Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Freya stopped and looked down at him slightly: "You rest first. I'll call you to patrol at eight o'clock tonight."

Regulus stopped and nodded.

Freya turned and left, her steps still as brisk as ever, and she quickly disappeared around the corner of another house.

Regulus pushed open the door; the room was larger than he had expected.

The first floor houses the living room and kitchen, with a fire burning in the fireplace, the firewood crackling.

The second floor is the bedroom, with windows facing the sea, offering views of the grey-blue ocean and the silhouette of distant rocky islands.

He went upstairs, walked to the window, and saw several seabirds circling low over the distant sea.

He remembered what Freya had just said.

Their goal isn't to kill you; they'll make you forget why you should resist.

That's an interesting statement.

Most combat magic has a straightforward purpose: to inflict damage, control, or kill.

But the magic of Whispers of the Abyss is different; it attacks the will to fight itself, which is more dangerous than mere physical damage.

Even if a wizard is injured, as long as he has the will, he can continue to fight.

But if you lose the will to fight, you've already lost, even if your body is perfectly healthy.

Regulus wanted to know how that kind of magic worked.

Is it through illusion? Through emotional contagion? Or through some kind of curse that directly affects consciousness?

He stood by the window for a long time, until it began to get dark.

As night fell, Freya knocked on the door right on time.

Regulus opened the door, and she had changed her clothes. She was wearing a dark, form-fitting hunting outfit with a waterproof cloak over it, and her wand was tucked into a leather sheath at her waist.

"Let's go." She stood at the door without coming in, her voice still low.

Regulus looked up at her slightly, dressed in that very outfit, and drew his wand, tapping it lightly to cast a waterproof and moisture-proof spell.

The two went out and began patrolling along the route they had taken during the day.

The nights in Reef Town are quiet, with only the dull, continuous sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

There was no moon in the sky, and the clouds were as thick as a quilt. Occasionally, a few stars would peek through the gaps, only to be quickly obscured again.

Freya walked ahead, her steps still quick. She had long legs and took large strides, but they were almost silent. Regulus followed behind her, also controlling the sound of his footsteps.

The two walked around the perimeter of the farm but found nothing unusual, then moved to the vicinity of the observation station.

The observatory is a domed stone tower covered with dark green seaweed. Flames flicker at the top, and the doors are tightly closed, with intricate protective runes engraved on the doors, gleaming faintly with a blue light in the night.

Freya stopped in front of the tower gate, her wand sliding into her palm, but she didn't raise it.

She turned her head and gestured to Regulus to stay where he was and not move.

Then she approached the tower door and reached out to touch a rune on the door panel.

The rune lit up briefly, then went out. She stepped back and shook her head at Regulus.

"I wasn't moved." She lowered her voice, her deep voice still clear amidst the howling sea breeze.

Regulus continued to nod, saying nothing, but his gaze lingered on the protective runes for a moment.

The runes on the door panel are distinctive and different from those commonly seen in England.

British wizards often use protective runes that, in addition to ensuring functionality, are elaborate and ornate, with looping lines, emphasizing multiple nesting and magical isolation.

The runes before me exude a German-style rigor, with straight, sharp lines and geometrically simple connections between nodes.

Regulus could see that this was a highly logical dynamic defense that would analyze the magical properties of those attempting to enter and then decide whether to block them, allow them to pass, or trigger an alarm.

It's not a matter of which is better or worse; it's just a matter of different styles.

The two continued their patrol, heading north along the coastline, passing through a rocky area.

The rocks here are strangely shaped and smoothed by the sea. Freya suddenly stopped when she reached the middle of the rocky area.

She raised her hand, gesturing for Regulus to stop, then slowly turned around, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding rocks.

Regulus also sensed the magical fluctuations.

It was very faint, like ripples underwater, but he still felt it. There were three spots, scattered in three directions in the reef area.

Freya didn't speak, but simply raised her wand to her chest, the tip of the wand drooping slightly, assuming a fighting stance.

Regulus also drew his wand.

Then, three people emerged from behind the reef.

They were all wearing dark gray robes, which were soaked by the sea and clung to their bodies.

He wore a bone mask, its surface engraved with twisted runes that gleamed a pale, dim light in the night. Welcome to the fantastical world of fantasy novels, the entrance is here:

The three people stood in a triangular formation, surrounding Freya and Regulus in the middle.

