Chapter 385

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There was a distinctive wolf howl in the distance, but Delphine didn't even move her head toward the sound, continuing on her way. I took my wand out of my holster, just in case. My hearing was quite sensitive, so I promptly reacted to the appearance of a hefty and shaggy werewolf from the side of the trees, which immediately rushed in our direction. Two more appeared from the other side.

I didn't stop but instantly pointed my wand, which was about to form the outline of a spell, and said:

"Cumilaris."

The blob of swirling deformed space was fast, even for me. It overtook the werewolf, who was about to dodge almost instantly, tearing him into many pieces and splashing blood, throwing them back, and twisting them in a spiral. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed how Delphine instantly threw an imperceptibly fast blob of matter from the tip of her wand, which pierced the chest of the second werewolf rushing at us. At the same moment, thin spikes literally grew out of his body, as if a morgenstern appeared in the werewolf's chest. The spikes shifted several times quickly, slicing the werewolf's flesh into many small pieces that crumbled along the trajectory of his movement.

We hit the third werewolf simultaneously, which caused it to simply be scattered in a bloody mess.

<And if you used the abilities of the Architect, then no one within a hundred meters would be a surprise to you.>

I didn't think of that. Will you give me a hand?

<Already,> and along with Rowena's words, I felt a slight outflow of magic, along with which came a vague awareness of the space around us.

We walked on quietly as if nothing had happened.

"Where did the werewolves come from?" I asked Delphine in a quiet voice.

"It has long been rumored that one branch of the Selwyn family has been practicing forced transformation into a werewolf even without the influence of the moon."

"Themselves?"

"No, of course not. Anyone at all. As watchdogs. The technology is unknown, but apparently, it works. No family will allow a free pack to walk around in the immediate vicinity of their home."

In the night darkness of the forest, we reached a small empty clearing, on which there was only bare ground. It's the middle of November, the grass has withered, the ferns have darkened, but even so, there should have been vegetation here.

"Here we are. The mansion is here," Delphine stood at the very edge of the woods, like me, hiding in the shadows without any magic so that if I hadn't known of her presence, I would have spent a long time trying to see anything at all.

"Fidelius?"

"No. Fidelius feels different. During my trips to Asia, I have encountered hidden spaces many times. It's just a strong disguise here. True Light and Dark magic have a lot in common - consciousness, emotions, worldview. The "trustworthy" charm got its name for a reason."

She didn't say more, and I listened to the magic around me. It is only necessary to take a step forward, and you will immediately fall under the influence of magic fields, screens, and charms that are not very clear to me. Not far away, the howl was heard again, immediately choked. It seems that black creatures don't waste any time either.

Lady Greengrass pulled something out again from under the hem of her robe.

"Once you remove the protection, I'll put up anti-apparation barriers and other movement blockages. Combat apparation will remain, but slowly."

I nodded, hoping the gesture would be noticed, and focused again, releasing hemomancy energy around me. Like smoke, it began to spread through the strange dome of protection without disturbing it.

And how did I do that after that ritual?

<Just cut through the protection.>

Indeed.

I stretched out my hand and touched the invisible dome of protection with a finger wrapped in hemomancy energy, abruptly throwing this energy into space, forming a thin and high vertical red line on the rainbow dome that immediately appeared. A volitional effort and the line widens to a passage of several meters, through which one could now see a large stone mansion with tall windows.

Lady Greengrass immediately slipped inside, and once under the dome, she quickly stuck what she was holding in her hands into the ground. I also went under protection, feeling a sharp change in magic - you can't apparate. These feelings were much brighter than those within Hogwarts.

"That's it. Now act very quickly. The golems won't let them escape on their own two feet."

Delphine moved towards the mansion, gaining a completely inhuman speed from the spot, and I had to speed up to keep up with her. Delphine waved her wand, and the front door was literally smashed in, along with part of the wall, tearing it to splinters.

As soon as we literally flew into the resulting opening, a house-elf appeared to my left.

"Intru..."

He didn't have time to finish his sentence because of my "Seko", and the house-elf split in two.

" Cover me," Delphine said sharply, getting down on one knee and leaning her palm against the floor.

Instantly being next to her, I pointed my wand to the ceiling, from where a crazy wild swarm of small, bat-like creatures began to fly in, which looked dangerous. Without thinking twice, I drew a circle around us with a wand, and as soon as it closed, a blue flame immediately grew from the floor, the wall of which seemed to be trying to close with a dome above us. Protego Diabolica worked like a clock, and thoughtlessly trying to fly creatures immediately burned to ash. Those who tried to fly through the upper point of the imaginary dome, unprotected by the flame, were knocked down by clumps of this very flame that burst out of the wall. There were so many creatures that the air above us and around us was strewn with ash that didn't have time to disappear. But it didn't last long, only a dozen seconds.