Lucas completely failed to notice Cassandra's rapidly changing mood.
Instead, he happily pulled open the tent flap and stepped inside.
Then he immediately discovered that the Undetectable Extension Charm inside had indeed collapsed completely.
Cassandra followed behind him and crossed her arms proudly.
"I told you. Once magical tents are damaged badly enough, the internal extension enchantments usually fail too."
Then, after hesitating briefly, she added in a quieter voice:
"Although… this tent isn't that small. If two people squeeze together, it should still be enough even without the charm."
Before she could finish speaking, Lucas's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Perfect timing! I happen to be pretty good at the Undetectable Extension Charm."
Cassandra blinked.
"You… what?"
But Lucas had already started casting.
The fully mastered Undetectable Extension Charm immediately displayed its absurd effects.
The original interior space of the tent was only a few square metres at most. Under Lucas's magic, however, the inside of the tent began stretching outward rapidly.
The walls expanded.
The ceiling lifted.
The floor space widened continuously.
By the time Lucas finally stopped, the interior had reached roughly eighty square metres in size.
And judging from his expression, that clearly wasn't even close to the limit.
Lucas looked around the transformed tent with obvious satisfaction.
"Big enough now, right?" he asked cheerfully. "What do you think, Cassandra?"
Cassandra's beautiful face stiffened slightly.
Then, without saying a word, she turned and walked directly into the tent.
Lucas blinked in confusion.
"Huh?"
Why was she suddenly angry again?
Girls really were impossible to understand.
Still, Lucas didn't dwell on it for long. Right now, food was a much more important issue.
Especially because Nagini's appetite definitely wouldn't be small.
"Hiss… (Nagini, can you stay here and help protect Cassandra for a while? I'm going to look for food.)"
Nagini nodded obediently before coiling herself around the entrance to the tent like a gigantic living guard dog.
Lucas transformed into black mist again and shot into the night sky.
The forests of Albania were full of wild animals. It didn't take him long to catch two enormous deer before flying back toward the camp.
One deer leg was more than enough for him personally.
The rest went entirely to Nagini.
After devouring almost two whole deer by herself, Nagini happily announced that she wouldn't need to eat again for at least two weeks.
Lucas then cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on one of the intact pockets inside his coat.
After shrinking herself slightly, the well-fed Nagini crawled comfortably into the enchanted pocket and immediately curled up to sleep.
Apparently, staying close to Lucas made her feel safe.
Once Nagini settled down, Lucas finally lit a fire and started preparing the remaining venison properly.
This body had suffered prolonged starvation for more than half a year. Even before the meat finished cooking, Lucas was already drooling uncontrollably from the smell alone.
Fortunately, he'd actually learned how to cook reasonably well in his previous life.
Despite the limited seasonings scavenged from the camp, the roasted venison still smelled incredible.
While turning the meat over the fire, Lucas suddenly heard footsteps behind him.
Without even turning around, he knew it was Cassandra.
The girl hadn't eaten properly all day. There was no way she could resist the smell forever.
"The meat's almost done," Lucas said casually. "Want some?"
"Hmph." Cassandra crossed her arms immediately. "Randomly grilled meat like this can't possibly be refined enough for me to eat."
"Really?" Lucas nodded thoughtfully. "Then I guess I'll finish it all myself."
"You—!"
A few minutes later, Cassandra lost the battle against the smell completely.
Blushing furiously, she sat beside the fire while eating roasted venison in small but extremely fast bites.
Meanwhile, Lucas devoured his portion happily.
It had been far too long since this body tasted proper meat.
Just as he was beginning to regret not bringing back another deer—
A green flash suddenly shot out from the darkness of the forest.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The Killing Curse flew straight toward Cassandra.
Everything happened too quickly.
From hearing the voice to seeing the green light itself, Cassandra had no time to react at all.
She stared blankly at the deadly spell rushing toward her.
So this is death…
At that moment, time itself seemed to slow down.
Instinctively, Cassandra turned toward Lucas as though trying to imprint his figure into her memory one final time before dying.
But Lucas had already reacted.
The instant he saw the green light, black mist exploded from his body.
He didn't fully transform into his Obscurus state because the power was far too difficult to control completely. If he lost precision even slightly, Cassandra's fragile body could easily be torn apart by the force alone.
Instead, he enhanced his speed to the absolute limit.
Then he lunged forward.
Lucas slammed into Cassandra and knocked her violently onto the ground.
At the exact same moment—
The green curse struck Lucas directly in the back.
Cassandra's eyes widened completely.
"No!"
She stared in horror at the boy shielding her beneath him.
He had actually blocked the Killing Curse for her.
Nobody survived Avada Kedavra.
Except for the legendary Harry Potter.
And now—
"Lucas…" Cassandra's voice trembled violently.
Only moments ago, he'd been happily grilling meat while awkwardly trying to cheer her up.
And now he had died protecting her.
"Why are you so stupid…" she whispered brokenly.
Tears instantly flooded her emerald eyes as she wrapped her arms around him desperately.
This was the second time she had watched someone die in front of her.
The first time had been her two maids.
And both times, she had been completely powerless to stop it.
"Ahem— Cassandra… let go a little…"
Cassandra froze.
Then she stared downward in complete disbelief.
Lucas slowly raised his head while struggling awkwardly inside her crushing embrace.
"You're… not dead?"
Her voice cracked halfway through the sentence.
Lucas barely had time to answer before immediately grabbing her and shoving her toward the tent.
"Inside. Now!"
If enemies were hiding in the forest, the tent at least provided temporary cover against long-range sneak attacks.
Lucas's expression darkened dangerously.
"Hiss! (Nagini! Find whoever cast that curse and bring them to me!)"
At that moment, his face looked frighteningly similar to a certain noseless Dark Lord.
He was furious now.
And furious Lucas was extremely dangerous.
Nagini instantly shot out from his pocket like a green lightning bolt before vanishing into the forest.
Meanwhile, Lucas deliberately stayed near the tent instead of chasing personally.
Because if multiple enemies were hidden nearby, leaving Cassandra alone would put her in even greater danger.
And one thing was already obvious.
Whoever attacked them had specifically targeted Cassandra.
....
Join my P@treon get free advanced chapters.
Paid members can get upto 60+ chapters ahead of the public release.
Link : [email protected]/KittyLovesMilk