Just as Kyle was about to collide with the statue of Slytherin behind Lockhart, his figure suddenly vanished into thin air.
Lockhart and Tom felt a blur before their eyes, and Ginny, who had been lying on the ground before them, disappeared.
In Ginny's original position, a Flying Thunder God kunai, marked with space-time coordinates, now sat in her place.
Kyle's figure emerged behind Snape, holding the unconscious Ginny in his arms.
When he had rushed toward Lockhart moments ago, Kyle had thrown a kunai toward the ground near Ginny; the charge at Lockhart had been nothing more than a feint to mask his true combat intentions.
Upon realizing his initial move had failed to land a hit, Kyle had immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique to seize Ginny and jump back to Snape's side.
"As expected of the Yellow Flash," Tom Riddle said, his voice calm.
A cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth. "However... what will you do next?"
Hearing Tom's words, Kyle looked down and instantly sensed an obscure, chilling fluctuation of magic emanating from Ginny's body.
It was a trigger-based curse!
Kyle's pupils shrank.
He immediately identified the source of the curse: a snake-shaped pendant Ginny was wearing.
The moment Kyle had taken Ginny away from Tom Riddle, Tom had activated the pendant.
Kyle could have dodged it, but if he did, Ginny would undoubtedly die under the curse's power.
There was no time to think. Kyle decisively chose to attempt an isolation of the curse using defensive magic.
But he clearly didn't have enough time.
At the critical moment, a hand reached out from the side and fiercely clamped down on the snake pendant.
The instant Snape gripped the pendant, an ominous black mist representing Dark Magic erupted from it, rapidly corroding Snape's arm like a swarm of flesh-eating maggots.
Snape let out a pained, muffled groan, and beads of cold sweat began to pour uncontrollably from his forehead.
Fortunately, thanks to his selfless intervention, the erupting curse did not affect Ginny or Kyle.
Without hesitation, Kyle grabbed both Snape and Ginny and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique. The three of them vanished from the Chamber of Secrets in an instant.
"Quite troublesome... Apparition..." Riddle let out a cold laugh. "And he's only a second-year wizard."
"Master, your resurrection ritual..."
Tom waved his hand dismissively. "It matters not. We can simply find another sacrifice to drain their life force when the time comes."
Flames burned in his eyes. "Right now, the most important thing is to let our dear Headmaster Dumbledore feel the pain of losing what he loves."
Tom tucked the wand that had belonged to Ginny into his pocket. "Let's go as well."
The moment he spoke, his body twisted into a spatial vortex.
With a sharp crack, both Tom and Lockhart vanished from the Chamber.
Because the Chamber of Secrets was located so deep beneath the castle, it was beyond the range of Hogwarts' Anti-Apparition charms, allowing the two of them to depart without hindrance.
Amidst the chaos of the castle, Kyle, Snape, and Ginny tumbled into Kyle's dormitory within the Hufflepuff basement.
He had originally left a Flying Thunder God mark in the Entrance Hall, but since he didn't know the current state of the battle in the castle, he decided it was better not to teleport directly there.
"Professor, are you alright?"
Snape gritted his teeth and did not answer. Instead, he continuously cast counter-curses on his own arm.
The Dark Magic curse was still spreading. Wherever it touched, the flesh became withered and charred, as if the muscle had been burned away.
Kyle, who was reasonably proficient in the Dark Arts, hurriedly drew his wand to help Snape break Tom Riddle's curse.
Fortunately, Tom Riddle's current knowledge was still limited to his youth; his mastery of Dark Magic was actually far inferior to Snape's.
Had it not been for the sneak attack, Snape would never have been hit.
Working together, the two quickly broke Tom Riddle's curse, though the damage the Dark Magic had inflicted on Snape's arm was irreversible.
"I'm fine now," Snape said, glancing at Ginny beside them. "I will take her to Madam Pomfrey. You go do what you must."
