"Nineteen years old, Grade 1, for a Muggle-born, she's very talented." Grindelwald remarked, watching the girl ascend through the levels under the eyes of hundreds of thousands of witches and wizards.
Ana's talent was truly surprising; many Muggle-borns would never reach her level, even if they trained their whole lives. Even among Noble Houses, Ana had remarkable talent.
"Any special soul is talented in its own right; her being Muggle-born only makes her more special," Dumbledore replied to his rival's words with a calm tone, subtly catching the disdain in the Dark Lord's voice.
"Do you believe what you're saying?" Grindelwald looked at Dumbledore with his silver eyes and asked, his voice tinged with a hint of sarcasm. He knew his old enemy's ideas all too well—a world where everyone had a chance to be whatever they wanted.
If all witches and wizards were talented, then the power rankings that defined the foundations of the wizarding world wouldn't matter; everyone would be a powerful figure. Unfortunately, the world wasn't a beautiful fairy tale filled with justice. It was cruel, cold, and ruthless.
Talent was determined at birth, with a touch of luck and destiny. People like Ana Rodríguez, born to Muggle parents, were rare; the world always had been and always would be controlled by powerful families. One or two talented individuals could never influence society as a whole, something Dumbledore had always wanted to do throughout his life, but in the end, he never came close to achieving.
"Look at the faces of those children in the stands; their eyes shine with the hope of one day reaching a similar level. It's something beautiful to observe—the ideals of young people full of life and inspiration to change the world," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes looking at the children in the stands with a gentle smile on his lips.
"Always naive, Albus." However, Grindelwald did not share a similar vision to Dumbledore's. He looked at the children with a cold and composed gaze. "If they don't learn they have limits while studying, the world will teach them in the cruelest way, killing them without any pity or mercy. At that moment, their dreams, desires, and aspirations will mean absolutely nothing in the face of death."
"Always so pessimistic, Gellert." Dumbledore returned the words to his former lover, speaking with a look full of determination. "Even if the world teaches them they have limits, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing these children trying to surpass those limits."
He continued, looking directly into the silver eyes of the infamous Dark Lord. "Their pain, their tears, their sweat, their love, their desires, and their efforts—it's through the stumbles you make along life's path that you mature. A child cannot grow up with their parents by their side; they have to live for themselves to truly understand what life is, even if it is a hard life full of effort."
Grindelwald couldn't help but get lost in those eyes for a moment; he hated those eyes, eyes that could make the impossible a reality. The same eyes that had made him fall in love with the man before him.
"I hate it when you say things like that," Grindelwald murmured just loud enough for Dumbledore to hear.
Dumbledore rolled his eyes and looked wordlessly at his former lover and long-time rival. That expression reminded him of when they had met that summer.
All the ministers heard Dumbledore's words, and many agreed with his vision. The Russian Minister of Magic, Dmitri Ivanov, in particular, remembered his past.
As the son of an important family in decline, it was only when his parents died that Dmitri understood how heavy the burden his father and mother carried was.
He grew up despite assassination attempts from his cousins and uncles, maturing along the way with love and hardship.
Dmitri couldn't help but show a nostalgic smile; those were really difficult times, but when he looked back and saw what he had gone through to become who he was today, he never regretted his choices, even the wrong ones. It was the wrong ones that made him mature, not the right ones. Only when you err can you try to improve.
"You look like a nostalgic girl, Dmitri. What a shame for a man of your stature," Benjamin, sitting next to him, said with a sarcastic tone.
"Humph." Dmitri looked at his rival and scoffed loudly, his voice tinged with superiority. "Only you Americans think emotions are a woman's thing."
Dmitri's sharp words only made Benjamin smile sarcastically. "I believe a man who doesn't cry becomes stronger; we're not women to go around crying."
While Dmitri's words made the women present happy, Benjamin's words made them look at him in a decidedly unfriendly manner.
Luis Delacour, seeing this, pursed his lips, finally understanding why Benjamin's wife had been seduced by the Russian Minister of Magic.
With a husband like Benjamin, the woman probably lived under a lot of pressure and stress. When a kind man with an extremely high EQ like Dmitri Ivanov came along, he easily opened the door to the heart of the American Minister of Magic's wife.
Watching the two still arguing, Luis turned his gaze to the screen showing his daughter. He couldn't have been prouder at that moment. Beauty, intelligence, determination, and power—his daughter had all the qualities to be remembered in the annals of French history as one of the most powerful witches.
However, to gain fame and become renowned, she had to face two extremely talented opponents: Rose Potter and Asterion Black.
"May Merlin bless you, my daughter," Luis whispered inaudibly, focusing on the screen.
---
While the discussion continued outside, Asterion and Ana were engaged in an intense battle. Asterion, using only his armor and gauntlets, constantly pressured Ana with his obviously superior physical strength.
Each punch broke the sound barrier, causing the air to tremble and compress with each blow, forcing Ana to retreat to avoid being hit.
Despite her efforts, her body was covered in purple bruises, especially on her face, where Asterion's fists landed repeatedly, despite her repeated defensive attempts.
But Ana didn't just stand there taking hits; she retaliated with powerful electric currents as big as houses, hitting her opponent squarely. However, unlike what she expected, aside from a few scratches and a small scorch mark on his chin, there were hardly any visible injuries on the Special Grade Wizard.
This frustrated her more than the injuries she was receiving—nothing was more painful than having her attacks be ineffective against her opponent.
Ana Rodriguez didn't know, but Asterion wasn't as calm as he appeared at that moment. The Spanish girl's Innate Technique was truly powerful, especially after advancing to Grade 1, making her attack power superior to many Grade 1 Wizards.
If he weren't constantly reinforcing his body, some of his blood would have spilled on the ground at times when Ana perfectly timed her attacks and struck with ferocity.
As for the loss of magical energy, Asterion wasn't too worried about this aspect. Both he and Rose were almost infinite generators of magical energy. It would be tough for him to run out of magical energy during a fight. However, since he was limited to using the power of a Grade 2 wizard, he was also limited in how much magical energy he could regenerate.
But as Asterion was almost supernaturally controlling his magical energy expenditure, he was regenerating his energy almost sublimely, something he shamelessly copied from Rose. After all, with Rose as a base, he just had to change the mold and adjust a few things subtly to suit his body.
Dodging a lightning bolt the size and thickness of a house, Asterion decided to take the fight a bit more seriously.
"Innate Spell Manipulation—Creation and Manipulation of Cursed Spirits—Summoning."
Raising his finger, a black vortex of pure darkness formed just above it, the size of a house, spinning like a black hole that even absorbed light.
"Don't die, Ana Rodriguez," Asterion said calmly, looking at the young woman's pale and battered face.
"Queen of the Sea - Sadalmelik-Albus."
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Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 147 - Second Phase of the King's Game (2), Chapter 148 - Second Phase of the King's Game (3), Chapter 149 - Second Phase of the King's Game (4), Chapter 150 - Second Phase of the King's Game (5), Chapter 151 - Second Phase of the King's Game (6), 152 - Second Phase of the King's Game (7), 153 - Second Phase of the King's Game (8), 154 - Second Phase of the King's Game (9), 155 - Second Phase of the King's Game (10), 156 - Second Phase of the King's Game (11), 157 - Second Phase of the King's Game (12), 158 - Second Phase of the King's Game (13 e And), 159 - Death of Arcturus (1), 160 - Death of Arcturus (2), Chapter 161 - First Phase of God's Creation Plan (1), Chapter 162 - First Phase of God's Creation Plan (2).