Chapter 944: Voldemort and the Basilisk
Chapter 944: Voldemort and the Basilisk
Voldemort, on high alert against Snape, forced Kyle to temporarily abandon his plan to rescue Snape and instead focus all his efforts on battling Voldemort.
In an instant, various spells flashed around them.
Despite being outnumbered, Voldemort gradually found himself at a disadvantage, narrowly avoiding Rozier's Killing Curse several times.
A recent graduate and a failed wizard who should have retired from the magical world long ago had pushed the mighty Dark Lord to such a desperate state that he had to resort to rolling on the ground...
Voldemort's eyes turned cold, and he felt as if he had returned to the days when he was a wraith over a decade ago, forced to possess those repulsive crawling creatures just to survive.
It was the most humiliating period of his life, and it was no different now.
Aside from being no match for Kyle and Rozier, there was another reason for Voldemort's frustration—Dumbledore's attitude...
Voldemort could accept being defeated by Dumbledore, as it wasn't the first time. For over a decade, he had never won against Dumbledore, and Voldemort had long grown accustomed to it.
But he couldn't accept being ignored by Dumbledore.
When he saw Dumbledore resurrected, he was genuinely startled, even suspecting that Dumbledore had used a Horcrux.
Fear and anxiety followed because Voldemort knew that in his current state, he stood no chance against Dumbledore.
Even if he wanted to escape, it would come at a significant cost.
At that moment, Voldemort thought deeply and made a significant decision, preparing himself for the possibility of becoming a wraith again for decades.
Just as Grindelwald emerged from the tall tower.
He felt like a broken matchstick from a Transfiguration class, discarded by a young wizard.
Dumbledore didn't spare him another glance, his gaze fixed on Grindelwald from the start, and the battle scene Voldemort had imagined never materialized.
Dumbledore showed no intention of intervening, merely calling someone to deal with him.
This was something Voldemort couldn't tolerate.
What did Grindelwald, who had failed decades ago, matter? He was Dumbledore's destined opponent!
"Ah!"
Voldemort let out an angry roar, and with a forceful wave of his wand, a blinding light flashed, followed by a loud crack as it shattered into pieces.
The wand Voldemort had forcibly taken was broken, but he unleashed his own spell.
The hard ground seemed to transform into a vast swamp, devouring everything it touched—stones, fallen leaves, and trees sank rapidly into the ground.
Rozier took to the air first, disregarding Kyle's presence.
Fortunately, the Fire Arrow was usable again, and it quickly flew over from the ground, allowing Kyle to grab it and rise into the air.
"Not bad luck," Rozier said indifferently, sounding slightly disappointed.
"It's your good luck," Kyle replied, sitting up on his broom.
"I was already prepared to run away. Believe me, I can't fly, but I could have escaped this curse's range in a short time... If the Fire Arrow hadn't come in time, you would have faced Voldemort alone."
"So, Ms. Rozier," Kyle raised an eyebrow, "do you think you're Voldemort's match?"
Without waiting for her response, Kyle continued, "I don't think so. You're even older than Voldemort... Tsk..."
Rozier's expression darkened, and when she looked at Kyle again, her eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"What, do you want to fight me too?" Kyle asked, unapologetically, "Mind your manners. I'm here to help you. If you had any sense of courtesy, you'd express gratitude instead of giving me that look."
"He's your British problem!" Rozier stated firmly, "Not ours!"
"So, you're saying he came all this way, not to kill Grindelwald, but for a picnic, right?" Kyle's voice rose slightly.
He had never had a good impression of Rozier, and seeing her haughty demeanor, he spoke bluntly, "His trouble with Grindelwald is your business. Why don't you leave now? Who's stopping you?"
"You..."
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm not stopping you," Kyle interrupted again, "Or I can go back to Hogwarts to save you the trouble of having me here."
"Do you dare?" Rozier finally found an opportunity to retaliate, "Dumbledore asked you to stay here to deal with him. Do you dare to go back now?"
"I think you misunderstood something," Kyle shook his finger, "I chose to stay and help you because I also want to kill Voldemort, not because... Dumbledore asked me to."
After saying this, Kyle genuinely maneuvered his broom to a higher position, assuming a spectator's pose.
"Good luck, Ms. Rozier."
"Rest assured, if you die, I'll avenge you."
Rozier's chest heaved, and she realized Kyle wasn't bluffing; he genuinely had no intention of helping. He even took out a bottle of Butterbeer.
Who would drink Butterbeer in the middle of a tense battle?
Rozier's temples throbbed, but she couldn't focus on this matter at that moment.
As they spoke, the ground within a dozen feet around them was consumed, and then countless sticky, pale heads emerged from the watery ground, roughly estimated to number in the hundreds.
Soon after, an equal number of skeletons appeared.
As soon as they appeared, they charged forward in a mighty force.
"Hmph, foolish!" Rozier's face showed a hint of disdain.