Kyle looked up at his wardrobe and reached out. A white haori decorated with flame patterns—a Hokage's Cloak—fell into his hand.
Ever since he had custom-ordered this cloak from Madam Malkin's, he had never worn it because it felt far too chuunibyou.
Meanwhile, the grounds outside Hogwarts had turned into a literal war zone.
When Professor McGonagall cast Piertotum Locomotor to summon the stone guards to defend the castle, the other three members of the "Father-Worrying Trio" immediately approached her.
"Professor McGonagall! We can help!" Cedric's eyes shone with a determined light.
"Professor! Us too!" George and Fred stood beside Cedric.
Professor McGonagall looked at the three of them with a scrutinizing gaze.
Although they were only in their fourth year—not yet reaching the fifth-year-and-above requirement she had just set—she considered the fact that they had been running with the "Little Dark Lord" of the Grindelwald family for so long. Their strength had long since surpassed that of average seventh-year students, so she granted their request.
"Very well. But you must follow the professors' orders! Don't go running off!"
The three Father-Worrying members nodded frantically.
However, the moment McGonagall turned her head to assign tasks to the other professors, a rumbling wave of sound reached her ears.
She turned to see George already clad in his Alchemical Battle Armor, leading ten unmanned alchemical puppets as they flew toward the distant Forbidden Forest.
Fred, riding a giant clay dragon, followed closely behind.
The Hogwarts professors were stunned. "???"
"Come back! Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall shouted anxiously.
Cedric spoke up at the right moment. "Don't worry, Professor McGonagall. They're in the air. As long as they don't land, they'll be safe. They're going to buy us some time."
Time? What time?
A look of confusion appeared on the faces of the professors present.
They watched as Cedric, standing in front of the stone guards, drew his wand and began casting Transfiguration on the ground between the castle and the Forbidden Forest.
Under the influence of his magic, the soil churned and rolled.
Soon, a deep trench appeared between the castle and the forest.
The excavated earth was piled in front of the trench to serve as cover. This makeshift rampart was then compressed tightly and transformed into steel through Transfiguration.
A wall of steel was completed just like that.
The Forbidden Forest lay to the northwest of the castle. The front entrance faced the Black Lake, while the back was bordered by another river.
If the creatures of the Forbidden Forest wanted to attack Hogwarts, Cedric only needed to set up this trench line stretching from the Black Lake to the riverbank to block them.
If they didn't want to cross the line Cedric had prepared, they only had two options:
One was to cross the Black Lake.
If they did that, the Giant Squid, the guardian of the lake, would teach them how to behave—or rather, how to die.
The other option was to head in the opposite direction, cross the river behind the castle via the bridges, bypass the defensive line, and then cross the river again to attack.
The Father-Worrying Trio had long anticipated this possibility.
At that moment, the sound of continuous explosions and collapsing structures echoed from the distance.
Clearly, Fred had already blown up the two bridges that the creatures could have used.
However, even with the bridges destroyed, the back of the castle wasn't entirely safe. If they were willing to spend more time taking a detour, they could still reach the rear.
McGonagall noticed this defensive gap and sent several professors to guard the back of the castle.
Cedric's job was the defensive line, Fred's was the bridges, and George had a task of his own.
George was to drop incendiary bombs over the forest to create a fire curtain long and wide enough to stall the creatures, giving Cedric enough time to finish his setup.
George was currently leading his ten puppets, relentlessly dropping incendiaries.
The bomb bays, expanded with the Undetectable Extension Charm, were enough to support thirty minutes of full-throttle bombardment.
George's bombing clearly bought Cedric the necessary time.
Now, Cedric was continuously pulling weapons produced by Weasley Industries out of a trunk that had also been expanded with the Extension Charm.
He intended to arm this defensive line with a massive amount of firepower.
With the number of weapons in the trunk, it certainly wasn't enough to arm a two-to-three-kilometer defensive line.
But fortunately, this was the Wizarding World.
