Chapter 44: The Upcoming Dragon-Slaying Hero, Tiberius

“Waaaaah~!!” The screams continued.

Witnessing the scene unfolding, the human guard—who had been reaching out to grab Hermione's hand and confiscate her wand, intending to forcibly Apparate the young girl to the Ministry of Magic—was stunned. Looking at his colleague, who was screaming as his arm burst into flames, he felt a surge of horror. How could this be happening?

Was this the little girl's doing? But he hadn't seen her use a wand or a spell. How did he suddenly burst into flames? Was it a loss of magical control? But why was she unharmed? Logically, a loss of magic at such a level should harm both the caster and the target. Before he could process this, the little girl waved her hand at him. An invisible surge of energy slammed into him with immense force, sending him flying through the air until he struck a marble pillar and fell unconscious.

The human guard was lucky; the goblin guard on fire was not so fortunate.

The goblin continued to thrash and roll on the ground as the flames grew larger, spreading from its arms to its entire body. Now, no one dared to step forward to help. Most of the goblins and the watching wizards were still in a state of shock; they hadn't recovered their wits, and without knowing what was happening, no one dared to act rashly.

This was Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley—this was goblin territory! Furthermore, with Ministry Aurors capable of Apparating in to support at any moment, how could someone dare to cause such a disturbance here? Could You-Know-Who have returned? That would be terrifying! If that were the case, they would be even more hesitant to act recklessly.

After rolling on the ground for a while, the flaming goblin guard went silent. The flames continued to rage, and before long, it had been burned into a twisted, humanoid lump of charcoal. Only then did the fire begin to subside, showing signs of extinguishing itself.

Just moments ago, other guards who had rushed to assist had tried to use Blasting Curses or Aguamenti to put out the fire, but it proved useless! Any magic cast upon the goblin guard only seemed to make the flames stronger. This fire was even more terrifying than Fiendfyre! Even the summoned water could not extinguish or diminish it in the slightest; thus, they could only watch helplessly as a goblin colleague was burned to a cinder.

In just a few dozen breaths, a powerful goblin guard had been burned alive? The watching wizards looked at the little girl in the center of the hall, whose body was still smoldering, and then at her eyes, which had turned a cold, lava-like crimson. They gasped in unison, pushing back a great distance to clear a wide space in the middle of the hall.

They were merely here to conduct business and had no desire for unnecessary conflict with this dangerous, strange little girl. Besides, Gringotts wasn't their family bank; it was a goblin enterprise. There was no need to invite trouble for the sake of these goblins!

They were well aware that goblins were not friendly to human wizards. But were wizards friendly to goblins? Don't be ridiculous! Goblins and human wizards had fought several brutal wars in the past. Don't think that just because the scars had healed, the pain was forgotten! Who knew when the next war would break out? So, what did the death of a single goblin have to do with them? They would simply continue to watch the spectacle.

Finally, seeing that this was no longer just a disturbance but had resulted in a goblin death, the goblin employees behind the counters could no longer remain calm. Like the watching wizards, they began to stir. They set aside their work and gathered at the edge of the counters, looking toward the center of the hall with a mixture of curiosity and vigilance at the eerie human girl still wreathed in flames.

They had no idea what had just happened. Why had these two little girls clashed with a goblin employee? Why had they burned a goblin guard to death? They knew none of it!

Aside from their greed for gold, goblins were quite gossipy. Thus, while the matter did not concern them directly, they began to cluster in small groups, whispering to one another and pointing at the two girls and the deceased colleague, speculating wildly.

At this moment, at the far end of the hall behind the massive main counter, the goblin leader, Bogrod, could no longer sit still. He struggled to his feet, marching with short, indignant steps toward the front of the main counter. Looking at the charred remains of the goblin guard and then at the two girls, he was consumed by rage. They actually dared to kill a goblin? This was an insult to their kind!

"Guards! What are you standing there for? Act now! Take them down! If they resist, kill them!" the goblin leader snorted, issuing the severest of commands!

Although Bogrod did not know exactly what had transpired between his subordinates and the girls, since things had escalated this far, searching for the root cause was meaningless. The priority now was to use overwhelming force to maintain the dignity of Gringotts! That was the most pressing matter.

He no longer cared about who was right or wrong. If he could capture these two culprits as quickly as possible, he would be the one to decide who was at fault! As long as he held the initiative, any means of resolution would be acceptable. The reasons behind the incident could be sorted out later.

Therefore, before the situation escalated further, they had to apprehend the two human girls immediately and pin all the blame on them. The human Ministry of Magic would have to provide an explanation to the goblins! The dignity of Gringotts Wizarding Bank could not be violated! This was the very foundation upon which goblins stood in the wizarding world!

Upon hearing the leader's command, the dozen or so Gringotts guards who had rushed to assist drew their wands in unison. They first cast a Shield Charm on themselves before turning their wands toward the two girls in the hall. Seeing that the girls had not taken any action, they slowly spread out, surrounding Annie and the terrified Hermione in a large circle.

