Lynn flew in front of the plane in the blink of an eye.
He hovered there, his wand already raised, the tip pointed at the mass of black mist racing toward the plane.
He didn't hesitate, flicking his wrist—
A bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket shot out from his wand tip, accompanied by a piercing crackle, striking straight at the black mist.
He had originally thought this lightning bolt would hit that layer of black shield, just like before.
He had even planned his next move: if the lightning was blocked, he would use Fiendfyre to separate the black mist from the plane; if the black mist turned, he would use lightning to seal off its retreat.
But the lightning struck the black mist directly without any obstruction.
There was a muffled "thud."
The black mist suddenly contracted, like a squeezed balloon, shrinking from the size of a bucket to the size of a fist in an instant.
Lynn was stunned for a moment.
Before he could react, fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the fist-sized black sphere.
The cracks spread from one end of the sphere to the other, dense like a spiderweb.
Lynn's heart skipped a beat; no matter how he looked at it, this seemed like it was about to self-destruct.
He didn't have time to think and swung his wand violently—
Golden-red flames erupted from his wand tip, weaving frantically in front of him, building a thick fire barrier in the blink of an eye.
The barrier continued to expand, stretching to both sides to wrap around the plane behind him as well.
At the moment the barrier closed—
That small black sphere exploded.
Boom!
Black mist gushed out from the bursting sphere, spreading frantically in all directions like a flood breaking through a dam.
The mist was so thick it seemed solid, churning and rolling, obscuring the entire sky in the blink of an eye.
Only darkness remained in Lynn's field of vision.
The fire barrier burned before him, its golden-red light becoming the only light source in this darkness.
The black mist crashed against the barrier with a sizzling sound, like ice falling into boiling oil, constantly evaporating and dissipating, but more black mist surged from behind, one wave after another.
A wave of impact followed immediately.
The force hit the barrier with a dull, heavy thud.
The barrier shook violently, the flames flickering, but it soon stabilized.
Lynn frowned; this force—it was too light.
Compared to the battle outside just now, this wasn't even an appetizer.
He instinctively felt it shouldn't be like this. Why would the obscurial go through so much trouble to split off half its body and come here just to set off a firework?
Something was wrong.
He immediately increased his magic output, making the fire barrier another layer thicker, the golden-red light growing brighter and pushing the surrounding black mist back several meters.
But after waiting for a long time, nothing happened except for the black mist still churning in front of him.
There was no second explosion, no sneak attack, no attack of any kind.
The black mist just churned and rolled there, like a mass of stirred ink, slowly diluting and fading.
Lynn cautiously withdrew the barrier and waved his wand, a gale of wind surging from the tip.
The strong wind dispersed the black mist in front of him, revealing the sky outside.
The clouds were still there, the sunlight was still there, and the sea surface was still shimmering.
But that half of the obscurial—it was gone.
Completely gone, not even a wisp of black mist remained.
Lynn's face instantly darkened.
"Damn it! I've been played!"
He cursed through gritted teeth, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists.
This half of the obscurial was just a smoke screen. It had no intention of attacking at all; it was just here to stall for time. It used itself as bait to draw his attention and buy time for the other half to escape.
Now the other half was long gone, without even a shadow to be found.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
It was too late to give chase now; where would he even look in the vast Atlantic?
Lynn turned to look at the plane still suspended in mid-air.
All four engines had stopped turning, the blades motionless, and there were traces of corrosion from the black mist on the metal casings.
He raised his wand and pointed it at the engines.
"Reparo."
White light shot from his wand tip, enveloping the engine on the right that had stopped first.
The cracks on the metal casing began to heal, and the blades started spinning again, faster and faster, emitting a low roar.
He waved his wand again, and the white light enveloped the other two.
One by one, the engines began to run again, the sound of the rotating blades going from a low hum to steady, and from steady to powerful.
The fuselage vibrated slightly, as if a sleeping giant had been awakened and regained its strength.
Lynn put away his wand and turned to fly toward the hole in the side of the plane.
Levi was guarding there, wings spread, with golden-red light forming a hemispherical cover that sealed the hole tightly.
The air pressure inside the cabin had been restored, and the debris that had been sucked out was long gone.
