The Daily Life of a Hogwarts Terrorist

Just as the burning smell began to dissipate, the raging flames suddenly went out. An unexpected visitor appeared in the empty hall.

Gruber lowered his hand that was holding the staff horizontally. After stopping a sudden fire, he looked around, and several dotted lines of flowing magic appeared in his clear eyes.

After verifying the coordinates given by Verne, Gruberu walked to a table and raised his staff.

Thump! Thump! Thump! The ground was struck three times.

In an instant, the air around the hall froze, the world turned a dim yellow, as if time had stopped, until several sounds like shattering glass suddenly rang out.

In Gruberu's eyes, the hall had finally returned to its original state. He gently waved his hand, and several inconspicuous pebbles flew from the flower basket, from the chandelier, from the kitchen stove, and from various inconspicuous places into Gruberu's hand.

At the Tristine Magic Academy, to ensure students' comfort during meals, the dining hall was imbued with wind and water magic to regulate indoor air and humidity. However, someone secretly used the magic transmission within the original rune system to insert a few inconspicuous runes to form a new barrier, causing those entering the dining hall to fall into a state of blindness and mild frenzy. This was intended to manipulate them into acting according to the spellcaster's hints, such as making everyone watch a duel.

The entire room was filled with students and even adult mages, yet none of them noticed this hidden barrier in operation. It must be said that the person who set it up was truly highly skilled.

Gruber chuckled self-deprecatingly. If he hadn't obtained the inside information from the mastermind, even as an accomplice, it would have taken him a very long time to crack the code.

Touching the rough pebbles, according to the original plan, Gruberu took out three of them: nef, sol, and ith. Then he drew a longsword with a chilling light from the void and embedded the runes into the grooves deliberately left on the blade.

With a "ding," a magical light quickly swept over the longsword, and in an instant, what was originally just sharp ordinary iron was transformed into a magical artifact radiating holy light.

If those ancient magical families were to witness this scene, those old men in power might be so surprised that they would suffer heart attacks. However, Gruber, who had accomplished all of this, was frowning and looked even more worried.

"The Order's standard Crusader equipment - the Blade of Radiance."

Two nights ago, in the sealed barrier, Gruberu witnessed Verne setting fire to the ancient book that Principal Osman had given him.

The sky was gray, the sea stretched to the horizon, and a prosperous town lay on the coast. The town had a rather quaint architectural style and residents dressed in old-fashioned clothes. The ordinary atmosphere could not hide the joy within.

Until a black dot appeared at the edge of the horizon, then a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth...

As hundreds of enormous creatures swept across the sea, blotting out the sky, urgent bells rang out. The residents of the coastal town began to run in panic, chaos reigning everywhere.

Knowing they could no longer hide, the fleet fired several cannonballs at the town. A tower collapsed with a crash, and several figures fell from the sky. Screams rang out, and the crowd became even more panicked.

At this moment, a middle-aged man who looked like the town mayor rushed out of the government building with several wizards wearing robes and carrying wooden staffs. He roared loudly, and most of the people began to gather around him.

A young spectator, her face covered in blood, ran over and said something. Panic and despair were written on her face, and quickly spread to everyone else.

After listening, the mayor looked at the coastline again, turned around and said a few words to the robed wizard closest to him. The wizard hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded and pointed his staff at the mayor's temple.

But just then, the Seeker stepped forward, standing between the two and shouting loudly. The tall mayor was taken aback at first, then shoved the Seeker to the ground, but the Seeker, struggling to his feet, clung tightly to the mayor, desperately saying something.

Finally, the mayor looked around at the anxious residents and then agreed with a pained expression. Some people in the crowd began to sob, and then more people started to cry.

The Seeker smiled and hugged the mayor, then calmly walked to the wizards. All the wizards removed their hats and saluted the sentry. Then, under everyone's gaze, the lead wizard raised his staff once more, uttered an obscure incantation, and a pale white substance was drawn from the Seeker's brain.

The woman collapsed to the ground. Although the mayor caught her, everyone present knew she would never be able to stand up again.

All the wizards rushed forward, forming a circle and raising their staffs. The white substance gradually condensed into a humanoid phantom, waving to the surroundings. The weeping grew louder, and then people saw that, under the influence of the spell, the sentinel's soul transformed into a phoenix, a white and somewhat ethereal phoenix.

The phoenix circled the grieving mayor and its own corpse twice, then let out a clear cry to the crowd before flapping its wings vigorously and flying swiftly inland.

In the distance, the fleet that was speeding toward the port soon spotted her. A sharp sword light shot out from the flagship, chasing after the flying phoenix, but it always lagged behind the rapidly flying figure.

As its energy was depleted, the once-powerful sword light finally dissipated in mid-air. A roar of resentment echoed from the flagship, followed by a continuous barrage of cannon fire.

The phoenix, hearing the explosion, did not turn around. A tear rolled down her cheek and disappeared into the air. Then, she flapped her wings with all her might, increasing her speed once more, until she could no longer hear the sounds of her former homeland.

