Awen looked far older than before. Even after thinking it over, he still could not make up his mind.
"I... I'm not sure. After all, Shawn looked far too composed in that final glance."
But their doubts did not last long before cold reality slapped them awake: news had arrived from elsewhere.
They looked up at the Thunderbird that had been wailing just moments earlier, only to see it flying into the distance in high spirits.
Both Legendary Wizards had trained themselves to remain unshaken by almost anything. Their emotions rarely fluctuated so wildly.
Yet now, they wanted nothing more than to vomit mouthfuls of blood.
If they could not kill Shawn even after paying such a heavy price and playing their trump cards, then the Double Serpent Society really was doomed.
Awen was far more calculating. After venting his anger for a while, he spoke to reassure Poseidon-and himself.
"Whew. Don't lose heart. We still have a chance.
Perhaps the Life-and-Death Arena Soya proposed is the only way to kill Shawn for good."
As the fighting at Ilvermorny ended, the chaos elsewhere gradually subsided.
In Italy in particular, amid Tom and Edward's cordial exchanges of "You're doing well" and "So am I," neither side had lost a single soldier.
As for Hephis, whom Grindelwald had beaten half to death, what did he have to do with them?
Elsewhere, as reinforcements for the Double Serpent Society steadily increased, England also issued orders to retreat.
Overall, however, this battle had been an overwhelming victory for Shawn's camp.
They had not only eliminated the Scourers' source of Obscurus troops, but also launched a lightning assault on France and wiped out more pure-blood families secretly supporting the Double Serpent Society.
Even the lesser allies who had joined the offensive reaped considerable benefits. Russia's