Life-and-Death Crisis

"Expelliarmus!"

A muffled voice suddenly came from the side. A red beam shot toward Professor Kettleburn's face in an instant, leaving him no time to react!

In that split second, a round shield glowing red and covered in intricate patterns appeared between them, blocking the Disarming Charm.

Xiwen raised his head from behind the red Rings of Raggadorr and looked toward another dark wizard who slowly emerged from the darkness.

He wore black wizarding robes, with his entire head wrapped in bandages, leaving only his eyes exposed. He apparently did not want anyone to know his true identity.

"What spell was that?" His muffled voice came from behind the bandages.

"That's none of your business!" Xiwen said coldly, holding up the red Rings of Raggadorr warily.

"Forget it. It makes no difference." The bandaged man spoke vaguely. Then he raised his wand and walked toward Xiwen.

"Xiwen, hold on for a moment! Give me half a minute to deal with him!" Professor Kettleburn grew even more anxious, and the attacks from his hand became increasingly fierce.

The hooded dark wizard immediately felt immense pressure and cried out miserably, "Why haven't you dealt with that brat and come help me yet?"

The bandaged man said nothing more, but he moved swiftly. A powerful spell shot from the tip of his wand toward Xiwen!

Even through the Rings of Raggadorr, Xiwen could feel the spell's immense power. First, intense pain shot through his arm, then the spell sent his entire body flying into a tree behind him.

"Stupefy." The bandaged man walked over and fired a Stunning Spell at Xiwen's motionless body.

However, the spell passed straight through Xiwen's body and struck the tree trunk behind him, knocking off only a few pieces of bark. Xiwen's figure vanished as well.

"Protego Totalum!"

The bandaged man's entire body suddenly tensed, and he instinctively cast a transparent barrier around himself.

At the same time, Xiwen's voice rang out—"Expelliarmus!"

The red spell struck the barrier around the bandaged man, sending out a few insignificant ripples.

The bandaged man reacted quickly, firing another Stunning Spell toward Xiwen.

Unable to dodge in time, Xiwen was struck by the spell, but it passed through his body again and ultimately hit the ground. Xiwen's figure dispersed once more.

"What?" Before the bandaged man could react, a golden rope suddenly wrapped around the wand in his hand. A powerful tug tore the wand from his grasp in an instant!

He hurriedly turned toward the other end of the rope. Xiwen was holding it with one hand, using the golden Magic Whip in his other hand to perform an unconventional Disarming Charm.

"Interesting." The bandaged man suddenly laughed. With a wave of his hand, the bushes beside Xiwen transformed into a long whip that lashed fiercely at Xiwen's left hand, the one controlling the Magic Whip!

"How?" Xiwen shuddered in alarm and hurriedly dodged the lash, but the golden Magic Whip in his hand was struck apart, scattering into golden motes of light.

The bandaged man beckoned, and his wand flew back into his hand.

"Did they teach you at school that sufficiently capable wizards can cast spells without a wand?" He toyed with his wand as he asked teasingly.

"It's over." Without waiting for Xiwen to reply, he raised his wand. "Stupefy!"

Damn it! Xiwen still had not escaped the long whip created by Transformation, which kept lashing around him. He had no time to dodge the bandaged man's spell.

At that critical moment, another spell collided violently with the Stunning Spell cast by the bandaged man!

"No, it's far from over!" Professor Kettleburn, his clothes slightly disheveled, stood before the bandaged man.

He had kept his word. He had already taken down the hooded dark wizard and arrived in time at the very last moment.

"Well done, boy." The professor smiled at Xiwen.

Xiwen let out a long breath, used a Severing Charm to cut the long whip into pieces, then stepped to Professor Kettleburn's side.

"I admit that this brat exceeded my expectations." The bandaged man nodded and gave Xiwen an appreciative look.

"However, it really is over," he said.

Professor Kettleburn frowned and sniffed the mist-filled air. Then his expression suddenly changed drastically!

"It's a Venomous Leopard! Quickly, wet your clothes and cover your mouth and nose!" He immediately used a Water-Making Charm to soak the sleeve of Xiwen's school robe and had him cover his mouth and nose with it.

After wasting that time, he no longer had the strength to wet his own clothes. Besides, he only had one arm. Covering his mouth and nose with the hand gripping his wand would mean giving up his last chance to fight!

In the distance, a third dark wizard stood beside a massive beast and slowly approached Xiwen's group. The beast was blackish-gray all over and enormous. Its face resembled a leopard's, but a ring of black mane grew around its neck, making it look like a male lion.

At the sight of this, a trace of despair appeared in Professor Kettleburn's eyes.

"I'll hold them off in a moment. Run as far as you can!" he told Xiwen firmly.

While they had been fighting, the Venomous Leopard had quietly spread a large amount of potent poisonous mist through the air. Xiwen was already beginning to feel weak all over and could only watch helplessly as the professor charged toward the two dark wizards and the beast.

He watched the cruel beast effortlessly pounce on the professor, who had little strength left, and sink its sharp teeth viciously into his only remaining left leg!

"No, Professor!!!" Xiwen shouted in grief and fury. Somehow, he scraped together one last shred of strength, and a golden ring suddenly coiled around his wrist.

Just then, a beautiful silver glow emerged from the darkness of the Forbidden Forest.

A beautiful silver Unicorn, carrying an adorable Little Cat with silvery-white stripes, leaped over countless obstacles and appeared before Xiwen.

"Xilisi, Little Cat? Why did you come back? Run, it's dangerous here!" Xiwen looked at them in panic, trying to make them leave at once.

However, Xilisi did not listen to him this time. She dashed to Xiwen's side, lowered her head, and gave a gentle toss, lifting Xiwen onto her back beside Little Cat.

Then she charged swiftly toward Professor Kettleburn.

"Meow—" Little Cat gave a clear cry, drawing the Venomous Leopard's attention. Then the cat and leopard looked into each other's eyes. The massive beast swayed dizzily, nearly collapsing to the ground, and released Professor Kettleburn, who had long since fallen unconscious.

Xiwen used the last of his strength and swung his wand with all his might.

A massive golden shield separated them from the two dark wizards. Though it trembled on the verge of collapse, it successfully blocked several powerful spells.

After casting the Seraphim Shield, he forced himself to reach out and grab the professor's jacket.

Then the light and shadows before his eyes changed drastically, as though they had plunged into a deep-blue veil of illusion...