章節 251: Chapter 250 "Leaf Sword"

Skyler rounded another corner, encountering a dense, enveloping mist. It was the kind that obscured visibility to the point where even extending a hand yielded no sight.

Skyler proceeded cautiously, fully aware of the danger.

His intuition alerted him that this was the area where the magic voles had met their demise.

While magic voles weren't combatants, their small, swift nature and acute senses made it challenging to eliminate 25 in one fell swoop. It would require adversaries like venomous leopards emitting toxic breath or basilisks capable of fatal eye contact.

However, given that the maze was tailored for seventh-grade prowess, it was improbable that such perilous creatures would be included in its design by the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts professors.

The fog seemed imbued with potent magic, impervious even to Skyler's mystical insight and the powers of Illuminating Insight, rendering its reality inscrutable.

Yet, Skyler had confronted fog before. He initiated the bird transfiguration spell, showcasing his heightened proficiency compared to a year prior.

In a swift motion, he transformed into twelve white eagles, each as large as a golden eagle. With a wave of his wand, the soaring eagles generated powerful gusts, piercing through the mist.

As the fog cleared, a towering giant tree loomed before Skyler, gradually unveiled from branches to trunk.

The tree's form resembled a palm tree, but with distinct differences. Despite Skyler's extensive knowledge, this plant remained unfamiliar. It was certainly not a common magical specimen found in Europe, nor part of Hogwarts' Herbology curriculum.

Unlike the stout palm trees, this tree boasted a straight, slender trunk adorned with silver leaves resembling swords, emitting a faint tremor.

A chill enveloped the air as an overwhelming sense of menace emanated from the silver tree.

"Killing intent," an invisible and intangible aura typically associated with dark wizards, permeated the atmosphere. It signaled the presence of a malevolent figure, one steeped in bloodshed and violence.

In essence, the frequent act of killing distorts a wizard's soul, influencing their magical essence. Magic, deriving power from blood, thrives under the soul's guidance. However, a corrupted soul can taint magic with "murderous intent."

But why would a magical plant exhibit such potent murderous intent?

Suddenly, a shrill screech pierced the air as myriad sword-like leaves shot forth at incredible speed, resembling streaks of light. The white eagles, caught off guard, offered no mournful cry as they exploded into a cloud of mist.

The bloodied mist enveloped the sword-leaf palm tree, lending it an eerie crimson beauty.

As the sword leaves dispersed, revealing numerous perforations on the trunk akin to animal mouths and nostrils, the tree shuddered. With each slain eagle, the tree trembled, and the sword leaves returned, slotting neatly into the apertures.

This was how all 25 magic voles met their demise.

Magic voles rely on smell rather than sight to navigate, rendering the fog ineffective against them. However, with hundreds, if not thousands, of leaves on the sword-leaf palm, a mere 25 voles are insufficient to navigate through unscathed.

Skyler noticed that he wasn't being attacked, indicating the tree's limited perception. Judging from the previous attack's range, as long as one remains beyond three feet of the sword-leaf palm, it won't trigger the lethal assault.

However, with the tree obstructing the path forward, unless one chooses to retreat and seek an alternate route, confronting the sword-leaf attack becomes inevitable.

For a seventh-grade wizard, this challenge is daunting. Attempting to resist the onslaught with the Shield Charm would result in inevitable harm. Even with multiple curses shielding vital areas, sustaining severe injuries or incapacitation is likely to jeopardize one's ability to compete further.

Of course, Skyler isn't your typical fourth-year wizard.

Space magic is out of the question; he lacks the finesse to deflect such a dense barrage.

While "Divine Aegis" could ward off the onslaught, he'd be immobilized, contrary to his intent of using it for broad protection and retaliatory spellcasting, akin to his strategy against the Swedish Short-Snout in the first tournament event.

Skyler recalled Chang He mentioning the Chinese elemental theory, which differs from the Western "four elements" belief. In this Eastern tradition, "wood" engenders "fire," making it highly combustible.

In essence, the swiftest route through this challenge lies in incinerating the tree.

Ordinary fire spells won't suffice; even intensified with a blue flame potion, they may fail to vanquish this magical entity.

Thus, his options boil down to Confringo and Fiendfyre.

Both Confringo and Fiendfyre are fire magics with astonishing destructive power, and upon reflection, there's actually a significant connection between the two spells.

In the previous Fantastic Beasts movie, after Grindelwald used the magic flame to protect himself and lead his followers away, he uttered the words "I hate Paris" and released the magic flame. Once he lost control of the spell, it erupted into a fierce fire, nearly consuming the entire Paris.

From this, it's evident that Confringo is essentially a controlled, subdued version of Fiendfyre. Grindelwald utilized his family's innate talent for "inspiring people" and combined it with Legilimency to craft the magic of "Protego Diabolica."

Compared to Confringo, Fiendfyre possesses greater destructive potential but is also far more challenging to control.

Even Dumbledore and Grindelwald refrain from casually casting the Fire Curse or allowing the fire to escalate out of control. They must continuously exert firm control over the flames.

The last time Skyler cast the Fiendfyre was during a group battle against the Eight-Eyed Spiders. At that time, he didn't attempt to reign in or control the flames.

In any case, his intention was to let the uncontrollable Fierce Fire rage unchecked, burning the Eight-Eyed Spiders to ashes, save one. However, he found himself in a highly anticipated competition now. If he opted to cast the Fire Spell, he couldn't be certain whether it might inadvertently trigger a catastrophic explosion.

After weighing his options, the most suitable flame magic for the current situation was none other than Confringo.

"Protego Diabolica!" After uttering the incantation, Skyler assumed the role of an orchestra conductor, elegantly waving his wand as a blue flame enveloped him, undulating like a sinuous fire serpent.

As Skyler continued his dance, the fire serpent targeted the sword-leaf palm tree, launching attack after attack.

While the tree trunk represented "wood" in the five elements and was highly susceptible to burning, the same couldn't be said for the silver sword leaves.

These leaves remained impervious to fire, retaliating fiercely whenever the fire serpent encroached upon their sensing range, puncturing it with holes and sparking.

After orchestrating more than ten attacks with Confringo, Skyler grew increasingly accustomed to the leaf sword attack pattern, refining his flame offensive to become more fluid and skillful with each iteration.

Suddenly, Skyler sensed a subtle stirring in his blood.

A gentle warmth followed the course of his veins, permeating his limbs and bones.

Recognizing this sensation all too well, Skyler couldn't help but smile—

In that moment, the blue fire serpent engulfing Skyler soared upward, and two egg-sized white flames materialized atop its head as if this seemingly mindless fire serpent had suddenly acquired a semblance of consciousness.

Now, Skyler merely had to think, and the fire serpent would execute any action he desired, as though these flames were no longer mere tools at his command but rather comrades bonded to him by a deep connection.

As Skyler contemplated, the upper body of the fire serpent split into two, then two into four, and continued multiplying until it assumed the form of a nine-headed fire serpent.

The Hydra launched its assault with agility, yet despite the Sword-Leaf Palm's relentless barrage and lightning-fast strikes, it couldn't fully vanquish all the flames. Eventually, one of the fire serpents spotted an opening, its maw gaping wide as it lunged forward, sinking its fiery fangs into the trunk of the sword-leaf palm tree.

With a resounding crack, flames erupted from the heart of the sword-leaf palm tree, creeping upward until they consumed the entire tree, reducing it to smoldering ashes.

The sword leaves, bereft of their tree's trunk, seemed like displaced souls without shelter. First, they emitted shrill cries, then they plunged into the earth with a hiss, withering away at a visible pace.