I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 386 Underground Altar

Hermione suddenly became more sensitive to everything around her, and in her blur, she seemed to "see" the faces of the wizards around her.

Even though she couldn't see that place from her perspective.

But she hadn't observed it carefully yet.

Hermione suddenly realized that her body felt light.

No—not the body.

Even though her senses told her that she was still lying on the altar, the illusion of floating was particularly vivid.

It's as if the soul is being extracted from the body.

This made her genuinely worried.

She couldn't keep pretending any longer; her senses were rebelling, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get any secrets out of this witch.

Hermione made up her mind.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Miss Granger."

A lazy voice reached her ears.

The wizards present suddenly turned around, focusing their attention on the male wizard behind them.

"Mr. Manlio?" the elderly man at the head of the group asked warily.

"Make your move—" Mr. Tully said with a faint smile.

His expression was as gentle as a spring breeze, a breeze that seemed to blow from the highlands of Hogwarts.

The firm voice had just fallen.

Suddenly, a dazzling, azure flower bloomed beneath Hermione, and the gravity that had been binding her vanished instantly.

She turned around quickly, and the magic she had been gathering in her right hand suddenly shone brightly.

"Origin and Flow: The Torrent of the Soul".

This is a simplified version of the Origin Spell that Owen specially tailored for Hermione.

He had previously used it to kill a Blasttail during Hagrid's Magical Creatures Protection class, which Hagrid mistook for a Killing Curse.

Compared to the original Soul Torrent, the simplified version greatly shortens the time it takes to gather magic power. Although there is still a casting animation, it only lasts for one or two seconds.

The main difference is that after simplification, the amount of magic input is greatly reduced, allowing Hermione to use this spell without a wand.

Of course, the drawback is that its power is greatly reduced.

Those magic spells, once as thick as several oak trees, are now only the size of a fist.

However, this does not affect its ability to harm human wizards.

The magic struck the wizard squarely in the chest.

As expected, the old priest immediately took defensive action.

That defensive magic, far more powerful than the Ironclad Spell, collided with the torrent.

This was exactly what Hermione had anticipated.

If she were an ordinary wizard, she wouldn't use Origin Magic; it would probably be a non-harmful spell like a petrification spell or a binding spell.

But now that she's fallen into the clutches of dark wizards, how can she not use her full strength?

This is a habit she's developed from the frequent battles lately.

This habit, in fact, was what won her the battle.

The continuous torrent of souls, after stopping for two seconds, pierced through the old priestess's body, along with the wall and the ground behind her, until she saw the sunlight outside.

"Oh my god! What happened?"

"Look—a beam of light suddenly shot out from the ground."

"My God, are people fighting right under our feet?"

"Perhaps it was those two Englishmen arguing with Mr. Tully?"

The gushing torrents shot across the land, only dissipating after bursting forth in the courtyard.

The young wizards present all witnessed this amazing scene.

The magic that had suddenly appeared startled them, and some people had already moved closer, ready to peek through the hole in the ground to see what was happening below.

And some of the smarter ones.

They had already sensed something from the way Mr. Tully addressed the girl when he personally greeted them and led them into the house.

Miss Granger—though it was spoken in English, they would never mishear the name.

They've heard that name so many times they're practically numb to it after a month.

That terrible Hogwarts witch, with power that shocked the world, swept across the front pages of newspapers in the vast majority of countries around the world.

During that period, newspapers in almost every country published photos of the witch.

That figure under the stars became an idol for young wizards all over the world overnight.

At first, they never imagined that the two people dressed so casually could be the legendary witches.

So I didn't really look at it carefully.

Now that I think about it—good heavens, wasn't that Miss Granger?

But—after figuring all this out, the young wizards in the courtyard were once again lost in confusion.

If that was Miss Granger, then why did Mr. Tully have a conflict with her?

What exactly happened underground?

Meanwhile, in the not-so-hidden basement, a cacophony of voices could be heard.

Most people pointed their wands at the girl on the altar.

Others pointed their wands at Mr. Tully.

"You actually betrayed us!" the elder in the lead said angrily.

And naturally, he received no response.

Because at this moment, the Manlio Tarly standing in front of them was no longer himself.

Because he couldn't understand Arabic, the man's incantation was performed gradually.

It started by parasitizing the original owner's consciousness, allowing the original owner to act on his own, and then gradually eroded his consciousness.

Do you know what the consequences of betrayal are?

"Kill him!" someone shouted.

Then several beams of green light illuminated the basement, making it appear eerie.

Manlio Tarly offered no resistance whatsoever, and the Killing Curse struck him squarely in the body.

And just like that—like a building collapsing with a roar.

Manlio Talley threw himself back.

Death devoured him directly.

"It seems the world, as I said, is indeed a beast."

