Cassandra and the others were now keenly aware of the immense gap between ordinary wizards and true legends. Even when the remnant soul of Voldemort (as they derisively called wizards prone to defeat) was hesitant, they couldn't gain an advantage. Tom Riddle aside, every legendary wizard had once stood at the pinnacle of their era; actually, they defined their era! Perhaps, without Tom Riddle, this era would belong to the "Socket Spirit." After all, Dumbledore's prime was decades past, and in terms of raw power, he was now slightly weaker than the remnant soul of Voldemort — the universally acknowledged "strongest dark wizard of all time." Before Voldemort, no one had definitively claimed the title of Dark Lord. Even Gellert Grindelwald was merely "the most dangerous dark wizard of all time," and back then, Voldemort's remnant soul was still taking out loans to attend school. If the remnant soul had been in the same era, that title would have undoubtedly rested on his shoulders.
"What do we do, Cassandra?" Harry canceled his Animagus transformation. "Do we chase him?" Even though his Flight Charm wasn't the best and his magic reserves were limited, if Cassandra wanted to fight, he, as the second-in-command of the Death Eaters, would follow without question.
Hermione and Malfoy remained silent. Hermione knew their chances were slim, but if Cassandra wanted her help, she'd be there as a friend. Malfoy shared Harry's sentiment; how could Death Eaters desert their post?
"..."
Cassandra bit her lip, her eyes narrowing slightly. "We fight. We fight until he manages to escape."
She was certain the remnant soul of Voldemort wouldn't kill them. Moreover, her exceptionally strong will prevented her from giving up so easily.
As soon as she finished speaking, four more Flight Charms were cast.
"What?!"
The remnant soul of Voldemort was momentarily speechless. "Again?!" He gripped his wand, silver beams of magic hammering against the golden barrier, shaking it relentlessly. It would only take a short while for him to completely break through this damned blockade! But then that crazy brat, along with Harry and those other two annoyances, caught up.
"Wait!" The remnant soul shouted, "Can I surrender? Can we just call it a win for you?"
His spineless words caught Cassandra and the others by surprise.
"He surrendered?" Malfoy slumped. "I'm exhausted, Master."
Harry supported him. "Don't be ridiculous, Malfoy. We can't let him surrender." What they had to do was take down the remnant soul of Voldemort.
Cassandra frowned slightly. She refused to be outdone by such a cowardly opponent.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Then stop fighting."
"No," the remnant soul of Voldemort refused without hesitation. "Anything but that."
"Then come down here."
"No, anything but that."
"Then put down your wand."
"No, anything but that."
"…"
Hermione was losing her patience, turning to Cassandra. "Cassandra, he's toying with you."
Cassandra didn't waste any words. "Avada Kedavra!"
!!
The remnant soul of Voldemort's lower body transformed into black mist, and he darted to the side. Not being able to fully transform into mist slowed him down somewhat, but he still managed to dodge the Killing Curse.
"Is there really no room for negotiation?!" The remnant soul tried to bargain again.
"You're the one who doesn't want to negotiate!" Another Killing Curse followed, then a Petrifying Charm, a Freezing Charm, and a Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus). None of these spells inflicted strong physical damage; after all, if they actually hit him, wouldn't that help him escape?
"I just want to live, what's wrong with that?!" The remnant soul was genuinely furious; he simply wanted to survive!
"Wanting to live isn't wrong," Harry laughed, "But someone like you doesn't deserve it!" He knew the remnant soul's nature. If it weren't for Tom Riddle keeping him in check, he wouldn't treat others as human beings, killing whenever he pleased!
But that wasn't the most important factor. Most importantly, compared to Tom Riddle's calculated disruption of the wizarding world's order, Voldemort's remnant soul was utterly chaotic and disorderly! Furthermore, he possessed both the ability and the will to unleash that chaos. This would undoubtedly inflict far more harm on the wizarding world than a few random deaths.
So, what else was there to say? You want to live? But who wasn't struggling to survive? Everyone was fighting for their lives!
So! I've been struggling so hard, so why don't you just die already?!
"Avada Kedavra!" Harry's wand glowed with an unprecedented green light. "Killing Curse!!!"
A ghastly green bolt of lightning, almost as thick as a baby's arm, shot towards the remnant soul of Voldemort. If it connected, it would be fatal. Although the Killing Curse was indeed instant death…
Cassandra and the others were surprised by this display; they hadn't expected Harry's murderous intent to be so potent.
However, reality often falls short of expectations. The remnant soul of Voldemort, of course, wouldn't be hit. Even Cassandra couldn't land a blow on him, so what made this four-eyed, scarred man think he could? Based on his lousy prophecy?
Still, being constantly harassed by the Killing Curse was rather unpleasant. The remnant soul of Voldemort waved his free left hand toward the ground, and a dozen pieces of broken wall debris flew up and enveloped him. The best defense against the Killing Curse was a physical barrier.
But that alone wasn't enough, because a single Explosion Charm could shatter them. The remnant soul of Voldemort then used his magic to conjure another layer of "armor" around the shield of rubble.
Simultaneously maintaining the Summoning Charm (Accio), the Shield Charm (Protego), and the Barrier-Breaking Charm—three curses in total. This was a struggle, even for a legendary wizard like the remnant soul. His magic consumption rate increased significantly. Only a legendary wizard's terrifyingly vast magic reserves could sustain such an effort; otherwise, an ordinary wizard wouldn't dare attempt it.
Although they couldn't do it anyway, casting three spells simultaneously, two of which were wandless and incantation-free, while also requiring constant maintenance — did they really think that was easy? Even Snape and the other professors couldn't do it!
With that level of protection, Cassandra and the others wouldn't be able to break through any time soon.
Just as Cassandra was assessing the remaining magic in her alchemical artifacts, wondering if she should send Hermione and the others away so she could unleash another hormone-fueled Fiendfyre...
"Just a turtle shell." Malfoy remained confident, flying directly above the remnant soul's shield, transforming once more, and slamming his club down onto the shield, creating a ripple. "Watch me smash this turtle shell of yours!"
Thump thump thump— The repeated blows, aside from making a lot of noise, had virtually no effect.
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