At this moment, on the Quidditch pitch.
Layer upon layer of thick smoke drifted in from nowhere.
Albus Dumbledore, seated at the very top, immediately sensed that something was wrong. He stood up, frowned as he swept his gaze around, and raised his wand.
He murmured softly, "Barrier."
Buzz.
Like invisible ripples sweeping across the air, a powerful mental storm carrying an inexplicable magnetic field blanketed the entire Quidditch pitch. All the gray mist was forcibly pressed down, revealing a savage beastly silhouette within it.
But at that moment, a violent wave of dizziness rushed into Dumbledore's mind.
He froze for a second, then stared in astonishment. A helpless, bitter smile appeared on his face as he murmured, "Adbe, Gellert, you really are..."
Before he could finish, he collapsed heavily into his seat in the stands.
The enormous mental force field suddenly vanished.
Freed from Dumbledore's suppression, the thick mist began to churn again.
At first, no one paid it any mind. The crowd was still cheering excitedly for their teams. But as the smoke thickened and obscured their vision, all the players and spectators realized that something was wrong. At first, they were merely confused.
Then, people began to collapse after breathing in the smoke.
The crowd's excitement gradually turned into panic.
Some upper-year students stood up, intending to reach the higher seats and find Dumbledore. Yet Dumbledore had inexplicably slumped in his chair, head tilted to one side, unconscious. He tried to force his eyelids open, but could do nothing.
The Quidditch players also stopped competing. Hovering on their brooms, they stared at the lightning and thunder in the distance and the dense gray fog below them, completely unaware of what was happening.
Some players tried to descend to the ground.
But Argeleia sensed something was wrong. After