#735 - Blood Moon (asking for monthly ticket recommendation ticket)

However, Neville had no time to dwell on the mysteries of the [Aberrant Construct]. These bizarre, alien-like monsters were launching another assault on the [Exorcism Book].

The [Aberrant Constructs]' slender limbs appeared weak and feeble, and indeed, they were. Many had their arms severed, likely from battles with Harry and the others.

But besides ordinary physical attacks, the [Aberrant Constructs] had another, more conspicuous combat mode.

One [Aberrant Construct], already missing its upper limbs, rushed suicidally towards the [Exorcism Book], screaming like a banshee. Then, it suddenly began to discharge electricity.

Blinding electric arcs engulfed a three-meter radius. Harry, ready to strike with his sword, was blasted away by the current, and the [Exorcism Book]'s health bar shrank again.

The assault didn't stop. Several other [Aberrant Constructs] lunged towards the center as if their lives meant nothing.

Ron and Hermione managed to block some, but more [Aberrant Constructs] successfully unleashed their attacks on the [Exorcism Book].

After releasing an electric shock, the [Aberrant Construct] turned and bolted, convulsing, its body flashing with electricity and leaving afterimages.

Seeing the enemies about to split again, Hermione reluctantly stepped forward, found a relatively good angle, and cast a Purifying Flash on two [Aberrant Constructs].

The [Aberrant Constructs] disintegrated instantly in the beam, but the remaining enemies successfully completed their division.

Suddenly, the [Aberrant Constructs] besieging the [Exorcism Book] increased from five to ten.

Actually, there should have been eight when they got close, but Harry and Ron had teamed up to kill one earlier, and Hermione had just taken out two more.

But the group, already struggling against eight [Aberrant Constructs], felt despair seeing the enemy increase to ten.

This couldn't continue. The individual strength of these [Aberrant Constructs] wasn't as exaggerated as other elite demons, but they couldn't be dealt with quickly.

If they dragged on, the [Aberrant Constructs] would continue to split, and their numbers would only increase!

This was the scene Neville saw upon returning to the core area.

Seeing this, Neville didn't hesitate. He quickly smeared Holy Water on the [Heavenly Battle Halberd], forcing himself to calm down. He had to find these enemies' weakness as soon as possible, or even if he rejoined the battle, he probably couldn't keep up with their splitting speed.

The other three young wizards guarding the [Exorcism Book] weren't slacking off either. They went on a rampage, and another [Aberrant Construct] was taken down by their combined efforts.

But when they turned around and saw the other nine elite demons poised to attack, their hearts filled with bitterness. These disgusting things were impossible to kill off. Before they could even finish off two, the remaining ones doubled!

"Strange!"

Neville, observing carefully from the side, suddenly noticed something odd. The [Aberrant Constructs]' splitting ability seemed to be purely division, without any restorative properties.

The [Aberrant Construct] that had rushed towards the [Exorcism Book] earlier, its upper limbs completely severed, remained injured after splitting. The resulting [Aberrant Construct] also lacked upper limbs.

"I've got it!" Neville's eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted to the three guarding the center, "Don't just focus on killing them. Attack the demons' lower bodies! As long as you restrict their movement, you don't have to worry about them splitting again!"

Neville's reminder immediately clicked with the three in the thick of battle.

Indeed! The bodies split from these [Aberrant Constructs] seemed to be identical to the original. They didn't need to kill them all; just sever their lower limbs to prevent them from harming the Exorcism Book!

Finally understanding the key, Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately changed their tactics, aiming for the [Aberrant Constructs]' legs. After felling one, they didn't bother with a finishing blow, immediately turning to attack the other [Aberrant Constructs].

To be honest, the sudden appearance of these [Aberrant Constructs] had stunned them. There were only four enemies when they first charged, but as they fought, the number increased to eight. They were too busy panicking to carefully observe and understand their opponents.

Fortunately, Neville, returning as a third-party observer, re-examined the battlefield and discovered the [Aberrant Constructs]' weakness.

After changing tactics, the effect was immediate. A single [Aberrant Construct] was indeed tough and resilient, but their limbs were as fragile as sugar cane. Even Hermione's green-quality machete could easily sever them.

With Neville's assistance, they soon turned five [Aberrant Constructs] into human torsos. Unfortunately, the remaining four enemies still managed to damage the [Exorcism Book].

In the next splitting process, the [Aberrant Constructs] that had lost their limbs and fallen to the ground produced clones that also lacked limbs.

The quartet completely ignored the prone [Aberrant Constructs], turning their attention to the enemies that could still move.

Soon, the original nine lively [Aberrant Constructs], after a new round of splitting, became eighteen bizarre, armless, legless torsos wailing on the ground.

"Finally..." Ron gasped, panting. "That was tough. These ugly monsters are too troublesome."

"It's a good thing Neville reminded us in time, or we would have been facing a continuous stream of elite demons," Harry said, giving Neville a grateful look. They had been genuinely frightened.

