The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

Sera jumped off the broom, her boots sinking into the wet sand, leaving a trail of deep footprints.

Vera followed behind her, her Shadow Senses fully activated, trying to track the movements of the purple-horned beast.

It was still deep in the reefs, seemingly resting, its breathing almost indistinguishable from the sound of the waves.

“Over there.” She grabbed Sera’s wrist and pointed to the tallest reef to the east.

Sera followed her finger, nodded, drew her wand from her sleeve, and tiptoed forward, her boots barely making a sound on the wet sand.

They moved forward along the shadow of the reef, the seawater rising and falling at their feet, with occasional waves crashing over them and wetting the edges of their shoes.

Soon, the outline of the purple-horned beast gradually became clear. It was a behemoth the size of a small truck, covered in thick, grayish-purple hide, with a pair of golden curved horns on its head and tentacles hanging from its mouth like those of Cthulhu.

It huddled in a crevice in the reef, breathing heavily, seemingly unaware of the approaching person.

Vera wanted to take a few more steps closer to get a better look, but Serena pulled her hand to stop her.

“According to the rules, you can’t interfere from here on out.” Sera turned to look at her, her voice low, her breath condensing into a cloud of white mist in the sea breeze. “Just stand here and wait for me to come back.”

Vera could only take a half step back, just as she was about to find cover to watch Sera's performance, when she saw the man suddenly turn around and ask with a serious expression, "Since you can like two people at the same time, can you accept a third?"

Eh?

So this person didn't say a word the whole way, was he thinking about how to become her mistress?

Vera's lips twitched, and she was about to speak when Sera raised her hand to stop her.

“You don’t need to answer so quickly,” the girl’s voice was very soft, almost as soft as if it were being blown away by the sea breeze. “Wait until I get back.”

After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the purple-horned beast.

Vera watched her retreating figure silently, then sighed and rubbed her forehead.

This person has always been stubborn since childhood!

Chapter Nineteen: Take both mother and daughter back!

A sea breeze blew, and Vera instinctively pulled her cloak tighter around herself, took a few steps back, and blended her presence into the shadows.

She watched as the slender figure in the distance walked step by step toward the giant beast, her steps as light as a cat's, each landing precisely in the gaps between the sounds of the waves.

For some reason, she suddenly remembered how Sera looked languidly leaning on the sofa in her future life, and the calm and certain look in her eyes whenever she looked at her.

The greater the contrast between their past and present appearances, the more Vera felt an indescribable pity for them.

After several previous time travels, she tried to ask Sera in the future about what happened later, but the man always just smiled and remained silent.

Is it because they don't want to change the past, so they want to let it unfold as it is? Or is it...?

"Roar!" The purple-horned beast's angry roar, which startled her awake, interrupted her thoughts.

Vera regained her composure and saw that the giant beast had been awakened and was swinging its tail as it pounced on Sera.

She was startled and instinctively gripped the wand in her hand.

As large mountain beasts, such a brutal charge carries devastating power; if a human were to be hit even once, they would almost certainly die on the spot.

But Sera merely turned slightly to the side, the toes of her boots carving a half-circle on the wet sand, and her figure slid out along the trajectory of the charging beast, the hem of her cloak billowing like clouds in the wind.

The purple-horned beast's tail swept across the spot where she had just stood, leaving a deep groove in the rocks, sending pebbles flying.

Sera didn't turn around. She pointed her wand, and a silver beam shot out from the tip, striking the giant beast's hind leg joint precisely.

Her movements were swift and decisive, just like the woman in later generations who could repel countless Dementors with a mere wave of her hand.

Vera's fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of her cloak. In her shadow perception, Sera's magical fluctuations were so steady they were almost cold, and each spell she cast was as precise as if she were solving an arithmetic problem.

She suddenly felt a little dazed. So this was what Sera was like at sixteen: calm, decisive, and never hesitant.

The girl who cried uncontrollably when she disappeared, and the witch in front of her who was calmly fighting the giant beast, were like two sides of the same coin.

Yet they all fascinated her.

The purple-horned beast was attacked on its hind legs, let out a painful roar, staggered, and plowed two deep furrows in the wet sand with its front hooves.

It shook its head, its golden horns tracing dangerous arcs in the morning light as it swept towards Sera.

Vera stood in the shadows at a distance, her fingers unconsciously clenching her sleeves.

She saw Sera advance instead of retreat, crouching low and sliding under the bend, almost brushing past the beast's neck. She braced herself against its rough, thick hide, using the momentum to flip over and land steadily behind it.

