Harry Potter : Bloodraven Chapter 33: The Coming of the Crimson Raven (IV) (CH - 53)

The air grew heavy as a dense, ominous pressure began to press down on the rocky desert.

In the heart of the chaos stood a half-naked, bloodied old man, facing a figure covered in black, separated by a tense distance.

A blood-soaked parchnt hovered beside the old man, but his gaze never wavered from the figure across from him. His bloodshot eyes burned with a fury so intense it was as though he were staring at his most hated enemy.

Maverick's expression hardened as his Magical-Sense flared with danger. The bloodied parchnt pulsed with malevolent energy, its oppressive darkness intensifying.

The overwhelming force compelled him to retreat a few ters, but his gaze remained locked on the old wizard.

A low, maniacal chuckle escaped Morvain, dripping with madness and disdain as he watched the figure across from him.

Then, as if sensing sothing, his eyes narrowed, glancing upward briefly before returning to the figure before him. "So, your owner's been watching all along, hasn't he, dog?"

Maverick too, cast a quick glance upward as his Magical-Sense detected a powerful barrier enclosing the area. He knew his teacher was nearby and assud it was his doing, so he paid it no further mind and shifted his focus back to the old man.

He watched as the old man began muttering frantically in an unfamiliar language, and soon after, the bloodied parchnt beside him began glowing ominously, pulsing with crimson light.

Then, with a sudden, maniacal laugh, the old wizard raised his hand to the sky.

"GREAT DEMON SLIFER! GRANT YOUR UNHOLY POWER!"

With the old man's manic scream, Maverick imdiately felt the pressure around him intensify. A wave of raw power struck him, forcing him to cross his arms in a defensive brace as he was shoved back several ters.

The ground beneath him began to rumble, and even the once-clear sky darkened as clouds ford at an unnatural speed, signaling that sothing ominous and dangerous was about to be unleashed.

He saw the bloodied parchnt disintegrated into crimson light, which then coalesced into a small, glowing, blood-red bead, before embedding itself into the old wizard's chest.

Everything unfolding before him felt like an evil ritual, or perhaps an offering made in exchange for sothing far worse. The air was thick with an uneasy, dark energy. Maverick could sense that whatever the old man had just completed, its consequences were about to unfold.

Sure enough, a dark, malevolent energy began to spread from the old wizard, filling the air with a chilling presence. Maverick watched as the old man's eyes turned an unnatural pitch black—empty, soulless voids, as if they were no longer human.

He heard the old man speak, but the voice that ca out was not his own. It was distorted, unnatural, as though sothing ancient and terrible was controlling him. The few words he spoke carried a chilling weight, their aning even more terrifying.

"A THOUSAND INFANT SOULS..."

It was a statent, a price to be paid, a consequence to be faced.

Almost imdiately after the voice faded, the old wizard's pupils returned to normal, but his whole presence had changed.

Maverick saw the old man lazily inspect his body for a mont before looking ahead and eting his gaze.

He spoke in an eerily calm voice, as if recounting an old story. "For centuries, I have bargained with the fallen for life, hoping that one day I might elevate my rank..."

"You see, boy, I spent years relentlessly gathering my magic, seeking a breakthrough, but life is cruelly finite. There is no spell, no potion, no enchantnt to stave off death once the sands of ti run out—unless, of course, one dares to delve into darker paths. Equivalent exchange... sacrifices must be made." He paused, his gaze hollow, as though reliving the deeds he'd done.

"I wasn't like this at first. Cruel. At first, I detested it—the blood of magical virgins staining my hands. But then I saw... we wizards, who are ant to stand above all others, debase ourselves by mingling with lesser beings... choosing to mate... with animals."

He paused once more, as if daring anyone to judge him, "So tell , what is so unspeakable about sacrificing the byproducts of such loathso unions? Half-breeds, mongrels—creatures with magic but none of its dignity. Animals, nothing more, nothing less."

Morvain's voice dropped to a low, nacing whisper as he continued. "Centuries I have offered them, and for my devotion, I was rewarded. Today, I stood on the brink of ascension—at the peak of the Great-Magus, just one step from a breakthrough. And you, you insignificant child, have made it all aningless..."

His tone shifted, darker now, laced with rage.

"Just a few more decades, a few more offerings, and I would have reached the ranks of those seven monsters. I was so close... it was within my grasp."

"Now I'll have to offer countless more lives than ever before, a slave to their demands... and for what? A fleeting surge of power to deal with a nobody like you—a clown whose na I don't even know," he growled, his calm façade cracking under the weight of his fury.

Maverick listened quietly to the old man's rant, his face blank.

The old fool tried to justify his evil deeds, but in reality, he was nothing but a blatant racist. It was clear now.

Maverick watched as Morvain's grip on his wand tightened, his eyes turning bloodshot, until finally, he let out a furious roar.

Then, a wave of raw, unprecedented power burst from him, surging outward like a massive wave and engulfing the entire area in its crushing grip.

Rumble!

Rumble!

It felt as though gravity itself had multiplied tenfold. Maverick staggered under the weight, as if a mountain had collapsed onto his shoulders. His senses wavered, distorted by the crushing pressure.

It wasn't just physical. It went deeper. The weight pressed on his very spirit, trying to shatter his resolve and extinguish his will to face the man before him.