"Stop dawdling!" Hermione, no longer the lady she once was, roared at them, covered in filthy bloodstains that made her look like a maniacal killer. "Neville, Harry, you two are responsible for finishing off these [Aberrant Constructs]. Ron and I will block the other demon minions. I don't want to see the ground covered in electric monsters."

Hermione's roar spurred everyone into action. As she said, they had only crippled the [Aberrant Constructs]; they could still split.

If they left them unattended, they would soon have no room to stand. Completely killing the immobile [Aberrant Constructs] was much easier than fighting the fully formed ones.

But no matter how quickly they finished them off, the [Aberrant Constructs] continued to split. They always found a large pile popping up after they killed a batch.

Eventually, they had to get Ron to help, but even then, it took them over a minute to clear the ground.

By then, only six minutes of the defense battle had passed, but the [Exorcism Book]'s health had dropped to only two thousand points, only 40% of its full health.

At the same time, their condition was terrible. Their Fear levels were all over 50%, and most of their skills were on cooldown.

The only good news was that their Shield values, converted by the [Holy Water] in continuous combat, were almost full, and Snape had finally dealt with the [Evil Spirit General].

Seeing all the elite demons wiped out, leaving only a few scattered demon minions, the quartet could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Looks like we're pretty efficient. We solved the biggest threat just halfway through the fourth stage!" Ron said with a slight smile to the others after slicing off a demon minion's head.

"Don't get too happy. There's no telling what other dangers might appear," Hermione muttered with a grim expression. She was exhausted, and her wand was covered in sticky bloodstains, which greatly upset her, who was usually so clean.

Suddenly!

Just after she complained, the surrounding scenery changed again.

The ferocious, crazed demon minions in the battlefield suddenly froze as if petrified, or as if a sci-fi movie had been paused.

The demon minions didn't remain frozen for long. In the next instant, clumps of red-black mist poured from their mouths and noses, drilling straight into the ground, as if a high-powered exhaust fan was running underneath.

At the same time, not only the living demon minions, but even the corpses of the fallen demons began to emit black smoke, and these smoke-like magic flows all surged into the ground.

Soon, the demons within a few hundred meters, whether alive or dead, all turned into wisps of debris and dissipated into the air, as if there had never been a battle here.

The bizarre scene made Harry and the others swallow hard. They didn't know what was happening, but they knew it wasn't a good sign.

"You and your jinxed mouth!" Ron couldn't help complaining to Hermione. "You were right. It sounds like something terrifying is about to appear!"

"Shut up and be careful, you idiot!" Hermione was already in a terrible mood, and now she was extremely anxious, so she retorted to Ron without hesitation.

But before the two could argue, new changes occurred on the battlefield.

First, the sky above them began to change. The vortex-like clouds gradually dissipated, revealing the moon behind them.

But the full moon was completely different from what they had seen before. The pale silver moon had been dyed red, and if you looked closely, you could see strands of black lines like cracks, like a red eyeball without pupils, covered in black threads.

The moment the blood moon appeared, everyone present felt a tightness in their hearts, and the surrounding air was eerily silent, as if someone was squeezing their hearts and covering their mouths and noses.

The terrifying scene made everyone forget for a moment that they were in a dungeon. The overly realistic scene evoked the most authentic fear in their hearts.

Would they be killed?

Even Snape frowned at the scene. Because the scene in front of him was too real, the suffocating pressure was not fake.

He wasn't sure if this world was created by Anduin. Did Quirrell use some means to take over this dungeon? Or was this actually a special area that Anduin had simply modified and used, resulting in some kind of mutation?

Just as everyone was lost in thought, a violent tremor erupted beneath their feet.

Just as they thought there was an earthquake, the ground not far from them cracked open with a loud bang, and a pool of black sludge gushed out.

Soon, a large area in front of them turned into a mud pit, and before they could get curious, a huge hand emerged from it!

The hand looked like a dragon's claw, covered with metal-like scales, or rather, armor plates, because even with the naked eye, it was clear that it was not naturally formed.

As the large hand gripped the edge of the mud pit and struggled upwards, the owner of the hand finally appeared before them.

It was a terrifying giant nearly 10 meters tall, with an appearance similar to the demons in Western literature.

It had beast-like, backward-jointed lower limbs, wore armor, had a human-like torso, claws sharper than dragons and eagles, and a humanoid face, but with two huge goat horns on its head.

Even more shocking to Harry and the others than the terrifying size of this creature was that it didn't seem to be a product of the dungeon.

Because in their eyes, there was no specific title displayed above its head.

You had to know that after entering this dungeon, no matter how disgusting the monsters looked, they would at least have a voice in their hearts telling them that these were fake, because they could see the opponent's name and health bar in their goggles.

But this monster had nothing, only the waves of pressure it emitted were terrifyingly real!

Snape, who didn't have goggles, was also a little apprehensive, because his keen magical senses told him that this big guy was on a completely different level from all the previous enemies.

With the energy contained in its body, let alone young wizards, even a dozen adult wizards would probably be no match.

"Ugh!"

As everyone present was shocked by the appearance of this enemy, it suddenly opened its eyes and groaned lazily.