Lying on the ground, Rhys felt pain in every joint of his body.
He turned his head to glance at the puppet lying beside him.
The puppet left behind by Helga Hufflepuff had already been completely corroded by Rhys's magic. At this point, the only reason it still maintained a humanoid shape was because Rhys was using his magic to hold it together.
If he withdrew his magic, it would instantly collapse into a pile of sludge.
Rhys was silent for a long time, then let out a bitter laugh: this really was just like that scene from a thousand years ago...
Back then, when he had fallen out with his old friends, it had also come to blows.
But as masters of domain magic, none of them could truly defeat the others, so in the end they had tossed aside their wands and exchanged punches with their former comrades.
Even after a thousand years had passed, Rhys still didn't think he had been wrong.
Students born to Muggles should, to some extent, be monitored—isn't that reasonable? He had once tried to trust those from Muggle families, but they betrayed Hogwarts and let everyone down.
After that, he had still allowed his friends to admit Muggle-born students—that alone had been a significant concession.
Unfortunately, his compromise hadn't earned their understanding. Instead, it had planted the seeds of even greater disaster.
But all of that was in the past now.
Silently, Rhys summoned the magic within his domain to begin healing his injuries. Once the pain from the blows had lessened enough, he stood up.
After gazing down at the puppet on the ground for a moment, he withdrew his magic, letting it collapse into a pile of mud.
A puppet, after all, was just a puppet—it could never take the place of the real person in his heart.
With that done, Rhys lifted his head and strode confidently out of the great hall—only to be surprised when, instead of being greeted by his two students, he was met by two jackal-headed stone statues.
...
Outside the ruins, Astoria and Daphne were panting heavily.
That desperate flight just now had left them utterly exhausted, but thankfully, they had escaped unscathed.
The two of them hadn't followed Rhys's instructions to return to the town; instead, they had chosen to silently wait outside the ruins.
While waiting for Rhys, each girl was lost in her own thoughts.
Daphne was still frustrated over her broken necklace, while Astoria was recalling the way the necklace had reacted during the ambush. It was obvious now that a life-saving spell had been embedded within it.
At that thought, Astoria couldn't help but glance down at her own bracelet.
She was wondering—had a similar life-saving spell been added to her bracelet as well?
She wasn't sure, because that would mean a whole life!
The value of these two alchemical items would differ drastically depending on whether such a function was included. And what right did she have to accept such a precious gift out of nowhere?
Rhys treating her illness had already left her with a debt she could never hope to repay.
Maybe only her sister's necklace had that function? That's what she thought, since Rhys always seemed to be more concerned about her sister.
If Rhys knew what Astoria was thinking, he would probably brew a strong pot of tea, then ask in a world-weary tone: Isn't it perfectly normal for a teacher to spend more energy on the slower student?
"It's Rhys! He's out!" Astoria was still lost in thought when Daphne suddenly stood up and shouted.
Having dealt with the two jackal-headed statues, passed through the narrow passage again, and returned to the desert, Rhys let out a long breath. He looked up at the sun and saw it still hanging high in the sky.
Rhys felt a vague sense that something wasn't quite right, but before he could dwell on it, Daphne had already run up to him.
"As expected of you—handled that monster in no time! You're amazing! So what was that thing?" Daphne fired off her questions like a rapid-fire cannon.
Her praise didn't make Rhys feel relaxed—instead, the sense of unease in his heart only grew stronger.
In the end, Rhys realized something strange: the position of the sun hadn't changed much—but his battle with the puppet had been a long, drawn-out fight.
"Daphne, how long were you waiting outside?" Rhys asked the question that concerned him most.
Daphne froze for a moment, her mouth slightly open, a bit confused: she didn't understand why Rhys would ask something like that. She hadn't paid attention to the time—her mind had been elsewhere just moments ago.
"I... I'm not really sure. It couldn't have been that long, right?"
Astoria had also run over. After hearing Rhys's question, she answered with certainty that the two of them hadn't waited long—about five or six minutes after they exited the hall, Rhys had come out.
Rhys narrowed his eyes. That didn't add up—he had spent far more than five or six minutes fighting the puppet in the ruins.
He felt that the battle had lasted at least an hour, maybe even longer.
"We need to run a few tests," Rhys finally said, having come to a decision.
Too many questions had arisen in his mind, and with them, just as many hypotheses. He needed to confirm things through experimentation.
"First, let me ask you this: when you exited the hall, were the two jackal-headed statues restored?"
After receiving a definite answer, Rhys felt his hypothesis had come one step closer to being confirmed.
"You two, stay right here and don't move. Keep track of the time," Rhys instructed, motioning for the two girls to stand on a sand dune across from the ruins.
From there, they could clearly see the entrance to the ruins—but not what was happening inside the corridor.
Although Daphne and Astoria were full of questions, they obediently followed Rhys's instructions.
They watched as Rhys walked to the entrance of the ruins, then stood at the edge of the corridor for a full quarter of an hour.
Daphne and Astoria: ???
Rhys's behavior completely puzzled them.
After fifteen minutes, Rhys returned to them.
"How long was I inside the ruins?" he asked. When he learned that he had been standing like a fool at the entrance for exactly fifteen minutes, Rhys didn't say anything. He simply told them to remain on the sand dune and keep timing him, then turned and entered the ruins again.
This time, the difference was that he walked deeper into the corridor—far enough that Daphne and Astoria could no longer see his figure. But he came back out very quickly, as if he'd just done a quick sprint inside and returned.
"Rhys, what on earth are you doing?" Daphne was completely confused, her mind on the verge of exploding from all the questions building up inside her.
"First, tell me—how long was I inside the ruins?"
"You walked in and came right back out!" Daphne complained, bewildered by Rhys's bizarre behavior.
"Interesting, very interesting," Rhys said, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile. "What if I told you I spent several hours spacing out in that corridor—would you believe me?"
Daphne, Astoria: "Wait, what!!?!"
The two of them exclaimed in shock—how could that even be possible?!
"This is no ordinary palace," Rhys said, gazing at the ruins in the distance, a rush of excitement rising in his chest.
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