Human Transmutation
Although Daphne was still behind the group of "Merpeople" and in a comatose state from which she could not resist, Skylar was not worried about her at all.
Dumbledore must have considered the safety of these hostages, after all, Merpeople are not loyal allies of wizards, and it's hard to guarantee that there might be some undiscovered lurking creatures at the bottom of this vast Black Lake. Therefore, Skylar was certain that Dumbledore had personally placed protective measures on these hostages to prevent them from being harmed while they were unconscious.
In addition, don't forget the five protective bracelets Daphne wears. These are all masterpieces painstakingly crafted by Skylar, and all of them can be activated automatically when the wearer is in danger. Take "Gods' Protection" for example—it's only possible for an elite Auror to break through it in one go using a powerful spell similar to the Killing Curse.
With Dumbledore's protective magic and the backup plan that Skylar left her, her life was guaranteed.
Therefore, the only person Skylar really needed to worry about was himself.
But was he worried?
Seven Merpeople instantly swung their long silver tails, surrounding Skylar from both sides, and the Merpeople leader's expression gradually turned ferocious.
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Mr. Malfoy." The Merpeople leader's face gradually faded, slowly transforming into Katarin's appearance, but apart from the face, neither her green Merpeople hair nor her fish-shaped lower body changed. Katarin revealed a sweet, girlish smile, "Knowing it was a trap and still insisting on walking in, I really have to admire your courage..."
Skylar observed her with great interest; this was an effect that neither Human Transfiguration nor Polyjuice Potion could achieve. Among known magic, any spell that could transform a wizard into Magical Creatures was forbidden territory. For example, if Animagus were to become Magical Creatures, the price would be a curse on their soul; another example was the Blood Curse of bestial Transfiguration, which would one day result in the loss of the ability to revert to human form; with one exception—
Skylar's unique "Amphimagus"!
However, the training of the Amphimagus has an extremely high threshold, and before Skylar, there had been no record of anyone using this magic for over a thousand years. Skylar himself would not pass on this unique magic to outsiders.
Therefore, this is definitely not Transfiguration!
As for illusion magic, that's even less likely, because illusions can't fool Skylar's Magic Eye. The Merpeople aura emanating from these people is genuine. Skylar has a feeling that in this state, their combat power in the water might increase several times or more, not much different from his own "Amphibious Transformation" Transfiguration technique.
In a split second, Skylar's mind had already considered and ruled out countless possibilities.
After much thought, Skylar could only come up with one possibility—
He turned his gaze to the other Merpeople behind Katarin.
At this moment, the other seven Merpeople also changed their faces one by one, revealing faces that Skylar recognized— Eleanor von Hohenheim, Hector Fawley, Slughorn, the 7th-year Slytherin Prefect, Lucida Selwyn, Irina Bletchley Family, Miles long-absent Gallup Lestrange... and one last person—
Draco Malfoy.
Yes, almost all of them match the list in Skylar's mind.
Even Draco's sudden appearance could not stir even the slightest ripple in Skylar's calm heart.
He didn't even glance at Draco, but instead fixed his gaze on Eleanor.
This is neither Transfiguration nor illusion, but—alchemy!
Human Transmutation!
What a grand gesture! All eight of them must be wearing some kind of legendary magical artifact crafted with advanced alchemy. Skylar could even deduce that this magical artifact was specifically used to create alien human bodies, and most likely not through any righteous path. Based on Skylar's understanding of the Hohenheim Family, it was even more likely that this alchemy involved dark sacrificial magic.
That's why the Merpeople looked so terrified when they saw the wizard.
Skylar concluded that this magical artifact that could transform one into Merpeople would most likely require the sacrifice of Merpeople flesh and soul!
It's not hard to imagine what happened.
Just last night, six young wizards, using unknown methods, evaded the surveillance of the Triwizard Tournament staff and hid at the bottom of the lake. Since Slytherin dormitories are all single rooms, and there were no classes at Hogwarts today, they were almost impossible to detect.
