Asterion, riding Ancalagon, looked to his left and smiled; in his senses, Rose and Luna were fast approaching. He realised that Luna's magic was weak, showing a great consumption of magical energy.
Obviously, the girl had been involved in a battle, even though he had told her not to take unnecessary risks in a foolish fight. 'She's almost like my rebellious daughter.' He muttered to himself with a groan of frustration escaping his lips.
A few minutes later, Asterion could already see the figure of both dragons flying after each other in the middle of the storm, Luna's dragon surfing in the vacuum created by Rose's dragon, Oberon. A few moments later, all three dragons were flying close together.
'Asterion, let's go!' Rose shouted loudly, but whether it was Asterion or Luna, they heard her voice clearly, she was using magical energy to propagate her own sound. Quite a useful thing, but it would give away her position if they went to war. Even the most stupid of wizards could notice the magical frequency being transmitted through the air.
Asterion nodded in Rose's direction and Ancalagon, without needing Asterion's orders, accelerated his flight speed and flew towards the enormous Water Spout. Rose with Oberon followed behind Ancalagon and Luna was last, being protected by both dragons.
Luna took a deep breath, watching the embodiment of nature's fury draw ever closer. Previously she hadn't looked closely given the critical situation, but now faced with such terrifying force, she wondered how her dragon had managed to stay intact.
The piercing winds along with the water were so strong that they felt like knives digging into her skin, each drop extremely painful. If it hadn't been for the Protego conjured up by Asterion, Rose and herself to protect her, even with all her resistance to pain, Luna would have been screaming in pain right now.
Asterion, who was at the forefront of the aviation operation, couldn't help but stare in awe at the purest power in the world, he himself had some interesting ideas watching the Water Spout, sometimes chaos really was the only solution to most metaphysical answers.
But as he was about to cross a Water Spout, Asterion put aside these questions and focused on the moment, he was just over five hundred metres away, ready to cross the biggest challenge of Part Two of the Dragon Race.
Suddenly, Rose and Asterion looked back and couldn't help but curse at how annoying the participating eyes were, in both their senses, at least seven teams had made it to the Second Leg of the Dragon Race. The number was almost twenty!
Fortunately, they were already dangerously close to the Water Spout, so even if someone assumed that the Second Gate was in the Water Spout, it would still take a while, but even if they found out, how many would really have the courage to go on a seemingly suicidal attack.
300 metres...
200 metres...
100 metres...
50 metres...
40 metres...
30 metres...
20 metres...
10 metres...
0 metres!!!
Just when Asterion thought he was about to suffer the greatest turbulence of his life, he felt a freezing cold run through his body. Even the Protego on which he had placed large amounts of magical energy seemed intact without a scratch. Such a different expectation and reality made Asterion feel like a complete idiot.
But how?
How in Merlin's name was Dumbledore able to do something like that? Absurd amounts of Magical Energy? After awakening his innate Second Technique, they both had almost the same amount, but Asterion definitely couldn't do something like that. And if he couldn't do it, neither could Dumbledore.
Which meant it was something else, so a thought crossed Asterion's mind. 'It's possible to create a Water Tumbler with magic. Using favourable terrain and making certain events occur could actually create a climatic event, you just had to take the first step and nature would complete the process. But how could the walls of the Water Spout not cause damage?'
Before Asterion could complete his reasoning, a stream of intense cold slammed into his face, forcing him to look forwards, so in the next second, he couldn't help but be shocked by the breathtaking scene. This was because what stood before him was a gigantic mountain piercing the heavens with its peak.
There was no way to describe the majesty emanating from the huge ice-covered mountain, there was no way he wouldn't know the snowy mountain. It was the most famous mountain on the planet.
"Mount Everest!" Rose exclaimed aloud as she looked up at the gigantic mountain with a big smile on her face, marvelling at the mountain piercing the sky with its summit. "Dumbledore can be cruel and sadistic putting on these tests, but in the end, seeing this view really makes it seem like all our effort was worth it!!!"
Asterion agreed with Rose's words, it really was a sight capable of relieving any tiredness or exhaustion, simply seeing something like this after a long journey made everything seem extremely special. It was as if this was Dumbledore's reward to all those who dared to conquer their fears.
(Note: I read some articles by mountaineers talking about how it felt to reach the top of Mount Everest to write this chapter, I wanted to bring some real feeling into this chapter, although I don't think you cared much about something so futile).
