The Dragon Slayer Tibbers Appears

"Waaaaah~!!" The screams continued.

Seeing what was happening here, the human guard who had been grabbing Hermione's hand and confiscating her scepter, intending to forcibly Apparate this big girl to the Ministry of Magic, also froze. Staring at his colleague whose arm was on fire and still screaming, his heart shuddered. How could this be?

Was this the little girl's doing? But he hadn't seen her use a scepter or any incantation. How had she suddenly burst into flames? Was this a magical outburst? Then why was she unharmed herself? Logically, a magical outburst this severe would hurt both the caster and those around them! Before he could figure it out, the little girl waved a hand at him. Some invisible energy slammed into him with tremendous force, sending him flying. He crashed into a marble pillar and fell unconscious.

This human guard was still lucky. The burning goblin guard wasn't so fortunate.

It kept rolling and thrashing on the ground, the fire growing fiercer. The flames spread from its arm to its entire body. Now, no one dared to approach and help it. Most of the goblins and the watching wizards were still dumbfounded, unable to snap out of it. Not knowing what had happened, no one dared to act rashly.

Remember, this was Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley... Goblin territory! And with Ministry Aurors able to Apparate in for backup at any moment, how could someone suddenly dare to cause trouble here? Had the Dark Lord returned? That would be terrifying! If so, they were even less inclined to make a move.

The burning goblin guard rolled for a while longer, then fell silent. The flames on its body blazed fiercely. Before long, it was reduced to a twisted, charred human-shaped lump. Only then did the fire slowly begin to diminish, showing signs of extinguishing on its own.

Just now, the other guards who had rushed to help had tried using the Fire-Extinguishing Charm or the Aguamenti Charm to summon water to put out the flames. But as it turned out, it was useless! Any magic cast on that goblin guard only made the fire stronger! This flame was even more terrifying than Fiendfyre! Even summoned water couldn't quench or weaken it in the slightest. So they could only watch helplessly as a goblin colleague burned to charcoal.

In just a dozen or so breaths, a powerful goblin guard had been burned alive like this? The watching wizards looked at the little girl still wreathed in flames in the center of the hall, then at her eyes, which had turned a molten red, cold and indifferent. They couldn't help but gasp, shoving each other back a great distance, completely clearing the middle of the hall.

They had only come to the bank to handle business. They didn't want any unnecessary conflict with this dangerous, unfamiliar little girl. Besides, Gringotts Wizarding Bank wasn't their bank—it was goblin property. There was no need to court trouble for those goblins!

Goblins weren't friendly to human wizards, and they knew it well! But were wizards friendly to goblins? As if! Goblins and wizards had fought several brutal wars back in the day! Don't think just because the scars had healed, the pain was forgotten! Who knew when the next war with goblins would break out? So what did a dead goblin matter to them now? Better to just keep watching, keep enjoying the show.

Finally, seeing that not only was there trouble, but a goblin had died, the goblin employees behind the counters could no longer stay calm. They, too, began to stir, just like the watching wizards. They set aside their work, stopped handling business, and walked to the counter's edge, curiously and warily staring at the strange human girl still ablaze with flames in the middle of the hall.

They had no idea what had just happened. Why had these two little girls clashed with that goblin employee? Why had they burned a goblin guard to death? They knew none of it!

Besides their greed for gold, goblins were also quite gossipy. So, since it didn't concern them, they began to gather in twos and threes, whispering to each other, pointing and speculating about the two little girls in the hall and the goblin colleague at the counter who had sparked the conflict.

At this moment, at the far end of the hall, behind the larger, taller main counter, the goblin head Bogrod could no longer sit still. He struggled to his feet, walked with short, ridiculous steps to the front of the main counter, his face dark. He looked at the goblin guard burned to charcoal on the floor, then at the two little girls, and fury swelled in his heart. They dared to kill a goblin? This was an outrage!

"Guards! What are you standing around for? Move! Seize them! If they resist, kill them without mercy!" the goblin head snorted, issuing the harshest order.

