"Everyone, please calm down… The match is over, what's the point of arguing?" Arno Dorian was a nice man, speaking gently with a slight smile for everyone. He stepped forward to mediate.
"Oh, Arno, don't think I don't know what you're planning," Korella retorted, not buying into his act. "You're already strategizing for the Quidditch World Cup hosting rights twenty years from now. That's truly far-sighted!"
"Not at all… We're competing fairly, fairly," Arno laughed shyly. Such an expression on his refined face seemed a little endearing.
Gary and his four companions planned to leave the first-class seats to find Apolline. It would be too crowded if they waited until after the award ceremony.
"Please wait a moment, gentlemen," a voice came from behind them. It was Mr. Sangborg, who was hunched over and smiling as he said, "Later, Sharyll will present you with honorary medals and a prize of five thousand Galleons."
Mr. Sangborg, the Chief of the International Wizarding Federation Quidditch Committee, presented the award to the United States Team on the field and handed a fifteen thousand Galleon exchange ticket from Gringotts to Captain Steve Rogers.
The exchange ticket was about two meters long. Steve and Sharyll held it in front of their chests, posing for the reporters' cameras with brilliant smiles.
The French organizers had already prepared ribbons and other celebratory items, which were now all released.
The United States Team members held up their trophy for the cameras, showing their white teeth and beaming with joy.
At this point, the final of the French Quidditch World Cup concluded, and many fans who supported Brazil had already begun to leave.
Suddenly, dozens of black smoke trails streaked across the sky, plummeting straight towards the ground.
"What's going on?" Korella pulled out her wand, looking uneasy, the wrinkles on her face trembling.
After hitting the ground, the black smoke formed plumes of mist around, blocking the evacuation passages of the stands, and even the two player tunnels were sealed off.
There was panic in the stands. The stadium had an Anti-Apparition charm, so spectators had to leave through these passages.
The black smoke sealed off the path, and many panicked spectators tried to force their way through the black smoke. Their figures disappeared into the black mist, and in a moment, their bodies were thrown out, unconscious, their faces covered in black mist, making their expressions unclear.
Some women among the spectators began to scream, which made the situation even worse. The panic in the crowd continued to spread, and everyone was in a chaotic mess.
"What's happening?!" Korella glared at Arno and Mr. Bonaparte.
Arno's face was grim, the smile gone from his handsome features. He stared intently at the black mist at the evacuation passages, silent.
The first-class section was in an uproar. The Aurors brought by the dignitaries were outside the first-class room, clamoring to get in, but they didn't have the text password on the ticket.
"Everyone, don't panic! We'll wait until the situation outside is under control before we go out. It's absolutely safe in here!" Seeing Mr. Arno remain silent, Mr. Bonaparte, a senior official of the French Ministry of Magic, had to shout at the top of his lungs.
The more than one hundred people in the first-class section were all intelligent. With a moment's thought, they realized that they would definitely be safer in this confined space, and their emotions finally calmed down slightly.
Gary led his companions to the last row of seats in the first-class section. "Everyone, still be careful. I have a strange feeling," he cautioned.
Lily tightly grasped Alfrina's hand, her face pale. Through the glass curtain wall, she saw the spectators outside already trying to use magic to break through the black smoke.
Explosion Curses and Obstacle Curses, various colorful spells flew across the stadium.
"Where's your security? Didn't you say this match would be absolutely safe?" Mr. Sangborg grabbed Mr. Bonaparte's collar. "This is what you call safe?"
Mr. Sangborg, the Chief of the International Wizarding Federation Quidditch Committee, had been out of contact since presenting the award to the United States Team, and Mr. Sangborg was naturally burning with anxiety.
The Brazil Team, having lost the match, had left the stadium early to return to their locker room. Only the United States Team members and some reporters were huddled together on the field.
"We deployed a hundred security personnel… Their identities were all vetted before, absolutely no problems…" Mr. Bonaparte stammered, trembling with fear and sweating profusely.
If any major security incident occurred at this World Cup, he could forget about his official position.
"Where did that old fossil Sangborg go? Only he can open this room! The situation outside is already out of control!" Korella roared.
The situation in the stands became increasingly chaotic. The black mist, cast by some unknown magic, was impossible to break. Hundreds of people crowded around one passage, and many took the opportunity to cause trouble. They wore black masks and tore down and destroyed the two national flags hanging in the stands.
Arno became anxious. He rushed to the glass curtain wall, unfolded a piece of paper for the French Aurors gathered outside the room, and then wrote on it with his wand. The Aurors looked at the paper, exchanged glances, and then nodded, rushing towards the nearest passage.
However, the Aurors from Brazil and the United States remained outside, not moving an inch.
"First, evacuate the spectators, otherwise the impact will be too severe," Arno said in broken English, anxious as an ant on a hot pan, his handsome face filled with worry.
Korella and Noang exchanged glances and agreed with his suggestion.
Two Aurors from each country remained, while the others rushed to deal with the black mist at the evacuation passages.
The Aurors finally managed to push through the dense crowd to reach the black mist and began to deal with the unknown black mist. The remaining Aurors went to drive away the troublemakers wearing black masks.
Now everyone's attention was focused on the Aurors; no one was paying attention to the people in the first-class section anymore.
Steve Rogers in the center of the stadium calmed his teammates. Fortunately, several of them still had their brooms, and at this moment, each took a reporter and left first.
"Ah…" A long sigh came from beside Gary. Mr. Sangborg had walked over at some point. "Don't be afraid, children, it will be over soon."
"We're not afraid, just a little worried," Alfrina said with a smile.
"That's good, that's good…" Mr. Sangborg's normally kind face suddenly showed a strange smile, and a red light flashed in his eyes, looking eerily creepy.
"What's wrong, Mr. Sangborg?" Lily looked at Mr. Sangborg's smile with a bit of fear.
"Nothing…" Mr. Sangborg no longer hunched over. He straightened up and pulled his wand from his pocket.
"You… what are you going to do?" Kona and Howard trembled, their bodies pressed tightly together.
Now, apart from Gary and his four companions, no one noticed Mr. Sangborg's abnormality. His eyes glowed with a strange red light as he walked forward.