When Antonio and Minerva reappeared, they found themselves standing in a small clearing inside a forest. The clearing was roughly twenty eight to thirty metres in diameter. Surrounding it were tall, dense trees whose thick foliage was allowing very little sunlight to filter through. The shadows of the trees were deep, and Antonio could barely see more than a few metres into the woods. The clearing was the only illuminated area in that area.
At the edge of the clearing, a narrow stream of water, no more than four or five feet wide was flowing gently.
Antonio squinted, taking in his surroundings. Although he was not entirely sure, he had an inkling that he was somewhere deep inside the Forbidden Forest. And what he was sure of was that this clearing was not natural. It had no reason to exit in the middle of a dense forest unless some human was intervening in it. And Minerva McGongall was that likely human.
"Is this the Forbidden Forest, Professor McGonagall?" Antonio asked.
"Yes," Minerva nodded.
"And may I ask," Antonio continued, "what exactly are we doing here?"
"You know," she said with a faint smile, "ever since you killed those Death Eaters and Lord Malins, you have become quite famous as a powerful wizard."
"Oh?" Antonio remarked, his eyes narrowing even further.
"Yes," Minerva said, still smiling. "So, I thought, why not ascertain the truth of that claim for myself?"
Antonio barely had time to process what she meant before Minerva moved. She whipped her wand and her wand slid smoothly into her palm from her wand holster, and then a blue coloured spell shot toward him at blinding speed.
Acting purely on instinct, Antonio sidestepped just in time as the spell whistled past his shoulder and struck a tree behind him.
His own hand moved reflexively, his wand appearing in his grasp.
Out of all the opponents Antonio had faced since his transmigration in this world, this was the fastest spell that had ever been fired at him, and that, he realized, was when Minerva was not even being serious. It had been a simple hex, cast almost lazily.
Even so, he was not really surprised. He knew full well that Minerva McGonagall was a formidable witch, one of the most powerful in all of Wizarding Britain. Someone who stood at the pinnacle.
"Professor," Antonio exclaimed in mild surprise, but he said no more.
He understood that she wanted to seem to test him. If she wanted to test him, he would oblige. There was no other choice but to entertain Minerva and let her ascertain the facts for herself. As for the reason, he could discuss it later.
Minerva smiled again as she jabbed her wand. It was a very simple motion or so one with a common eye would think. A large amount of magic gathered at the tip of her wand, and another spell rushed toward Antonio.
The speed this time was far greater than before. But Antonio did not move. He did not attempt to dodge it. Instead, he too jabbed his wand, and a spell erupted from it. The two spells collided midair, countering each other.
This again had been a simple spell, nothing which could have really harmed him and Antonio understood what Minerva had been trying to do.
For now, she was only testing his speed, reaction and casting time. She would probably also test the range of his spells or maybe not. He could not tell.
Minerva smirked slightly, which seemed rather unusual on her always stern face, and Antonio knew she was going to up the ante. And then it came, a flurry of spells. Dozens of spells were casted from both sides in moments.
Both of them were moving, their wands following their minds at an imperceptible speed. They were so fast that an average wizard would have hardly been able to react at that speed. Only the flashes of different coloured spells colluding mid air and then countering each other with a blast of colours was something that was discernable.
Antonio, during the entire time, remained on the backfoot. Not because he was forced to, but because he chose to. He was simply defending himself. This round continued for a couple of minutes before Minerva lowered her wand.
"You are doing quite marvelous, Lord Ofalio," Minerva remarked, "but considering what I witnessed you doing in the Ministry duelling arena, I am not really surprised."
Antonio only smiled in response.
"Shall we?" Minerva said as she flicked her wand. A spell erupted from it as it struck a boulder, which shattered into many pieces. Another spell instantly followed the first, and all the broken pieces of the boulder were transformed into sharp projectiles before they sped towards Antonio.
Antonio slashed his wand, and a magical arc erupted from it, reducing all the projectiles to dust. But that had been a mere distraction.
What followed was another flurry of spells and it was a wide range. From powerful charms to complex transfiguration spells, Minerva used everything. Although she did not dabble in the Dark Arts, she was treading close to the border. And Antonio was certain that Minerva McGonagall was equally proficient in the Dark Arts too.
Antonio continued with his stance. He did not turn aggressive. He remained passive, defending himself. He was clearly holding himself back, and he also knew that even Minerva was holding herself back. How much she was restraining her power, Antonio could not tell. But even if she used her full strength, he was confident of facing her.
Another spell left Minerva's wand, and it struck the water in the river stream. A large quantity of water churned, and in a couple of moments it took the shape of a massive cat. The principle of the spell was similar to what Antonio had used to create the water golem, just that Minerva had chosen a different shape, her own animagus form.
"You must be familiar with the spell," Minerva said as she flicked her wand, and the cat came leaping toward Antonio. "Show me how to deal with it."
Antonio raised his wand as he pumped a large amount of magical reserve into the spell and unleashed it toward the massive cat.
Antonio had a myriad of methods to deal with the spell. But he chose the one that relied solely on brute strength. His spell, Bombarda Maxima, struck the cat, and, to Minerva's shocked eyes, the cat was blasted apart, the water spilling in all directions.
Minerva stood there in stunned silence. To do what Antonio had just done, overpower that spell through sheer magical force, required an immense amount of magical reserve. And Antonio had done it after battling her for so long. She doubted whether even she could have accomplished what Antonio had just done.
"You are truly powerful, Lord Olario," she mumbled after a couple of moments of silence as she lowered her wand.
"Thank you, I suppose," Antonio said with a shrug. "Now can we discuss the purpose of all this?"
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