Chapter 312: Counterattack
Chapter 312: Counterattack
A look of surprise flitted across Albert's face as he witnessed Isabelle suddenly draw her wand to ambush Rowena Smith.
Without a doubt, Isabelle's sneak attack was successful. The Cruciatus Curse struck Rowena Smith, causing the smile on his face to freeze, his cheeks contorting in agony, and his countenance becoming hideously terrifying.
"You weren't under the Imperius Curse from the very beginning?" Rowena Smith hadn't anticipated that Isabelle had prepared an extra wand.
Albert's cheeks twitched as he saw Isabelle intending to converse with Rowena Smith instead of finishing him off.
Without hesitation, he drew his wand and disarmed Rowena Smith with a swift spell. Unforeseen developments could still occur before this matter was concluded.
Furthermore, Albert hadn't forgotten that they were in the Forbidden Forest, where Rowena Smith could use Disillusionment to escape at any moment, although the likelihood of that was slim.
"You..."
Isabelle turned her head and, seeing Albert holding his wand, was taken aback that he, too, had prepared two wands.
"Never mind, just get it over with," Albert urged. "Spare me the pointless chatter if you want your revenge."
"Mr. Anderson is right; you shouldn't give your enemies any opportunities," Rowena Smith said as he clambered to his feet, brushing dirt and dead leaves from his robe.
"Also, you might want to refrain from using Unforgivable Curses." A cold smile played on his lips as he added, "You lack the cruelty to back it up. The Cruciatus Curse isn't very effective coming from you."
"Shut up!" Isabelle squeezed her wand tightly and pointed it at her nemesis, shouting, "Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!"
Rowena Smith's face contorted further as he endured another bout of the Cruciatus Curse.
"Crucio! Crucio! Crucio! Your father was my best friend. He trusted you, and yet you betrayed him. You beast, repent for your sins in agony!" Isabelle roared in anger, her eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of vengeance as she tortured her enemy with the crude Cruciatus Curse, venting years of pent-up hatred.
This moment had been a long time coming.
"That's enough. If you want your revenge, just kill him," Albert interjected.
Since Rowena Smith wanted him dead, Albert would show no mercy.
"What?"
A fleeting look of surprise crossed Isabelle's face, evidently unprepared for Albert's blunt suggestion.
"Knock him out and feed him to the Acromantula if you can't bring yourself to kill him," Albert continued, unconcerned about Isabelle's thoughts as he prepared to cast a Stunning Spell on Rowena Smith, intending to incapacitate him before deciding their next course of action.
However, Rowena Smith was quicker. A wand appeared in his hand, blocking Albert's Stunning Spell.
"What..."
It all happened too fast for Isabelle to process. She had been angry at Albert for interrupting her revenge, but upon seeing the wand in Rowena Smith's hand, her emotions turned to confusion.
Rowena Smith smirked at them.
"Did you think you were the only ones with two wands?" He waved his wand, casting a spell at Isabelle and sending her flying.
"Damn it!" Albert immediately launched an offensive, not using any particularly powerful spells but instead rapidly casting nonverbal Disarming Charms, aiming to interrupt Rowena Smith's spells.
"You've already mastered nonverbal spells? Impressive, truly impressive," Rowena Smith remarked as he blocked Albert's attacks. "No wonder they have such high hopes for you. But not informing Dumbledore about this matter was a grave mistake. Do you really think you can defeat me on your own?"
"I just wanted to understand why you did what you did, and I certainly never expected you to be this insane," Albert replied calmly, his performance enhanced by the Felix Felicis.
"The outcome is turning out to be quite beyond my expectations."
"You're certainly full of yourself."
Rowena Smith suddenly laughed. "In truth, I'd much rather see you writhe in pain and beg for mercy."
"In that case, you're in for a disappointment," Albert said, his focus unwavering as he waved his wand. A spell exploded at Rowena Smith's feet, causing him to nearly lose his balance.
As Rowena Smith steadied himself, a bright light flashed, and he found himself hanging upside down in the air, as if an invisible hook had grabbed his foot and flipped him over.
Under the influence of Albert's Transfiguration, the surrounding vines transformed into spears and lunged at Rowena Smith.