Even though she could sense a special curse on the undead skeletons, what of it? She could fly, and even if the curse was powerful, it couldn't harm her...
"Oh, damn!"
To Rozier's astonishment, Voldemort also transformed into a cloud of dark smoke and flew upwards, accompanied by a leaping skeleton with faint green traces on its pale bones.
Rozier wasn't sure if it was the Killing Curse, but she couldn't take the risk. She struck out and shattered the skeleton.
The process was much easier than she had imagined; the skeleton's bones were fragile and instantly shattered under the effect of the spell.
At the same time, the green light wrapped around it shot out rapidly, heading straight for Rozier.
Fortunately, Rozier, with her extensive experience, dodged it in time, and she could also confirm that it was indeed the Killing Curse without a doubt.
The skeleton had been specially enchanted in advance to ambush and attack the person who destroyed it.
How treacherous! If Rozier hadn't reacted quickly enough, she might have been hit by the Killing Curse. And... looking at the hundreds of identical skeletons and corpses below, all poised to jump, Rozier felt her body go numb.
Even if not all of them were enchanted with that special Killing Curse, if even half of them were, she would never be able to handle it.
Not to mention the even more dangerous Voldemort nearby.
"What a pity," Kyle sighed from above, "How did she manage to dodge that last attack?"
Rozier abruptly looked up.
Kyle's sigh also served as a reminder to her. To avoid becoming a sitting duck, Rozier immediately flew towards Kyle's direction,
But Kyle was prepared.
A gentle breeze blew by, and Rozier stopped abruptly. The nearest tree to her right suddenly split into three sections, and the cut was incredibly smooth and even.
"What are you doing!" Rozier asked coldly.
"Self-defense, what else could it be?" Kyle replied matter-of-factly, and then flew upwards again.
Voldemort watched their actions, a look of surprise flashed across his face, only to quickly disappear.
Perfect. There was conflict between them.
That's right. They were all Dark Wizards; it made no sense for Kyle to target only him.
Voldemort seemed to see a chance of victory. If they fought together, he would definitely be no match for them, but if they were separated and fought one-on-one, then it would be his call!
Voldemort lowered his head and scanned the area, his fingers lightly hooked, and a new wand was in his grasp.
He had just killed many elderly wizards, about seven or eight of them, all from Rozier's group, so there was no shortage of wands here.
"Avada Kedavra!"
In perfect harmony, Voldemort seemed to completely ignore Kyle on his broomstick, and all his spells were directed solely at Rozier.
"Damn it!"
Helplessly, Rozier was furious, but for the sake of her life, she had to abandon the idea of using Kyle as a shield. She focused all her attention on evading Voldemort's attacks and the occasional jumping skeletons.
Their bodies were so light that with just a little force, they could rival the effect of the Flying Charm.
Unable to dodge or fight back, Rozier felt incredibly stifled.
"Damn it... Are you just going to watch?" she shouted in exasperation.
So Kyle changed his position, half-lying on his broomstick, and waved his hand.
"Go for it, I'm rooting for you."
Without Kyle's help, the battle once again became one-sided, but this time, it was Rozier who was at a disadvantage.
Angered by Dumbledore's disregard, Voldemort unleashed even greater power than before, relentlessly casting the Killing Curse at Rozier.
But on his sixth attempt, he suddenly turned and aimed his wand at the position behind him.
A green and a red spell collided in midair.
"Do you really think I'd fall for your tricks? Your pathetic little act!" Voldemort said mockingly as he faced off against Kyle.
Was he supposed to be a fool, turning against each other in the middle of a fight?
Even a fool could see that something was amiss.
"That's true," Kyle said helplessly, "To improvise and pull off such a coordinated act is already impressive. At least you've fallen for it, haven't you?"
Kyle raised his wand and exerted all his strength to maintain the magical connection between the two of them.
"What will you do now?"
"Avada Kedavra!"
The two voices almost sounded simultaneously, and a green light shot from midair towards Voldemort.
With his current position, it was impossible for him to dodge unless...
Voldemort made a quick decision without hesitation and released the wand in his hand. The beam of light formed by magic in the middle immediately shifted, colliding with the Killing Curse.
A loud boom was heard, and all three of them were affected by the blast. Voldemort lost another wand.
Rozier, already of advanced age, and after such a long battle, was becoming increasingly slow in her reactions. She was blasted away.
As for Kyle, he was the farthest from the explosion, and only a layer of dust settled on his robe.
Kyle instinctively patted his robe with his wand-holding hand, and the tip of the wand wobbled slightly, as did the two newly acquired flower pots.
But Voldemort didn't notice this subtle change. Instead, he took the opportunity to dive downwards to get himself a new wand.
The two flower pots containing Mandrake plants arrived at Voldemort's ear under Kyle's command, even more smoothly than expected.
It seemed that not only Rozier's reactions had slowed, but Voldemort was also nearing his limits after consecutive battles. Normally, he would have never missed such a minor detail.
