AN: Ah... Hi? I hope you guys still remember me or this story.
Has it been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about the long break. I was really busy in RL and had no time to write. There were times I tried to write, but my mind was just too exhausted to write.
Everything is pretty alright now, though. I have enough free time to continue writing.
Anyways... here is the next chapter for this current arc. We are pretty close to ending this Arc and moving on to the final Arc of this volume.
So please enjoy reading and see you guys tomorrow!
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Non-Administered World #97, Star Rail Universe…
"Hogwarts… I'm back."
Voldemort's voice carried something dangerously close to affection as he stared fondly at the castle before him.
For a brief moment, the battlefield seemed to fade from his eyes.
Memories from his seven years at Hogwarts returned to him. The corridors he had once walked with quiet confidence. The quiet corner of the library overlooking the castle gardens, where he had sat alone with books no ordinary student should have been reading. The forbidden spells he studied long after the other students had gone to sleep. The trophy room where his name had once been displayed with pride.
He remembered the Great Hall filled with floating candles.
The cold chambers hidden beneath the school.
And the nights he spent uncovering secrets that even most professors never knew existed.
But before he could drown himself in nostalgia, a bright flash of fire appeared in front of him.
At the entrance of the castle stood Albus Dumbledore, appearing through Phoenix Apparition. His robes were disheveled and wrinkled from the fighting he had endured while protecting the school. On his shoulder perched Fawkes, releasing a bright, beautiful song despite the chaos surrounding them.
Voldemort narrowed his eyes at his former teacher.
The man who had introduced him to this world.
The very person who had made him aware of his true identity.
"Dumbledore…"
Dumbledore's expression hardened, and his grip on his wand tightened.
"Tom…"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Voldemort's face twisted. "That boy is dead."
Dumbledore's eyes grew sad. "No, Tom. I fear he was buried by his own hands."
Voldemort's eyes flashed red as his power flared outward, shaking the ground beneath him. His own forces were forced to their knees by the sheer weight of it, and the Quantum Shadows around them were crushed under the pressure.
Dumbledore gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain standing.
"This power…" he murmured, his face grim. "You truly obtained such forbidden power…"
As the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Dumbledore had been given access to the information shared by the Peverell Alliance, including the true reason behind the disaster unfolding around the world.
After learning the truth, he had tried to seek out the elusive Lord Peverell. However, neither the Potters nor the Greengrasses had been able to accommodate him. He had almost considered reaching out to James, Pandora, and Cyrus, but in the end, he decided against it.
He was not so low that he would use children under his protection for such matters.
So instead, he sought out his former master and teacher, Nicolas Flamel.
While Nicolas had not been able to arrange a meeting with Lord Peverell, he had been able to confirm the information concerning Voldemort and Dormammu. He personally explained enough for Dumbledore to understand the truth.
Voldemort had made a contract with Dormammu using their world as a price.
"Forbidden power?" Voldemort scoffed. "Ahahaha! Of course you would label it like that."
He released another wave of power.
The pressure slammed into Hogwarts' protections, shattering several defensive spells around the castle. Dumbledore's eyes flicked toward the broken enchantments, and he immediately raised his wand, restoring what had been damaged while reinforcing the spells that still held.
"This is where we differ, Dumbledore!" Voldemort raised his wand and pointed at the barrier protecting the castle. "Power is power! There is no such thing as forbidden or pure or righteous! It is all the same once it bends the world to your will!"
He aimed at the castle's protections.
Dumbledore moved before he could release the spell.
A dark green curse flew from Voldemort's wand at the same moment a red-orange bolt of magic burst from the tip of Dumbledore's wand. Both spells met halfway and collided.
BOOOOM!!!
The impact shook the grounds.
Their spells clashed violently, but Dumbledore was slowly pushed back by Voldemort's overwhelming strength.
Voldemort glanced at him with a bored expression. He watched as the ground beneath Dumbledore's feet cracked while the old wizard was forced backward little by little. His robes whipped violently around him as sparks of green and red-orange magic exploded from the point where their spells met.
"…You have grown weak." Voldemort stared at his former teacher with indifferent eyes.