Though Bogrod didn't know what had happened between his subordinates and the girls, now that things had reached this point, tracing the root cause was meaningless. What mattered now was to use overwhelming force to uphold Gringotts' authority! That was the top priority!

He no longer wanted to debate who was right or wrong. If they could capture these two troublemaking little girls as fast as possible, then he would be the one to decide right and wrong! As long as he held the initiative, any means of resolution was acceptable. The cause of the incident could be sorted out later, slowly.

So, before this matter could ferment and blow up, they had to take down these two human girls as quickly as possible, then pin all the blame on them. The Ministry of Magic would have to answer to the goblins! The dignity of Gringotts Wizarding Bank must never be violated! This was the foundation of the goblins' foothold in the wizarding world!

Hearing the head's order, the dozen or so Gringotts guards who had arrived for backup drew their scepters in unison. First, they all cast the Shield Charm on themselves, then turned their wands, aiming at the two little girls in the hall. Seeing that the girls made no move, they slowly spread out, encircling Annie and the terrified Hermione in a wide ring.

The charred corpse of their fallen comrade on the floor was warning enough. One fool dying was enough; they wouldn't act without protection this time. The little girl wreathed in flames in the center was extremely dangerous!

Seeing their companions ready, they moved with practiced coordination, straightening their arms and shouting out the spells they had prepared.

In an instant, a barrage of magical lights of all colors erupted from their wand tips! Dozens of spells, varying in size and hue, shot from different directions toward the center of the hall, brightening the vast space.

"Stupefy!"

"Impedimenta!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Incarcerous!"

"Locomotor Mortis!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

A flood of ordinary spells like these, unleashed simultaneously, formed a terrifying momentum. Roaring in from the surrounding encirclement, they instantly swallowed the two little girls in a kaleidoscope of magical light!

"Oh! Merlin! This is too horrible!" an elderly witch among the watching crowd exclaimed in shock.

So many of them, using attacks of this level to surround two little girls? Wasn't this too cruel? Merlin! Even if these spells weren't lethal, with so many of them cast by adult wizards, after taking such a barrage, those two girls would at least be severely injured, if not dead! And likely with irreversible magical damage! Those bastards! Thugs! Had they no shame? The old witch glared hatefully at the guards—these were the goblins' accomplices, their claws!

Hermione was completely dazed. She had never expected things to spiral so quickly to this point! Though her dentist father, Mr. Granger, had long told her about the dark side of society, and she had taken it to heart, she never imagined the wizarding world could be darker than the Muggle world! Even more brutal!

Half an hour ago, she had been happily preparing to buy next term's textbooks and then pick up that cute big-faced cat from the pet shop! And now? Watching those spells of all colors hurtling toward her, Hermione suddenly felt like she might die here, for no reason at all.

She was only twelve! Her irresponsible father was probably still wandering around Diagon Alley, right? When he and her mother found out, would they be heartbroken? They must be, right? She really hoped that after her death, the Ministry would think to send someone to use Obliviate to wipe their memories of her. If they forgot and couldn't remember, then they wouldn't grieve, would they?

Seeing the magic about to hit them, Hermione closed her eyes in despair, sighing inwardly. What a shame... There were so many books she hadn't had time to read, so many spells she hadn't learned, so many unknowns waiting for her to explore. She had wanted to make more friends like Harry and Ron...

And that lonely, weathered big-faced cat in the pet shop must still be waiting for her to pick it up, right? The owner said it had been in the shop for a very long time, that no wizard had ever taken a liking to it, no one had ever thought to buy it—except her... And now? Sigh~! She was going to disappoint it again... It must be waiting in vain for her to come. She really was a bad girl!

"Hmph? Is this all you've got?" Annie had no idea how many thoughts had flashed through Hermione's mind in that instant. She was now looking contemptuously at the surrounding guards and the strange magic they were firing at her.