But unfortunately, this wasn't a normal situation.
Two mature Mandrake plants were pulled out of their pots by an invisible force, leaving the roots exposed. The Mandrakes were displeased, and they opened their mouths to emit an ear-piercing shriek.
The Mandrakes' screams weren't just an assault on the ears; they also targeted the soul...
Kyle had discovered this back at Hogwarts; Voldemort's tattered soul was especially vulnerable to Mandrake roots... Even his immense magical power couldn't completely counteract that damage.
So, this time, Kyle decided to use the same tactic again.
The effect... could only be described as surprisingly good.
Voldemort's body swayed, and he fell straight down, crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Avada..." Rozier instinctively tried to finish him off, but the group of skeletons and corpses summoned by Voldemort quickly surrounded and blocked Rozier's line of sight.
"Damn it, I can't find the others!" Rozier shouted. "We must get rid of these annoying things first!"
"No need!" Kyle waved his wand downward, and a crimson Fiery Flame rapidly spread across the ground...
Watching this, Rozier subconsciously recalled the first time she met Kyle; he had also used this Fiery Flame spell to burn down the Nurmengard Tower.
Rozier still wondered why someone would act so... unpredictably.
In her wildest dreams, she never imagined someone would threaten her using Grindelwald.
Rozier's thoughts drifted further, and at the same time, the Fiery Flame began to rage within the pile of skeletons and corpses.
The monsters summoned by Voldemort were instantly reduced to ashes by the scorching flames.
The ground was dyed a deep crimson, and faintly glowing green lights could still be seen among the ashes.
"Be careful, those monsters have a specific tracking magic," Rozier warned with a troubled expression.
Kyle remained silent.
In fact, the moment the Killing Curses lit up, he was prepared. He held the box tightly with one hand and shouted with all his might:
"Fawkes!"
The next second, hundreds of Killing Curses arrived as expected.
But the fiery red phoenix also appeared, gripping Kyle's shoulder and instantly disappearing with him from their original spot.
"It's useless, you can't escape!"
Under the scorching flames, Voldemort's body turned pitch-black, except for his scarlet eyes that glowed with madness.
"The Trace Magic Curse will follow you as long as you have magic in your body. You can't escape!"
Voldemort laughed maniacally, as if he had already envisioned Kyle being struck by hundreds of Killing Curses.
Although this was his trump card prepared for Dumbledore, using it on Kyle wasn't a waste.
His words were soon proven true.
Although Kyle had been taken by Fawkes to another location, the Killing Curses still pursued him. They even disappeared mid-air for a short distance... precisely the distance of an Apparition.
Fawkes attempted multiple Apparitions with Kyle, but whether it was a place chosen by Fawkes or Kyle, they couldn't shake off the Killing Curses.
"Isn't it strange why they've suddenly become so persistent..."
"Do you want to know the answer?"
"I won't tell you!"
Voldemort's wild laughter was irritating.
It was obvious why; it was intentional, making him believe that the Killing Curses were easy to dodge.
And he had indeed fallen for it. Who would have thought that the Killing Curses could track a wizard, even through Apparition?
He should have let Rozier handle it.
Kyle tried to lure the Killing Curses towards Voldemort, but all attempts failed. Voldemort, well-prepared, didn't give Kyle any chance to get close.
After several attempts, Fawkes' movements became slower, and he opened his mouth to block the Killing Curses in front of Kyle, ready to swallow them all.
It was uncertain if he could block so many.
Kyle stood behind Fawkes, his eyes filled with struggle.
Moments later, the Killing Curses fell like raindrops...
But to Fawkes' surprise, he didn't achieve Nirvana.
It wasn't that the Killing Curses had stopped working; it was because Kyle had opened the box at the critical moment, placing another massive creature as a shield in front of them.
After the bombardment of hundreds of Killing Curses, the Basilisk's entire body turned an unsightly grayish-white, and it collapsed heavily, slamming onto the ground and remaining motionless.
It was evident that even the Basilisk, the most powerful dark creature, couldn't withstand the attack of hundreds of Killing Curses at once.
"..."
"No!"
Kyle's reaction was surpassed by Voldemort's. He never expected Kyle to use the Basilisk as a shield.
It was the Basilisk, Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk, a symbol of supreme honor and the most noble identity. How dare he?
What gave him the right to command the Basilisk... That should have been his.
Overwhelming jealousy and reluctance drove Voldemort to the brink of madness, especially after witnessing the Basilisk being killed by the Killing Curses. He even fell into a brief daze.
Meanwhile, Kyle, who had been keeping a close eye on Voldemort, suddenly brightened his gaze and held his breath. The wand in his hand twitched slightly.
Behind Voldemort, a cluster of flames that were about to extinguish suddenly blazed intensely. The dancing flames resembled a sword, piercing through Voldemort's body.
"Flame Path!"
Puff!
(End of Chapter)
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