By then, part of Voldemort's cloak had been shredded, exposing a body as hideous as a stitched-together monster.
Voldemort no longer used a wand to cast magic.
He had become a melee mage outright. Black markings wreathed his monstrous body, which was covered in black-red scars and tumors, and every movement carried twisted dark energy.
After several exchanges with Voldemort, Tom had been forced entirely onto the defensive. Voldemort was no weaker when it came to manipulating the water element.
Every powerful attack Tom unleashed was easily neutralized. He could only coil countless Snake-Head Chains into shields, buying time while he thought of another way to kill his enemy.
With a savage look on his face, Voldemort kept smashing through layer after layer of chain shields with dark energy.
Having sensed him at close range, Shawn finally understood what was going on with Voldemort.
"He's actually using an Obscurus's body!"
Shawn had only learned a little about Obscuruses from books.
After the International Statute of Secrecy had been established, Obscuruses-twisted manifestations born of a wizard's extreme emotional repression-had proliferated for a time.
Shawn narrowed his eyes and brushed the Seventh Harp String. An Orange-Red Ribbon flew toward Voldemort.
This was Finite Incantatem.
Shawn had never researched how to counter this mutated magical energy, so he did not know the proper method.
He wanted to first test whether an Obscurus's magical energy still fell within the bounds of normal magical energy.
The orange ribbon arrived in an instant, striking the dark energy wreathing Voldemort.
Finite Incantatem and the Obscurus's energy did not explode on contact. Instead, they dissolved each other, though the effect was negligible.
Voldemort had been merrily hammering away at the shields when he abruptly looked up, stretching his hideously long mouth into a vicious grin at Shawn.
Then