Chapter 829: Rozier's Choice
Chapter 829: Rozier's Choice
"Petrificus Totalus!"
In the forest, Kyle swiftly swung his wand behind him, but his target wasn't the pursuing group led by Vandarozier. Instead, he aimed at the sturdy trees.
First, he used a Softening Charm to fell the trees, blocking the path. Then, he transfigured them into stone, creating an even sturdier barrier that could momentarily halt his pursuers.
Kyle initially thought that his opponents were a group of elderly wizards and witches, and getting away from them should be a piece of cake. But he soon realized how wrong he was.
These opponents didn't need to run; they simply flew like ghosts, and as long as they had enough magical power, age was not an issue.
To be honest, this was one of the most challenging battles Kyle had experienced in recent years, and he struggled to launch effective counterattacks.
More importantly, these opponents had a combat awareness that was on a completely different level from the Death Eaters he had encountered before. Their reaction speed was astonishing.
Kyle tried various tactics, but he couldn't gain the upper hand. Apart from the initial ambush that reduced their numbers by two, he had also set up a trap using a Poisonous Panther. He lured one of the wizards into it, and it was effective. The fastest wizard among them didn't have time to react and ran straight into the poisonous mist, instantly falling asleep. But that was the extent of it.
The others didn't hesitate for a second. Noticing their companion's predicament, they quickly changed positions, spreading out from both sides. The one at the back took the initiative to cast a Bubble-Head Charm and rushed into the poisonous mist to rescue their comrade. Their movements were clean and swift, as if they had rehearsed it countless times.
As Kyle was about to be caught, he threw out twenty Mandrake plants in one go, despite the pain it caused him. The effect was surprisingly good; the sound range of the Mandrakes was larger than that of the poisonous mist, and it successfully affected two people. Whether they were still alive or not, Kyle didn't know, but he was aware that three of his pursuers were now out of the chase.
As for the Mandragora Bulbous, it was useless against these opponents who could fly. Kyle didn't bother wasting it.
So far, it seemed that his last resort was the Basilisk. But there were still five opponents left, including the most powerful one, Vandarozier.
She patiently followed in the middle of the group.
Kyle didn't plan to use the Mandrake or poisonous mist again. Based on their performance, they were unlikely to fall for the same trick twice.
Once again, the rustling sound of clothes brushing against leaves reached Kyle's ears, indicating that his pursuers had caught up.
Without hesitation, Kyle turned around and pointed his wand behind him.
"Shadowless Blade!"
Three invisible blades of wind sliced through the air, cutting everything in their path into two, including two trees and a wand-wielding arm.
At the same time, a hazy silver light flashed to his left, transforming into a shield that blocked a Stunning Spell coming from that direction.
The silver shield flickered a few times and then reappeared behind him, blocking another spell. But this time, it shattered into a small cluster of silver light.
Seizing the opportunity, Kyle flipped over and mounted his flying broomstick again.
As he weaved through the forest, the Firebolt Arrow couldn't reach its top speed. Kyle dared not fly too high, as he would be exposed in the open sky, so he had to sacrifice some speed for cover.
"Damn it!" someone cursed, "How many times is this? What a troublesome spell. Doesn't his armor need to be controlled manually?"
"Probably not," Rozier narrowed his eyes, "Tinus, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine, just caught off guard," replied the wizard named Tinus, picking up his arm and pressing it against his wound. He gritted his teeth and chanted a healing spell, causing a blue light to emanate from the injury, slowly healing it.
"Are all British wizards like this now... He's only about twenty years old, and he's pushing us twelve to the limit!"
"And his magic is pretty bizarre, almost entirely in runes. It's so unreasonable."
"Not all of them, just him," Rozier said, "A magical genius, that's probably why Dumbledore sent him to Nurmengard.
"Speaking of which, who do you think has more talent, Grindelwald or him?"
"There's no comparison," Rozier thought for a moment, "Grindelwald is a Silencio User, and one of the few who survived and mastered the art of muttering magic. His existence is a miracle, almost impossible to replicate."
"But if we're talking solely about magic, he probably can't match this Hogwarts student. And if we consider his resourcefulness and quick thinking, the gap widens even more." Rozier shook his head and whispered, "How's the mission going?"
"He's been forced to change direction..." Another wizard emerged from the forest, "He's back within the Anti-Apparition range, and Klarf is following him. Given the current situation, it'll take at least an hour for him to get out."
"That's good. As long as he can't escape using Apparition, we have time to wear him down."
