The Battle Ends

The man's smile finally vanished.

He threw away the egg that had stopped pulsing, drew his wand, and pointed its tip at Vivi's chest.

But Vivi's next spell had already flown. Silver-white Ancient Magic struck the edge of the Stone Platform beneath his feet.

The runes on the surface of the Stone Platform activated the instant they came into contact with the Ancient Magic. The rune arrays The Ashwinder Party had originally used to secure the Pseudo-Ashwinder Eggs reversed their operation, firmly suctioning his wand hand to the surface of the Stone Platform. The wand slipped from his fingers and rolled to Anne's feet.

Anne did not pick it up. She only followed up with a Full Body-Bind Curse, and the man's struggles froze completely in the next second.

The other dark-cloaked figures deeper in the mine saw that things had gone badly, dropped the still-unhatched serpent eggs in their hands, turned, and fled outside.

Vivi did not chase them—the Auror squad outside had already sealed off the mine entrance. They would not get far.

She walked up to the Stone Platform and lowered her head to look at the Pseudo-Ashwinder Eggs whose hatching had been completely stopped.

The dark red patterns on the eggshells had faded to grayish white, making them look like a pile of abandoned stones on the blood-soaked Stone Platform.

The scar-faced man had been pinned in place by the Full Body-Bind Curse. Only his eyeballs could still move.

His gaze moved from Vivi to Anne, then from Anne back to Vivi, before he finally closed his eyes.

Vivi pressed the tip of her wand against his forehead, and silver-white light seeped into both sides of his temples.

A few seconds later, she withdrew her wand.

"Cohen's direct subordinate when he was at the Bureau of