From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

After saying that, Cassandra took the lead and set off, pressing herself against the other wall to keep her body as far away as possible from the giant lying in the center of the room.

The other four young wizards wholeheartedly agreed. No one was talking about the competition between the two academies anymore; everyone just wanted to get out of this hell as soon as possible.

But things didn't go as planned. The giant lying on the floor suddenly moved. Its body twitched unnaturally, and it rolled over strangely, from lying on its back to lying prone on the ground.

"Ahhhhhh!" Hermione was startled by the sudden turn of events, not to mention the badly rotting arm that had fallen beside her.

The other young wizards, attacked by the soprano, didn't bother to cover their mouths and noses with their robes, but instead covered their ears. Ron was even more unusual; he simply wrapped his head in his robe, making him look like another miniature version of Quirrell.

The giant's corpse was still writhing, its hands and feet seemingly having their own will, twisting and contorting on the ground in an extremely uncoordinated manner before standing up in a posture that challenged the limits of physiology.

“Didn’t you say it was dead?” Ron complained to Hermione in a low voice, afraid that raising his voice would attract the troll’s attack. “Then why is it still moving?”

"I don't know!" Hermione's scream was interrupted by the stench, but her bad temper remained. She glared angrily at Ron and quickened her pace, continuing to move towards the door.

"Crackling and popping"

Another beam of red energy shot out as Cassandra unleashed her Magic Explosion once more.

The red lightning struck the giant's large belly, like popping a water-filled balloon, and countless indescribable things spilled all over the ground.

So the young wizards, who had just regained their mobility, began to vomit again. Even Ivy and Dumbledore, who had used the Bubble Head Charm to block out the stench, felt nauseous and vomited.

Ivy didn't know how Dumbledore managed to endure it, but he himself relied on the power of magic. A simple second-circle spell, Mechanize Mind, was enough to keep him away from psychological discomfort.

Having lost its belly, the giant could no longer maintain its balance and once again fell into the sticky, smelly liquid flowing from its own belly.

However, the young wizards discovered that even after suffering such a fatal wound, the giant showed no signs of stopping. Its limbs thrashed about, and its mouth kept opening and closing, but it only made a slight clanging sound of teeth, perhaps because its vocal cords had also decayed.

“This is wicked!” Harry could hardly describe the scene before him: a 15-foot-tall, rotting, filthy monster with an open belly was struggling to its feet, and it might even use these little wizards to fill the hole in its stomach.

Ivy, watching from the sidelines, frowned. It was yet another unknown magical effect. Ivy knew very well that he had only killed the giant monster with "Avada Kedavra," and had no intention of turning it into an undead creature. But for some reason, the giant monster's long-dead, even severely decaying, body began to move once again.

Aside from magic, Ivy really couldn't think of any other reason.

Ivy's highest spellcasting class level is now 11 (Level 10 Scribe, Level 1 Ancient Warrior), and the highest ring spell he can cast is 6th ring. This means that in the Grimoire of Destruction, he cannot learn the secrets of higher ring spells, but he can read some basic information about high-level spells.

He vaguely remembered that, similar to the Killing Curse, a 7th-circle spell that could instantly kill a creature was the infamous necromancy spell, Finger of Death, which would transform the target into a zombie that would forever obey the caster after killing the creature.

Perhaps the killing curse cast by Ivy using her gaze spell feat caused a similar magical effect, which is why the giant corpse lying on the ground was transformed into a repulsive undead creature.

The problem is that, as the spellcaster, Ivy doesn't feel any connection between herself and the summoned creature. In other words, the giant undead before her is simply acting on instinct. When there are no intruders, it lies quietly on the ground, letting its corpse rot. When the presence of the living disturbs it, it gets up and attacks.

"Hermione!" Ron shouted, hunched over, "Help! Quickly finish it off with your magic!"

"Nonsense!" Malfoy's face was not only white, but his lips were also pale. "It is said that Granger's magic caused a giant monster to cover the walls, but we are still in this room! If I were to be covered in it... I would rather die!"

Although the legends surrounding Hermione had gradually faded from the castle, Malfoy, as a Slytherin, had never forgotten them. This was why he never used the insulting term "Mudblood" to refer to Hermione; he didn't want to end up like a troll, turning into wall paint. While the possibility was slim, it wasn't worth taking such a big risk for a momentary slip of the tongue, was it?

“I think Malfoy is right…” This was the second time Harry had agreed with Malfoy today; the first time was only in his mind. It seemed that a common enemy could indeed quickly bring two people closer. “We must get through that door quickly!”

And the culprit who started it all—Miss Cassandra, who used magical energy to blast open the giant's belly and release filth and corruption—is almost at the door.

