I became Voldemort

Chapter 263: Bloody Hell!

"The most important thing in life is control!"

Cyrus was enveloped in blood-red hellfire, appearing like a flickering candle that might extinguish at any moment within the ghostly blue flames.

Yet, the fire wrapped around him like the petals of a rose yet to bloom.

Even the hide of a fire dragon could not withstand Grindelwald's Fire Shield. Cyrus's magical resistance was indeed impressive, but not to the extent that he could entirely ignore Grindelwald's magic.

The reason he remained unharmed by the flames was not because he had cast a Severing Charm. From the very beginning, a fire even stronger than the Fire Shield had already enveloped his body!

Bloody Hell!

This was a spell Cyrus had invented himself.

After deciphering numerous dark magic tomes, he based it on Fiendfyre, infused it with the flames of a red dragon, and added an evil component capable of summoning the dead to rise as infernal wraiths to attack.

At this moment, the flames were like a drop of blood falling into a clear spring—glaring and conspicuous beyond measure!

Amid the surging blue fire, Cyrus raised his wand high—

In the next instant, the crimson flames bloomed!
Whoosh!

From the spot where Cyrus stood, the flames erupted outward like a typhoon.

It was like a massive swimming pool had its plug pulled, forming a colossal vortex of flames!

In an instant, the hellfire devoured more than half of the Fire Shield. The flames, resembling a flood of blood, surged in all directions, filling every corner of the room and spilling beyond its confines.

To Grindelwald, it seemed as though a sea of corpses and blood was crashing down upon him.

He hastily stepped back, raising his wand. The blue flames surged high, forming an indomitable wall, like a cliff standing for millennia on the shore, enduring relentless waves.

Boom!

This was indeed the power of the legendary dark wizard.

Though Grindelwald's Fire Shield was somewhat lacking in offensive power, its defensive capabilities were unparalleled, as the name implied.

The once-wild and unrestrained blue flames now gathered tightly, encasing Grindelwald in a cocoon of fire that completely blocked Cyrus's hellfire.

Then, Grindelwald cast another spell, releasing immense power from his frail, aged body:
"Flame Severance!"

In an instant, the cocoon of flames surrounding him shattered!

The blue fire spread out like massive wings. Wherever the flames reached, Cyrus's hellfire bent low, like stalks of wheat bowing under a fierce gale.

Severance Charm.

A seemingly simple yet highly practical spell, especially the Flame Severance variation. It was also known by another name—

The Fire God's Path!

At this moment, Grindelwald appeared to embody the very god of fire. Neither Cyrus's flames nor his own could so much as graze him.

The fiery creatures Cyrus conjured were no exception. They crashed through walls, their heads burst through ceilings, and their fiery wings, like streams of molten lava, melted everything they touched. Yet, none of it could reach Grindelwald.

Only the searing gusts of heat stirred by the battle made his cloak billow dramatically.

This old charming man, standing amidst the inferno, tilted his chin toward Cyrus in a provocative gesture, his expression daring and mocking, as if to say Cyrus was still far too young.

"Your spell.. a powerful spell indeed," Grindelwald remarked, his tone laced with mockery. "But magic isn't just about brute force."

The little mustache on his face seemed to add to the infuriating effect of his words.

Yet, he wasn't entirely wrong.

Duels between wizards were rarely determined by sheer magical strength or the destructive power of their spells. Often, the wizarding world operated on principles of counterbalance and opposition.

For instance, the Severance Charm, or how a dangerous plant like Devil's Snare could fear something as harmless as light.

Cyrus responded with a cold, detached smirk, tugging the corners of his mouth into an icy semblance of a smile.

"I don't need you to teach me," Cyrus said coldly.

Grindelwald was about to retort about Cyrus's lack of respect for his elders, but before he could speak, his eyes reflected countless shadows.

From the depths of the hellish flames, countless withered arms emerged, pressing against the ground.

Grrrr

The fire seemed to form a gateway connecting the underworld and reality. Within the flames, swaying skulls began to surface one after another.

In an instant, thousands of short, grotesque creatures were born from the inferno. Their bodies wavered, shriveled and desiccated, like mummies weathered by millennia.

Grindelwald's pale eyebrows knitted together tightly, all traces of his earlier disdain and levity gone.

He had once conspired with Dumbledore to use the Deathly Hallows to mass-produce Inferi. How could he fail to recognize what these creatures were?

"So many Inferi..." Grindelwald gripped his wand tightly, his steps growing noticeably heavier. Yet, it wasn't the sheer number of Inferi that unnerved him most—it was their peculiar nature.

Typically, Inferi, as dark and malevolent magical creations, feared light and fire much like Devil's Snare. However, these Inferi, summoned by Cyrus, had emerged directly from the flames. This signified that the usual methods of dealing with them would no longer work.

Without hesitation, Grindelwald raised his wand toward the creatures at the forefront.

"Confringo!"

Bang!

The spell's power was far beyond what an ordinary wizard could muster.

Grindelwald cleared a vast area with a single spell!

The Inferi caught in the blast of his curse seemed to succumb to the force of time itself, crumbling into dust in an instant.

Yet, despite the effectiveness of his attack, Grindelwald's expression did not improve, because within the flames, the monsters surged forth endlessly, as if there were no end to them.

"Confringo!"

"Bombarda Maxima!"

"...!"

Grindelwald relentlessly unleashed spell after spell against the Inferi. The intensity of his magic was staggering, with each attack causing devastating explosions. The entire Ministry of Magic trembled under the force of his onslaught!

Meanwhile, Fleur and her allies, now firmly aligned, were still fighting their way through the challenges. The ground beneath them shook violently, and dust continually rained down from above.

"What on earth is going on? The shaking hasn't stopped since earlier!" Fleur exclaimed, nearly losing her footing as she clung to the wall for support.

"Perhaps they've started fighting," Cedric said gravely.

He didn't specify who "they" were, but it wasn't necessary.

Aside from the three of them, only three other competitors remained in the tournament after all.

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12 Advance Chapters—