Radio Waves Are Waves Too
The five masked men on the island had just recovered from the attack when they saw three fiery behemoths rushing towards them.
The leader and another masked man instantly Apparition, their bodies contorting in the air before vanishing.
The other three didn't have time to react and were engulfed by the flames.
One of them attempted to Apparition, his body becoming transparent, but the space itself burned as the Fiendfyre surged forward.
His body was struck by flames the instant he disappeared; half of it was gone, while the other half remained in place.
One half turned to ashes in an instant, and the other half couldn't escape either. Apparition requires a complete body, and severed limbs cannot be reassembled.
The other two struggled in the flames.
The Shield Charm expanded, one second, two seconds, and shattered.
The Slowing Charm had no effect.
The incantation struck the Fiendfyre like a piece of paper thrown into a bonfire.
One of them suddenly sank downwards, his body disappearing into the rocks and burrowing into the ground.
But the Fiendfyre burned down through the cracks in the rocks, and the sound of the man burning came from underground before quickly disappearing.
Finally, the person was completely engulfed by the flames, leaving nothing behind.
The Fiendfyre spread across the island, devouring everything in their path.
Architecture, reefs, air, Magic Power.
The flames grew hotter, brighter, and more violent.
The Giant Serpent twisted into a pillar of fire, the Fire Dragon exploded into a sea of fire, Chimera scattered into countless Mars, only to reassemble itself.
The entire island was engulfed in flames.
Regulus held up his wand and could feel a connection between himself and Fiendfyre, the most fundamental link between the Spellcasting and the spell.
But the sensation he felt from that connection was very difficult for him.
The Fiendfyre roared, expanded, and devoured everything in its path.
Its message was simple: more, bigger, stronger.
The urge to devour everything was completely out of control, now displaying its rage, and it surged through the connection, assaulting Regulus's mind.
He is still maintaining it.
He continuously channeled his Magic Power and suppressed his will, wanting to subdue the Fiendfyre, to keep it burning within a controllable range, and to make it act according to his will.
But it couldn't be suppressed.
The fiery behemoths had completely escaped his control; they ravaged the island, devouring each other and splitting into even more.
Those once delicate and lovely birds have now become synonymous with destruction.
Regulus held on for a few seconds, then he gave up.
He severed the Magic Power output, retaining only the most basic connection, allowing him to sense the state of Fiendfyre, but no longer attempting to control it.
The Fiendfyre was still burning, burning very fiercely.
Regulus and Freya hovered in mid-air, silently watching the island.
The sun was shining brightly, the sea was a deep blue, and the small black island in the distance was now completely covered by orange-red flames.
Flames shot upwards, licking the sky, while thick smoke billowed, obscuring half the heavens.
The heatwave could be felt even fifty meters away, and the sea breeze carried the smell of burning, mixed with something indescribable, like the aftermath of Magic Power fire.
Freya turned her head to look at Regulus.
He sat astride his Broomstick, wand hanging at his side, his gaze fixed on the Burning Island.
His face was expressionless; he showed no excitement, no tension, and no fatigue.
She remembered the three little birds he had just released—so small, so delicate, so adorable.
Then it turned into that appearance.
She recalled the unseen spell that instantly turned the two masked men to ashes, and the three adorable little birds that engulfed the entire island in flames.
She looked at the island; the flames were still burning, and she didn't know how long they would continue.
Regulus, however, was thinking about the two masked men who had just vanished in Apparition.
The leader ran away, and the other one ran away too. That's not surprising; opponents of that caliber aren't easy to keep alive.
But he wasn't worried; if they ran away, so be it.
They knew what had happened on the island, and they knew what his Magic was like.
He turned his head to look at Freya again; the blue flames were still swirling, contrasting with the orange sea of fire in the distance—one place was quiet, the other raging.
They should know who she is by now.
If they're smart, they'll stay away; if they're not...
Regulus snapped out of his thoughts.
This wasn't the first time he had used Fiendfyre; he had been practicing it since the Easter holidays, almost four months now.
Now, the Fiendfyre Bird he tamed can even interact with the Starry Sky Kite like real living creatures, remaining unmoved even when touched.
His control over the Fiendfyre had reached a remarkably refined level.
But the sea of fire before them was a completely different matter from the three little birds.
Those once delicate and lovely birds are now rampaging across the island, devouring each other and splitting into even more.
The flames were so hot that they melted the rocks, and black lava flowed down the island's slopes into the sea, stirring up white steam.
Regulus looked down at his hands, then at the sea of fire.
Asking him to build an island in the sea is something he definitely couldn't do; even ordinary wizards couldn't do it.
That is creation, that is building, that is creating something from nothing.
