Duel!

The scene was as if they had fallen into an icy lake. Grindelwald, who was giving an elegant greeting, Dumbledore, whose face was full of frost, and everyone engulfed in flames felt a chill rise from the bottom of their hearts.

Sean's breathing quickened slightly. Dumbledore wouldn't have shown such anger and solemnity over a mere fire at the Aiken family residence in Paris.

Grindelwald must have done something else!

For example, more fires...

Grindelwald withdrew his right hand, which he had been gesturing to his chest with, but his pleased expression remained.

"Don't be so serious, my old friend. Didn't you expect this before you stood here?"

Anger blazed in Dumbledore's eyes. "That's human life! And beyond human life, the entire Wizarding World will be thrown into chaos!"

"Unrest?" Grindelwald raised an eyebrow. "Do you need to consider that? The greatest unrest is right before your eyes."

"Grindelwald ..."

"Not calling me Gellert? Tsk, tsk," Grindelwald casually rubbed his wand. "You should have faith in them. After all, those families' greatest strength is—survival. And do you know how difficult it is to combine Hypnosis Charm and Fiendfyre Curse? I even had to add a distance-insensitive Delayed-Action Curse, and I couldn't reveal it. I had to give up some of the power, so I guess I could only burn a few people. What a pity, Albus, neither of us is strong enough."

Dumbledore was ashen. "How long have you been studying this spell?"

"Don't you understand?" Grindelwald raised the corners of his mouth. "Of course I've studied it for a long time. Of course, it was just studying. I didn't make up my mind to go find those idiots back then—but they helped me make the decision and gave me the opportunity."

Sean's pupils contracted sharply; he knew what Grindelwald was talking about.

Last time, when he was unconscious in the Slytherin Common Room for nearly a week, Grindelwald went to cause a lot of trouble for the Pure-blood families. Sean initially thought it was just them venting their anger, but now it seems that Grindelwald not only went to cause trouble, but also had a backup plan!

Grindelwald continued, "Why be angry, Albus? You and I both thought we trusted each other, but now it seems we are neither wronged nor have the right to be angry—ha, does that lessen your guilt a little?"

Dumbledore; he simply raised his wand silently.

Grindelwald laughed even more heartily, "Come on, come on, my old friend!"

The two pointed their wands at each other almost simultaneously!

Instantly, the massive surge of magical energy made it difficult for Sean to breathe.

The towering waves of fire collided with the harsh ice, suppressing the original demonic flames and rain curtain, leaving the sky filled with mist.

Splattered ice shards and flying sparks rained down on every corner of Père Lachaise Cemetery, with violent explosions constantly erupting in the air, almost completely obscuring the figures of the two men.

"Boom!" After an explosion far more violent than before, a cloud of mist rose up, and two old figures Rewind of the white mist.

These two old men are too weird! Sean crouched down to avoid falling due to the violently shaking ground.

He looked up at the sky, and Grindelwald and Dumbledore exchanged a glance after stepping back. Then, another chilling spell shot out from the tip of the staff.

Dazzling lights and violent explosions continued to occur, and the battle became increasingly intense.

They would never dodge each other's spells; they would either use spells to defend themselves or retaliate in kind. All sorts of dazzling spells didn't need to be recited or unleashed; spells that could shatter the entire ground were as commonplace as the Lighting Charm in Sean's hand.

It seemed that the clash of powerful spells could not determine a winner, so Grindelwald changed tactics first. He waved his wand, and the mud that was originally under Dumbledore's feet twisted and shaped, and a huge Knight's Lance thrust straight up from below.

But the Knight's Lance began to crumble halfway through its flight, and the falling mud transformed into strange insects with sharp mouthparts in mid-air, filling the sky with the "whooshing" sound of their flapping wings.

The strange insect rushed toward Grindelwald at incredible speed, its black mouthparts gleaming coldly in the night fire.