"Kuh…!" Dumbledore tried to push back, but the difference in strength was too much.
"Albus!"
From behind Hogwarts' protections, Minerva immediately raised her wand, but several flashes of red magic struck the barrier before she could help.
"Keep your eyes on us, blood traitors!"
The Death Eaters began firing upon the castle, forcing the defenders to respond. Aurors, professors, Hogsmeade residents, and the older students sent spells back through the protections while younger students hurriedly reinforced the damaged sections of the castle.
"Protego Maxima!"
"Protego Horribilis!"
"Reinforce the eastern side!"
"Don't let those creatures reach the walls!"
Above them, the remaining Quantum Shadows continued their assault as well, forcing the defenders to divide their attention between the enemies outside the wards and the monsters descending from the sky.
Voldemort's followers laughed as they joined the attack.
"Look at them!"
"The great Hogwarts, hiding behind its walls!"
"My Lord will tear everything down!"
Voldemort's smile widened as he pushed more magic into his wand. Dumbledore's eyes widened, and a moment later, the clash broke apart.
The force struck him like a hammer.
Dumbledore was flung toward the castle walls.
"ALBUS!"
"PROFESSOR!"
"HEADMASTER!"
Minerva's face paled as Dumbledore's body slammed into the protections surrounding Hogwarts. The wards flashed brightly upon impact, catching him before he could be thrown completely into the castle.
Fawkes cried sharply and immediately flew after him.
James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Pandora, and several nearby defenders instinctively moved forward, but Minerva was already there.
"Albus!"
Dumbledore dropped to one knee, one hand pressed against the ground while the other still held his wand tightly. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to catch his breath.
Around him, the defenders stared in disbelief.
For many of them, Albus Dumbledore had always been the one wizard Voldemort feared.
Yet now…
He had been completely overwhelmed.
Outside the protections, the Death Eaters erupted into cheers. Their fear disappeared almost instantly. If even Dumbledore could not stand against their Lord, then who could?
Voldemort scoffed before raising his wand again.
"I… h-have to stop… him…" Dumbledore tried to stand despite his injuries.
"Albus, enough!" Minerva grabbed his arm before he could move forward. "You can barely stand!"
"Minerva…"
"You cannot fight him like this!" Her fingers tightened around his sleeve. "Whatever power he has obtained, it is beyond anything we prepared for!"
Dumbledore looked toward Voldemort beyond the barrier. His breathing remained uneven, but his eyes hardened.
"If I do nothing… then everyone else will pay the price."
He gently pulled his arm away.
"Albus!"
Dumbledore ignored her warning and raised his wand once more, but Voldemort was no longer paying attention to him.
His wand was pointed directly toward Hogwarts.
A massive sphere of dark green magic gathered before its tip. Dark purple energy twisted around it as the very space around Voldemort bent beneath the pressure.
"Shall we see how long your precious Hogwarts can protect you?" he asked.
Then he thrust his wand forward, his smile widening as the spell fired directly at the shield.
"Nooooo!"
Dumbledore shouted as the massive attack crashed into Hogwarts' protections.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The entire castle shook.
Multicolored light spread across the field as multiple layers of defensive magic activated all at once.
"Reinforce the wards!" Minerva shouted.
Every available wand immediately rose. Professors, Aurors, older students, members of the Order, Hogsmeade residents, and even wounded defenders poured their magic into Hogwarts' protections.
"Protego Maxima!"
"Fortify the western wards!"
"More power!"
"Don't let it through!"
The barrier brightened as magic from everyone flowed into it, strengthening it with everything they had.
For a few desperate moments, Hogwarts held.
However, Voldemort, standing at the edge of the barrier, slowly smiled.
"Impressive," he muttered.
Then something dark flashed beneath his robes.
The mark of his contract with Dormammu awakened.
Dark purple energy exploded from Voldemort's body and flowed directly into his wand.
Dumbledore's eyes widened.
"No…"
The pressure against the wards multiplied.
Cracks spread across the shining barrier.
"Hold it!" Minerva screamed.
"We're trying!"
"The wards are collapsing!"
"Professor, we can't maintain this!"
Voldemort laughed.