But if it's simply destruction, annihilation --
He thought about it and realized that it seemed ordinary wizards couldn't do it.
But if it's simply destruction, annihilation --
He thought about it and realized that it seemed ordinary wizards couldn't do it.
But the island before them had been burned and sunken, and everything on the ground was gone.
The buildings, the reefs, and the masked men who hadn't escaped—they were all gone.
All that remained was a burning, scorched earth and molten black lava.
It possesses immense power, but it is not under his control; in fact, it could be said to be completely out of control.
Regulus stared at the Fiendfyre, his thoughts a jumbled mess.
From the day he started practicing Fiendfyre, he knew it was dangerous.
Orion had warned him, the notes in the family Library had cautioned him, and he remembered Crabbe's fate in the original story.
He thought he had it under control, that he could practice within safe limits, and that he could use it in a controlled manner.
But when it was truly released, when it truly faced a living enemy, when it truly allowed the Fiendfyre to devour everything, it still lost control.
The birds flew thirty meters away and then escaped his control. They swelled, split, and exploded, becoming things he couldn't control.
He could only watch helplessly as he cut off the Magic Power output and waited for it to burn out on its own.
The Second Form of the Severing Charm is indeed powerful, and this time it has been thoroughly verified, fully meeting expectations and even exceeding them.
But there's a problem.
The leader and the other masked man reacted extremely quickly.
From the release of the Second Form of the Severing Charm to the erection of the Shield Charm, no more than 0.2 seconds elapsed.
In such a short time and at such close range, they were able to react and take defensive action.
The speed of sound is fast; a distance of fifty meters takes 0.15 seconds.
But for an opponent of that caliber, 0.15 seconds is enough to do a lot.
Regulus wondered, if sound waves could be avoided, what about Electromagnetic Wave?
Electromagnetic Wave waves travel at 300,000 kilometers per second, which is nearly 900,000 times faster than sound waves.
A distance of fifty meters takes less than one two-millionth of a second—a time that no wizard could react to.
UK has its own wizarding radio network, headquartered in Hogsmeade, which broadcasts from morning till night, covering the entire country. Wizards have been listening to it since childhood, and it is a common occurrence for them.
Regulus wasn't sure if the system was driven by radio waves or pure Magic, but for it to allow all the Magic Radio in the country to receive the signal simultaneously, it must have the properties of radio wave propagation.
Could he perhaps modify the Severing Charm again?
Sound waves are waves, and Electromagnetic Wave are also waves.
If the medium through which the Severing Charm propagates is changed from sound waves to Electromagnetic Wave, then no one can truly escape this spell.
Regulus fell into deep thought.
Freya noticed that his gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if he were looking at the flames, or as if he wasn't looking at anything at all.
She was lost in thought for a while just now.
She simply obeyed and Fire Shield Charm; the remaining two attacks were carried out by Regulus.
The results far exceeded expectations.
In her opinion, even if the fighting wasn't on the enemy's territory, even at sea, it shouldn't be this easy.
Abyssal Whisper excel at naval warfare; their movement speed increases on the sea surface, and their spells become more powerful, making them true experts in naval combat.
But today, from beginning to end, those seven masked men didn't even have a chance to make a move.
The first Severing Charm turned both into ashes.
The second wave of Fiendfyre killed three of the remaining five, and two escaped.
The two who ran away did so because they reacted quickly enough to Apparition.
She had to admit that this boy was powerful enough on his own, just by virtue of the Severing Charm he had developed.
She glanced at the still-burning Fiendfyre and recalled the scene she had witnessed yesterday.
A small orange-red bird perched on his shoulder, gazing at the silver-white Patronus.
The Patronus stretched out its wings to touch it, but recoiled as if burned, and remained motionless.
Someone who can tame Fiendfyre to that extent will eventually be able to completely control it.
She had no doubt about it.
Freya maneuvered her Broomstick and stealthily approached Regulus.
He was still lost in thought and didn't notice her.
She twirled the Broomstick's tail and gently nudged him.
Regulus's Broomstick wobbled.
He snapped out of his daze, straightened the Broomstick, and looked at Freya.
Freya's face showed some expression now; she frowned slightly and pursed her lips, looking somewhat dissatisfied.
"You did my work."
Regulus stared at her expressionlessly; he sensed she was looking for trouble.
She just said it herself: revenge, going all out. Now that he's done the work, why is she pulling this stunt again?
Freya felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze.
She subtly moved the Broomstick aside, as if trying to avoid his gaze.
Regulus watched her little gesture, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
He had long noticed that when this witch was acting with righteous indignation, her gaze was always direct and unfiltered; she would look wherever she wanted and say whatever she wanted.
But if I feel even a little guilty or uncomfortable, I'll look away.