Asterion looked up and was surprised to see the flames dyeing the sky a demonic blue, he could hear roars and screams coming from the flames, apparently there were many magical beings and wizards hit by the flames.
Honestly, he wanted to see which idiot had thought that using a Fiendfyre inside a maze of grass extremely prone to burning was a good idea!
Feeling the temperature begin to rise, Asterion knew he wouldn't have much time, the whole Labyrinth would be consumed by fire and everyone inside would die if no one escaped. Letting out a weary sigh, he really wanted to kill whoever used a fire spell inside a labyrinth.
Asterion glanced once more at the cloud of blue fire and quickened his steps, he practically ran dodging any witch, wizard or magical animal in his path. When he reached the end of the Labyrinth and touched the Goblet of Fire, his restrictions would end at the same moment.
He could finally use all his strength and do what he wanted to do, even if a war broke out after the International Tournament of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Asterion wouldn't have to worry about being attacked from behind by someone unknown or even known.
In the stands of the Quidditch Stadium, the face of Benjamin Thorne, the President of MACUSA, changed as he watched the boy who had attacked the Hogwarts girl turn into his son. He looked at Joseph and couldn't help thinking that something was incredibly wrong. Dumbledore and Joseph's earlier words smelled of conspiracy.
Looking at Dmitri, he observed his rival and noticed the same look on his face. They both looked at each other and came to the same conclusion in an instant. Joseph Weiss was up to something, something that Dumbledore had discovered serious enough to threaten the German Minister of Magic in front of all of them.
Although Dmitri and Benjamin didn't know what it was, they didn't stand around waiting for the shit to fall on them. They both started moving their magical energies, ready to react at any moment.
However, for some reason, Dmitri couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, as if something bad was about to happen. As an experienced Wizard, he knew that his instincts were never wrong!
Their behavior didn't escape the eyes of the other Special Grade Witches and Wizards present.
They too began to circulate their magical energy, expecting something to happen at any moment. Although no one released any pressure on the others, there were six Special Grade Witches and Wizards, just them moving their magical energies was enough to change the atmosphere in the VIP seats.
Dumbledore flashed a cunning smile and looked at Joseph without hiding the amusement on his face. The Headmaster's intention was obvious: to warn Joseph that even if something happened today, he wouldn't leave this place alive.
Something Joseph understood very well, but the man didn't show any great reaction. As if he didn't care about the extremely dangerous situation he was in at the moment.
This made Dumbledore smile even more, the more confident Joseph became, the more he understood that the German Minister of Magic had more accomplices. Possibly they were outside Hogwarts at that very moment, just waiting for the chaos to begin. The Headmaster's eyes fell on the Japanese Minister of Magic, Satoshi Nakamura.
He hadn't forgotten that the man was involved with Organization R, another person he would kill today, obviously killed by the terrorists who attacked the Tournament today.
On the other side of the Labyrinth, Alexei Ivanov walked with a cold stare, the young Wizard's eyes looked steely and determined. The demonic blue flames of Fiendfyre not far from where he stood didn't bother him much.
Others might have been worried, but not him. Not with his Innate Technique [Lava World] being related to heat and fire.
Suddenly, Alexei's eyes caught sight of a figure appearing before him. He recognized the blond hair and blue eyes of Michael Thorne, son of the President of MACUSA. Although it was hard to believe, the two were actually friends, despite their parents' rivalry.
"Michael." Alexei greeted his longtime friend with a nod, as for fighting Michael, he really wasn't tempted to do such a thing. He already knew that he wouldn't win first place in the tournament, so he wasn't that excited to fight in meaningless battles.
However, something curious made Alexei look at his friend with a quizzical look. "I can't feel your magical energy, how did you do that?"
Michael laughed, but his laughter made Alexei frown, they were friends, they had even done some Cursed Spirit exorcism missions together. Although it wasn't a deep friendship of giving one's life to protect the other, they both knew a lot about each other.
Alexei's laugh was totally different from what he remembered, there was a sense of deep hatred and resentment in his eyes, something that left him even more confused.
"What happened? Did you run into knyaz Black and he beat you up badly?" Putting his doubts aside, Alexei only thought that Michael had run into Asterion Black or Rose Potter, so he approached his friend and tapped him on the shoulder with a calm, mature tone.
Suddenly, Alexei felt the hairs on his body stand on end, his senses alerting him to the imminent danger, but even a Grade 1 Wizard couldn't react properly over such a short distance. He only managed to make his body recoil and tilt slightly to the side.
