The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

This magic... Sean's pupils contracted sharply, then instantly turned cold.

Without any hesitation, and without even considering that his Trace Flash would expose him to others, he abruptly interrupted the Stunning Spell he was about to unleash, and appeared at the other end of the plaza in a Trace Flash.

Almost the instant Sean teleported away, a large, dark black mouth suddenly appeared and bit down hard on the spot where Sean had just been.

The Silent Mouth!

Without a second thought, Sean yelled at Charlotte and Colton, "Get away from him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a black particle shot out from the Silent Mouth that was much darker than Sean had ever seen before, heading straight for Charlotte and Hawk.

But these two were among the best graduates of their respective schools, and for two years after graduation they continued to walk on the edge of danger. After discovering that Sean had used a strange spell to teleport away after his failed sneak attack, the two reacted immediately.

Colton suddenly swung his wand, and a transparent barrier appeared in front of the two of them. Charlotte grabbed Colton by the collar, cast a Levitation Charm, and then pulled the limp Colton away at high speed.

The black particles released by the Silent Mouth collided with the Shield Charm, producing a screeching sound and sparks. The Shield Charm only lasted for about ten seconds before shattering in mid-air.

The black particles hurtled toward Colton and Charlotte, who were running, at an astonishing speed.

Even more bizarrely, Sean had previously seen a wizard possessed by the Silent Mouth, and when the monster began to use its power, the possessed wizard was almost sentenced to death.

However, Max Dawson did not lose his life force; he could still move freely and even wave his wand to cast spells!

Dawson dispelled the spell Sean had cast to cover Charlotte and Colton, then turned to Sean and said menacingly, "Wolperp! It's you again, always the one who messes things up!"

Sean frowned as he dodged the attack, and shouted from a distance, "Because your plan is full of flaws, you idiot."

As Dawson cast a spell on Sean, he unleashed Silent Mouth from Sean's abdomen to hunt down Charlotte and Colton. He chuckled coldly, "Sharp-tongued and never missing an opportunity to provoke your enemies, you always like to play tricks in these situations... Do you think you can find an opening by angering me? Why don't you consider your own predicament?"

Sean remained calm, but quickly dodged one curse after another.

"Idiot...you just said so much, revealed so much information...I didn't say a single thing wrong."

Dawson's expression stiffened for a moment, then his eyes grew even darker.

"Damn brat..."

While taunting the other person, Sean calmly considered everything.

Dawson knew his own habits well. Indeed, Sean loved to seize every opening his enemies made to expand his advantage, no matter what the method was.

Of course, the current situation is not optimistic. Sean has never seen such a strange... creature before?

If it were just Dawson alone, it wouldn't be so bad. Even though he had been hiding his strength, with Sean's constant tricks, dealing with a simple wizard wouldn't be too difficult.

The problem still lies with that strange, Silent Mouth.

The two times Sean encountered the Silent Mouth before, he could feel a chill even when they were hundreds of meters away. But this time, Max Dawson was in class, eating, and living with them right under their noses, and he didn't notice anything amiss.

Moreover, this time the Silent Mouth did not deprive the host of its vitality; instead, it seemed as if the host was being manipulated.

Sean had always had a huge question: in this world, besides Daisy and Snape, were there any other two parties who were so completely restrained?

The Obscurus, as the most powerful and purest dark force, even its weakest form requires dozens of elite wizards to subdue it.

The Silent Mouth completely countered the Obscurus, no matter how powerful the Obscurus was... In fact, after absorbing the Obscurus, the Silent Mouth still used dark magic similar to the Obscurus.

It's as if this thing is the ancestor of the Obscurus, but of a higher rank, so high that it completely crushes the Obscurus, leaving it unable to resist.

Sean had never known whether the Silent Mouth was a Magic Creature similar to the Obscurus or the product of some kind of terrible magic—but now he was more inclined to believe the latter.

It hasn't been that long since we last met, Silent Mouth can already be manipulated by wizards... Magic Creature can't be easily modified.

Before us, a powerful wizard is paired with a terrifying monster that he can control at will, and the danger level is rising sharply!

In particular, Sean's Obscurus was completely restricted.

The dark, Silent Mouth relentlessly attacked Colton and Charlotte with black particles, yet the two displayed astonishing teamwork in the face of this powerful enemy.

If any one person's defense falters, the other will immediately fill the gap, and then the free person will use various means to help their companion escape faster.

The two can even find time to bicker.

"Your Shield Charm is as bad as ever, Miss Hawke."

"Useless Mr. Sterling, that awful Shield Charm just now saved your life!"

"That was indeed my mistake... I thought you could defend against it."

"You! Believe me or not, I'll bite you to death right now!"

"I'll cast a Hardening Charm on myself... Back off! Protego!"

The two fought and retreated, heading towards the Great Hall. If they got any closer, the professors would hear the commotion coming from this direction, and reinforcements would arrive soon.

Sean was forced to the other side of the square. Dawson had witnessed his Trace Flash before, and now he didn't give him a chance to teleport again. He seemed to have received magical reinforcements from the Silent Mouth, casting spell after spell, but he didn't feel tired at all.

But Sean wasn't in a hurry. As long as Dawson and the Silent Mouth didn't attack together, he could protect himself more than enough.

This is Hogwarts, his home turf. If time drags on, and Professor McGonagall and the others arrive, Dawson will be no match for them. So there's no need for Sean to take the risk of acting rashly.

"Why don't you fight back! Wallerup! You've successfully angered me, why don't you retaliate?! Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

Dawson grew increasingly deranged, his smile twisting into a sinister and eerie mask. The biting, chilling night wind made his robes flutter, and the darkness deepened.

Sean dodged a curse with a rather unseemly roll, raising an eyebrow slightly as a hint of doubt arose in his mind.

