Harry's fingers clung desperately to the crevices of the stone wall, his eyes wide open at the scene at the end of the passage, almost forgetting to breathe.
The people lay on the ground, unconscious, the remaining Scorpion Puppets scuttling back and forth to check for any stragglers, administering a few more doses of paralyzing toxin, and then dragging them up to hang from the ceiling.
At first glance, the swaying silhouettes looked like something out of a ghost story, capable of making one's heart stop.
Of course, in reality, the puppets didn't wrap around the people's necks; they simply hung them straight up.
In shock, Harry completely forgot to hide himself, subconsciously stepping back a bit, accidentally stepping on the slippery moss on the ground, his foot making a "squelch" sound, nearly causing him to fall.
When Harry steadied himself against the wall, raised his head, his scalp instantly tingled —
Dozens of Scorpion Puppets' heads suddenly turned in his direction, their bodies motionless, with only the stinger on their tails gently swaying.
Harry abruptly held his breath, instinctively raising his magic wand in defense. As soon as he lifted it, the scorpions suddenly moved!
They scuttled quickly along the walls, ceiling, and floor, looking numerous, yet their path was terrifyingly precise, advancing like a large army in a fan-shaped encirclement, each soldier knowing exactly what to do.
Some scorpions even carried leaves, stones, or boots or magic wands taken from the unconscious men, holding them like shields in front.
Harry: "..."
If he didn't cast a spell, he'd probably end up hung by these crazy creatures; if he used magic, he'd burn the puppets Vid painstakingly crafted.
The Holly Wand in his hand subtly heated up, Harry raised his arm but didn't immediately cast a spell, instead shouting loudly:
"Vid—"
The shout echoed, resonated throughout the entire passage.
...
"Ah—"
Olga, screaming, was dragged directly onto the high dome, and a dozen scorpions hiding a golden egg inside them joyfully paralyzed him and then hung him up.
Vid was shading his eyes with his hand, watching the puppets weave a Vine Prison Garment for Olga, suddenly noticing the blue bird in the Chamber of Secrets fluttering up, seemingly intrigued by Olga's plight.
The camera lens shifted completely away from Vid for the first time.
He raised an eyebrow, then turned his gaze to see a figure gradually emerging in the corner.
Kingsley Shacklebolt's tall figure appeared out of nowhere, his dark eyebrows slightly furrowed, as he waved his magic wand, casting several spells around.
"Alright, now our conversation won't be overheard from outside."
Kingsley's voice was deep and steady, he looked at Vid, sighed.
"Mr. Gray, your prowess in Alchemy is truly astonishing, and your performance in this competition is unexpected. However..."
He looked up around him and at the ceiling, saying, "This league is ultimately a grand event participated by countries worldwide, and while what you've done doesn't break the rules, if the second event ends up with only three or five participants... the Ministry of Magic would have a tough time handling it."
"Vid————"
Before Vid could speak, a loud shout from outside interrupted, with layers of echoes distorting the sound.
But Vid still recognized it as Harry's shout.
"Snap!"
He snapped his fingers, and instantly, inside and outside the Chamber, all the puppets ceased their movement.
Kingsley's eye corner twitched slightly at this sight, his heart momentarily constricted.
As a seasoned Auror, he had seen hordes of Inferi created by Dark Wizards, seen Fire Dragon rampages attempting to attack Muggle villages, and faced Azkaban's Dementors more than once.
But the scene before him still made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, his fingertips reflexively seeking his wand, only to release it under rational command.
—this is just the trickery of an Alchemist, a child's technique for showing off... surely when creating all the puppets, he had already implanted this kind of command for such an effect.
Kingsley told himself this, but when he opened his mouth, he found his voice drier and tenser than he imagined.
"I appreciate your understanding, Mr. Gray." Kingsley said, "Other Magic Schools need to maintain their dignity."
"I understand... I've had my fun anyway."
Vid said with slight regret.
He had little interest in the Ministry of Magic's dignity, but since Kingsley spoke, it meant Dumbledore felt the same way.
After passing each other, Vid's figure gradually swallowed by shadows, Kingsley once again used the Disillusionment Charm.
His body gradually turned the same color as the surroundings and disappeared. Silently, Kingsley dispelled the charm on those blue birds, allowing them to continue fulfilling their duty to record.
At this moment, Kingsley suddenly noticed the few puppets lurking on the ceiling seemed to be "watching" him, as if waiting for the next command from their master.
Even though with a simple spell, Kingsley could destroy them all. However, he felt a vague, eerie feeling creeping over him again.
These puppets... seem like an advanced version of Wizard's Chess, but he felt these creatures possessed a life-like quality.
...
As if restrained by invisible chains, the puppets about to pounce on Harry suddenly stilled, then clambered back to the ceiling.
In the passage, only Harry's urgent breathing was particularly clear; he slowly lowered his arm, gazing toward the Chamber as if peering into a lion's den.
Soon, he saw Vid emerge from the Chamber, a wave of his hand, all the puppets surged back like a tide.
"Vid?" Harry's tense shoulders finally relaxed: "Are you alright?"
"You seem more out of sorts." Vid frowned at the bloodstains on him, asking, "Injured?"
"Ah... it's alright..."
Harry had almost forgotten about his injuries earlier, now reminded by Vid, suddenly realized the pain sharpened with the return of awareness.
Vid sighed: "What are you running around for while injured?"
"I saw a group heading this way, worried you'd be in danger..." Harry explained awkwardly, his words catching in his throat: "Seems my worries were a bit excessive."
"If I wasn't assured, I wouldn't have drawn people over." Vid changed subject, asking: "Did you get the Golden Egg?"
"No..." Harry hesitated to say.
Soon he saw Vid snap his fingers again, not knowing the difference in sound, but seconds later, a plump Scorpion Puppet scuttled out from the Chamber, quickly reached Vid's side, then split open its belly, extracting a shiny Golden Egg.