"Just give it up, Malfoy."
"You can't possibly break through," Harry said, watching Malfoy relentlessly hammer away, still unable to breach the defenses.
Malfoy snapped, "Talking nonsense, the lot of you!"
"Even Scarhead won't stop me from breaking through today!"
Thump, thump, thump—the sound of Malfoy's furious blows with his baseball bat filled the air.
Hermione paused. "We weren't trying to stop you."
"Then why are you spouting such rubbish?"
Malfoy swung again and again. "You're going to keep hammering away, aren't you?"
"Not really."
Hermione shook her head slightly.
Harry chimed in, "Mostly, Cassandra is about to make her move. You're about to get fried."
"Huh?"
Malfoy paused, glancing upward to see a large mass of dark clouds gathering overhead.
BOOM—!
"Wait, wait! I haven't finished yet..."
Malfoy, baseball bat still in hand, hurriedly tried to escape the area.
Cassandra didn't reply, only coldly stating, "Three, two..."
Malfoy gritted his teeth and leaped, jumping off the shield erected by Voldemort (remnant soul).
"One."
BOOM!
Terrifying lightning gathered and struck the shield, instantly engulfing it in a pool of white fire!
Malfoy, having only fallen a dozen meters, was struck by a few stray bolts, turning his hair into a frizzy afro.
"Young Master's handsome slicked-back hair, waaaah..."
Malfoy twitched a few times, regaining his senses to find his golden locks completely blown apart, some strands charred black.
Heartbroken, he knew this wasn't the time for vanity.
Malfoy canceled his transformation and cast the Flight Charm again to prevent himself from plummeting and being reduced to pulp.
As Cassandra unleashed her magic, Harry and Hermione cast two spells similar to the one Voldemort (remnant soul) had used to break the seal.
The shield dimmed slightly under their combined assault.
"How's it going?"
Malfoy, who had returned, curiously peered in.
The lightning was so intense; he could hardly make out the current state of the shield.
"Not good."
Harry waved his wand in annoyance.
"This guy is too tough!"
Gritting his teeth, he cast two more spells, but Harry could feel that his magic was having no effect whatsoever.
Hermione was already considering giving up; they couldn't possibly defeat a legendary wizard. This wasn't some game they could win.
"..."
Hearing Hermione's words, Cassandra remained silent.
She had effectively come to terms with reality; perhaps she didn't need to compete with him. With Tom's help, she still had a good chance of breaking through to Legendary Wizard at a younger age than Voldemort (remnant soul), and that would be a victory, wouldn't it?
However...
While she couldn't do anything to him right now, it wouldn't be right to stop now.
As Cassandra considered her next move, the golden barrier, already teetering on the brink of collapse under the relentless attacks of Voldemort (remnant soul), began to fracture.
"Almost there!"
Seeing this, Voldemort (remnant soul) was overjoyed; even his charred scalp seemed to glow with renewed vigor. "Now!"
Crack, crack.
A faint, almost imperceptible sound rang out.
Those present were no ordinary people; they naturally noticed it.
"Damn it! Break!"
A wand swung, and a thicker beam of silver magic struck the crack!
Voldemort (remnant soul) shouted an incantation, and the golden barrier shattered completely!
"Heh...hahahaha—"
With a casual wave of his hand, the shield surrounding him vanished, and the rubble was tossed about. With arms outstretched, his tattered black robe billowing around him, Voldemort (remnant soul) let the air, a symbol of freedom, rush into his arms. "Free! I'm free! I... damn it!"
BOOM!
"What was he yelling about?"
Cassandra asked Hermione, feigning confusion.
Hermione shook her head. "Didn't hear a thing."
"Oh."
Her wand swung down.
BOOM!
Another bolt of lightning!
Cassandra ignored all pretense. "You want to run? Run! But don't blame me for striking you down while you're still in range."
"Damn it!"
Voldemort (remnant soul) raised a shield and flew rapidly toward the distant horizon.
This brat has no sportsmanship! She actually ambushed a seventy-year-old man! And not just once! It's so unreasonable! I wonder where she learned that from!
"..."
Voldemort (remnant soul)'s eyes narrowed. Since you're so unreasonable, then don't blame me... I'm leaving! You think you can get away with this?! (Runs away!)
"Hehehe—can't catch me, can you?"
Voldemort (remnant soul) flew quickly, glancing back every now and then. The little brats had long since vanished.
"Hard to say."
"Could it be that you're the only one who can't use Apparition?"
In an instant, a voice came from in front of Voldemort (remnant soul) as he flew at top speed.
"..."
This sense of déjà vu, how is it so strong? I feel like I've seen him somewhere before.
Voldemort (remnant soul) stiffly turned his neck to look ahead, and there stood that familiar, handsome young man.
What he found unbelievable was that Tom didn't seem to be flying at all; instead, he was sitting cross-legged in mid-air, leisurely sipping a drink.
"No?"
Voldemort (remnant soul) was dumbfounded.
"Yo, long time no see."
Harry and Malfoy flew up beside him.
"This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
Voldemort (remnant soul) was truly flabbergasted. Tom flying faster than him was one thing, but how could Harry Potter and the traitor Malfoy possibly keep up with his speed?!
"Tom~"
Cassandra arrived in front of Voldemort (remnant soul) almost instantly, even faster than the others, and threw herself into the arms of the handsome young man.
"..."
Voldemort (remnant soul)'s eyes were lifeless, his expression blank.
"What's wrong with him?"
Hermione also arrived in front of Voldemort (remnant soul), turning to ask Harry, seeing his strange expression.
"I don't know; maybe he's gone mad?"
Cassandra ignored all of this, snuggling against Tom and not even glancing at Voldemort (remnant soul).
"..."
Voldemort (remnant soul) felt like he might be going crazy, or maybe the world had gone mad.
He was the creator of the Flight Charm; how could everyone be faster than him? If someone had said this to him before, he probably would have only thought one thing... "Are you kidding me, buddy?"
Voldemort (remnant soul), whose reality had been twisted, sighed to the heavens, expending even more magic to try and reclaim his dignity.
Two minutes later.
"I give up."
Voldemort (remnant soul) stopped "flying"; he had resigned himself to his fate.
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