read my new story : American Fast & Furious NSFW
In an instant, the spikes struck.
Whether it was the lunging Fallen Werewolves or the House Elves, they were all pierced as easily as wet parchment. The long, slender spikes skewered them without resistance.
The larger and closer the werewolves were, the more spikes impaled them. The smaller elves and the Chieftain standing further back with his iron rod fared slightly better, but not by much.
Skulls, hearts, limbs—even the bones within their bodies offered no resistance to the needle-sharp darkness.
Tabos, the Ascetic, was standing the furthest away. Though he had hulked out, his instincts screamed danger, and he immediately retreated while forcing his body to shrink back to its normal size.
But even his reflexes weren't enough. Though he backed into a corner, he was pinned to the wall by multiple spikes, left motionless and broken.
Twitching bodies, twisted faces, and screams of agony filled the air. Apart from Rey and Helena, everything in the hall had been turned into a shish kabob.
Even the glowing red magic circle in the center of the hall wasn't spared.
The long, thin black spikes pierced through the red light, striking the rock wall on the opposite side, while others shattered the piles of red crystals stacked within the array.
Thwip!
With a sharp, rapid sound, the black spikes retracted. The retraction took slightly longer than the extension.
Thud, thud, thud.
As the spikes withdrew, the bodies, losing their support, collapsed to the ground one by one.
The red energy within the magic circle began to leak out like air from a punctured tire. A few seconds later—POP—it burst like a soap bubble.
The runic markings on the ceiling and floor dimmed, turning transparent before vanishing completely.
With the summoning circle gone, the floor was a mess of debris. The crystals, drained of their magical energy, had turned into worthless, dull stones.
---
The floor was carpeted with the corpses of Fallen Werewolves and blood.
The pungent, metallic scent of blood filled their noses, thick enough to make anyone gag.
The hall now resembled a slaughterhouse. After the brief cacophony of screams, the silence was heavy, broken only by the sound of blood spurting from open wounds.
Rey hadn't expected the unleashed form of the black cloak to be this devastating. It hadn't just eliminated all the enemies; it had destroyed the magic circle that was capable of reflecting spells.
"Argh... urgh..."
Twenty meters away, the Elf Chieftain with the iron rod was crawling in a pool of his own blood, struggling weakly.
He wasn't dead yet. He had been far enough from Rey that, while punctured in several places, none of the strikes were instantly fatal.
He struggled to wave the iron rod in his hand. As he swung it feebly, a white light flickered on the metal sphere at its tip.
His movements were too small, and his magical core was likely depleted, causing the white light to sputter and fade in and out.
Rey remembered that white light vividly—it was a powerful healing magic. If this freakishly strong elf managed to cast it, the consequences would be disastrous.
But Rey had drained too much of his own magic. His core was empty, and his body was in a state of total exhaustion. He couldn't muster the strength to cast a spell.
" Expelliarmus! "
Just as Rey was panicking, Helena, who was supporting him, cast the Disarming Charm.
The iron rod flew out of the elf's hand. With a flick of her wrist, Helena guided the weapon through the air and caught it.
Having disarmed the enemy, Helena gave Rey a knowing smile. "I'm not just a useless little girl, you know."
There was a hint of playfulness in her voice and expression. Seeing this softer, charming side of Helena left Rey momentarily stunned.
---
"Ah... ah..."
The strong elf was the only enemy left moving in the underground hall. After being disarmed, he struggled even more violently.
But the intense exertion seemed to burn through the last of his life force. He collapsed onto the floor, his breathing stopping moments later.
The battle was finally over. Helena supported Rey by the arm, both of them sharing the relief of survivors.
"I wonder how the other two teams are doing," Rey said, letting out a long breath as his body finally relaxed.
"I'm sure they succeeded as well," Helena comforted him.
Rey nodded. It made sense. The others were powerful wizards, likely stronger than him. Besides, worrying about them now was pointless.
"Let's clean up the battlefield a bit, then figure out how to get back to Hogwarts."
There wasn't much to "clean up," but the red crystals within the array were rare materials. After recovering a bit of stamina, Rey collected the few crystals that hadn't been drained.
However, just as he finished, a voice echoed from the tunnel entrance.
"Helena, are you alright?"
Terence Barrow had appeared at the tunnel mouth, with the thin wizard standing beside him.
His voice feigned surprise and concern. After all, the hall looked like a literal blood bath, and the battle had clearly been brutal.
But when his eyes landed on Rey, that sliver of concern instantly morphed into rage.
The anger flashed through his eyes and vanished. Terence was excellent at controlling his emotions—or at least, excellent at masking his true thoughts.
---
"You guys finished your side?" Rey asked, surprised by Terence's sudden appearance.
Terence walked over, speaking casually. "Yeah. We had better luck. It was a lot easier than whatever happened here."
"Oh."
Rey replied simply, though he felt a pang of suspicion. The summoning circles were in three different directions. Even if Terence wanted to regroup, he shouldn't have arrived this quickly.
But just as the suspicion formed in Rey's mind, the attack came.
" Stupefy! "
" Expelliarmus! "
Terence cast the Stunning Spell on Rey, while the thin wizard beside him disarmed Helena.
The ambush was sudden. Combined with his magical exhaustion, Rey couldn't react in time. The spell hit him square in the chest, blasting him backward to slam heavily onto the ground.
"Terence, what are you doing?!"
Helena's wand flew from her hand, but she ignored it, screaming at Terence as she rushed toward Rey. She had never expected Terence to attack him.
The thin wizard stepped forward, pointing his wand at Helena. His role was clearly to prevent her from interfering.
Ignoring Helena's angry shouts, Terence kept his wand trained on Rey, his demeanor suddenly shifting to something manic and unhinged.
"Get up! GET UP!"
"I know you're not out cold. It was just a Stunning Spell. You're on the ground, sure, but you're not unconscious. I controlled the power perfectly."
Terence Barrow began to rant hysterically. His words were dripped with contempt, mockery, and intense hatred.
Rey was indeed awake, just as Terence said. The Stupefy felt like someone had whacked him in the head with a baseball bat.
It wasn't just his head; his whole body ached. He struggled to stand, but his limbs wouldn't cooperate immediately.
"Get up, you promise-breaking coward!"
Seeing Rey moving too slowly for his liking, an agitated Terence rushed forward and kicked him hard in the ribs, flipping Rey over.
"Stop it, Terence! What the hell are you doing?!"
Helena screamed again, lunging forward, but the thin wizard flicked his wand, blocking her path.
Hearing Helena's defense of Rey only made Terence grind his teeth in fury. He stepped up and kicked Rey two more times. Every word of care Helena spoke for Rey sounded like a taunt to Terence's ears, driving him further into madness.
"You faithless coward! You only know how to hide behind a woman!"
"Crawl up! Get on your feet! I'm going to duel you. I'm going to show Helena that the man she likes... isn't worth a damn thing!"