"I wouldn't do something like that, of course." When Umbridge realized she couldn't drag Kasenhis up by force, she pulled out her wand and used a Levitation Charm to place him onto the carriage.
"This journey will be very long. Rest assured, Professor Kasenhis," Umbridge said as she climbed aboard as well.
The thestral carriage moved extremely fast. In just a few seconds, they had already flown above the clouds.
Sitting in the carriage and breathing the relatively fresh but overly thin air, Kasenhis asked curiously, "So what method are you using this time?"
"You can take a guess," Umbridge said. She suddenly raised her hand sharply, trying to startle Kasenhis in his current state, only to find he was completely unmoved.
Looking at Umbridge's puzzled expression, Kasenhis rolled his eyes and replied, "Probably because my life was too comfortable before. I've never experienced this kind of thing, so I didn't develop the reflex."
"Do you want me to give you an award!" Umbridge gritted out.
"If you insist on giving one, I don't really mind," Kasenhis said, casually scratching his nose.
"When are they coming out? We're already this far from Hogwarts and they still aren't making a move? I heard from Hagrid that thestrals fly very fast. If you delay any longer, we might reach the skies above London. If bodies start falling from the sky in broad daylight, that'll just cause trouble for your Ministry."
"I'll say it again! The Ministry of Magic is absolutely correct and just! Do not insult us with your filthy, twisted thoughts!" Umbridge suddenly shoved her large face right up to Kasenhis. Her foul breath, mixed with the confusing scent of breath freshener, hit him full in the face.
"Uh… that smells kind of bad," Kasenhis complained helplessly.
Umbridge seemed to be provoked by that remark. She suddenly grabbed Kasenhis by the hair and snarled viciously, "Professor, this isn't your Hogwarts. While you're in my custody, behave yourself a little."
Then she yanked hard, slamming his head into the wooden headrest of the carriage.
"Hiss… to be fair, that kinda hurt. I think I'm bleeding." Kasenhis shook his dizzy head, feeling warmth spreading at the back of his skull.
"Heh. Soon you'll think that was just a minor injury," Umbridge said, rolling her eyes at him.
"Yeah, yeah, sure." Kasenhis nodded, glanced at the magical cuffs restraining his hands. Honestly, he couldn't muster even a bit of strength… Then through his monocle, he glanced toward several figures hidden within the clouds.
"Can you take this thing off for me?" he asked.
Umbridge frowned. "Are you joking?"
Kasenhis nodded. "Alright then, I'll have to do it my way."
In the next instant, two pitch-black blocks of obsidian abruptly appeared beside his wrists, instantly bursting the cuffs apart.
However, the sense of weakness did not diminish in the slightest.
Still, that was a minor issue. A small cup of milk suddenly appeared in his hand. Just as he was about to drink it, Umbridge reacted swiftly and knocked it away.
Umbridge knew Kasenhis and Snape were close friends, so it wasn't impossible that Snape had secretly given him some kind of backup plan. At a time like this, aside from poison, anything Kasenhis tried to put into his mouth could not be allowed to succeed.
After failing to drink the milk, Kasenhis helplessly controlled the obsidian to bind Umbridge in place, then directly produced a cluster of milk energy and moved to send it into his body.
Another sickly green Killing Curse shot toward him from within the clouds.
"My dear friends, couldn't you at least wait for me to take my meds? I don't even have the strength to fight you properly right now." Kasenhis sighed helplessly and flicked the milk energy toward the incoming Killing Curse, barely deflecting it before it dissipated midair.
The first strike missed, but more Killing Curses shot toward him from all directions.
With a weary sigh, Kasenhis quickly surrounded himself with gray, hollow-centered blocks, sealing himself tightly inside. After blocking the entire wave of Killing Curses, countless arrows shot out through the hollow openings, returning the favor.
However, that single counterattack clearly wasn't enough to break through the defenses of the dark wizards hidden in the clouds. The Blasting Curses came even faster than Kasenhis could drink milk.
Kasenhis, along with his makeshift defensive launcher, was blasted away together.
"You guys have no honor. What's wrong with just using Killing Curses properly?" Kasenhis complained with half-lidded eyes as he was blown straight into the thick clouds. Fortunately, fate hadn't completely abandoned him. Within the clouds, he spotted a black-robed figure flying straight toward him.
The black-robed wizard had his wand raised, the Killing Curse fully charged and ready to fire at any moment.
But Kasenhis's blasted momentum was clearly faster than the spell's release.
He simply reached out his hand.
Puchi!
Kasenhis's hand made intimate contact with the black-robed wizard's chest. Like a fork piercing tofu, with a soft squelch, Kasenhis ended up hanging right off the man.
"Reckless youngster. Can't even aim a Killing Curse properly." Kasenhis weakly pulled out a cup of milk and downed it in one gulp.
The next moment, his energy finally returned. With a flip, he yanked his hand free, landed astride a flying broom, then flung the black-robed wizard off and followed up with a Wither skull.
After securing the first kill, he swiftly guided the broom out of the clouds and scanned through his monocle for the nineteen people who had come to ambush him.
Adding the unlucky guy he had just thrown down…
"To kill a weakened me, you sent twenty people. You really think highly of me!"
In an instant, the Beginner's Arcane Grimoire and the Arcane Manual materialized from the void, abandoning defense entirely as they rapidly shredded every enemy within sight.
Only then did he land back on the thestral carriage, now half-destroyed, and look at Umbridge, who had somehow miraculously not been thrown off… though she was clearly scared senseless.
"…I was wrong… spare me… spare my life…"
"You don't know you were wrong."
Kasenhis only finished half the sentence, because he felt Umbridge wasn't worth hearing the rest.
The Beginner's Arcane Grimoire slammed into her face. The next instant, gravity magic erupted from it and crushed her head outright.
Kasenhis flicked his hand, and the Beginner's Arcane Grimoire smoothly returned to his side.
"...The battle...was really exhilarating!"
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