Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

At 8 PM, the House of Response.

The door appeared on the wall of the seventh-floor corridor, and Regulus pushed it open and went inside.

All five people have arrived.

Hermes stands on the far right, leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, with a resigned expression, but upon closer inspection, there is a hint of defiance.

If there's one person in this small group who didn't slack off, it's him. After being beaten up so many times and training for so long, he knows he's improved to some extent.

He resigned himself to his fate because he knew that no matter how much he improved, Regulus could still defeat him.

He was unconvinced because he had indeed improved, and also because he was very full; the roasted meat and fried eggs in his stomach were providing him with energy.

Alex stood slightly to the left of the center of the room, his expression relatively calm, but he was also standing quite far back, farther away than Hermes in a straight line.

Avery stood next to Alex, a smile still on his face from dinner until now, beaming with joy.

Lena and Samuel stood at the very back, closest to the door.

Lena unconsciously leaned towards Alex. Samuel stood beside her, his hands in his robe pockets, his gaze shifting back and forth between Hermes and Alex.

Regulus stood opposite them, Baruch perched on his shoulder, his spider head turning from left to right, his eight eyes scanning them one by one, his chelicerae opening and closing with a click.

"It's been over a week since I came back," he said, his gaze slowly sweeping over the five people. "Not a single one of them has come looking for me."

The five people looked at each other, their expressions inscrutable, and remained silent.

"What did you practice? To what extent? Did you slack off? You haven't said a word." Regulus's tone wasn't stern, but it carried a hint of accusation.

Hermes' lips twitched, and he silently turned his face to the wall, while Alex looked down at the floor.

Avery's smile was already a bit forced. Regulus's tone clearly indicated that he was picking a fight. He didn't know what had happened, but he was in a bad mood and taking it out on them.

Lena bit her lower lip, her eyes wide open, and nudged Samuel with her elbow. Samuel stepped aside to avoid being touched, his expression a mixture of tension and helplessness.

Regulus looked at Hermes, who turned his face away from the wall to meet his gaze, his left eye showing guilt and his right eye showing stubbornness.

He knew he was the first, so he stood up straight and walked forward from the base of the wall.

Regulus looked at Hermes's resigned yet defiant face.

After seeing Baruch's transformation in the Forbidden Forest, this guy wanted him to do the same thing, stuffing something into his body, like a salamander, a Bowtruckle, or something else.

I want to be transformed, I want to become stronger.

After being transformed by external forces, are you still yourself?

Bella was transformed into another person, a creation of Voldemort.

Hermes wanted the same thing, though he didn't know what it meant.

Hermes.

Hermes' Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Regulus's gaze shifted from casual hostility to pure danger.

Hermes felt a jolt of goosebumps on his scalp, a tingling sensation that shot up from his tailbone to the back of his head.

He immediately drew his wand, assumed a defensive stance, lowered his center of gravity, and lifted his heels slightly off the ground.

A piercing spell grazed Hermes' earlobe, flying so fast that he hadn't even finished a full breath.

He then subconsciously turned his head, trying to dodge the attack, but the second Obstruction Charm slammed into the floor in front of his feet, shattering a small piece of wood and pushing him back a few steps.

Hermes dodged to the side, simultaneously casting a stun spell back at the same time.

Regulus sidestepped, without moving his feet, but twisted his waist slightly. The spell grazed past his ear, struck the wall behind him, and sparked a shower of fire.

Hermes followed up with a second shot: "Abolish your weapon!"

Regulus waved his wand, deflecting the disarming spell. He then pressed the wand down, causing the wooden plank beneath Hermes' feet to suddenly rise and lift him upwards.

Hermes used the momentum to roll backward, landing with his left hand on the ground while his right wand was already aimed at Regulus again, casting the Shattering Curse.

The white beam of light struck Regulus's chest with sufficient speed, precision, and a clean trajectory.

A small diamond-shaped shield materialized out of thin air half a foot in front of Regulus. The Shattering Curse exploded upon impact, sending fragments flying to both sides.

Regulus nodded in satisfaction: "There's been progress."

Then, with a flick of the wand, the flaming whip shot out from the tip, drawing an orange-red arc in the air before snapping with a loud crack.

Hermes's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly dodged to the side. The fiery whip grazed his back, leaving a charred patch on the hem of his robe.

He scrambled to his feet, but before he could even raise his wand, Regulus's next spell struck him squarely in the chest.

The wand flew out of his hand, tumbling to the base of the wall. Hermes looked down at his empty right hand, then looked up at Regulus.

A crushing spell slammed down, and Hermes' knees buckled, his entire body was pressed to the floor, his hands bracing against the ground as he desperately resisted, his arms trembling.

His teeth were clenched tightly, the veins on his forehead bulged, and he held on for about five seconds before collapsing to the ground, face down.

The oppression spell was withdrawn, and he lay on the ground panting, his body a complete mess.

The whole process took less than half a minute.

The four people around watched. Alex's expression changed from "I knew it" to "I knew it," while Avery watched with great interest, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Lina's mouth was wide open, and her eyes were wide open.

Last time she watched Regulus fight Hermes, she was so scared that she crouched behind the dummy and covered her head. This time she didn't cover her head and quietly sidled up to Alex, wanting to tug at his sleeve.

Samuel remained calm and observed silently.

Then he saw Regulus turn his gaze to him, and to Lina beside him.

Regulus scooped Baruch off his shoulder and tossed him forward: "Go."

Baruch's eight legs spread out as soon as they touched the ground, and then began to grow larger.

From the size of a palm to the size of a kitten to the size of a large dog to two meters in size, the carapace unfolds, the dark red bristles stand up one by one, and the reddish-brown patterns at the joints gleam warmly under the light.

