The frozen standoff lasted only a moment.
The darkness in Moody's eyes was suddenly replaced by madness.
He had clearly realised that Sagres was an extremely troublesome obstacle, and if he wanted to escape, he needed to create as much chaos as possible.
"Reducto!"
"Bombarda!"
"Lapifors!"
He roared as he swung his wand repeatedly. This time, he no longer targeted Sagres, but instead attacked the terrified students around him while moving rapidly across the platform.
Sagres's eyes turned cold.
His wand moved in quick succession, causing stone walls to rise from the ground and earthen shields to form in mid-air, precisely intercepting the curses flying toward the students.
Explosions rang out one after another. Debris rained down everywhere, and the scene descended into chaos.
Using this brief distraction, Moody suddenly turned and pointed his wand at the crucial duelling monument in the centre of the arena.
He already knew what it did.
And after Professor Flitwick's explanation, he had also understood its weakness.
"Diffindo!"
Several sharp Cutting Curses struck the key magical runes on the monument with perfect accuracy.
Cracks instantly spread across the ancient carvings as the light within them flickered wildly.
"Not enough!"
Moody laughed maniacally and fired four more Blasting Curses at the already damaged base of the monument.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amid the deafening chain of explosions, the duelling monument could no longer withstand the damage. After a violent tremor that shook the entire platform, it exploded.
Countless fragments of stone, saturated with uncontrolled magic, shot in every direction.
At the same time, with the monument no longer suppressing and guiding the magic, the spatial restraints holding the magical creatures within the arena instantly collapsed.
"Awooo!"
"Roar!"
Deafening roars tore through the air.
Several dragons that had not yet been removed after the competition suddenly materialised within the arena, their enormous forms emerging like beasts breaking free from their cages.
Enraged by their sudden release and the surrounding chaos, they began spewing fire indiscriminately.
And that was not all.
As space continued to distort, several different species of trolls appeared, roaring as they brandished their clubs.
A brightly coloured feathered serpent spread its wings and took advantage of the confusion to slip into a student's pocket. Nearby, a venomous horned beast with a sharp horn on its forehead pawed furiously at the ground, clearly preparing to charge.
The entire floating arena instantly became a hellish riot of magical creatures.
Sagres's expression turned grave.
He had to protect the students, deal with the rampaging creatures, and keep an eye on the culprit at the same time.
Even while repeatedly intervening to rescue students, he did not forget to seize opportunities to retaliate.
A silent Cutting Curse shot toward Moody's neck like an invisible blade.
Moody's combat experience was extraordinarily rich, or perhaps his instincts for danger were simply exceptional.
At the last possible moment, just as the curse reached his neck, he abruptly jerked his head to the side.
Shhk!
Blood sprayed through the air.
One of his ears was severed at the root, but he had avoided a fatal wound.
What was chilling was that although his face twisted in pain, he did not let out a single scream, as though he could not feel it at all.
"Bombarda!"
Moody raised his wand and fired another Blasting Curse, then immediately swung it again.
"Avada Kedavra!"
This time, the Killing Curse was not aimed at Sagres.
It was aimed at Ron, who was standing in front of Harry.
Moody had long since realised that Sagres would never stand by when a student was in danger.
Sure enough, Sagres had just used a Levitation Charm to throw Malfoy and Goyle toward the edge of the arena before immediately casting a Repelling Charm at the Peruvian Vipertooth that was about to breathe fire at them.
The Vipertooth was blasted backward by the spell.
Its enormous body happened to move directly into the path of the Killing Curse aimed at Ron.
Scales burst apart, and dragon blood sprayed through the air.
Fortunately, the Peruvian Vipertooth was enormous and highly resistant to magic, allowing it to survive the attack.
It roared furiously as it rolled over, opened its massive jaws, and aimed at the people in front of it, ready to unleash dragon fire.
"Crimson Rend!"
A piercing red light shot toward Moody's chest like lightning.
With no other choice, Moody used magic to drag the Peruvian Vipertooth in front of himself, forcing it to block the rapidly approaching spell.
Crash!
The instant the crimson spell struck, the Vipertooth dissolved into a pool of blood.
Scalding dragon blood drenched Moody from head to toe, but a sinister, crazed smile appeared on his bloodstained face.
The wand in his hand was already aimed steadily at Harry Potter amid the chaos.
"Stupefy!"
The Stunning Spell passed through a gap in the dragon flames and struck Harry squarely in the back.
Harry did not even have time to react before his vision went black and he collapsed stiffly forward.
"Harry!"
Hermione and Ron's cries were drowned out by the roars of the beasts and the surrounding explosions.
Without hesitation, Moody continued firing spells toward the distant crowd.
"Bombarda!"
Sagres was forced to divide his attention, rushing from place to place. After several close calls, he managed to save the students in danger.
But during that brief interval, Moody's wand had once again locked onto Harry.
"Accio!"
The unconscious Harry flew across the chaotic battlefield like a puppet and landed in Moody's grasp.
The blood-covered man gave Sagres a triumphant glance with his remaining normal eye, while his magical eye continued spinning wildly in its socket.
Crack!
With a sharp crack, amid the roaring dragons and howling trolls, Moody vanished from the spot with the captured Harry Potter.
All that remained in the arena was a hellish scene of rampaging magical creatures, a group of shaken students, and a cold-faced Sagres.
Moody, or rather Barty Crouch, had succeeded.
In full view of everyone, he had created complete chaos and escaped with his target, Harry Potter.
Sagres's gaze remained fixed on the spot where Moody and Harry had disappeared for less than half a second before he sharply looked away.
Now was not the time to give chase.
Several dragons, particularly the Hungarian Horntail and the Antipodean Opaleye, had completely broken free. Their enormous wings spread wide as they rose into the air amid scorching gusts and deafening roars.
Their target was no longer the confined arena, but Hogwarts Castle and the terrified students scattering below.
Once the dragons escaped the arena entirely, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Sagres made an immediate decision. His wand moved so quickly that it was almost impossible to follow as he aimed at the ruins of the duelling monument.
"Reparo!"
Powerful magic swept over the shattered stones like an invisible craftsman. The fragments rapidly gathered and reassembled as though time itself were running backward.
The ancient runes lit up once more, and the monument returned to its original form at an astonishing speed.
But that alone was not enough.
The monument's core control magic had been deliberately destroyed by Moody.
Sagres rapidly chanted a series of complex ancient incantations. Dazzling silver light erupted from the tip of his wand, spreading like threads from a weaving spider and quickly wrapping around the newly restored monument.
He was forcibly reconstructing the destroyed protective and restraining enchantments.
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