Battle

Voldemort (new host) was blasted by Borsat's Thunder, his face covered in dirt and grime. Pain and humiliation sent him into a complete rage! He struggled to his feet, his eyes burning with insane killing intent. No longer holding back, he pointed his wand directly at Silas and roared the fatal curse with all his might:

"Avada Kedavra!"

A blinding green light, the symbol of death, shot towards Silas like a venomous snake!

Facing the Killing Curse, capable of taking a life in an instant, Silas showed no panic. He didn't even retreat. He simply clapped his hands together in front of his chest, and the golden runes of the Ring of the Ragaddor instantly lit up, forming a circular shield in front of him, flowing with complex energy patterns!

"Buzz--!"

The green light of the Killing Curse slammed into the golden shield, emitting a dull explosion of energy! The green light, like waves crashing against a reef, was forcefully blocked, disintegrated, and dissipated into nothingness! Vishanti's defensive spell had successfully blocked the fatal blow of an Unforgivable Curse!

But Silas's counterattack was faster!

The moment he blocked the Killing Curse, his left hand had already drawn a portal in the air beside him with lightning speed, while his right hand gathered the cyan-green energy of Balzaha Lightning. Without even looking, he shot it into the portal!

Almost simultaneously, another portal silently opened behind Voldemort! The cyan-green lightning, like a phantom, emerged from the portal and struck directly at Voldemort's back!

This feint, using a portal for spatial jump attacks, was exquisitely brilliant!

However, Voldemort was Voldemort after all! The instant the Balzaha Lightning was about to touch his body, his reaction was incredibly swift! His entire body instantly exploded, turning into a thick, churning black smoke! The lightning passed through the smoke and struck a distant tree, creating a patch of scorched earth!

The black smoke quickly condensed, reforming into human shape. Voldemort was unharmed! He didn't even have time to catch his breath before raising his wand again, and another fatal green light shot towards Silas!

"Avada Kedavra!"

The exchange of offense and defense was completed in a flash! Voldemort displayed his terrifying combat instincts and powerful Dark Magic mastery as a top Dark Wizard!

Silas's eyes narrowed, and he had to raise the Ring of the Ragaddor again for defense. He knew that the difficulty of this battle far surpassed when he dealt with Quirrell. This new host not only had stronger magic but was also much more experienced in combat. Furthermore, Voldemort's soul seemed to have merged even more tightly with the host.

"Tsk, this is a bit tricky..." Silas muttered to himself, but his eyes burned with even greater fighting spirit. He enjoyed a challenge.

Seeing that the Killing Curse and high-speed offense and defense couldn't quickly defeat Silas, a hint of ruthlessness and impatience flashed in Voldemort's eyes. He decided to use a more dangerous, harder-to-control, but extremely destructive Dark Magic to create chaos and try to force Silas into a corner!

He raised his wand high, chanting ancient and evil incantations. Horrible flames, twisting like living creatures, surged from the tip of his wand!

"Fiendfyre!"

The orange-red flames ignited the moment they hit the ground, and like living beings with a hunger, they madly devoured everything around them—dry branches, fallen leaves, even damp tree trunks! The flames spread rapidly, transforming into the forms of fire dragons, snakes, and chimeras, letting out silent roars as they lunged at Silas. Even more terrifyingly, they were ravaging the depths of the Forbidden Forest!

Silas's face changed drastically, and he couldn't help but curse, "Voldemort! You damn idiot, setting fire to the forest will land you in jail! How many magical creatures are in this Forbidden Forest! Do you want to burn down all of Hogwarts?!"

Seeing the Fiendfyre spreading at an astonishing speed, if it wasn't stopped, not only would this ancient forest be destroyed, but the fire could even threaten the distant Hogwarts castle!

"Damn it!" Silas knew he couldn't hesitate any longer. He had to stop this disaster!

He suddenly knelt on one knee, pressing his hands heavily onto the ground, which was already scorching hot. The Vishanti magic within him surged madly with unprecedented intensity! He closed his eyes and fully unleashed the advanced Transfiguration and Dissipation spell he had only recently mastered:

"Lord of Hogus!"

A vast yet gentle golden energy spread rapidly outwards from him like ripples! Wherever the golden light passed, the violent, all-consuming dark blue Fiendfyre seemed to be influenced by a higher law, its destructive nature being forcibly reversed and purified!

