From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

"Like the Phantom of the Opera, 150 years ago?" Ivy joked.

“Yes.” Fleur laughed again. “Like the Phantom of the Opera. But Gabrielle is much cuter; maybe she’s Christina?”

“Alright, let’s see how many more hidden passages there are here.” Ivy raised her wand and whispered, “Ultimate Fluorescence.”

A dazzling light burst forth from the top of the Silver Linden Wand, instantly illuminating the entire underground space. The blinding golden light made Fleur involuntarily close her eyes.

"Damn it!" A Frenchman with a heavy accent swore, and the two men quickly looked toward the source of the sound.

A white figure quickly disappeared behind the stone wall.

Ivy and Fleur looked at each other, neither of them expecting that there was someone else hiding here.

“That gruff-voiced man can’t be your sister, right?” Ivy asked.

“Of course not… but how could there be other people here?” Furong answered hesitantly.

“Now that I’ve come down, it wouldn’t be surprising if one or two more bystanders showed up.” Ivy stared at the spot where the shadow had disappeared. “Whether he’s a Muggle or a wizard, we can’t let him get away like this. Chase after him!”

However, the place where the man disappeared was just a stone wall covered with slippery moss, which, along with the shadows cast by the stone pillars along the wall, looked like a dark passage.

"Disappeared?" Hibiscus groped around on the wall, probably trying to find a button, but she found nothing.

"Could it be some kind of magic that allows you to pass through walls?" She took out her wand again and poked between the bricks on the wall, but the wall still didn't react.

Ivy cast a spell to dim the light at the tip of her wand, turning it into a ball of light that hovered quietly beside the two of them.

"Detecting the secret door."

Then he tapped the wall with his wand, and a magical aura that only he could see spread out. It was a first-circle spell that could detect secret doors within 60 feet and how to open them.

Ivy had originally chosen this spell to explore Hogwarts, but the magical castle had far too many secret doors. Usually, two or three doors could be found within 60 feet, but behind each door was often a pile of discarded junk with nothing of value. So Ivy gave up after a few tries.

The reason this spell is still on his spell preparation list is simply because there aren't many worthwhile spells to prepare among the first-level spells, and Ivy doesn't have enough experience points to learn other spells. He hasn't even filled up his spell preparation list yet.

“The switch is here.” Ivy tapped a brick against the wall with her heel, and it clicked into place.

Then came the strained sound of gears and chains sliding, making the two people outside the wall want to cheer them on.

The stone wall trembled, as if it were about to move to the side.

Under Ivy and Fleur's expectant gazes, it finally emitted an ominous crack and stopped working completely.

This was inevitable, after all, the underground facilities of the opera house have been built for a long time, and those mechanisms have been exposed to a humid environment for a long time, so it would be strange if they didn't rust.

“Looks like we’ll have to resort to some force. Let’s retreat.” Ivy raised his wand again, crimson flames beginning to gather on it. At the same time, he pulled Fleur back slowly. This underground space was large enough to withstand a fireball spell.

"What are you going to do?" Hibiscus asked. "Blow up the wall? There's a performance right above us!"

“Hmm…” Ivy looked up and surveyed the area. Above the underground lake were several other underground structures, then the stage, followed by the mechanical structure that hoisted the curtain, and finally the building's roof.

“It’s been here for so long, it should be able to hold on.” The flame at the tip of Ivy’s wand burned even brighter. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix it with a healing charm.”

“This opera house is a treasure of the French people, and I can’t just watch you blow it up.” Fleur stepped forward, pointed her wand at the stone wall, and chanted, “Disappear!”

The entire stone wall suddenly disappeared, revealing the dark passage behind it.

“Beauxbatons just taught me this spell last semester, and I learned it very well.” Fleur turned around and smiled. “Let’s go, let’s catch up.”

“Alright, let’s go after them.” Ivy sighed, extinguishing the flame at the tip of his wand. To be honest, he really wanted to see if the people above could sense the explosions happening underground.

The two followed the glowing ball created by Ivy into the dark secret passage, and when they looked up, they saw a white shadow not far away.

The person's clothes seemed to be made of some kind of reflective material, like a stage costume, making them very conspicuous in the dark passageway.

