The moment the message was sent, the badge's light extinguished, as if all hope had been swallowed.
Time seemed to stretch for another long second amid the explosions and screams, and Bill's heart sank.
But the instant the signal went out... Woosh!
A powerful surge of magic descended like a toppling mountain, engulfing the entire chaotic camp.
The raging flames froze mid-leap. The clamor of screams and wild laughter was forcibly cut off.
All the flying spell lights shattered simultaneously, as if they had struck an invisible wall, turning into a shower of magical debris.
In the eerie stillness, a figure in black wizarding robes appeared without warning directly in front of the Death Eater ranks, as if he had always been standing there.
He casually held a faintly glowing feather in one hand and gripped Noctis in the other.
Most of his face was hidden beneath the shadows of his high-collared robe, with only his eyes visible.
His gaze was cold and sharp, like ancient, unmelting ice, and it slowly swept across the chaotic inferno: the flames soaring into the sky, the terrified and distorted Muggles, the fleeing wizards, and the struggling Weasley family and Sirius.
Finally, that cold gaze stopped and fixed firmly on the masked Death Eaters.
Flap. Flap.
He casually released Noctis. Immediately, the air behind him twisted.
One, two, three… A total of eight figures in various robes suddenly appeared, precisely fanning out to form a semi-encircling formation.
They stood silently behind Sagres, their cold magic intertwining to create a suffocating, invisible field.
The Death Eaters' revelry came to an abrupt halt.
They stopped their actions in uncertainty and alarm, instinctively gathering together as they pointed their wands warily at the sudden threat.
The leading Death Eater seemed to want to maintain his composure and let out a blustering shout, but the moment his gaze met Sagres's, all words turned into a fearful gurgle in his throat. Only heavy breathing echoed beneath his mask.
"Oh my god… who are those people? They have accomplices?!" A few trapped Ilvermorny students cried out in despair, almost dropping their wands.
Harry and the others, who were desperately evacuating, turned their heads sharply at the sound.
Their hearts tightened when they first saw this group of suddenly appearing wizards, but as their eyes swept over the figures, familiar outlines instantly ignited hope.
"It's Professor Greengrass!"
Harry was the first to shout excitedly, his voice slightly distorted by surprise.
Ron and Hermione recognized the others almost simultaneously. Their initial terror quickly gave way to incredible joy. "And Professor Lupin! That's Professor Lumina! They're all here!"
"Vilis Nixia!"
Madame Maxime's tall frame trembled slightly as she gasped in surprise. "That's… the Head of House of Ilvermorny's Thunderbird House! How could they…"
Her question was quickly answered.
Sagres slowly raised his hand, pointing at the messy, stunned crowd.
"Hummingbird, evacuate the crowd and rescue the injured."
One of the figures behind him nodded slightly and instantly Apparated away.
Then he turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over Robin, who was wearing a denim jacket.
"You control the fire, assist Hummingbird, and open up a safe passage."
Robin nodded silently and raised her wand decisively.
Finally, his cold gaze refocused on the chaotic group of Death Eaters. His grey pupils reflected a chilling light under the flames.
"The rest of you," he paused, every word laced with undisguised killing intent, "come with me and kill these masked cowards. From now on, Bronze Feather will no longer hide."
The six figures behind Sagres did not hesitate. They all Apparated simultaneously and appeared precisely around the Death Eater ranks.
Though far fewer in number than their opponents, they instantly completed the encirclement with an unmatched aura.
Sagres did not even move his feet. He simply pointed his wand calmly at the sky.
A blinding white light shot upward, then exploded like a second sun, illuminating the entire camp as bright as day and leaving no shadows to hide in.
"It's… it's him! Greengrass!"
Someone among the Death Eaters recognized the newcomer and screamed in terror, completely losing their will to fight.
The instinct for survival overrode everything.
Without a second thought, several terrified Death Eaters immediately Apparated, attempting to flee the scene.
Crack!
Their bodies had just begun to spin and disappear when Sagres indifferently raised his wand and pointed it at the sky.