Rozier looked at the neatly cut tree beside him, "I'd like to see how many more tricks he has up his sleeve."
"Tinus, you stay here."
"Vander, I can still go." Tinus moved his newly healed arm, "This level of injury has no effect on me."
"No." Rozier shook his head, "If we keep chasing, he'll definitely use you as a breakthrough point, and then we'll have to leave another person behind."
"You go and take Nagel's place, send the injured to join us, and get them here as soon as possible."
"Okay." This time, Tinus didn't hesitate, and after identifying the direction, he immediately returned.
Rozier and the others set off again, following the direction Kyle had left.
It was already dawn.
Kyle weaved through the dense bushes, awkwardly realizing that he seemed to be lost.
He had been so focused on evading his pursuers that he hadn't had time to identify the direction, and now he had no idea where he was.
"This won't do, I'll just keep getting chased endlessly." Kyle felt a little irritable.
Just then, Billywig, who was in charge of reconnaissance, brought him some good news.
"So, there's only one person chasing me now?"
Hearing Billywig's chirping, Kyle made a quick decision and stopped.
"Where is he?"
Billywig changed direction, and Kyle immediately turned his broom and flew over.
Within a minute, he saw the wizard flying in mid-air.
Without any hesitation, Kyle raised his wand.
"Shadowless Blade!"
Klarf, who was chasing Kyle, didn't understand why he had suddenly turned back, but the situation didn't allow him to think further. He waved his wand, and a red light shot towards Kyle.
Kyle had no intention of dodging, but instead, he took advantage of his opponent's attempt to avoid the Shadowless Blade and pointed his wand at the tree next to him.
Klarf's Stun Charm was blocked by the silver shield around Kyle... The branches started to writhe and tightly wrapped around his legs. Then, a large mouth full of fangs appeared on the tree trunk beside him.
"Still trying to ambush me? Don't you think you're underestimating me a bit too much?" Klarf suddenly became furious, recalling the scene of Tran having his leg bitten off. He waved his hand and smashed the tree beside him into pieces, then turned his attention back to Kyle.
"Cruciatus Curse!"
"Disarming Charm!"
Two red lights, one deep and one shallow, collided in mid-air, emitting a dazzling afterglow like a red sun.
"Haha, Disarming Charm... you're just a little brat!" Klarf sneered, and the hand holding the wand exerted force, causing the light ball to slowly move towards Kyle.
Kyle's face showed a look of panic, and he began to fumble with his magic, trying to counter the approaching light ball.
But it was futile; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the light ball from getting closer.
"Vander told us to be cautious, but it seems like you've exhausted all your tricks now." Klarf grinned maliciously, "I hope when I interrogate you later, you won't surrender too quickly, so I can take more time to torture you and avenge Tran..."
Suddenly, Klarf's voice stopped abruptly, and his entire body twitched before falling straight down from the tree.
Without the support of magic, the Cruciatus Curse instantly dissipated, and Kyle caught the wand that was flying towards him. He walked up to Klarf, extended his arm, and said indifferently, "You really should have listened to Rozier."
A Treant emerged from Klarf's sleeve, holding a small, finely polished bone needle made from Basilisk fangs.
When Kyle was fighting Klarf with magic, he had Billywig bring the Treant to his side.
Klarf hadn't noticed this... or perhaps he had, but he didn't care.
After all, who would pay attention to the Treants that were everywhere and so weak in the forest?
Kyle took out his wand again and held it in his palm.
"Show me the way!"
The wand spun a few times in his hand, and the tip pointed in a direction. Kyle immediately mounted his flying broom and flew off.
After a moment, Rozier and the others arrived as well, a total of six people, indicating that they had gathered the injured and released those who were previously taking care of them.
They immediately spotted Klarf lying on the ground.
One of them rushed over to check on him, and then turned back with a pale face and said, "Vander, he's dead."
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"I know." Vander Rozier's face was as calm as water, and his gaze fell on the back of Klarf's hand, which had turned completely black, and there was an almost imperceptible tiny wound.
"Another Poisonous Panther?" Rozier frowned, "No, it shouldn't be. The wound is too small; it couldn't be from a Poisonous Panther."
"It must be some kind of venomous bee." Another person thought aloud, "But in the wizarding world, are there such venomous bees? How could they kill a seasoned fighter like Klarf in such a short time?"
"It could be something else." Rozier closed his eyes and waved his wand, and the ground turned into a swamp, gradually swallowing Klarf.
