"But isn't the Basilisk's gaze only meant for the soul?" Kael asked, puzzled.
"No, it's the Killing Curse that does," Newt shook his head, "the Basilisk's eyes are more like a curse, a weapon artificially added to it. Do you remember how the Basilisk came to be?"
"A magical egg laid by a rooster at the time Sirius was overhead, and hatched by a toad," Kael replied.
"Exactly." Newt nodded, "It was a species created by the despicable Herpo the Foul. He endowed the Basilisk with impenetrable scales, long-lasting life, lethal venom, and a gaze that causes death upon touch.
"This is completely unlike what a Fantastic Beasts should look like; instead, it resembles more a collection of weapons, a living weapon.
"And as long as it's a weapon, it can be restrained. The Giant's massive body and vigorous life force greatly diminish the instant death curse's effect, so he was only petrified in the end."
"Like pouring a bottle of ink into the Black Lake?" Kael thought for a moment and said.
"You could say that." Newt nodded, "Moreover, some creatures can even be completely immune to this curse."
"Phoenix..." Kael smacked his lips and blurted out.
Every time he thought of this, he couldn't help but envy Dumbledore for receiving the Phoenix's favor.
"Indeed." Newt's eyes also flashed with longing, "Phoenix is simply the most perfect being, unafraid of curses and evil, even fiendfyre cannot affect it at all."
In these nearly hundred years, he had come into contact with countless Fantastic Beasts, the Phoenix alone he had only seen a few times from a distance.
Dumbledore is really lucky...
Both thought at the same time.
...
After a while, Newt stopped dwelling on this and approached the Centaur, putting its head back in place.
If anyone here wishes to compete for Gringott, they could take the Centaur's head to the Giant Tribe, and that would at least increase their success rate by half.
But it seemed like no one here needed to.
He and Kael naturally didn't need to; they weren't giants and couldn't join in the excitement.
As for Hagrid and Maxime, the two Half-Giants... they might have some possibility, as giants admire strength, and even if mixed blood, displaying absolute power can allow one to become a part of Gringott.
But perhaps they were unwilling.
Maxime is the headmaster of Beauxbatons, one of the three major magic schools in Europe, and her position is far superior to that of giant Gringott; she certainly wouldn't go.
And Hagrid, he prefers Fantastic Beasts... but in the Giant's Tribe, the only Fantastic Beasts you can see are food; he clearly wouldn't go either.
Newt waved his wand, and the Centaur's large body immediately disappeared.
"I'm planning to put it somewhere safer." Looking at Kael's puzzled eyes, he explained: "To prevent it from being found by the Death Eaters."
Kael nodded to show his understanding.
To Voldemort, even a dead giant was not entirely useless, so it was better to move it elsewhere.
Speaking of Death Eaters, Kael curiously glanced at the open space not far away.
Maxime and Hagrid had been fighting the Death Eaters for a while now.
Though both were Half-Giants, their fighting styles were completely different.
Maxime was more like a real wizard, her wand waving seamlessly as she combined various magic to easily overwhelm the Death Eater opposite her. It was likely the duel would soon be decided.
But Hagrid was different; he was completely like a shrunken version of the Centaur.
"Come on, coward!" he shouted, running fast up to the Death Eater and slapped him with his palm. "Taste this..."
The Death Eater's mask was directly deformed, and he was sent flying like a cannonball.
And Hagrid... he just had a few holes torn in his clothes; those spells that struck him simply bounced off.
"Avada..."
The Death Eater, lying on the ground, struggled to raise his wand.
This time Hagrid didn't take it head-on; instead, he nimbly dodged to the side... Are you kidding? Only insane would take on the Killing Curse head-on.
After dodging the curse, Hagrid quickly ran over again, spread his large hands, and slapped the Death Eater once more.
"Bang!"
The Death Eater rolled out like a tumbleweed, and amidst it all, Kael seemed to faintly hear the sound of bones cracking.
Yet Kael had recognized the figure: Rabastan Lestrange, indeed the Death Eater who had escaped from prison, complete with his photo on the previous wanted poster.
"Get up, you despicable, filthy coward!" Hagrid bellowed and ran towards him once more.
Kael couldn't help but turn his head.
Being targeted by Hagrid, surely it's his bad luck.
On the other side, things were much more normal. Maxime cast a spell that shattered a mask, revealing a young face underneath.
Barty Crouch Jr., an old acquaintance. It seems Voldemort really values giants, sending his most trusted subordinate over.
Kael prepared to lend Maxime a hand, capturing Crouch here.
Though he was somewhat tired at the moment and might find it hard to provide much assistance, that didn't mean he was without options.
Kael opened the box, and a shadow darted out, almost instantly reaching Barty Crouch Jr., biting onto the hand holding the wand.
Originally, the Wampus Cat wanted to bite Barty Crouch Jr.'s neck, but it seemed Barty Crouch Jr. sensed danger and dodged by lowering his head, forcing the Wampus Cat to shift and sink its teeth into his arm.