The six young wizards spent the entire night using a spell similar to the Imperius Curse to control all the underwater creatures they could find, ordering them to specifically search for and attack Skylar. Then, this morning, as soon as the other two female Champion entered the lake, they immediately joined them, slaughtered the Merpeople, sacrificed their flesh and souls to activate the transformation artifact, and then transformed into Merpeople to lie in wait here.
Skylar was quite confident that his guess was very close to the truth.
Skylar's eyes were piercing and intense; only those familiar with him, such as Draco, could clearly see the cold flames flickering in them—the fighting spirit.
He hadn't felt this way in far too long—magic suddenly seemed to come alive, flowing joyfully within him, and he could even hear the joy hidden within the magical fluctuations. At this moment, his spirit reached a strange balance, with a fervent and vigorous fighting spirit coexisting within him and a pure and icy calmness, bringing him an unprecedented sense of comfort.
These changes are actually subtly reflected in his outward demeanor.
None of the wizards opposite him were mediocre. They all noticed Skylar's change in an instant—one second he was a refined and gentle prince of the sea, and the next he suddenly became a ruthless, indifferent, and life-or-death overlord of the sea. At this moment, no one could help but feel a shadow cast over their hearts.
Gallup had suffered a great loss at Skylar's hands in the past, originally intended to take revenge on Skylar. However, for some reason, he had given up that idea. At the same time, an extremely absurd thought surfaced in his mind: they clearly had eight people, outnumbered and powerful, so why did it feel as if they were surrounded by one person from the other side?
"It seems—" Skylar revealed an innocent smile and said, "You and Eleanor came to participate in the Triwizard Tournament not for the championship at all. Your target from the very beginning has been me, hasn't it?"
Seeing that the other party had no intention of answering, Skylar had no choice but to answer his own question, "Then I'm curious. I'm just a fourth-year wizard, at most a little famous. What exactly do you want from me?"
"In my second year, I did have a minor conflict with—" Skylar's gaze swept over Irina, Miles, and Gallup, "... some of the Pure-blood families disciples among you... but I don't think such a childish squabble should warrant the intervention of your Ghosts Society, do I?" He then cast a meaningful glance at Hector Fawley.
"Hmph!" Hector sneered. "Don't think we don't know. That traitor Gemma, ostensibly there to deal with you, actually held back and even revealed our intention to control you—you already knew about the Ghosts Society's existence and purpose, didn't you? Why bother pretending here?"
"Judging from your tone..." Skylar's voice suddenly turned cold, as if he were suppressing his anger, and the icy flames in his eyes intensified. "Did Gemma suffer some misfortune?"
"Betraying the organizers only leads to death!" Hector's lips curled into a smirk, a twisted madness flashing in his eyes. "Hahaha, she deserved it!"
"Very well, I'll settle this score with you later..." Skylar said calmly, as if Gemma's life or death was no longer his concern, nor did it affect his state of mind in the slightest. "Let's get back to the previous topic. Let's say that the Ghosts Society, for the sake of the organization's succession, wanted to control me in order to achieve their goal of effectively controlling Slytherin House. So—"
"What's it to you?" This time, he turned his gaze to Katarin and Eleanor, "The foremost family of France, the foremost alchemist family of Europe..."
"What exactly did I do to draw the attention of your two families...?" He paused, a mocking smile appearing on his face, "And what about Walpurgis behind you?"
Katarin's expression subtly changed, though barely noticeable, but Skylar still noticed. She maintained her sweet smile and said, "I can only say... as expected of Mr. Malfoy! You know so much... far more than I expected..."
"I don't know how you found out about Walpurgis..." She smiled, "But none of that matters anymore..." A cold glint flashed in her eyes, "Everything will end today..."
"So you're going to make your move already?" Skylar said with a faint smile, his face still calm and composed, but a cold glint had already appeared in his bright eyes.
"How boring! Such an angelic face..." Skylar said, "Yet he didn't even have the heart to let me die knowing why..." His upturned lips suddenly vanished, and he said coldly, "It's no secret—"
"Walpurgis came after me because of what happened at Black Sin Square, didn't he?"
Katarin paused for a moment, then recovered instantly, her face turning icy cold. "I didn't expect you to know even this, so I can't tolerate you anymore... Attack!"