"Harry! Neville! Calm down! Load and fire!"
Leo's voice cut sharply through the chaos filling the corridor.
Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione, Charlotte, Rose, and the others sprinted desperately through the narrow passage while dodging the troll's massive club swings. Every impact shook the castle walls, and the constant thunder of destruction threatened to overwhelm them with panic.
But Leo's command gave them something vital.
Direction.
The moment Harry heard him, his eyes lit up.
That's right.
Magic wasn't their only weapon anymore.
While running, Harry immediately reached beneath his robes and pulled out the Colt Leo had given him. His hands trembled slightly from adrenaline, but he forced himself to stay calm and began loading it exactly as he had practiced.
The others reacted quickly.
Ron fumbled his revolver out so hastily that he nearly dropped it.
Neville gripped his weapon so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Hermione moved with surprising composure, loading ammunition with the precise focus of someone conducting a difficult magical experiment.
Charlotte stepped protectively in front of Rose while preparing her own weapon with practiced efficiency.
Meanwhile, Draco had already finished loading.
Unlike the others, his expression remained cold and focused as he stared directly at the charging troll.
His finger settled firmly on the trigger.
Then Draco suddenly shouted.
"DOWN!"
The warning echoed through the corridor.
Harry and the others immediately understood.
Without hesitation, they dropped low.
Bang!
Draco fired.
The bullet screamed through the air and slammed directly into the troll's exposed chest.
The giant creature staggered.
Its tiny eyes drifted downward in confusion toward the bleeding wound.
Pain.
Something had actually hurt it.
The troll had already been furious after being mysteriously dragged into an unfamiliar castle. All it wanted was food.
Yet these tiny creatures—these insects it considered prey—had somehow managed to injure it.
Its rage exploded.
The troll roared so loudly that the corridor itself trembled.
Then it swung its enormous club downward.
Boom!
The stone floor shattered instantly.
The creature no longer cared whether it actually struck the children.
It simply wanted destruction.
Under the flickering torchlight, the troll looked utterly monstrous.
Its gigantic body resembled a moving mountain of muscle and stone.
Rough gray skin stretched across limbs thick enough to crush a person effortlessly.
Its face was even worse.
The flattened nose looked broken.
Tiny red eyes glowed like embers buried deep inside its skull.
Its enormous mouth overflowed with jagged yellow teeth stained by blood and filth.
The stench alone was enough to make someone gag.
Watching the troll enter a complete frenzy, Leo's expression darkened.
The situation had become far more dangerous.
Retreating, however, was no longer an option.
Leo focused his mental power, ready to intervene directly if necessary.
"Everyone stay alert!" he shouted. "Load your weapons and fire whenever you get a clear shot!"
The troll roared again.
The sound shook the corridor violently.
Dust and fragments of stone rained from the ceiling while cracks spread across nearby walls. Every swing of its club generated powerful gusts of wind strong enough to throw smaller students off balance.
Boom!
Another strike cratered the floor.
Stone fragments exploded outward like shrapnel.
The narrow corridor only amplified the destruction.
The troll charged forward recklessly while bellowing in fury, its footsteps leaving cracks across the stone beneath it.
Its eyes radiated pure hatred.
Harry gritted his teeth hard enough to hurt.
While running, he rapidly loaded ammunition into his Colt exactly as Leo had taught him.
Despite his trembling hands, he forced himself to focus.
Don't panic.
Load properly.
Aim carefully.
Beside him, Ron looked moments away from a complete breakdown.
His breathing had become ragged while sweat poured down his face.
"Bloody hell—bloody hell—what do we even do against that thing?!"
Even so, Ron stubbornly continued loading his weapon while copying Harry's movements as closely as possible.
Neville looked terrified.
Absolutely terrified.
Yet despite the fear in his eyes, he still held onto the Colt with both hands.
His movements were clumsy.
His face was pale.
But determination remained visible beneath the panic.
Charlotte was surprisingly calm.
While shielding Rose behind her, she finished loading her weapon and carefully observed the troll like a hunter waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Hermione looked even calmer than Harry.
Her eyes moved constantly between the troll and the corridor itself.
Even while loading ammunition, she maintained the expression of someone solving a complicated magical puzzle.
One by one, everyone finished preparing their weapons.
At the same time, Leo continued observing the troll while occasionally firing suppressive shots from his own Colt.
Bang!
A bullet struck the troll's shoulder.
The creature barely reacted.
Bang!
Another round hit its thigh.
Again, the damage appeared minimal.
Then suddenly—
Leo's eyes lit up.
Although the troll looked terrifying while wildly swinging its enormous club, its massive size had become a weakness.
The corridor barely provided enough room for it to move.
Its oversized body repeatedly smashed into walls and ceilings, disrupting the rhythm of its attacks.
The giant club frequently collided with stone pillars, corners, and support arches, forcing the creature to constantly adjust its swings.
Immediately, Leo shouted.
"Pay attention! The corridor is restricting its movements!"
Everyone looked toward him.
"Anyone who's loaded—target the arm holding the club!"
The moment Draco's earlier shot had enraged the troll, the creature had abandoned what little restraint it possessed.
Now it roared continuously while swinging its weapon with increasing recklessness.
Leo frowned slightly.
Truthfully, he wasn't completely confident the Colts would inflict enough damage.
Against human-sized enemies, the Equalizers possessed terrifying penetration power.
Against a troll this large?
Their effectiveness would inevitably be reduced.
Still—
At this moment, it was the best option they had.
....
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