Crabbe, whose name had been called, went deathly pale.
He trembled violently, looking as though he'd just lost his entire family. He was like a giant lump of quivering fat.
"I-I-I... I don't want to!"
With a scream, he fell back onto the ground and frantically kicked his legs as he scrambled away.
Terrified, he stared at the fists swinging through the air.
What—what kind of dark magic was this?!
They were only first-year students who had just started school! Had Ethan secretly gone to Azkaban for extra training before this?
Ethan: Heh heh~ (￣V￣)＞
The duel was over in the blink of an eye.
Neither the Slytherins nor the Gryffindors had expected things to turn out this way.
—This was supposed to be a duel between wizards. Why were you throwing punches?!
It was like playing rock-paper-scissors, only for your opponent to suddenly pull out a missile.
Only Ethan's two friends from Ravenclaw wore smug expressions that said, "Just as expected."
Michael folded his arms. There were still blades of grass stuck to his head as he flashed the other side what he thought was a handsome, challenging grin.
At the same time, his eyes darted around the Slytherins.
He was checking for any pretty girls.
Mandy, meanwhile, calmly pushed up her glasses and looked down contemptuously at Malfoy, who lay on the ground sobbing.
What an idiot, completely clueless about his own limitations.
After this debacle,
he'd probably never be able to hold his head up again.
This was what happened when you foolishly tried to challenge Ethan.
"Sorry, Harry." Ethan turned to him and said regretfully, "Looks like you won't get a chance to come out."
Harry snapped out of his shock and hurriedly said, "N-no, it's fine! You're amazing, Ethan..."
Harry secretly breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't needed to step in.
After all, he'd never heard the incantation Malfoy had shouted at the start.
He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of everyone.
Now, Harry really did feel a little sorry for Malfoy.
Go home, kid. Just go home.
"Well," Ethan said with a smile, turning around and raising his voice a little, "that brings this duel to an end. Thank you for giving me such an enjoyable experience."
Not only had he gotten to stretch his muscles,
he'd also tested out how to use [Portal].
A win-win.
Ethan had won twice all by himself.
As soon as he finished speaking,
the Slytherins' expressions changed.
Mockery.
This was blatant mockery!
Malfoy's duel had ended before it even began. He was down for the count, and he couldn't have suffered a more crushing defeat.
And now Ethan was telling them it had been "enjoyable"—well, from the other side's perspective, it probably had been.
Honestly, Malfoy really was something else.
He'd charged in without figuring out how strong his opponent was.
He didn't have an ounce of the bearing expected of a "Platinum Noble (self-proclaimed)."
And he'd made the rest of them look like fools, too.
So,
the young snakes looked at Malfoy with growing displeasure, their gazes cold.
Truthfully,
Malfoy felt pretty aggrieved, too.
He'd known he was dueling Ethan, but he hadn't known Ethan was going to make it a "warrior's duel"!
How was anyone supposed to defend against that?!
Pansy was sprawled over Malfoy, who was groaning in pain.
It seemed as if she were trying to deliver the final blow with her own body weight.
She was frantic, but she didn't know any healing spells.
And she couldn't drag Malfoy to the Infirmary by herself.
Seeing everyone else's cold stares, she grew more anxious and furious, directing all her anger at Ethan.
"You—you think this is over?!" Pansy shrieked at Ethan like a madwoman. "I'm telling you, you're finished!"
"The Malfoy family will never let you get away with this! His father is a School Governor. All he has to do is say the word, and you'll be expelled! You'll be sent back where you belong, Mudblood!"
"Someone like you, who has to do House-elf work to earn money, doesn't deserve to go to school with us!"
"What did you say?!"
Ron sprang up as if she'd hit a sore spot, fury blazing in his eyes.
He rolled up his sleeves, seemingly ready to follow Ethan's example and settle things with a good, honest fight.
But Ethan stopped him.
Ethan raised one hand and easily held Ron back before he could charge forward.
Ethan looked at Pansy calmly. There was no menace in his cobalt-blue eyes.
They were as tranquil as ever.
And yet, under that gaze, Pansy shivered for no reason.
Her anger was mixed with a hint of fear.
"First of all, I'm not called 'Mudblood.' My name is Ethan Vincent."
Ethan began.
His voice wasn't loud, yet everyone heard him clearly.
"Second, I don't consider 'House-elf' an insulting word. It's their excessive care that has turned certain wizards into helpless babies who can't lift a finger for themselves."
Pansy froze.
Realizing Ethan was mocking them, she flared with rage.
She was about to start shouting when Ethan suddenly raised his voice and cut her off:
"Just think about it!"
Ethan swept his arm into the air. His black hair fluttered, and his eyes shone brightly, as if he were standing on a podium.
A ripple stirred in his usually placid cobalt-blue eyes.
Like a calm sea finally revealing the turbulent depths beneath.
An impassioned feeling filled Ethan's chest.
The time had come!
It was time to wake up these young saplings of the new generation!
Following his instincts, Ethan shouted passionately to the crowd:
"Labor should be the greatest honor!"
"In ancient times, if the Four Founders had only talked a good game and never put their words into action, Hogwarts would no longer exist. There'd be no you and me standing here now, sorted into four different houses!"
"So why is earning money and striving with your own hands now seen by some wizards as ridiculous, or even as a reason to look down on others?"
At that, everyone's gaze shifted to Malfoy and Pansy.
They eyed the two of them appraisingly and began whispering among themselves.
Pansy panicked.
Wait, what? Had someone given her the wrong script?
She'd meant to mock Ethan. How had she ended up at the center of the conversation instead?!
Ethan didn't give Pansy a chance to respond.
His youthful but cold voice came crashing down like a Warhammer:
"The reason is that the wealth they possess wasn't earned through labor."
"During the era when the Dark Lord ruled, we gave up too much and lost too much. But look! What happened to the people who truly deserved to be punished?"
In an instant,
everyone's gazes sharpened.
Several Slytherins turned pale.
Many others sensed trouble and quietly slipped away.
Goyle and Crabbe had no idea what was going on.
But they instinctively sensed something was wrong. The two big lads hunched together, wishing they could sink into the ground.
Pansy roared like a Lioness gone mad. "Shut up! Somebody shut him up!"
"Exactly."
Ethan immediately picked up where she'd left off.
"We have no way of knowing the truth, because everyone who tried to speak up was told to 'shut up'!"
"I'll say it plainly! They took their wealth from us!"
"Who among us isn't doing their best to get by? Who can say their family's hardship is the result of their own laziness?!"
In the crowd, Ron couldn't help nodding vigorously.
He stared at Ethan, feeling his blood grow restless with every word.
That was right.
Why should those traitors who'd sided with the Dark Lord be allowed to look down on them?
It wasn't just Ron. The others felt the same way.
The Gryffindors in particular fixed burning gazes on the Slytherins.
These people had hidden like cowards during the hardest times, and some had even helped the enemy.
Now they were looking down on the families who had stood by their principles and upheld justice!
How was that fair?!
The air crackled with tension, like a fuse about to ignite.
It seemed that all Ethan had to do was give the word, and they'd rush forward.
They'd show them what the power of the working people really meant!
Before you continue