Grindelwald laughed wildly, gripped his wand and lashed the air with all his might. A terrifying scene unfolded: the insect army that had been targeting Grindelwald suddenly swelled up, their metallic black carapaces emitting a horrifying creaking sound, as if a tremendous force within the insects was forcefully twisting their joints.

The strange insect, now a size larger, trembled and turned its head, lunging at Dumbledore with even greater frenzy.

Dumbledore was not to be outdone; more dirt and stones flew into the air, transforming into giant, hardened eagles that then flew toward the insects and tore them apart.

The fallen insect shells and limbs revert to their original forms, then float and twist again, continuously forming even more ferocious and insane creatures.

In the world today, the two most powerful wizards in the Transfiguration constantly wield their wands, manipulating creatures, weapons, puppets, and all sorts of advanced Transfiguration with ease.

It's not just about advanced applications of Transfiguration; their skills have returned to simplicity. They don't pursue elaborate spells, and the things Transfiguration into have only two uses: offense and defense.

They can Transfiguration enormous Stone Giant to unleash their fists, or they can conjure ordinary stone walls to withstand impacts. With each spell cast, each swing of their wand, it seems...

It seems that his only intention was to kill the person opposite him, with no other thought in mind!

Sean's breathing grew heavier and heavier. He gritted his teeth and stared intently at the two duelists, feeling only powerlessness and confusion in his heart.

He had absolutely no idea why things had turned out this way.

What were Dumbledore's reasons for doing this?

He considered whether he should be born to stop the two of them, but after a moment's thought, all that remained in his mind was sorrow—the two of them would never listen to his advice.

The only person who could advise Grindelwald Dumbledore, and the only person who could advise Dumbledore was Grindelwald.

However, Sean still held a glimmer of hope, because they were only using their own wands.

Without the duel in 1945, the Elder Wand should still be in Grindelwald's hands, but Sean doesn't know what happened afterward; the Elder Wand may have been transferred to Dumbledore.

However, one thing is certain: the Elder Wand is still in the hands of these two. The fact that neither of them has taken out the Elder Wand suggests that there might still be a chance for this duel to turn around.

At least they didn't go all out to kill the person on the other side.

"Sean!" A voice called out in my ear.

Sean turned his head and saw Newt, who had been in another corner, moving towards him under the cover of demonic flames.

Newt is highly skilled and experienced with Grindelwald's methods. With Grindelwald's attention mainly focused on Dumbledore, he was able to move quite difficultly through the sea of fire.

I need to go help out and find out what's going on... Sean's eyes darted to the side and back. He waved his wand and released magical flames again, pretending that his fire circle could create a path as he walked out.

The wizards inside the fire circle stared in astonishment at the sight. They had many guesses about the special nature of this second-year student. Some wanted to follow, but were forced back by Grindelwald's magical flames.

Sean didn't want the Guard Corps to hear his conversation with Newt, nor did he want to reveal that he was immune to Grindelwald's flames, so he just kept waving his wand and moving around in a pretentious manner.

Grindelwald's deep blue flames licked at Sean, just like his own demonic flames, neither scorching nor aggressive, gentle as a breeze.

He feigned difficulty as he moved to Newt's side, then chanted the incantation for Protego Diabolica again, and a smaller circle of shield enveloped the two of them.

"Phew, thanks a lot, Sean." Newt sighed in relief, stretched his shoulders, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Professor Scamander, are you alright? What happened? I..." Sean asked impatiently, but then shut his mouth.

The Newt standing before him was his first love, and also his sister-in-law, Leta Lestrange, who had died right here. He and Grindelwald had always harbored a deep-seated hatred for each other...

Sean lowered his head in shame; he had almost questioned her.

Newt glanced at him and sighed deeply, "I've been burned by this fire once before, so why are you pretending with me? This curse isn't an umbrella that you can walk under, is it? Grindelwald's flames can't hurt you, right?"

"Yes..."

"Sigh..." Newt sighed again, even swearing for once, "Bullshit...it's unbelievable, I was hoping you would come to my class next semester, but you became Grindelwald's student first."