The charred corpse of their comrade on the ground served as a sufficient warning. One fool was enough; they would not act rashly without proper protection. The girl wreathed in flames was far too dangerous!

Seeing that their comrades were ready, they extended their arms in unison and shouted their prepared spells.

In an instant, a barrage of various colored lights erupted from their wands! Over a dozen spells of different sizes and colors surged from different directions toward the center of the hall, illuminating the vast space.

"Stupefy!" "Impedimenta!" "Expelliarmus!" "Incarcerous!" "Petrificus Totalus!" "Stupefy!"

This massive collection of common spells, released simultaneously, formed a terrifying force. They roared inward from the perimeter, instantly submerging the two girls in a kaleidoscope of magical light!

"Oh! Merlin's beard! This is terrifying!" Among the crowd of watching wizards, an elderly witch cried out in shock.

All these people using such a level of attack to surround two little girls? Was this not too cruel? Merlin! Even if these weren't offensive spells, there were so many of them, and they were cast by adult wizards. After enduring such a concentrated barrage, those two girls would likely be dead or, at the very least, severely injured. And it would likely be irreversible magical damage! These bastards! Villains! Had they no shame? The old witch glared hatefully at the guards, seeing them as nothing more than goblin henchmen!

Hermione was completely dazed. She had never expected things to take such a sudden and drastic turn! Although her dentist father, Mr. Granger, had told her about the darker side of society long ago, and she had taken it to heart, she never imagined the wizarding world could be even darker and more cruel than the Muggle world!

Only half an hour ago, she had been happily preparing to buy her textbooks for the next term and perhaps a cute fat cat from the pet shop! And now? Looking at the spells flashing toward her, Hermione suddenly wondered if she was about to die here, inexplicably.

She was only twelve! Her irresponsible father was probably still wandering around Diagon Alley. When he and her mother found out, would they be heartbroken? They surely would. She hoped that after her death, the Ministry would send someone to use Obliviate on them so they wouldn't remember. If they forgot, they wouldn't be sad, right?

Seeing the magic about to strike, Hermione closed her eyes in despair, thinking wistfully that it was such a pity. She had so many books left to read, so many spells left to learn, so much unknown to explore, and so many more friends like Harry and Ron she wanted to make.

And that lonely, weathered fat cat in the pet shop must be waiting for her! The owner said it had been there for a very long time, and no wizard had ever taken an interest in it except her. And now? Sigh... she would likely disappoint it again. It probably wouldn't live to see her return. She was such a bad girl!

"Hmm? Is this all you've got?" Annie, unaware of the whirlwind of thoughts in Hermione's head, looked disdainfully at the surrounding guards and the strange magic being fired at her.

With a cold snort from Annie, she cast a layer of red lava shields over herself and Hermione just before the magic hit. In the next instant, the spells submerged them both.

The magic came fast, but it left just as quickly!

The various lights engulfing Annie and Hermione dissipated rapidly. The guards and the watching wizards were astonished to find that the two girls were completely unharmed! They were encased in a thin layer of shielding, much like a protective armor. However, what puzzled them was: even a Shield Charm shouldn't be able to withstand a combined attack from over a dozen guards!

"Now, it's my turn!" This time, Annie gave the guards no time to react. She had no interest in playing with these weaklings whose combat power was less than five! She would finish them quickly to stop them from getting in her way!

As soon as she spoke, she decided not to use lethal magic. Instead, she raised her hands and cast two enhanced spells instantly.

*Magic Enhancement: Spell Replay! Super Magic Technique: Multi-Attack!*

Arcane circles lit up beneath Annie's feet. As she channeled her mana, the arrays completed instantly! The spells that had just struck and dissipated reappeared in the air, reflecting back toward the guards with even greater speed and power. Before the Gringotts guards could react, the reflected magic shattered their Shield Charms and sent them all flying.

After a dozen screams, the Gringotts guards lay scattered across the floor, unconscious. Some had merely fainted from the sheer force of the counter-attack, which was actually the best-case scenario!

Those who had used Stupefy were now in a deep stupor; they wouldn't wake up for days. Those who used Impedimenta were in even worse shape, looking as if they had been hit by a truck, bleeding from their orifices and lying in pools of blood, hovering on the brink of death. The most pitiful were those who had used Petrificus Totalus; they were now completely turned into hard stone, frozen in bizarre poses on the floor. They weren't dead, but whether they could be saved would depend entirely on St. Mungo's ability to cast counter-curses and their potion-making skills.

"You'll never know what a massive mistake you just made, will you? I think it's better to just burn you away early!" After dealing with the eyesore guards, Annie turned to look at the goblin behind the counter, who was now panicking. Still daring to stand so high? Hmph! The higher you stand, the faster you fall! Looking up at it was a neck ache.

It was this one! It had just arrogantly swindled her money and thought these useless guards could arrest her?

Pah! How about that? Regretting it now? Too bad Annie didn't sell regret potions! She wanted to roast it and make it pay the price for its ignorance; no one could talk her out of it!

