Dark Blood Transformation

Upon entering the labyrinth, the thunderous cheers outside were blocked, unable to reach the Champion's ears; this must be due to the power of magic.

The tall hedges cast dark shadows on the path, whether due to their height and density or because they were also enchanted, it was unclear. However, surrounded by four orbs of light, Skylar had at least fifteen feet of visibility, giving him a significant advantage in both spotting distant enemies and guarding against ambushes from shadowy corners.

Skylar strolled along the path casually, when he suddenly and coincidentally found four forks in the road in front of him.

He made an extremely complex gesture with his wand, encompassing twelve variations, and then whispered, "Hundred Mice Rampage."

One hundred tiny field mice were conjured and ran evenly into the four forks in the road. These magical field mice possessed an amazing sense of smell and could find the Goblet of Fire at top speed. Even if they encountered traps and monsters along the way, they knew to sacrifice some of their numbers to force their way through.

At that moment, Bagman's whistles came one after another from behind Skylar. It seemed that the whistle was no ordinary whistle; its sound could penetrate the soundproofing of the maze, letting Skylar know that all the Champion had entered the maze.

Skylar suddenly sensed that the magic field mouse had made a discovery, and he chose the leftmost path. Just as he stepped onto the path, the hedge at the entrance suddenly slid down, gradually closing the entire entrance as if it had never existed.

Harry originally entered the maze with Eleanor.

After walking about fifty meters, they came to a fork in the road. They looked at each other. "Goodbye," Harry said, and walked down the left path, while Eleanor took the right.

There seemed to be nothing on the path Harry had chosen. He turned right and hurried forward, wand raised high in one hand, trying to see as far as possible, but still couldn't see anything.

Harry kept looking behind him. He felt as if someone was watching him from the shadows. The maze was getting darker every minute, and the sky above him turned a deep blue-green. He came to the second fork in the road.

"Point Me," he whispered, holding his wand flat in his palm. The wand twirled and pointed to the dense hedge on his right. That was north, and he knew he had to head northwest to get to the center of the maze. The best way was to take the left path and then turn right as quickly as possible.

The road ahead was still empty. Harry reached a right turn and turned in; still no obstacles. Harry didn't know why this was happening; the unobstructed flow made him uneasy. Something was bound to happen now. The maze seemed to be luring him with a false sense of security.

"Whoosh, bang!" Two dazzling sparks shot out from the field in quick succession, seemingly from the southwest and southeast directions respectively.

"What!" Harry exclaimed in shock, "Two contestants have dropped out! And it's only been fifteen minutes!" Harry's heart sank. The danger of this maze far exceeded his expectations. He was only able to hold on until now purely by luck, without encountering any challenges.

"Who will drop out?" Harry wondered to himself. Although he and Skylar were both fourth-year students, he didn't know why he subconsciously didn't think Skylar would be among those eliminated. "It should be those two girls, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons..." Harry guessed to himself.

Skylar gazed at the two streaks of light in the sky, a thoughtful expression on his face. He knew Eleanor and Katarin's strength; even with a Fire Dragon guarding the labyrinth, they couldn't have been eliminated so quickly. So, it seems—

"Was it Barty Crouch Jr. who made the move?" Skylar wondered silently. "Or was it more than just Barty Crouch Jr. who interfered with the maze?"

Suddenly, Skylar's eyes narrowed, and he raised his wand. A whistling wind suddenly swept up from behind him, as if something was rapidly approaching.

It's Blast-Ended Skrewt!

The Blast-Ended Skrewt at this time was quite different from the one Hagrid had seen in his class. Skylar remembered that the last time he saw Blast-Ended Skrewt was in December before Christmas, when it was already six feet long. Its thick, gray protective Blast-Ended Skrewt was enough to withstand almost all the spells cast by the young wizards.

After that, Rita Skeeter exposed Hagrid's Half-Giant lineage in the newspapers. Hagrid was absent from his teaching position for a period of time, and Professor Gela-Plane took over his classes. When Hagrid returned to his post, he never took the Blast-Ended Skrewt out of the classroom again.

It's the end of June now. After six months of brutal infighting and weeding out the weak, only one Blast-Ended Skrewt remains, the one standing right in front of Skylar.

This Blast-Ended Skrewt was at least ten feet long. Strange dark gold patterns and alarming barbs, gleaming with sharp edges, were beginning to appear on its gray protective shell. Most amazingly, Skylar clearly remembered that the Blast-Ended Skrewt had no head. One side was a scorpion's tail, while the other side differed depending on the sex—the male had a stinger, and the female had a sucker.

