An Heirloom Weapon: One Shot, One Archmage

"That's a real shame." Voldemort's voice was calm, but everyone could sense that he was on the verge of exploding with rage. "Perhaps you'll only truly appreciate the value of immortality when your friends die before your eyes."

Upon hearing this, Aaron's expression changed drastically, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Avada Kedavra".

Three green spells shot straight at Cedric and his companions like lightning.

"Grass!"

Aaron cursed inwardly, no longer caring about hiding his abilities, and immediately stood in front of the three, forming a hand seal.

An orange-red Magic Array was instantly drawn, and concentric lines formed a cube-shaped Seraphim shield that enveloped the group.

The Killing Curse struck the Magic Array, splashing up green flames imbued with the aura of death.

The Killing Curse dissipated as points of light scattered, and Aaron took a few steps back, dispelling the Magic Array.

"Very interesting magic. I've seen it before. It can even withstand the Killing Curse," Voldemort said with interest. "It seems you've learned quite a few new things these past two days."

"Thank you for the compliment." Aaron shook his numb hands. "If you maintain a continuous output of magic, I can't last more than a few seconds either."

"Hmph!" Voldemort scoffed. "You want to protect them?"

"We can't just stand by and watch them get killed!" Aaron said helplessly.

"If you swear to serve me, I might be merciful and let them go; otherwise, you won't be able to protect yourself."

"Don't listen to him," Cedric said. "We don't want to die, but we know we absolutely cannot let you side with them."

Krum and Phoebe remained silent, simply gripping their Wand tightly to express their attitude.

"Ungrateful wretch," Voldemort scoffed, then gave a wink to a few Death Eater. "Just send a few men and kill those three. Mr. Gaius needs to experience the feeling of losing a friend."

"Wormtail, go and stop Mr. Gaius. Don't give him a chance to rescue the others. If necessary, teach him a lesson, but don't kill him."

"Yes, my master."

Peter Pettigrew shuddered, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

He had just sparred with Aaron. Although Aaron was young, he was a level above him in strength.

Voldemort's orders were simply unreasonable, but at this point, they had no choice but to comply.

"Master," Barty Crouch Jr. hesitated before interjecting, "Forgive my bluntness, Wormtail might not be a match for him."

"Of course I know, but I don't want to kill him yet."

His magic power has been largely depleted, so it wouldn't hurt to let someone test his abilities.

"The three of you, I can't be of much help in this situation. You'd better take care of yourselves." Aaron took a deep breath and faced Peter Pettigrew Peter.

"To be honest, I despise you the most. Maybe you'll only realize your mistake when you die."

"I... I don't need your approval," Pettigrew said Peter Pettigrew, then suddenly swung his Wand.

A crimson pillar of fire erupted forth. Aaron raised an eyebrow, making no move, letting the flames engulf his body.

"Flames are useless, Wormtail," Barty Crouch Jr. reminded him. "Gaius seems to have the ability to be immune to flames."

As soon as he finished speaking, Aaron swallowed the raging flames into his mouth.

It didn't taste very good, but it did help restore some of my strength.

"Stupefy!" Peter Pettigrew immediately changed to a different spell.

Aaron calmly waved his Wand, shooting out clusters of pale red orbs of light, and exchanged blows with Peter Pettigrew Peter.

The two seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding, and neither used any powerful spells, just like an ordinary Warlock duel.

And that was indeed the case. Peter Pettigrew had been tortured by Aaron with the Cruciatus Curse several times, and he had developed a fear of Aaron. He didn't want to confront him directly at all, and only wanted to stall him to finish Voldemort's mission.

Aaron was happy to act, partly to reduce the consumption of magic power, and partly to buy time.

As long as Jeans can bring his men over in time, his safety will be somewhat guaranteed.

However, the time to slack off was short-lived. From Aaron's perspective, Cedric and his two companions were being relentlessly attacked by three Death Eater, and their defeat or even death seemed to be just a matter of seconds.

"I guess I'm just unlucky." Aaron sighed, then cast a Sectumsempra Curse.

Peter Pettigrew's eyes widened instantly, and he frantically raised his Wand, barely managing to defend against the spell.

Damn it, they have no sense of martial ethics.

Just a moment ago it was the Sleeping Charm and the Stone-Slaying Curse, and in the blink of an eye it's the Shattering Charm. This leap is too sudden and unexpected.

The spells were connected, and the two began a contest of magical power.

Peter Pettigrew went all out, this time using the Shattering Charm, which, while not as torturous as the Cruciatus Curse, was far more powerful.

Aaron wasn't a freshman; there was no doubt about the destructive power of this curse. Even if he could mitigate some of its power, once hit, even if it wasn't a fatal wound, he would still have to stay in bed for a while.

Aaron gripped his Wand tightly in one hand, restraining Peter Pettigrew Peter, while his other hand was outstretched in mid-air.