Because Annie's philosophy was simple: *I won't attack unless attacked!*

If it were a mere insult, she might have ignored it or responded with a prank. But malicious insults carried heavy consequences. Did they really think Annie was a "good girl"? She had a rather famous nickname: The Dark Girl! Huh? What is "dark"? Go look it up yourself!

"Eh? Trying to run? Come back!" Before Annie could decide which spell to use to cook it, the goblin suddenly vanished with a *pop*.

However, if it thought it could use Apparition to escape from Annie, it was dead wrong! The moment its spell took effect, Annie immediately countered it, dragging it back from the Apparition.

"Mer... mer..." The cunning goblin fell back onto the counter and tried to beg for mercy! But before the word could leave its mouth, it was as if an invisible hand had gripped its throat, choking it into silence.

Annie sneered and used a basic *Wandless Mage Hand* to lift the despicable goblin—who had tried to cheat her and throw her in jail—by the throat into the middle of the hall. It liked standing high up? Then she would make it even higher!

"I said, if I'm going to burn you, I will! You can't run." With that, Annie threw a *Shattering Fire* spell. The ugly goblin struggling in mid-air didn't even have time to scream before it was swallowed by flames and turned to ash.

"Oh! Merlin's beard! Was that wandless and non-verbal casting? And that multi-casting earlier? How... how is that possible?" a watching wizard suddenly cried out. He could hardly believe his eyes. This little girl had not only instantly subdued over a dozen powerful guards but had also burned a goblin to ash?

Wait, that wasn't the most important part! The most important part was that he hadn't seen her use a wand! That's right! No wand! And he hadn't heard her utter a single incantation; she just waved her hand and the spell struck! And the spells were almost all instant-cast! What did that even mean? Merlin's knickers!

He had never heard of any wizard being able to do this without a wand! Not even someone as powerful as Dumbledore or You-Know-Who! They could usually only manage silent, instant-cast basic spells, or perhaps compress the syllables of certain incantations. But they still needed wands!

If Dumbledore or You-Know-Who lost their wands, these watching wizards might have felt confident enough to fight them. But looking at this, what kind of entity had the Gringotts goblins provoked? Was wandless magic truly possible? And could it be this powerful? Was there an ancient monster living inside this little girl's skin?

Hearing the wizard's words, the other onlookers began to murmur. Some quick-witted people began to Apparate away immediately; they didn't dare stay. What they had witnessed was enough to talk about for a long time, and staying any longer might result in being caught in the crossfire. They didn't want to be the collateral damage!

The wizards who couldn't Apparate moved to the sides of the hall, bowing and scraping toward the little girl with flattering smiles, signaling that they had nothing to do with this. Only after seeing that the girl had no interest in them did they scurry toward the exit. They were strictly "mind your own business"! It was too dangerous here; who knew what would happen if another fight broke out? Leaving early seemed like the best idea.

The crowd of onlookers vanished, leaving only the goblins behind the counters, who began to look at one another. They neither ran nor dared to attack the girl in the hall. They weren't stupid!

They recognized the goblin who had been burned to ash; his name was Larrin. Based on his habitual greed, they guessed he must have been caught with his hand in the till, and when he realized the girl he provoked was so ferocious, he had met his end. He deserved it! Let him stay dead!

Now that the Gringotts guards were wiped out and the culprit, Larrin, was dead, they had no intention of sticking up for a pile of ash. It wasn't worth losing their lives!

In fact, if it weren't for their superior, Bogrod, watching them, they would have Apparated away with the crowd long ago! Why would they stay here to face a ferocious little girl? Their legs were practically trembling.

"D-damn it! Quickly, bring up the White Dragon! And send someone to notify the Ministry! Tell them we need reinforcements!!!" the goblin leader roared.

Bogrod was also terrified by the girl's ferocity. He began frantically ordering the other goblins to bring up the ancient White Dragon that guarded the Gringotts vaults to suppress her! He hoped the dragon could hold her back. At this point, Bogrod didn't dare back down easily; he had to grit his teeth and push through! Otherwise, where would the dignity of Gringotts be? What would the wizards think? How could they ever operate in Diagon Alley again?

*Master! Listen! They even have a White Dragon! I think it's time for me to make an appearance! I'll make you a White Dragon barbecue; it'll taste great! What do you think?*

Upon hearing the goblin leader mention the White Dragon, Tibers could no longer sit still! If it were the weaklings from before, it wouldn't have bothered. Annie could handle them easily. But this was different; it had heard clearly that these goblins had a dragon! And it sounded quite impressive. Tibers had to come out and make its presence known; it hadn't appeared in a long time!

One must realize that Tibers currently carried a "Dragon Slayer" buff! It had been granted by the old dragon of the Voodoo Lands long ago. It decided to take this opportunity to kill another dragon, stacking the buff once more to solidify its reputation as the Dragon Slayer, Tibers!!

(End of Chapter)