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  Eda asked the question to distract Fawley while relentlessly casting spells—Stunning Spells, Bsting Curses, Binding Spells, and many more, all thrown at him without hesitation.

  She strategically varied the angles from which she uhe spells, and by mixing up the order in which they were cast, she caused quite a bit of trouble for Fawley.

  Some spells he could block directly, but others, due to their tricky angles, forced him to dodge with physical movements. He even had to roll on the ground to avoid the final spell.

  Spell mae-gun fire had always been Eda's goal. If a si could take him down, that would be ideal. If not, then she would rely on overwhelming firepower. By b him with a barrage of spells, one was bound to hit, aiming for sheer suppression.

  Fawley now looked a bit disheveled. His robe was covered in fallen leaves, and his face bore a few scratches—far from the graceful and elegant professor he once was.

  But that refined version of Fawley had long vanished. Ever sihe curse had started taking its toll, Fawley had been miserable and sickly, with none of the charm he had dispyed at the beginning of the school year.

  After brushing the leaves off his robe, Fawley waved his wand again, summoning another burst of fmes.

  The fire surrounded Eda, and the scorg fmes repeatedly attacked her. Eda had to frantically wave her wand to suppress the fire with her magic, preventing the fmes from burning her.

  "I initially just wao give Dumbledore and his pdog Snape a hard time, but they dared to stand in my way. How could I let them watch me leave with a smile?" Fawley said. "They've been keeping an eye on me, even after I left, still on guard. So I decided to teach them a lesson."

  Fawley watched Eda, who tio resist with all her might, and an unscious smile appeared on his face. "It would soon be over—very soon."

  Isn't this just senseless killing?

  Your decision is way too hasty!

  You're only pig on me because I'm easy to bully, right? Eda mentally fired off three questions in a row.

  "So you e? Because acc to you, I happeo discover your secret and happeo be iigating you," Eda said, gathering her magical energy. This wasn't over yet. "Even if you kill me, it doesn't be you. You still won't find what you're looking for."

  The fmes, still burning under Fawley's trol, showed no signs of spreading further. Eda's suppression was w.

  Watg Eda struggling to survive in the fire, Fawley sneered, "Are you begging for mercy? You're Snape's prized student, aren't you? You look as weak as he does!"

  "A student who likes sneaking around at night ventures into the Forbidden Forest, actally stumbles into a spider's ir, and is eaten alive by the spiders residing there. What does any of this have to do with poor Fawley, who has already left the school?" Fawley tinued, his tone mog.

  "Don't fet, there's the note. And people know I left the on room," Eda retorted internally, feeling wronged. Was she really about to take the fall for Snape?

  "There never was any note," Fawley replied. "That was just a fundus Charm. I made you think it was real that Snape asked you to meet him in the dungeons at eight."

  The r fmes around Eda were extinguished by Fawley. There was o keep meaningless fire burning; it had already served its purpose by draining Eda's energy.

  Fawley began approag Eda again, but he stopped short of getting too close, wary from the lesson learned earlier.

  "Even if they start suspeg me, so what? No one will care about the death of a filthy Mudblood. No one will iigate it thhly. This is your fate; you 't bme anyone else," Fawley said coldly.

  "It's over, Twist. Get ready to say goodnight to this tiresome world," Fawley raised his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"

  "Expelliarmus!"

  As Fawley shouted his curse, Eda cast hers.

  The two spells collided, and a beam of light ected them, crag with energy. The ground around them exploded, sending shattered wood and stones flying.

  Hogwarts' first-ever welding test had officially begun!

  Eda stood on the right side, both hands gripping her wand tightly, p all her magical energy into the eg beam. Fawley, too, maintained his magical output.

  They were locked in a stalemate. Eda, giving it her all, wasn't someone Fawley could easily overpht away.

  This wasn't what Fawley had pnned. He grew increasingly armed by Eda.

