HP: The Duelist of Hogwarts - 391

Chapter 391: Second Duel with Barty Jr.

Watching the trails of dark smoke circling around him, Sean concentrated and vanished from sight.

Immediately, one stream of smoke materialized into a Death Eater wearing a skull mask. He waved his wand, casting a charm-breaking spell to pierce Sean's concealment. However, his spell wasn't powerful enough to dispel Sean's LV5MAX Disillusionment Charm.

Where did he go? Did he flee? As expected, facing so many of us, he couldn't possibly...

The Death Eater's thoughts cut off abruptly as someone seized his neck from behind. Before he could react or resist, the hand twisted sharply, snapping his neck with a sickening crack. Sean discarded the body contemptuously. Before it hit the ground, flames consumed the corpse, reducing it to ash.

Having eliminated his first victim, Sean vanished again.

The instant he disappeared, two more Death Eaters emerged from Apparition and cast spells at his last position. Their curses struck empty air.

"Damn it! He's gone again!"

"Apparate, now!"

But when they tried to Disapparate, nothing happened.

Anti-Apparition Jinx! We're trapped!

The realization came too late. Without Sean even revealing himself, thin red lines appeared across both Death Eaters' throats. Their heads lolled and tumbled from their shoulders. Their falling corpses burst into flame, consumed entirely.

"Everyone, fall back! You're no match for—"

Bang!

Before Barty could finish his warning, Sean materialized in the center of the group. Nearly all the surrounding Death Eaters revealed themselves simultaneously and unleashed their spells.

Their curses converged on Sean—and struck only wisps of dissipating smoke. The Smoke Rope Curse, combined with LV4 Transfiguration, created a perfect illusion. As Sean predicted, the trick successfully drew them all out.

Anti-Apparition Jinx! Sectumsempra!

Two spells in rapid succession. First, trapping all the Death Eaters in place, then instantly killing another.

Black smoke swirled as Sean burst forward, overtaking a fleeing Death Eater. His left fist obliterated the man's skull while his right hand's wand struck out with another Sectumsempra, bisecting a Death Eater who'd just retrieved a broomstick from his magically expanded bag. Both the wizard and the broomstick fell into pieces.

After killing two more, Sean vanished once more. The Death Eaters, temporarily stripped of Apparition, desperately employed alternative flight methods to escape.

But electrical currents flickered in the clouds below. Thunder rumbled ominously. Before they realized the danger, massive tendrils of lightning erupted from the cloud layer, striking each Death Eater with devastating precision.

Simultaneously, Sean reappeared, slowly raising his wand. Blue-white lightning crackled from his eyes. Electrical discharge spread across his body like branching roots, gathering into a pulsing sphere of raw energy centered on his core.

Fulgur Flagellum!

The lightning pulse detonated outward in a catastrophic wave.

Bang bang bang bang bang...

Death Eater bodies exploded under the electrical assault, igniting into fireballs that burned completely. Only two who reacted swiftly enough escaped annihilation.

Barty Crouch Jr. watched helplessly as the Death Eaters suffered devastating losses. Though many were recent recruits rather than Voldemort's veteran followers, such catastrophic casualties in a single engagement would be impossible to explain to the Dark Lord.

"You've grown stronger. The question is, how much since our last encounter?"

"Not much. I probably still can't smash your master's snake-face, but dealing with you? More than sufficient. I'm really looking forward to breaking that pretty nose of yours and hearing it crunch."

"If you truly possess that ability..." Barty's tongue flicked across his lips. "Then I'm waiting for your fist."

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Fulgur Flagellum!"

Without warning, both struck simultaneously. Sickly green light and blazing blue-white lightning collided head-on, erupting in massive cascades of blue-green energy that splashed in all directions.

During the deadlock, Barty stared at Sean, his tongue darting out again as he rhythmically shook his wand. The dark green beam rippled like waves, each surge hammering against Sean's lightning as it slowly advanced.

"Cheap tricks!"

Sean grinned viciously and wrenched his wand sideways. The lightning spiraled around Barty's Killing Curse, dragging both spells skyward before detonating in a spectacular explosion.

The moment their deadlocked spells broke, Barty spewed a torrent of Fiendfyre that transformed into a massive vulture. The cursed fire-bird shrieked and lunged at Sean with flaming talons extended.

"Same tired tactics!"

Sean aimed his wand at the clouds below. Immediately, the cloud layer roiled and condensed rapidly. A massive water column erupted upward, coiling protectively around Sean. The temperature plummeted dramatically. Sean struck his wand forward, and the water column transformed into an enormous serpent of ice that roared and lunged to intercept the Fiendfyre vulture. Transfiguration elevated to LV4 by Raven's Claw, finally demonstrated its true power.

Fiendfyre vulture and frost serpent collided with thunderous force, their opposing magics erupting in violent detonations. Flames and ice annihilated each other, invisible shockwaves radiating outward.

Sean and Barty showed no hesitation, continuing their vicious assault. Speed became paramount. Torrents of low-to-mid level spells poured from both wands, colliding and dissipating in the space between them like festival fireworks exploding in brilliant yet deadly succession.

As their duel intensified, Barty's expression darkened progressively. He finally recognized that compared to their previous encounter when he'd fought Sean using Karkaroff's body, Sean's current strength had improved tremendously. No wonder he could face Voldemort directly before the summer.

If this continues, I truly might not prevail.