Hogwarts: I graduated before the system came

That posture was elegant yet full of deadly oppression.

Under the moonlight, the figure of the white crane was so holy that it seemed extraordinary.

It is like a silent angel, chasing a group of demons fleeing to hell.

Deep in the dense forest, Valerius's scattered consciousness was gradually reuniting.

Most of the bats were flying in one direction, and he had to find a safe place to return to human form as soon as possible.

His heart was filled with gratitude for surviving the disaster, as well as a hint of fear of humiliation.

That Sherlock Holmes is even scarier than the rumors say.

But he didn't think the other party could catch up with him.

This ancient forest in the Apennines is his home ground.

The treetops are stacked layer upon layer, blocking out the sun, making it impossible for any flying broom to move forward.

As long as he went deep into the forest, he would be safe.

He could even imagine the British wizard looking furious at the entrance of the cave.

However, an inexplicable chill crept up his spine.

He was controlling a bat and looked back subconsciously.

Then, he saw it.

The moonlight shines through the gaps in the treetops, casting mottled spots of light.

And in the high night sky, a white shadow was following him slowly.

It wasn't a broom, a flying carpet, or any other magical artifact he knew of.

It was a crane.

A crane that is elegant and calm, yet carries a deadly sense of oppression.

It flew so high that the forest canopy posed no hindrance to it.

Its eyes, like two cold stars, accurately locked onto the main direction of the bat flock's flight.

Valerius felt his blood was about to freeze.

Animagus!

That man was actually an unregistered Animagus!

He was like a madman, driving the swarm of bats to flee in even more chaos.

He wanted to shake off that gaze, that cold gaze as precise as a scalpel.

In a hidden outpost on the mountainside.

Two members of the Order of St. Benedict, wearing black monk robes and with a silver cross sword emblem on their chests, were observing their surroundings vigilantly.

They were secret sentries stationed by the Holy See in the mountains.

"Andre, did you hear that? What was that sound just now?"

The younger monk asked nervously.

"Shut up, Mario. It might be Nite Owl."

The older monk, Andre, scolded, but his eyes were also fixed on the night sky.

Just then, Mario gasped, stretched out a trembling finger, and pointed to the sky.

"Oh my god... what... what is that?"

Andre looked in the direction he pointed.

Under the cold moon, a huge, snow-white bird was seen spreading its wings and gliding gracefully.

Its feathers reflected a soft glow in the moonlight, and its posture was holy and noble.

It chased a group of black, evil bats, and the scene looked like an angel depicted in a mural exorcising a devil.

"It's...it's an angel..."

Mario's voice was tearful and he made the sign of the cross on his chest excitedly.

"It is the Messenger of God, coming to purify this polluted land!"

Andre was also stunned.

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not seeing things.

The aura emanating from the white crane was pure, peaceful, and carried a majesty that could not be desecrated.

He had never seen such a divine creature.

Could it be that a miracle really happened?

The creatures in the forest also sensed this unusual aura.

A fox that was foraging stopped and raised its head, the reflection of the white crane appearing in its golden pupils.

It whimpered, tucked its tail between its legs, and scurried off into the bushes.

A group of night birds perched on the branches flapped their wings restlessly, but dared not make a sound.

Even in the deepest darkness, those twisted, magic-tainted creatures have restrained their violent aura and lay dormant.

The entire Apennine Mountains seemed to have been silenced by this crane that descended from the sky.

Only the group of bats representing Valerius were still running away in panic and in vain.

High in the sky, Douglas's consciousness and the crane's instincts merged perfectly.

He could feel the forest breathing below him, could hear each leaf falling.

He could also clearly smell the decadent scent that belonged to Valerius, a mixture of dust, decay, and a hint of aristocratic perfume.

He is not in a hurry.

He was enjoying the hunt.

Just like an experienced shepherd, he slowly guides a stray lamb back to the path he has prepared for it...

Farm!

Chapter 415 A crane flies above the clouds in the clear sky, bringing despair to the blue sky!

