Chapter 777: Chapter 163: The Competition Ends

The potion bottles clinked and clanked as Madam Pomfrey flitted around Adam and his companion. After giving them the medicine, she personally escorted them to the medical tent. Some students from both schools also gave up watching the competition to follow them inside.

Vid glanced at the white tent and asked, "Aren’t you concerned about your two companions?"

"Companions?" Clementine chuckled, twirling her honey-colored curls. "We’re not companions, just using each other."

"Using each other to ambush me?" Vid slightly frowned. "If you’d succeeded, there would’ve only been one set of compasses I collected. How would you three split it?"

Clementine twirled her hair and said slowly, "First of all... we all thought you wouldn’t be satisfied with just taking your own share like last time."

"The rules have changed," Vid said casually.

"It doesn’t matter," Clementine laughed. "I had an agreement with them to give away everything we got from you. I wouldn’t take a single thing."

On the screen of the Flow Mirror, at this moment, the half-human, half-shark Krum was getting a disc from the Merperson Tribe. He immediately turned and swam towards the surface, swift and decisive.

The audience let out a small gasp of surprise. Karkaroff leaned back, a satisfied smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Vid turned to look at Clementine, his gaze calm but with a barely noticeable furrow in his brow.

"Because I eliminated Fleur Delacour, is Madam Maxime really indifferent to her school’s honor?" he asked.

"Hmm? Of course not. Madam still hopes I can bring back the trophy, even if her favorite is still Fleur."

Clementine said lightly, leaning towards Vid and looking into his eyes.

"This is my own decision—know that? As long as I can defeat you, I don’t care about winning or losing the competition."

Vid slightly frowned. "So you teamed up with Kitajima Rikka and Adam Kagami?"

He recalled that although he offended quite a few contestants before, Clementine could have easily said that because of his actions, she was only lucky to qualify... was there any need to target him?

Moreover, her attitude didn’t seem like she bore any grudges against him.

While Vid was deep in thought, Clementine cheerfully recounted the process of the three joining forces:

"Ms. Fujiwara from the Magic Institute thought you were the biggest obstacle to the others winning. And defeating you in the competition—regardless of the means—would be a huge victory."

"As for that guy from Ilvermorny, he was mainly persuaded by the Magic Institute."

"So it seemed like I organized the three-school alliance, but in reality, you could say similar people attract each other."

She looked up at the Flow Mirror, the screen’s light reflecting on her face.

Clementine continued, "Did the statue scare you? I also accidentally discovered that Kitajima is very skilled at controlling those statues. If it wasn’t underwater, you’d see her paper figures act as if they’re alive."

"And that’s thanks to you; it’s said she got her inspiration from your Poppet. But Adam, that guy, really let me down."

She tilted her head to look at Vid, giving him a sweet smile, "Be careful, Vid. Some people really, really don’t like you!"

"Who?" Vid asked.

Clementine laughed, "I can’t say that, why don’t you guess?"

Their gazes locked at a very close distance, and Vid saw complex emotions flickering in the girl’s pupils—

reluctance, cunning, provocation... and a faint trace of affection.

He turned his gaze away, his expression largely unchanged.

The more pronounced a person’s presence, the higher their position, the more hostile and resentful gazes they attract from the shadows. Arrows from all sides, he might not even know each person, or possibly never had any interaction.

So Vid had no interest in guessing or speculating. He could simply wait for the other to reveal themselves, then crush them with ease.

The world of Magic differs from the rules of ordinary society; it’s a world where strength reigns supreme. A powerful Wizard can rival a well-trained army.

If not for people like Dumbledore consistently restraining themselves and their power, the dog-eat-dog nature of the Magic World would be more apparent and more brutal.

But no matter how civilized it appears on the surface, the essence of the Magic World remains unchanged—a world where rules are built upon the balance of power.

Without strength, even the Minister of Ministry of Magic can only bow and scrape; unable to defeat the other side, the entire Magic World could only feign ignorance of Grindelwald’s activities, even striving to paint a rosy picture for the people.

"Splash!"

Cedric rose from the Black Lake, coughing on the shore.

Before Madam Pomfrey could check on him, Cho Chang had already rushed down from the stands, but upon reaching the shore, she hesitated to get any closer, clasping her hands and observing from the side.

Cedric looked at her, giving a smile, tinged with a bit of bitterness.

He had been injured underwater, and his blood awakened the slumbering Giant Squid.

Though this giant was usually friendly to the students, once that behemoth stirred, no one dared approach it easily.

Cedric ultimately didn’t retrieve the compass’s bearings, bringing only two other items back with him.

The remaining contestants gradually surfaced as well—