For the first time, he felt that he was no longer something pieced together out of vitality, mental power, and a soul, but truly, thoroughly unified from the inside out. His entire being was whole, without the slightest trace of disharmony remaining. Every thought arose from the depths of his soul, and every sliver of power he mobilized carried the strength and potential of his entire body...
So... this is what it feels like to mobilize the soul?
The five-second countdown had become incomparably long to Avada at this moment—so long that he even had the leisure to spread out his palm and carefully examine every line in it, feeling the unprecedented power born between the closing of his five fingers, as well as the joy and seething excitement coming from the wand in his right hand.
His mental power and vitality seemed to be lifted upward together by some deeper power, rising all the way to a height he had never experienced before. Whether it was concentration, observation, speed of thought, coordination, or even the clarity of the vision granted by his magical perception...
Everything had become completely different from the previous second!
This was Avada's first time using soul magic on himself. After stripping away the soul fragment from Harry, his understanding of the soul knowledge in his memories had reached an entirely new level. Only then, over those five months, had he gradually mastered the method of directly applying soul magic to himself. Although he could currently only perform the crudest application of its power, having a soul involved and not having one involved were clearly two entirely different realms.
So this is what the holders of the Elder Wand throughout history felt like... No, that's not right. This has probably already surpassed the Elder Wand. After all, the Elder Wand is still an external object, while right now, I'm personally mobilizing the power of my own soul...
I wonder what level of strength this state can reach?
Meanwhile, Dumbledore's countdown continued to echo beside the ears of the spectators outside the field and the champions alike, constantly tugging at everyone's heartstrings...
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One!"
"Begin!"
The barrier that separated the champions from the dozens of Dark wizards before them abruptly vanished in the next instant, and Dumbledore's final words entered their ears at the same time. As the shield dispersed, they felt as if they had suddenly been exposed to an incomparably dangerous atmosphere. Dozens of vicious gazes locked tightly onto them, followed by an equal number of wands...
And so, in the next moment, the other two champions besides Avada—Krum and Fleur—made the exact same choice in tacit understanding:
The Disillusionment Charm!
Even at Durmstrang, which was the most tolerant toward Dark Magic, a rule-breaking weapon like the Disillusionment Charm absolutely belonged among regulated magic. But as champions who had already known the contents of this round more than five months in advance, and who also knew that there would be no magical restrictions in this match, they had long since spent those five months desperately studying and training their combat skills. Along the way, with the support of their respective headmasters, they had also mastered a large number of spells that would originally have fallen under regulated magic.
According to something Krum had said during one exchange, Karkaroff had once even intended to have him directly learn the Unforgivable Curses, only to be rejected without hesitation by Krum, whose sole desire was to be a Quidditch player. That alone was enough to show just how much pressure they were about to face this time.
Krum is about to continue casting stealth spells to complement it. He should be planning to hide and launch sneak attacks. Fleur's Veela bloodline is gradually being activated. Looks like she intends to cover the entire field with firepower...
With his magical perception, Avada could naturally see Krum and Fleur's movements perfectly clearly. At this moment, however, most of the Dark wizards still had not reacted to what exactly was happening before them. And because they had been stripped of the ability to speak and could not communicate, the scene among them also seemed somewhat chaotic—which was undoubtedly another advantage for the champions.
However, once the first champion began attacking, they would probably almost realize the situation and start counterattacking...
I need to take down the most troublesome ones before that—no, perhaps I don't have to.
Avada's enhanced thoughts were enough for him to think through numerous ideas in an instant. And right now, in the very first second after the shield had just disappeared, he had not even used any spells meant for concealment or defense. He simply exposed himself, completely unguarded, within range of all those wands, quietly watching every single movement everyone made—
In slow motion.
Then let's start with you.
With a shift of thought, his gaze turned toward Barty Crouch Jr., who had just cast an extremely difficult silent Disillusionment Charm and was hiding in a corner, observing the situation.
The combat strength to ambush and defeat Moody... I wonder what exact level that is?
Pop.
With a faint explosive crack, Avada's body vanished from where he stood without warning, then abruptly appeared less than a meter in front of Barty Jr.
If this had been before he mastered soul magic, he would probably have carefully slipped into the spatial interstice first, then waited for an opportunity to ambush from behind while under the Disillusionment Charm.
But now...
There was already no need for such boring things.
"!!!"
Seeing a figure appear in front of him without the slightest warning, Barty Jr., whose nerves had already been stretched to the limit, instantly erupted. His body raised his wand with a twitch-like speed, and he fired a powerful Dark spell straight at that figure.
Although he had not cast spells or fought for more than ten years, his constant resistance against the Imperius Curse throughout those ten years had tempered his mental power to a completely new height. The current him was confident that he would not lose to any of his master's former Death Eaters, and basic silent Dark Magic came to him as easily as breathing.
Being able to detect my position through the Disillusionment Charm is not bad, but you should have come from behind me, reckless boy...
Watching the powerful spell, one strong enough to knock down an Auror, surge out of his wand and close in on the champion's chest in the blink of an eye, the corners of Barty Jr.'s mouth could not help but lift slightly. He was about to reveal a savage smile.
Then, in the very next moment, a scene he could not understand at all reflected in his pupils.
The young champion before him, who was about to be struck by the spell, suddenly raised his arm and wand before his chest as though they had moved of their own accord, at a speed beyond the limits of human beings. The tip of his wand steadily "stuck" to the magic he had fired...
Then, with a gentle flick of his wand, that spell actually changed direction on the spot. It even became somewhat more dazzling, then struck Barty Jr. precisely in the chest at an even faster speed.
At that moment, the corners of Barty Jr.'s mouth had not even had time to fully rise.
Boom!
As that Dark spell sank into his body, a muffled sound rang out from Barty Jr.'s chest. At the same time, his eyeballs bulged slightly outward, as though a large amount of blood inside his body was about to burst out from his mouth and nose...
"Vicious spell... Reparo, Stupefy."
Before the first drop of blood could spray from his mouth and nose, however, Avada's wand pressed against his chest even faster. With an unprecedented restoration charm, as well as a Stunning Spell born from "Double Casting," he instantly healed the heavily injured Barty Jr. and sent him into a deep unconscious state...
Barty Jr. neutralized.
Time taken: one second.
(End of Chapter)