Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

The runes on the door began to flow, meandering along the stone surface, detaching from their original positions, suspending in the air and recombining to form new patterns.

The stone door slid open to both sides silently the next moment.

Behind the door was a space filled with gray fog, so thick it was like a solid, slowly churning.

The outlines of the buildings, broken stone pillars, collapsed archways, and floorboards shattered into irregular pieces could be vaguely seen through the fog.

Everything was shrouded in that layer of gray fog, its outlines blurred and its edges melted away.

However, although the stone door was opened, a glowing magical barrier still stood in the doorway.

The barrier was translucent, as if it were condensed light, with silvery-white runes flowing across its surface, flashing at a fixed frequency.

The barrier firmly sealed the fog inside; the fog collided with the membrane, creating ripples, but it couldn't penetrate.

Darren stared at the barrier, his eyes filled with both fervor and fear.

He put the crystal back in the box, took out his wand, and aimed the tip at the center of the barrier.

He began to recite another incantation.

This time the incantation is longer and more complex.

Each syllable sounded like it was being forced out of his lungs, and Darren's face turned white at a visible speed, from pale to ashen, and finally to a lime-white.

The hand holding the wand trembled violently, and the trajectory drawn by the tip of the wand in the air was intermittent, but the spell continued.

The runes on the barrier began to flicker.

Chaotic and rapid, the runes' brightness is decreasing, fading from silvery-white to grayish-white, and then to dark gray.

Regulus narrowed his eyes, focusing his magical perception on the boundary between the barrier and the gray mist.

The barrier was weakening, as if Darren was using a spell to persuade it, temporarily disabling its protective logic and making it believe that opening it at this moment was reasonable.

This process is very slow; every second feels like it's being stretched out.

The air in the passage grew colder and colder. Regulus knew it was a change in the nature of magic, like stepping from spring into the eternal night of the Arctic.

The aura of curse within the gray fog seeped through the weak points of the barrier; though faint, Regulus recognized it immediately.

It was exactly the same as the one inside Hermes' body, only the concentration was many times higher, like the difference between a drop of water and the ocean.

Darren was finishing his incantation.

As the last syllable fell, he swayed, his knees buckled, and he almost knelt down.

But he held on, extending his wand forward until the tip touched the surface of the barrier.

The barrier became completely transparent, revealing every detail of the churning gray fog behind it.

Regulus could see clearly that it wasn't gray mist at all; it was an illusory human face with features distorted to an inhuman degree, a mouth gaping open, and two black holes where the eyes were.

And it wasn't just one, it was tens of thousands, densely packed, layer upon layer, crammed behind the barrier, each one screaming silently.

Regulus's breath hitched for a moment. How could such a thing exist in Hogwarts?

No matter how you look at it, it's not a respectable style.

If a human face represents a life lost, then tens of thousands of people have died here?

The barrier is still there, but it has lost all its protective properties.

He suppressed his doubts and assumed a retreat posture.

Darren took a step forward, raised his wand, its tip glowing a dark red light, and aimed it at the center of the barrier, preparing to cast another spell.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

The barrier remained intact, but the gray fog behind it suddenly contracted towards the center, coalescing into a dense, impenetrable darkness.

The darkness remained still for a moment, then suddenly exploded.

A visible gray-black ripple struck the barrier, causing it to shake violently and crack open on its surface. The cracks spread at an astonishing speed, covering the entire barrier in the blink of an eye.

Darren was jolted backward, his wand flying out of his hand and crashing against the stone wall of the passage with a crisp cracking sound.

His eyes widened, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints, his mouth opened but no sound came out; fear gripped his throat.

The cracks are spreading and deepening.

Gray mist seeped out from the cracks. The first wisp of mist touched the hem of Darren's robe, and the black cloth instantly turned gray, then crumbled into powder, which drifted in the air.

"ah--"

Darren's scream finally burst forth, filled with primal fear.

He retreated frantically, tripped on the stone threshold, and fell backward. When he braced himself on the ground, his skin was scraped and blood seeped out, leaving a dark red palm print in the dust.

He crawled toward the broken wand, but his fingers trembled so much he could barely hold it.

More fog surged out, spreading towards Darren, leaving charred and decayed marks on the stone slabs wherever it passed.

The barrier shattered completely.