A ding rang out as the spears struck Rowena Smith's shield, and flames shot from the tip of his wand, igniting the vines and thwarting Albert's assault.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A jet of green light pierced through the flames and flew toward Rowena Smith.
Albert had never expected to defeat Rowena Smith with a simple spell; he knew that was unrealistic.
Although he had never cast the Killing Curse before, he knew how to use it, and with the aid of Felix Felicis, there was a chance it could be lethal.
To be honest, he regretted not using the Sonorus Spell at the beginning to incapacitate Rowena Smith.
His decision to directly attack Rowena Smith was driven more by the Felix Felicis' instinctual guidance.
The Killing Curse missed, blowing up a nearby tree, and Rowena Smith vanished from sight, leaving only the sound of falling trees.
"Where did he go?" Isabelle glanced at Albert, surprised that he was more ruthless than herself in using the Killing Curse.
"He's still nearby," Albert scanned their surroundings, glancing at Isabelle out of the corner of his eye. "Remember to finish him off when you find him."
"You're merciless."
Rowena Smith's voice echoed from all directions. "You actually used the Killing Curse. You're even more ruthless than other Dark Wizards."
"You tried to kill me first, so don't expect any mercy from me," Albert replied.
He carefully surveyed their surroundings, knowing that Rowena Smith wouldn't flee.
If he escaped, Albert would be in deep trouble. They would surely inform Dumbledore, and others would learn about this incident. There was no way they would let him off the hook.
Would Broad's group allow Rowena Smith to kill their heir?
Obviously not.
With their discerning eyes and influence, this matter would not be left unresolved.
The reason Isabelle's father's case wasn't further investigated was mostly because he had already been eliminated from the running.
"You're right. If you weren't a candidate for the Wilder Smith family, we could have been good friends," Rowena Smith said.
"Good friends? I think not!" Albert scoffed. "Look at how you treat your so-called friends. Who would want to be your friend?"
"Shut up!" Rowena Smith roared. "That was an accident."
A spell flew from the right side of the bushes, and Albert swung his wand, shouting, "Protego!"
The spell collided with the Iron Armor Charm, creating a brilliant burst of light before exploding. Dirt and leaves flew everywhere.
Albert felt a dull pain in his chest and adjusted his posture to maintain his balance.
"I'm impressed, you actually blocked it with Protego." Rowena Smith emerged from the forest, his wand pointed at Albert, who had lost his balance and nearly fallen to the ground. He laughed maniacally, "Looks like I win. Cruciatus—Cruciatus!"
The training from before kicked in, and Albert successfully dodged the Cruciatus Curse by rolling on the ground.
"Keep struggling, but you can't dodge forever. Cruciatus..."
"Bombarda!"
A jet of spell flew towards Rowena Smith, interrupting the Cruciatus Curse and forcing him to deflect it with a spell of his own, but he still stumbled from the impact.
Isabelle rushed forward, waving her wand and engaging Rowena Smith in a duel once more.
However, compared to Albert, who was enhanced by the Felix Felicis, Isabelle's abilities fell short, and Rowena Smith easily blocked her spells.
"You're not bad, but you're still far from Albert's level." Rowena Smith deflected Isabelle's spells with ease, brushing them aside or interrupting her attacks.
Albert steadied himself, raised his wand, pointed it beyond Isabelle's shoulder at Rowena Smith, and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
The red light flew past Isabelle's shoulder, but Rowena Smith deflected it with his wand.
"Get out of the way!" Albert quickly stepped forward, pushing Isabelle aside, and faced Rowena Smith directly, their wands raised as if in a duel.
"Bombarda!"
"Cruciatus!"
Albert had never experienced such excruciating torture. Every bone in his body felt like it was being scraped by a knife, and the pain spread throughout his body, causing him to collapse to the ground, drenched in sweat.
Rowena Smith wasn't faring much better. Albert's Bombarda cunningly aimed at his feet, sending him flying and crashing to the ground.
Isabelle seized the opportunity and rushed forward. A jet of green light shot from her wand, hitting Rowena Smith, but it didn't kill him.
Yes, he was still alive.
The Killing Curse required a significant amount of magical power to be effective.
