Chapter 154: Encounter with Mimiron
"Not good…"
The moment Gluk locked eyes with Mimiron, a wave of pure malice washed over him—an oppressive, bone-chilling hostility unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Panic seized him.
Without hesitation, he scrambled down the tree as fast as he could, clinging to the trunk with both hands and feet.
As he climbed, he shouted at the top of his lungs. At this point he no longer cared whether the noise would attract wild beasts.
Because no beast in the forest was as terrifying as a dark wizard who dared to hunt a unicorn.
---
Cyrian and the others had no idea what had happened. Seeing Gluk jump down in such a frenzy, they immediately began shouting at him in annoyance.
But Gluk didn't bother explaining.
"There's a dark wizard!" he yelled urgently. "He spotted us and is heading straight this way! If you don't want to die, run!"
The moment the words left his mouth, he bolted in one direction with all the strength he had.
He didn't even wait to see whether the others would follow.
Seeing how terrified he looked, the others realized he wasn't joking. One by one, they began running after him.
"Wait—what exactly happened?" one student shouted while running. "What do you mean, a dark wizard?"
Even in the middle of their panic, curiosity got the better of him.
"When I climbed the tree," Gluk gasped as he ran, "I saw a shadow moving in the distance. I was about to come down when he spotted me."
He swallowed hard, the memory sending chills through him.
"It was terrifying… I swear that man has killed before. That was definitely a dark wizard with blood on his hands."
Gluk shivered, his pace quickening instinctively.
The others, hearing his words, immediately felt their nerves tighten as well.
The night inside the Forbidden Forest was eerily quiet. Aside from their own heavy breathing and pounding footsteps, the only sounds were insects chirping and distant birds calling in the darkness.
Then suddenly—
A new sound rose behind them.
Something was moving rapidly in their direction.
Gluk glanced back and saw the dense bushes behind them bending and parting, as though something large were forcing its way through at great speed.
"Stupefy!"
There was no time to think. Gluk spun around, drew his wand, and fired a red streak of light into the brush.
The spell vanished into the thicket.
But whatever was chasing them did not slow down in the slightest.
"Use your spells!" Gluk shouted, instinctively taking command. "Otherwise it'll catch us!"
Their original leader, Cyrian, was already too shaken to think clearly.
Hearing Gluk's orders, the others seemed to regain some composure and began firing spells into the bushes.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Reducto!"
"Avis!"
"Impedimenta!"
Flashes of colorful magic streaked into the undergrowth.
For a moment, it seemed to work.
The rushing sound stopped.
The bushes stopped shaking.
"Did… did we stop it?" Gluk whispered.
He didn't dare slow down, much less turn around to check. All he could do was keep running—run forward without stopping.
By now they had completely forgotten that their original goal had been to ambush Russell.
Gradually, small points of light appeared ahead.
The forest's edge.
Hope surged through them.
They gathered the last of their strength and sprinted toward the lights.
But just as they were about to break free of the forest—
The lights abruptly flickered and went out.
Before Gluk could understand what had happened, his sprinting body slammed into something solid.
"Ah!"
He cried out as he bounced off and fell to the ground.
The others weren't any luckier. One after another, they crashed into the same invisible barrier and tumbled down.
---
"You children have quite the nerve."
A voice spoke calmly in the darkness.
"You dared ruin my plan. Do you know how hard it was to find such an opportunity?"
The figure of Mimiron emerged before them.
No one knew when he had circled around and blocked their path.
Behind Gluk's fallen body, Cyrian's eyes suddenly lit up.
If he could defeat this dark wizard here… perhaps he might even earn a Order of Merlin.
Carefully using Gluk's body as cover, he drew his wand and aimed it toward Mimiron.
"Reducto!"
A red beam shot out from beneath Gluk's robes and sped toward Mimiron's chest.
Seeing that Mimiron made no attempt to dodge, Cyrian's nervousness turned to excitement.
When the red spell struck its target, he leapt to his feet.
"I hit him! I hit—"
His triumphant grin froze instantly.
The spell had struck Mimiron square in the chest.
And then bounced away.
"As I said," Mimiron sighed, shaking his head, "truly foolish."
After all, when they had run into the invisible barrier earlier, they should have realized it was the effect of a Shield Charm.
"You students… which house are you from?"
Instead of attacking them immediately, Mimiron asked the question calmly.
"Slytherin! We're Slytherins!" Cyrian blurted out eagerly, desperate to redeem himself.
His expression was anxious, as though fearing Mimiron might suddenly reward him with the Cruciatus Curse.
"Slytherin?" Mimiron murmured, disappointment in his voice. "I see none of Slytherin's qualities in you. Hogwarts truly declines with each generation."
He shook his head.
In his own era, Slytherin wizards had been far more formidable.
These children have grown too comfortable.
Inside his mind, the voice of Lord Voldemort spoke through the Horcrux.
"Ask them whether they are pure-blood."
Mimiron obeyed.
"Are you all pure-blood wizards?"
"Yes! We are!" Cyrian said quickly. "I'm from the Rosier family."
"The Rosier family has fallen far indeed…" Mimiron muttered with a sigh.
Then he smiled suddenly, as though struck by an amusing idea.
"Very well. I will give you a chance to live."
"What—what do you mean?" Cyrian asked quickly.
Now all the students looked hopeful.
After all, who wouldn't want to survive?
"Raise your wands," Mimiron said calmly. "From this moment on, only the last one still standing will earn the right to live."
"And that survivor will gain the privilege of serving my master."
Only the strongest Slytherin, after all, deserved to meet Voldemort.
"Alright."
While the others hesitated, Cyrian acted instantly.
He had no intention of killing anyone. Since Mimiron had only said the last one standing would survive, stunning spells should work just as well.
"Stupefy!"
The red beam struck a nearby student, who collapsed immediately.
The others reacted at once.
Several wands swung toward Cyrian.
Cyrian's face changed. He twisted sideways and ducked behind the unconscious student.
A moment later—
Several red spells slammed into the fallen body.
Though the unconscious student wasn't further harmed, the force of the spells blasted Cyrian backward, sending him flying into the bushes.