The white shadow flickered slightly and then disappeared.

"He seems to be leading us there?" The white shadow's intentions were too obvious; even a naive student like Furong could see it.

"They definitely don't have good intentions," Ivy asserted.

"Could it be that Gabrielle was...?" Fleur started speculating in the worst possible direction again. She had previously thought that her sister had fallen into the underground lake.

"Just keep chasing after them." Ivy strode forward, with Fleur following closely behind him.

The white figure appeared and disappeared repeatedly in front of them, just like the Phantom of the Opera being performed in the opera house.

“Listen, there seems to be some other noise.” Ivy looked up and heard some rustling sounds coming from behind the stone ceiling.

"It sounds like applause?" Furong listened carefully for a while and said uncertainly.

"Ah, I see, we've arrived below the stands."

The secret passage becomes more compact here, seemingly because the designer reduced the spacing between the pillars when constructing the pillars beneath the stands.

Chapter 153 Appearance

"Plunged back into my dark and desperate dungeon, fallen into the deep cage of my mind, and submerged together in darkness as deep as hell!"

A song filled with deep chill and self-satisfaction suddenly rang out in the dark secret passage, startling Fleur beside Ivy, who grabbed his arm tightly.

"The Phantom of the Opera!" Fleur whispered the name. "So he really did live underground at the opera house!"

Ivy wasn't frightened by the singing. He continued forward. In this maze full of uneven stone pillars, the only thing that could guide them was a fleeting white shadow. He had already sensed the danger and was very eager to know how things would end.

“I’ve heard this before in this opera house!” Fleur had calmed down and whispered her discovery. “It’s the opening solo of Act VIII of The Phantom of the Opera, where the Phantom kidnaps Christina in this underground labyrinth! And… he sings it in French!”

"So that guy walking ahead of us, hiding his head and tail, is just a copycat of The Phantom of the Opera?" Ivy didn't try to hide his voice; instead, he raised it, and even the layers of the underground labyrinth couldn't stop his voice from carrying.

"How dare you? You ignorant coward, you foolish opportunist! Who do you think you are?"

Angry voices came from all directions, making it impossible to tell where the speakers were.

This situation usually occurs either because the underground labyrinth's architectural design is highly conducive to sound propagation, or because there are special mechanisms hidden in the walls to transmit sound; or because the speaker uses some natural force to amplify their words.

Ivy wasn't sure which situation it was, but as a mage with a wealth of adventure experience, he knew that no matter what the circumstances, he couldn't let the enemy lead him by the nose, otherwise he would easily fall into their trap or be dragged down to their level, and then be defeated by them using their rich experience.

Therefore, Ivy's strategy is very simple: disrupt the opponent's rhythm as much as possible, whether by deliberately going against the opponent's expectations or by making things develop ahead of schedule, as long as the enemy loses their composure.

“I’m just a member of the audience watching the musical,” Ivy replied loudly, while simultaneously casting a 1st-circle Prophecy spell, Detection, using a 3rd-circle spell slot. “But you? Could you be the infamous Phantom of the Opera?”

The detection magic's effect is quite simple and straightforward. For a maximum of 10 minutes, Ivy can detect all magical presence within a 30-foot radius. As long as there are magical creatures, objects, or ongoing magical effects within the casting range, Ivy can immediately see the varying intensity of the magical aura and discern their strength by their brightness.

Under the influence of the Ascending Ring spell effect, the spell's duration range became 90 feet. Once Ivy finds this guy who calls himself "The Phantom of the Opera," he has plenty of ways to deal with him.

If the detection spell fails to work, it's even simpler. Ivy only needs to defend against the most likely weapon to cause damage, which isn't difficult for a mage who can use 6th-level spells.

"Oh? Perhaps you are indeed foolish and vulgar, but at least you're not blind."

The voice of "The Phantom of the Opera" came from all directions once again. He was clearly not as angry anymore, so he decided to continue his performance: "Say you will share my life with me, grow old together... Please lead me out of the lonely city... Say you want me to stay with you, never to leave you... Wherever you go, let me follow you... Christina, I ask for nothing more..."

Without a doubt, this "Phantom of the Opera" man's emotional singing was aimed at Fu Rong.

