As Bagman spoke, Norbert, who had just arrived, stretched his wings in response. His long, vicious-looking back was covered in sharp spikes that looked like sharp blades in the sunlight.
Perhaps disturbed by being surrounded by so many wizards, the Norwegian Ridgeback opened its mouth full of sharp teeth and let out an intimidating roar. With a casual flick of its massive tail, it smashed a nearby boulder.
Norbert's demonstrative actions and display of aggression caused the young wizards watching to break out in cold sweat for Ivan.
The thrilling escape of the three brave warriors from the dragon's mouth was still fresh in everyone's mind, and everyone was curious as to how Ivan would get his hands on the golden egg.
To their surprise, Ivan did not make any preparations. He simply strode towards the dragon's lair as if he were there to receive his prize rather than face a dragon.
Even bystanders like them could feel his irreverent attitude, let alone Norbert!
Infuriated, the dragon went berserk, its yellow-orange eyes glaring at Ivan.
As the distance between the man and the dragon closed, the blond wizard seemed to become more serious. He raised his wand slightly.
"Oppugno ~ (10,000 bullets fired)"
The debris on the ground seemed to have been guided as they floated up and transformed into sharp stone spears…
However, Ivan's attack was more than that. He waved his wand again, this time with the Amplification Charm. Almost a third of the stone spear rapidly expanded to the size of a human head and flew towards the dragon with extraordinary speed.
"Our last champion has finally made his move! Is he preparing to confront the dragon head-on? It can't be! I think Krum has shown us the full extent of the consequences! No wizard can stand alone against a full-grown dragon, no one!"
Bagman, the commentator, screamed at the top of his lungs, raising the students' nerves.
Karkaroff was the only one who wasn't happy with Bagman's speech, and immediately tried to defend Krum, but the others simply ignored him, their eyes fixed on the middle of the hunting ground.
However, they soon realised that it would not be easy to deal with a dragon. Norbert's massive tail swept across the area, reducing a large number of stone spears to dust.
However, there were simply too many of them, and even the thick dragon scales were unable to completely block out the damage. It was as if they had suffered a heavy blow, and they were forced back several steps. Their huge bodies writhed wildly as they let out cries of pain.
Then, perhaps because he was too eager to protect the dragon egg, Norbert did something that no one expected. He grabbed the golden egg with his forelimbs and flapped his wings to fly away!
The students around the enclosure were stunned, and the Dragon tamers were stunned. This was the only dragon they had ever seen that ran away with an egg!
"Breaking the rules! This dragon is breaking the rules!" Bagman shouted from the stage, his eyes wide with fear.
He was not told exactly what Ivan would do on the field, and he did not expect Ivan to attack the dragon directly.
With that thought in mind, Bagman regretted placing all of his bets on Ivan, as the boy was simply too bold!
He had thought that Ivan had deliberately chosen Norbert because he had discovered his weakness and thought he had some trick up his sleeve to get past him. He did not expect that this kid's plan was to fight him head-on!
However, Bagman soon discovered that the Norwegian Ridgeback was extremely vengeful and had no intention of escaping. After circling the sky once, it made a swift dive, releasing a fiery dragon's breath from its wide-open mouth, and a sea of flames rolled over them.
"Get out of the way!" Hermione yelled from the Gryffindor Stand, her hands gripping the railing.
Ivan, however, had no intention of dodging the attack. A small, white-hot flame slowly ignited from the tip of his wand, and as Ivan pointed it out, it began to move faster and faster, growing larger and larger until it was a full three meters wide.
A loud roar filled the stadium, and the young wizards screamed as they covered their ears, but kept their eyes on the paddock, not daring to look away for fear of missing something spectacular.
Thick, dark smoke rose into the air, and debris rained down from the sky. The blast knocked the nearby Norwegian Ridgeback several feet away.
Ivan, on the other hand, lavishly used the Aura of Magic to deflect the falling debris. He then raised his hand and sent a purple beam of light crashing into Norbert, who was losing his balance.
Although it did not manage to break through the dragon's scales, the Norwegian Ridgeback seemed to have been affected. Its body swayed as it crashed into a stone pillar and fell to the ground.
Karkaroff and the others on the judges' podium were confused, unable to understand what was happening. However, compared to the extremely powerful Exploding Charm, they subconsciously believed that it must be a very powerful spell.
Crouch turned to the knowledgeable headmasters and asked curiously, "Can any of you see what spell Hales was using?"
Dumbledore's face twitched, but he put on a grave expression and said slowly, "This must be some sort of specialised mental charm to have such an effect!"
Karkaroff and Maxim nodded quickly, indicating that they had read about such magic in obscure books.
The audience did not know what was going on, but they saw Ivan cast a spell to knock the dragon out of the sky.
However, the battle did not end with the dragon's fall. The ferocious Norwegian Ridgeback soon recovered from its "mental influence" and crouched low in an aggressive stance.
The man and the dragon confronted each other in the narrow arena, and neither of them moved for dozens of seconds.
If it were another scene, such a huge difference in size would only make it seem ridiculous. However, it was different now. Everyone agreed that this was an evenly matched battle!
No… Many sharp-eyed young witches and wizards were keen enough to notice that Ivan was still as calm and composed as ever. Even his clothes were clean and tidy. On the other hand, the Norwegian Ridgeback was covered in dirt and did not dare to move.
The real situation, however, only Ivan knows, is that Norbert seems to have forgotten what to do next…