"Change clothes."

A wine-red Magic Array appeared, and Aaron took out an exquisite Flintlock Pistol from it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three bullets were fired in an instant, their whistling sound piercing the air, and they arrived in front of the three Death Eater in a flash.

The magical bullets suppressed the hastily released magic of the three Death Eater, blasting them dozens of meters away before they transformed into three enormous fireballs in mid-air.

The phantom of the Phoenix vanished in a flash, and the flames from the explosion reached tens of meters high.

Three half-cooked Death Eater fell from mid-air, their panting indicating they were still alive, though they were exhaling more than inhaling.

Gollum! ×n

The sound of swallowing saliva rose and fell, and almost everyone stared in disbelief at the scene, even Voldemort was no exception.

Although those three Death Eater weren't particularly famous, the weakest of them was still Archmage, which would be considered elite in the Magic World.

These three elites lost their fighting ability in an instant, which was simply outrageous.

Aaron's face turned slightly pale. One-third of his magic power had been drained in an instant, which made it difficult for him to adapt for a while.

However, while he was in good condition, Peter Pettigrew was in even worse condition, seemingly still shaken by the gunshots and unable to recover.

Aaron made a quick decision and immediately increased the output of magic power.

The blue ball of light blasted the Peter Pettigrew away, and the tearing pain in his body caused him to let out a shrill scream.

"Useless, this is the second time." Barty Crouch Jr. shook his head speechlessly. "Maybe more than twice."

"Is that a Muggle weapon?" Voldemort asked with interest. "No, that's not right. I sense a vast amount of magical power."

A purely offensive magical weapon, it compresses a large amount of Magical Energy and then enhances its power in a special way, unleashing power surpassing that of the Warlock Mizuki.

"As expected of Voldemort, he sees things very clearly."

However, this gun has a limit to the amount of magic it can hold; it can only effectively target Archmage, and its effectiveness against Grand Archmage will be greatly reduced.

"Where did you get this weapon?"

"It's an heirloom, made by my Argus Gaius using countless rare materials. The gun is called 'The Lycoris'," Aaron said frankly. This was the absolute truth, and how others interpreted it was none of his concern.

Voldemort raised an eyebrow and flicked his Wand slightly.

The Lycoris trembled violently, slipping from his grasp and striking Voldemort's flying sword.

"Return."

The Lycoris immediately quieted down, freed from the Dark Lord's curse, and flew back into Aaron's hand.

"This is a famous artifact of the Gaius family. Once it came into my hands, I became its master. No one else can use it without my authorization."

"A good insurance measure," Voldemort sneered.

"Aaron, just now... I think I saw Phoenix." Harry asked tentatively, his expression strange, "Could it have been Fawkes?"

Aaron shrugged. "The Phoenix is a powerful Magical Creatures, much stronger than the likes of Unicorn. The magical energy extracted from its feathers can enhance the power of bullets to some extent."

Harry's lips twitched involuntarily. "You really should have plucked a few more feathers back then."

Phoebe seemed to remember something, her expression enigmatic. "I remember you bought a box of Fantastic Beasts feathers from Hagrid, right? You weren't going to use them all to make bullets, were you?"

"How many bullets do you have?" Cedric asked in a low voice, a glimmer of hope rising in his heart. "Fire them all at once. If we use them all, we might..."

"Stop daydreaming." Aaron poured cold water on his hopes. "The power of this gun is determined by the Magical Energy infused into it by the wielder. Enchanted bullets are just icing on the cake."

I went all out with those three shots just now, and it took a lot of magic power to barely reach the attack level of Grand Archmage.

There are dozens of Death Eater here. Even if we drained all four of our magic, we wouldn't kill a third of them. Besides, Voldemort wouldn't just stand by and watch his minions die.

"That means we can only struggle desperately, and even that depends on the You-Know-Who's mood," Krum said with a gloomy expression.

"Don't say such blunt truths." Aaron was speechless, then took a deep breath. "If you're willing to believe me... hang in there, maybe there'll be a way out."

"Is this supposed to be a consolation?" Phoebe smiled bitterly. "But it's not convincing at all. It seems like we're doomed to die no matter what."

"Don't drag me into this," Aaron said. "There's a good chance you'll all die. At most, he'll beat you half to death and then lock you up somewhere."

"Have you finished discussing?" Voldemort asked lazily. "Gaius, we're practically acquaintances now. Every time, aside from the unpleasant moments, you've surprised me. I hope you'll have even better performances to come."

As soon as he finished speaking, three more Death Eater stepped out from the ranks.

Aaron blinked and swallowed hard.

"You really have to watch yourselves this time. I'm afraid I don't have the magic to fire another round."

The group exchanged glances and nodded, their expressions becoming increasingly solemn.

"Tell Mr. Gaius to be careful not to kill him."