Kyle's eyes—one dark and one light—settled on the white-bearded old man standing beside him, his gaze narrowing slightly.
Albus Dumbledore was arguably one of the most powerful magic masters in the world; blocking a single strike from a Susanoo shouldn't be a problem for him, right?
Besides, his Susanoo wasn't even the Complete Body; it was just a makeshift Version One he'd cobbled together.
A dangerous arc curled onto Kyle's lips. Under his deliberate control, the ten-meter-tall Susanoo suddenly swung a full-force punch toward Dumbledore.
The gale kicked up by the fist ruffled Hermione's bangs.
The moment that smirk appeared on Kyle's face, Dumbledore had been keeping a close eye on his "dishonorable" son.
As the ghostly blue shadow of the fist rapidly enlarged in his vision, Dumbledore's expression didn't change in the slightest. He instantly released a super-strong Shield Charm he had long since prepared.
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal echoed through the vast Charms Practice Room. A shockwave erupted from the point where the Susanoo's fist met the defensive barrier, the force of it jarring Hermione enough that she had to take a step back.
Dumbledore, looking rather annoyed, flicked a spell at the Susanoo, blasting it into countless points of starlight that drifted through the air.
"It's clearly a defensive spell, yet you've managed to turn it into this."
It wasn't just the Shield Charm; Kyle could even make a simple Aguamenti do tricks.
In their many previous magical sparring sessions, Dumbledore had already witnessed Kyle's various "Water Style" techniques.
Water Release: Water Severing Wave, Hard Whirlpool Water Blade, Water Dragon Biting Explosion, Heaven's Weeping, Steaming Danger Tyranny...
Simple water elements were manipulated into seven or eight different forms by Kyle.
The application of high-pressure water jets and lethal steam alone had been a revelation to Dumbledore, to say nothing of the Shield Charm and Patronus Charm, which Kyle could now shape at will.
Judging by the level of completion of the new magic Kyle had just displayed, it was likely only the prototype of a spell with catastrophic power.
If the day ever came when Kyle used this magic to conjure a thousand-meter-tall giant, Dumbledore wouldn't be the least bit surprised.
The old man began to feel a twinge of worry—could the wizarding world actually withstand the destructive whims of a Dark Lord who acted like a chaotic Husky?
Dumbledore exhaled unconsciously, staring at Kyle with a complex gaze.
While the little Dark Lord before him lacked Gellert's silver-tongued charisma and Voldemort's bloodthirsty intent to kill at a whim, his capacity for causing trouble seemed no less than that of his two predecessors.
Maybe I should just pack him off to Nurmengard early and be done with it, Dumbledore thought.
Snapping out of her daze, Hermione's eyes darted back and forth between Kyle and Dumbledore in total shock.
Wait... is this how the Dumbledore and Grindelwald families usually interact?
Kyle didn't see anything wrong with it. If he didn't test the Susanoo's power on Dumbledore, was he supposed to test it on Hermione?
However, the power of the Susanoo was slightly lower than he had imagined.
Last year, he had made a deal with Snape: in exchange for Grindelwald helping to break the curse on the Resurrection Stone ring, he had received several bottles of Strength Potions from Snape.
After consuming the potions brewed from Re'em blood, Kyle's physical strength was so immense that a single punch using "Monstrous Strength" could shatter a standard Shield Charm.
Yet, the punch he had just thrown via the Susanoo against Dumbledore's Protego Totalum hadn't even generated enough recoil to crack the Susanoo's form.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
This indicated that the Susanoo's offensive power was actually inferior to his direct use of Monstrous Strength.
Thus, refining the Susanoo was going to be a long and arduous journey.
Kyle glanced at Hermione, who had finally regained her composure, then turned to give Dumbledore a "you know the drill" look.
"Er, Dad, we're going to continue practicing the Patronus Charm now..."
Dumbledore's furrowed brow smoothed out, only to knit together again almost instantly.
He just mastered a new spell and he's already kicking me out?
He's purely treating his own father as a teaching tool, isn't he?
After shooting Kyle a harsh glare, Dumbledore ultimately chose to turn and leave the Charms Practice Room. He decided to give Kyle and the young girl—who might very well become the future daughter-in-law of the Dumbledore family—some private space.
With the massive room now occupied only by the two of them, Kyle's mischievous expression returned.
In front of Old Albus, he hadn't dared to risk using negative emotions to cast the Patronus Charm, but now that Dumbledore was gone, he could cause trouble with reckless abandon.
Walking to a corner far away from Hermione, Kyle tucked his wand back into his sleeve.
The unfortunate events of his past flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
Being mysteriously transmigrated and forced apart from his family; being left in an orphanage and ignored for so many years; having to rely on robbing street thugs just to survive at the age of six...
Negative human emotions amplified continuously in Kyle's heart—killing intent, jealousy, rage, greed, lust...
Cough.
Cold, sinister dark magic began to gather in Kyle's hand, accompanied by a faint, stinging pain radiating up his arm.
Kyle knew this was the backlash of the Patronus Charm beginning to take effect.
But he used his formidable magical control to forcibly suppress the backlash, relentlessly compelling the magic to condense and release as a Patronus.
Wisps of black mist began to drift from Kyle's hand. As time passed, the black fog steamed upward faster and faster until Kyle was completely enveloped within it.
Hermione, who had been quietly practicing her Patronus Charm at the other end of the room, noticed the anomaly.
"Oh my god! Kyle!"
"Hermione, don't come closer," Kyle's calm voice drifted out from the black mist. "I'm fine. I'm just experimenting with some Dark Arts."
After a moment's thought, Kyle added, "If you're really worried, you can go call Father Gellert."
As for why he didn't tell her to call Dumbledore...
He was mainly afraid Dumbledore would skin him alive.
Hearing that Kyle's voice was steady, Hermione breathed a small sigh of relief and stopped in her tracks. Seeing her stay put, Kyle ignored her and focused on his work.
Under his control, the ominous black mist surrounding him retracted rapidly, gathering in his right hand and condensing into a mass of sludge-like black matter.
The dark magic continuously fed the sludge. Kyle could feel it, as if something were gestating inside.
Soon, the sludge in his hand sent back a sensation akin to being "full," and only then did Kyle stop the flow of magic.
Suddenly, a pair of yellow eyes snapped open on the sludge, followed by a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. Kyle's hand jerked in shock, nearly flinging the thing across the room.
What the hell is this?
Is this freaking Black Zetsu?
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