The water weeds grew thick, and dark-green algae streamed like countless giant serpents, forming a shadowy underwater forest where small fish occasionally darted through.
Wade returned here again at incredible speed. He stared silently at the pitch-black waters beneath the weeds and let out a soundless breath.
His tail swayed as he pushed aside the dense strands of algae, and dived downward through the gaps. Five or six glowing orbs burst from the tip of his wand, illuminating the surroundings as bright as daylight.
He kept descending—nearly a hundred meters—before the remains of several statues appeared in view. Most of their bodies were buried in the silt and their surfaces were covered in moss and weeds, making it hard to distinguish their original forms.
Wade continued downward, and only when he came closer did he realize these statues were far larger than he had guessed. What showed above the ground was only a small portion of them.
When he finally reached the lakebed for closer inspection, his earlier assumption collapsed entirely.
These weren't several statues at all, but several parts of a single enormous one. And it wasn't the stone turtle Jabari had mentioned—it resembled instead the legendary nine-headed sea monster, Hydra.
The gigantic figure was half-buried in pale silt, only three heads and an arched portion of its spine exposed. Time had left countless holes in the surface, its scales were worn and blurred, yet its serpent jaws were wide open with rows of sharp fangs still visible within.
From what Wade could gauge, if the statue were intact, it would take nothing less than a Hogwarts Great Hall to contain it.
Suppressing the urge to study it further, Wade circled the massive sculpture twice. The glowing orbs lit up the Hydra's cracks and cavities inside and out.
Suddenly, Wade froze.
A silver-gray shortsword lay quietly wedged between two sections of the Hydra's spine. Barely five or six inches long, its blade bore not the faintest trace of rust.
He swam over, stretched out his arm, and pulled the shortsword free. After inspecting it briefly, he tucked it into the pouch at his waist.
The moment he slipped it inside, there was a sharp click. The pouch jolted violently, as if a large rat had been stuffed inside.
Moments later, the pouch stilled again. Wade tugged it open and looked inside—then pulled out the contents.
The disk, the shortsword, and the ruby cylinder had fused into a single compass. Once combined, it had shrunk to no larger than his palm, light enough to hold in one hand.
The silver-white needle quivered faintly, then settled, pointing to the image of Taurus on the disk. By current orientation, it was aimed directly at Hogwarts Castle.
Wade smiled, slipped the compass back into the pouch, and swam rapidly upward—once he returned to shore, this round of the contest would be over for him.
The strands of algae parted as he ascended, the glowing orbs trailing faithfully at his sides. The lake's edge was already visible, and faint glimmers of the streaming mirrors could even be seen above.
Whoosh!
A sharp current shot at him from the side. Wade instinctively twisted away, his body snapping hard as a gleaming spear nearly grazed his tail, leaving a shallow mark on his scales.
His gray pupils dilated at once. He veered rapidly, the rest of the world blurring into a muted hum—only his attacker's form stood out stark and clear.
It was a knight statue, one that had once lain dormant on the lakebed. Its armor was still encrusted with dark green moss. It swung a corroded greatsword, slicing through the water as it bore down on him!
The fishtail snapped hard, his body darting forward at high speed as Wade flicked his wand—
"Confringo!" (Blasting Curse)
The knight's breastplate and head suddenly exploded, but the longsword only paused for a moment before still sweeping toward Wade!
His tail whipped up a turbulent current—the merman's agility was so great that it seemed as if he could teleport underwater.
Compared to the crushing pressure in the deep, at this moment Wade felt his body was unbelievably light.
"Diffindo!" (Severing Charm)
He smashed through the weeds, circled behind the knight, and blasted it with a spell squarely in the back. The statue split apart instantly, shards flying everywhere, its stone sword slipping from its grasp and plummeting straight down to the lakebed.
Before Wade could stabilize, the water around him churned violently as more statues closed in—
A three-headed hound lunged out of the darkness, with its jaws snapping fiercely toward him.
From below, a massive stone turtle shot upward, with its mouth gaping for his thrashing tail.
From above, a stone gargoyle swooped down, with its claws gleaming as if to tear his body to pieces.
At the same time, spellfire blazed in the darkness—two red beams streaked toward the merman at the center!
In a split-second decision, Wade twisted his wand and pointed it at himself:
"Waddiwasi!" (Projectile Jinx)
In an instant, his body shot forward like a bullet, blasting a path through the waterweeds.
The three statues that had ambushed him weren't so quick. The turtle and the hound crashed heavily into one another, limbs shattering, one dog's head rolling away.
The gargoyle, a step too slow, smashed another of the hound's heads to pieces with its claws, just as a spell struck it, blowing apart an arm and one of its wings!
Wade didn't pause. He flicked his wand again—
"Scribblifors Ink!"
Normally used when making quills, now the charm burst forth like a giant squid releasing its entire reserve of ink. Black liquid instantly billowed outward, turning the entire stretch of water into pitch darkness.
As the light was swallowed, a figure hiding in a clump of weeds reacted quickly, firing a propulsion spell to rocket themselves toward the shore.
Another shadow was less fortunate—struck by the flying dog's head, they sank for a moment before hastily swimming upward.
The third shadow hesitated, then retreated and waved their wand to summon several broken statues to shield them.
Suddenly, a whirlpool of water surged forward. The witch commanded her gargoyle to intercept, and the two collided violently.
Before she could breathe, the weeds behind her twisted together and lashed out, wrapping her from head to toe. A powerful tug wrenched her wand from her hand, and she watched helplessly as it was snatched away.
The last two statues froze as if rusted, their movements became stiff. The weeds coiled tighter and dragged them down into the depths.
The one who had animated the lakebed statues was Tachibana Kitajima of Mahoutokoro. She struggled helplessly in the weeds, and peering through the gaps, her eyes caught sight of a figure surging upward through the water.
Her black hair spread like ink in the lake as she tilted her head back.
She saw Ilvermorny champion Adam Cagney, who was almost breaking the surface, was suddenly yanked downward by a rope that had appeared out of nowhere, binding his ankle and dragging him into the depths.
Next came a flood of weeds, writhing like the hands of hell. They seized Adam's limbs, torso, neck, head—every part of him.
The boy struggled desperately, but he too was dragged down deeper and deeper until he hung there in the water alongside Tachibana Kitajima.
Wade casually took Adam's wand as well. The two trapped champions could only stare at each other, eyes filled with despair and helplessness.
Who would have thought?
In the last task Wade Gray had relied almost entirely on his magic dolls, but here, underwater, facing a coordinated ambush, he still proved devastatingly powerful.
They glanced upward. Through the fractured beams of light, Wade still shot toward the shore like an arrow loosed from a bow!
Clementine Durand, drenched to the skin, was the first to escape. She had just scrambled onto land and was now laying on the ground gasping for air. Her wet hair was plastered to her dripping face.
Hearing the splash, she turned her head. Still panting, she watched Wade break the surface—then she raised her thumb and flashed him a smile.
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- 200+ Chapters
⭐MCU: Druid's Adventures (MCUDA)(⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 460
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