As Asterion took down Alexei and his dragon, Luna stared at the third member of the Russian team, the famous Quidditch player, Victor Krum, riding a Ukrainian Ironbelly, about eight metres long, looking especially strong and powerful flying against the strong winds of the storm. His dark hair fluttered in the wind, and heavy rain beat against his face.
Unlike Asterion, who had attacked head-on without hiding, Luna couldn't attack head-on, not when her dragon wasn't in perfect condition and not as strong as the greatest dragon race in the world.
So she did what every weak person in the world did, she ambushed the strong man and attacked at his weakest moment, a strategy that surprisingly worked most of the time, considering how arrogant strong men and women were. After all, who in their right mind would attack someone as strong as they were?
Taking advantage of the storm, a perfect element to hide and disguise her tracks, Luna followed Victor Krum like a wolf stalking its prey in the shadows.
Poor Victor didn't even notice a pair of silver eyes staring at him in the shadows of the night. The young Quidditch player continued to search as fast as he could for anything that might point to the second portal.
He knew he was in a race against time and that other teams could arrive at any moment. At the same time, he prayed to some ancient deity that he wouldn't run into the Hogwarts team at this delicate moment.
It wasn't just his dragon that was tired, he was too. During the first part of the desert, he'd been attacked several times by other dragon riders and had injured his arm, not too badly, but still affecting his coordination.
The movement of drawing his wand was stiffer than usual, and he began to feel some pain in his injured arm and some hives at the site of the wound. That's why, in addition to finding the second portal, finding an island was of the utmost importance to him.
Finding the second portal, however, was proving more difficult than expected, especially as his dragon's speed was slowing, and even using the air currents to conserve energy, the dragon was becoming increasingly tired.
This was bad news for him, and Victor knew it, for while he was searching for the Second Gate, he was also searching for an island where he could rest and perhaps heal his wounds. Unfortunately, fate seemed to be cruel to him, as there was no island, natural or man-made, as far as he could see.
At the same time, he couldn't help but complain about the stinginess of the Russian team, potions could have helped his situation enormously, but unfortunately, apart from the potion bottles given in the King's Game, the potions given for the Dragon Race were not enough.
Especially when fighting was extremely frequent and the chances of getting injured were extremely high. Unfortunately, he did not have any potions with him at the moment, all of them having been consumed during the first part of the race. He had the misfortune of having to fight three times in a short space of time, which depleted his supply of potions.
As Victor worried about his injury and fatigue, he didn't realise that a worse fate awaited him. Luna, who had watched Victor long enough, put her worries aside and decided to attack, seeing her enemy's dragon growing weaker and weaker as it fought against the storm.
And that's exactly what she did, she drew her wand and turned her wrist, a blue spell came out of the tip of her wand and shot towards Victor, completely unaware of the attack. It was an Expelliarmus, but the result was not at all what Luna had hoped for, for the spell had been cast wrongly!
The Ironbelly had descended slightly and was moving sideways like any normal bird in the world, meaning that Luna's spell had missed Victor by a wide margin. This must have alerted the young Quidditch prodigy, because when a spell passes you by, you have to notice it.
Concentrating on finding an island or the second gate of the second part of the race, Victor was stunned to see the blue light pass over him. The blue glow and the remnants of magical energy in the air were simply unmistakable to the eyes of any witch or wizard.
Knowing that he was being attacked, Victor quickly drew his wand and glanced over his shoulder to the side and quickly spotted a dark figure flying behind him, although he couldn't see it clearly at the correct distance of twenty metres, he knew it was the shadow of a dragon, there was no other option given the competition he was taking part in.
Without hesitation, he unleashed a flurry of spells at the enemy, who quickly moved away, leaving Victor completely defenceless as he no longer had the enemy's field of vision and could now be attacked from all sides. Basically, he was in the light and the enemy was in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to attack.
To be honest, the situation was quite unnerving, as the seconds passed, seconds that seemed like hours to him, the more Victor felt that he was being watched by the shadows and he knew that his instincts weren't wrong, there was an enemy hunting him in the shadows.
Knowing that he couldn't stay in this extremely dangerous situation, he did something that his team captain had ordered him not to do. Raising his wand to the sky, Victor didn't hesitate to shout loudly. Lumos Maxima! A huge ball of white light emerged from his wand and soared into the sky.
Everything within a hundred yards lit up as if there were a second sun on Earth, dispersing the darkness of the night and revealing everything that had been hidden.
Victor, who was prepared, quickly spotted the blue dragon about thirty metres away, and although he didn't know how the enemy could follow him at such a distance given the weather and the night, he quickly approached, casting spell after spell without hesitation.