After a day's flight, the phoenix, now noticeably smaller, finally saw its destination: a magnificent castle. Having pierced through the window of the top floor of the central tower, the phoenix's remaining strength, barely enough to sustain its form, was about to be exhausted.

Hurried footsteps echoed as, after confirming that the person who opened the door was indeed the one she was looking for, the phoenix let out her last cry in the human world—a cry filled with urgency, anxiety, pain, and yet also brimming with hope.

Then, a sudden burst of firelight illuminated the entire room before quickly fading away. With a solemn expression, Osman, the principal of the Tristine Magic Academy, picked up the remaining Soul Flame from the ground.

32. Tristan's Last Memories (Part 1)

In a lavishly decorated conference room, dozens of people sat around a huge round table, arguing about something. Judging from their attire, some were generals, some were nobles, some were civil officials, some were wizards, and some were a young queen.

Strangely, they all remained motionless, maintaining their postures. Not only the people, but even the candle flames did not flicker at all. Even the splash of water from a teacup that a somewhat obese minister knocked over in anger by slamming his fist on the table remained suspended in mid-air, never falling.

And just as strangely as the surrounding background, all the characters and objects are composed of only black and white tones, as if the scene were a frozen frame from an early 20th-century silent film.

Suddenly, the tightly closed conference room door was opened, and time, which had been stagnant in the room for a long time, began to move forward instantly.

“Silence, Minister Lambstein! Her Majesty the Queen has summoned you all here so late at night; it must be something extremely urgent,” said the obese minister. The tea that had been suspended in mid-air finally fell, splashing water onto his right hand. The servant behind him quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe it dry.

The middle-aged nobleman opposite him, who seemed to be the Lambstein he had mentioned, turned to the young woman sitting in the main seat, not to be outdone, and retorted, "Then please tell me, Your Majesty, what is the reason that you summoned us in the middle of the night and made us wait for an hour?"

Although he used humble terms like "Your Majesty" and "Your subject," everyone present knew that the Marquis of Lambstein's tone revealed little respect for the royal family.

The queen, who was too young, had only ascended the throne last year and had not yet been able to subdue most of the nobles present. As a result, the nobles who were "innocently" disturbed from their "nightlife" were extremely "indignant," especially since they had been here for so long and still did not know why they had been suddenly summoned.

In this noisy environment, only two people stood out: Jules Verne and Grubert. They stood there quietly, motionless, without any guards approaching to ask who they were or why they were there, nor were any waiters coming to seat them.

Verne and Gruberu watched quietly, observing everyone's every move, watching the young queen face the attacks of the nobles, and watching the obese ministers try their best to defend the queen.

But they remained unmoved, not because they were cold-hearted or heartless, but because they both knew that this was just someone's memory, just like the memory of the previous sentry; the past had already happened.

Like that town that may have already been destroyed, they were powerless to change anything, at least not in their memories. So they simply observed quietly, trying to find the "truth".

At this moment, they saw the young queen suddenly relax, her brow unfurrowing as she looked towards the doorway, while the ignored Marquis Lambstein became visibly annoyed: "Your Majesty, your solution..."

Before Marquis Lambstein could finish speaking, he was struck by a spell and flew sideways into the wall. Fortunately, he cast a protective spell on himself midway to avoid being knocked unconscious.

The scene immediately fell silent. Even the Queen was a little surprised. Although she knew that Osman was an extremely powerful magician, she had never seen this old wizard, who could be described as smooth in dealing with people, dare to be so ruthless to a powerful marquis in front of him.

"Osman! Do you want to start a civil war? A war between the Lambstein Territory and the Magic Academy!" Marquis Lambstein struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall.

Principal Osman ignored the Marquis's threat. He first gave the Queen a mage's salute, and after receiving a return salute from the Queen, Principal Osman looked around at the nobles and nodded to the obese official.

Just as the latter showed a relieved expression, he heard Principal Osman ask, "Your Excellency, do you remember the contents of Article 33 of the Magna Carta?"

"His Majesty the King has the right to summon the Council of Nobles during wartime and punish, even to death, any member who disobeys orders!" The obese minister, though confused, reflexively answered immediately, but before he finished speaking, he suddenly understood.

"Lord Osman, do you mean...?" The Queen and everyone present clearly understood, but they all wore expressions of disbelief.

Finally, Principal Osman turned to Marquis Lambstein, who was now deathly pale: "The war has begun, Your Excellency."

The lamenting tone made it impossible to tell whether Osman was being sarcastic, pitying him, or pitying everyone present or absent.

"No, impossible! With those guys from the Middle Kingdom around, how could they tolerate anyone violating the precepts set by the First Ancestor! Anyone who dares to do so will inevitably face an attack from the Middle Kingdom and other countries! Goliath's foolish king hasn't been dead for long!" Marquis Lambostan shrieked.

Verne frowned slightly. The term "Middle-earth" hadn't been used for many years; it was still the name people used for Europe in ancient mythology. As for what exactly the "Commandments of the First Fathers" were, both Verne and Gruberu were completely clueless.

[It seems I'll have to pay Professor Binns a visit when I get back,] Verne thought.

