[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-drift-of-the-multiverse-marvel-resident-evil-dc-":3,"chapter-drift-of-the-multiverse-marvel-resident-evil-dc--drift-of-the-multiverse-marvel-resident-evil-dc--chapter-680":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Drift Of The Multiverse: [Marvel] [Resident Evil] [DC] [Bleach] [DB]",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1802597,2402,"Chapter 680: Hostages","drift-of-the-multiverse-marvel-resident-evil-dc--chapter-680",680,"\u003Cp>Hermione’s worldview had taken a heavy blow. For the rest of the day, she remained visibly stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when they ate together in the mess hall during dinner, she still hadn’t fully recovered. Judging by her expression, it would take a while for her to digest all this information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Didn’t you say you don’t go after young girls?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scáthach, holding a plate of pastries, leaned close to Ethan with a curious look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hermione looks like she’s fallen victim to your wicked ways.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I just told her about our identities.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan really wanted to snap back, how does she look like it? She clearly doesn’t, okay?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, so that’s how it is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that things weren’t developing in an interesting direction, Scáthach lost interest and retreated with a disappointed look. But before she left, she still added pointedly, \"But you really do seem to have more and more young girls around you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning his head, he saw Illya holding Shiro and looking at him expressionlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan decided to ’pretend he didn’t hear anything’ and casually wandered off in a random direction, treating it as a post-dinner stroll to aid digestion, even though his current body wouldn’t experience indigestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides revealing his identity to Hermione, the biggest topic of attention at the moment was Hogwarts holding a ball, and as one of the Triwizard Tournament champions, Ethan would be one of the lead dancers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snape had even spoken to him specifically about this, telling him to prepare formal attire in advance, and to quickly learn to dance if he didn’t already know how.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dancing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan genuinely didn’t know how.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since transmigrating and obtaining the Space-Time Orb, his early years were spent constantly struggling to survive and gain strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after securing his survival, his pursuit of power never stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He carefully collected and studied all kinds of knowledge, abilities, and tools that could make him stronger, and dancing definitely wasn’t one of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given Ethan’s current learning ability and physical coordination, he could master simple dance steps after watching them once, so he wasn’t too concerned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rather than worrying about that, he had to think about whom to choose as a dance partner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why do I feel like I’ve run into trouble?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After considering it, Ethan decided to invite Illya.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not inviting Scáthach wouldn’t matter, but if he kept ignoring Illya, she would definitely be upset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After living in this world for a few years, Illya no longer clung to Ethan as much as she had at the beginning. Sometimes, she would find ways to amuse herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, most of the time, she still stayed close to Ethan, and lately, he felt like he’d been neglecting her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So this is compensation?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Illya looked at Ethan with an expression that seemed to say, ’I’ve seen through everything,’ but still happily accepted the invitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was an invitation from Ethan. Of course Illya wouldn’t refuse, especially since she had been quite interested in the ball itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few years of peaceful school life, she now smiled brightly every day, no longer wearing that constant cold expression. Her occasional smiles now felt warm instead of mocking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I need to prepare my dress too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Illya was happy, she took care of all the preparations herself, leaving Ethan with nothing to do but quietly wait for the day of the ball to arrive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have you figured out the secret of the golden egg?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day, while Ethan was reading in a quiet corner as usual, Hermione, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, suddenly approached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had thought she would continue asking about his identity, but to his surprise, she brought up the Triwizard Tournament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The golden egg? Oh, that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first task had been to retrieve a golden egg guarded by a dragon. The egg contained information about the next task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant that the three champions who successfully obtained the golden egg would gain insight into the second task and have an advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Viktor, who had damaged his golden egg, he would have to figure things out on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan hadn’t bothered to unlock the golden egg’s mechanism, because he already knew what the second task was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It involved diving into the Black Lake next to Hogwarts and rescuing someone ’very important’ to the champion, who had been captured and imprisoned at the bottom of the lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tricky part was figuring out how to move around underwater for an extended period.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for Ethan, this posed no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even before forming his divine body, he could remain underwater for as long as he liked and only leave when he chose to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the merpeople?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could only rely on their advantage of being in familiar territory to cause a bit of trouble for the champions, but they posed no threat to Ethan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only issue was not knowing who would be chosen as his hostage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the original storyline, Harry’s target was Ron, his best friend. Viktor had to rescue Hermione, with whom he had a budding romantic relationship at the time. Cedric Diggory had to rescue Cho Chang, his girlfriend, and Fleur had to rescue her younger sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that Ethan had replaced Cedric, Cho Chang wouldn’t be taken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by current relationships, Illya was likely to be chosen instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But based on Illya’s personality, would she obediently play the hostage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time the task began, Illya might wake up and cause a huge commotion in the Black Lake, potentially even killing all the merpeople in the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That would be quite the spectacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The merpeople in the Black Lake actually had a good relationship with Hogwarts, which was why they agreed to help with this task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The talk about kidnapping someone important and putting them in mortal danger was all for show, meant to frighten the participants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ministry of Magic and the Hogwarts professors would ensure the safety of these ’hostages.