[Mee... Mee...]
The bleating of lambs rose like a tide, wave after wave, echoing relentlessly in everyone's ears.
With every step those massive hooves took, it felt as though a mountain were shifting. The earth trembled, letting out low, booming thuds that seemed to pulse in time with the onlookers' own racing hearts.
"Bloody hell..."
Ron stood frozen, his mouth hanging wide enough to catch flies. He stared up at the writhing, pitch-black masses of flesh and tentacles, and asked a question that came from the depths of his very soul:
"You're telling me those things are 'lambs'? What kind of twisted universe do those count as lambs?!"
Where the hell had he been transported to? Was this even still Hogwarts?
[Mee... Mee!]
The Dark Young of the Black Goat let out joyful, distorted howls as they lunged toward the ranks of Aurors. Their countless maws, lined with teeth like meat grinders, snapped open and shut with insatiable greed.
"No... it's impossible..."
A shadow loomed over one Auror's face. He held his wand aloft, stumbling backward as sweat beaded on his forehead, his eyes bulging in terror. Finally, with a strangled scream, he turned and bolted.
"There's no way we can handle these things! I signed up to catch Dark Wizards, not to fight cosmic horrors!"
His flight was the first pebble in an avalanche. Like a row of falling dominoes, his retreat triggered a total collapse of the Aurors' morale.
"Incendio! Dammit! Why isn't it doing anything?!"
"Stay back! Get away—AAAAAAUGH!"
"Help! Someone help me!!"
One unfortunate Auror, too slow to dodge, was snatched up by a Dark Young's mouth.
The Dark Young was delighted: Hooray! A snack!
It prepared to happily chew the man into a pulp, but a powerful, terrifying pressure suddenly emanated from behind it.
Ethan gave it a sharp, meaningful look: I'm watching you...
The Dark Young paused. Reluctantly, it gave the poor fellow a quick "swish" around its mouth—as if using him for mouthwash—before spitting him back out with a wet thwack.
The Auror hit the ground like a sodden rag doll, his eyes rolled back in his head, shivering uncontrollably as he lay in a puddle of goat droppings and slime.
[Mee... Mee!]
The loud, high-pitched bleating echoed through the night.
Minister Scrimgeour stared at the scene in a daze, feeling as though he had wandered into a nightmare. If there was ever a time he hoped he was merely under the influence of an illusion, this was it.
"How could this happen... this wasn't how it was supposed to go...!" he muttered, his hair a disheveled mess and his eyes bloodshot.
The once-hardened veteran commander now looked like a hungover old man—broken, weary, and utterly lost.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The monsters, massed with writhing tentacles and forms that defied human logic, stepped toward him. They let out cries that sounded eerily like those of a human infant.
The sheer pressure, the crushing weight of their power, was absolute. By comparison, the giant earthen hand Scrimgeour had conjured earlier felt as harmless as a garden gnome.
His Aurors had all fled. Minister Scrimgeour stood alone, facing the approaching shadows.
"You... you truly have the power to destroy us with ease..." Scrimgeour whispered.
He looked up at the black-haired youth sitting casually atop a throne of earth and stone under the moonlight. In the darkness, those cobalt-blue eyes looking down at him were chillingly clear and cold.
It was as if Ethan were watching an ant struggling across the dirt.
Scrimgeour's body began to tremble. His characteristic stoicism finally shattered, replaced by raw fear. "Why...? If you possess such terrifying power, why haven't you just leveled all of Britain? Why are you still playing this... this game of 'Hogwarts House'?"
Ethan gazed down at the man, who looked like a candle flickering in a gale. Suddenly, a smile played across his cold features. He spoke slowly, emphasizing every word:
"Because... I love humanity."
Dumbledore, Lupin, Sirius, Harry, Hermione... Lily.
Such vibrant lives, such reckless, selfless [Love].
How could anyone not be moved by it? To Ethan, they were "pigments" more beautiful than any palette could offer.
"And more importantly..."
Ethan raised his hand, and a wispy, ethereal figure drifted to his side. Silky, golden hair fell across her face as she leaned her cheek into his palm.
"I still want to explore this world to my heart's content with Luna. If I destroy it, what would be left for us?"
Ethan's lips curled into a smile as he looked up, sharing a look of quiet understanding with Luna.
So, Ethan really does want to destroy the world.
Minister Scrimgeour felt he finally understood.
The boy had been holding back this entire time just to toy with them—like a cat playing with a mouse. Using the Hero's mask, then revealing himself as [Mr. Lamp]... it was all for the same reason.
Terror—sheer, unadulterated terror—filled him. He had never imagined someone so young could be so meticulously calculating. As expected of a Ravenclaw... this boy was more frightening and more evil than any Dark Lord in history.
Scrimgeour's head slumped forward in defeat. A sense of total despair washed over him; he couldn't even find the will to run. He closed his eyes, waiting for the "Mee-ing" ball of tentacles to trample him.
Ah, he finally understands my good intentions!
Ethan looked at the "resigned" Minister Scrimgeour and nodded with genuine emotion, even going so far as to wipe away a fake tear.
It hadn't been easy. After years of effort, this stiff-necked old Minister had finally realized that everything Ethan did was for the sake of justice. He had finally seen the truth and beauty in Ethan's heart—the grand vision he held for the betterment of the entire wizarding world!
It was all for a brighter future!
"Since he's finally seen the light, let's reward him with a trip inside a Dark Young's mouth. You don't get an experience like that every day."
With a wave of his hand, Ethan signaled a Dark Young not to be shy and to go "play" with the nice uncle.
But just then, a loud, piercing wolf howl echoed from the distance!
"Awoooooo—!"
Then came the response—hundreds of them! It sounded as if a massive pack were gathering.
Ethan froze, snapping his head around to look.
From the direction of Hogsmeade, a tide of grey magic appeared like a foul, rising flood, surging rapidly toward Hogwarts.
"...They're finally here. The werewolves—or rather, the Death Eater army!"
Ethan's eyes flickered. His calm tone finally sparked with a hint of excitement.
The warm-up was over. The real war was about to begin.
Ethan stood up from his throne and snapped his fingers. The sound was sharp but faint, yet it caused every sprinting Dark Young to halt instantly.
Minister Scrimgeour: "...?"
He had braced himself, eyes shut tight as he waited for the killing blow that never came. He squinted one eye open to peek.
He saw Ethan looking away, completely ignoring him as if he were an insignificant speck of dust.
Suddenly, Scrimgeour felt a strange, awkward twinge in his chest.
...But I was here first. Am I really that unimportant?
Ethan, whose internal void was even emptier than the Great Eye's cloak, naturally didn't notice Scrimgeour's convoluted feelings. He raised his hand, pointing toward the approaching grey tide, and commanded in a deep voice:
"Go. Break their ranks."
He paused, a smirk widening. "This time, you can eat your fill."
[Mee~!!]
The Dark Young received their orders and let out excited shrieks. They kicked up their four hooves and charged toward the direction Ethan pointed, frolicking like puppies in a meadow.
Mee!
Within seconds, the wolf howls changed pitch, turning into shrill screams of shock and agony. Ordinary Death Eaters were still no match for high-level "paintings."
But Ethan knew it wouldn't be that simple.
In a battle this intense, if the Grim Reaper didn't show up to lend a hand, Ethan would drink Holy Water while doing a handstand!
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