Barty: ?!!!
What the hell?!
This is weird—aren't I supposed to be the 'loved one to be rescued'?
Am I in the attack range too?
Before he could react, he was swallowed by the black mist.
Under the unyielding grip of those thick tentacles, he could only remain painfully aware as the dark fog poured into his ears, nose, and mouth.
At last, Barty truly understood what Ethan meant by 'indiscriminate torment.'
"Wuu, wuwuwu!!!"
His eyes rolled back in his head.
In excruciating agony, veins bulged across his skin.
His limbs twitched uncontrollably, his muscles tensing like rigid steel.
It felt as if a massive surge of icy lake water had been forced down his throat.
A bone-chilling cold seeped into his lungs, spreading through his limbs and bones.
Even his soul and consciousness seemed to be mercilessly ground down by a massive millstone.
Bringing a sharp, knife-like pain!!!
H-how could this happen...?
Why had the situation suddenly spiraled out of control? Wasn't this supposed to be a guaranteed win for me...?
What step had I messed up...?
Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!
Everything—everything—seemed to stem from Ethan 'temporarily' adding that new rule.
In his final moments of consciousness,
Barty let out a soul-wrenching cry in his heart:
Ethan Vincent! You monster!!!
"No—!"
Fleur shrieked, lunging forward in a frenzy.
Her still-rational teammates held her back, wrapping their arms tightly around her waist.
She stared at her 'sister,' enveloped in the black mist and writhing in pain.
Any lingering doubts had vanished long ago.
In her usually proud eyes, there was now only panic and fear!
Their black egg had shattered.
While everyone was stunned by the giant squid and their loved ones,
Durmstrang's Viktor Krum,
with quick reflexes, fired off a Bombarda at them.
It instantly shattered the black egg she had been holding loosely.
"...releasing such a terrifying thing."
"It's an Obscurial."
An ethereal voice, utterly mismatched with the tense atmosphere, rang out.
The voice wasn't loud,
but it immediately drew everyone's attention.
Luna was gazing up at the coalescing black mist, her fair face still serene.
She spoke softly: "If a young wizard suppresses their magic, an Obscurial will grow inside them." "It gradually erodes the young wizard's sanity."
"If not carefully managed, it will end up like this."
"It explodes with a bang."
Luna made a spreading gesture with her hands.
"Triggering an even more violent magical outburst."
No sooner had she spoken
than Luna's eyes whirled.
A spell shot out abruptly!
It struck the dark blue magical barrier and exploded with a boom.
A ripple spread across the barrier.
"You, stop standing there making snide comments!"
Fleur, gripping her wand, was gasping for breath.
She glared and roared: "My sister has turned into that... Ethan! Why would you do this?!"
Consumed by rage,
Fleur shouted directly at the sky, her eyes reddening.
She felt utterly wronged.
Faced with such an accusation,
Ethan remained completely unruffled.
As if his grasp on human emotions was slightly off-kilter, he even offered a gentle smile: "Though I don't really like spoiling things... I'll make an exception this time."
"Don't worry, Miss Fleur. This is just an illusion."
"I promise. Your real sister hasn't been harmed in the slightest."
When he said the words "real sister,"
Ethan emphasized them slightly.
His eyes curved into crescents, and the smile on his lips deepened.
Of course, Miss Fleur's real sister wasn't harmed.
Right now, she was sound asleep back at the castle.
The only one getting hurt was Barty, who had tried to harm him.
Hmm, this counts as self-defense.
Even the Ministry of Magic would commend me for being 'upright.'
Ethan glanced at Barty, who was being corroded by the Obscurial, his face darkening.
He thought:
Your plan was solid.
The only mistake... was probably trusting the wrong person from the beginning.
Ethan's smile
made Fleur shudder inexplicably.
It was like a bucket of cold water dousing her head.
Extinguishing the anxiety and anger in her heart, finally allowing her to calm down.
Fleur: "O-okay, if you say so."
She felt a bit awkward, her face flushing belatedly from her earlier outburst.
Damn it!
Fleur bit her lip.
She had come to this tournament hoping to redeem herself and show Ethan how much she'd grown!
Why was she just racking up more embarrassing moments instead?
It was like she was cursed... Just then.
"Splash!"
Lake water erupted.