"It is indeed quite impressive for the likes of you." His red eyes glowed brighter as Dormammu's power continued pouring through him.
"But… it is still no match for me."
He pushed his wand forward.
The next second, the strongest protections around Hogwarts shattered.
The wards broke apart like glass struck by a hammer. Light exploded across the grounds in countless fragments, and several defenders were thrown backward from the backlash. Others collapsed to their knees, their wands slipping from suddenly numb fingers.
And finally… After several desperate minutes of struggle, the only thing protecting everyone from the Quantum Shadows and Voldemort's army was gone.
Nothing stood between Hogwarts and its enemies anymore.
Voldemort slowly lowered his wand.
Behind him, the Death Eaters raised theirs. Werewolves growled as they dropped onto all fours. Vampires prepared themselves with patient smiles, while giants tightened their grips around massive clubs and weapons.
Voldemort stared at Hogwarts for several seconds before he raised one hand toward the castle.
"My dear friends…" His smile became cruel. "Werewolves. Giants. Vampires. All those who stand beside me…"
His hand dropped forward.
"Go and take Hogwarts."
A deafening roar answered him.
His army rushed forward.
"Kill anyone who resists." Voldemort's eyes remained fixed upon the castle he once called home. "And leave no one standing between me…"
His smile widened.
"…and what belongs to me."
—--
"INCOMING!"
The warning had barely left one of the Aurors before the first wave crashed against Hogwarts.
Death Eaters surged across the open grounds, throwing curses ahead of them without caring where they landed. Werewolves moved between them on all fours, easily overtaking the human forces as they rushed toward the defenders.
Giants followed from behind, each step shaking the ground beneath them. Above their heads, vampires swept through the night sky, while the remaining Quantum Shadows descended from the tear overhead, turning what was left of the battlefield into complete chaos.
"STUPEFY!"
"CONFRINGO!"
"REDUCTO!"
Hundreds of spells flew from the Teachers, Aurors, Hogsmeade residents, and older students. They fired everything they had at the approaching army. Light cut through the darkness from every corner of the castle grounds.
Explosions erupted across the field. Several Death Eaters were thrown backward, while others immediately raised shields and continued their advance.
"Keep firing!"
"Don't let them reach the entrance!"
"Watch the sky!"
"QUANTUM SHADOWS!"
McGonagall spun around and raised her wand at once.
"Piertotum Locomotor!"
Across Hogwarts, stone statues and suits of armor came alive. Stone knights jumped from their pedestals. Gargoyles spread their wings, and enormous chess pieces marched out from inside the castle.
"Hogwarts is threatened!" Minerva shouted, her voice carrying across the courtyard. "Man the boundaries! Protect the students!"
The animated defenders charged forward, but even that barely slowed the enemy.
A giant swung its club and shattered several stone knights at once. Three Void Taurus crashed down from the sky and tore through another group of animated statues.
Death Eaters Apparated through the chaos, sending curses toward exposed defenders the moment they appeared.
"Behind the left line!"
"Shield them!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Protego!"
The defenders answered as fast as they could, but the enemy was everywhere. From the ground. From the sky. From the shadows between broken stone and burning grass.
Hogwarts had become a battlefield on every side.
"DOWN!"
James tackled Lily and Pandora aside just as a green curse passed over them.
Sirius immediately retaliated.
"Reducto!"
The Death Eater was blasted away.
"Remus!"
"I see them!"
Remus turned and fired several spells toward a pack of werewolves rushing around the ruined section of the courtyard.
Beside Minerva, Dumbledore forced himself back onto his feet. His body protested every movement, but he ignored it.
"Albus, you cannot continue like this!"
"I do not believe they intend to give us the choice, Minerva."
Fawkes screamed above them.
Dumbledore raised his wand, and a wave of fire crossed the courtyard, forcing several werewolves back before burning through the Quantum Shadows descending behind them.
But there were too many.
For every enemy they brought down, several more seemed to take its place. The Death Eaters continued forward. The giants were already reaching the ruined gates.
And above them… More Quantum Shadows fell.
