Harry Potter : Bloodraven

Chapter 346 - 346: Eye of the Storm (IX) (CH - 365)

Elsewhere above London, another group was also seen enduring the storm-like pressure. One of them, Olympe Maxime, stood against the mountain-like force with visible difficulty, the sleek dark battle robes wrapped around her tall figure whipping violently in the raging winds.Her arm was raised across her face as she stared solemnly into the distance, where the sky had quite literally torn itself into three...

"Is this also part of the plan?" She asked loudly, sounding both incredulous and no small amount of irritation in her voice.

Beside her was Edward Garling, looking no better than she did, his mane-like golden hair whipping wildly behind him. There was shock, awe, and equal parts confusion within his eyes as well as he continued looking into the distance without answering right away.

"Garling!"

Only when Olympe called out to him again did he finally tear his gaze away from the distance.

"I don't know," he said honestly.

But she wasn't buying it, her expression hardening the next moment.

"Garlinnng..." she said coldly, dragging out his name. "Do not think you can keep me blind to what is happening."

"I said I don't know, woman..." Edward snapped back at her as well. "What more do you want from me?"

At the very least, the look on his face appeared honest enough, leaving Olympe glaring at him for several long seconds.

"You honestly don't know?" She asked again.

"This would hardly be the first time that boy has kept me in the dark," Edward answered with a sigh, turning his eyes back toward the distant once more.

What the hell was going on? Right now, he genuinely wanted to smack his good pupil across the head and demand an explanation. He wasn't pretending ignorance before the tall woman, he honestly had no idea what was happening.

The scene unfolding before them was so extraordinary that even they, two Archmagi, could not hide their astonishment, which in itself said more than enough.

Just as Great Magi would feel when witnessing Archmagi battle, they were left with that same instinctive feeling, never daring to approach and only watching from a distance.

Even Edward didn't try. It wasn't because he was afraid though, but he understood all too well that he would be of little help.

Unlike Olympe, he knew better that his student had already stepped onto an entirely different level from them. Therefore, inserting himself into a clash of that scale, even if his intention was to help, might very well achieve the exact opposite instead.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

Their throats moved subconsciously when the three monstrous constructs of magic manifested above their heads, both tightening their hold around their wands without even realizing it.

The cries, though distinct, were equally terrifying. Although Merlin had taken measures to protect the capital from the violent aftermath, they currently stood outside the range of that protection, exposed directly without any filter whatsoever.

"Garling..."

"What?" Edward asked without looking.

"Don't you think this magical signature feels familiar?" Olympe asked after a moment.

Edward's eyes narrowed slightly. In fact, the same thought had been lingering in his mind for a while now, and hearing Olympe say it aloud only confirmed the suspicion, who his student and Dumbledore were currently fighting against.

"Grindelwald..." he said.

Olympe nodded solemnly as well. "I could never forget that draconic manifestation, even if I tried. What is worse is that the feeling I am getting from his now is countless times more terrifying than before..."

She paused for a moment, her expression turning thoughtful before continuing. "And unless I am mistaken, he, along with Dumbledore and your student, are no longer standing in the same realm as us."

Edward finally turned slightly toward her, one brow arching upward. Olympe looked back at him as well.

"Absurd, right?" she said inquiringly. "Three Warlocks emerging seemingly out of nowhere, and one of them has not even properly lived through his twenties yet... had I not been aware of certain things myself, I would never have believed it either..."

Edward didn't try to argue. It wasn't that he was unwilling to tell her the truth, only that his student had asked to keep the matter secret for now he had said nothing, even when everything had already gone completely off script.

In any case, she would find out eventually... and if she discovered it herself, then that was hardly his fault, right? Besides, she was an ally, so there should not be any complications.

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

Edward: "..."

---

No longer did they need to conjure something beneath their feet to remain standing in the sky, for at the rank of Warlock, flying became as natural and effortless as walking.

Aside from their magical reserves swelling to monstrous levels, their control over that same power also became vastly more refined, to the point where using magic felt completely different from when they had still been Archmagi.

And flying was merely one of the many abilities they gained as a result. At its core, it was still the same principle of using magic to influence their own mass, only now their understanding had reached such a level that it looked completely effortless.

Likewise, incantations and wand movements were no longer things they needed to actively focus on — their understanding of magic had become so natural that their subconscious could handle those steps automatically.

Only the thought was necessary. If they wished to fire a Blasting Hex, they merely needed the intent to do so, and the same applied to virtually every other spell.

When Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Maverick "stood" facing one another beneath the storming clouds in a triangular deadlock, they had simply willed their magic to take corporeal shape and loom behind them like ancient beings.