The movements were fluid and seamless, without the slightest hesitation.

The purple-horned beast was thoroughly enraged by her. It turned around, spewing white mist from its nostrils, and pawing the sand with its four hooves, making a dull thud.

Then it lowered its head, aimed its curved horn at Serra, and charged again.

This time it was even faster than before, like a grayish-purple cannonball.

Sera stood still, her wand held horizontally, a glimmer of light appearing at the tip.

Immediately, the purple-horned beast suddenly slowed down during its charge, as if its front hooves had been tripped by something. Its massive body lurched forward and plunged headfirst into the wet sand, splashing up a cloud of mud and water.

Vera raised an eyebrow slightly.

She saw it clearly; it wasn't any kind of ancient magic, just the simplest Transfiguration Charm—Sera had instantly created an area of ​​quicksand invisible to the naked eye along the path of the charging purple-horned beast.

The more the beast struggled, the deeper it sank.

The purple-horned beast roared repeatedly, its thick limbs thrashing wildly in the quicksand, only to sink even faster.

Sera, however, did not let her guard down. Not only did she not approach rashly, but she also kept waving her wand, casting spells that, while not fatal, were enough to make the giant beast suffer.

Fire spells, cutting spells, bat-spirit spells… and other spells even Vera couldn't recognize all rained down on the purple-horned beast, causing it to struggle in pain while simultaneously pushing it deeper and deeper into the abyss…

Is it just my imagination?

Watching the girl silently cast spells on an enemy who had already lost the ability to fight, Vera had the unsettling feeling that she was using the battle to vent her emotions.

I impulsively told her about my relationship status this morning. Was I really being a bit rash?

As most of its body sank into the quicksand, the purple-horned beast's struggles grew weaker and weaker, and its roars gradually turned into low moans.

Its eyes were fixed on Sera, filled with anger and resentment, yet also with a barely perceptible hint of fear.

Vera stood in the shadows, watching as Sera finally stopped attacking, and walked step by step toward the giant beast that was no longer able to move. She knelt down in front of it, stretched out her hand, and placed her palm on its rough forehead.

"Submit, or die." The girl's voice was not loud, even calm, but the purple-horned beast seemed to understand something, its massive body trembling slightly.

It stared intently at the human before it, whose size was many times smaller than itself, with its amber vertical pupils. A low gurgling sound came from its throat, like a threat, or perhaps a final struggle.

Sera didn't back away; her palm remained pressed against its forehead, and she could feel the rapid, powerful pulsation of the blood vessels beneath the rough skin.

“I won’t give you a second chance,” she said, her voice still calm, but her wand was already raised high once more.

The purple-horned beast's body stiffened for a moment.

The anger in those vertical pupils receded like the tide, revealing a deeper fear beneath.

It slowly lowered its head, its golden curved horns drooping down, almost touching the wet sand.

Sera withdrew her hand, stood up, and took a step back.

With a light tap of the wand, the quicksand area solidified back into solid rock, and the purple-horned beast's body rose from the sand, its four hooves once again touching the ground.

It staggered, but neither ran away nor attacked. It simply stood there with its head down, like a tamed, gray-purple mountain.

Sera looked down at it, the sea breeze ruffling her long hair, a few stray strands clinging to her forehead, which was covered in a light sheen of sweat.

Only then did Vera emerge from the shadows, her boots making a soft crunching sound as they stepped on the wet sand.

Sera didn't move, but just watched her approach step by step, and watched her take a handkerchief out of her cloak pocket and hand it to her.

“Wipe it off,” Vera said.

Sera lowered her head, her gaze falling on the handkerchief. She didn't take it, and after a long while, she lowered her head slightly towards her.

The meaning was obvious, but Vera always felt that her current action was the same as the purple-horned beast's submission just now.

She didn't need Sera's submission, nor did she want Sera to bow down to her.

However, Sera clearly doesn't understand this yet.

Sera waited a moment, but didn't feel the warmth of the hand that she expected touching her forehead. She looked up and saw Vera staring at her with a gaze she couldn't understand, the handkerchief still clutched in her palm, showing no intention of being handed over.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled by the sea breeze.

Vera shook her head and stuffed the handkerchief into her hand: "Wipe yourself, I'm not your servant."

Sera clutched her handkerchief, rubbing her fingertips against the texture of the cotton fabric. She slowly straightened up, but instead of using it to wipe her sweat, she folded it twice and tucked it into her sleeve.

