Crack.
The image freezes.
Dumbledore, clutching a huge roasted wolf leg, his mouth dripping with oil, was arguing with Grindelwald about which piece of meat tasted better. Grindelwald, on the other hand, proudly held up a skewer of roasted snake meat.
As if showing off their spoils, the two Legend Wizard, in a primeval forest ten thousand years ago, ate with gusto, their mouths greasy like two children on a picnic.
This may also be a reconciliation.
"Not bad, not bad." Ian put away the device and nodded in satisfaction. These photos will definitely be treasured once we return to the correct Timeline.
After eating and drinking their fill, the three lay by the campfire, gazing at the increasingly dark sky.
In the distance, the silent volcano began to rumble with a low rumble. The ground trembled slightly, as if something enormous was awakening. Grindelwald suddenly sat up, gazing at the forest about to be destroyed, his heterochromatic eyes gleaming with eager anticipation. "Since there's still time, why not... go and practice?"
Dumbledore looked at him. "Practice?"
Grindelwald nodded. "Having just advanced to Legend, I haven't fully adapted to my newfound power. Perfect timing, here's a bunch of 'targets'—those ancient creatures—they're the best sparring partners."
He stood up and stretched his limbs:
"Besides, they'll all die in three hours anyway, so I might as well make the most of them."
Dumbledore frowned. " Gellert, this is not good. Those creatures are destined to die, but letting them die in a volcanic eruption is different from letting them die by your wand. We cannot actively take their lives."
Grindelwald turned around and looked at him, a hint of disdain flashing in his heterochromatic eyes:
" Albus, your kindness is meaningless at this time."
He pointed to the distant forest, his voice becoming impassioned:
"There are thousands upon thousands of creatures there. They'll be burned alive by the lava, suffocated by the volcanic ash, and shaken to death by the shockwave in three hours. It will be a long and painful death. But I—" He patted his chest, "Can kill them instantly, without any pain. Isn't that an act of mercy?"
Dumbledore stood up, met his gaze, and a resolute light shone in his azure eyes:
Whether we show mercy or not is not up to us. We have no right to choose how they die, much less the right to take their lives for our own "practice."
Grindelwald sneered, "So you're just going to watch them get burned alive by the volcano?"
"That was natural selection," Dumbledore said. "Not ours."
The two stared at each other, an invisible pressure filling the air. The pressure was so strong that even the surrounding campfire seemed to stunt.
Ian sat to the side, watching the scene with great interest. He had somehow pulled out that small device again, pointed the camera at the two of them, and started snapping photos incessantly.
"Stop arguing," he muttered under his breath. "This scene is too precious to miss; it must be recorded."
Dumbledore and Grindelwald both turned to look at him.
Ian, unfazed, laughed even harder, "Never mind me, you two carry on. I'm waiting to see two Legend fight." He raised the small device, aimed it at the two, and shouted excitedly:
"Let's fight! Let's fight! Let's fight!"
The childish voice echoed through the forest, filled with the excitement of watching a spectacle unfold.
Dumbledore:..."
Grindelwald..."
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the same thing in each other's eyes.
Speechless.
There was also a hint of... awkwardness.
They almost got into a fight just now. But after being egged on by a twelve-year-old, the fighting spirit vanished instantly. Grindelwald snorted and sat back down by the campfire. Dumbledore also sat down, picked up a cup of tea that he had somehow gotten his hands on, and took a small sip.
Disappointed, Ian packed up the device and sighed, "Not fighting anymore? I wanted to see what Legend fight was like."
Grindelwald glanced at him, a dangerous glint in his heterochromatic eyes. "Want to see us fight?"
Ian nodded, his face beaming. "Yeah, it'll definitely be amazing."
Grindelwald's lips curled into a subtle, knowing smile. He looked at Dumbledore, Dumbledore looked back at him. Then...
The two of them turned their heads at the same time and stared at Ian.
Those two gazes, as if they were tangible, fell upon Ian. One was a deep, gentle blue, like the ocean; the other was an unfathomable, sharp, and dangerous light. But at this moment, they carried the same meaning.
You want to see a fight?
Ian's smile froze on his face.
He suddenly had a bad feeling.
"You two..." he began with difficulty, his voice trembling slightly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Grindelwald stood up and stretched his wrists. Dumbledore also put down his teacup and slowly stood up.