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So even if a champion failed, it wasn’t as though they would have to watch someone close to them die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The professors and merpeople were simply putting on a performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given that, Ethan obviously couldn’t let Illya lose control and go on a rampage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he decided to find time to talk to Dumbledore and the others and ask them not to use Illya or Scáthach as hostages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm... Leah was also not suitable. Who knew what might happen if she got provoked and awakened some Demon Lord ability?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Rin... well, she was definitely qualified to be a hostage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you thinking about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been deep in thought and forgotten Hermione was still waiting for an answer beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You figured out the golden egg’s secret long ago, didn’t you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan glanced at Hermione beside him and suddenly recalled that she was also close to Harry. \"Are you asking for Harry’s sake?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Harry already figured it out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione looked back at Ethan with a slightly puzzled expression. \"I should have known. A riddle like that wouldn’t stump you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that was it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione had been worried that he hadn’t solved it and came to remind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thanks.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re welcome. I didn’t do much anyway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione stood up, preparing to leave, but Ethan stopped her just as she rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Here, take this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a wave of his hand, a simple-looking necklace appeared in Ethan’s hand. It resembled the kind sold by street vendors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Hermione wouldn’t think it was something so ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the person in front of her had a rather terrifying identity, and even now, she hadn’t completely believed everything he’d said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"An amulet. I noticed you’re not wearing your Time-Turner anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione touched her neck, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You actually noticed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan originally wanted to say, \"I’m not blind,\" but then realized that constantly paying attention to a girl’s neck would sound strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And explaining it wouldn’t help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying his spiritual perception and eyesight were too strong and that no detail could escape him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wouldn’t make things any better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, he could only awkwardly remind her, \"Remember to wear it. It’ll be useful.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing. She took the necklace and quickly walked away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, the amulet had several enchantments, including consciousness restoration, underwater breathing, and enhanced vision, which would prevent Hermione from suffering too much if she were chosen as a hostage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic would ensure the hostages’ safety, in the chilly waters of the lake, the physical suffering couldn’t be avoided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cold, the choking, and the suffocation weren’t exactly comfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the professors would take certain precautions, after all, a normal person wouldn’t survive an hour underwater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this amulet, Hermione could wake up earlier and wouldn’t have to worry about choking if the spells placed on her were lifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could even use the enhanced vision to watch what was happening at the bottom of the lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was, if she actually wore the amulet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, Ethan made a point of checking and saw that Hermione was wearing the necklace he gave her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Hermione taken care of, Ethan immediately went to find Dumbledore and explained Illya’s situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t worry, we don’t plan to use Illya as a hostage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for how Ethan knew the content of the second task?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dumbledore didn’t even bother to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And Scáthach... well... we don’t think it’s a good idea to use her either.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They also hadn’t considered using anyone else close to Ethan, such as Leah or Tohsaka Rin, which made him curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then who do you plan for me to rescue?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re still trying to figure that out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dumbledore had been thinking about it for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If possible, it would be best not to involve anyone too close to Ethan. But besides them, there weren’t many people who had a close relationship with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Perhaps you could suggest someone?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan rubbed his chin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that Dumbledore had tossed the question back to him, he realized it wasn’t easy to decide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How about... Draco Malfoy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon further thought, that young master had been behaving himself and hadn’t caused trouble, so there was no need to mess with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can arrange it however you want. I’ll keep a lower profile this time and stay underwater for a while.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The implied meaning was: The hostage is going to suffer, so it’s your choice who it is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(To be continued.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>◇◇◇\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>◇ One bonus Chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>◇ You can read the ahead Chapter on Pat if you’re interested: p-atreon.c-om\u002FBlownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)\u003C\u002Fp>",1789,"2026-06-09T04:50:38.551Z",1,"novelbin.me","b1c0ec9d9008f014234c4c5e6f9a020ed591b323ec8db9097bf1d6f533449c71","drift-of-the-multiverse-marvel-resident-evil-dc--chapter-681","drift-of-the-multiverse-marvel-resident-evil-dc--chapter-679",860,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdrift-of-the-multiverse-marvel-resident-evil-dc--cover.jpg"]