McGonagall looked toward the exhausted students behind her. Some were injured. Others could barely keep their wands raised. Even the adults around them were reaching their limits after fighting the Quantum Shadows long before Voldemort had arrived.
Still… Nobody ran.
James stepped forward, placing himself between the younger students and the approaching army. Lily stood beside him. Sirius rolled his shoulders and gave the enemy a tired grin.
"Well… this looks bad."
"That is your observation?" Remus asked dryly.
"I was going to say completely screwed, but there are younger students here."
"I heard you!" one of the older students shouted.
"Then pretend you didn't!"
Pandora tightened both hands around her wand. Her body was trembling, but she stayed beside them. Beside her was her brother Cyrus. He may have looked exhausted, but determination still filled him.
So did the others.
Peter Pettigrew stood pale-faced, his wand shaking in his grip. Marlene McKinnon wiped blood from her cheek and raised her wand again. Alice Fortescue stepped beside her without a word, and Mary Macdonald swallowed her fear before aiming toward the broken gate.
None of them looked ready, but none of them stepped back.
Around Hogwarts, the remaining defenders slowly gathered together. Professors, students, surviving Aurors, parents, residents of Hogsmeade, and everyone who could still stand moved forward and raised their wands.
Dumbledore's expression softened as he looked at them. Hogwarts no longer had its protective wards.
And yet here they were. Still standing and still fighting for Hogwarts.
"Everyone…" he murmured, his voice heavy with emotion.
Filius Flitwick looked toward the Headmaster.
"We have already asked far too much from all of you tonight." His eyes moved toward the approaching army. "But if Hogwarts must make its final stand…"
Dumbledore forced his injured body upright and raised his wand.
"…then let us make certain they remember it."
McGonagall opened her mouth to stop him.
But she could not.
The moment she saw the determination in Dumbledore's eyes, the words died in her throat. Instead, she tightened her grip around her wand and turned toward the invading army.
Around them, the rest of the defenders swallowed their fear and raised their wands.
Together, they fired their spells and fought both Voldemort's army and the Quantum Shadows.
Voldemort watched everything from where he stood. An amused smile appeared on his lips.
"How touching."
He raised his wand, but before he could fire another spell, something cold touched his cheek. He raised his fingers slowly at the spot, and his eyes narrowed as a tiny snowflake fell past his face.
"…Snow?"
He looked up and saw countless snowflakes falling across Hogwarts. Even the defenders and Voldemort's army looked upward in confusion.
"What…?" James extended his hand, and a small crystal landed on his palm. "Is this… ice?"
The next second, the temperature around them dropped.
Ice began spreading across the ground.
The Death Eaters, vampires, werewolves, giants, and even the Quantum Shadows slowed down, their confusion turning into panic as frost crawled up their bodies.
"What is happening?!"
"My legs!"
"Move!"
They tried to escape, but the ice had already claimed half of their bodies. Before long, the entire front line froze like statues. The Death Eaters, werewolves, vampires, giants, and Quantum Shadows were trapped inside enormous formations of pink, blue, and white mixed colored ice.
Silence descended over Hogwarts. Everyone stared at the frozen statues. Even Dumbledore and Voldemort looked completely stunned.
Only a few minutes ago, Voldemort's army had been charging forward alongside thousands of Quantum Shadows. And just when everyone was about to make their final stand, those same enemies had been turned into ice sculptures.
Then a cheerful voice came from above.
"Sorry, sorry! This lady almost arrived late!"
Every head turned upward.
Standing atop one of Hogwarts' remaining towers was a pink-haired girl, arms crossed under her chest with a bright smile on her face.
March 7th stood there with an enormous formation of Six-Phase Ice spread across the sky behind her like frozen wings.
"But no need to worry now!" March declared, her smile shining even brighter. "Because WE are here to fight with you all!"
Everyone stared at her.
Cyrus, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Lily, Mary, Marlene, and even McGonagall momentarily forgot what they were doing.
Pandora's mouth fell open.
"Miss March…!!!"
March winked at her before placing both hands beside her mouth and shouting toward the sky.
"Caelus!"
With her shout, someone fell from above.
