Chapter 447: Intense Battle

“Our dear Professor Quirrell seems to need at least ten minutes?”

Dumbledore smiled warmly.

Wizard Sean did not answer, but whispered again:

“Please, Professor. No matter what happens, do your best to destroy the Resurrection Stone.”

“As you command…”

Quirrell trembled as a ring appeared out of thin air behind him—Puckidge the butler, bow drawn, lifted his face and nodded with his nose pointed at him.

Clearly, Will had silently summoned the ring from the Book of Wizards.

“B-but…”

After a one-second pause, Quirrell looked at the two beside him and finally could not hold back his voice.

Puckidge possessed mysterious magic; the goblin race was indeed stronger than newly enrolled young wizards.

But against powerful individual wizards, goblins were clearly inadequate.

And now, the one standing between them was a newly enrolled young wizard—even weaker than Puckidge.

“M-maybe I could…”

Quirrell stammered.

Wizard Sean shook his head.

If it were Professor Quirrell, this might not be a practical lesson at all.

Then, the Fiendfyre surged upward, and Dumbledore’s eyes narrowed further.

Wizard Sean flicked his finger, bent slightly forward, and extended his wand forward:

【Name: Wizard Sean Green】

【Transfiguration Talent: Purple (Transfiguration Master title already granted). Note: Average wizard is Green】

【Transfiguration Categories:】

Magical Transfiguration: Skilled (170/3000)】

Material Transfiguration: Skilled (150/3000)】

Soul Transfiguration: Skilled (1500/3000)】

【Evaluation: A wizard who has reached Master level in Transfiguration, possessing qualified Transfiguration Master combat ability, an undisputed elite in the magical world】

Yes, when all Transfiguration skills reached Skilled, Wizard Sean’s combat evaluation system underwent another change.

But it was still not enough…

【Name: Wizard Sean Green】

【Dark Magic Talent: Gold (Dark Magic Saint title already granted). Note: Average wizard is Green】

【Impedimenta: Master (1700/?)】

【Petrificus Totalus: Master (1100/?)】

【Sectumsempra: Master (2300/?)】

【Confringo: Master (100/?)】

……

【Evaluation: You are a rare genius in the field of Dark Magic; Dark Magic embraces you willingly; you are the born King of Dark Magic】

Dark Magic still needed two more spells to reach Master level, and in combat, Dark Magic and Transfiguration were unquestionably practical arts.

At night, on a narrow road, the hedges on both sides stood tall and dense.

The dirt path twisted and wound, pitted and strewn with loose stones, steeply descending like all the small paths here toward a small patch of pitch-black forest below.

Wizard Sean’s eyes shifted to vertical pupils, his green irises glowing faintly with rising intensity.

Dumbledore seemed to enjoy this sight; he raised his wand, pressed it against his waist, and bent his body slightly.

Thus, both completed the ritual before dueling.

“Dragon’s Wings!”

Wizard Sean murmured.

A dragon suddenly appeared in the dim forest, igniting every dry branch.

It opened its mouth woven of flame, its roar making Dumbledore smile faintly.

“A delightful exploration. Have you read my notes?”

Dumbledore raised his hand, and the dragon vanished without a trace.

“Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore. Minor explorations only.”

Wizard Sean realized it was the counter-spell—the Reversal Spell; even with multiple transfigurations layered onto the dragon, he had still failed to stop Headmaster Dumbledore.

The gap between him and Headmaster Dumbledore was still too great.

Difficult. Still difficult… Facing Headmaster Dumbledore, even under the guise of a practical lesson, Wizard Sean had only one chance to strike.

“Please be careful, Headmaster Dumbledore.”

Wizard Sean said abruptly.

He had always feared magical outbursts, loss of control; all his Transfiguration was built upon the accumulated knowledge of centuries of wizards.

But stability did not mean power.

“Stone Golem, move!”

“Stupefy!”

Wizard Sean did not hesitate; his spell-combination technique allowed him to cast two spells in an instant.

But it wasn’t over—he simultaneously threw a sphere.

It was a portable Anti-Apparition barrier, inscribed with the Anti-Apparition Spell, capable of blocking a wizard’s Apparition for a set time.

Wizard Sean knew that the stronger the wizard, the shorter the barrier’s duration.

So he gave himself only one minute.

“An interesting creation. Excellent dueling technique.”

Dumbledore lightly waved his wand.

Summoning a gleaming silver shield out of thin air to block the attacks.

Wizard Sean did not know the incantation, but his spells left no damage on the shield; instead, a low, gong-like tremor echoed from within—the strange sound sent chills down the spine.

Dumbledore turned his gaze toward the charging Stone Golem, and the pale-faced young wizard with cold vertical pupils.

He had told him to be careful…

Thinking of this, Dumbledore’s mood grew even more cheerful.

As the charging Stone Golem was effortlessly shattered by Dumbledore, Wizard Sean still held his wand calmly.

He appeared motionless, yet his robes stirred inexplicably.

Professor Quirrell could hardly stop Headmaster Dumbledore; Will would be dispatched in an instant.

In truth, his plan had always been for him to accomplish this difficult task.

The task was, of course, difficult—his senior Tom had never completed it—neither during his Tom Riddle years nor as Voldemort.

In the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort had been the first to flee.

But this task still held a chance.

That chance lay in Wizard Sean’s complete ignorance of his own strength.

In other words, he had never fully unleashed his magic.

Wizard magic always followed a simple rule.

The Theory of Magic plainly stated:

【When you master a spell, to truly unleash its maximum power, you must also possess sufficient mental strength】

Mental strength here includes emotion and the wizard’s willpower.

Wizard Sean rarely revealed his emotions; he typically did not use emotion to drive magic.

But now he needed to.

He remembered the gray-and-white photograph, the warm candlelight in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the stumbling, tormented fate of an old man.

Motherless in childhood, love lost in youth, burdened with guilt and regret over killing his own kin, helplessly enduring life.

Now, he wanted to stop him.

“Vine Stone Guardians!”

Wizard Sean chanted.

The entire valley trembled; the ground beneath the hedges split open into terrifying fissures.

The thunderous roar startled flocks upon flocks of sparrows.

For the first time, Dumbledore felt surprise.

Before him, a massive hand woven of vines and stone clamped tightly around him, severing him from the entire world.