On the other side, Travers couldn't keep still. His nerves were shot after their last fight, where he'd been humiliated. The infrasonic curse Alex had used earlier was still making his head throb, and now, faced with Alex's unsettling composure, his anxiety boiled over.
"Bind him—now!" Travers shouted, casting a spell in panic. A glowing chain of magic shot out, aimed at Alex.
Alex didn't flinch. "Avis Protego," he muttered. Instantly, a dozen ravens materialized, circling him in a tight formation. To most wizards, conjured birds like these were little more than glorified distractions, but in Alex's hands, they were precise tools of defense.
One raven darted forward, intercepting the magical chain mid-air. The chain wrapped around the bird, crushing it into a puff of smoke, but the attack was neutralized.
Yaxley clicked his tongue in frustration. Travers' reckless move had forced them to act prematurely. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "Attack together! Don't hold back!"
Spells came flying: "Petrificus Totalus!" "Stupefy!" "Vipera Evanesca!" The three spells hurtled toward Alex. The attackers avoided wide-range spells like Expulso or Incendio—with their injured companions lying around, the collateral damage wasn't worth the risk.
Alex remained calm, contorlling his ravens like a symphony conductor. Two birds shot forward, each colliding with a spell mid-flight. The third spell, aimed low, was snuffed out as Alex flicked his wand and muttered, "protego" But Alex wasn't content with just defending. He seized the opening. With a fluid motion, he flicked his wrist, and a pair of spells erupted from his wand.
The first spell, Aguamenti Orbis, took the form of a massive water orb the size of a washbasin. It sailed toward the group, followed closely by his second spell, Bombarda Minor.
Yaxley reacted instantly. "Protego!" he barked, raising a shimmering shield of light.
Before the water orb could hit the shield, Alex's second spell struck it.
Splash!
The water orb exploded violently, sending icy droplets flying in all directions. The protective barrier shielded the group from the worst of it, but they were still drenched, soaked to the bone like drowned rats. While Yaxley and the others sputtered in confusion, another spell shot out from Alex's wand. It struck the ground near their feet, releasing a blast of frigid air.
Frost spread rapidly, freezing the puddles left behind by the water orb. Within seconds, the already cold winter air turned bone-chilling. Ice crept up their legs, immobilizing them.
Yaxley shivered violently, his lips turning blue. "Damn it! This cold... it's a custom spell!"
Indeed, Alex had modified the standard freezing charm, pushing its potency to the extreme. He called it the Arctic Freeze, and it was devastating in cold weather.
One of the seventh-years reacted quickly, casting Calor Impervius, a charm to repel cold. It wasn't perfect, but it slowed the frost's spread and kept them from freezing completely.
Still, the damage was done. The group was shaken, physically and mentally.
Yaxley barked orders, his breath visible in the icy air. "Spread out! Don't let him hit us all at once!"
The group broke formation, fanning out to flank Alex. They launched spells sporadically to keep him on the defensive. But Alex's ravens remained an impenetrable shield. Each time a spell got close, a bird would intercept it, sacrificing itself.
Yaxley scowled. "This bastard... he's toying with us."
Alex's grin widened. With a flick of his wand, he summoned a dense fog that blanketed the area. "Obscurifumus," he whispered.
"Damn it! Regroup! Don't let him pick us off!" Yaxley yelled, cursing under his breath. He knew how dangerous Alex was in the fog. The last time this happened, they hadn't even seen him move before he took them down.
"Depulso!" he shouted, using the Wind Whirl spell to blow away the mist.
It took five or six seconds for Yaxley to clear the dense fog, but when the haze finally lifted, one person was missing from his side. As their vision returned, everyone saw a seventh-year wizard sprawled lifelessly on the ground. Only a few meters away, the three remaining wizards still standing wore expressions of shock and rage, their frustration boiling to the surface.
"Ahhh!" Travers, unable to endure Alex's relentless torment any longer, screamed hysterically as he hurled spell after spell at him in desperation.
Fueled by a mix of fear and anger, Travers' spells packed more power than before. Unfortunately, his emotions clouded his judgment. His attacks were erratic, their aim laughably off, and his intentions far too predictable. Alex didn't even need to summon his Avis Protego; a few swift moves were all it took to dodge Travers' clumsy strikes.
With a quick flick of his wand, Alex cast a stunning spell, hitting Travers squarely and sending him flying backward. Now, only two opponents remained: a fifth-year wizard and Yaxley.
The pair stood panting, glaring at Alex. Though they should have had the upper hand, the calm, unbothered expression on Alex's face made despair creep into their hearts. "Alright," Alex said, extending a hand in a mock invitation. "Shall we move on to round three?"
The two exchanged nervous glances, their pale faces betraying their growing panic. Yaxley, who had initially exuded confidence, was now visibly shaken. His composure had completely unraveled. "You... you forced me to this!" Yaxley bellowed, his voice tinged with desperation. "Avada Kedavra!"
The words were spat out with a frenzied roar as Yaxley unleashed the Killing Curse, abandoning any pretense of restraint. He didn't care about the consequences anymore.
Gotcha. Alex's eyes narrowed. 'I didn't think you'd fall for it, but you're dumber than I thought.'
Alex had prepared for this. As the deadly green light shot toward him, the birds circling his body condensed into a tight cluster, intercepting the curse midair. At the same time, Alex sidestepped, effortlessly evading the projectile.
Without missing a beat, Alex fired off two Stupefy in rapid succession. Both hit their targets with unerring accuracy, knocking Yaxley and the fifth-year wizard into the air. The Killing Curse fizzled out harmlessly, having absorbed only the flock of conjured birds.
The fifth-year wizard landed hard, groaning in pain. Even as his body throbbed from the impact, his mind was reeling. Yaxley dared to cast the Unforgivable Curse openly? 'He's insane! He's digging his own grave.'These thoughts flashed through his head before darkness took him, and he passed out.
Yaxley, meanwhile, lay motionless nearby, his breathing shallow but alive. And just like that, the ambush party was reduced to a group of unconscious bodies. Including Amelia, who had disguised herself as Vivian, Alex had taken down all 17 enemies.
"Oh, wait—make that 16," Alex muttered to himself, turning toward a figure lying unnaturally still on the ground.
"Accio!" Alex called. Dozens of wands soared into the air, landing neatly in his hands. The scene reminded him of Christmas two years ago—a painful memory he refused to repeat. One of his golden rules after every battle was to immediately disarm all opponents. This was a hard-learned lesson. With all the wands confiscated, Alex approached one of the figures lying on the ground. He nudged the man with his boot, not gently, and said, "Get up. Stop pretending."
"Ow!" Rozier groaned dramatically as he rolled over, glaring up at Alex. "Was the kick really necessary?"