As for being too flashy about it, how could there be no ceremony in greetings between powerhouses? They now stood at the very pinnacle of power, and it was only natural for the world to understand that, much like monarchs meeting upon a battlefield, there was always a certain grandeur to it, an unspoken need for everyone to bear witness.

Well, that was merely an analogy to put things into perspective. Put simply, the three of them were just flexing their magic against one another, and the colossal manifestations were the language they used.

Anyways, Grindelwald started it, and it goes without saying how Maverick, young, carrying more than a bit of ego, and very likely suffering from a chronic need to maintain his aura, would answer kindly.

As for Dumbledore, perhaps the presence of his old rival was the reason he chose to indulge as well...

And coincidentally, all three of them had awakened an affinity toward fire, which they used to fuel their manifestations. Grindelwald's creation took the form of a colossal dragon wreathed in brilliant cyan-blue flames.

Dumbledore's was naturally a phoenix burning with radiant orange fire, while behind Maverick loomed a gigantic raven, the flames surrounding it darker and deeper than the night itself.

They wasted no time admiring their masterpieces when the initiative came from Grindelwald, raising one arm, he slowly waved it forward, and the colossal dragon answered with a deafening roar.

At the same moment, Maverick and Dumbledore also willed their own manifestations into motion — the cyan-blue dragon twisted its enormous neck, opened its jaws wide, and lunged toward the phoenix first as though intending to rip it apart.

At the very same instant, the colossal raven descended from above it, its razor-sharp claws plunging into the beast's back before its beak tore viciously into the creature's head.

ROOOAAAR! Three distinct yet equally terrifying cries erupted together, shaking the skies above the capital louder than any thunder that had ever rolled over it.

Although their movements appeared slow, it was only the perspective created by their sheer scale. Like mountains collapsing, it might seem sluggish from afar, but up close, it would be nothing short of terrifying.

And it was.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The instant the three colossal creatures clashed, a devastating shockwave of heat and force erupted outward violently, blasting apart the entire bed of churning clouds above them.

In the blink of an eye, the millions of people with their heads raised saw the sky swallowed in darkness one moment, only for the half-crescent moon to reveal itself once more the next.

But nobody was in the mood to appreciate the sight. While Merlin's barrier shielded the capital from the worst of the aftermath, it could only do so much.

The shockwave still sweapt across the city like a tidal wave, people were seen covering their ears and faces against the violent force which passed through sparing no one.

Windows shattered one after another like a chain reaction throughout the city, while screams and blaring sirens once again broke the brief silence that had settled before the clash began.

And the culprits, high above the capital, they did not stop at just that. They did not simply stand still and allow their manifestations to do all the work.

While part of their consciousness remained focused on controlling those colossal manifestations, the rest of their attention locked directly onto one another, and they immediately engaged in battle themselves.

---

WOOOSH—

Taking altitude, Maverick thrust his arm forward and fired a jet of energy as thick as a bucket, imbued with the violent rules of the Blasting Hex, but Grindelwald's reaction came just as fast.

While locked in spells with Dumbledore, the old dark wizard twisted around sharply as though he had eyes on the back of his head. His black robes whipped violently as he flicked his wand backward, firing an equally enormous jet of green-black energy...

BOOOOOOM— The two beams collided head-on, the explosion shaking the entire sky sending yet another monstrous shockwave burst outward in all directions.

CRRRRRRRR—

Violent arcs of destructive energy burst wildly from the center of the collision as both sides pushed against one another, neither advancing even an inch...

"We must force him elsewhere, Maverick!"

In the midst of their battle, Maverick and Dumbledore were also communicating directly through their minds, particularly discussing where to move the fight.

Of course, they could have simply asked Merlin for help outright, but their pride clearly wished to handle things themselves, only, they could not truly go all out while worrying about the millions of people directly below.

"South... it is closer... toward the South Downs..." Maverick said to Dumbledore after a brief moment of thought.

"There are still small communities living there..." Dumbledore answered immediately.

"Leave that to Merlin..."

Maverick's face glowed beneath the blinding light of his own spell, his hair and clothes whipping violently as he braced one arm against the other, forcing even more power.

Dumbledore did not stand idly by either, as from the side, another overwhelming attack came rushing toward Grindelwald like a blazing comet.

But at the very last instant, his silver eyes once again narrowed sharply before he vanished from his position to evade.

The stalemate shattered, freed from resistance Maverick's terrifying jet of energy tore across the heavens unchecked, stretching endlessly into the distance like a divine spear of destruction ripping through the night sky.

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