Then he and Gruberu saw Principal Osman speak again: "Not from within our ranks, this time it's the Catholic Church's crusaders."

After speaking, Osman opened his tightly clenched left hand, and with the replenishment of magic, the previously tiny soul fire blazed fiercely once more. Through the flames, people saw the scene before the town was besieged.

“I just went to confirm it myself. The port of Himester has fallen. Apart from a few children who were risked to escape by the mayor and the mages who stayed behind, no one survived.”

The world of memories began to blur little by little. Verne and Gruber saw that everyone was arguing again, but this time it was different from the previous mutual attacks.

"Order the Magic Guardian Team and the First and Second National Knight Orders to assemble immediately."

"Your Majesty, we should immediately contact the new King of Goliath and ask them to send troops to support us."

"Water Seven! Why didn't they issue a warning while monitoring the sea? Why haven't we received any contact from them yet?"

"Wait, how did the Vatican find this place?"

"Your Majesty, the City of Water is very likely..."

"His Majesty......"

"His Majesty!"

. . . . . .

The surrounding scenery vanished completely, leaving Verne and Gruberu floating alone in the void.

PS1: Thanks to "Dongfeng Xiaopo" for the donation. By the way, did you really win the lottery? Also, to "Aiyo, Woqu," I hereby bestow upon you the title of "Grand Commander of the Water Army" and order you to build a 100-story sign-in water tower. Posting a thread every day and then adding it to the featured posts is quite a hassle~ Let me take a break, okay?

PS2: Thanks to Akiko Nishio for the question, and to Tiramisu0o, the complete version of Professor Magiman is available on Jianghu.

PS3: Thank you to users 9, World (your name is so long), Blooming Flowers, zTracing the Source, Wine Curtain, Frame i, and Shi Yunlong for their recommendation votes. Thank you all for your support!

33. The Gradually Blurring Truth

I do not know its height.

The underlying reasons are unclear.

In the nameless space where no one could see in front, behind, left, or right, in complete darkness, only the faint light of the soul fire before them provided. Verne and Gruberu pondered silently.

Gruberu had no idea what Verne was thinking. He just found it strange that the Osman who appeared in his soul's memory was clearly much older than the one who was currently in the office.

Moreover, the young Queen Gruberu, who was in the principal position at the time, also knew Henrietta. According to the school's academic affairs office, Her Highness would be visiting the school next month.

However, at this point in time, Henrietta's title is only Princess, not Queen as everyone calls her in the memory. This memory clearly refers to events that will happen in the future of this plane, so how did Osman know about it?

Gruber's first reaction to this was prophecy. Osman used prophecy to show them a future history that only the prophet could see, but Gruber himself quickly overturned this idea.

Prophecy cannot produce such detailed and accurate records.

Moreover, Gruber and Verne saw the scene through the fire of the soul. This unprecedented method of recording is similar to the Pensieve, but it obviously comes at a much higher price. Through the first memory, Gruber knew that the price was the life of a living person.

Furthermore, by combining the observation subjects of the two memories, Gruber deduced that these were actually the memories of the female lesbian, rather than Osman's memories.

For example, in the first memory: after the phoenix left the town, the vision they followed was always that phoenix, so the owner of the first memory is undeniable.

The second paragraph is more difficult to judge. It seems that the observer learns about the memory by following Osman's actions. For example, before Osman enters the meeting room, all the scenes are still.

This is because, before entering, Osman did not know what was happening in the conference room. At most, he could only hear the sounds inside from outside the door and make some inferences about what had happened based on what he saw at first glance after opening the door.

Therefore, those who were originally in the room were not the owners of the memory, because this would not explain why the memory was frozen. So why not Osman?

Because Osman couldn't kill himself and then transfer his memories to someone else, these memories must belong to another person—someone who entered the room at the same time as Osman. Although the memories show that Osman entered the conference room alone.

But let’s not forget that Osman held a soul in his hand all along, and revealed it to everyone present at the end.

Now, a new question arises: how does a person who dies someday in the future hand over their soul, which carries their memories, to the "past" Osman, and then Osman passes it on to his "present" self?

In addition, there are many other questions, such as: according to the memory, the Holy See will invade this place from the sea in a few years, but Gruberu has lived here for twenty years and still does not know where the sea is.

At the edge of this plane lies a long, narrow lake, and beyond that, there is nothing. Yes, nothing at all—no opposite shore, no ocean, no air, no cliffs, no stars. Beyond the lake lies only an impassable, unreachable void.

The scene resembled the Book of Exodus in the Muggle Bible, where the lake seemed to have been divided by some supreme magic, becoming a screen, but it swirled on one side, with no view of the other shore.

It was as if the entire plane of existence had been placed inside a giant, transparent bubble. The inner walls of the bubble prevented the lake water from falling out and also blocked the people inside from leaving, like an indestructible spatial barrier.

So where did the Papacy come from? And the current Muggle Papacy certainly doesn't possess the large-scale, transoceanic amphibious assault capabilities of the world of memories. Even without wizards lifting a finger, the secular Muggle regime would have already been trapped by the Papacy in a small city.