions from his cloak.
"Apply all of these, don't skip a single one," Rhys instructed Daphne, gesturing for her to follow his lead.
"Odor Elimination Potion, to remove your scent; Heat Concealing Potion, which will mask your body heat after drinking; Magic Suppression Potion, to help you conceal your magic. This will effectively prevent anyone from detecting your presence through magical means..." Rhys handed Daphne five or six different potions, which she dutifully consumed.
Rhys didn't need most of these for himself.
For instance, he didn't require the Magic Suppression Potion—his control over his own magic was so precise that he could perfectly disguise himself. Daphne, on the other hand, still lacked the finesse and could easily be detected by someone as powerful as Ravenclaw during their mission.
After completing their disguises, Rhys cast a Disillusionment Charm on both himself and Daphne before continuing their advance.
Soon, they reached the end of the corridor. By this point, there was no need for any detection methods to sense Ravenclaw's presence—she was currently engaged in a fierce battle with a monster that had broken free from its seal.
However, once they arrived at this location, Rhys refused to let Daphne accompany him any further.
He handed her a crystal ball, adjusted it, and the crystal ball displayed the scene through his eyes, allowing Daphne to see what he was seeing.
_______
Read 12 Chapters ahead at:
Patreon.com/HornyFBI