It could absorb and reflect magic spells of a certain strength and even use the absorbed magic to cast a large area of protective spells.
Thanks to this shield, Alex felt confident enough to stick to his plan calmly, even when he realized Golden Snidget was about to attack.
Golden Snidget was right in one sense, for people like them, casting the Avada Kedavra curse was almost laughable.
There was no way Alex, fully equipped and ready, would be taken down by a Killing Curse.
As Alex slowly recovered and stayed on high alert, the horned basilisk across from him straightened up after coughing violently a few times.
The sudden death of the Golden Snidget had hit him hard, but after all these years, the horned basilisk's body had evolved far beyond that of an ordinary wizard.
His physical strength and magical reserves were probably more terrifying than most magical creatures in the world.
"You're not a Thunderbird... you're Alex!"
After catching his breath, the horned basilisk glared fiercely at the man still wearing Gerald's face and growled loudly.
"Oh, you just figured it out? That just proves my acting skills are still pretty good, 'Father'," Alex said with a smirk.
Realizing his identity was exposed, he stopped pretending and reverted to his true form.
His silver wand-patterned robe shattered into pieces, revealing the black clothes beneath.
Alex wore a pair of tall tactical leather boots, a metal belt with a silver buckle wrapped around his waist, and a tight-fitting tactical vest that looked like a formal waistcoat.
He twirled a monocle from his front pocket and slipped it over his eye as he chuckled at the horned basilisk.
"Of course it's you. There's no way a Thunderbird would use these 'toys' he finds disgusting. But why did you come here disguised as him?" the horned basilisk asked, confused.
Then suddenly, a flash of realization crossed his face and he cursed under his breath.
"Could you be behind everything that's happened at the club recently? No way, how would you know so many inside details?"
"And you just figured that out? Seems like your brain isn't firing on all cylinders," Alex sneered, feeling his strength returning.
"Horned Basilisk!" he shouted sharply.
"Thunderbird's hatred for you runs deeper than you think. Otherwise, why would such an arrogant person choose to team up with me?"
"Sure enough!"
The Horned Basilisk's face twisted with anger, almost confirming Alex's suspicions.
"Gerald... I never thought you'd choose to side with outsiders rather than betray me," he snarled.
After shaking off his doubts, the Horned Basilisk turned his gaze back to Alex, still suspicious.
"No, even if Gerald decided to team up with you, he would have joined forces with Golden Snidget to go after me first. How did you figure that out? Do you really think Golden Snidget and I are setting a trap for you?"
Alex smirked, clearly unimpressed.
"Cut the act," he said, curling his lips in disdain.
"Both of you tried to fool me with your lousy acting. The moment Golden Snidget started talking to you, I knew something was off. If your acting is this bad, just don't bother, it only makes you look ridiculous."
Facing the Horned Basilisk, Alex had no intention of revealing the truth.
Instead, he just kept throwing out nonsense.
From his earlier conversation with Pete before his death, Alex had already pieced together a rough psychological profile of his opponents.
Whether it was Pete, Golden Snidget, or the Horned Basilisk, they all shared a deep-rooted suspicion and indecisiveness.
Alex guessed that maybe living so long had made the Horned Basilisk prone to self-doubt, especially when confronted with things beyond his understanding.
It reminded him of Pete's desperate plea for help before dying, his questions carried a morbid tone.
This trait showed itself clearly in their decision-making: they hesitated, second-guessed themselves, and always weighed every option carefully.
The upside was that once they made a call, they handled things thoroughly, leaving few gaps.
But their over-cautious nature meant their reactions were often slow, like they were always a step behind.
That's why the club's strategy always felt airtight to Alex, until he found a weakness and took action to break that balance.
Afterward, Golden Snidget became noticeably hesitant with their next moves.
Another reason Alex sensed trouble between Golden Snidget and the Horned Basilisk was because he knew.
Alex concluded that Pete and Golden Snidget were the same person.
Although the idea of cloning seemed unbelievable, after ruling out all other possibilities, Alex had no choice but to accept this bizarre reality.
At first, Alex never imagined that Golden Snidget and Horned Basilisk were actually the same person.
The memory given to him by Thunderbird clearly showed that Golden Snidget had grown up alongside him.
Besides, Golden Snidget's suggestion to team up and get rid of Horned Basilisk seemed genuine to Alex at the time, and he truly believed in her sincerity.
However, when Alex arrived outside the manor and checked the location, he was taken aback.
The valley was incredibly close to the endpoint of the Portkey teleportation he had received from Pete, almost exactly the same spot.
That felt too coincidental to be true.
Logically, as a club spear, Pete wouldn't trust Horned Basilisk enough to place the escape Portkey so close to her location.
The Portkey should be somewhere secure, a place he could rely on completely.
So this proximity hinted at some kind of secret connection between Pete and Horned Basilisk.
After realizing this, Alex quietly prepared himself and kept a closer eye on Golden Snidget.
And sure enough, what happened next proved his caution wasn't misplaced.
"Acting skills? So that's how it is..." Horned Basilisk muttered to herself, much like Pete had done before, reflecting on the situation.
"Looks like I need to be more careful with the details next time. This happened because I wasn't cautious enough."
"And next time?" Alex sneered when he heard her repeat those words.
"Don't say 'next time' like Pete did. Just stay right here today."
"Is it just you?" Horned Basilisk asked with amusement.
"I'll admit, you're strong, but you're no Thunderbird, and I'm not in Pete's body anymore. You might want to think carefully about your own fate.
"I never expected the leader of the proud club to be afraid of his number one general," Alex replied, unfazed by Horned Basilisk's intimidation.
"But I'm afraid I have some bad news for you."
Thunderbird had already been alerted and might arrive any moment.
"I don't know if you can handle both of us attacking together," Alex said cautiously.