Seeing Lynn approach, Levi gave a soft cry and moved aside.
Lynn bent down and stepped into the cabin. As soon as his feet touched the aisle floor, he saw Edward and Anna busy as could be.
Each of them held a wand—he recognized it as Edgar's spare wand, which he had given him—casting spells on the unconscious passengers one by one.
"Obliviate."
Edward's wand tapped lightly against a passenger's forehead, and a silvery-white light sank into the skin.
The passenger's furrowed brow smoothed out, their breathing became steady, and the terrified expression on their face gradually faded, replaced by a peaceful sleeping look.
Anna was in charge of tidying up nearby, stuffing the bags that had fallen from the luggage racks back in, straightening the tilted seats, and picking up the scattered magazines to stack them neatly.
The two worked in perfect harmony, their movements quick and steady.
Edgar sat alone in his seat with nothing to do, his hands empty, looking left and right, wanting to help but unable to find a way.
He was swinging his legs in boredom when he saw Lynn come in with the child, and his eyes instantly lit up.
"Lynn!" He sprang from his seat, rushed to Lynn in a few quick steps, and craned his neck to look behind him. "Where's the obscurial? Bring it out and let me see!"
Lynn's expression became even more sour.
He placed the unconscious child on a nearby empty seat and squeezed out a few words through his teeth: "Didn't catch it, it escaped."
Edgar's expression froze. He scratched his head, shifted his gaze from Lynn's dark face, and settled on the child, stiffly changing the subject. "Uh... is this kid okay?"
Lynn sighed, straightened the child's tilted head, and checked his pupils and pulse.
His breathing was steady and his heartbeat was normal, but his face was frighteningly pale.
"If nothing goes wrong," Lynn withdrew his hand, his tone carrying a hint of complexity, "he has already become a Muggle."
Edgar was stunned. "A Muggle?"
"When the obscurial was stripped from his body, it took his magic with it."
Lynn leaned against the back of the chair and rubbed his brow. "Now there's not a trace of magic left in his body; he's no different from a Muggle."
He paused and added, "But it's for the best; at least his life was saved. If the obscurial had stayed in his body, he would have been drained dry within a few years."
Hearing this, Edgar didn't know what to say.
...
After a while, footsteps came from the end of the aisle.
Edward and Anna walked out of the cockpit. Neither of their faces looked good, and fine beads of sweat hung on their foreheads.
They walked up to Lynn and stopped.
Edward opened his mouth to say something, but swallowed the words back down.
His gaze lingered on Lynn for several seconds, his expression incredibly complex.
Just now, in front of that mass of black mist, even his wand had been taken. If Lynn hadn't arrived quickly, this plane would probably be at the bottom of the Atlantic by now.
Yet the young man before him had resolved everything so nonchalantly and was now standing there as if he had just returned from a stroll.
He suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.
It was that kind of complex feeling—having been a Wizard for so many years, only to find out he wasn't even as good as a student.
But on second thought, this student already had an Order of Merlin, First Class, so it wasn't that hard to accept?
Anna glanced at her husband, not understanding what he was doing, just opening his mouth without speaking.
"Mr. Lynn, we owe it all to you today."
Lynn waved his hand. "You're too kind, Madam. It was only right."
Edward finally snapped out of it and nodded as well. "Yes, thanks to you."
He paused, as if remembering something, and glanced toward the cockpit. "I've already dealt with the captain. He thinks the engine failure was a mechanical issue and won't remember what just happened."
Lynn nodded, not asking further.
The few of them just stood in the aisle, no one speaking for a moment.
After a while, Lynn spoke.
"Sir, Madam," he said, "I have to go now."
Edward was taken aback. "So soon?"
"I still need to go to the Magical Congress," Lynn looked toward the child, "to inform Mr. Scamander about the situation here. No one knows where the obscurial has gone, so he needs to be informed."
He said it tactfully, but the two of them understood—the obscurial had escaped, and no one knew where it would go, who it would possess, or how much trouble it would cause.
This matter had to be reported to Newt as soon as possible so he could find a solution.
Anna looked at him, wanting to say something, but ultimately just nodded. "Then take care on your way."
Lynn gave a response, waved his hand, and with a flash of golden-red light in the cabin, he was gone.
---
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