Chapter 695
The Trap Behind the Trophy
Chapter 695 The Trap Behind the Trophy
Clementine bit her lip tightly, watching through the bushes as Wade and Harry talked beside the Goblet of Fire.
Driven by the cheetah puppet, she kept circling around it, and in the blink of an eye, she actually saw the trophy!
But she arrived too late; the other two had already arrived before her. However, instead of picking up the Goblet of Fire, they looked serious, as if engaged in some urgent conversation.
Clementine's fingertips dug deeply into her palms.
Something's not right, this is all too wrong!
Why did Vader Grey's puppet guide her to where the trophy is?
Did that puppet betray Gray?
But... even if that alchemical creation betrayed its creator, could it help itself?
Clementine's memory wasn't only seven seconds long; she clearly remembered that she and the cheetah not only had no basis for helping each other, but she had also killed its companion right before its eyes!
but……
The chance to become the champion is within reach. No matter how she gets the trophy, just a light touch will be enough to defeat Wade Gray!
The temptation was as alluring as poison, and Clementine couldn't help but raise her wand and whisper:
"The trophy is flying in!"
"The Goblet of Fire is coming!"
However, the golden trophy remained motionless, clearly under a reverse curse.
That makes sense; the league organizers shouldn't have made such a careless mistake.
Clementine couldn't help but feel slightly frustrated.
Even though neither Wade nor Harry seemed to be on guard, she didn't think she could easily defeat them by launching a sneak attack.
but……
Did the cheetah bring her to this place just so she could witness her own defeat?
If its purpose was really that simple, it actually made Clementine feel at ease.
The girl turned around and searched for the cheetah in the bushes.
The moment she turned her head, a sudden shock struck her:
The cheetah was right behind me, its lips slightly upturned, and for some reason, its normally round eyes gave off a mocking feeling.
That guy seemed to be saying, "Look, isn't this the trophy you've been dreaming of? I've shown you a shortcut!"
Clementine felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
She had a feeling that it wasn't a guide to victory at all, but rather a mockery from a predator watching its prey walk right into its trap.
Her blood froze instantly, and a chill ran down her spine to the back of her neck.
When Clementine came to her senses, a thought suddenly occurred to her—she had to tell Wade Gray about the cheetah's unusual behavior!
Although this was also Vader's puppet, Clementine had a hunch that this guy's actions were not necessarily all at Grey's behest!
Whatever its intentions may be, the only one who can stop it right now is Vader Grey!
Clementine made up her mind. She turned around abruptly, only to find that the two people had vanished from their original positions. Only a bluebird had disappeared into the Goblet of Fire in a suicidal manner, vanishing without a trace, leaving not even a feather behind.
"……how come?"
The girl froze, then murmured something.
"Crack!"
Clementine suddenly heard the sound of a branch being broken by footsteps.
The girl turned around abruptly and saw that the cheetah puppet had silently approached within five meters, its eyes flickering in the dim forest like a dancing will-o'-the-wisp.
Clementine hastily retreated, waving his hands and saying:
"Wait, I apologize, okay? I'm really sorry for burning your teammate, but we're all on the field, we're competitors... Flames are raging!"
With a nimble leap, the magic light landed on a clump of branches, sparks exploded, and Clementine turned pale.
"Obstacles everywhere! Shattered into pieces! Thunderous explosion!"
The spells flew out one after another, and the cheetah dodged each attack like a ghost. Suddenly, it bared its teeth, leaped up, its hind legs springing off the ground, its spine stretched to its limit, and pounced! The killing intent was as sharp as a blade approaching. At this moment, Clementine had no doubt that, given the chance, this cheetah would bite through his throat!
She screamed, unleashed an Ironclad Spell, and turned to run. Despite her reason screaming for safety, at that moment, the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything!
In her current situation, she only has one way to survive—
Clementine turned and lunged at the trophy; the moment her fingers touched the cold metal, the whole world began to distort.
"Shh!"
The cheetah, which had been held back by the Ironclad Curse for a moment, caught up and almost simultaneously swept past the spot where Clementine had just stood. The girl felt a sharp pain in her back and was thrown into a dizzying state.
The cheetah stood still, surveying its surroundings.
The area around the Goblet of Fire was extremely quiet. There was no owner, no enemy, no lizards in sight, and not even the bluebirds that filmed the match.
It stared blankly at the thorns not far away, seemingly having lost its target for a moment.
After a moment of stunned silence, the cheetah tentatively touched the trophy with its paw, and then vanished instantly.
……
Harry staggered to his feet, his knees throbbing from the impact. He straightened his askew glasses, looked around, and his voice was strained:
"What is this place?"
"In short, it's not a school, nor is it an awards ceremony."
Wade said casually, though he was secretly a little nervous.
He reached out and pulled Harry up, scanning his surroundings warily, while tapping the badge on his chest three times.
By the pale moonlight, Harry could see his surroundings clearly—
They were in the central courtyard of an abandoned monastery. The once magnificent arcades had long since collapsed, and the remaining stone pillars pointed to the night sky like the severed fingers of a giant. Fragments of religious stories remained on the broken stained glass windows, and the incomplete figures looked somewhat eerie at this moment.
A broken statue of the Virgin Mary stands crookedly in the weeds, its stone face blurred by wind and rain; the distant bell tower is miraculously well preserved, though some dark marks are spreading along its outer wall... they look like blood.
Harry gripped his wand tightly, feeling cold sweat seeping from his palms, while Wade half-squatted on the ground, examining the strange, radiating marks on the floor.
“It looks like someone has used dark magic here,” Wade said. “But it doesn’t seem to be that person’s work, because of the symbols on it…”
Before he could finish speaking, a blue light flashed before their eyes—the familiar bluebird suddenly appeared, and after a moment of disorientation, began to observe its surroundings.
As it passed through, it seemed as if golden light was scattered behind it, which was quite strange.
At that moment, Harry noticed that a thin layer of golden mist had somehow appeared around them.
"what is this?"
He instinctively tried to cover his mouth and nose, but was horrified to find that his hand was shrinking at a visible speed!
Harry hurriedly turned his head and found that Wade next to him was doing the same thing:
Its body shrank rapidly, its eyes became round, its features became childlike, its hands and feet became shorter and shorter, its outer robe slipped off its body, and its once close-fitting shirt hung loosely on its shoulders, like an oversized bathrobe.
Time seemed to flow backwards for them!
Then, this clear understanding began to blur in Harry's mind, his brain became muddled, and his thoughts were as if veiled by a thin layer of gauze.
"Shoot that bird!"
A hoarse voice suddenly came from the darkness.
The bluebird was startled and hurriedly flapped its wings to take flight, only to be struck by a blinding light.
It let out a mournful cry, then shattered into countless fragments that scattered in all directions. The last scene left behind showed two young children wearing ill-fitting clothes, looking around with blank expressions.
Harry opened his eyes, clutching the hem of his "nightgown" tightly with his chubby little hands, not understanding why he had left the Dursleys' house and ended up in this terrible place.
Then he heard a similarly childish voice ask in a very impolite tone:
"Hey, kid, who are you?"
(End of this chapter)