After casting Lapifors, William snapped up a Protego to tank the incoming spells. As he expected, Charles instinctively shielded his face and sidestepped to stay clear of the sand. William seized the opening to cast a Counter-Transfiguration on his own feet, undoing the earthen shackles that had locked him in place.
Finally free, William broke out in a cold sweat. He had nearly been taken down by a simple ambush, but now was no time to relax. In the brief moment he'd spent freeing himself, Charles had already launched a new offensive. Several magical glows flew toward him in a tight, overlapping line; from the front, it looked like only a single bolt.
"Layered spells? I won't be fooled by that." William understood the trick instantly. Given Charles's casting speed, there was no way he'd only fired once. Simply raising a shield to block what looked like one spell would be a death sentence if others were trailing right behind it.
The technique of layering spells was something Alan had emphasized during their training. It wasn't Alan's original invention—he'd adapted it from Barnaby Finkley's Seven Spell-Casting Methods. Alan had used a similar principle during his fight with Yaxley, using one spell to shatter another's path.
Sensing the danger, William reacted with impressive speed, diving to the side. He didn't dare stay stationary. His own Transfiguration skills weren't sharp enough to counter-attack at that range like Charles could; his only option was to keep moving.
That string of spells, numbering four or five, curved through the air under Charles's guidance, relentlessly pursuing William. Tracking was another advanced method they'd practiced, but it required constant visual focus and a heavy drain on magic. It seemed Charles had decided to gamble everything on this one sequence.
After several desperate lunges, William realized he couldn't shake the tail. He gritted his teeth. *Fine. If he wants to meet force with force, I'm not backing down!*
"Avis!"
William pivoted mid-stride and cast the Bird-Conjuring Charm. His control wasn't nearly as precise as Alan's, but he could force the flock to surge in a general direction. A dozen summoned sparrows swarmed the incoming spells. A few collided with the lead magical glow.
*Bang!*
The first spell in the chain detonated—it was a low-level Blasting Hex. The shockwave scattered the birds, many falling to the ground while others spiraled away out of control. But the remaining spells in the chain continued to scream toward William, their momentum barely checked.
The blast made it almost impossible for William to keep his eyes open, but he knew this was the deciding moment. He lunged to the side, tumbling across the grass before spinning around. He didn't even try to stand; lying flat on his back, he fired two Oppugno Jinxes at the magic closing in on him. He opted for the wide-spread, rapid-fire nature of the jinx to compensate for his lack of balance.
The Oppugno Jinx has two primary functions: firing magic like a spray of buckshot or directing objects to strike a target. William used the first method. With two sharp cracks of magical energy, he filled the air with a spray that grazed the incoming bolts.
*Thwack! Thwack!*
Two more spells were intercepted, their energy dissipating into harmless sparks. But before William could catch his breath, he saw yet another glow emerging from the haze, still tracking his chest.
*A four-spell combo? Is he trying to kill me?* William thought.
He was exhausted, but he knew Charles had to be in even worse shape. Remote-controlling a chain like that was a massive drain. If he could block this one, the victory was his. He sat up, pushing his last reserves of magic into a Protego. The shield was flickering and weak, but it looked like it would hold against a single strike.
*Ping!*
The shield held. The incoming Stunning Spell shattered against the barrier. But before William could celebrate, a final magical glow emerged from behind the fading light of the fourth spell.
*Bang!*
A Knockback Jinx, the fifth and final hidden layer, slammed into William's collapsing shield. The Protego shattered instantly. The impact lifted William off the ground, sending him somersaulting through the air before he landed face-down in the dirt. His mind was a muddled mess of shock as his consciousness began to slip.
*A five-spell combo...*
Outside the arena, Vivian, Bill, and Evan cried out in alarm and started to rush forward, but Alan held out an arm to stop them.
"The victor hasn't been decided yet," Alan said calmly.
"What?" The three looked at him in surprise. William was clearly down. They followed Alan's gaze to the other side of the clearing and saw that Charles was also lying flat on the ground, unconscious.
While the spectators had been mesmerized by William's defense, Alan had noticed Charles collapsing from magical exhaustion the moment William raised his final shield. Now, it was a race to see who could recover enough to stand first. Neither was seriously injured; they were simply spent.
Alan kept the others back, watching the two boys in the clearing. After a few tense moments, someone moved. It was William.
His physical stamina was naturally superior to the younger boy's, and the Knockback Jinx hadn't done much more than daze him. He groaned, shaking his head as he struggled to his knees.
"It looks like William takes it," Alan noted. The spectators rushed to Charles's side, letting out a sigh of relief when they found he was just deeply asleep from exhaustion.