Regulus's desire to explore was instantly abruptly cut short. Behind the stone gate, in the churning gray mist, countless human faces exuded a chilling and eerie aura.

The heavy despair and pain didn't need to be consciously perceived; it seeped into the body through the air, making the chest feel suffocated and even breathing difficult.

He raised his hand and waved, instantly dispelling the illusion spell. He then cast a dispelling spell on Avery and Alex respectively.

The invisibility effect on the two faded simultaneously, revealing their frozen figures in the dim light.

The invisibility effect on the two faded simultaneously, revealing their frozen figures in the dim light.

At this point, hiding one's tracks is pointless; it's essential to ensure that each other can see clearly.

Evacuation as soon as possible was the only option; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as an escape. Everything before him had exceeded his expectations.

Regulus's gaze fell on Darren McNeil, who was sitting slumped on the ground not far away, clutching a broken staff and waving it wildly, his face filled with despair and fear.

Absolutely stupid, stupid beyond belief.

Clearly, he only prepared methods to break the protective spell, and had no way to collect or suppress the items inside.

A thought suddenly occurred to them: Could it be that the higher-ups had ordered them to detonate this cursed bomb at Hogwarts?

Voldemort?

But no, this is too rough, and where is this place?

Hogwarts!

If Voldemort really dared to do this, wouldn't he be afraid that Dumbledore would go to any lengths to get rid of him?

Most likely, it's just that Darren McNeil is simply stupid.

The thought flashed through his mind for only a moment before Regulus strode towards the exit of the passage, uttering only one word in a deep and urgent voice: "Run."

Avery and Alex were already stunned into silence, their faces ashen, their eyes fixed on the churning gray fog.

Avery managed to steady himself and stand firm, his fingers gripping his wand tightly.

Upon hearing Regulus's call, he almost instinctively lifted his foot, reacting without the slightest hesitation, and rushed forward to follow Regulus's footsteps.

Alex panicked completely. His legs felt like lead, and he stood rooted to the spot, his eyes wide with fear, his breathing rapid and labored.

Regulus and Avery had already run three body lengths ahead, but out of the corner of their eye they saw Alex still standing there.

He didn't turn around; he simply raised his left hand and grasped the spell.

This spell was originally intended for goblins, but it was just the right amount of power to deal with a defenseless little wizard.

The spell gripped Alex's waist, and Regulus pulled him forcefully to his side, his right hand seizing Alex's arm.

His physical abilities far surpassed those of the young wizards; even with Avery running at full speed, he still couldn't keep up with his pace.

Regulus paused briefly, then cast a grab spell on Avery, pulling him to his side as well.

At the same time, he raised his hand and unleashed an Ironclad Spell behind him. The magical barrier was thick and sturdy, stretching across the center of the passage and blocking the first wave of the gray mist's advance.

He then cast two more obstacle spells, which struck the stone walls on both sides, causing pebbles to fall and form a simple stone barrier.

The gray fog surged faster than anyone could imagine. In the blink of an eye, Darren McNeil's wailing came from behind, a voice filled with fear, sharp and piercing.

Regulus glanced quickly and saw that Darren's location had been completely engulfed by the gray fog, but a glimmer of white light was still flashing, barely blocking the erosion of the gray fog.

It is that crystal, which shares the same origin as the protective spell on the stone gate.

But Regulus had already noticed that cracks had appeared on the surface of the crystal, and he didn't know how long it could last.

However, this was irrelevant to Regulus; his only goal now was to leave with Avery and Alex as soon as possible.

He cast a levitation spell on himself and the two of them, but they didn't float completely; they were just used to counteract gravity and reduce their weight.

The three rushed forward along the passage, but the gray fog behind them followed closely like a persistent leech, never letting up.

The stone barrier created by the Obstacle Curse was woefully inadequate; the swirling gray mist instantly submerged the rubble, leaving no trace.

Regulus's mind raced, his feet never stopping as he calculated distance and speed.

The main passage they were in was wide enough that he could maintain full speed even with two people with him.

But not far ahead was a narrow passage that could only allow one person to pass at a time; it was the only way, and there was no other choice.

They would have to slow down there, passing through one after the other, but the speed of the gray fog would not give them that time.

Regulus concluded in his heart that at this speed, he couldn't escape.