The black spikes pierced Voldemort's body without the slightest resistance. It went so smoothly that Tris froze for a moment.
But in the next instant, Voldemort's body turned into a mass of black shadow and abruptly collapsed. The black spikes that had pierced him twisted together, solidifying into Voldemort's body once more.
"Shadow Magic? So that's how it works!" Voldemort gave an amused smile.
Tris's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
What Voldemort had just used was unmistakably Shadow Substitute, a Shadow Magic technique. It exchanged the body with its shadow, letting the insubstantial shadow take the damage.
Not only that, he had taken control of the Shadow Spikes, which were also made of shadows, and turned shadow into substance to reconstruct his body. That was clearly a Shadow Wizard's method.
Voldemort had shown no ability with Shadow Magic just moments ago, yet he had learned it after only two exchanges?
Tris had long known that the man's talent ranked among the greatest in history, but actually watching him grasp the essence of an obscure branch of magic in mere moments still left Tris's head buzzing.
Voldemort, meanwhile, looked as though he had found a new toy. With a slight flick of his wand, several pitch-black ropes rose beneath his feet and lashed toward Tris.
Shadow Binding.
But what a crude way to use it!
Although Tris was astonished by Voldemort's magical talent and how quickly he had grasped the principles of Shadow Magic, taking a branch of magic from its initial development to practical use required countless geniuses to refine, examine, and perfect it, little by little.
Even if Voldemort's extraordinary talent had allowed him to comprehend Shadow Magic at once inside the shadow mirror world, his methods were still far too crude compared with those of Tris,