His tone was dismissive, tinged with a hint of mockery.

The sound came from a corner of the basement wall.

The surrounding wizards quickly turned around.

They saw a young wizard sway as he got up, dusted himself off, and then his gaze fell casually on the fallen figure.

"I'm really becoming more and more kind."

Irving rubbed his head and remarked casually.

He would have definitely tormented this guy before, but now—he gave him a good death.

It seems he has indeed changed.

Perhaps, in what he said to Miss Granger, there was a genuine thought: after his struggle with the gods, he had lost his former interest in manipulating humanity and specific wizards.

After witnessing something grander, the relationships between people become insignificant.

Owen's voice alerted the beautiful witch closest to him. She gripped her wand tightly and stared intently at the boy in front of her.

"Boring."

A crystal wand appeared in his hand. Owen looked around and said calmly, "Boring is hard."

"Avada Kedavra!"

The ominous green light shone again, and the Grim Reaper's scythe, hanging high above, fell swiftly, taking away a deeply sinful soul.

Yes.

The graceful witch collapsed onto the cold ground.

Her eyes stared blankly ahead, her face devoid of any fear. Death had come too quickly; she was not prepared.

"I originally thought you guys had some ability."

"That's the result."

"They're not even as good as Death Eaters. Wizards these days are getting more and more useless."

Owen calmly waved his wand.

Force field magic—suddenly bright petals deflected all the spells that attacked him.

Green, red, and gray spells flickered like fireworks in the basement.

Some crashed into the wall, while others hit some unlucky guys.

"Everyone—"

Irving lazily activated the spell, speaking as he attacked.

"I only need one survivor so I can use Legilimency. As for the others—why don't you all kill each other? I guarantee the one who survives will be safe."

His emerald eyes swept over the wizards present. "I know you can all understand English. After all, you are all elites from pure-blood families. Surely you can speak English."

"I'll mercifully give you—well—five minutes, how about that? Is that enough?"

As Owen finished speaking, the entire basement fell into a deathly silence. All the wizards stopped what they were doing, their eyes filled with fear and unease.

Of course, they weren't really foolish enough to kill each other.

They were simply shocked.

He was shocked by the boy in front of him.

To be able to travel with Granger, he must also be a wizard at Hogwarts.

Merlin!

Is there another young wizard in that school as powerful as Granger?

At this moment, all the wizards let out a wail from the bottom of their hearts.

Perhaps not just two, but more.

However, that witch was so prominent that she overshadowed the other not-so-weak junior wizards.

Good heavens!

What kind of magic school is that? Why are all the students monsters?

"Irving!"

Just then, Miss Granger's voice called out from the altar.

"Oh—it seems the game probably won't be able to start this time," the boy said, somewhat distressed.

Then, the playful expression disappeared from his face, and he began to wave his wand rapidly.

The frequency was extremely fast, and he unleashed those black magic defense spells like a storm.

In addition, the two little animals that had been scavenging in his waist bag also joined in.

This further accelerated the shift in the course of the war.

Sirocco's magical ability to manipulate plants is perfectly suited to this dim and enclosed environment.

Because you have nowhere to hide.

Owen wasn't worried about these people escaping. They had cast an anti-Apparition Charm on the house themselves. Of course, this could also have been cast by the Tali family, since it was quite common for a pure-blood family to cast such a protective charm in their own home.

The Malfoy family mansion, Black's ancestral home, and even his own home in London were all protected by an anti-Apparition charm.

Nobody wants someone to sneak in while they're sleeping at night.

This marked the end for this group.

To be honest, these people are quite strong, far surpassing ordinary adult wizards, but they are still some distance from being Aurors.

They belong to the pampered young masters and ladies.

Because of their powerful family background, they are able to master some spells that ordinary wizards have never seen, as well as various precious magical items, but their own strength is just so-so.

Only that old geezer in the lead was a bit troublesome.

He possessed a strange totem magic, a type of magic belonging to shamans.

Although Owen didn't understand why this guy, who looked more European than Europeans, would master shamanic magic, the fact was that this guy could bring his ethereal totem to life. It was a sphinx, only the size of an elephant, but it still caused him a little bit of insignificant trouble.

After he used the Killing Curse to shatter his totem.

The old man started rummaging through his belongings again, taking out all sorts of new and interesting things from the treasure chest inside his robe.

Owen observed the battle on Granger's side.

The old priestess seemed to possess a certain ability to regenerate flesh and blood; the magic attacks on her were greatly less effective.

Moreover, the lost flesh and blood will quickly regenerate, which is truly wicked.

However, just like these idiots, she didn't have many offensive methods.

That's true. If someone could live indefinitely by relying on other people's souls, then she would definitely focus solely on researching soul magic, and wouldn't care about other magic as long as it was usable.