"I'll wash it and return it to you when I get back," she said, her tone remarkably calm.

It would be a miracle if they returned it.

Someone has kept that ordinary holly leaf for ten years.

Vera shook her head, not pointing it out, and turned to look at the purple-horned beast.

The giant beast lay quietly beside the reef, its golden horns gleaming sharply in the sunlight. Its vertical pupils were half-closed, and its breathing was heavy and slow, like a sleeping hill.

“It’s injured.” Vera crouched down, her gaze falling on the still-bleeding wound on the purple-horned beast’s hind leg—it was left by Sera’s first spell, the flesh torn open to reveal the dark red muscle underneath.

Sera walked over, squatted down beside her, and glanced at the wound in the direction of her gaze, her brows furrowing slightly.

"I didn't hit hard," she said, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible guilt.

“I know.” Vera took a small leather pouch from her cloak pocket, uncorked it, and poured some powder into her palm. “You just wanted to restrict its movement, not really hurt it.”

The scent of the powder wafted in the damp sea breeze, carrying a slightly bitter herbal aroma.

The purple-horned beast's ears twitched, and it opened its eyes, staring warily at Vera's hand. However, due to the warning look from Sera, it could only turn its head away and endure it.

Vera was unaware of the eye contact between the human and the beast; she simply sprinkled the powder evenly onto the wound.

The purple-horned beast's body tensed for a moment, then slowly relaxed, letting out a low gurgling sound from its throat, as if the pain had been relieved.

Sera crouched to the side, quietly watching Vera treat the beast's wounds, watching her fingers gently press on the rough hide, watching her focused profile, and suddenly spoke: "Are you like this to everyone?"

Vera's fingers paused, but she didn't look up: "What do you mean?"

"Is she always this gentle, whether she's dealing with people or animals?" Sera's voice was as soft as a sigh when she said this.

She had no doubt that the two people Vera had fallen for had also been unwittingly captivated by his gentleness.

Vera put away the powder, patted the remaining powder off her hands, stood up, and looked down at Sera, who was still squatting on the ground, at her crimson eyes that were slightly reddened by the sea breeze.

“Not to everyone,” she said, her voice barely audible against the sound of the waves, “only to those who deserve it.”

Sera paused for a moment, then slowly stood up. Her knees were a little numb, but she didn't bother to rub them. She just stared at Vera, at those dark eyes that looked particularly deep in the sunlight.

Seabirds circled overhead, emitting long, drawn-out calls. A purple-horned beast lay at their feet, its warm breath brushing against their boots.

"So, am I someone you value too?" Sera asked.

Vera looked at her hair, ruffled by the sea breeze, the faint redness on the tip of her nose from the sun, and the unconcealed yet irrepressible longing in her eyes. She didn't answer, but simply reached out and tucked a strand of hair that had been blown to the corner of her mouth behind her ear.

The moment her fingertips brushed against her earlobe, Sera's eyelashes trembled, like a butterfly fluttering its wings.

"Let's go." Vera withdrew her hand, turned around and walked back the way they came. "It's time to go back."

Sera stood still, slowly raising her fingers to touch the ear that Vera had touched, where a trace of warmth still lingered.

She didn't chase after him to ask the unanswered question, but simply followed behind his back, her boots sinking into the footprints he left behind, step by step, each step precise.

Actually, on the way here, including when she was dealing with the purple-horned beast, she wasn't thinking about how to become Vera's third important person.

Four people are too crowded; she doesn't like it.

It's fine if she can't find the other two people now; all she needs to do is keep Vera by her side, so that Vera can only look at her, and that's enough.

As for whether Vera likes her or not... there's plenty of time, she'll let Vera gradually come to like her.

The purple-horned beast stood up from the reef, shook off the sand, and followed behind them with heavy steps, emitting a low snoring sound.

Sera stopped and turned around to look at it with some confusion.

The giant beast stopped and lowered its head; its golden, curved horns almost touched her shoulders in the sunlight.

"What do you want to say?" She thoughtfully reached out and placed her palm against its rough forehead.

Hearing the voice behind her, Vera turned around and looked over with some confusion. When she saw the purple-horned beast's current appearance, she narrowed her eyes slightly.

The shadow perception spread rapidly along the entire beach in that instant, like countless invisible threads penetrating the sand and gravel, seeping into the crevices of the rocks, and probing into the depths of the reef where the gray-purple behemoth lay prone.

Then, she felt it.

Directly below the beach, about thirty feet below the rock, lies a tightly compressed mass of magic.