Realizing her magic would only make the situation worse, Cassandra ran toward the door, her face ashen. She tried to maintain her composure by holding her breath, but it was a futile attempt. Even without actively inhaling, the stench of the environment kept filling her nostrils. Not to mention that humans are synesthetic beings; even just by looking, one could imagine the indescribable stench.

It was the evil flower that bloomed from excrement and rotting flesh under the action of microorganisms. Its sour and rotten smell was ten times worse than that of spoiled milk, and the smell of rotten eggs and rotten herring was nothing compared to it.

Therefore, Cassandra just wanted to escape this stinking hell as soon as possible.

"Help!" Malfoy cried out sharply. "Anyone, please come and save me!"

Cassandra turned around and saw a highly decayed leg lying across Malfoy's face. The troll, which had tried several times to stand up but failed, was now rolling around and somehow had placed its leg across Malfoy's face.

"Gawoo!" The valiant little dragon leaped off Malfoy's shoulder and bravely breathed a stream of fire at the giant's thigh.

The magic that Ivy possessed on the little dragon was the second-circle spell Dragon Breath, which allowed it to breathe a different type of magical breath three times a day. The breath could be any of the following: lightning, fire, frost, poison, or acid. However, once a breath was selected, it could only breathe that type of breath during the day.

Malfoy had never tried any other types, so the little dragon could only breathe fire. The magical flames ignited the troll's thighs and the hair on them, but this also pushed Malfoy into an even more dangerous situation. A wall of fire formed in front of him; if he rashly crossed it, he would definitely be burned, but if he didn't, he might turn into a pile of minced meat.

Chapter 134 Smell is the Great Enemy

The foul-smelling, pus-oozing undead giant that had fallen to the ground raised its upper body as if staring at its own burning thigh, but in reality it was looking at Malfoy next to its thigh.

It braced the backs of its two hands on the ground, and if it pulled out either one, its already unbalanced body would immediately collapse. This long-decaying spirit did not know how to control its body from its previous life, and it was probably that its small brain no longer had the organs that controlled its balance.

Upon seeing the troll's highly decayed head, Malfoy stood frozen in place until he was brought back to his senses by the thick smoke and stench emanating from the troll's thighs.

He let out a terrified scream, slipped and fell to the ground, but didn't bother to get up, instead using his hands and feet to shuffle backward.

Malfoy's actions also reawakened the undead giant, which twisted its body and fell to the ground again, but stretched out an arm that kept shedding rotten flesh, groping towards Malfoy.

"Retreat the enemy three feet!" Harry raised his wand, made of holly wood and phoenix Fawkes tail feathers, and uttered the only spell he could remember, a spell from the recent Defense Against the Dark Arts practical exam.

The spell took effect, but instead of hitting the undead troll, it struck Malfoy, who was slumped on the ground. Lubricated by the contents of the troll's belly, Malfoy's rear end slid quite a distance, a very unsightly sight, but at least saving him from certain death.

However, in Ivy's opinion, it would be better to let him die in the clutches of the undead giant. Rolling in the stench of corpse water might really not be much better than death.

Dumbledore, who was standing next to him, put his hands back into his sleeves and smiled slightly.

The red lightning illuminated the faces of the young wizards once again. It was Cassandra again. This magical burst hit the undead troll's shoulder. Perhaps she originally aimed for its head, but compared to the troll's towering body, its head was surprisingly small, so it was reasonable that the attack missed.

The magical energy burst ripped open the undead giant's shoulder, sending rotting flesh and bones flying through the air.

With a muffled thud, one of the undead giant's arms fell to the ground.

However, for an undead creature, losing an arm is obviously not a fatal injury. The undead giant did not make any sound, but its jaw, missing several yellow teeth, opened and closed a few times. Then it froze in place, as if it could not understand what had happened to its body.

"Run! Run!" Harry yelled, then was immediately knocked over by the stench emanating from the undead troll. "Go around it! Go around it quickly!"

Malfoy snapped out of his daze, flung the intestines off his face, and ran to the other side on all fours. This half of the room was blocked by the giant monster's enormous body; there was only one other way to get through.

"The door's open!" Hermione shouted. She cautiously peeked inside, then reported to her companions, "No other creatures! Nothing dead either!"

“Excellent!” Cassandra took the lead and couldn’t wait to leave this stinking place.

Then it was Harry's turn. He was also not far from the door. Seeing that Malfoy was almost out of danger, he didn't say anything and went inside.

"Pull me!"