In fact, this was a prerequisite for most Dark Magic.
Although Isabelle was far superior to her peers, her magical power was no match for Albert's enhanced abilities.
Rowena Smith was taken aback, waving his wand frantically to dispel the spell.
Isabelle felt a searing, whip-like sensation on her face, and she stumbled, falling to the ground, dazed and nearly unconscious.
"I told you, you're not suited for the Unforgivable Curses. You lack the cruelty and your magical power isn't strong enough," Rowena Smith said, spitting out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva and wiping away the blood from his nose.
Isabelle's spell had some effect, but it couldn't kill Rowena Smith.
Albert glanced at Isabelle, who was struggling to get up from the ground, and then turned his attention back to deflecting the incoming spells.
Another Cruciatus Curse was headed his way.
However, it had been greatly weakened by the Protego spell.
Albert's body only swayed slightly before he regained his balance.
Instead of taking the opportunity to attack, Rowena Smith used the Levicorpus spell to take Isabelle's fallen wand away from her.
"I'd rather watch you struggle and writhe in pain," Rowena Smith said with a smile, "I knew you've been practicing your spells. But you're no match for me. Maybe after you graduate, but not today."
"That last one really hurt. It made me want to kick you where it hurts and let you feel the pain," Albert glared at Rowena Smith and said coldly, "Let's begin the second round."
"You're quite arrogant. But most geniuses have that kind of pride." Rowena Smith looked at Albert, his smile widening. "Do you know how to duel?"
"Perhaps we should conduct this confrontation with the etiquette of a proper duel. The loser will forfeit their life. Let's bow to each other first," Rowena Smith suggested, and as he began to bow, Albert hit him with a Stunning Spell.
"How rude," Rowena Smith said as he waved away the spell, still smiling. "They must be hoping that you would show more grace."
Albert responded with another spell.
At that moment, Albert's mind was almost blank. His sole thought was to defeat his opponent. Instinctively, he drew out his magical power and unleashed a rapid barrage of spells at Rowena Smith, expertly utilizing nonverbal spells.
Spells collided between them, illuminating the dim forest with bursts of magic.
Rowena Smith was struggling. It seemed Albert was gaining the upper hand, and Rowena Smith even had to resort to Disillusionment to dodge some attacks.
However, their dueling experience showed, and Rowena Smith was far more skilled than Albert, even with the effects of the Felix Felicis.
Perhaps he should have used Disillusionment to escape and then found an opportunity to take Rowena Smith down with the Banshee's Wail, but Albert didn't do that. He gritted his teeth and continued to engage in a head-on battle.
It might have seemed foolish, but Albert knew he would be the ultimate victor. Rowena Smith would be the one to die here, and with that knowledge, he felt fearless! "You win."
Albert glanced at his wand, which had flown out of his hand, and his expression turned calm once more.
"I win. Looks like you'll be dying here today. Do you regret not informing Dumbledore about this?" Rowena Smith approached Albert, pointing his wand at his heart. He turned to Isabelle, who was walking towards them, and said, "I'm surprised you didn't take the chance to escape. That truly astonished me."
"Could I have escaped?" Isabelle retorted.
"Of course not, but I would have enjoyed watching you scramble for your lives." Rowena Smith said with glee, "However, I'm more curious to see the reactions of those people when they find out that both of their candidates have perished in the Forbidden Forest. I wonder what they'll do then."
"Kill me if you must, but don't think this will be the end of it. If I disappear, they will know it was you," Isabelle said calmly. This wasn't a threat but the final mockery of a loser, and she had prepared herself for this outcome before coming here.
Albert glanced at Isabelle, realizing how similar they were.
"What are you planning to do now? Are you going to kill us, or..." Albert asked suddenly.
"I hate how calm you both are. Even when you're about to die, you still maintain your composure," Rowena Smith frowned. "Why can't you panic and give me some satisfaction?"
"Would you have let us go if we panicked and gave you the satisfaction?" Isabelle sneered, "Since that's the case, why would we give you the pleasure?"
"Well then, I hope you can keep your calm when you face the Acromantula," Rowena Smith looked in a certain direction and suddenly smiled strangely, "Look, those big guys can't wait to enjoy their meal." (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
