Seeing that Marlene remained resolute, neither swayed by his words nor inclined to step aside and let him in, the vampire Gori dropped all pretense of civility and silently decided to take action himself.
Gori abruptly raised his hand and swept it forcefully through the air. His wide sleeve seemed like a mysterious nest, from which countless tiny bats swarmed out, surging toward Marlene in a squeaking black torrent.
Yet Marlene remained unmoved, like a steady mountain. She waved her hand gracefully once more, and the cube beside her instantly began spinning rapidly, like a mysterious mechanism that had been activated. In an instant, a dense net of light shielded the space before her without a single gap, like an indestructible shield.
However, this attack was clearly entirely different from the blood shadows before it. The instant the tiny bats touched the net of light, they turned to ash. But rather than scattering on the wind as ordinary ash would, it gathered together as though drawn by some mysterious force, spreading backward along the net of light like a black vine and rapidly climbing onto the cube.
At first, the ash from one or two bats merely dimmed the cube's beams slightly. But the tiny bats seemed endless, pouring continuously from Gori's robe sleeve as though the supply could never run out.
More and more ash accumulated, almost completely covering the cube like thick, dark clouds. By now, only a few beams remained in the net of light, stubbornly holding their posts, and they could no longer stop the bats' advance at all.
Strangely, the bats did not attack Marlene directly. Once the net of light completely lost its defensive ability, they flew around her and headed straight for the train.
Seeing that the bats had successfully broken through Marlene's obstruction, the other vampires sprang into action as well, once again turning into eerie blood shadows and charging madly toward the carriage door behind her.
At this, Marlene raised both hands again without hesitation. Her wide sleeves instantly billowed as though a powerful blower were blasting into them at full force. Then countless tiny metal birds flew out, like a blizzard of metal snowflakes.
A closer look revealed that these birds were indeed made of metal. All manner of intricate gears were clearly visible on their bodies, turning constantly to drive the powerful beating of their wings. Their eyes were made of some unknown, mysterious material, like two little lanterns glowing red and giving off a strange light.
As soon as the birds emerged, they began swiftly clearing away the bats filling the sky, like nimble little fighter planes. They caught the bats precisely in their beaks, then tipped their heads back and swallowed them as quickly as little insects, before the bats even had time to turn to ash.
Meanwhile, some of the birds landed swiftly on the cube like firefighters, opened their beaks, and sprayed crimson flames. Like an angry fire serpent, the flames burned every trace of ash off the cube.
After its baptism by fire, the cube regained its bright white sheen. The dense net of light was on the verge of forming again, building a new defensive barrier.
Seeing this, the vampire Gori opened his mouth, and a shrill, piercing sound wave whistled out like a sharp blade.
Ripples instantly appeared in the air, visible to the naked eye, spreading outward like stones thrown into a tranquil lake.
When the ripples swept over the birds, the red light in their eyes first began flickering rapidly like flashing warning lights, while the gears on their bodies shook violently. Then, with a bang, a dazzling shower of sparks burst from their bodies. The red light instantly went out, their gears stopped turning, and they dropped straight to the ground with a thud.
At the sight, Marlene cried out in anguish, "My Galleons!!!"
But she had no time to sink any further into grief, because the bats turned to ash again, bringing the cube to a halt. The vampires' blood shadows surged forward like a tide. They were too close for Marlene to summon any other alchemical creations in time, so she could only wave her wand and fight back with all her might.
Several beams of magic shot from Marlene's wand tip like darting lightning, striking the blood shadows hard. With a bang, the attacks knocked the blood shadows back several meters, but they soon halted their retreat and lunged forward madly at an even greater speed. Under the vampires' relentless waves of attacks, Marlene was on the verge of being overwhelmed. Some blood shadows had already slipped around her like nimble loaches and approached the carriage door.
At this critical moment, several pitch-black, supple ropes shot out of the darkness like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, slicing through the air with a series of whistles and binding the liquid-like blood shadows tightly. The blood shadows struggled desperately, trying to squeeze through the gaps between the ropes, but an invisible shackle seemed to envelop the ropes. No matter how the blood shadows twisted and changed shape, they could not escape their firm restraints. In those few moments, several blood bags had been strung up above the train's roof, swaying back and forth.
Only then did Quirrell leisurely step off the train. As he moved his wand, the ropes tightened around the suspended vampires, forcing them to reveal their true forms one after another as they let out agonized screams.
Seeing their own kind in such a miserable state, the vampires in blood-shadow form hurriedly stopped and returned to human form. They stood a short distance away, glaring viciously at Marlene and at Quirrell, who had just stepped off the train.
Faced with the vampires' hostile gazes, Quirrell showed not the slightest fear and even greeted Professor Marlene at his leisure.
"Good evening, Professor Marlene. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Although Marlene did not know Quirrell well, she could not help relaxing a little at the sight of him. "Thank you, Professor Quirrell. With you here, I think we should be all right. Help me hold them off for a little while, and I'll clear the obstacles ahead. I think we'll be able to get moving again soon."
In fact, Marlene was not particularly close to any of the Hogwarts professors, not even Dumbledore. Although she was a British witch, she had not attended Hogwarts. Her main reason for coming to teach at Hogwarts was its library's extensive collection of books. In exchange, she conscientiously fulfilled her duties as professor of alchemy, such as protecting the students aboard the Hogwarts Express right now.
"No problem." Quirrell readily agreed, then took a few steps forward and planted himself firmly in front of Professor Marlene. As he advanced, a mysterious shadow appeared beneath his feet, as though darkness had shrouded the ground. Ropes constantly darted out of the shadow, coiling like venomous snakes. Their tips resembled sharp iron spikes, trembling rhythmically like snakes flicking their tongues.