Chapter 663: Collision
Chapter 663: Collision
"How's the situation?" About seven or eight minutes later, Liam and Hermione stood before Lupin, next to the body of a Death Eater. In the brief but intense assault, this group of Death Eaters had scattered quickly after a short resistance.
"There are only five bodies here, and one of them was taken out by you two", Lupin said, looking at the battlefield with a hint of frustration. "They fled too quickly. We had just started the assault when they ran off, using Apparition to escape. We couldn't stop them."
"This isn't surprising", Liam said, looking somewhat resigned at the Werewolves who were clearing the battlefield. "After all, they are just a bunch of Dark Wizards hired by the Dark Lord for a high price. You can't expect them to fight to the last man."
Liam had a point. While clearing the battlefield, they removed the masks from the bodies and found that none of the eight were familiar faces. They were clearly from Southern Europe or Eastern Europe, which matched the characteristics of the Dark Wizard mercenaries Voldemort had recently recruited.
"But we're not without gains. From today on, the new Werewolves have taken a solid step toward integrating into the Wizarding community", Liam said, looking at the battlefield. At this moment, some villagers from Hogsmeade, wands in hand, walked out to help clear the area. After fighting side by side, the last bit of estrangement between the new Werewolves and the Hogsmeade residents had disappeared, and many villagers were now chatting with the Werewolves.
"So, it's still a good outcome", Lupin said with a smile, shrugging his shoulders. At that moment, a bright white Barrier rose from the Ministry of Magic on the small hill behind the town, only to be shattered by a green spell cast by a black shadow flying in the sky.
"Voldemort", Lupin immediately recognized the figure floating in the air. After all, there were very few Wizards who could fly without any assistance, and at this moment, the only one capable of breaking the Ministry's defenses was Voldemort.
"Hermione, Lupin, you two and the Werewolves head to the town entrance to help Percy and the others take out the Death Eaters raiding the town. I'll go and keep Voldemort occupied", Liam instructed, then unfurled his pink crystal-like wings and took to the sky.
"Nice to see you again, Voldemort. Does your leg still hurt?" Liam shouted sarcastically, his voice accompanied by a ball of pink flame.
"It's you!" Voldemort, who had been toying with the Ministry members like a cat with a mouse, suddenly raised a silver shield in the air and turned around, only to see those unforgettable pink wings.
With a loud crack, the ball of flame shattered Voldemort's silver shield. This forced Voldemort to hastily conjure several more silver shields with intricate patterns to avoid being knocked out of the sky by Liam's direct hit.
"No wonder you have the courage to challenge me", Voldemort said with a strange smile after the pink fireball hit and the shield disintegrated into points of light. "But let me tell you, you are no match for me, not even by chance."
As he spoke, Voldemort waved his wand and released several Killing Curses at Liam before diving downward. While flying without assistance did give him a significant advantage against other Wizards, Voldemort chose to fight on the ground when facing Liam, who also had powerful flight abilities, to avoid any unexpected mishaps.
Liam dodged Voldemort's Killing Curses with a graceful, leaf-like change in direction and landed on the ground. He knew that maintaining his wings while fighting would affect his performance to some extent.
"Avada Kedavra." The moment Liam landed, Voldemort launched a green Killing Curse, forcing him to slide sideways to dodge the spell. He then forcefully drew a line on the ground with his wand.
Instantly, a row of arm-sized Spikeweed sprouted from the ground and flew toward Voldemort. However, these Spikeweed were halfway through their flight when Voldemort transformed them into a swarm of Vipers. The Vipers hissed menacingly as they slithered toward Liam.
With a soft puff and puff, Liam reappeared a dozen meters to the right, behind a bush. Voldemort, on the other hand, appeared behind Liam's previous position, attempting to ambush him alongside the Vipers.
"Thank goodness I noticed the dimensional fluctuation in time", Liam thought, but he didn't stop there. He quickly performed a series of gestures with his wand. When the Magic ended, Liam felt as if everything around him had come to a standstill.
This was the power of the ninth-level Magic, Time Stasis. However, even Liam could only maintain this state for five seconds. So he wasted no time and summoned the power of Rose Madonna, forming a ball of blinding red light in front of his chest. As the Magic was about to end, he took a light step to the left.
When the Magic ended, time seemed to flow again. The world, which had appeared lifeless a moment ago, regained its vitality. Voldemort's Killing Curse flew past Liam's right side. Liam then lightly waved his wand, sending the energy ball he had gathered in his chest hurtling toward Voldemort.
The light orb grew larger as it flew through the air, eventually transforming into a translucent rose that enveloped Voldemort. It wasn't until then that Voldemort realized what was happening and began to struggle fiercely. Inside the rose's shadow, countless pink petals formed a small tornado, continuously hindering Voldemort's movements.
Suddenly, Voldemort seemed to pause, and a green glow appeared within the pink rose. In just a few breaths, the green glow expanded to cover half the size of the pink rose, and the pressure it emitted grew stronger.
Finally, with a bang like a balloon being punctured, the rose's shadow exploded into a shower of petals. As the petals gradually turned into specks of starlight and disappeared into the sky, Voldemort, his robes tattered, emerged from the wreckage. Without a word, he glared at Liam with his snake-like eyes and then left.
At that moment, Liam, having expended a significant amount of magic power, was too drained to pursue Voldemort. He had no choice but to leave the Dark Lord's escape unimpeded. A dozen seconds after Voldemort vanished into Black Shadows, Professor Dumbledore, dressed in his purple robes, appeared beside Liam.
"Liam, are you alright now?" Professor Dumbledore asked from a dozen meters away. "I apologize for my tardiness. A group of Death Eaters were attacking Hogwarts Castle, and I only managed to get here after driving them off. I didn't expect Voldemort to retreat so quickly this time."
"I'm fine, just a bit drained", Liam said, lowering his wand. "But you shouldn't blame yourself. From the Dark Lord's appearance to his disappearance, it only took five minutes. You arrived here remarkably quickly."
"Thank you for your understanding", Professor Dumbledore nodded slightly. "I'm glad to see you have grown so much, to the point where you can face Voldemort head-on."
"To be honest, I'd rather not have grown this way", Liam shook his head and looked in the direction of Hogsmeade Village. After Voldemort's retreat, the other Death Eaters had also fled in a panic.
However, the houses that had been set ablaze by the spells were still burning fiercely. Many Hogsmeade residents, having confirmed that the enemies had left, emerged from their homes to help extinguish the flames. "Look at all this. If this is the price of growth, it's far too high."
(End of Chapter)
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