I Offer My Life (Bonus Chapter)
The wand glowed with a faint golden light, and the neighing of Thestral echoed from the void. Thousands upon thousands of fine black threads shot out from the tip of the wand, slowly wrapping around the entire blood sphere and finally covering its surface entirely in black.
The blood sphere began to vibrate violently, Skylar knew that Armand was launching a counterattack from within it.
Even though Skylar had gained the upper hand and the initiative, he dared not be careless. The difference in magical power between the two sides was too great. Without being able to use the Killing Curse, sealing the soul of an opponent whose magical power was dozens of times greater than his own was by no means an easy task.
He suddenly tightened his grip on the wand, increasing the output of his magic; sweat began to pour from his forehead.
Skylar gritted his teeth, not daring to relax even for a moment. If he could just hold on a little longer, once Armand's soul was sealed, Draco would transform back into his original physical body from the black mist. Then he could destroy the split soul inside the Horcrux, and everything would be fine.
Suddenly, the mirror stand on the small table beside the bed burst into light, shooting out a black beam that, with the sound of an arrow piercing the air, shot into the blood sphere.
The blood cell exploded in an instant, spraying blood all over the ground.
Armand had transformed into Draco's appearance and was now standing below where the blood orb had originally been.
"Impressive!" Armand said, panting. His expression was no longer as flippant as before, but much more serious and solemn. "We almost actually fell into your hands."
All our efforts were in vain!
Skylar transferred the wand to his left hand, then lowered his slightly sore right hand, gently waving it to relieve the tingling sensation in his wrist. He carefully sensed the remaining magic power within him and discovered that almost half of it had been depleted, a chill running down his spine. He then used his Magic Eye to examine his opponent; the opponent's magic power had been depleted even more than his own, but the total amount was still several times greater, causing another chill to run down his spine.
If magic power is measured by the Killing Curse, Armand has enough magic power to cast the Killing Curse at its full power three times, while he can only cast the Killing Curse at most once with a reduced power.
(Note: For comparison, Voldemort used five Killing Curse, one Silver Shield Transformation, one Fire Elemental Transfiguration, and several Apparition in succession during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.)
"Let me guess," Armand said with a sneer, as if he had guessed what Skylar was thinking. "You've already realized that your magic power is insufficient, haven't you? You can't use many powerful spells anymore, can you?"
"Enough with the nonsense!" Skylar, completely unaffected by Armand's veiled words, coldly replied, "In terms of magical power, you are undoubtedly stronger than me, but battles are not decided by the total amount of magical power—"
"I don't believe I'll be defeated by an ancient relic that's been dormant for hundreds of years! O mighty power of darkness, offer my life in exchange for my strength!" With that, Skylar's aura surged, and his magic power churned wildly, like the turbulent torrent of the Yangtze River.
"You're insane!" Even with Armand's composure, he couldn't help but be shocked by Skylar's madness. There was only one way to unleash such magical power—
Life Sacrifice Magic!
This magic involves sacrificing one's own life force and lifespan to maximize the compression and density of magical power within the body. Even within the realm of Dark Arts, this is a forbidden art, used only by the most fanatical dark wizards. Moreover, as far as he knew, these dark wizards had either consumed Unicorn blood, created Horcrux, or modified their bodies through Dark Arts.
These dark wizards may have to pay the price of having their souls cursed, but they also gain lifespans beyond that of ordinary people.
Such decisiveness as Skylar, risking his life without any backup plan, was unprecedented.
Skylar's magic had essentially returned to its peak, perhaps even surpassed it. He coughed up a mouthful of shocking blood, his face deathly pale, and said in a hoarse voice, "Dark Arts... isn't something you're the only one who can use!"
"Naive! Even if you regain your magic, do you think that will be enough to contend with me?" Although Armand was somewhat shocked by Skylar's decisiveness, he still forced himself to remain calm. After all, under the current circumstances, although the difference in their magic power was not significant, he still had the advantage in total magic power. In addition, Skylar's weakened body would inevitably affect his performance when casting spells and dodging.
The only hateful thing was that the body he wanted to obtain was destroyed because of Skylar's actions, which made him feel a surge of hatred.
"From the very beginning, to avoid causing even the slightest harm to your body, I could only use attacks targeting your soul, and therefore couldn't use my full strength. Since you're so eager to die, then I'll grant your wish now!"
"Soul-Rending Slash!" Armand roared, and a silver-white scythe materialized in mid-air, its blade imbued with a dark green, translucent aura, as if wielded by a malevolent spirit. The aura was somewhat similar to the "Grim Reaper" manifested by the Killing Curse under the Magic Eye, but much weaker, suggesting it was likely a derivative of the Killing Curse.
But Skylar was faster. He uttered "Thunder and Lightning," and a beam of white light shot out from the tip of his wand, striking Armand at almost the speed of light!
Skylar used Grindelwald's signature move, the "Lightning Curse," which is almost the fastest known magic. It can instantly paralyze the target upon contact, rendering them powerless to retaliate, while also inflicting physical pain similar to electric shock.
Armand was blasted away with tremendous force in an instant, crashing onto Draco's large bed and tumbling to the ground, the bed instantly shattering into pieces. But that wasn't all; as the bed shattered, white lightning bolts shot out in all directions, one of which struck the mirror shelf on the table, shattering the mirror into pieces as well!
At the same time, the silver-white scythe had already been swung in front of Skylar!
"Aquila!" Skylar shouted, and an eagle-shaped phantom materialized from behind Skylar's neck, transforming into a fleeting shadow that struck the scythe handle, deflecting the angle of the scythe's strike!
Skylar shifted his feet slightly to dodge, only to have the scythe lightly graz his left shoulder. A sizzling sound came from his skin, Skylar gasped in pain. This scythe could injure not only the body but also directly damage the soul!
"The outcome is decided!" Skylar raised his head, his eyes shining with an inexplicable light. His platinum-gold hair moved without wind, dancing lightly and revealing his smooth forehead.
First, a small, bright red rhombus appeared on her forehead. Then, as if it came to life, it extended into red lines, eventually transforming into a beautiful lotus flower in full bloom.
Skylar summoned Aquila with his mind. Aquila let out a shriek and conjured six clones, which clawed at the masks of the six men. At the same time as the summoning, Skylar multitasked. With his left hand, he cast a transformation spell on his wand, causing a swarm of thick, strong vines to spring up from the ground and rush toward two of the masked men. With his right hand, he drew a grunt symbol with his index finger. The symbol, meaning "judgment" (Teiwaz), transformed into a lightning -Winky spear and shot toward the remaining four men. The six masked men had never expected Skylar to be so powerful. One against six, while the two masked men, still entangled with Aquila's clones, were tripped by the vines and fell to the ground. The vines quickly snatched the wands from their hands, binding every inch of their bodies so tightly that they couldn't even move a finger.