Immediately afterward, several ear-splitting, horrifying sounds—like cloth being forcibly torn—came from the air.
The Death Eaters who had just Apparated reappeared, but their bodies were now sliced open as if by invisible blades. They abruptly split into seven or eight bloody chunks that fell to the ground with wet splattering sounds.
Blood instantly stained the earth.
This extremely terrifying scene froze the other Death Eaters who had also wanted to escape. Extreme fear choked their throats.
But there were still some Death Eaters who, disbelieving, tried to Apparate again. Without exception, they immediately met the same fate.
Space once again emitted an unbearable tearing sound, and more severed limbs mixed with internal organs and blood rained down from the sky like a bloody shower of flesh.
"I told you, today not one of you will escape."
The moment his words fell, the encirclement tightened.
The members of Bronze Feather moved.
Their attacks were not the disorganized spell-slinging the Death Eaters were accustomed to, but precise and ruthless combined strangulation.
Stork was the first to raise his hand and wave his wand. The ground beneath the Death Eaters' feet instantly softened and collapsed, turning into a bubbling, viscous swamp that attempted to trap their movements.
"Damn it! Spread out!"
A scrawny Death Eater screamed in panic, and those who reacted quickly immediately tried to levitate or jump to the edge.
However, Thunderbird had seized the opportunity amid the chaos. He swung his wand downward with fierce, powerful movements.
A blinding blue-white light suddenly flared in the night sky, and a thick, python-like bolt of lightning tore through the air, striking precisely at the densest concentration of Death Eaters with a deafening roar.
Boom—Crack!!!
After the violent explosion and dazzling electric light, several masked figures instantly turned into charred remains, smoking as they fell to the ground.
Several Death Eaters near the lightning's impact point were also affected by the violent current. Their bodies convulsed violently, they foamed at the mouth, and they collapsed limply into the mud swamp.
But even among this disorganized rabble, there were ruthless individuals.
Taking advantage of the momentary visual obstruction and chaos caused by the lightning, two Death Eaters suddenly rolled out from the flank, dodging the swamp area. Their wands simultaneously pointed viciously at Stork, who was maintaining the swamp magic.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Two piercing green lights tore through the air, shooting straight ahead!
The next second, several thick ice shields materialized out of thin air, precisely intercepting the path of the Killing Curse.
Bang! Bang!
After two loud bangs, ice shards flew, and the green light was blocked by the ice shields.
Professor Lupin, seizing the opportunity, released a pack of wolf spirits that charged through the Death Eaters, instantly tackling the two who had cast the Killing Curse.
Almost simultaneously, Snowy Owl's Stupefy spell threaded through the gaps in the crowd, accurately striking the figures still crawling in the mud swamp and causing them to collapse without a sound.
Nightingale's ice blast followed close behind: a swift cold wave flashed past and slammed into the charred crater at the center of the swamp created by the lightning.
—Boom!
A violent cold explosion erupted, instantly blasting an even larger pit in the middle of the swamp. Countless sharp ice spikes burst outward with the blast, forming clusters of cold, thorny thickets.
The ice spikes glittered with streaks of cold light under the flickering flames, reflecting the Death Eaters' distorted masks.
Throughout the entire process, the members of Bronze Feather exchanged no superfluous words, yet they worked together with remarkable synergy, firmly suppressing the Death Eaters—who greatly outnumbered them—and dragging them step by step into the abyss of despair.
One person's control created openings for another's powerful strike; one person's defense cleared threats for a companion; the finishing blows that followed were precise and thorough.
Sagres stood calmly in place until the last standing Death Eater was swallowed up to his neck by the mud swamp controlled by Stork and then finished off with a Stupefy from Snowy Owl. Only then did he give a slight nod.
The battlefield quickly fell silent, leaving only the crackling of burning flames, the dripping of melting ice, and the fear and confusion of the onlookers.
The once arrogant and overbearing ranks of Death Eaters were now either dead or captured, completely disintegrated.
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