With a cold snort from Annie, just before the spells hit, she casually wrapped herself and Hermione in a thin layer of molten lava shields. The next moment, the magic engulfed them.

The magic came fast, and it went fast!

The multicolored light that had swallowed Annie and Hermione quickly faded. The guards and watching wizards were astonished to find that the two little girls were completely unharmed! A thin shield clung to their bodies, something like the Shield Charm. But what baffled them was: even the Shield Charm couldn't withstand a combined attack from over a dozen guards, could it?

"Then, it's my turn now." Annie didn't give the guards a second chance to react. She didn't want to waste time on these weaklings with combat power under five! Better to finish them off quickly and stop them from causing trouble!

With that, she decided not to use lethal magic. Instead, she raised her hand and cast two enhanced spells, effortlessly.

Spell Enhancement: Spell Replication! Metamagic: Multi-Attack!

An arcane array lit up beneath Annie's feet. As she channeled her mana, the array completed instantly! The spells that had just struck them and then dissipated reappeared in the air, reflecting back with greater speed and force. Before the Gringotts guards could react, the spells shattered their Shield Charms and sent them all flying.

Over a dozen screams rang out, and a pile of Gringotts guards lay scattered on the floor, unconscious. Some had only been knocked out by the sheer force of the reflected spells—they were the lucky ones!

As for those who had used the Stunning Spell on Annie and Hermione, they were now in a deep coma, unlikely to wake for at least a week or two. Those who used the Impediment Jinx fared worse—they looked like they'd been hit by a truck, bleeding from seven orifices, teetering on the edge of death in pools of blood. Worst of all were the guards who had used the Petrificus Totalus—they were now completely petrified, inside and out, frozen into hard stone, lying on the floor in bizarre poses. They weren't dead, but whether they could be saved depended on St. Mungo's curse-breaking skills and potion expertise.

"You'll never know just how big a mistake you've made, will you? I think it's better to just burn you up now!" After finishing off those annoying guards, Annie turned around and looked at the goblin on the counter, who was already panicking and flustered. Still daring to stand so high? Hmph! The higher you stand, the faster you die! Looking up at it was really tiring on her neck.

This was the one! Just now, it had been so arrogant, cheating her out of her money, and then trying to have those useless guards arrest her?

Pfft! How about now? Regretting it now, huh? But Annie doesn't sell regret medicine here! Annie just wants to roast it right now, make it pay the price for its stupidity. No one can talk her out of it!

Because Annie's consistent principle has always been: I won't offend unless I'm offended!

If it was just a minor offense, Annie might not bother too much, at most playing a prank to get back at them. But offenses with malicious intent have dire consequences. Did they really think Annie was some obedient good girl? She has another famous nickname! It's called: Dark Child! Ah? What's dark? Go look it up yourself!

"Eh? Trying to run? Come back!" Before Annie could even decide which spell to use on it, she didn't expect the goblin to vanish with a "pop."

But if it thought it could escape from Annie with Apparition, it was sorely mistaken! Because the moment its spell took effect and it disappeared, Annie immediately countered its magic and yanked it back out of Apparition.

"Sp-spare..." The cunning goblin, after crashing back onto the counter, tried to beg for mercy! But before it could get the word "spare" out, it felt as if an invisible hand had gripped its throat, and now it couldn't say a word.

Annie sneered. Using the most basic Mage Hand, she grabbed that despicable goblin—the one who dared to cheat her money and tried to have her thrown in jail—by the neck and lifted it into the air in the middle of the hall. Didn't it like standing high? Now let it be even higher!

"I told you, I'm going to burn you up, and I will! You can't escape." As the words fell, Annie raised her hand and threw a Shatterfire at it. The ugly goblin, still struggling in the air, didn't even have time to scream before it was engulfed in flames and turned to ash...

"Oh! Merlin's beard! Was that Wandless Magic just now? And the multi-casting before? This! How is this possible?" A human wizard in the crowd suddenly exclaimed. He could hardly believe what he saw. This little girl had not only instantly subdued over a dozen powerful guards attacking her but also burned a goblin to ash?

