Chapter 125: Hunters Being Hunted
The battle for revenge had yet to succeed, and Isaac's group of four had already suffered casualties. The only good news for them was that Cecil's illness was real—the foul-smelling black blood he coughed up from time to time was the clearest proof.
But they also had bad news—the little girl they had dismissed, the one they thought they could crush with just a flick of their fingers, possessed strength far beyond the ordinary.
Her threat was now approaching the level of Cecil himself.
For a brief moment, silence fell over the clearing, broken only by heavy breathing and an eerie, lecherous chuckle. But peace was fleeting. These four had come for vengeance, and with blood already spilled, there was no turning back.
Isaac stepped forward again, his teeth grinding audibly. When he spoke, his words seemed to squeeze out through clenched teeth: "I. Will. Kill you. Kill you. Kill you both!"
"If you want to kill someone, you should be prepared to be killed yourself, why the bloody hell are you bringing someone so weak in the first place?" Eda sneered. "How old are you, anyway? Even I understand that much."
When it came to trading verbal blows, Eda feared no one—except for Snape. He had taught her that even the English language could be a weapon as deep and cutting as magic itself.
"You dared… you actually dared to do that to her… how could you…" Isaac's voice trembled with fury. His eyes were bloodshot, and whatever was left of his reason had completely abandoned him.
So, it was fine for him to kill others, but the moment someone fought back, it became unacceptable? That wasn't how the world worked.
Eda had no patience for such nonsense—especially when her own anger was also burning fiercely. She snapped, "You're the ones who provoked me first! Either come and kill me, or shut your mouth, dipshit!"
Cecil, having coughed up enough black blood for the moment, began clapping, laughing heartily. His laughter soon turned into a fit of coughing, but once he recovered, he grinned and said, "Cough… cough… Well done. Well said. Make sure that everyone who underestimates you pays the price."
"You shut up too!" Eda snapped at Cecil, her frustration with him overflowing.
If she ended up dying here today in the prime of her life, she swore she wouldn't let Cecil off the hook even as a ghost.
Cecil, chastised, put away his grin. He wasn't offended, though—after all, he had dragged Eda into this mess himself. It was only natural for her to vent her anger at him.
Once again, the silence shattered. The first to strike was still Isaac. Though he was seething with the urge to skin Eda alive, his target remained Cecil. As long as Cecil was dead, Eda would be nothing more than a fish on the chopping block.
With Eda in the fray, Cecil no longer had to face three opponents at once. Now, it was one versus one and a half—one being the frenzied Isaac, and the "half" being the fat man, who had lost his left arm and was barely clinging to life.
Meanwhile, Eda faced off against the lanky man in a one-on-one duel. Both of them were satisfied with their opponent, each determined to kill the other.
Eda repeated her earlier trick—the flaming lion roared to life once more, charging at the lanky man alongside her. Stunning Spells, Blasting Curses, and Disarming Charms burst from her wand in rapid succession.
The combination of the ferocious lion and the relentless barrage of spells sent a chill down the lanky man's spine.
Even though he had just witnessed Eda defeat Joan, he still hadn't taken her seriously. But the moment they exchanged blows, he realized this revenge mission was as good as doomed.
Although the lanky man managed to block all of her attacks, Eda had already gauged his strength through their exchange.
She couldn't say she had absolute confidence in winning, but she was at least eighty percent sure. The only question was—how long would it take to finish him off?
Through this battle, Eda once again realized her shortcomings.
Unlike the others present, she couldn't cast spells nonverbally—she had to speak the incantations aloud. This slowed down her casting speed and gave her opponents time to react.
If not for her quick tongue, this weakness would have made her an easy target for skilled wizards. It seemed that learning and mastering nonverbal spells needed to be moved up on her priority list. Relying on spoken spells in combat was too restrictive—and, honestly, exhausting.
"Ventus!" Eda's spell whipped up a fierce gust, sending sand and pebbles flying into the air, obscuring her opponent's vision. At the same time, the swirling debris pelted the lanky man head-on.
Eda planned to take advantage of his distraction and swiftly end the fight.
"!!"
Just as she was about to utter her next spell, a sudden sense of danger gripped her.
She instinctively twisted her body, raising a glowing shield with her left hand. A red-tinged spell struck the shield at that very moment, colliding with a muffled thud.
After the battle resumed, the fat man—having lost too much blood—could barely move. Instead, he hung back, focusing on keeping Cecil occupied while using protective spells to support the frenzied attacks of Isaac.
That red spell that had nearly hit Eda? It had come from the fat man, playing support.
Seeing that his comrade was at risk of being defeated by Eda, he had fired off a Stunning Spell at her while she was distracted.
Opportunities in battle were fleeting. Because of this interruption, Eda lost her chance to end the fight immediately.
The lanky man had shaken off the sand and stones, regaining his footing—and now, he was ready to counterattack.
Enraged and humiliated, the lanky man launched a ferocious counterattack, fighting as if he had nothing to lose.
The Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse flew toward Eda in quick succession—if even one of them so much as grazed her, she'd be done for. She had no choice but to defend herself carefully, temporarily ignoring the fat man who had ambushed her earlier.
The four who had come seeking revenge were all formidable in their own right. Their mastery of spells, both in variety and application, was impressive. If they weren't highly skilled, they wouldn't have dared to come after Cecil in the first place.
Unfortunately for them, their opponents were even more exceptional. One was a Dark wizard with decades of experience, someone who had once dueled Dumbledore himself. The other was Eda—a girl who had only trained for two years but had pushed herself relentlessly. Their defeat was not unjust.
Eda wasn't particularly fond of defensive tactics, but her ability to defend was better than most. After spending a full year being "beaten" by training dummies, even a slow learner would have improved—let alone someone like her.
The lanky man's Unforgivable Curses, while deadly, failed to land a single hit. They were either blocked by her Shield Charm, deflected off her glowing shield, or, on occasion, even bounced back at him—leaving him in an embarrassingly sorry state.
Though spells made a loud impact when striking her shield, Eda didn't feel any force from them. It seemed that "Indestructible" not only blocked spells but also absorbed their impact.
Eda understood the principle that a purely defensive strategy would eventually lead to failure. After her shield rebounded another Cruciatus Curse, she went on the offensive.
The ground beneath the lanky man suddenly cracked open. Vines burst forth from the earth, twisting and writhing under Eda's control as they lashed out to ensnare him.
At the same time, Eda's left hand clenched slightly, and in midair, a massive sphere of earth and stone began to take shape. The ball rose high into the air, growing larger and denser as it ascended. Then, with a single motion of Eda's fingers, it plummeted straight toward the lanky man's position.
The lanky man, tightly ensnared by the vines, was completely immobilized—he couldn't move, couldn't cast a spell, not even Disapparate.
With no way to escape, he could only watch in horror as the massive sphere of earth and stone loomed ever larger in his vision, barreling straight toward him.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He should never have agreed to Isaac's plan for revenge. When Joan was killed, he should have Disapparated immediately. If he had chosen to leave back then, he wouldn't be about to die now…
After launching her attack, Eda didn't even spare him a glance, as if she didn't care whether the attack landed or not.
Without hesitation, she Disapparated, vanishing from sight.
On the other side of the battlefield, Cecil, now utterly exhausted and drained, was no longer a match for Isaac. With the fat man interfering and holding him back, their revenge was about to succeed!
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Damn. I'm so satisfied with this chapter! IDK but adding dipshit and that -Joan being weak- in that sentence felt like a good choice lol
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