The Final Trial P5
Luciel saw the rain of golden weapons, but he only let out a small smile as he pointed slightly at the ground, using transfiguration to turn one of the nearby rocks into a sword very similar to his wand-sword, taking it in his free hand.
At once, he jumped back while his hands moved at incredible speed, striking every sword, spear, dagger, and arrow flying toward him.
Even when he couldn't deflect them, he simply shifted slightly, dodging with ease. It was as if his body and senses were connected on a level where, maybe even blindfolded, he could achieve the same result.
Draco saw this, and his gaze remained calm. He raised one hand and spread three fingers.
The weapons Luciel had deflected and that had fallen to the ground quickly turned into liquid gold, before reshaping into golden chains, which moved toward Luciel from multiple directions to trap him.
At the same time, with his other hand, Draco moved more weapons across the field to attack Luciel, striking from two sides at once.
This, far from worrying Luciel, only made him seem genuinely happy to be able to enjoy a battle like this again.
He let out an amused smile and said softly,
"Fiendfyre."
Without warning, a burst of liquid flame shot out from the tip of his sword, quickly surrounding them. But before it could spiral out of control like any hellfire would, it moved like a whip from the tip of his blade, never fully separating, showing an incredible level of control over one of the most uncontrollable dark spells in existence.
Luciel swung his whip of liquid flame above his head, causing a circle of red fire to form for a moment.
The heat of this flame was far greater than any other. The chains, not strong enough to withstand it, lost their form almost instantly upon contact, breaking apart. Only the larger weapons barely endured the heat, but once burned by the fiendfyre, which consumes even magic itself, Draco's control over them broke, weakening their movement and allowing Luciel to simply step aside and dodge them easily.
Before the flames died out almost instantly, his sword remained glowing red-hot, letting out a faint trail of smoke for a moment.
It was the same attack he had used before to cut through Draco's shield. Even Draco, who along with his friends considered themselves prodigies of magic, would have great difficulty controlling fiendfyre like that.
Well… except for one of them.
Draco stared at Luciel, even stopping his hands for a moment, knowing that this guy, as always, was truly dangerous. But before fear or doubt could settle in, he couldn't help but feel a faint excitement for the battle as well.
After all… they were men.
If they didn't get excited over a fight like this…
Luciel, taking advantage of that instant, didn't hesitate and stomped the ground hard, moving at a superhuman speed, like a blur.
Draco noticed immediately, snapping out of his thoughts and moving his hand.
Suddenly, beneath him, the ground split open, releasing liquid gold, which quickly formed a massive shield right in front of him, as thick as a wall.
just as Luciel appeared, already striking forward.
His sword stopped against the shield… but still glowing red-hot at an unknown temperature, it began cutting through the gold as if it were butter, melting it.
Draco, even on the other side of the shield, seemed to feel everything happening. He placed a hand gently against the golden wall.
Suddenly, on Luciel's side, at different points along the shield, circles of liquid gold appeared, firing arrows made of gold and tethered by chains of the same material.
Surrounding Luciel, trying to trap him once again.
That forced Luciel to step back, pulling his sword out after it had cut halfway through the golden wall.
And quickly, he swung in a wide arc, breaking the chains around him.
But the moment they hit the ground, they instantly changed form, turning into spears that shot upward, their tips aimed straight at Luciel.
Once again, he had to jump back.
But the moment he touched the ground, the earth beneath his feet opened again, sending out a massive spear.
Luciel had to leap back once more, but every time he landed, right where his foot touched, a weapon burst out to impale him, forcing him to retreat several meters.
Until he reached an area where it seemed there was nothing beneath the ground.
Then Luciel lifted his gaze and saw that the distance he had taken was the same as at the beginning. He frowned for a moment… and noticed something as he looked around.
The hundreds of weapons, big and small, made of gold that had once filled the battlefield… were nowhere to be seen anymore.
Then Luciel looked toward Draco, who was watching him with a faintly mocking expression.
"Oh… I see. You were marking your control area from the start," Luciel said calmly, looking down. In the small cracks, a faint golden glow could be seen peeking through. At least, around an area of about ten meters, it looked like gold was buried beneath the surface.
"Who knows," Draco said calmly, moving his hand slightly. Then the massive shield in front of him melted again and turned into a dozen swords and spears floating around him, and with a simple movement of one of his fingers, they all pointed at Luciel. "So… you're not coming any closer?" he asked with a hint of mockery.
Luciel, of course, wasn't an idiot. Obviously, Draco could attack him from both air and ground, and his words were nothing more than a provocation to lure him into his territory.
Luciel couldn't help but laugh, amused.
"Oh, of course. After all, I have to defeat you," he said calmly, while suddenly starting to stretch his body, just like he had during the second trial.
Draco understood what he was planning right away; Luciel was going to fight speed against his area control.
Draco moved his hand slightly, while he could feel the gold beneath the ground around him, ready to respond to his command, prepared to prove which of them would be faster at defeating the other.
Luciel stood right at the edge of Draco's territory, in a runner's stance, holding both swords, his body low, gathering a huge amount of strength in his legs, like a bowstring pulled tight, ready to release an arrow.
Even the runes on his metal boots shone brightly, giving him a boost of speed even greater than when he had faced Dee. Back then, he had fought the massive basilisk without equipment, so now he should be at least twice as fast.
Luciel's smile faded for a moment, his expression turning serious as he looked at Draco.
Draco, on the other hand, watched him calmly, though his hands were slightly raised, ready to control the gold and trap him.
But before either of them could make a move…
They both stopped at the same time.
And turned their heads in the same direction.
There, footsteps could be heard approaching calmly… but for some reason, completely clear.
At the same time, the maze itself seemed to open in that direction, as if it were entirely under someone's control.
Unlike with Luciel and Draco, where the maze walls had been destroyed by their fight and were trying to regenerate, the maze now seemed to part for the newcomer, allowing him to walk freely, like an absolute master.
As his wand, red like blood, moved lazily, almost without care, a faint reddish aura could be seen pushing the maze aside so nothing would stand in his direct path toward them.
With an arrogant and carefree smile, yet also amused, as he found them, like someone who had just found the toys he had lost.
Those green eyes looked at both of them for a moment.
Making him form a smug, almost second-rate protagonist kind of smile.
Draco let out a sigh.
As if he didn't know his friend well enough… he knew perfectly that smile belonged to someone who had come here just to cause trouble.
And yes.
The one who had arrived was none other than Harry.