Ranrok's two henchmen turned pale with fright and hurriedly raised their hands to unleash Ancient Magic.
The magic struck the Giant guards, leaving not even a mark. Fortunately, they were far enough away from the Giant that the greatsword barely struck the ground in front of Ranrok.
Still shaken Ranrok quickly raised his hand, gathered all his strength, and unleashed an even more ferocious shockwave in retaliation.
This attack was incredibly powerful!
This actually caused the Giant guard to stagger back a step.
Draco, grimacing in pain, reached out to help Hermione to her feet. Hermione, regaining her balance, looked at the towering Giant guard before her and exclaimed in disbelief:
"Is this... the guardian of the vault?"
Draco then reached out to help Professor Babbling up, and the three of them huddled together, watching the standoff in the arena warily.
At that moment, Ranrok called for his men to join forces, and two rose-red shockwaves blasted towards the Giant guards simultaneously.
The Giant guards were unable to withstand the onslaught and were forced back step by step until they reached Draco and his companions.
Just then, Draco suddenly felt a familiar Ancient Magic call, and he instinctively turned his head to look.
Behind them, a secret door, glowing with Ancient Magic light, had opened at some unknown time, revealing a dazzling array of colors within.
It appears to be a portal.
"Hurry! There's a secret door behind us!" Draco shouted to the two of them, pulling Hermione toward the door.
Professor Babbling, however, remained mesmerized, staring at the Giant guardian before her, and couldn't help but exclaim, "This is the ultimate guardian puppet, a manifestation of Ancient Magic, a magical creation lost for a thousand years, every single pattern of which holds the essence of magic..."
As she muttered to herself, the Giant guard seemed enraged and, in retaliation against Ranrok, swung his sword fiercely.
Whether it hits or not, let's attack first!
"Danger!" Hermione reacted quickly, rushing over and grabbing Professor Babbling, pulling her down sharply.
The two barely escaped the fatal blow!
The giant sword slammed into the stone pillar, which shattered instantly. The entire Repository began to collapse violently, with rubble falling continuously and the cracks in the ceiling growing wider and wider.
" Summoning Charm!" Draco swung his staff, abruptly pulling Hermione and Professor Babbling to his side.
Without further hesitation, the three turned and rushed toward the Ancient Magic door. Just before the Repository completely collapsed, they were swallowed up by the magical light inside the door and successfully teleported away.
The dizziness from the teleportation subsided, and the three landed safely in a dense forest. Professor Babbling was still savoring the image of the Giant guard she had just encountered, and remarked with a sigh:
"That Pensieve Guardian must be the ultimate guardian left behind by the Ancient Magic master Rackham."
"It only awakens when the vault is maliciously robbed by an external force. Its magical structure is perfect, representing the pinnacle of ancient protective magic."
"We are so fortunate to have witnessed it with our own eyes."
Draco rubbed his aching shoulder and looked helplessly at Professor Babbling: "Professor, you actually had the mind to reminisce? You almost lost your head."
Draco's words brought Professor Babbling back to her senses, and she smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
"I'm so sorry, that guardian is just too rare, a living fossil from the history of Ancient Magic... But you're right, next time we'll prioritize survival before studying it."
"Professor, you recognized that Goblin at a glance. Who exactly is he?" Hermione asked.
She thought about the danger she had just experienced.
Professor Babbling's face darkened, and her tone became serious:
"His name is Ranrok, and he is the leader of the Goblin rebels."
"For years he has been inciting Goblin who are dissatisfied with wizards, launching rebellions and opposing the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry of Magic has suppressed him several times, but has not been able to completely eradicate him."
" Goblin... why are you so dissatisfied?"
Hermione was puzzled. "Aren't Gringotts Goblin always highly respected by wizards?"
"That's just the surface," Professor Babbling sighed. "They're only permitted to operate within the Gringotts area, and their use of wands is strictly prohibited by Ministry of Magic law."
"Being confined to a fixed area is really unfair..." Hermione muttered to herself, then asked in confusion,
"Could we ban the use of wands? Aren't Goblin supposed to Wandless Magic? I think it would be great if we could cast spells without wands; carrying a wand is such a hassle."
Draco chimed in, "You're not wrong, but wands can focus and amplify magic."
"For example, the same spell, when cast with a wand, is far more powerful than when cast barehanded. Moreover, a wand helps a wizard to precisely control magic, while casting spells barehanded is very easy to lose control of."
Only a very few top wizards—such as Dumbledore and Voldemort —are proficient in Wandless Magic.
"For the vast majority of wizards, complex magic requires a wand, which limits its practicality if they lack talent."
"Absolutely right, Draco is absolutely right. A wand is a wizard's companion, not a burden."
Professor Babbling strongly agrees with this.
"It seems that using a wand is a safer option... confining the Goblin to only one small area is indeed a bit..."
Hermione stood up for the Goblin, Draco explained things to her.
"You also need to consider that Goblin have rebelled many times throughout history. It's already quite generous of them to be spared."
Hermione paused for a moment and then said, "... You have a point. Different perspectives make it hard to say who is absolutely right."
"But Ranrok's magic is too powerful; even you couldn't withstand his attack."
Hermione was still shaken by the memory of Ranrok's power.
"Indeed," Draco admitted.
" Ancient Magic has an inherent suppressive effect on modern magic; their power is on completely different levels."
"I've never seen such a powerful Goblin before. His magic... it's strange, it doesn't seem innate."
Professor Babbling also found it strange.
Hermione speculated:
"He also understands Ancient Magic! Could it be... that he has already obtained a portion of the power of Ancient Magic?"
"Very likely," Professor Babbling mused.
"Furthermore, I noticed that their armor glows when they cast spells; that armor is probably a tool used to carry Ancient Magic."
Hermione's face paled. " Ancient Magic is terrifying! Even the Vault Keeper was forced to retreat. If he gets his hands on the complete legacy... I don't even want to think about the consequences."
"What's the panic?" Draco said calmly. "Without me, he wouldn't even be able to touch the inner cloak."
"He's just using equipment to leech off Ancient Magic, unlike me, whose constitution allows me to resonate with it."
"That's right, he 'borrows,' you 'fit,' they're fundamentally different," Professor Babbling agreed with Draco.
Since they weren't panicking, Hermione wasn't too worried either, and started paying attention to her surroundings. "... Speaking of which, why does this place look so much like the forest on the way to Hogwarts?"
Draco glanced at the horizon and said, "You're not mistaken, we're back near Hogwarts."
As he spoke, he shielded Hermione with one hand and grabbed Professor Babbling's clothes with the other, reminding her, "Hold on tight, I'm taking you away."
With a flash of light, the three landed steadily.
Before us lies Hogsmeade at Christmas.