Hogwarts: Lacus doesn't want to be a witch who destroys nations.

Chapter 88 Standoff (2 chapters released)

Over the next few days, Lux gave him basic lessons in Vova's cabin.

She taught incredibly quickly, completely skipping Anthony's pretentious meditations and incantations, going straight to the essence: the precise angle of the wand gesture, the subtle control of magical output, and the tonal differences in spell pronunciation —

Although Lux didn't know how Russian was pronounced, the very existence of the Silent Spell proved that language was not a sufficient or necessary condition for magic. As long as one understood the principles and origins of the spell, the language used was not important.

Even if Lux says, "Would it make you feel better if I apologized?", the actual effect is still the same as eating a melon, although the power would be much weaker.

Vova didn't have a suitable wand, but he could still perform basic spellcasting by borrowing Lux's wand.

Vova studied with great eagerness; he already had a good talent for magic, but in the past he had been completely led astray.

Under Lux's guidance, he made rapid progress and soon became able to cast Illumination and Levitation spells steadily. This tremendous progress further strengthened his determination to "change sides".

The next underground gathering of the "Spark" was held in a more remote underground air-raid shelter that smelled of mildew and rust.

Anthony, still wearing his old, starched robe, stood behind a makeshift platform made of tattered boxes, attempting to explain a complex protective spell with his rambling and obscure theories. The dozen or so people below were drowsy yet forced to stay awake.

Just as Anthony was once again blaming the failure of casting the spell on the interference of air humidity, Vova stood up.

"Teacher Anthony," Vova's voice was calm, yet clearly carried throughout the air-raid shelter, "the spell you mentioned seems to have a problem with its construction order. Adding a connection between the third and fourth gestures would make the casting process smoother."

The entire venue fell silent instantly, and all eyes were focused on Vova.

Anthony's face darkened instantly: "Vova Ivanov! You're questioning my teachings? What do you know? I'm a legitimate pure-blood wizard!"

"Ancient traditions may go wrong in the process of being passed on, or they may have never been perfect to begin with."

Vova did not back down. He stepped forward and raised the wand he had secretly made over the past few days, although in Lux's eyes it was still no different from casting spells without a wand.

But Vova was full of confidence in his pine wand.

"Why don't we put it into practice? You teach me this protective spell, and I'll do mine, and we'll see how it works?"

Anthony was so angry his beard trembled. He saw this as a blatant challenge to his authority by Vova: "Arrogant! You think you can surpass your mentor by figuring things out yourself? Fine! I'll show you real magic!"

He raised his wand, took a deep breath, and began to cast the protective spell with extremely complicated gestures and incantations.

The light flickered and condensed in front of him, forming a pale yellow barrier that looked fairly stable but was noticeably shimmering.

Following Lux's instructions, Vova flicked his wrist sharply and clearly uttered the incantation: "Armor Protection!"

A solid barrier, shimmering with a semi-transparent glow, instantly unfolded in front of him, clearly surpassing Anthony's in both formation speed and stability.

Lux modified her armor at Hogwarts, making it shorter in duration but faster to cast and more stable once formed. Anthony's casting method, on the other hand, is probably no different from what it was over a hundred years ago.

Sit down!

A suppressed gasp and whispers rose from the audience. These half-baked wizards might not understand profound theories, but the effectiveness of the treatment was obvious.

Anthony's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He pointed at Vova, his finger trembling, "You—where did you learn this heretical art! This isn't orthodox magic! This is—this is a shortcut! This is corruption!"

"Good magic is the kind that allows you to use power more efficiently." Vova put away her wand and looked at him calmly.

"Professor Anthony, perhaps the 'Spark' needs some new ideas."

"I challenge you to a duel!" Anthony was clearly getting desperate.

Vova then looked at Lux, who gave him an affirming look.

"I'd be happy to oblige!"

After the two men separated and bowed to each other, Anthony made the first move.

"Flame Bear————"

"Yugadimurleviosa!"