Luna was silent, staring at Mount Everest with wide eyes; at that moment, the pain from the broken bones in her shoulder seemed completely insignificant in the face of the majestic mountain. She opened her arms and closed her eyes, despite the intense cold that was extremely hostile to any human in the world. Her wet clothes quickly froze, but she didn't care and enjoyed the moment with a smile on her face.
'I love nature.' Luna murmured to herself with an adorable smile on her lips. Even the weight of the visions of the future on her body felt lighter. It was as if the countless chains that bound her were broken for a mere moment. And that was simply a dream she didn't want to wake up from.
'Come on, the end of the race is probably at the peak of the mountain.' Asterion, flicking his wand and warming his clothes, he looked towards the peak of Mount Everest and ordered Ancalagon to gain altitude.
Curiously, all three dragons seemed extremely uncomfortable with the sudden change in temperatures, none of the dragons, including Ancalagon liked the frozen environment of the Himalayas. Whatever you think of the dragons' hot nature, you could find the reason for such discomfort.
Rose looked at the mountain once more and nodded with a big smile on her face, Oberon under her command, followed the imposing figure of Ancalagon soaring into the sky with great excitement. Luna, who was still marvelling, smiled at her companions and followed behind them with a smile on her face.
Snow falling in the sky, Ancalagon posed on the peak of Mount Everest, which seemed to have been expanded to accommodate the people and dragons. Asterion jumped off the dragon and fell to the snowy ground with a whoosh.
With a thud, Oberon landed next to Ancalagon, Rose, seeing the surroundings couldn't help but ask with a groan of frustration. 'Please don't tell me we have to find a portal under the snow.'
Luna, with her dragon, arrived soon after and climbed out of the saddle landing in the fluffy snow with a childish look on her face, apparently she loved the snow.
'I guess-' Just as Asterion was about to reply, golden lights began to appear above the mountain, gradually forming the shadow of a golden crown.
'Well, it looks like we won.' Rose shrugged and commented with a smile on her face, observing the huge golden crown above Mount Everest. 'Luckily the last part of the race wasn't as annoying as the first, my back is already aching from riding a dragon.'
Before she could continue speaking, a snowball hit her face, causing her hair and face to be covered in snow. Looking at Luna, who stared at her with an innocent look, Rose took a deep breath and drew her wand, and with a flick of her wrist, dozens of snowballs rose from the ground behind her.
Luna's face changed dramatically at the sight of the dozens of snowballs floating behind Rose. 'You're cheating!' She shouted as she ran towards her dragon, wanting to use it as a shield, but her legs were much slower than the magically propelled snowballs!
In the end, Luna was lying in the snow with a large amount of snow above her, only her head still sticking out, her expression not the happiest in the world. There was a bitter look on her face, glaring at Rose with indignation.
'Humph!' Rose raised her face proudly as she looked at the buried Luna with an amused smile on her lips. 'It's fun to have a moving target. I'd like to have more on other occasions.'
Luna just snorted loudly and ignored Rose.
Asterion looked at the two girls speechlessly, they were standing in front of hundreds of thousands of wizards and witches from every possible country, but they were still acting so childishly.
Just as he was about to interrupt their banter, Asterion turned his head and looked to the north with an interesting look, two magical signatures had appeared around Mount Everest, but he and the rest of the Hogwarts Team didn't have time to check who had arrived, as green flames consumed their figure and they disappeared from Mount Everest.
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Author's thoughts: There will be one more chapter until the third and final instalment of the International Tournament of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which I've decided, like the original, will be a maze, but the events will be interesting, I promise.
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Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 214 - The Spark of Chaos (1), Chapter 215 - The Spark of Chaos (2), Chapter 216 - The Spark of Chaos (3), Chapter 217 - The Spark of Chaos (4), Chapter 218 - Ancient Artifact (1), Chapter 219 - Ancient Artifact (2), Chapter 220 - The Last Moment Before Chaos (1), Chapter 221 - The Last Moment Before Chaos (2, Chapter 222 - The Labyrinth of Cnossos (1), Chapter 223 - The Labyrinth of Cnossos (2), Chapter 224 - The Labyrinth of Cnossos (3).
Next Chapter of the Third Volume: Chapter 225 - A Dark Day (1), Chapter 226 - A Dark Day (2), Chapter 227 - A Talk Between Two Monarchs (1), Chapter 228 - Preparations for War (1), Chapter 228 - Preparations for War (1).