Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 57 Ravenclaw? Ravenclaw!

Rice has a rich and colorful life, and the scenes that can shock him are indeed extremely impressive.

Before him lay a cave the size of a Quidditch pitch, filled with gray mist that occasionally twisted and conjured up a dark creature or magical beast that charged toward the center of the cave.

Fire dragons, giants, thunderbirds, fairies...

Having witnessed the intensity of the battle, Rice thought this Ash Demon was nothing special. However, upon arriving at this open area, he realized he was terribly wrong. The Ash Demon hadn't paid any attention to him before, likely using less than a tenth of its power against him. It had focused almost all its attention on this place, trying to crush the monster in the middle of the cave.

However, things didn't go as planned. Those powerful creatures were as fragile as paper, and before they could run a few steps, they were shredded to pieces by several incoming wind blades.

The one that released the wind blades was a mummified corpse standing in the middle of the cave. The corpse was covered with a tattered blue robe. From the sparse strands of hair remaining on the top of the corpse's head and the ornaments on the robe, it was not difficult to tell that this was the remains of a witch.

Beside the mummified corpse stood a withered witch ghost. Unlike the other ghosts, this ghost's body was much more solid, almost like a physical entity. The accessories on her robe were exactly the same as those on the mummified corpse beside her.

The witch's ghost was what shocked Rice—even in her ghost form, Rice recognized her at a glance: Rowena Ravenclaw.

The commotion caused by Rice's arrival attracted the attention of Ravenclaw's ghost. While manipulating her wind blades to drive the Ashbringer back, she looked up in the direction where Rice was.

She looked up, revealing a pair of scarlet eyes, eyes that Rice once knew so well, but now seemed so unfamiliar.

The once intelligent and gentle eyes now only hold the instinctive emotions of a wild beast—bloodlust, madness, and brutality…

The moment Rice saw those eyes, he didn't hesitate and turned to run away.

He knew perfectly well that Ravenclaw's state after becoming a ghost was abnormal; she had lost her sanity, but her power remained. If he lingered here any longer, she would truly kill him.

Even if Ravenclaw lost her most powerful weapon, intelligence, and was left with only the brute strength of a Gryffindor, she was still no match for Rice, whose physical condition was only eleven years old.

Rice left very decisively, but even though he only showed himself briefly, he still attracted the attention of Ravenclaw's ghost.

The ghost ceased its fight with the Ashbringer and instead commanded Rowena Ravenclaw's desiccated corpse to raise its wand and circle around, instantly summoning a violent tornado within the crypt. The tornado destroyed the Ashbringer's gray mist defenses around its core, exposing a transparent, glass-like core.

A wind blade struck the core, leaving a crack on it.

The wounded Ash Demon went mad. It tried to manipulate the remaining ash and erect a defense around the core again, but the ash inside the cave had been swept away by the storm. It desperately tried to collect the ash, but could only build a thin layer of gray mist around the core.

Given time, it could naturally regain its former imposing form, but the Ravenclaw ghost didn't give it that chance. A barrage of wind blades struck its core, shattering it into pieces. With the core's destruction, the powerful Ash Demon was thus annihilated by the Ravenclaw ghost. The remaining parts of the Ash Demon might take thousands of years to recover to their former state.

This guy was unlucky to run into Ravenclaw, who was skilled in wind magic. If he had run into Rice, his fate would probably not have been so tragic.

Rice also heard the roar of the wind, pursed his lips, and sprinted away.

Judging from the commotion, the Ravenclaw's ghost was not much weaker than Ravenclaw herself. At this moment, Ravenclaw was genuinely grateful to the Ashbringer; if it hadn't bought her some time, she certainly wouldn't have escaped.

The Ravenclaw ghost floated out of the cave, its crimson eyes fixed on the direction Rice had fled. Compared to the ghost, the dried corpse moved much slower; it took the dried corpse several seconds after the ghost appeared to stagger to its side.

Under the ghost's control, the dried corpse slowly raised its wand, and the next second, dozens of wind blades swept down the corridor.

After presenting a "greeting gift" to its old friend, Ravenclaw's ghost seemed to feel that the gift was a bit meager for its long-lost friend. Just as it was about to send Rice another wave of wind blades, the floor of the corridor suddenly surged, and a huge mouth emerged from under the Ravenclaw corpse's feet, instantly swallowing it whole.

The attack by the unknown monster disrupted the ghost's plans. It changed its target, commanding the dried corpse to cast spells inside the monster's belly. By the time it defeated the monster and emerged from its stomach, Rice had already escaped its attack range.

However, the gift from his old friend still gave Rice a "surprise," making him feel the warmth from Ravenclaw.

When the wind blade was still nearly a hundred meters away from Rice, he keenly sensed something was amiss.

Knowing very well about Rowena's magic, Rice knew that running away was pointless now, so he stopped, lined up the stone beasts in front of him, and quickly cast a protective spell.

Compared to Daphne, Rice's protective spell was much thicker. If Daphne had erected a shield in front of him, then Rice had built a city wall in front of him.

Seeing the stone beast blocking his way and the seemingly heavy defensive spells, Rice frowned and silently protected the basilisk in front of him.

After these preparations were completed, the wind blades roared in, leaving deep marks on the walls, floors, and ceilings of the corridor. The stone beasts were swept into the storm created by the wind blades and instantly turned into a pile of rubble. The wind blades mixed with the rubble crashed against the magical barrier constructed by Rice, like a tsunami hitting a dam.

Rice took a deep breath and channeled as much magic as possible into the magic barrier.

After a brief stalemate, the defensive spell erected by Rice was shattered. However, the storm formed by the wind blades had also reached its limit, leaving only hundreds of large and small wounds on the basilisk. Rice himself was not seriously injured, with only a few small cuts on his arms.

The basilisk roared in pain, its tail lashing out wildly and striking Rice squarely in the chest, causing him to black out. He estimated that at least two ribs had been broken.

The most serious injury Rice suffered in the attack was caused by the basilisk.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)