Before Anthony could finish his spell, Vova's levitation spell had already launched him into the air, interrupting his casting. Anthony fell from the sky, landing hard.

Then it was blown up again and fell to the ground once more.

Every time Anthony fell to the ground, he landed face down, and several teeth flew out. If it were a Muggle, he would probably have been knocked unconscious by now, but wizards are obviously in better physical condition.

After repeating this several times, Anthony, with a bruised and swollen face, knelt on the ground and dry heaved. After all, he was an old man, and he couldn't take it after a few repetitions.

Everyone stared at Vova in shock. Vova hadn't expected the effect to be so good either. Then she looked at Lux.

He knew Lux was helping him from behind.

Lux couldn't stop laughing, after all, there weren't many people she could play with like this, and she was known for being beautiful, kind-hearted, and respectful to the elderly and children.

Anthony, who finally got up from the ground, glared fiercely at Vova.

"Good! Very good!" Anthony glanced around at the members in the audience, whose eyes were filled with different expressions, and felt that the authority he had painstakingly built was collapsing.

He abruptly flicked his sleeves and roared at the two elder members beside him who had always been his strongest supporters: "Today's gathering is over! Let these people, misled by heresy, do their own thing! Once they've suffered the consequences, they'll naturally understand who's right!"

The rally ended in discord, and Anthony, along with two of his staunch supporters, stormed out of the air-raid shelter first.

Vova was surrounded by other curious and excited members, who bombarded him with questions about magic.

Lux, on the other hand, continued to play the role of the mute, keeping her achievements hidden. She didn't intend to stay long and there was no need for her to show off.

Next, as long as Vova reveals the vampire information, Lux will gain a temporary intelligence hub.

Lux had searched the village for the past three days but couldn't find any trace of the vampire. She even suspected that he might have already left. Lux planned to gather one last bit of information, and if there was still no news, she would use Floo Powder to leave.

After all, it was just LeBlanc's mess. If it weren't related to runes, Lux wouldn't have been that interested in coming over.

Just as Vova and Lux ​​were about to leave, panicked shouts and a wild, beast-like roar suddenly came from the entrance of the air-raid shelter.

The two men's expressions changed, and they immediately rushed out.

In the narrow alleyway leading to the surface, filled with discarded building materials, the two who had just left lay on the ground, their bodies drained and turned into gruesome mummies, their expressions frozen in extreme terror.

Anthony stood with his back against the cold brick wall, his face ashen, his wand flailing wildly, unleashing weak fire spells and barrier spells, but seemingly unable to stop the figure that was closing in on him.

It was a woman wearing a tattered black dress. Her skin was so pale it was almost bloodless, her eyes were bloodshot, and sharp fangs protruded from the corners of her mouth, stained with fresh blood.

Her movements were as fast as a ghost, and most of Anthony's spells missed. The occasional hits only elicited an impatient screech from her, and after a moment's delay, they were unable to cause any real damage.

She seemed to be toying with her prey, reveling in Anthony's fear.

The moment Lux saw it, she realized that this was the vampire she was looking for, but it was different from what she had read in the Hogwarts books. Although vampires drink human blood, they can also eat normal food. Compared to werewolves' uncontrollable transformations, vampires are born that way.

Even the International Federation of Wizards has a seat for vampires, which proves that vampires are rational beings, while the one in front of us is close to a beast.

Lux saw some of her information through the system.

Eve, the artificial vampire

【LV14，生命值6120，法强214、护甲143、魔抗262】

When Anthony saw them, he cried out as if grasping at a straw: "Help me! She's immune to curses!"

He swung his staff and shot out flames, but the vampire extinguished them with a mere wave of her hand. Sharp nails grew from her fingertips as she walked step by step toward Anthony.

"Such high health and resistances? Even more outrageous than a fire dragon!" Lux cursed under her breath, brandishing her staff and shouting, "Yugadimurleviosa, Translucent Singularity!"

After Eve was lifted into the air by the levitation spell, a golden ball of light exploded beneath her feet, and she was thrown into the air by the impact, crashing into a nearby pine tree.

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