Following behind Barty Crouch Jr., Snape went deeper into Durmstrang Castle along the dim corridor.
After entering the castle, that strange instinctive feeling grew increasingly clear and intense.
For example, Barty Crouch Jr. walking ahead of him—if he had been the Barty Crouch Jr. of the past, he should have started complaining by now, saying things like "what a waste of time," rather than remaining silent.
The state of the castle itself was also far more horrific than he had expected.
Cracked bricks appeared from time to time along the walls on both sides of the corridor, embedded with countless scorched pits of varying depths, clearly caused by violent magical impacts.
Some of those blackened holes had even pierced straight through the walls. Looking through them, he saw that the classrooms within had already been reduced to chaotic ruins.
When he looked ahead, the entire wall seemed to have been repeatedly smeared with messy ink, making the corridor resemble a grotesque ghostly face.
As he passed the entrance to an abandoned classroom, his brows drew together.
A dark brown stain lay at the classroom door and extended inside. By his experience, it was the trace left behind by dried blood.
He could even picture the scene: a student lying in a pool of blood before being coldly dragged away by others, leaving behind nothing but such a stain.
At that moment, the door to the classroom ahead suddenly exploded open.
Amid the flying debris, a student staggered out of the classroom.
The student's face was covered in blood. He turned toward Barty Crouch Jr. and Snape, a clear murderous gleam in his eyes.
"You all deserve to die!" He raised his still-trembling arm, pointing straight at Barty Crouch Jr., and began chanting, "Avada—"
Snape had already drawn his wand on