From the dust-choked ruins, the aged and monkey-like Slytherin slowly emerged, his murky eyes staring with unsettled suspicion at the woman before him.
Grace smiled faintly, making subtle adjustments to her face as a magnificent silver crown materialised upon her head.
"Has it been so long that you no longer recognise me?"
Grace—No, it would be more appropriate to address her as Ravenclaw now.
"You have changed considerably, Rowena." Slytherin finally shook off his shock, his gaze inscrutable. "I never thought I'd see an old friend in this era. It truly gladdens me."
Yet clearly, Slytherin's demeanour didn't match his words. His wand had somehow appeared in his left hand, while his other hand fidgeted restlessly.
"Glad?" Ravenclaw repeated, almost amused. "Are you truly glad? If so, why haven't you returned to Hogwarts to see the place you once poured your heart into?"
"I didn't know you were still alive."
"Indeed. I've searched for you for a thousand years, and for Helga for a thousand years!" Ravenclaw's eyes suddenly sharpened, piercing Slytherin like physical blades.
The Ravenclaw house emblem may be the raven, but the creature that most suited her personally was the eagle that rules the skies!
"You remained on Earth all this time?" This surprised Slytherin even more.
He had assumed Ravenclaw, like himself, had survived to this day by entering ancient ruins through some unknown means.
"What exactly did you do to Helga?" Ravenclaw ignored his question, countering coldly.
"Ah..." Slytherin sighed heavily.
"Rowena, why must you dig so relentlessly?"
"A thousand years is long enough to forget Helga. That we can reunite in this era is fate. I truly don't wish to kill you."
As he spoke, a sinister, evil aura emanated from him, distorting the surrounding space as if veiling it in a greenish gloom.
"Leave now, and I can pretend nothing happened."
His gaze shifted to the mountain foot, his expression grave.
The explosion had alerted Olympus's guards, but Morgan was holding them off. Screams pierced the heavens, reaching both their ears.
Slytherin couldn't understand why Morgan had suddenly stormed Olympus at this moment, clearly allied with Ravenclaw.
How had these two become connected?
Slytherin had many doubts; frankly, he felt like fleeing.
Having been neighbours with Morgan for a millennium, he knew how ruthless this sorceress could be. Even as a legendary figure himself, he had no desire to make an enemy of someone like her.
"Today, you have only one outcome. Tell me everything, and I'll grant you a quicker end." Ravenclaw also looked toward the mountain foot, where a thick black fog now blocked her view. Gradually, even the sounds faded away.
"Afraid that Morgan and I will join forces against you? Don't worry. Your opponent is me alone."
"And don't expect Zeus and the others to save you—they'll die even faster than you."
Slytherin's face paled slightly. "You're with Lawrence?!"
"Correct. I am his."
Ravenclaw drew her wand. "My patience is limited. If you don't speak now, I'll have to beat you into submission and resort to other methods."
Knowing this confrontation was inevitable, Slytherin abandoned all hope of avoiding it.
The false smile vanished from his ugly face, replaced by emotionless indifference.
"Originally, my target was you, Rowena, but you fled too quickly. In the end, I had to settle for Helga."
"I had no choice - my magical power wasn't sufficient to sustain me for longer journeys. I needed your power to help me successfully explore the world beyond the stone archway."
"After you left, Helga had actually become wary of me, but she never expected I would transform into Godric's form to ambush her. It took some effort, but I succeeded in the end."
"You stole her magical power?" Ravenclaw's gaze grew increasingly icy.
"No." Slytherin shook his head. "Magical power alone wasn't enough. You know Helga's talents - her vitality was far more abundant than mine. I refined her life force to create excellent healing potions."
"Thanks to those potions, I managed to reach Avalon."
Slytherin suddenly smiled. "I really should thank you, Rowena. If you hadn't escaped, I wouldn't have targeted Helga. She usually appeared so mediocre, always fussing over those food spells, that I overlooked her true strength."
"Even with the ambush, I suffered serious injuries that took a long time to heal."
"And Godric? Did you target him, too?"
"He died a natural death," Slytherin said calmly. "He suffered too many injuries in his youth and couldn't have lived much longer anyway. After his death, I extracted and fused his bloodline, making myself more powerful."
"Consider it another form of existence."
"You truly were his dear friend." Ravenclaw laughed in bitter anger. "If Godric knew you'd dig up his grave after his death, he would have chosen cremation."
"Only a former friend." Slytherin corrected. "Friends and even family can betray you, but magic never will. And magic is all I need."
Shiiing!
A murderous tremor echoed across the mountain peak as Ravenclaw made her move. Silver swords materialised from the void, forming battle formations as they charged toward Slytherin.
There was no point in further discussion. This was no longer the Slytherin she once knew, but merely a slave captured by magic.
Slytherin deftly twisted his wrist, causing the ground weeds to grow wildly into resilient vine nets that intercepted the first wave of flying swords. He transformed into green mist that shot skyward, reforming his physical form as he donned a helmet.
"You're no match for me, Rowena." Slytherin smiled relaxedly. "The Helm of Hades, an inheritance artefact from Olympus. So what if you've become a Legend? This is a difference in foundational resources."
With just a slight movement of his hand, immense magical power descended like a tidal wave. Ravenclaw raised her hand, gentle blue light transforming into curtains that blocked the spell, while scattered shockwaves exploded in all directions.
"What?" Slytherin stared in disbelief. He had used the power of a divine artefact, so why had Ravenclaw blocked it so effortlessly?
"A divine artefact? Is that supposed to be rare?"
Under Slytherin's gaze, the wand in Ravenclaw's hand transformed, sprouting a pair of wings at its tip that enveloped the central blue gemstone.
Ravenclaw cast a spell, which Slytherin successfully blocked, yet the residual force still left wounds upon his body.
His heart sank like the darkening sky.
Slytherin knew this duel wouldn't be as effortless as he had imagined.
Bang!
A massive hammer suddenly materialised in the air, smashing Slytherin down from the sky. He promptly transformed into a mist state to dissipate the impact.
The mist violently exploded and scattered in all directions, then coalesced into multiple Slytherin duplicates, all firing curses toward Ravenclaw.
A Domain silently unfolded as Ravenclaw cautiously enveloped herself in a protective shield. A sickly green radiance bloomed, devouring all vitality from living beings within the Domain.
Clang!
Blocking the ambush emerging from behind, Ravenclaw expanded her own Domain. Slytherin only felt his thoughts suddenly slow, and everything in the world decelerated.
Only Ravenclaw's attacks grew increasingly rapid. He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, forcing his concentration to sharpen as he defended against an ocean of spells converging from countless unknown curses.
With the Archangel Wand's enhancement, Ravenclaw's magical power and recovery rate nearly doubled, allowing her to unleash her lifetime's learnings without restraint, free from concerns of exhaustion.
The mountain peak was swiftly obliterated, and their battlefield shifted to the skies. The scales of victory gradually tilted in her favour.
Unless Slytherin could produce a stronger trump card, this process amounted to nothing less than a slow death.
...
Far in the Atlantic, Wayne's struggle against the gods also reached a fever pitch.