Alexei watched in disbelief as the dagger pierced his heart, but he didn't stand idly by as the dagger gradually took his life! Using the Innate Technique, he covered his arm with lava and punched Michael in the stomach without any hesitation in his actions.
BOOM!
Alexei took two steps back and breathed heavily, sweat dripping from his face as his body continued to grow weaker as time passed. The sharp pain in his chest made him feel breathless. His vision blurred slightly.
He took a potion from his bag and just as he was about to take it, the bottle containing the potion exploded into a thousand pieces.
Alexei just managed to dodge the dagger as he was on the lookout for any attack, glancing at Michael holding another dagger, looking at him with extreme coldness. "You're not Michael." He spoke with an apparently very tired tone.
"Tsk. Grade 1 wizards really do have extremely acute senses, I was sure I could cut your head off." Neville, now disguised as Michael Thorne, commented with a cold tone, watching Alexei like a wolf ready to pounce at the right moment.
He really was shocked by his enemy's reflexes. Any other Wizard would have died in his attack, but Alexei not only dodged enough for him to miss the main artery of the heart, he also counterattacked in an instant. That shocked the hell out of him.
"Who are you?" Alexei asked, his voice exhausted as he drank a vial of healing potion, the eyes of the son of the Russian Minister of Magic fixed on Michael's disguised enemy and not leaving him for a moment.
"Someone hired to end your life." Neville replied, a cold smile playing on his lips, he didn't interrupt Alexei taking the healing potion. In his eyes, the son of the Russian Minister of Magic was dead and with his death, the war would begin.
Michael's words made Alexei's heart clench, he was no stranger to assassination attempts. The Tzar could be assassinated, least of all him, who had almost died a few times when he was just a child.
But being murdered in Russia and being murdered during an international competition under the eyes of the whole world were two totally different concepts.
The consequences of such acts were not as simple as an assassination of someone important, murdering him on English soil was no different than declaring war on any country.
Alexei no longer cared about the competition, he couldn't die in England, the trouble he would bring to his own father and country was not something he wanted to have to carry after death!
Making a seal with his hand, Alexei muttered to himself while not sparing any of his magical energy.
"Innate Spell Manipulation - Lava World - End of the World Eruption."
GOODMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!
It was as if a bomb had exploded, a deafening sound rumbled across the skies of Scotland. A pillar of volcanic lava emerged from the ground and rose into the sky. Gigantic balls of lava rained from the sky, tearing through the air at extremely high temperatures as the entire Labyrinth of Knossos was destroyed by the catastrophe.
Neville didn't show any fear, on the contrary, his smile grew as he watched the Russian Wizard's large-scale attack without moving.
Alexei looked confusedly at the assassin, but suddenly his vision darkened for a moment as he fell to the ground with an incredulous e Black blood began to overflow from his mouth, the young man felt cold all over his body as he choked on his own blood. His body convulsed violently as he stared at the killer with a look full of anger and humiliation.
"Poison... you coward" Alexei thought as darkness overtook his consciousness.
"Father... No... Be... Stupid... No... Start... A War..." It was Alexei's last thought before darkness consumed his consciousness.
Watching the young Grade 1 Wizard losing all vital signs, Neville smiled sarcastically and fled the scene without any hesitation, he knew that when he killed Alexei, he would have to run as far away as possible.
The wrath of a Special Grade Wizard was not something he could bear.
As soon as Neville fled, a tall man wearing traditional Russian clothes appeared next to Alexei, he ignored the surrounding lava and looked at his lifeless son drowning in his own blood with a calm gaze. The man's lips trembled without being able to utter a single word.
Images of his son growing up flashed before his eyes. Dmitri couldn't ask for a better son than Alexei, the boy was everything he wanted in a son.
Talented, charismatic and astute like any veteran politician, but now, seeing the pain in his son's expression from his dead body. He felt the greatest pain in his life, even when his wife died, he had never felt such overwhelming pain.
Twisting his lips, Dmitri tried to speak to his son. "Alexei, if you get up, I promise I'll let you marry that muggle girl you love." The Minister of Magic's voice was hoarse and shaky, but there was no sign that Alexei would wake up.
Touching Alexei's pale, lifeless body, Dmitri kissed his son's forehead and closed his eyes.
After denial came anger.
Dmitri made a seal with his hands and muttered in an icy, chilling tone.
"Innate Spell Manipulation - World of Lava - Eruption of the End of the World."
The world really did seem to be destroyed.
For the Third Magical World War had begun.
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Author's thoughts: There were other characters considered for death, but in the end I chose Alexei. From this moment on, the Third Volume of Fanfic begins!
Let's start another journey!
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