A massive shadow loomed over everyone.
Cedric's pupils shrank.
"Get out of the way!" he barely managed to shout.
When he saw an incredibly thick tentacle swinging down from above!
"Bang!!!"
A dull thud echoed immediately!
The flexible tentacle slammed hard onto the glass bridge, bouncing back high with a heart-stopping roar.
S-so powerful!
Cedric sprawled on another pane of glass, feeling the vibrations beneath him.
He couldn't help but marvel at the tentacle's strength—and the durability of the glass bridge Ethan had conjured.
—If that tentacle hit him, he'd probably be pancaked into mush.
Cedric swallowed hard.
And Ethan could command such a formidable creature.
For the first time, Cedric felt the gap between him and Ethan so viscerally.
It only fueled his determination to catch up!
"Whoosh."
Suddenly,
a dark blue magic showered over the giant squid.
Like a gentle hand stroking it.
It actually made the colossal beast pause in its movements.
And it began to relax in a daze!
"Now, Neville."
Luna's calm order came from above.
Her golden hair fluttered as her body descended slowly under the influence of magic.
A pearly white, crystalline glow radiated from her skin.
Just like the witch who would appear at night in fairy tales.
Luna: "Drip the Growth Potion onto the vines—let the plants help us."
"Hurry, I can't hold on much longer."
Hearing that last part,
Neville finally snapped out of it.
He fumbled for the potion and yanked out the cork.
With a squeeze, he emptied the entire bottle of Growth Potion!
In an instant,
the vines exploded in growth!
Thick branches, rivaling the tentacles, rapidly enveloped the giant squid!
Swiftly restraining its movements!
"Gurgle!"
The giant squid let out a muffled roar of fury!
As a creature left by the four founders a thousand years ago,
how could it tolerate being challenged by these lowly plants?!
Immediately,
countless tentacles surged.
It dropped the humans it had been clutching and tore frantically at the vines!
The two entangled forces clashed with crunching sounds!
"Father!"
Cedric yelled.
He waved his wand, catching his falling father.
He breathed a sigh of relief only after moving him to a safe spot behind.
At the same time,
taking advantage of the "monster melee," the other champions rushed to the rescue.
Neville wailed as he directed the vines, pulling his grandmother out of the fray—and accidentally dislodging her wig.
Startled, his foot slipped.
Without noticing, he tumbled into the lake with a splash.
Krum, meanwhile, used a skillful Summoning Charm.
Grabbing hold of clothing, he navigated around obstacles and successfully rescued his loved one.
But the losers could only watch as their loved ones plunged into the lake.
To save them, they had no choice but to dive in after, entering merpeople territory.
However, the most dangerous situation
was on Fleur's side.
"Sister—? Gabrielle?"
Fleur called out shakily.
Staring at the figure unsteadily rising from the glass bridge.
The moment their eyes locked,
Fleur knew instantly:
This wasn't her sister.
It wasn't that she'd seen through Barty's disguise.
But that a powerful, terrifying dark force was now controlling this body!
[Gurgle—gurgle ah!]
With a roar,
the "sister" suddenly raised a hand.
The surging magic that erupted sent Fleur flying!
"Ugh!"
Fleur's eyes widened!
It felt like she'd been rammed by a charging rhinoceros.
The impact made her spit out a thick glob of saliva upon landing!
She stared in shock as her "sister" advanced step by step, poised to attack again.
Clutching her wand,
her mind went blank.
No, how could she attack her own sister—!
[Roar!!!]
Surging black magic poured forth.
Fleur closed her eyes in despair, bracing for the coming pain!
But
she only heard a "splash."
The pain never arrived; only a wave of force grazed her face.
—Huh?
Fleur opened her eyes in bewilderment.
What met her gaze
was a girl with golden hair flowing like silken threads, standing protectively in front of her.
Fragments of dark blue magic scattered past.
"6."
Fleur was stunned.
She stared blankly at this golden-haired girl she'd once dismissed.
Luna turned her head.
Her face, bathed in the setting sun, remained as calm as ever.
"Hmm, ordinary magic really can't stand up to an Obscurial's assault."
Luna said softly.
Meeting Fleur's astonished gaze, she curved her lips slightly: "Buy me some time."
"Then, I'll show you what the miracle of magic truly is."