Chapter 135. Are You Afraid of Death?
Sensing the danger surging up from below, Duncan's inner alarm bells blared and the hairs on his body stood on end.
He quickly used one hand to hold Kray's talon, the other gripping his wand and pointing at the wizards on the ground, casting a spell first.
A scarlet fireball rapidly condensed in mid-air and shot forward like a bullet at tremendous speed.
Rain along its path doused it again and again, sending up a continuous billow of white mist, as if a giant serpent were winding forward.
"Hmph, pathetically weak—your struggle is useless!"
The wizard in the chess-piece mask looked with scorn at Duncan's magic that could hardly even be called Dark magic; the green light at his wand tip faded, and with another light flick he cast Protego, gathering a transparent shield in front of himself.
But, contrary to his expectations, the fireball slammed into the shield and did not rebound as imagined.
Instead, it expanded even faster, enveloping him whole, turning him into a blazing globe of fire.
Sensing something wrong, the chess-piece-mask wizard's face changed and he hurried to take emergency measures, but it was already too late.
A thunderous explosion erupted; first a tremendous force compressed his body, then wrenched it apart and tore him to shreds.
The rolling shockwave simultaneously flung away the surrounding wizards who had rushed up to help, and even the falling raindrops were shattered into spray.
When the smoke and dust of the blast dispersed, a large crater had appeared on the ground, and rainwater pooled swiftly to form a grimy puddle.
The chess-piece wizard had vanished; but on close inspection, one could find specks of black dust scattered on the ground around.
Under the scouring rain, they trickled down the sloped street into the reeking gutters.
"My lord!"
The remaining wizards shouted, voices nearly drowning out the rumbling thunder.
By then, led by the Thunderbird Kray, Duncan had already flown out of the cloud-choked sky, racing towards the distance in bright sunlight.
The ruined town was gradually thrown far behind, replaced beneath them by an endless sea of forest, leaves rustling in the breeze.
"Set down here, Kray," Duncan said after a brief look below.
"All right!" Kray replied, beating his wings to circle over the dense forest and then settling in a relatively open spot.
Duncan let go of Kray's talon, shook his aching hands, and quickly looked Kray over, checking for injuries.
"Don't worry, I'm not hurt. Those wizards are powerful, but they still can't keep up with my speed!"
Kray sounded rather pleased with himself, while quietly shifting his feet to block his backside from Duncan's view.
Duncan's brows drew together, and he said sternly, "Turn around and let me see!"
"Ah—honestly, it's nothing, just grazed by a spell a little…"
But under Duncan's severe gaze he couldn't hold out, so he reluctantly turned his back to Duncan and stuck out his rear.
"You call this nothing?" Duncan said, exasperated.
Most of Kray's tail feathers had been shattered; the edges were singed black, and the exposed skin was bleeding.
"It only looks scary; really, it's not much. It'll be fine in a couple of days," Kray said.
If its backside were half as tough as its mouth, it wouldn't have been hurt.
Duncan narrowed his eyes at Kray; with a light motion of his wand he raised a faint breeze, and Kray's tail feathers quivered twice.
Kray's pupils dilated involuntarily, and he drew a sharp breath.
"I thought you said it didn't hurt?" Duncan said. "Stay here and don't move. I'll fetch medicine for you!"
"Wait—could you not…"
"I know, I didn't see a thing. I'm only getting medicine because someone outside got hurt; it's definitely not for Kray," Duncan cut in.
"Heh-heh," Kray chuckled. "That's best. Ari and Charlie aren't hurt; if they find out my backside got blasted, they'll laugh at me for ages, and I'll have no face left in front of them."
"This time I dragged you into it—otherwise you wouldn't have been injured," Duncan said apologetically.
"I told you, it's a minor wound!" Kray retorted. "Besides, if I were in danger, you'd risk your life to rush over and save me."
"My strength is still too poor; otherwise I'd never have been held up by those wizards," Duncan muttered.
He made up his mind: once back at school he would take a turn through the Restricted Section to see if he could find a few powerful spellbooks.
"By the way, Duncan," Kray said. "I found Newt earlier."
"Oh? Where is he?" Duncan asked at once.
"Mm…" Kray thought, then turned his head towards a direction. "Roughly that way. He's with a lot of people—there's Tina, and Kettleburn. They seem to be waiting for a chance to attack the gorge. But there were others searching for them just then, and I didn't dare fly down for fear of giving them away."
"Waiting for an opening, are they?" Duncan murmured, then looked up. "Wait here; I'll get the medicine."
"Remember our agreement!"
"Got it," Duncan replied, opening the case and heading down the wooden ladder.
Reaching the workshop, Duncan saw Olivia sitting on a wooden chest in the corner, staring blankly ahead.
On the side of her light grey clothes there was still an extraordinarily clear—and very eye-catching—big footprint.
Duncan suddenly recalled that he had kicked Olivia down earlier; seeing her like this now, had the fall rattled her brain?
He walked over slowly and bent down, saying in a low voice, "Sorry, Olivia, back then I…"
At the sound of Duncan's voice, colour returned to Olivia's eyes.
She sprang to her feet, stared fixedly at Duncan for a long moment, then pulled him into her arms and said tearfully, "Thank goodness—you're all right. I thought you were dead!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt it wasn't quite appropriate.
She spat several times in quick succession and said, "I shouldn't be saying such ill-omened things."
"It's… fine…"
Duncan, half-smothered by Olivia's hug, struggled free and took a few rasping breaths.
"I'm sorry!"
A blush spread over Olivia's face.
"I got carried away…"
Duncan shook his head, and from the corner of his eye he noticed two horned heads cautiously poking in through the doorway.
"What are you two doing skulking there like thieves?" Duncan asked.
Ari answered at once.
"Duncan, where's Kray? Why didn't it come back with you—is it all right?"
"It's fine. It's still on patrol outside. Our situation is still not safe enough," Duncan replied evenly.
"Then let us out quickly—we'll help too!" Ari and Charlie said at the same time, all in a fluster.
"Me—me too!"
Mori also popped out from the side, having changed back into the shape of a Niffler.
Perched on Ari's back, Pro watched Mori with interest, seemingly very curious about its new look.
"There'll be a chance for you to take the field soon. For now, you lot need a good rest," Duncan said, going to fetch the needed potions and beckoning Olivia to follow him up the stairs that led outside.
On the way he said, "Olivia, would you be willing to help me with something?"
"Ah? What is it? Just say it!" Olivia replied without hesitation.
Duncan turned and looked at her, speaking very seriously.
"Are you afraid of death?"
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