Alright, none of that mattered! The most important thing was: he hadn't seen the little girl use a Scepter! That's right! No Scepter at all! And he hadn't seen her chant any incantation either. She just waved her hand, and the spell flew out? And the spells she used were almost all instant-cast! What kind of concept was that? Merlin's Pants!

He had never heard of any wizard achieving this level without using a Scepter! Even someone as powerful as Dumbledore or You-Know-Who couldn't do it, right? At most, they could only silently cast some ordinary spells instantly, and maybe compress some incantations to a minimum. And without a Scepter, they couldn't do it at all!

If Dumbledore or You-Know-Who lost their Scepters, these bystander wizards would probably have the confidence to fight them! And now look—what kind of existence had these Gringotts goblins provoked? So Wandless Magic really was possible? And it could be this powerful without a Scepter? Could it be that under that little girl's appearance was some ancient monster who had lived for thousands of years?

Hearing this wizard's words, the other onlookers began to murmur among themselves. Some quick-witted ones even started Apparating away immediately. They didn't dare stay any longer. What they had seen was already enough to talk about for a while. Staying any longer and accidentally getting caught in the crossfire wouldn't be fun—they didn't want to be the fish caught in the pond!

The wizards who couldn't Apparate also scattered to the sides of the hall, bowing and scraping to the little girl in the middle, smiling obsequiously to show they had nothing to do with this. Seeing that the little girl wasn't interested in them, they started scurrying out through the main door. Anyway, they figured it was none of their business, so they'd just stay out of it! This place was too dangerous now—who knew what would happen if a fight broke out again? They thought leaving early was the best idea.

The crowd of onlooker wizards cleared out in an instant. The remaining goblins on the counter began exchanging glances. They neither ran nor dared to attack the little girl still in the hall. They weren't stupid!

They recognized the goblin that had just been burned to ash. His name was Griphook. Based on his usual greedy behavior, they guessed he must have had bad judgment, gotten his hands dirty cheating someone out of their money, and never expected the little girl he provoked to be so ruthless. So he naturally capsized in a ditch—served him right! Dead and done with!

Now that the Gringotts guards were all wiped out and the culprit Griphook had already paid with his life, they weren't about to stick their necks out for a goblin who was already ash. What if they accidentally lost their own lives? That wouldn't be good!

And if it weren't for their boss Bogrod still watching from the side, they would have already Apparated away with the crowd! Why would they still be standing here? Was it fun to confront a vicious little girl? Their legs were about to cramp up!

"D-damn it! Q-quick, bring up that white dragon! And send word to the Ministry of Magic! Tell them we need backup!!!" The goblin leader roared.

Now Bogrod was also badly shaken by the little girl's ferocity. He hurriedly called to the other goblins, ordering them to bring up the Ancient White Dragon that guarded the Gringotts vaults to hold the line! He hoped that white dragon could suppress her. At this point, Bogrod didn't dare to just cave in easily! He had to tough it out! Otherwise, what would become of Gringotts goblin bank's dignity? What would the other wizards think? Would they even be able to hold their ground in Diagon Alley anymore?

Master! Did you hear that! They still have a white dragon! I think it's time for me to make an appearance, show my face! I'll make you a barbecue white dragon—it'll taste great! What do you think?

As soon as he heard the goblin leader order the release of the white dragon, Tibbers couldn't sit still anymore! If it was those weaklings from before, he wouldn't bother to step in. Annie Master could handle them easily! But this was different—he had heard clearly that these goblins still had a dragon! And it sounded pretty tough. So Tibbers definitely had to come out and assert himself. He hadn't made an appearance in a long time!

You have to understand, Tibbers still had a Dragon Slayer buff on him! That was a contribution from that old dragon in the Voodoo Lands long ago. He decided that since he had the chance now, he would kill another dragon, stack the buff again, and solidify his reputation as Tibbers the Dragon Slayer!!