Cedric waved his wand, casting Geminio in rapid succession. Soon, over five hundred M134 Miniguns were mounted along the line, reaching a fire density of one machine gun every five meters.
In addition, hundreds of mortars were set up behind the line for fire support.
Under the effect of an "Infinite Ammo" hack—a modification of the Refilling Charm—as long as Cedric's magic didn't run dry, these weapons had infinite fire.
And supported by a spatial bag full of Mana Replenishment Potions, Cedric could hold this line for over an hour.
Now, everything was ready. They only waited for the forest creatures to arrive.
Thanks to the help of two particular weapon masters, the creatures attempting to attack Hogwarts couldn't even cross the midpoint between the forest and the castle before falling mid-charge.
In a battlefield with zero restrictions, the "Art Duo's" killing efficiency was terrifying.
The storm of bullets from the machine guns formed a tight blockade. The roar of mortars was unending; every explosion marked the death of one or more forest creatures.
George controlled his ten puppets, flying through the air alongside Fred on his clay dragon, constantly raining down various explosives.
"Art is an explosion! Katsu!"
"Hmph!" George's tone was full of disdain. "Art isn't fleeting! Eternal beauty is true art!"
"If it weren't for the missiles I helped you build, how many enemies could you kill with just bullets?"
Fred retorted mercilessly. George, knowing he was using Fred's gear, immediately shut his mouth grumpily.
Professor McGonagall stood in a daze behind the trench lined with hundreds of machine guns. Nearly a thousand alchemical statues stood equally dazed behind her, silently guarding the castle gates.
Why did I cast Piertotum Locomotor again?
It seemed like it was to protect Hogwarts?
But looking at the situation now, did the castle even need the professors' protection?
With the firepower these three were displaying, they could probably go and attack the Ministry of Magic.
While the Father-Worrying Trio was showing off their might, Tom and Lockhart emerged deep within the Forbidden Forest.
The ground around them was littered with the skeletons of various creatures. There were wizards, centaurs, Acromantulas...
In the clearing before them sat a giant cocoon emitting a faint, blood-red light.
The magic circle originally drawn in blood had vanished, but the thick, metallic scent of blood still hung in the air, refusing to dissipate.
The underground space the two had been in earlier wasn't the true Chamber of Secrets left by Slytherin. The true Chamber was hidden behind the statue of Slytherin's face at the end of that room.
When Tom Riddle first opened the Chamber years ago, he had found two things left behind by Slytherin: the Basilisk and this Hydra egg.
The Chamber couldn't have had only these two items, but everything else had turned to dust over the long centuries; only these two survived.
When Tom Riddle opened the Chamber fifty years ago, he hadn't planned to hatch the Hydra.
The Hydra was too dangerous—dozens of times more dangerous than the Basilisk, and much harder to control.
But things were different now. Even the future Voldemort had failed. If he didn't hatch it, his teenage self would be unable to stand against Dumbledore.
Thus, after finding a way to control the Hydra, Tom Riddle had hatched it without hesitation.
Looking at the massive cocoon, a satisfied smile appeared on Tom's face. He reached out and pressed his hand against it.
Its original size had been only ten meters tall, but after countless feedings, its diameter had expanded to nearly forty meters.
Thump-thump!
Thump-thump!
A massive, powerful heartbeat echoed from within the cocoon.
"Alright, come forth..."
The smile on Tom Riddle's face vanished instantly. "Hydra!"
A mass of blood-red energy burst from the cocoon, condensing into the illusory shape of a nine-headed serpent before its body gradually solidified.
Four sturdy legs supported its heavy torso. The snake scales featured clear, lava-like red patterns, and the obsidian-black scales shimmered chillingly under the moonlight.
The Hydra slowly raised its nine hideous heads and let out a deafening roar at the night moon.
Gazing at the titan that seemed to touch the sky, Tom slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, his right eye had transformed into a vertical snake slit—a yellow pupil radiating ruthlessness and cold blood.
"Very good. Now, advance toward Hogwarts."
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