  Someone like her couldn't be allowed to survive, whily strengthened his resolve to kill her.

  Suddenly, Fawley withdrew his magic. The green light of the Killing Curse vanished, and the red light of the Disarming Charm shot toward him.

  But Fawley didn't panic. At the same momehdrew his magic, he cast the Cruciatus Curse, all while dodging the ining Disarming Charm.

  The Cruciatus Curse flew toward Eda, who was pletely unprepared. Fawley's sudden move had left her stunned, and before she could react or even move, the curse struck her.

  "Ugh!!Ahhhc..."

  Intense pain ed everything. The overwhelming agony made Eda fet where she was.

  She felt as though tless knives were slig every inch of her skin, and her bones were being g by thousands of is.

  "Ugh.. gh.. h.."

  Eda bit down hard on her lip, refusing to let out a scream. Blood trickled from her bitten lip. No matter how much pain she was in, even if it meah, she wouldn't allow her ehe satisfa of hearing her cries of anguish.

  The Cruciatus Curse, one of the Unfivable Curses, was a vile spell designed for torture. Beyond the physical pain, it also inflicted psychological torment, driving people to madness or even to death.

  Fortunately, the curse didn't st long, and the excruciating pain gradually subsided. Yet, that pain had already been deeply etched into Eda's memory.

  She slowly sat up, leaning against a fallerunk, gasping for breath. Her hand, still gripping her wand, trembled untrolbly from the pain she had just endured.

  Oher side, Fawley hadn't pletely dodged the Disarming Charm. The spell hit his left arm, and the bright red light of the charm knocked him back violently, sending him crashing to the ground.

  "Mudblood, this filth little mudblood!" Fawley muttered furiously from where he y on the ground.

  If his initial decision to kill Eda had been somewhat hasty, the battle had only solidified his resolve. Now, he believed more thahat his choice had been wise—someone like her couldn't be allowed to live.

  As Eda watched Fawley approach, she tried to lift her hand, but the lingering effects of the pain hadn't fully worn off. She couldn't trol her right hand accurately.

  With a flick of his wand, Fawley sent Eda's wand spinning out of her grasp.

  Memories of her past and present life fshed through Eda's mind like a whirlwind. It was a feeling she'd experienced once before.

  Was she afraid of death?

  Both yes and no.

  Yes, because she had already died once, and the sensation of loss was hard to let go of.

  No, because having died once, she khat death was just another version of existence.

  But it was the sense of unwillihat was stro.

  Having been given a sed ce at life, with a healthy body and a few close friends, it made life all the more precious.

  Fawley was now only a few steps away, looking down at Eda from above.

  "You lowly Mudbloods always like to resist so pointlessly," he said. "Yoing to die by my hand anyway, so why bother? Why not just accept your fate?"

  "H..eh.. You'd better hurry up.." Eda said, f a weak smile. "Vilins al..ways die from talking too much." Every word she spoke required all her strength.

  "No one will interrupt me," Fawley said with a twisted expression. "I have that much fidence. With Dumbledore out of the school, no one break through the wards and protective spells I've set up." He sneered. "Esmeralda Twist, die now!"

  "Avada—"

  But the green light never fshed, and Eda's life didn't end. Fawley's Killing Curse was interrupted.

  "Who? Who's there?" Fawley looked around in panieone had intruded, but he hadn't noticed them at all.

  Eda ughed loudly, her ughter eg through the forest, sounding more like a vilin than Fawley at that moment.

  "Shut up!" Fawley shouted angrily, casting the Cruciatus Curse at Eda once more. But again, the spell was blocked, causing her no harm.

  "Hehehe.. I-I told you, vilins die because they talk too much, but you didn't believe me," Eda said. "Want to take a guess at who's stopping you? One Galleon says it's Professonagall."

  A stern female voice echoed through the Forbidden Forest, saying, "Gambling isn't a good habit, Miss Twist."

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