Chapter 181: Breath!

The dim secret chamber fell silent at once, with only a few red feathers drifting aimlessly in the air...

The basilisk's yellow eyes, the size of lanterns, stared at the motionless red figure amidst the pile of scattered rocks; it never expected this troublesome enemy to be so fragile...

Yodell, at the far end of the chamber, was also gazing at that red figure; his expression held neither sorrow nor joy. This result was within his expectations, yet the process had exceeded them...

What he had expected was that Allen would not defeat the basilisk; no one knew the terror of the basilisk in this chamber better than him.

What surprised him was that Allen had held out against the basilisk for so long; the strange things he had prepared had actually inflicted so much damage on the beast.

A sudden feeling of regret for Allen arose in his heart.

But none of that mattered now. This decision was Allen's own, so he must bear the consequences...

The basilisk, filled with triumph, swam toward that red figure. Its heavy scales crushed the gravel on the ground, making a "crunch-crunch" sound. It could not remember when it last enjoyed a blood meal; it felt only a deep hunger in its belly. It could smell the sweet scent of blood radiating from that red figure...

Judging by its size, this must be a human cub. It had never eaten a human before. This time, it would savor it properly. Pity that this prey was already dead; it could not enjoy the thrill of the prey struggling in its mouth...

The basilisk was becoming somewhat impatient...

Yodell watched this scene silently. He recalled the year he had spent with Allen, and suddenly an impulse arose within him—he wanted to stop the basilisk.

He also knew he was capable of doing so.

But reason quickly suppressed that impulse...

"This is simply nature's survival of the fittest. Allen must pay the price for his foolish decision, even if that price is his young and fiery life," Yodell thought silently in his heart.

However, much of what Allen had said was very reasonable. In a moment, he would lead the basilisk to escape Hogwarts, flee to a place with no people, and embrace true freedom.

Yodell's mind wandered a bit...

Gryffindor Common Room.

"Hermione! Hermione! What's wrong?" Ron waved his hand in front of Hermione's eyes.

"Ah! Ah?" Hermione suddenly snapped out of her daze. "What is it?" she asked Ron, looking somewhat puzzled.

"You were zoning out. It's the first time I've seen you staring off into space while holding a quill. Today's homework isn't even that difficult!" Ron teased.

"Ah—" Hermione suddenly let out a scream. She discovered that the ink from her quill had soaked into the parchment she was half-finished with, leaving an ugly blotch of ink on it.

"What's wrong? It's the first time I've seen you so distracted. Is something on your mind?" Harry watched as Hermione crumpled the soiled parchment and threw it into the trash bin.

"Nothing is on my mind!" Hermione awkwardly tried to conceal her emotions.

She glanced at the clock in the common room and suddenly asked, "Hasn't Allen returned yet? It's already past ten o'clock!"

"Don't worry about him. He has Professor Flitwick's signature; Filch won't catch him." Ron shifted to a more comfortable position on the lounge chair.

"Yes, Allen recently said that his research with Professor Flitwick is progressing very quickly. Their paper is nearly complete. They are preparing to submit it to a very famous journal. Professor Flitwick even plans to make him the second author. This is the first time a second-year wizard has achieved such a feat." Harry also shared the news he knew, his tone filled with envy.

Yet, upon hearing this, Hermione felt even more restless. She simply stood up and pushed open the window of the common room.

The chirping of cicadas in the Forbidden Forest and the croaking of frogs in Heihu intertwined and drifted into the room. The cool night wind gently brushed against her slightly disheveled long hair, yet it could not blow away the unease in her heart. She always felt that something important was about to leave her...

The dim and damp secret chamber.

The basilisk slid up to the red figure. The red figure lay motionless amidst the pile of scattered rocks, showing no signs of life...

The basilisk lowered its flat and ugly head. It opened its mouth with great anticipation. It did not mind swallowing the gravel on the ground; these stones would help it digest better once they entered its belly. At this very moment, it only wanted to quickly taste its prey...

Its mouth revealed saber-like, thin, and long fangs, covered in thick slime. Some of the slime dripped from its mouth onto Allen's red armor, making a dull "drip—drip—" sound...

The basilisk's terrifying mouth drew closer and closer to Allen...

Just as the basilisk's mouth was about to bite down on Allen, Allen suddenly opened his tightly shut eyes, while the basilisk remained completely unaware...

Allen suddenly opened his mouth wide. He had been holding this breath for a very long time...

The dim secret chamber suddenly lit up again—a bright flame breath shot directly into the basilisk's gaping maw...

This distance of less than one meter required no aiming at all; all the flames were sprayed directly into the basilisk's vulnerable mouth...

The temperature of the flames was extremely high. Allen felt his exposed skin burning hot. The temperature of the gold-red mithril plate armor on his body was rising rapidly; he felt as if his armor had turned into an oven.

The entire breath lasted only two or three seconds. The basilisk suddenly raised its head and let out a deafening scream. It had suffered the most severe injury in its thousand-plus years of life.

Its blood-red mouth had turned charred black, still continuously emitting black smoke and giving off a smell of burning...

Ignoring his own injuries, Allen suddenly stood up and rapidly flapped his wings to move away from the basilisk.

The moment he left the ground, the basilisk's massive tail swept across the ground with unstoppable force.

The basilisk spat out huge chunks of black-red blood and flesh. The injury in its mouth caused it extreme pain. It wildly slapped and swept the ground with its tail, leaving deep craters everywhere...

Allen, now flying far away, felt as if his entire body was about to fall apart. Although the mithril plate armor had absorbed most of the impact, he still felt certain that his sternum was cracked and that one or two ribs might be broken.

But he dared not relax even for a second, nor did he have time to reflect. He gritted his teeth, found a Poké Ball, took out several bottles of healing potions from it, and downed them all in one go.

The moment the potions entered his stomach, they took effect immediately. He instantly felt the pain in his body lessen considerably, and his spirits improved a bit.

Having finished the potions, he dared not slacken for a moment. He knew that his breath attack just now was not yet fatal to a basilisk that had lived for over a thousand years.

And now, the battle had only just begun...

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