Valerius's scattered consciousness finally made him feel that something was wrong.

Terror screamed simultaneously in each of his clones.

He finally realized that he had been tricked.

The wizard was not unable to catch up, but was choosing the most suitable grave.

He drove the bats frantically, ordering them to rush in all directions, towards any possible way to survive.

But there is always an invisible force pulling them.

The bat on the left wing would inexplicably encounter a sudden headwind, while the bat on the right would be frightened by a sudden eagle cry and turn around.

No matter how it struggles, this ball of black ink is always pushed slowly and firmly towards the same end point by an invisible hand.

Despair, like a cold fog in the valley, completely enveloped Valerius.

He could already see the outline of the valley.

Douglas's hunt is coming to an end.

He stopped toying with the frightened bats.

"Wow—"

The crane let out a long, clear and distant cry, the sound piercing the night and cleansing the mountains and forests.

He no longer flew levelly, but flapped his wings violently, like a white arrow, rushing straight towards the higher and farther sky.

Flying higher and higher, his figure gradually turned into a holy white dot under the cold moonlight.

The night sky is dark blue velvet, the moon is a silver button, and he is the only embroidery on the velvet.

It seems to merge into one with the bright moon.

"A single crane soars above the clear sky, bringing poetic sentiment to the azure heavens."

A line of poetry from the Far East flashed through Douglas's mind.

He enjoyed the feeling of being in control of everything, which was his unique way, a fusion of the wisdom of two worlds.

At the moment of climbing to the highest point, everything was silent.

The crane's body suddenly shrank, and its outstretched wings instantly folded together.

He turned into a white meteor, with no flames, only pure light, and with a sharp scream that tore through the air, he dived vertically towards the mass of black despair that had already gathered in the open valley below.

The whole process is full of ritual and fatal aesthetics.

Halfway through the dive, Douglas released his Animagus form.

The white feathers flying in the sky disappeared in an instant, and he turned back into the man in the well-fitting wizard robes.

His clothes fluttered and his robe rustled in the weightlessness, but his eyes were as calm as an icy lake in deep winter.

He raised his wand.

"Dragnet!"

What burst out from the tip of the staff was not a beam of light, but an invisible ripple that seemed to be composed of the laws of the world itself, which spread out in an instant.

This spell does not weave a physical web.

Within one thousandth of a second, it can lock onto the "cause and effect" of any bat in the valley.

The invisible, absolute connection between it and Valerius's original soul.

With this locked bat as the "anchor point", countless invisible magic threads instantly burst out from it.

These threads ignore distance and obstacles and connect with every bat of the same "origin" within sight with incredible precision.

An indescribable spectacle appeared in the sky.

A giant net woven from starlight descended from the sky, catching the entire colony of bats in one fell swoop.

Each panicked bat was tightly entangled by a thin but inescapable thread of light.

Douglas flicked his wrist and slammed his wand down on the ground.

"receive!"

The invisible giant net suddenly shrank.

Hundreds of bats were pulled and squeezed towards the same center point by an irresistible force.

"what--!"

An inhuman scream, a mixture of hundreds of voices, exploded in the valley.

Valerius's consciousness was roughly stripped and torn from hundreds of carriers, and then forcibly gathered in one place.

Flesh, blood, bones, and skin twisted, stretched, and reorganized uncontrollably in the air.

The process was filled with extreme violence and undisguised humiliation, as if an invisible giant hand was forcibly shaping a pile of mud into a human shape.

"Pfft!"

There was a muffled sound.

Valerius finally regained his human form and fell heavily like a tattered bag of garbage onto the pile of dead leaves in the center of the valley.

His dark robe was already tattered, black blood was oozing from the corner of his mouth, and his handsome face was distorted by extreme pain, without any trace of his noble demeanor.

Douglas cast a light slowing spell on himself a few feet above the ground.

His feet planted firmly on the ground.

The pair of shiny dragon leather shoes made a "rustling" sound as they stepped on the thick fallen leaves.

In the silent valley, the sound was like the evening bell of death.