"I..."

"Alright, you didn't do anything wrong, and you don't know what happened back then. Why would I hate you because of your family?" Newt gave a gentle smile, then looked up at the sky with a sigh.

"You want to ask me why I'm standing here?"

Sean neither spoke nor nodded.

Newt gave a bitter smile, "I do hate Grindelwald, and my feud with him will never be resolved. But—what happened back then is a done deal. Perhaps I will take my revenge after he steps down as principal of Grindelwald, but not now."

"Then?" Sean's tone became serious.

Newt glanced at him and then nodded. "Dumbledore made me do it."

"But why? I don't understand Professor Dumbledore's thinking." Despite the facts being right in front of him, Sean still found it hard to accept.

"I don't understand either. Dumbledore always has his own ideas. He's too smart and has too many ideas, while I—" Newt looked at Sean, whose face was full of wrinkles and spots, but whose eyes were unusually bright, "I always trusted him."

Sean let out a long breath, unsure how to calm himself down.

Above them, two of the most powerful wizards of the time were locked in fierce combat, with spells clashing and Transfiguration creatures tearing and roaring.

Right above their heads.

Sean felt a sense of unreality, as the spells above collided and exploded, like fleeting fireworks.

Newt suddenly sighed, "Child..."

A bad feeling rose in Sean's heart.

Newt straightened up, his eyes still bright. "I have always trusted Dumbledore."

He pulled out his wand, and a dazzling spell flew toward Grindelwald!

"Professor!" Sean urged urgently, "You shouldn't interfere!"

"Let them fight a fair fight? No, Sean, I'm here to help Dumbledore arrest Grindelwald," Newt said, casting spells continuously.

In the sky, Grindelwald instantly summoned a red mirror, which absorbed the spell Newt had shot at it, but the mirror surface was also fluctuating violently.

He glanced down, gave a provocative smile, then turned back to focus on dealing with Dumbledore, ignoring Newt's spell.

Newt made no other statement, but kept casting spells that struck the red mirror and were absorbed, causing the mirror's surface to ripple more violently.

"Professor..." Sean was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

If Newt doesn't intervene and lets these two old rivals fight it out, there might be a chance for things to turn around later. But the Newt before us is no ordinary Auror; aside from the two terrifying old men, his strength is second to none in the Wizarding World today.

The key question is what Grindelwald thinks? Dumbledore betrayed him, and he retaliated in kind. In Sean's view, this was actually a way to even things out, which also meant that there was still room for negotiation in the heart of this proud old man, Grindelwald.

But if Newt joins... Grindelwald and Newt really don't get along!

The fear is that Grindelwald might really go crazy, in which case there would be no room for maneuver.

But he couldn't very well attack Newt, could he? Newt was a victim of Grindelwald's attack, and he had even received a lot of care and guidance from him.

Newt seemed to read his mind, calmly casting a spell as he said softly, "Sean, you're a good boy. If I were constantly in the demonic flames, I wouldn't have the energy to cast any more spells. Your fire circle can protect me, which is the best proof that you trust me. I'm sorry, I took advantage of that."

Sean lowered his head. "No, Professor, quite the opposite, this proves your trust in me..."

"It feels better to trust each other, but," Newt gave an apologetic smile, "I know you won't remove this ring of fire and put me in danger, but I still have to help. Dumbledore needs my help."

"No, Professor." Sean glanced anxiously at the red mirror in mid-air, which was becoming increasingly unstable, while Grindelwald was completely absorbed in his fierce duel with Dumbledore and did not look at it again.

"Wouldn't it be better to let them solve it themselves?"

Newt didn't say anything more, but continued casting spells.

The already intense battle intensifies further with the addition of another force.

The red mirror beside Grindelwald had become blurred. As he waved his wand and cast a spell, he narrowed his eyes and said, "Albus, I must say, I'm in a terrible mood right now."

Dumbledore lashed the air with his wand without saying a word.

Newt continued to cast spells under Sean's impatient gaze.