บท 229: Chapter 229: Nothing Compared To Me
A red spell streaked across the hall of the Magical Congress like a shooting star.
It hit the wizard who had pointed his wand at Cyrus squarely in the back!
"Stupefy!"
The sharp, furious voice echoed through the Congress hall, drawing everyone's attention.
O'Brien was equally shocked. He hadn't expected his companion to be knocked out from behind. He spun around hastily, only to see an angry, dark-haired witch striding toward them, her wand raised.
Her chin was lifted, her wand held high above her head like a snake poised to strike after locking onto its prey.
"How dare you!" Bella's eyes were bloodshot with rage.
Those pests dared to raise their wands against her master?
Them?
How could they be so bold as to challenge the dignity of the Dark Lord?
In that moment, she felt herself slipping back into the old, wild Bellatrix.
All she wanted was to sever the heads of these disrespectful fools one by one and hang them at the entrance of the Congress, like house-elf heads.
But she restrained herself.
From the outside, she didn't even acknowledge Cyrus.
"How dare you act violently within the Congress?" Bella snarled, her fury kept just in check, knowing that she couldn't ruin Cyrus' plans by letting her emotions take over. Now was not the time to reveal her true identity.
As Bella approached, she quickly shifted the blame onto O'Brien, preempting any accusation he might have made against her.
This threw O'Brien off guard, robbing him of the opportunity to confront her as he'd intended. The hulking man hesitated for a moment before responding, "I am simply arresting a criminal who lacks a wand permit."
"Excuse me," Bella retorted sharply, her eyes fixed on him, pressing the issue. "I believe one of the reasons Mr. Cyrus is here at the Magical Congress is to obtain said permit. Perhaps this is just a pretense, and your real intent is to deliberately cause trouble, isn't it?"
"This matter has nothing to do with you," O'Brien shot back, showing no sign of backing down.
His status was undeniable.
Even within the Congress, O'Brien held a high position as one of the Twelve Aurors, a founding member of the Magical Congress—one of its founding heroes! Bella, while a significant figure within the Congress herself, could not rival O'Brien's level of prestige.
"Step aside!" O'Brien commanded.
Bella seemed poised to argue further, but Cyrus gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you for your assistance, my lovely lady, but allow me to handle this myself," Cyrus said, not revealing Bella's true identity.
"Y-Yes.."
He stepped forward to face O'Brien, looking at him as if he were merely a giant ant. Even the questions Cyrus posed were filled with such disdain, it was as if he had never regarded O'Brien as someone worthy of his attention.
"So? Who are you?"
"He's O'Brien! Haven't you figured it out after hearing the name? Someone like you—mmph—"
The answer to Cyrus's question didn't come from O'Brien himself, but from one of the wizards behind him.
However, before he could finish his sentence, his mouth snapped shut as if glued together, silenced.
Cyrus didn't even glance in the wizard's direction, merely saying, with a hint of annoyance, "Ah~ I wasn't talking to you, sir. You're being rather impolite."
It was a small act of discipline, but O'Brien's eyes widened in shock.
He had been standing right in front of Cyrus, watching his every move. Yet, this young wizard hadn't uttered a single incantation, waved his wand, or made any hand gestures.
And still, he had managed to cast a jinx—effortlessly and without warning.
O'Brien stepped back cautiously, raising his wand toward the silenced wizard and shouted, "Finite Incantatem!"
A flash of gold shot from O'Brien's wand. Instantly, the wizard's mouth seemed to be violently torn apart from two opposing directions.
His delicate lips split open, leaving his mouth bloodied and horrifying to behold.
"W-Wh.. Arggh Whauff haff you dun!!!" (What have you done)
The wizard clutched his mouth in agony, his eyes nearly bulging from the pain as blood gushed through his fingers.
O'Brien, an experienced Auror, wasn't rattled by the gruesome sight. However, he was stunned that his counter-curse had failed. The moment the wizard's mouth was forcefully torn apart by the spell, it magically sealed itself again. Flesh and blood fused together as though his upper and lower lips were one.
Besides the frustration of not being able to break Cyrus's spell, O'Brien was in shock. He never imagined that Cyrus would actually dare to strike back.
