novelnext Chapter 476 The Labyrinth Central Hub
Chapter 476 The Labyrinth Central Hub
Chapter 476 The Labyrinth Central Hub
"This is the final step—" Loila muttered to herself as she sat in a spacious hall. This was the central hub of the labyrinth and the place where the Goblet of Fire would be placed. Ever since her meeting with Mr. Lupin, she had been working on the labyrinth here.
On the one hand, Loila didn't want to think about Karkaroff anymore; she didn't think she would actually be discovered—and even if she were, she was prepared to run away immediately.
On the other hand, if we don't hurry up and finish the work, the magic array of the maze won't be completed, since the competition is getting closer and closer, isn't it?
However, things seem to have quieted down a lot lately. Mr. Lupin hasn't brought any more intelligence, and he doesn't seem to be involved in this matter—which makes Loila very happy.
And there's been no movement from Mr. Steinberg's side either; his investigation seems to have hit a bottleneck—which is just great.
Loila couldn't help but smile.
As expected, I am a genius at killing!
Although there was absolutely nothing to be proud of, Loila couldn't help but feel a little smug—she had killed Karkaroff and hadn't even been discovered yet!
Is there anyone else who can do that?
Moreover, with this experience, she'll be better prepared to take down Dumbledore next time—although she's still not entirely sure how to do it or whether she can defeat him.
Lost in thought, Loila flicked her wand, carving the final stroke onto the massive rock before her.
In that case, it should be finished.
The maze in the third game.
A massive labyrinth created by combining various magic arrays.
I'm sure those heroes will have a very happy day! Just thinking about what's going to happen makes Loila a little smug.
It seems there are many things to be happy about lately — Roy stretched lazily and nodded as he looked at the complex magic circle in front of him.
All that's left now is to wait—but there are only a few days left before the competition starts. Once the competition is over, Mr. Steinberg will leave with Durmstrang's students, and then there won't be any more investigations.
Karkaroff's death can be completely pinned on Sirius Black — Hmph —
"Pat-pat-pat".
Just as Loila was thinking this, she heard footsteps behind her.
"Professor Hamilton—it's been a while since we last met."
It's Mr. Steinberg's voice!
Loila shuddered, instinctively a little scared—but after thinking about it carefully, she realized that he was still chatting with her after he had already suspected her and brought up interrogation.
What am I afraid of?
After giving herself a little pep talk, Loila nodded seriously and turned to look at Steinberger.
"Mr. Steinberger—is there anything I can help you with?"
"It's nothing serious," Steinberg shrugged. "I just came to chat with you."
Really? I don't believe it—Loila thought the detective might just be trying to gather information about her.
I must be careful with my words and actions.
"You already know about the report, right?"
"Huh?" Loila was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, and her expression immediately turned a little awkward—how did he know that I already knew?
"Ah—I don't know yet—" Loila stammered, trying to pretend she didn't know, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Steinberg shook his head slightly.
"You're not good at lying, Professor Hamilton," he said, shaking his head slightly, his expressionless face still looking serious.
"You and Professor Lupin are friends," he said casually, "so it's not surprising that you know."
"But please forgive my report." He walked up to Loira and looked down at her, saying, "After all, this is my job."
"And to be honest—you're still the person I suspect the most."
"Ugh—" Loila took a few steps back and bumped into a rock behind her.
Watching her actions, Steinberg shook his head expressionlessly and said, "You're best at pretending to be innocent—and then doing something nefarious, right?"
"I—I don't know what you're talking about—" Loila muttered, pursing her lips. "I—I have nothing to do with Karkaroff."
What she needs most right now is to stubbornly stick to her guns about this—what Karkarov? I don't know him—I've never heard of him—what are you babbling about?
Loila is surprisingly good at playing dumb — of course, it's also possible that it's because she's naturally good at it —
"That doesn't really matter," Steinberg said slowly. "After all, time is running out."
"I'll leave after the third match," he said, glancing at the magic circle behind Loila.
"This is the magic circle, isn't it?"
His sudden change of topic startled Loila.
"Ah—yes—" However, Loira was quite happy that they could avoid discussing Karkaroff. She pursed her lips and said, "This is—a combination of multiple magic arrays."
"This includes an energy storage magic circle that can draw magic from the castle whenever needed, a replica of the user by borrowing their memories, an automatic magic circle that can flexibly transform the maze, and next up is—"
Loila enthusiastically explained the magic circle, and Sterberg didn't seem bored at all; he listened with great interest.
This not only surprised Loila, but also made her a little happy.
So there really are people who can appreciate the great magic circle! Even though he and I are actually enemies now—but since you like magic circles, you're a good person!
Let me be the bad guy!
"Professor Hamilton—I have a question." Steiberg seemed genuinely listening to Loira's explanation, and he asked thoughtfully, "You just said this magic circle has a replication function, right?"
"Ah—um." Loila nodded subconsciously.
"Doesn't that mean that two identical people can appear at the same time?"
"————" Loila pursed her lips and was about to nod when she suddenly realized something and quickly shook her head.
"That's not how it is—" she said, pursing her lips. "The other one—can't move on her own—she can only rely on her memories—or rather, her instincts."
I almost let slip that Mr. Steinberger knew I could be in two places at the same time—but even if I did, would he believe me?
It doesn't really matter—Loila doesn't think he'll stop suspecting her, as long as she doesn't get any obvious evidence against him—
With this in mind, Luo Yili continued, "Moreover, the intelligence level of this cloned person isn't particularly high."
"Based on my experiments—it's only at the level of a ten-year-old," Loira added, "but it's sufficient as a simple combat opponent for students."
Of course—this is based on the premise of replicating those students—if someone like Dumbledore were replicated, the fighting power would still be very strong—at least not something those students could handle.
Loila wasn't foolish enough to say such things aloud; she only briefly explained it to Steinberg in front of her.
"I understand." Stöger nodded slightly, not mentioning anything related to Karkaroff, but instead asked, "Then—what if something happens in the labyrinth?"
"As you know—Sirius hasn't been found yet." He thought for a moment and said, "If the professor were to enter—wouldn't it cause the maze to replicate itself?"
"For example, if you or I were cloned—wouldn't that be very dangerous?"
"Copy me—I'm sure I won't be in much danger—" Royla muttered unconsciously.
Then she immediately understood what Mr. Steiberg meant.
She immediately added, "No—nothing like that will happen."
"Because there's a safety net here—if anyone over the age of eighteen enters, it will automatically activate."
"Then it will sever the replication magic circle—"
Upon hearing this, Steinberg glanced at the magic circle a few times, then nodded slightly: "That's good, Professor Hamilton."
"After all, you know—there's already been enough trouble in the previous two matches." He sighed, then looked at Loira as if he had thought of something: "It would be even better if you weren't the most suspicious person."
These sudden, somewhat chilling words made Loila shudder.
Then Steinberg walked away.
Watching his retreating figure, Loila gently pursed her lips.
It seems Mr. Steinberg is a very nice person—at least he's quite interested in magic circles—he's even come to listen to my lectures quite a few times recently.
If only he weren't a detective.
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in life.