"I'm going to kill him! I must kill that guy!" A wizard shouted.
"Quiet, first we need to find out where he is." Rozier scanned the surroundings and muttered, "He must want to leave here as soon as possible. The simplest and fastest way is to find the right direction..."
She seemed to have thought of something and held her wand flat in her palm.
"Show me the way!"
The wand tip rotated and stopped at a certain direction.
"Is it this way? Let's go after him!" Someone eagerly flew forward for a distance.
"Yes, this is the direction. There are broken broomstick branches over there."
The others immediately rushed out.
But Vandrozier didn't move. She flew to a higher altitude and observed for a moment before resolutely flying back to the location they had just been.
The midnight forest was eerily quiet, as if even the insect chirps had disappeared. Rozier sped along, her expression growing increasingly somber.
The quieter the surroundings, the more her suspicions seemed to be confirmed.
Rozier accelerated once more, transforming into a massive golden eagle soaring above the forest.
Finally, she spotted the desolate tower and a flame-formed panther.
She swooped down towards its target...
With the eagle's excellent vision, Rozier saw Tinus holding a wand in his left hand and the injured, unconscious people behind him.
"Stop!"
The eagle let out a shrill screech and transformed back into Rozier's form in mid-air. She pointed her wand straight at Kyle and cast a green light.
Kyle dodged just in time, and her Killing Curse hit the cliff behind him, blasting a shocking crater.
Rozier landed on the ground, her face grim as she glared at Kyle, who smiled at her.
"Is this how Dumbledore does things? Killing someone who has lost their ability to resist..."
"You're insulting me by saying that." Kyle shook his head, "I've never had such thoughts. If you don't believe me, you can ask this gentleman. If he hadn't blocked my path, I would've left long ago."
Rozier looked at Tinus.
Reluctantly, Tinus nodded, "Yes, his target has always been me."
"I didn't expect that you didn't chase after me but turned back instead." Kyle shrugged.
"Your speed couldn't be faster than ours. Even if you found the right direction, you would've been caught eventually." Rozier said calmly, "Thinking about it, the best way is to run back.
"Although it takes more time, it allows you to escape us and be safer. To be honest, I didn't expect you to do that either."
"But you still came back."
"Because of that broomstick branch." Rozier said, "I don't believe you'd be so careless."
"I guess I was being redundant." Kyle sighed, putting his hands behind his back, "For a wizard who has been dominating the scene sixty years ago, my little trick might be a bit childish."
"It's not like that." Rozier straightened her slightly disheveled robe, "Klarf's killing stimulated us, causing us to lose our judgment, and then leaving obvious clues... Most people were deceived by you."
"Vandrozier... What did you say... Klarf is dead?!" Tinus's legs went weak, and he almost fell to the ground.
"Kill... Revenge... Revenge for Klarf."
"There's nothing to avenge. We made the first move, and it's fair." Rozier said indifferently, "As long as you lead us into Nurmengard, I can spare your life."
"That won't do. If you let them rescue him, I won't be able to explain." Kyle said.
"So there's no room for negotiation?" Rozier raised her eyes, "You should know that you're still alive now only because we don't want to kill you."
"Of course, I know." Kyle said, "If you had used the Killing Curse, my armor wouldn't have been able to block it. But even so, I still refuse your request. However, before we fight, there's something I'm curious about."
"Fight... Just based on your Fiendfyre, I'll ask you this..." Rozier glanced at the several wizards lying on the ground, "But since you didn't harm them, I'll ask..."
"Yes, between rescuing Grindelwald and watching him die, which one would you choose?"
"What?"
"Fire God's Path!"
The wand on Kyle's back suddenly spewed out a golden-red flame. Under his control, the panther made of Fiendfyre leaped forward and actively merged into the flames.
In an instant, the golden-red turned into a heart-pounding crimson red.
The Fire God's Path, composed entirely of Fiendfyre, was used by Kyle for the first time, startling even Rozier. Instinctively, she held her wand upright in front of her.
But soon, she realized that the flames weren't targeting her but the tower on the cliff.
Although the Fiendfyre couldn't destroy the magic protecting Nurmengard, it enveloped everything around it, and the intense heat temporarily turned the tower red.
"Make your choice quickly, Ms. Vandrozier." Kyle turned around and smiled, "Mr. Grindelwald might not last long..."
Without hesitation, Rozier left Kyle behind and rushed towards the tower.
(End of Chapter)
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