"You dare attack an Auror?!"
Behind Cyrus, Catherine anxiously tugged at his sleeve, her face full of worry.
"Are you insane? Don't provoke him! O'Brien is one of the strongest Aurors. No Dark wizard has ever escaped him!" She tried to persuade Cyrus to back down and apologize, but there was no way Cyrus would bow his head.
"It was you who came looking for trouble, sir," Cyrus said, sounding slightly irritated.
He despised people who tried to play the victim after instigating a conflict.
"Don't you think you're being unreasonable, Mr. O'Brien? The previous headmaster of Ilvermorny approved my appointment, the students and professors have accepted me and believe I can lead them to glory, and even the school itself recognizes my magical power. But you—"
Cyrus narrowed his eyes, gazing at O'Brien as if he were some insignificant insect crawling out from a crack.
"Who do you think you are?"
"And what right do you have to question me?"
O'Brien's face turned beet red, feeling utterly humiliated.
"The surname you take so much pride in means nothing to me." Cyrus's words were soft but carried through the entire Congress hall.
More and more wizards had gathered, seemingly filling the entire building.
"So? Dear sir, let me ask once again. Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Those sharp words cut into O'Brien's fragile sense of pride like a blade.
Then, with a sudden shift in tone, Cyrus chuckled. "I'll give you all a chance."
He handed his wand to Bellatrix and spread his hands, standing unguarded right in front of O'Brien. In a generous tone, he said, "You can all come at me together. As for me, since I don't have a wand permit, I'll fight empty-handed."
"You fucking arrogant fool!" O'Brien was already consumed by rage. To him, Cyrus was nothing but a madman—attacking an Auror, and now insulting him in front of everyone!
At this point, Cyrus had even put down his wand.
This was no different from offering himself up for slaughter.
O'Brien wasn't about to miss such an opportunity!
O'Brien wanted to make Cyrus pay for humiliating him with his life! Yet, despite his outward fury, O'Brien was far more cautious than he appeared.
He hadn't forgotten how Cyrus had silently and effortlessly cast a curse right in front of him. Alone, O'Brien wasn't confident he could win.
He raised his wand high, pointing it towards the dome-shaped ceiling, drawing the attention of everyone around.
"Everyone!" O'Brien's eyes were bloodshot. "This man has shown contempt for the Congress and attacked an Auror within its halls. Let's take him down together!"
As he shouted, his raised wand dropped, and the tip emitted a blazing red light.
The Aurors who had accompanied him followed suit, raising their wands in unison.
At the same time, several individuals stepped forward from the crowd.
Some were motivated by a desire to curry favor with the O'Brien family, while others had long harbored resentment towards Cyrus for assuming the position of Ilvermorny's headmaster.
With O'Brien leading the charge, their frustrations manifested as tangible action, each of them raising their glowing wands.
Katherine and Graves were clearly panicking.
Katherine, in particular, tried to pull Cyrus away from the scene, but Bellatrix, confident in Cyrus's abilities, simply scoffed.
She gave a disdainful laugh and grabbed Katherine and Graves, pulling them away from Cyrus.
She believed without a doubt that her Master could handle the situation on his own.
"What are you doing? He'll be killed!"
Katherine looked on in horror as dozens of spells gathered at the tips of wands, their lights gleaming like stars.
But Cyrus remained where he stood, doing nothing.
If he were to be hit by dozens of spells all at once, even if they were just Stunning Spells, the combined shockwave would be enough to put anyone in serious danger!
"Shut up and just watch!" Bellatrix barked.
The next moment, her voice was drowned out by the sound of spells being cast.
""""Stupefy!""""
Dozens of voices overlapped, like a massive tidal wave.
Boom!
Cyrus's figure disappeared in the red light.
Katherine and Graves could hardly keep their eyes open, the intense light piercing their pupils and momentarily blinding everyone in the hall.
The magical Congress chamber fell into a sudden, eerie silence.
"Is he... dead?"
After what seemed like an eternity, Katherine finally dared to open her eyes.
In front of her, a tall figure remained standing.
"Heh~" Cyrus casually brushed off his sleeve and sneered, "Is that it?"
"A mere grain of sand—nothing compared to me."
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