The monster fish seemed to mistake the bubble for a train window and instinctively tried to smash it open.
Its pitiful little brain, assuming it still had one, never even stopped to think about how it was supposed to deal with a vine wall it couldn't destroy quickly. It paid the price for being mindless.
The monster fish lunged and hit nothing. The tremendous impact drove its body straight into the vine wall, plugging the gap in it.
Its grotesque head writhed against the vine wall, making the carriage shake violently, while a rotten stench mixed with the reek of raw seafood spread through the compartment.
Frightened by both the smell and the monster fish's hideous appearance, the conductor stumbled back two steps. Watching it struggle, he hurriedly shouted to Leonard, "Do something, quickly! If this keeps up, this carriage won't hold together much longer!"
He was already starting to regret listening to Leonard. If they had left the seabed earlier, they might have shaken off this monster fish by now.
The carriage rocked with the creature's struggles, and the crew members still inside were thrown this way and that, unable to keep their footing.
Bracing himself against the wall, the conductor gritted his teeth and was just about to order the train to rise when he saw the vines forming the wall begin to writhe.
One thorned vine after another stabbed into the monster fish's body. Accompanied by the sound of tearing cloth, the sharp vines punched through muscle and skin alike, skewering the creature until it looked like a pincushion.
It looked excruciating.
The monster fish's body suddenly went rigid, freezing in place like a dried salted fish.
Those vines were terrifying.
The conductor swallowed hard, and the way he looked at Leonard turned noticeably more cautious.
In the wizarding world, many spells were born out of cruelty and bloodshed, especially offensive magic.
At least in the conductor's eyes, Leonard's "plant magic" had probably been built on piles of flesh and blood from living test subjects.
With a splash, the train burst out of the water. After a slight jolt, it gradually steadied and came to a stop on the surface of the sea.
"Sir, that monster fish is really dead, right?" the conductor asked.
"Yes. Completely dead," Leonard replied with a nod.
"Um... this may be a bit presumptuous, but we need to take this monster fish back for research. Would you be willing to let it down?" the conductor asked carefully.
He was genuinely worried about offending the young man and getting seeds thrown at him.
"No problem. Take it," Leonard said, loosening the vines around the monster fish.
The creature's enormous body crashed to the floor, and the vines wrapped around it withered away together with the vine wall.
Leonard had already examined the monster fish thoroughly. There was no need to keep any specimens.
It was nothing more than a monster tainted by Death God's magic. At first, he had thought it might be some magical creature affected by Death God and had even considered taking a few materials with him.
But this thing was basically just a walking corpse. There was nothing valuable anywhere on it, and Leonard couldn't be bothered wasting storage space on garbage.
The only thing truly worth noting was probably the Death God's magic that had given birth to the monster fish.
Looking at it that way, Voldemort really was a huge threat.
The train remained stopped on the sea for about two hours. The conductor led the crew in checking the damage, then went to the rear carriages to look for the other passengers.
The monster fish's attack had come too suddenly. The passengers in the rear cars only realized something was wrong after seawater started pouring into the train.
As a result, not many people managed to escape in time. Most were slammed against the walls or the floor by the force of the water.
Fortunately, everyone aboard was a wizard, so when the seawater rushed in, they had at least managed to cast Bubble-Head Charms on themselves.
But that did not mean they were safe.
The seawater had been filled with debris, shattered wooden boards from the carriages, glass, and metal. Driven by the force of the water, those things became especially deadly.
Many passengers were injured because of it, and a few unlucky ones even died.
When Claudia and Fleur, whom Leonard had released, heard about the casualties, both girls turned deathly pale.
Fleur especially. She had originally planned to take this train home. If not for Leonard, she might very well have been one of the dead.
Fleur knew herself well. She was not particularly good at the Bubble-Head Charm, and if she had panicked in the water, she might not have been able to cast it at all.
"So the ocean is really that dangerous," Claudia said. She was not as shaken as Fleur, but she was still badly rattled, her small face full of fear as she stared at the blue seawater.
"Don't be scared. It's not quite that terrifying. Still, we should probably stay away from the seaside for a while," Leonard said, watching the monster fish being carried away by the train staff.
"You sound like you know something," Fleur said thoughtfully after calming down a little.
"We'll talk about it when we see your father later... assuming he's willing to let you in on it."
Leonard spoke vaguely, then winked at Fleur.
After a long delay, the train finally carried Leonard and the others into Paris Nord Station.
By then, Lehende had already been waiting on the platform.
He was not exactly disheveled, but he certainly looked worn out. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the heavily damaged train, searching for a familiar figure.
Only when Fleur rushed down from the train did he finally let out a long breath of relief and hurry forward.
"Thank God you're all right."
Seeing his daughter standing before him safe and sound, Lehende was visibly emotional. He quickly turned to Leonard and said, "Thank you so much, Leonard. I'm truly glad you accepted my invitation this time. Otherwise, Fleur could have been in real danger."
"No need to thank me. This is what I should do. Besides, if you hadn't invited me, you wouldn't have bought tickets for this train, and Fleur wouldn't have been put in danger in the first place, right?" Leonard said, waving it off.
Fleur looked at Lehende helplessly. After he finished thanking Leonard over and over, she asked with concern, "Dad, why do you look so exhausted? Why didn't Mum come?"
"I'm fine. As for your mother and sister... how could I dare bring them? The moment I heard your train had been in an accident, I was terrified something might have happened to you. I didn't want your mother and sister worrying too, so I came alone."
Lehende patted Fleur on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go home. Your mother has already prepared a big feast for us."
"Don't we need to register with the Ministry of Magic?" Leonard asked.
"No need. I've already taken care of it." Lehende gave a broad wave of his hand. "When I handle something, you can rest easy."
The group followed Lehende to a secluded corner of the station, and under his and Fleur's lead, they Apparated away.