Its chelicerae extended from the sides of its head, their sharp tips clicking and clattering with a dull metallic clang that echoed throughout the room. Eight amber eyes were fixed on the two wizard cubs before it.

Lena's mouth opened wide and she couldn't close it. Instinctively, she stepped back, her back bumping into Samuel's shoulder.

Samuel also stepped back, his face pale, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and he raised his wand, but it was trembling violently.

Avery was laughing so hard he was slapping his thigh and couldn't straighten up.

Alex laughed too. He and Avery had both been chased by the massive Baruch, and after being cocooned, the spiderlings were called out one by one. Now it was someone else's turn.

He saw Lina and Samuel's reactions and felt a little smug.

Hermes lay on the ground, turned his head to look at Baruch's large physique, and stared intently at him, his gaze burning with desire.

Baruch charged out with astonishing speed.

It launched itself to the left mid-air, pushing off the ground with all eight legs at the same time. Its body turned in the air and landed on the wall to Lina's right. Its claws dug into the grooves in the stone wall, and its body lay horizontally against the wall.

A head-on collision is just menacing, but running against a wall is a bit terrifying.

Lina screamed and turned to run away.

Baruch didn't chase after her. Instead, he sprang down from the wall, sending a wisp of spider silk flying straight toward Samuel's wand.

Samuel dodged to the side, but Baruch's second tuft of spider silk was already waiting in his direction, sticking to his left knee. With a sudden tug, Samuel lost his balance and leaned to the left, his right hand still holding his wand, trying to aim at Baruch.

Lina then made her move, unleashing a Barrier Spell from the side that struck Baruch.

Baruch's body swayed symbolically, and his chelicerae turned toward Lina.

"Run!" Lina grabbed Samuel and ran backward. After a few steps, Baruch was launched from the floor to the ceiling, hanging upside down over their heads, and landed directly in front of them, blocking their way.

Samuel and Lena stopped at the same time.

"Left!" Samuel shouted.

Lena ran to the left, and Samuel ran to the right, creating distance between them so that Baruch could only chase one of them.

Baruch's spider head spun between the two men before charging straight at Samuel, so fast that he was knocked to the ground the moment he raised his wand.

Spider silk began to wrap around him from his shoulders, quickly covering him completely, and then Baruch turned to chase after Lina.

Lena ran a little longer than Samuel, circled around to the back of the training dummy, used it as cover, and fired a Shattering Spell from behind.

Baruch didn't even flinch; the Shattering Spell struck its carapace, exploding into sparks.

It bounced over the dummy, and a tuft of spider silk wrapped around Lina's legs. With a gentle tug, Lina fell backward onto the floor.

Baruch dragged the two men together, placed them in a corner, and then circled around them.

As it spun around, it sprayed spider silk, binding the two tightly. The spider held its head high, and its chelicerae made a long, clicking sound.

It stretched out its forelegs and poked Samuel's shoulder, then poked Lena's wand, before lying down and resting its spider head on its forelegs, its eight amber eyes looking down at the two of them.

The two main eyes at the top: the left eye is smug, and the right eye is arrogant.

Lena struggled in the spider silk for a moment, but found she couldn't break free. Samuel was wrapped up so tightly that only his head could move.

Regulus stood in the middle of the room, looking around, and felt a little better.

After defeating Hermes and watching Baruch deal with Lina and Samuel, my mood changed from annoyed to okay.

He turned to Alex and Avery: "You two go."

Alex and Avery exchanged a glance. Alex drew his wand, but Avery was faster, already holding it in his hand.

The two men stood diagonally opposite each other, with Alex on the left in front and Avery on the right behind, and then they both attacked at the same time.

The Shattering Spell shot out from the right rear, the white beam flying straight toward Regulus's shoulder.

Regulus didn't turn his head, but slightly turned his body to avoid it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the tip of Alex's staff glowing with the red light of a disarming spell, waiting for the moment when Alex dodged the landing point.

Regulus took a step back, where Avery's second spell was already waiting: the Petrify Spell.

The rhythm of their teamwork has clearly improved; they have anticipation and division of labor. Alex is calm and controls the pace, while Avery is aggressive and responsible for pressing, probably because he practiced with Hermes.

Alex's disarming spell was cast at the perfect moment, just as Regulus dodged Avery's petrification spell.

A small diamond-shaped shield materialized in front of Regulus, and the red light exploded upon impact.

At the same time, Avery charged in from the right, firing a series of Shattering Curses, each one forcing Regulus to move in the direction Alex had predetermined.

Alex had already circled around to the side, and with a slight downward movement of his wand, the wooden floor beneath Regulus's feet became sticky—a softening spell.

Regulus glanced down, then stepped down, and the wooden floor solidified beneath his feet.

Alex was stunned for a moment, and in that instant, Regulus's Barrier Charm crashed into him.

A pale purple shockwave emanated from the tip of the staff, striking Alex and Avery simultaneously.

The two people flew backward and crashed onto the soft cushions on the wall of the House of Response, bounced once, and slid to the ground.

Regulus looked at them both and said casually, "You've improved. Not bad."

The scene quieted down, and the five people scattered in different places in the Room of Requirement. Hermes had changed from lying down to sitting, with his back against the wall, and his breathing gradually became steady.

Lena and Samuel were still struggling with the spider silk in the corner. Lena had freed one hand from the silk and was helping Samuel pull out one of his arms.

Alex stood up from the ground, dusted off his robe, while Avery rubbed his backside and grimaced beside him.

Regulus approached Hermes: "There's been progress. Continue next week."

Hermes looked up at him, and his lips twitched.

Regulus looked around and left with the words, "Practice on your own."

Then he turned and walked towards his private cabin.