Lockhart collapsed to the ground and gagged.
Argus almost vomited up his bile.
Upon hearing Argus's words, he staggered to his feet.
"Mr. Grindelwald, I was wrong!"
"Please let me go this time, I promise I'll never do it again!"
"My books are exclusively sold through Acolytes Bookstore; I have no other partners!"
Seeing that Argus remained unmoved, Lockhart gritted his teeth.
"I still have a lot of Galleons stored in Gringotts. If you spare my life, all of these Galleons are yours!"
"Are these your last words?"
Argus pointed his wand forward, and a dazzling light shone from the tip of the wand.
Lockhart was utterly terrified this time.
He sensed Argus's murderous intent last time in the office!
They didn't lay a hand on him because of the location!
This time it was different!
In an underground cave, where no one could see him, even if he died here, no one would worry at all!
"Don't kill me! I swear an unbreakable oath that I will never tell anyone what happened today!"
"You can't kill me! I am a third-class recipient of the Order of Merlin, and an honorary member of the League Against the Use of Dark Magic!"
"If anything happens to me, the Ministry of Magic will not let you off the hook!"
"Who wants to kill you?" Argus asked with a smile.
With a gentle tap of the wand, a force surged from Lockhart's chest.
This made him involuntarily take several steps back.
"The basilisk monster ate you—why blame me?"
"Professor Gilderoy Lockhart!"
Before Lockhart could react, an indescribable stench wafted up from the top of his head.
Immediately following was the excruciating pain of being pierced and torn apart!
The basilisk wasn't killed by the rock; it was just stunned.
After a period of recovery, it had regained consciousness!
The excruciating physical pain combined with the darkness before its eyes had already driven it to madness.
It frantically tore apart and bit all living things around it!
"Help… help me…" Lockhart, covered in blood, reached out his hand to Argus, trembling.
But Argus showed no intention of helping and simply watched as he was devoured by the basilisk.
"As expected, villains die from talking too much."
"If you hadn't talked to Harry for so long, I might have had to kill you myself."
"If anyone discovers any clues, we'll inevitably be in trouble."
"Now..."
Argus turned his gaze to the flames burning on the ground.
Something was wriggling faintly in the flames.
"It's time to put on an act in front of Fawkes!"
"Expelliarmus!" Argus unleashed an Expelliarmus on the basilisk.
The basilisk, in pain, struggled to crawl toward Argus.
Unfortunately, its tail was blocked by a stone pillar, and it couldn't move an inch no matter how hard it twisted.
"As expected of a XXXXX-class magical creature bred by the despicable Salazar, its magic resistance is ridiculously high."
"Only an Expelliarmus can reduce their defenses!"
Looking at the basilisk's scales torn open by the Expelliarmus, Argus couldn't help but sigh.
But this was good; it made his acting more realistic and prevented him from being exposed directly.
With a phoenix's cry, Fawkes rose from the ashes!
As soon as it flew into the air, it saw Argus fighting with the basilisk!
Upon closer inspection, Harry and Ron were lying not far away, at risk of being accidentally injured!
"Fawkes, take Harry and Ron to see Headmaster Dumbledore first!"
"Go quickly!"
Argus's wizard robes were tattered, giving him the appearance of someone who had been fighting for a long time.
Fawkes was just a phoenix after all; it couldn't think as much as a human.
Seeing that Harry and Ron were injured, it remembered the task Dumbledore had given it.
It immediately grabbed Harry and Ron and disappeared from the cave.
"They're finally gone!"
Upon seeing Fawkes disappear, Argus no longer concealed his strength.
If your magic resistance is high, then use physical attacks!
Anyway, your tail was immobilized, so you could only lie there and take the beating.
One by one, the spells summoned stone pillars that plunged straight into the basilisk's body.
And they specifically targeted injured areas to drive the points home!
Within minutes, the basilisk was stabbed and bleeding profusely.
It coughed up blood and had no strength left to struggle.
...
On the other side, in the principal's office.
Dumbledore sat at his desk enjoying a late-night snack.
He appeared calm and collected, but the way he gripped the hem of his clothes betrayed his inner tension.
Bang! Bang!
A flame flashed in mid-air.
Fawkes appeared carrying Harry and Ron.
Upon seeing Dumbledore, it casually tossed the two of them to the ground.
"Harry!"
Seeing Harry's half-dead state, Dumbledore no longer cared about the midnight snack in front of him.
He quickly stepped forward to check on Harry.
Once he confirmed that Harry was out of danger, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it was just some superficial injuries.
"After the basilisk is dealt with, Harry's reputation in Gryffindor should improve somewhat."
"Those who misunderstood him should also..."
Before he could finish speaking, Dumbledore's smile froze.
His previously beaming expression instantly transformed into raging fury.
"The Memory Charm! Someone has cast a Memory Charm on Harry!"
As if he had thought of something, he went to investigate Ron again.
The result was the same as Harry's.
Both of them were severely affected by the Memory Charm!
As the preeminent wizard in the wizarding world, Dumbledore was well aware of this.
Although the Memory Charm could restore memory, it didn't mean it was without side effects!
A powerful Memory Charm could very well turn the target into an idiot!
To be precise, it meant forgetting everything, including basic human skills!
Furthermore, he would become extremely forgetful from then on!
No one could accept a savior who was forgetful and had become an idiot!
"Fawkes, what on earth happened?!"
Fawkes sensed Dumbledore's anger, let out two pitiful cries, and flew to his shoulder.
It let out a cry that was hard to understand.
"What? You're saying Argus is still fighting the basilisk in the secret chamber!"
"He was also injured!"
Dumbledore realized that things were completely out of control.
In his prediction, Harry and Ron were not capable of dealing with the basilisk, and the main force to defeat it would ultimately be Argus.
To ensure Harry and Ron were safe, he even sent Fawkes ahead of time to blind the basilisk in advance.
Without eyes, the basilisk lost its most threatening weapon.
With Argus and Fawkes joining forces, dealing with it would be a piece of cake.
To his surprise, just as Fawkes had blinded the basilisk, it was struck by a stone pillar that fell from the sky.
Forced to choose rebirth from the ashes.
By the time Fawkes had recovered, things had changed dramatically!
"Fawkes, go find Minerva and take her to the Chamber of Secrets to save Argus. I'll take Harry to St. Mungo's Hospital."
After some thought, Dumbledore ultimately chose Harry over Argus.
Anyone could deal with the basilisk, but if Harry really suffered a brain injury, he would probably have to find a way to deal with it himself!
Fawkes nodded and let out a soft cry.
It transformed into a flame and vanished from the office.
Dumbledore didn't dare delay and hurriedly led Harry and Ron toward St. Mungo's Hospital.
The principal's office fell silent once more…
…
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