Karkaroff: Tremble, for today you will witness the descent of the true god!

Chapter 544 Karkaroff: Tremble, for today you will witness the descent of the true god!

Led by Krum, the three of them easily entered Durmstrang.

The castle's tight defenses are only for external use. If someone leads the way and opens the gate, one can proceed without hindrance.

After entering the magic school with which he had a deep connection, Rice couldn't help but look around and then came to a conclusion: Durmstrang's past headmasters were clearly not as good at managing money as the previous headmasters of Hogwarts.

Despite being an ancient school with a history of over a thousand years, Durmstrang's castle looks rather shabby, lacking the magnificent grandeur of Hogwarts.

On second thought, it might be related to Durmstrang's location in a harsh, cold region. There aren't many magical families here, so how much could they possibly squeeze out of the board of directors?

"Something's not right here," Rowena said in a low voice.

Rice nodded. He had noticed it the moment he stepped onto the Durmstrang campus; a faint, pungent odor permeated the entire campus.

This isn't a metaphor like "the stench of the gods," it really does smell a bit bad.

"Why haven't we seen a single person?" Athena suddenly asked.

"Because today is Christmas, a rather special day, everyone is gathered in the auditorium." Krum's expression turned serious. "Karkaroff predicted a few days ago that a [Great Being] would descend today to bestow blessings. It is for this reason that I risked sending a letter of appeal for help in Karkaroff's name."

Rice and Rowena both raised their eyebrows at the same time.

Having extensive experience in fighting against deities, the two knew what was about to happen here today just by hearing a few keywords.

Athena also understood what the so-called "blessing" meant.

Essentially, it's a blood sacrifice performed by beings from the underworld who wish to have a physical form in the real world. The Greek gods did the same thing before.

"You haven't received the blessing yet, have you?" Just as Krum was about to lead the three to the hall, Rice suddenly asked him a question.

"No." Krum shook his head. "I learned some things during the tournament. They benefited me greatly, and I feel that power gained through learning is much more reliable than blessings. But today is the deadline. If I still refuse the blessing today, Karkaroff will expel me from the school."

A smile flashed across Rice's face, indicating that he was fine.

Soon, the three arrived outside the auditorium. Here, the stench had become quite strong, no longer just faint, but Krum seemed oblivious to the strangeness of the place, as if he had grown accustomed to the smell—like someone who has been in a fish market for so long that he no longer notices the stench.

A song was being sung inside the auditorium. The melody sounded like a Christmas carol, but if you listened carefully to the lyrics, you would be completely baffled, because it didn't seem to be in any language in the world.

"It feels like the language of the Mesopotamian era." As someone older than both Biles and Rowena, Athena could vaguely make out the language used in the lyrics.

"Never mind, let's go in first." Rice gestured for Krum to go in directly, and the three of them would follow.

As the four entered the auditorium, the previously loud singing suddenly stopped. The students in their seats fell silent, their eyes fixed on Krum and the three uninvited guests. An eerie silence fell over the entire auditorium.

Rice didn't care at all; he was even in the mood to see how Durmstrang's meals were.

After glancing at the dishes on the long table, Rice couldn't help but exclaim: "Only Scandinavian chefs can rival British chefs in culinary skills."

What is all this? Dark, hard bread, various sausages, smoked meat, smoked fish, vegetable salad and thick soup that look completely unappetizing, and all kinds of cheese... Only the roast meat looks somewhat tempting.

It was already quite good, though. Rice was mentally prepared to see rotten food laid out on the long table when she came in.

However, it seems that the teachers and students at Durmstrang are not quite that crazy. At least they are eating normally, but that's about it. Their mental and physical condition is very abnormal.

The auditorium was eerily quiet, with only the sound of their four footsteps.

Just then, Karkaroff's voice rang out.

"Welcome, Viktor. Come on over, kid, I've been waiting for you." He ignored Rice and the other two following Krum, as if he didn't see them at all.

Krum strode to the teachers' table and looked up at Karkarov.

"Today is a joyous day, as you are about to join our warm family. You are very lucky; a truly great being is willing to bestow upon us even more powerful blessings—if you miss this day, you will truly regret it for the rest of your life!"

Karkaroff's face was full of the look that said, "Don't hesitate, we're just missing you."

It has to be said that he really values ​​Krum, and he always wants to give his prized student any "good stuff" he has.

Krum remained silent, but Karkaroff didn't seem to care. He continued talking to himself, "Viktor, Viktor, what a good boy... a good boy! Not only did he agree to join our family today, but he also brought us a gift!"

Karkaroff's gaze finally fell on Rice and his two companions, as if he had only just noticed them.

"Oh? So we didn't cast the Disillusionment Charm on ourselves." Rice made a not-so-funny joke, but Karkaroff laughed heartily.

His laughter was followed by laughter from the professors sitting next to him, and then from the students in the auditorium.

A dozen seconds later, the entire auditorium erupted in deafening laughter.

Karkarov laughed so hard he almost fell over, and in the midst of his violent laughter, he seemed to have overexerted himself, so much so that the skin at the corners of his mouth cracked.

After the skin was torn open, a foul stench emanated from it. Rice could vaguely see something wriggling in the cracks of the torn skin.

Krum saw it too, and his eyes widened as much as the Golden Snitch's.

Only then did Karkarov stop laughing. He rubbed his face with both hands, kneading the cracks like he was making clay.

Then, he pulled out his wand and slammed it hard on the table in front of him.

Then, with all his might, he roared, "Tremble, for today you will witness the descent of the true god!"

Rice and Rowena watched his performance expressionlessly, with only one thought in their minds: they hoped that this "true god" was not weaker than Athena, otherwise their actions as a trio would really be clownish.

After Karkaroff let out that roar, the other students in the Great Hall followed suit, slamming their wands onto the tables in front of them. Then, the skin on each of them swelled up.

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.

Second update delivered, goodnight everyone.

(End of this chapter)