Wade's parents were, of course, also watching the live broadcast of the competition.
Beforehand, the two of them had learned a bit about past Triwizard Tournaments, and they knew that most of the time, the first task was usually relatively simple — in the past, there had even been written exams.
Because of this, at the beginning, the Grey couple were fairly relaxed.
They sat on the sofa early, waiting for the broadcast to start. Fiona even picked up a half-finished sweater, planning to knit while watching the competition, so that she could give it to her son as a Christmas gift.
However, as soon as the competition began, a deafening roar rang out, followed immediately by a ferocious-looking dragon spewing a long jet of fire.
Fred: "…"
Fiona: "…"
The two of them were utterly stunned. Fiona's knitting needles slipped from her hands. She swallowed hard, and the moment she saw Wade walking out of the entrance, her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Compared with the dragon, the fourteen-year-old boy looked so frail, so small, so defenseless.
The couple held their breath, as if even exhaling too loudly would disturb their son. They didn't dare say a word, only clutched each other's hands tightly. They trembled all over as they watched the dragon open its mouth and unleash a scorching roar at the boy.
The flames filled the entire screen in an instant!
But a moment later, Wade emerged completely unharmed, passed the dragon, entered the chamber, and easily found the golden egg.
The Grey couple hadn't even finished exhaling in relief when they saw Wade begin ambushing the other competitors.
"What is Wade doing? He's already in the lead!"
Fiona clutched the sleeve of the sweater in worry as she spoke.
Fred forced himself to sound calm: "He must have his own plan…"
One, two, three… the competitors entering the passage fell one after another, without the slightest chance to resist.
Fiona stared fixedly at the broadcast, pulled back and forth between being "on edge" and "relieved." At the same time, she dug her nails into her own palm, muttering under her breath:
"Alright… alright… just hurry up and leave with the golden egg! The more contestants break in, the more dangerous it gets for you…"
Fred sighed and his broad palm covered her tense fingers. He gently pried open her reddened hand and said:
"Don't worry. Wade is smarter than us, and more cautious too. He must have thought this through before acting like this."
As he spoke, his fingers were ice-cold, trembling slightly as well.
Next, they saw Wade not only refuse to leave the chamber, but instead head deeper inside, collecting all the golden eggs. He even set up a terrifying-looking ghoul at the entrance, and created a nest-like spot to place the golden eggs inside.
Fiona's worry reached its peak, and suddenly turned into anger. She jumped up, shouting:
"That— that— reckless brat who doesn't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth! Who does he think he is? A dragon guarding treasure? Just wait! You just wait! When you come back this time, I will definitely—"
Before she could finish, she suddenly gasped and clutched tightly at the front of her clothes over her chest.
Several contestants drew near to where Wade was hiding. The SMC director even gave up on the spectacular shots of the warriors challenging the fire dragon, instead fixing the camera on this dim underground chamber.
…
"Ssshh—"
A spider web was torn apart. The once menacing spider had already been scorched into charcoal, lying belly-up in a corner with its eight legs in the air.
Fleur wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sticky strands of web. Only after Ryan dragged the trapped person out did she step closer to take a look.
"It's Seraphina." Ryan checked her over, drew his wand, and said, "Looks like she was hit by a Stunning Spell. I'll wake her up."
The others' expressions shifted slightly.
This meant Ilvermorny now had two people, which put them at a disadvantage.
But then everyone remembered — up ahead was Wade Grey, the one bold enough to challenge all of them.
He might be alone, but with his alchemy he could create more allies for himself. Seraphina was no weakling; with her joining, their group's chances of success would increase.
Under the effect of the Revival Spell, Seraphina slowly opened her eyes. She blinked in confusion for a moment, then her expression sharpened: "Ryan?"
The girl glanced around, then asked, "That guy Wade — did he leave with the golden egg?"
"No." Ryan pulled his teammate to her feet and said with a bitter smile, "Come on… he's still here, but he's taken all the golden eggs. If we want to keep competing, we have to find him."
Following the group deeper into the passage, Seraphina remained quiet for a while, letting the uneasy harmony of this temporary alliance linger, before finally asking doubtfully:
"…But why would he do that?"
"To show off his strength, maybe?" Asada Chinatsu said evenly. "Some people… winning the competition just isn't enough."
"And then what? What does he want?" Amina snapped. "Knock all of us out, so that only he's left, and secure the championship in advance?"
She flicked her wand, sending out a burst of fire that burned a lurking Kappa hidden in the vines, leaving it shrieking in agony.
"I don't think so. Contestants in the other passage haven't run into this kind of 'screening,'" Asada Chinatsu said. "Maybe… he has another kind of 'battlefield,' one outside the tournament."
"What do you mean?" Fleur tilted her chin slightly, looking down condescendingly at the small-framed Asada Chinatsu as she asked.
"I don't know… it's just a feeling." Asada Chinatsu said vaguely.
Fleur didn't take her answer seriously, because at that moment, the group had already caught a whiff of a strange stench.
The foul, rotting odor of a ghoul hit them head-on. Immediately afterward, it dragged its chains with its hunched body peeking around the corner. Its sharp claws scraped against the stone wall with an ear-piercing screech.
"So disgusting." Fleur wrinkled her brows in revulsion, raising her wand.
"Stupefy!"
The spell struck the ghoul square in the chest, but instead of knocking it out, it only staggered a few steps back and slammed against the wall.
"ROAR—!"
The ghoul bellowed and charged toward the group with startling speed.
Diego stepped forward first, and his wand cut a sharp arc through the air: "Diffindo!"
A withered arm flew off, yet the ghoul only froze for a moment before lunging at them again.
At the same time, Amina shouted angrily: "Incendio!"
Ryan cried out in alarm: "Don't—!"
But a jet of crimson fire had already erupted, instantly igniting the ghoul. As the flames touched the rotting flesh, a horrifying sizzle rang out. Thick black smoke, laced with the stench of decaying corpses, surged forward and slammed into everyone's faces.
"YAAAHH!"
Fleur shrieked, quickly casting a Bubble-Head Charm on herself. Amina, caught off guard, inhaled a lungful of the stench and doubled over, retching violently. The others scrambled to cover their mouths and noses while flinging out spells:
"Aguamenti!"
"Ventus!"
"Confringo!"
"Protego!"
BOOM!
The burning ghoul suddenly halted—then exploded. Chunks of rotting flesh were swept in all directions by the whirlwind. The conjured water mingled with the blast, extinguishing part of the fire, but also scattering foul-smelling fluids everywhere.
"AAAAHHHHH!"
The group couldn't hold back their screams, frantically dodging this grotesque biological weapon, though each of them still ended up splattered to some extent.
Seraphina was nearly in tears. Her eyes welled up as she looked at Ryan, sobbing as she asked: "Why on earth did you use a wind spell?!"
Ryan lowered his head in guilt: "I'm sorry… I just wanted to blow the stench away…"
Amina & Fleur: "Uuurrghh!"
Meanwhile, inside the chamber ahead, Wade opened his eyes and glanced toward the entrance in surprise.
Just a single ghoul… and it already had them in such a sorry state?
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