When the Runespoor saw its master, it calmed down instantly.
Coates gently stroked its scales, then tossed a red potion into its mouth.
The moment it swallowed it, its entire body trembled violently.
Its black scales began glowing with a dark crimson sheen, and the wounds inflicted earlier by Matthew and Charlie started healing rapidly.
Venom dripped from all three mouths as the creature raised its heads and roared wildly into the sky—completely berserk.
"What kind of potion is that…?" Sean thought.
If Snape were here, he would have recognized it immediately—
a Berserk Potion, one that greatly amplifies strength at the cost of sanity.
"Danger! Everyone, get out of here!" Professor Morrisay shouted as he dived downward.
"One professor won't be enough," Coates said with a grin.
"Let me call in some reinforcements for you."
He raised his wand and fired five red signals into the sky.
"Why don't you call for help too?" he added mockingly.
"Without the other professors, you won't be able to stop it."
No one knew what Coates was planning—but Morrisay alone clearly couldn't handle a rampaging Runespoor.
And with so many injured students nearby, one wrong move would be fatal.
"Call for help," Charlie said.
He raised his wand and fired a red flare.
Zach followed.
Then one after another, more than a dozen students launched signals into the sky.
No one cared about the competition anymore.
This had already gone far beyond what they could handle.
"Captains, take your teammates and leave!" Morrisay shouted as he positioned himself directly in front of the Runespoor.
"I'll hold it here!"
But Coates smirked.
"I won't let you run."
Morrisay only needed to stall for time.
If the students scattered, the Runespoor wouldn't be able to chase all of them.
But Coates had long prepared for this.
He had no intention of letting anyone escape.
From a pouch at his waist, Coates pulled out a dark green mask.
He put it on.
A shrill, piercing scream erupted from it.
Sean activated his Magic vision —
and in that instant, a blinding white light burst from Coates' body.
His magic power surged.
Explosively.
Like Sean's first time absorbing the Wizard's Heart—
but far more extreme.
Coates' magical reserves had nearly doubled in an instant.
"That mask…" Sean realized.
"It's a high-level alchemical artifact."
Items that amplify magic were exceedingly rare.
The only one Sean had ever seen before—
was Dumbledore's Elder Wand.
"Caged Bird Prison."
Coates raised his wand.
A massive and complex spell formed above him—
thirty magical frameworks.
A pillar of white light shot into the sky.
Everyone froze.
Even the professors and students outside the forest turned to look.
The light spread into a dome.
A massive hemispherical barrier, spanning nearly a kilometer, descended.
Every student trying to flee—
was trapped inside.
"What is this?! The way out is blocked!" Matthew shouted, pounding against the barrier.
Sean stared at Coates, mind racing.
"He trapped us… to use us as pieces?"
Charlie tried firing another signal.
The red flare struck the barrier—and vanished.
Ilvermorny students attacked the dome with spells.
It didn't even ripple.
"Coates! What are you doing?! They're just children!" Morrisay roared, battling the berserk Runespoor while shouting at him.
Behind the mask, Coates' lips moved slightly.
"For the great master, their sacrifice has value."
"Master? Who sent you?!"
Morrisay wanted nothing more than to drag him down and beat the truth out of him—
but he couldn't leave the students unprotected.
He had to keep the Runespoor's attention.
Sean stared at Coates, shock flooding his mind.
"Could it be…?"
"Did Voldemort infiltrate Hogwarts before Harry even enrolled?"
"But that never happened in the original story…"
"Did my presence… change everything?"
Sean knew he had already altered major events—
like Tom Riddle's diary appearing earlier than it should have.
"It's time to go," Coates said casually.
"Let my pet play with you."
"Coates!" Morrisay shouted.
"Are you abandoning your own students?!"
"I told you," Coates said coldly.
"Their sacrifice has value."
He glanced indifferently at the unconscious Uagadou students lying nearby.
To him—
they were nothing but expendable pieces.
Even Vanessa and the others had been deceived from the start.
The "cheating with the Runespoor" story had only been a lie—
a way to bring chaos into the forest.
As a professor, he couldn't enter directly.
So he hid the creature inside the trophy.
"You monster!" Morrisay roared.
As a teacher devoted to his duty, the idea of using students as pawns ignited pure fury.
"Skeleton Knight."
He cast a dark spell—
stronger than Sectumsempra—
with fifteen frameworks.
A skeletal warrior mounted on a skeletal steed charged forward.
It raised a greatsword and cleaved into the Runespoor's left head.
The blade cut deep—
several centimeters into the scales.
Blood gushed out in torrents.
Sean watched intently.
He hadn't expected Morrisay to wield such powerful dark magic.
But thinking about it—
a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had to know dark magic.
Coates, however, remained completely unmoved.
Instead, he scanned the surrounding students.
"Who would like to volunteer as a hostage?" he said lightly.
"Come with me somewhere."
"Stay here, and you might die."
"Come with me, and I guarantee your safety."
No one responded.
They only stared at him warily.
He was insane.
"No volunteers?" Coates chuckled.
"Then I'll choose."
His wand pointed left—
then right—
before finally stopping.
"Ah. You."
"Hogwarts' trump card…"
"Sean Grylls."
The wand tip locked onto him.
"You seem to know some kind of flying magic," Coates said with interest.
"That's quite rare."
"Once my master completes his goal…"
"I'd love to have a discussion with you about it."
Sean cursed inwardly.
In the end—
his brilliance had drawn the danger straight to him.
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