So she was suppressed by Miss Granger, but the latter had no way to defeat her.

Meanwhile, the old man took out a new prop, a square metal box that looked like stacked building blocks.

The moment he took out the box, the old man's sagging cheeks twitched painfully for a moment, then he resolutely threw the box to the ground.

The next second, a truly amazing scene unfolded.

The box collapsed rapidly like building blocks, and then fragments of the blocks spread out in all directions.

Irving quickly noticed that the space around him had become more cramped.

It was like the feeling he had when he was fighting against the Outer Gods and all the spatial passages were blocked.

No—this time it's different, it's not a traffic jam.

The so-called blockage was caused by a layer of external god's magic covering the entrance to the passage, preventing the wizard from entering.

This time was different; this time he didn't sense any unusual magic around him.

More like—

"Interesting. There's a folded space inside that box, which encloses everything around it."

"Hmm—it's kind of like mirror magic." Owen immediately understood the truth behind what was happening around him.

Dumbledore was a master of mirror magic.

He had mastered this magic to perfection fifty or sixty years ago.

5. He can easily drag a person into the mirror world and then fight in the mirror, so as not to attract the attention of Muggles.

Unfortunately, this powerful magic is so difficult to cast that only a handful of people in the world know how to use it.

However, the professor did mention this magic when he gave him extra tutoring.

Therefore, Irving was not surprised by this sudden shift in space.

"His true colors are revealed!"

A golden light flashed from the tip of the crystal wand, and instantly the surrounding walls and houses disappeared.

The outside world was a stark white, kaleidoscope-like scene.

It is a world formed by the superposition and interweaving of countless spaces.

It looks quite mystical.

"This kind of magical item is really rare. But—" Owen glanced around at the people around him, some of whom he had knocked down, some of whom were bound by Sirocco's vines, as well as Granger and the old priest.

Everyone was trapped in this space.

This suggests that the magic is indiscriminate, regardless of friend or foe. It makes sense, though, how could one possibly extricate oneself from such a folded space?

So, that old guy is here too, probably hiding behind those kaleidoscope-like interwoven spaces.

Owen smiled slightly, then leaped towards Miss Granger's location.

"Owen—" Hermione looked around warily.

She had never seen such magic before.

"No problem!" The boy grabbed Hermione, waved his wand, and chanted a spell.

A powerful surge of magic emanated from the wand and spread outwards.

Then, magic ignited instantly, and blue-white flames surrounded the two of them as if they were an indestructible shield.

"Fire Release: Protective Style!"

Then, the flames surged and spread in all directions.

It spins around, devouring everything it encounters along the way.

The living wizards trapped in the space were also swallowed up. They screamed in terror, struggling to escape, but to no avail. The flames mercilessly consumed them, turning them to ashes.

Eventually, the entire space was engulfed in flames. Hermione stood in the center of the fire, the screams around her moving her deeply.

Even though she knew perfectly well that these people were all heinous criminals, she still felt a pang of fear.

Perhaps there should be a more civilized way, like a judicial trial or something. Dying like this is frightening.

Hermione's brown eyes gleamed with fire; she feared the one who cast the spell, and the girl instinctively gripped the boy's hand tightly.

On the other side, Irving seemed to have noticed something.

After giving Hermione a gentle smile, the magic output from the wand suddenly increased.

The flames gradually materialized into the form of a fire dragon.

The surging dragon roared and spewed out molten flames, which intensified the fire on its burning body.

Soon the old man hidden behind the kaleidoscope-like space revealed his true form.

Fires are everywhere!

He had nowhere to hide.

However, to be fair, this guy has a really big collection.

At some point, he took out a cloak made of some kind of leather from his inner pocket; its smooth surface resisted the scorching flames.

"Wow, you really are like Doraemon."

Without hesitation, Irving increased the magic power.

In an instant, the flames, which seemed to burn rivers and boil seas and were like the sun falling into them, could no longer be stopped by a single magical item.

At this moment, the old man wearing the cloak showed a painful expression on his face. His body was surrounded by flames. Although the cloak provided some protection, the intense heat was still unbearable for him. He felt like a frog being boiled in lukewarm water, and death was approaching and getting closer and closer.

"No—no! I surrender, I surrender!" he shouted, his voice filled with fear and despair.

This time, he opened his mouth and spoke in English.

Owen didn't respond to him, but just stared coldly at the magical artifacts. No matter how you looked at them, they didn't seem to come from a single family or region. How he obtained them could perhaps be gleaned from this strange altar.

It's one thing to mutilate a wizard's body, but they even want to use his soul as material for their magic.

Indeed, compared to evil, humans far surpass any other species.

The screams and wails continued, but gradually the old man's shouts weakened.

"Irving."

(End of this chapter)