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Chapter 462 so vicious!!
While Darren was still thinking, the match outside had already begun.
He could hear nothing but the screams from the stands and the roar of the dragon.
Everyone outside seemed to be shouting at once.
It wasn't long before Ludo Bagman rushed back into the tent.
He looked at Fleur and said, "You're up, Miss Delacour."
Fleur immediately ran to Darren and hugged him tightly.
"Oh, Darren, you—you must live!" she whispered anxiously.
She pulled a small talisman from her pocket and tried to shove it into Darren's clothes.
But Darren pushed it back into her hand.
"Madame Maxime only gave you one," he said quietly. "I have my own…"
Fleur reluctantly put it away, but her face only grew more tense.
Despite her fear, she walked out with determination.
"Oh, she's incredible!"
"She's such an outstanding young witch!"
"My God, look at that!"
Bagman was cheering loudly from the doorway.
Darren desperately wanted to peek outside, but the champions were forbidden from watching each other's tasks.
He turned to Harry instead.
"Brother… as long as you survive, I'll raise Hogwarts' score. You just need to be safe."
[Ding, Father Value +100]
Harry looked deeply moved.
"I know," he whispered, "but you need to take care too. Don't die… We're all getting out of this alive."
"Oh, children, why are you talking about dying?" Bagman said loudly as he re-entered the tent. "There are so many wizards guarding the place."
He glanced outside.
"Harry, be ready. You're next!"
Harry swallowed hard and stood.
He noticed Darren's face had gone even paler than his own.
"Brother… look at what I'm giving you."
Darren pressed a small bottle of Snape's potion into Harry's palm.
"If anything goes wrong, throw it into the dragon's mouth. Professor Snape gave us one each."
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
Harry sighed.
"Don't lie. Snape giving me something? Impossible."
Still, he accepted the potion, clearly touched.
Bagman opened his mouth as if he wanted to comment, but stopped.
Harry hugged Darren tightly.
"Don't worry. I'll survive."
Then he walked out.
Darren tried to follow him, but Bagman blocked him with an outstretched arm.
"You can't go out. Rules are rules."
Darren retreated, disappointed.
He was ready to act holy and collect Father Value, but he wasn't even allowed outside.
He could only pace the tent anxiously.
After nearly ten minutes of circling—and collecting several doses of Father Value from Ludo—Bagman finally called him.
"Darren, your turn."
Darren looked up sharply.
"How is my brother?"
"He's fine! Not hurt at all."
Darren sighed in relief.
He tightened his grip on his wand and stepped outside.
Through the exit tunnel and past the thorn barricades, the enormous Hungarian Horntail lay coiled, unaware that its egg was about to be stolen.
When Darren entered the arena, the Hogwarts crowd erupted.
Students were waving Darren Victory Medals high above their heads.
He ignored the noise, raised his wand, and focused.
He remembered the Dragon Whisperer reward he had received.
He attempted to communicate with the Horntail.
To his annoyance, the dragon seemed to look down on him.
As if he, Darren, couldn't defeat a dragon.
Darren lifted his wand, levitating himself into the air.
"Look at that! A self-levitation spell! Rare, very rare! Darren Potter is a genius!" Bagman shouted.
But Bagman's voice was drowned under thunderous cheering.
Darren's technique was already far more polished than Krum, Fleur, or Harry's.
The Horntail finally noticed him—and noticed he could fly.
This impressed it slightly.
It reluctantly sent Darren a thought:
Fine. It would cooperate.
But only if Darren brought it food afterward.
Too late.
Darren decided to give it a "lesson."
He pointed his wand sharply.
The Horntail was yanked upward by an invisible force.
It tried to flap its wings, but it could not move.
Darren conjured a massive wooden club.
It grew larger… and larger… until it was the size of a tree.
Then—
CRACK!
The club smacked the Horntail straight on its rear.
The dragon shot into the air, flailing helplessly.
It grew smaller and smaller in the sky, as if about to disappear from the universe—
Except it suddenly plummeted downward.
Of course Darren couldn't allow it to crash.
He struck again.
CRACK!
Again and again the club hit its backside.
The Horntail began wailing, begging for mercy.
Darren stopped.
As a righteous "holy father," he wouldn't kill the creature.
He only wanted to discipline it a little.
And besides, the dragon was finally willing to cooperate.
He lowered it gently.
"Look! Darren has finished his assault!" Bagman roared. "The Hungarian Horntail is completely unharmed—oh my God, it's begging for mercy! Darren truly lives up to his reputation for kindness!"
Darren walked forward and picked up the golden egg.
The Horntail communicated nervously, Darren reminded him that it had to pretend to attack him before he left.
But it looked embarrassed.
It had already surrendered—was it really going to attack now?
How shameful.
Darren told it coldly that if it refused, he would let it die here.
The dragon trembled in terror.
It promised to attack with its fiercest expression…
But begged Darren not to actually kill it.
It would allow itself to be thrown aside dramatically, but if Darren truly killed it, it would haunt him forever.
Such a vicious threat.
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