"Is he talking about me?" Hibiscus tugged at Ivy's sleeve and asked in a low voice.

"Be confident, girl, your charm is irresistible," Ivy joked. "Why don't you ask your sister?"

Furong rolled her eyes. She had never been troubled by her Veela bloodline before, and this was the first time she had encountered such an excessive suitor.

“Sorry, Mr. Phantom! I’m not Christina!” Fleur looked around, trying to figure out where the Phantom of the Opera was hiding, but she saw nothing except the walls illuminated by the glowing orbs floating around them. “I’m here to find my sister! She’s lost. Do you know where she is?”

"Of course! Of course!" The man who called himself "The Phantom of the Opera" laughed. "You're not a qualified soprano yet, but with my guidance, your voice will soon be famous for all time!"

According to his plan, he also intends to train Fleur to become a soprano! This is a plot that occurred in "The Phantom of the Opera," where the protagonist Christina became the opera house's leading lady under the Phantom's deliberate training.

It seems this "Phantom of the Opera" is a die-hard fan of the original work, a complete imitator.

“If I have offended you, I am sorry. As long as we find my sister, we can leave here immediately!” Fleur said loudly, trying to negotiate with the imitator of The Phantom of the Opera.

However, "The Phantom of the Opera" showed no intention of negotiating, and instead began singing cheesy love songs on its own.

“This isn’t right!” Fleur whispered. “The Phantom of the Opera doesn’t live in these crooked, secret passages. He lives by the lake we passed earlier. He even took Christina on a boat and floated on the lake!”

“So he’s not the Phantom of the Opera. We need to be prepared for a potential conflict at any moment.” Ivy had already figured it out. This “Phantom of the Opera”’s magical aura was always unpredictable. One second he was behind the left wall, and the next second he was behind the two of them. Apart from Apparition, Ivy couldn’t think of any other magic that could achieve this effect.

It seems his unsteady singing voice is entirely due to the change in physical position; while it sounds magical, it's anything but elegant. I wonder how he manages to maintain a stable voice amidst frequent teleportation; perhaps he's spent a lot of time practicing for this kind of performance?

Apparition is an extremely dangerous spell; a slight mishap can result in a "split-body accident," meaning that during the teleportation, the user fails to reach their destination intact, leaving behind a part of themselves. Therefore, for wizards, absolute concentration is paramount when performing Apparition. Singing during the intermittent teleportation is utterly insane.

Upon reaching a Y-shaped intersection, the two paused briefly, as cheesy singing drifted from one side, seemingly guiding them in the right direction.

Even while singing and casting spells at a high frequency, "The Phantom of the Opera" still had the energy to keep an eye on Ivy and Fleur's movements.

This was the first time Ivy had encountered such a peculiar opponent. Even Voldemort couldn't possibly chant the Death Curse while simultaneously performing a pole dance.

Guided by the cheesy love song "The Phantom of the Opera," the two passed through several intersections and finally arrived at a secret room sealed off by iron bars.

Ivy looked up and saw a rotten knot hanging on the fence; who knows, someone might have actually been caught in it before.

Before the two could cast their spells, the iron fence snapped open, revealing a doorway large enough for one person to pass through.

Just as Ivy was about to go in, she heard "The Phantom of the Opera" speak to them again.

"Don't you understand what 'ladies first' means?"

Ivy ignored him and went inside first.

"You third-rate actor who doesn't follow the script! You wouldn't even be a backup dancer! You should spend your whole life playing a deaf, mute, and smelly servant, spending your days with horse manure and straw!" The Phantom of the Opera cursed viciously, while Ivy pulled Fleur aside without batting an eye.

"Is that your sister Gabrielle?" Ivy pointed to a small boat in the center of the secret room. The boat was covered with flower petals and white gauze. A little girl who looked a lot like Hibiscus was lying quietly in the boat, like a princess in a deep sleep. A beam of moonlight shone in from a hole in the wall of the secret room and fell on her peaceful little face.

Fleur recognized her sister at a glance. She rushed to the boat and angrily demanded, "Gabrielle! What did you do to her?!"

"Crack!"

Iron fences rose from the ground, blocking Hibiscus from entering. Ivy looked back and saw that the path she had come from was also blocked.