The two walked toward Ian, one on the left and one on the right.
Ian's pupils contracted slightly. He instinctively took a step back, but there was a giant tree behind him, leaving him nowhere to retreat.
"What... what do you want?" His voice trembled. "I'm a twelve-year-old child! You can't bully a child!" Grindelwald sneered, "A twelve-year-old child? A twelve-year-old child can outmaneuver the two of us? A twelve-year-old child can use our dragon blood to cook spicy blood curd? A twelve-year-old child can be taking pictures so happily on the sidelines?"
Dumbledore, a smile so gentle it sent chills down one's spine.
" Ian, didn't you want to see a fight? We'll fight with you."
Ian's expression changed. He turned abruptly, wanting to run away.
But a hand grabbed his collar from behind.
Grindelwald's voice rang in his ears, tinged with a hint of mockery:
"Why are you running? Didn't you want to see a fight? Come on, we'll fight with you."
Ian struggled, but Grindelwald's hand remained firmly planted like an iron clamp. Looking at Dumbledore's gentle, smiling face, and then at Grindelwald's dangerous eyes, he finally realized...
They went too far.
"I was wrong!" he readily admitted. "I shouldn't have taken pictures! I shouldn't have egged them on! Professors, please forgive me!"
Grindelwald sneered, "Too late."
Dumbledore smiled, "It's too late to admit your mistake now."
Grindelwald strode toward Ian, Dumbledore approached slowly from the other side, both men's eyes gleaming with a dangerous, eager light.
Ian's smile froze on his face.
He instinctively took a step back, but behind him was the giant tree, leaving him nowhere to retreat. He watched the two Legendary Wizard approaching, his voice trembling:
"What... what do you want to do? I'm a twelve-year-old child! You can't bully a child!" Ian slapped his child card again.
It still didn't work.
Grindelwald sneered, his smile full of mischief, "A twelve-year-old? A twelve-year-old can use my Fiendfyre more skillfully than I can? A twelve-year-old can outmaneuver both of us? A twelve-year-old can be taking pictures so happily?"
Dumbledore, a smile so gentle it sent chills down one's spine. His azure eyes gleamed with a benevolent... no, a dangerous light. " Ian, didn't you want to see a fight? We'll fight with you. Perfect, we also want to test the power of Legend, and we need a... suitable opponent." Ian's pupils contracted slightly. He finally realized that stirring up trouble might feel good in the moment, but if the trouble turned on him, it wouldn't be the same. "I was wrong!" he readily admitted defeat, clasping his hands together in a pitiful expression. "Professors, please forgive me! I shouldn't have taken pictures! I shouldn't have egged them on! I'll never do it again!"
Grindelwald raised an eyebrow. "Too late."
Dumbledore smiled, "It's too late to admit your mistake now."
The two men flanked Ian, one on each side. The scene—two Legendary Wizard over a hundred years old surrounding a twelve-year-old child—looked exactly like school bullying.
However, just as Grindelwald's hand was about to touch him...
Ian suddenly opened his eyes.
In those deep eyes, all fear, panic, and pleas vanished. In their place, a light, almost insane, shone that was completely out of place with his age.
His lips slowly curled upwards, revealing a ferocious, dangerous, and chilling smile.
Are you sure?
The voice was no longer that of the child begging for mercy, but rather a deeper, more ancient, and more terrifying being. Grindelwald's hand froze in mid-air.
Dumbledore's smile froze slightly. Ian slowly straightened up. He was still the same twelve-year-old boy, barely reaching their chests, yet the aura emanating from him sent a shiver down the spines of both newly promoted Legendary Wizard. "You asked for it. You made me fight you," he said, his voice low and slow, tinged with an indescribable pleasure. "Don't blame me."
He raised his hand and waved it gently.
An invisible force surged from his palm, pushing Grindelwald and Dumbledore meters away simultaneously. The force was gentle yet irresistible, as if declaring—who was the true master here?
Grindelwald steadied himself, a flicker of shock crossing his heterochromatic eyes, which was quickly replaced by an even more intense fighting spirit.
Dumbledore's expression also turned serious, but beneath that seriousness burned a light of eager anticipation.