However, transforming such a large area of Fiendfyre with extremely high energy levels was obviously countless times more difficult than dispelling a single attack. Fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on Silas's forehead, and his body trembled slightly due to the immense energy output. It took him nearly two full seconds—an eternity in a battle of split-second decisions—to barely complete this large-scale transformation!

The once ferocious, clawing dark blue fire beasts gradually collapsed and reformed, finally turning into countless dancing magical butterflies emitting soft golden light! These butterflies, transformed from Fiendfyre, no longer possessed any destructive power. They fluttered lightly over the scorched forest floor, creating a bizarre and beautiful scene.

The immediate crisis was averted, but Silas had also expended a great deal of energy due to this overloaded spellcasting, his breathing becoming somewhat disordered.

Voldemort watched his summoned Fiendfyre being resolved by the opponent in such an unbelievable manner, his face under the hood filled with shock and even deeper apprehension. The power this kid wielded was truly bizarre!

Meanwhile, Silas seized the opportunity to quickly adjust his breathing, his gaze locked firmly onto Voldemort. He knew he had to quickly deal with the source of this trouble, otherwise, the next time, the opponent might employ even more insidious tactics.

Silas had just forcibly transformed a large area of Fiendfyre with Lord of Hogus, his magic greatly depleted, and his breathing not yet recovered. Voldemort, clearly seeing his weakness, seized this opening without hesitation and raised his wand again, killing intent blazing in his eyes!

"Avada Kedavra!"

Another fatal green light, like an arrow loosed from a bow, pierced the air with a piercing sound and shot directly towards Silas's chest! This time, due to his brief exhaustion and distraction, Silas reacted a beat too late. It was already too late to gather the Ring of the Ragaddor for defense!

"Damn! I can't dodge it!" Silas's pupils contracted sharply, his internal alarm bells ringing!

At this critical moment, the Levitating Cloak that had been quietly draped over his shoulders, as if possessing its own will, suddenly yanked backward! A powerful pulling force acted on Silas, dragging him back by half a meter!

It was this crucial half-meter that caused the Killing Curse's green light to narrowly miss his chest, striking a large tree behind him. The tree trunk instantly turned black and lifeless!

[Did you forget about me?] A thought, tinged with pride and urgency, directly entered Silas's mind. It was from the Levitating Cloak! [Fly up, idiot! Get off the ground battlefield!]

The corner of the Levitating Cloak's collar suddenly lifted, like unfurled wings, and with a "whoosh," it carried Silas soaring into the sky, rapidly ascending and escaping Voldemort's direct line of fire!

Silas gasped for breath, still shaken, and patted his chest. "Thanks, old friend! I almost bought the farm!"

He looked down at Voldemort on the ground. The latter was looking up, his scarlet eyes filled with anger and a hint of disbelief—he hadn't expected Silas to have this kind of aerial ability!

The timely intervention of the Levitating Cloak not only saved Silas's life but also instantly changed the course of the battle! Silas gained the aerial advantage, allowing him to evade attacks more flexibly and strike from above. The initiative of the battlefield returned to his hands!

"Alright," Silas hovered in mid-air, stretching his wrists, his gaze sharpening again. "It's my turn to counterattack now."

With the aerial advantage, Silas held nothing back. He took a deep breath, sinking his consciousness into the recently unlocked power of the Dark Dimension. He formed a complex and bizarre hand seal in front of his chest, and a sinister purple-black energy converged and spun before him!

"Dark Dimension Summon!"

A portal, its edges flickering with purple arcs of electricity, its interior as black as ink, seemingly leading to an endless abyss, instantly opened before him! Eardrum-piercing roars and chaotic whispers emanated from within!

Immediately after, a gigantic, ferocious, pitch-black fire dragon, composed entirely of pure dark energy, roared out of the portal! It had no physical form, yet it exuded an aura of corrosion and destruction. It opened its massive maw and lunged towards Voldemort on the ground!

This was the first time Silas had used the power of the Dark Dimension in actual combat. Its might and malevolence seemed to freeze the very air!

Voldemort looked at the approaching dark fire dragon, his scarlet pupils suddenly constricting! He could feel the extremely high level of dark energy contained within this dragon, which even made him feel threatened! A direct confrontation would be unwise!