Ron turned around and saw Malfoy, who was sitting on the ground again for some reason. When they passed the troll earlier, only Ron had chosen this side of the wall, but it was the closest to him before the undead troll fell, so he moved the slowest, afraid of attracting the enemy's attention.

Before the undead giants could even react, Ron was caught up by Malfoy.

Ron's face was a sight to behold as he looked at Malfoy's outstretched hand, which was covered in colorful juices. He wasn't going to waste his brain trying to figure out what those things were, but he knew that once he got them on him, his secondhand robe would never be clean again.

"What are you waiting for, Weasley!" Malfoy seemed to have lost his footing, and he pleaded again, "Help me up!"

Ron frowned and struggled with his thoughts for a while. Just as he shakily stretched out his hand, he heard Malfoy shout, "It's standing up again!"

Yes, the undead troll rose again, this time finding a useful weapon—its own arm. It limped forward, carrying its right hand in its left. While trolls have small heads and are not very agile, their legs are incredibly long, so wizards who encounter them in the wild rarely survive, mainly because they cannot outrun them. Furthermore, when emotionally unstable, wizards also find it difficult to properly apparite.

The ceramic dragon "Thuban" roared and charged over, circling the troll's head, clearly trying to confuse it. However, the troll's eyes had long since rotted away, and it did not obtain information through sight, but rather through the perception of life force.

Although the ceramic dragon could fly and breathe fire, and even displayed some intelligence under Ivy's magic, it couldn't be considered a true living being. Therefore, the ceramic dragon flying around the undead giant's head couldn't attract its attention at all.

"Gah!" Perhaps the giant's disregard angered the little dragon. It roared and spewed out its second breath of fire that day, which directly ignited the giant's head.

The undead giant didn't care and continued walking forward with its burning head.

Ron gasped at the sight, then coughed several times before grabbing Malfoy's hand and running toward the door.

Malfoy was completely limp, and with his robes soaked in the corpse fluid lubricating him, he was practically half-lying down as Ron dragged him along the ground.

"Thuban!" Malfoy shouted, "Come back quickly!"

The sluggish undead giant finally realized its head was on fire, so it made a bold move to extinguish the flames—using its left hand to pat the flames off its head with its right.

Clearly, the undead giant had no idea how much power it possessed, nor how much force its cervical vertebrae could withstand.

Then, using his right hand and left hand, he flung the already rotting head away.

The bewildered undead giant stood there stunned for a moment before continuing towards the young wizards. At least it no longer needed to worry about its burning head. However, even without a head, the undead giant, as a corpse, could still move freely.

But before the undead giant could reactivate, all the young wizards had already entered the next room. The ceramic dragon that spread its wings and flew past the stench was the last to enter.

So the undead giant used its left hand, which was holding its right hand, to throw its right hand out, which slammed heavily against the doorframe. Perhaps losing its head impaired its accuracy? Or was it simply completely inaccurate?

Regardless of which is the truth, the young wizards will never know, for they have already closed the door and kept the stench out.

The foul-smelling room also contained two wizards: the powerful Dumbledore and Ivy Doom, a master of dark magic.

"...I never imagined that there would be books about necromancy in the forbidden section of Hogwarts," Dumbledore muttered.

“I didn’t know things would turn out this way.” Ivy looked at the undead giant, which was still shedding rotting flesh, with disgust. “My magic did kill it, but it also accidentally created a terrible undead creature. Most importantly, I myself knew nothing about it.”

Ivy pondered the experiment again and finally came to a conclusion: "Hmm... I still can't control it... I never knew that spell had this effect..."

Even though Ivy used "Gnawing on the Big Melon" to kill hundreds of dark wizards, none of them were able to get back up like this undead giant. Therefore, he could only attribute this unexpected event to the interaction of spell effects from two different worldviews.

"Oh... I never want to use this room again..." Dumbledore complained as he watched the undead troll pull a piece of intestine from its belly and fling it toward the two of them.

He thought he had lived for over a hundred years and had seen all sorts of things.

But he had never heard of such an "exciting" scene before.

"Eek!" Ivy let out a short, guttural sound to express her disdain, and shot a thin, green beam of light from her fingertips.

This is a 6th-circle alteration spell, Disintegration.

The undead giant's massive body makes it an excellent target, and Ivy won't miss.

The undead giant hit by the green light of the Disintegration spell was frozen in place, as if a pause button had been pressed.

However, the rotting flesh on the undead giant continued to fall due to gravity, but before it could hit the ground, it turned into a handful of fine gray dust in mid-air.

With this change, the massive body of the undead troll instantly disintegrated and vanished completely into the stench-filled space. Even the head, still burning from being flung away by the troll itself, and the rotting giant hand lying by the door, disappeared in the same way.