Ian walked to the center of the open space, took out the small device from his pocket, carefully placed it on a rock, adjusted the angle, and aimed it at the three people's location.
"Alright."
He clapped his hands, turned to look at the two, and his youthful face now displayed the composure and confidence of a true strongman. "Since we're going to fight, we need to leave a record. Are you two ready?"
Grindelwald looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips. In that smile were provocation, expectation, and a hint of... a disdain he himself didn't even realize:
" Ian, don't let us defeat you. Otherwise, this camera will be recording your own embarrassing history," Grindelwald said.
Ian tilted his head, a gesture that, combined with his current appearance, made him look like an innocent child. But his answer made the two Legendary Wizard hold their breath simultaneously.
"I have never lost."
His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable, almost absolute, confidence:
"Not now."
"Never again."
He paused, a serious glint in his deep eyes:
"I am none other than the Invincible West."
Well, it didn't last long before Ian's true nature was revealed.
Grindelwald paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. The laughter echoed through the forest, startling countless ancient creatures dwelling in the treetops. " The Invincible West? Fine! Fine! I'll see how you claim to be invincible!"
Dumbledore. In that smile were relief, expectation, and a complex emotion only he himself understood:
"Let's begin."
As soon as he finished speaking
Grindelwald has made his move!
He didn't get close, but instead raised his wand—the one he had taken from the Death Eater and which now completely submitted to him. A deep, abyss-like black light burst forth from the tip of the wand, and a thick Fiendfyre roared out!
That Fiendfyre was no ordinary flame, but a terrifying existence condensed to its extreme, capable of incinerating space! It transformed into a gigantic black dragon, opening its maw wide enough to devour everything, and pounced on Ian! Wherever it passed, the air twisted wildly, leaving a scorched trench in the ground! Ian stood still, not even raising his hand.
He simply watched the roaring black dragon approach, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Just as the black dragon was about to touch him...
He uttered a single word softly.
"Disperse."
It seemed like an inviolable iron law.
The next moment.
The enormous black dragon, capable of destroying everything, instantly disintegrated!
Countless black Fire Serpent scattered and flew, landing on the ground and burning deep, bottomless pits into the rocks, but none of them could get close to Ian!
Grindelwald's pupils contracted slightly.
But he didn't stop.
If the first strike misses, the second will follow immediately!
He waved his wand repeatedly, and streaks of Fiendfyre transformed into various forms— Dragon, Phoenix, giant wolves, and venomous snakes—rushing madly towards Ian from different angles and directions! That was Grindelwald's Fiendfyre magic, honed over half a century; each strike was enough to obliterate any being below the Legend level!
Ian remained standing in the same spot.
He didn't even move.
The Fiendfyre creatures that charged at him stopped simultaneously a foot away from his body. They weren't blocked, nor were they bounced off; they simply stopped.
They hovered in mid-air, struggling frantically, but unable to move forward even an inch.
Ian raised his hand and tapped it gently.
The Fiendfyre creatures instantly changed direction like obedient pets, rushing towards Grindelwald at an even faster speed than before! Grindelwald's expression changed, and he held his wand horizontally in front of him, instantly unleashing a jet-black barrier! The Fiendfyre crashed into the barrier, unleashing a deafening roar, and the shockwaves ripped layers of rock from the surrounding ground!
As the smoke cleared, Grindelwald knelt on one knee, panting heavily, his heterochromatic eyes filled with disbelief.
"How... is this possible?"
Ian looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips. There was no smugness, no mockery in that smile, only a calm, matter-of-fact composure. "Professor Grindelwald, your Fiendfyre is indeed powerful. But you've forgotten one thing—"
He raised his hand and gently beckoned. The scattered black Fiendfyre instantly surged into his palm like obedient pets, condensing into a fist-sized ball.
A fireball flickering with an eerie light.
"I learned the Fiendfyre from you, so I know you inside and out." He gently squeezed, and the fireball vanished instantly, as if it had never existed.
Grindelwald fell silent.
Just then, a golden light struck from the side!
Dumbledore made his move!
Instead of launching a series of attacks like Grindelwald, he chose a Compound Magic, that embodied all the knowledge he had acquired throughout his life. The Elder Wand traced a graceful arc in his hand, its tip bursting forth with dazzling golden light, which condensed in mid-air into countless intricate, swirling runes.