Luna, blinded by the sudden Lumos Maxima, had no time to react and felt buzzing sounds pass through her, then she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, she didn't need to hear her bones breaking to know that some of the bones in her shoulder had been shattered by a Diffindossum spell.
But the pain was nothing compared to what she had felt when Albion had tortured her, so, quickly distracted by her vision, she raised her arm and did not hesitate to cast the same spells on the Russian team member, taking him by surprise with such a swift counter-attack.
It was like a Star Wars battle, but instead of special battle cruisers, there were dragons and the cannons were the witches themselves.
Luna, seeing that Victor was trying to close the distance between them, wasn't stupid and stepped back, keeping him at a distance of several dozen metres. She delayed the time it would take for reinforcements to arrive. Because of the Lumos Maxima, it could be said that practically everyone within a kilometre radius had seen the spell, she just had to wait for Rose or Asterion to arrive and finish off the Russian team member.
Whether Rose or Asterion could find her in the middle of the storm wasn't her concern, she knew from the words of both Special Grade wizards how sensitive they were to magical energy, so she wasn't worried at all about being located.
Victor, on the other hand, was in a completely different state than Luna, apart from using countless spells to illuminate the area in order to locate the enemy accurately, he had to keep his concentration and dodge any spells that were cast at him, and he had to admit that the enemy was cunning and would cast spells at moments when he lost his concentration or even made a mistake. Although the question of how the enemy could see him from so far away, in a storm and in the dark of night, still remained a mystery in his mind.
However, he had better things to concentrate on than solving this mystery, for his dragon was not only consuming a great deal of magical energy, but was also becoming increasingly tired from the all-consuming battle, especially on his part from chasing after the enemy.
Victor was at a great disadvantage at the moment, for if he stayed and fought the enemy, he would be bombarded with spells and exhausted to exhaustion, and if he decided to run, he would be chased and bombarded with spells from afar in the same way. He also didn't think he could escape with a tired dragon and the enemy could see him from a distance.
In short, he was completely screwed and his only option was to pray that someone from his team would come to his aid, which soon proved to be the exact opposite as his fear of attracting the other members of the enemy team came to fruition.
As he cast a random spell in one direction, trying to illuminate his surroundings so that he would not be ambushed again, he caught a glimpse of a vague figure in the distance, and although it was vague and almost impossible to make out, he saw that it was a dragon!
When asked if it was an enemy or a friend, he quickly answered as he caught a glimpse of the Ukrainian Ironbelly, who was rapidly approaching him. In the Russian team, he was the only one with a Ukrainian Ironbelly! Without hesitation, the young Quidditch prodigy decided to abandon the fight and run as far away as possible.
As Victor's despair grew, the smile on Luna's face widened as she saw Rose coming towards her in the future. She didn't let the Russian get away when she finally had the upper hand.
Rose, who had spotted the Lumos Maxima from afar and hadn't fought anyone yet, quickly arrived on the battlefield and saw the spell exchange, as well as Victor Krum trying to run away from the battlefield, something she obviously didn't want to do.
'You're not going to run away. ' The white-haired girl flashed an excited smile and took control of Oberon, not hesitating to attack at high speed, using large amounts of magical energy to propel Oberon forward.
Victor only felt his world spin as the dragons collided in the air, clawing and biting each other brutally. Quickly recovering from the initial shock, he glanced over and what he saw instantly extinguished his hope.
Rose Potter was smiling at him as she pointed a wand at him. 'Diffindossum!
Blyad!" was the only thing Victor said before he was brutally thrown from his saddle and dropped from a terrifying height without a parachute. His chest sank with the impact as he saw his dragon still fighting Rose's dragon.
Quickly casting a levitation spell, Victor felt the darkness consume his mind before he hit the water.
Rose, seeing that Victor was still OK, albeit unconscious, went back to watching the dragon fight with great interest; both beasts were simply brutal. They didn't care about their own injuries and concentrated on hurting each other as quickly as possible.
Knowing she couldn't wait any longer, Rose decided to help Oberon by aiming her wand at the enemy dragon.
----------------
Author's thoughts:
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
Membership is only $5 all chapter, so if have some spare cash and wanna support this work that'd be appreciated
P-atreon.com/HPSCB
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 213 -At the Highest Point of Heaven (END Dragon Race), 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).
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.
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
Membership is only $5 all chapter, so if have some spare cash and wanna support this work that'd be appreciated
P-atreon.com/HPSCB
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
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).
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