There were no Killing Curse... not a single Killing Curse...

However, he was just as sharp-tongued. "If stupidity hurts, you must be howling all day long—maybe your current screaming is painful?"

As he spoke, he had already extracted several system items.

While he wanted to save money wherever possible, he didn't want to suffer a setback.

Across from him, Dawson's smile grew increasingly distorted, his voice increasingly chilling. He even began to unleash powerful spells as he approached Sean step by step.

"If your skills were as sharp as your words, I might respect you a little more, Wallerup!"

Sean pouted. "Can't you have any shame? I'm only in fourth grade, I'm still a kid."

Unbeknownst to him, Sean had been forced back onto the covered bridge, and an unnatural chill began to creep down his back.

That's already the border guarded by Dementor...

However, Charlotte and Colton had already retreated to the castle exit. They seized the opportunity and cast an Explosion Charm, the loud noise echoing throughout the entire castle.

Dawson glanced back, then turned back with a strange smile on his face.

"They really know how to pick their chances... Professor McGonagall and the others are coming. I'm no match for so many professors..."

Immediately, alarm bells rang in Sean's mind!

The Silent Mouth, which had been chasing Charlotte and Colton with black particles, instantly withdrew its magic and launched an even more ferocious attack on Sean!

All of this was to free Dawson's hands. He waved his wand at the sky in front of him, chanted an unknown spell, and then threw a strange object straight out.

There was definitely something wrong! Sean's pupils suddenly contracted as Dave flew out from the sleeve of his robe, then spread his wings and wrapped himself around Sean's body.

Sean prepared to take the hit from the Silent Mouth head-on, then blinked back to the castle entrance.

The black particles, carrying dark magic, violently struck Dave's back. Dave let out a sharp cry, his pain mixed with immense killing intent.

Even with Dave bearing most of the force, Sean still felt a sweet taste in his throat, but his spell had been successfully cast!

"Trace Flash..."

However, Sean did not blink away because he could not find the location of the Shadow Bug!

I set up a huge number of Shadow Bug before I came, how could I not be able to contact a single one?!

Sean suddenly looked up at the sky, where the indistinct object began to emit strange fluctuations after being activated by Dawson's spell.

The surge encompassed Sean and Dawson, then the Dementor guarding the border, and just ahead, it isolated Colton and Charlotte.

What is this thing... that can cut off all contact with the outside world...?

Sean's gaze hardened.

After doing all this Dawson snapped his fingers, and the Silent Mouth withdrew its power. Its dark, semi-transparent maw bobbed up and down on Dawson's abdomen, like a bizarre demon.

"Oh, are you enjoying this moment of peace, my dear Mr. Wallop— " Dawson laughed merrily.

He wasn't in a hurry to attack now, seemingly very confident in the Magic Barrier he had set up, and not worried at all that Sean would escape.

"I'm starting to like you more and more. Look how cautious you were before, not willing to take any risks at all, but once you sensed something was wrong, you became decisive immediately... Oh, what a beautiful and strong Swooping Evil. It looks like neither of you were seriously injured?" Dawson's tone became relaxed, as if he had already taken control of the situation.

Sean slowly straightened up, feeding Dave some healing herbs and then giving himself Healing Potion.

"It seems your real target is me," he said calmly.

Dawson laughed heartily, completely ignoring Sean's attempts to treat him.

"Very clever, but I have to correct you," Dawson said, holding up a finger. "You are not the primary target, but the secondary target."

"The primary goal is Prophecy, right?"

Dawson nodded readily. "Yes, you're really smart. You noticed it all. I'm even quite surprised. I disguised myself so well that even the famous Potion Master Severus Snape couldn't find anything out, yet you noticed my abnormality. However, you're still too obvious. When you were secretly talking to that silly ghost, I probably knew that you had already guessed that I was the one who cast the curse."

"So, the first target failed, so we're turning to the second target?" Sean glanced back discreetly; the Dementor, trapped within the Magic Barrier, were already floating towards them.

"Correct answer, dear Mr. Wallop," Dawson seemed to thoroughly enjoy the feeling of controlling someone's life and death, wanting nothing more than to slowly Sean to an inescapable despair. "You are my second target, ha, you thought you could subdue me safely by staying away from the students, little did you know, this is exactly what I want—"

He pointed behind Sean: "Stop peeking, look openly. The adorable Dementor are leisurely making their way to join the queue."

Sean raised an eyebrow. "Are you so sure you can catch me?"

No wonder there wasn't a single Killing Curse just now; Max Dawson wanted to capture me alive...

Dawson stood with his hands behind his back, happily tapping his toes like a deranged psychopath.

"You don't need to worry about that... By the way, I invited the Dementor to join the queue—ha, see how much respect I have for you? To ensure everything goes smoothly, I even invited the Dementor for you. Are you sure you don't want to thank me?"

Behind him, the chill emanating from the Dementor, which could not be dispelled by warmth, grew stronger, but Sean paid no attention to it; he simply looked around.

This Magic Barrier was strange; he could even see the outside world clearly, but his magic was completely blocked by the subtle fluctuations in the air.

Dawson stretched out his arms, and the Silent Mouth floated up, revealing a black vortex in the center of its sharp teeth.

"Please don't struggle too much, Wallerup —I heard you're terrible at Ancient Runes? Look at you, how wonderful, you probably haven't even seen this Ancient Magic before? Tsk, how pathetic."

"However, I don't have time to explain to you anymore. After all, the barrier isn't permanent... But I can save you some face. People outside can't see what's inside the barrier. Otherwise, why don't you cast Stunning Spell on yourself?"

Sean looked up, straightened his collar, and gave Dawson an elegant smile that made Dawson somewhat uneasy.

"You just said that people outside can't see what's inside the barrier, right?"