A gray-haired young man descended toward the frozen army, holding a baseball bat above his head. Imaginary energy from the Path of Destruction gathered around him, wrapping the bat in a brilliant golden force.
"What…?" Voldemort's eyes widened.
Caelus grinned.
"Rules…"
Imaginary energy exploded around the bat.
"…are made to be broken!"
Then he swung his bat downward.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The battlefield exploded beneath a gigantic wave of physical force that tore through March's frozen battlefield.
Her Six-Phase Ice shattered together with everything trapped inside it. Frozen Death Eaters were thrown across the grounds. Werewolves crashed into one another. Giants lost their footing and fell with tremendous impacts. Quantum Shadows broke apart into clouds of particles before disappearing entirely.
The shockwave crossed the Hogwarts grounds, sending broken ice high into the night sky.
Caelus rose from the middle of the battlefield and casually placed his bat on his shoulder.
"Hmm." He looked around at the ruined enemy formation. "Now that is what you call a great entrance."
March jumped from the tower and landed beside him.
"You better mean our entrance!" She pointed at the shattered battlefield with a noticeable pout. "That whole frozen battlefield was my masterpiece!"
"Of course, my dear March." Caelus smiled wryly and patted her head. "I wouldn't have been able to do all of this without you."
March froze for a moment as her face turned bright pink. She looked away from Caelus, but she did not step away from him.
"H-Hmph! Well… at least you know how important this lady is to you," March muttered, trying and completely failing to hide the smile forming on her lips.
Around them, nobody knew what to say.
"…Are they seriously arguing?" Sirius eventually lowered his wand.
"It appears so." Remus slowly nodded.
"In the middle of this?"
"…Yes."
Sirius stared at them for another second before a grin slowly returned to his face.
"I knew there was a reason I liked them."
But Voldemort did not share their amusement. His expression twisted as he looked at what remained of his army.
"Y-you… dare… to do this…!?"
March and Caelus looked toward him, then both smiled.
At the next second, the evening sky brightened as hundreds of magical circles appeared above the castle. Midchildan and Belkan magic circles opened first, shining across the broken sky like countless stars arranged for war.
Chaldean and Clock Tower Enforcers followed, and finally, dozens of wizard apparitions appeared across the battlefield.
The Death Eaters who had survived March and Caelus' attack slowly looked upward with pale faces.
"No…"
The TSAB mages descended first.
"TSAB First Aerial Mage Battalion, deployment complete!"
"Second Battalion entering combat zone!"
"Barrier teams, secure Hogwarts!"
"Attack teams, engage all hostile entities!"
Then the Clock Tower Enforcers appeared across the battlefield through spatial transfers made by the TSAB.
"Targets confirmed."
"Quantum entities and hostile magical forces."
"Engage."
Chaldea combat personnel came next through rayshift-like transfer systems.
"Chaldea response unit deployed!"
"Begin elimination of dimensional hostiles!"
"Support the local defenders!"
The battlefield erupted.
TSAB bombardment spells rained from above. The Clock Tower Enforcers tore through Death Eater, werewolf, and vampire formations. Chaldean attacks struck the Quantum Shadows before they could descend anywhere near Hogwarts.
Within seconds of their arrival, the battle changed completely. Voldemort's army watched their comrades fall one after another and instinctively took a step back.
"Fall back!"
"RETREAT!"
"They're everywhere!"
"Where did these people come from?!"
But when a werewolf tried to escape toward the forest, a TSAB binding spell wrapped around its body and slammed it into the ground.
Several Death Eaters attempted to Apparate away, only for an Enforcer to activate a bounded field around them.
"Spatial displacement restricted."
"What?!"
The Quantum Shadows suffered even worse.
The Chaldea Enforcers did not even allow them to touch the ground. Any Shadow that descended too low was immediately struck down by magecraft, artillery spells, or coordinated fire from above.
The alliance's combined strength pushed the enemies back from every direction.
Dumbledore and the remaining defenders could only watch as the army that had nearly destroyed Hogwarts moments earlier began collapsing before their eyes.
"Merlin…" Dumbledore murmured, his exhausted expression finally softening. "It seems… fortune has not abandoned us yet."
====== Chapter 225 END ======