At this critical juncture, Voldemort made a move that left Silas dumbfounded!

Voldemort suddenly raised his hand—not with his wand, but with his free hand—and rapidly drew a familiar circle in the air, formed by golden sparks!

"Crackle—!"

A golden portal, almost identical to the Vishanti portal Silas used, instantly opened before Voldemort!

The next second, Voldemort stepped into the portal without hesitation, his figure vanishing instantly! The golden portal then quickly closed and dissipated after he entered!

The dark fire dragon missed its target, crashing into the ground and exploding in a burst of corrosive dark energy, carving a large pit into the earth. But having lost its target, it soon dissipated into black smoke.

Silas, suspended in mid-air, was completely stunned!

He stared intently at the spot where Voldemort had disappeared, his eyes wide, his jaw nearly dropping!

"What the... hell!" he couldn't help but curse, his voice filled with disbelief, shock, and absurdity. "What... what was that?! My portal?! How could he use my portal?!" His face looked like he'd eaten ten kilograms of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans.

This was outrageous! The Vishanti portal spell was his unique ability! It was granted by the System! It was achieved by combining his understanding of spatial theory from his past life with the magical rules of this world! How could Voldemort possibly know it too?! And that gesture, those sparks, that effect—they were almost identical to his own!

A terrifying thought flashed through Silas's mind: Had Voldemort somehow stolen his spell from somewhere?

Silas's heart sank to the bottom. Voldemort's mastery of spatial teleportation meant his movements would become even more elusive in the future, and his threat level would rise exponentially! Furthermore, the secret hidden behind this sent a chill down Silas's spine.

Although the battle in the Forbidden Forest had repelled Voldemort, Silas couldn't feel happy at all. The "matching" portal Voldemort had displayed at the end felt like a thorn, deeply embedded in his heart.

Silas hovered in mid-air, his mind racing, piecing together the clues:

1. He had sold the unused Suspended Ring to Borgin and Burkes. 2. Voldemort's fragmented soul desperately needed a means of rapid movement and concealment. 3. Borgin and Burkes' shop had all sorts of dark magic items and channels. 4. Voldemort had just used a spell extremely similar to the Vishanti portal, but it relied on an external object.

"So that's how it is..." Silas muttered to himself, the shock and confusion on his face gradually replaced by a look of dawning realization.

He was almost certain: Voldemort (or his new host) had somehow obtained that Suspended Ring from Borgin and Burkes, perhaps through threats, a transaction, or maybe old Mr. Borgin had offered it up willingly!

Having figured this out, Silas felt less worried and even found it a bit amusing.

He gently landed back on the ground, brushed off non-existent dust from his Levitating Cloak, and said to himself in a relaxed tone:

"Scared me for a second, thought he'd actually learned my unique skill... Turns out he just picked up my trash."

He knew the properties of the Suspended Ring better than anyone. That ring was essentially a powerful spatial beacon and a magic conductor, greatly reducing the difficulty and magic consumption required to open a stable portal. However, it had a major limitation:

"That thing, frankly, is just a high-level 'key'," Silas sneered. "It's useless for anything other than opening portals. It can't enhance attacks or improve defense."

As for Silas himself, he had long surpassed the stage of relying on the Suspended Ring. His portals were a manifestation of his own understanding of the Law of Space, a part of Vishanti Magic, and integrated with his own magic. The Suspended Ring had long been an obsolete auxiliary tool for him.

"Well," Silas stroked his chin, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes, "letting him think he's gained the same mobility as me might make him misjudge and become careless. Perhaps I can give him a 'surprise' next time we meet."

Although Voldemort's acquisition of teleportation abilities added a variable, Silas believed that an "imitator" relying on external objects could never compare to the true source power. The Suspended Ring in Voldemort's hands was, at best, a troublesome escape tool and did not pose a fatal threat.

"It seems I'll have to find an opportunity to 'get that ring back' in the future," Silas decided. "After all, littering is a bad habit."

Having figured out the key point, Silas no longer dwelled on it. He glanced at the forest floor ravaged by Fiendfyre and Dark Magic, shook his head, and turned towards the direction of the castle. The events of the night needed to be properly processed.