For a moment, no one spoke; only the sound of waves crashing against the rocks could be heard.

After a brief standoff, Freya made the first move.

With a flick of her wand, a silent stun spell shot towards the masked man on her left, the light of the spell appearing dazzling in the dim light.

But the other side was prepared. One of them raised his hand, palm facing forward, and a semi-transparent barrier unfolded in front of him, blocking the stun spell.

Ripples appeared on the surface of the barrier, which then returned to smooth.

At this moment, the masked man in the middle spoke. His voice was strange, as if it came from a very deep place, with an echo: "Eisenhardt..."

Without giving the other party a chance to finish speaking, Freya waved her wand again, this time firing three spells almost simultaneously, each aimed at one of the three masked men.

Regulus wasn't idle either; he pointed his wand at the masked man on the right, unleashing the first form of the Disintegration Charm.

The gray-green incantation shot out silently, faster than Freya's incantation, and under the cover of night, it carried an ominous light.

The masked man on the right seemed not to have expected his attack to be so direct, and hastily dodged to the side.

He clearly had extensive combat experience; his movements were swift yet undistorted, but the spell still grazed the hem of his left shoulder.

The part of the robe that was touched instantly disintegrated, revealing the skin underneath.

A grayish-green mark appeared on the skin, and then the disintegration began.

The skin structure around the mark began to collapse, turning into fine, dry, colorless microparticles in a fraction of a second, silently dispersing into the air and revealing the bare muscle beneath.

The muscles then lost their original texture and luster, began to shrink inward, became shriveled, as if the last bit of substance had been removed, and dissipated into finer particles.

The Disintegration Curse is in effect.

Upon contact, it negates the holistic definition of that part of the tissue as skin and muscle, allowing them to return to their most primitive and dispersed constituent units.

The process was incredibly fast; the skin disappeared, the muscles disappeared, and the collarbone became faintly visible.

The disintegration continued, but the masked man reacted extremely quickly. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his right hand holding the wand, aiming the tip at the wound.

A dark red light shone from the tip of the staff, and Regulus could sense that it was a kind of magic that was almost boiling and carried a sense of self-destruction.

A red light enveloped the wound and a large area around it. Then, the entire left shoulder was instantly peeled off, vaporized, and turned into a wisp of black smoke that dissipated into the air.

The wound instantly formed a charred, indented pit, with only a thin sliver of skin connecting the left arm to the outside.

The process was so fast it was almost cruel, as if it weren't his own flesh and blood.

Then, the light at the tip of the staff changed from dark red to a clear, icy blue.

New, bright red granulation tissue grew and wove wildly from the edge of the wound at a visible speed, quickly filling the void.

The skin layers then spread and closed up, and a few seconds later, the left shoulder returned to normal, leaving only a patch of pink flesh with a watery sheen, reflecting slightly in the night.

He moved his left arm, and the joint made a slight clicking sound.

Regulus's brow twitched slightly.

The Disintegration Spell worked as expected, but the target chose to actively remove the corrupted parts and then regenerate.

The other party showed a cold attitude towards the body, saying that if it's broken, it's broken, it can be repaired, or even replaced.

The effect of the Disintegration Spell was not negated; it did indeed complete the disintegration process.

However, the other party used a more radical approach, discarding the decomposed result along with the carrier that contained it.

At this moment, the masked man in the middle spoke again: "A boy...interesting."

His voice still had that strange quality, with an echo, but this time it carried a hint of curiosity.

Freya didn't give them a chance to continue speaking.

She raised her wand high and recited a difficult incantation, speaking quickly and with strange syllables.

As she chanted her incantation, the moisture in the surrounding air began to condense, forming a dozen or so icicles in front of her.

The ice cone was completely transparent, with a sharp tip and a magical sheen flowing across its surface.

She waved her wand, and ice spikes shot out in a barrage.

The three masked figures moved simultaneously.

Tap the wand on the left again, and an even larger shield will appear in front of you.

The one in the middle raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and made a grasping motion towards the flying ice spikes. The ice spikes suddenly turned in mid-air, collided with each other, and shattered into ice shards.

The injured masked man on the right charged directly at Regulus at an abnormally fast speed, as if gliding on ice.