But this one with Blast-Ended Skrewt—

Skylar couldn't tell if it was male or female.

It grew a long tube covered with numerous suckers, and at the end of the tube grew six terrifying white teeth that opened and closed, seemingly waiting thirstily for prey.

Skylar frowned. Something was wrong with this Blast-Ended Skrewt. Even if it was reduced to the last one due to cannibalism, it shouldn't have developed both male and female characteristics. This was clearly due to artificial modification!

Skylar knew that the Blast-Ended Skrewt's protective shell made it immune to most magic, and this particular Blast-Ended Skrewt's shell was clearly extraordinary. Even as it appeared from afar, Skylar had already tried using a Blasting Curse, which allowed it to charge forward unscathed. Skylar knew better than anyone the destructive power of his Blasting Curse; by that calculation, even his most powerful Killing Curse might not be able to penetrate the Blast-Ended Skrewt's defenses in one strike.

The best way to defeat it is through physical means. After all, the Killing Curse consumes a great deal of energy, and he needs to conserve his magic.

With a slight movement of his right hand, the long-lost pure silver dagger slid into his grasp. He rushed forward a few steps, a sudden gust of wind rose from his feet, and he flew off the ground.

The long tube of the Blast-Ended Skrewt resembled a freely extending tentacle, nimbly striking towards Skylar's position in mid-air. Skylar infused a large amount of magic into the pure silver dagger, activating the Unbreakable Curse on it, causing lightning-like silver-white light to dance on the blade.

Skylar hissed in the Parseltongue, and a long, emerald-green arrow with a snake's head materialized, shooting towards the pipe with a whistling sound.

Although the Blast-Ended Skrewt had amazing defensive capabilities, it seemed to lack intelligence. Relying on its strong defense, it ignored the snake's long arrow and continued to attack Skylar. As a result, the snake's arrow slammed into the tube. Although the arrow could not penetrate the shell, the impact force successfully knocked the tube to one side.

"Grow longer!" The pure silver dagger transformed into a two-handed greatsword at Skylar's command, slashing down fiercely. "Let's see if your carapace is harder, or my sword is sharper!"

With a hissing sound, the silver sword pierced through the shell of the tube, severing the entire long tube of the Blast-Ended Skrewt. The tube spun and flew far away, while a disgusting orange-yellow liquid continuously oozed from the severed end of the Blast-Ended Skrewt. Although the attack was successful, Skylar was not unscathed. The recoil from the sword made his hand and arm ache. Fortunately, he knew the art of Unsupported Flight, allowing him to fly backward and dissipate the recoil.

The entire shell of the Blast-Ended Skrewt was vibrating violently, the friction between the shells producing a piercing squeak. Suddenly, a scorching wave of air shot out from the Blast-Ended Skrewt's tail, crackling and popping, heading straight for Skylar, who had just landed. Skylar pulled his sword-wielding right hand back, arched his body, and then shouted "Waddiwasi!" before forcefully swinging his sword like a javelin, accurately embedding it into the Blast-Ended Skrewt's fiery rear cavity.

Readers can easily imagine what would happen if a powerful flame-spitting vent were blocked.

The Blast-Ended Skrewt exploded (not deep-fried), the entire tail was blown open from the inside, and bits of meat flew everywhere, along with disgusting orange-yellow liquid.

Skylar's Supreme Robe was immune to liquids and stains, so the splattered liquid didn't affect him. He slowly walked forward, picked up the pure silver dagger that had reverted to its dagger form, and then solemnly examined the patterns on the Blast-Ended Skrewt's shell. He lightly tapped the shell with his wand, and a burst of black flame suddenly ignited, burning the Blast-Ended Skrewt's entire body to ashes.

Skylar was certain it was Dark Arts.

Moreover, it's a rather obscure and uncommon type.

Dark Blood Transformation.

In ancient times of war, wizards used this Dark Arts to modify magical creatures, turning them into weapons of war. Creatures modified by this dark Mahoutokoro became more aggressive and possessed astonishing resistance to magic; even the Killing Curse could not kill them in one blow.

The only limitation is that this Dark Arts can only be used on magical creatures, and only those creatures with extremely strong physical constitutions can be used. The bodies of human wizards cannot withstand the transformation caused by this Dark Arts.

Skylar smiled faintly. It seemed this match was starting to get interesting!