He knew exactly what this was. Dominant Spirit! The very manifestation of magical will. But for soone like Morvain, who had not yet ascended to Arch-Magus, to unleash it at such intensity? Maverick figured it likely had sothing to do with the ritual and the temporary power boost it had granted Morvain.

There was no ti to dwell on it though. The force had completely enveloped him, as if it sought to make his spirit kneel.

Gritting his teeth, he slowly lifted his head, his determined gaze locking onto the old wizard's wild, furious eyes.

Then...

BOOM!

An equally powerful surge of magic erupted from him, instantly shattering the oppressive force pressing down on him. The wave of his own Dominant Spirit clashed with Morvain's, slowly pushing it back until the two forces t in an unyielding stalemate.

The clash of their wills intensified, causing the air around them to tremble violently, so much so that it began to affect the weather itself. The already dark sky churned, swirling storm clouds spiraling above, as if the heavens themselves were reacting to the chaos of their confrontation.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Morvain bellowed, disbelief etched across his face. "YOU'RE JUST A MARQUIS!"

Maverick said nothing, pushing his will forward. He watched as the old wizard first showed disbelief, then anger, which soon turned into fury.

AAAAHH!

He scread, losing the last shred of his sanity. Then, with a desperate surge, he thrust his wand forward, his voice cracking as he roared, "CO! HELL FIRE!"

A torrent of crimson flas erupted from his wand, surging forward with terrifying speed. In that instant, both wizards instinctively ceased their struggle of wills.

Maverick reacted swiftly, propelling himself backwards while a shimring shield of magic ford before him, protecting him from the incoming inferno.

He accelerated, retreating further, but the flas showed no sign of ceasing their relentless expansion. It wasn't that they were following him, but rather that they were growing—swelling larger and larger with every passing mont.

In re seconds, the fire transford into a monstrous sphere, over half a kiloter in size. The ground beneath it turned to molten lava, and the rocks near the mountain's base liquefied under the intense heat.

"RISE!!!"

The old wizard's frantic scream pierced through the chaos, his voice barely audible over the roar of the flas.

Then, to Maverick's astonishnt, the fire began to shift. The once chaotic inferno slowly morphed into a massive, humanoid figure—crimson flas swirling and reshaping into a towering form, as tall as the mountain itself.

A deafening roar erupted from the fiery creature as it swung its flaming arms, each swipe blasting chunks of the mountainside away.

Maverick watched, frozen in shock, his hands shaking uncontrollably as the monstrosity took form. He could feel the intense heat radiating from it, despite being hundreds of ters away.

But it wasn't just the searing heat that shook him—it was the power. The magic. The sheer weight of the malevolent energy emanating from it. It was the sa energy he had felt when the old wizard's eyes turned black, when the demonic voice had spoken through him.

His mind raced, weighing his options. There was no ti for hesitation. The illusion spell, which he might have relied on earlier, was completely useless now. Morvain's magic had beco far too large, erratic, and unstable. Any attempt to cast such a spell would be instantly negated.

That left him with two choices. He could signal for his teacher to intervene—or...

His thoughts moved to the system.

Over the past year and two months, his points had accumulated into the thousands. Of those, nearly 2,000 had been used to increase his wizard rank to Great-Magus, and another 1,000 had been spent on upgrading the new spells he had accumulated during his travels.

Now with nearly 3,400 points left, the ti had co to make a choice. He hesitated for only a mont before making his decision. There was no ti to waste.

It was a choice between Transfiguration or the most destructive spell in his arsenal.

Fiendfyre.

Grindelwald had nearly turned half of Paris to ash with it. Maverick believed only the forr Dark Lord had achieved Master-level proficiency with the spell in recent history.

The other option was raising his Transfiguration talent to Master level. But upgrading a talent from Advanced to Master proficiency would burn 3,000 points, and that was simply too much for the mont.

With a clenched jaw, Maverick pushed 1,000 points into upgrading Fiendfyre from Advanced to Master proficiency.

He didn't stop there. As the rush of mories and experience flooded his being, he pushed another 1,000 points directly into his Magical Energy. Exhausted and with little stamina left, he needed to replenish it quickly, and this was the fastest way to make it happen.

It wasn't the most efficient use of his points, but Maverick didn't have ti to be efficient. Though this wouldn't restore him to full strength, it would bring him close enough, and the added Magical-Energy would amplify the power of his spell.

As the familiar surge of energy coursed through him, Maverick briefly glanced at his status screen, confirming the changes.

[ Na: Maverick Caesar ]

[ Class: Wizard ]

[ Rank: Great-Magus ]

[ Magical Energy: 5,782 ]

[ Points: 1,359 ]

[ Extraordinary Characteristic Points: 0 ]

[ Extraordinary Characteristics: ]

[ Excellent grade spellcasting ]

[ Excellent grade Independent Expanded Dinsion ]

[ Excellent grade Flight ]

[ Talents: ]

[ Magical Energy Manipulation (Advanced ) ]

[ Magical Sense (Advanced ) ]

[ Spacial Rift (Advanced ) ]

[ Dominant Spirit (Advanced ) ]

[ Transfiguration (Advanced ) ]

[ Alchemy (Advanced ) ]

[ Potions (Interdiate ) ]

[ Spells: ]

[ Aquired Master Proficiency: ]

[ Fiendfyre ]

[ Aquired Advanced Proficiency: ]

[ Illusio Lunam Lectorem | Flipendo | Bombarda | Bombarda Maxima | Expelliarmus | Sanare Vipra (Advanced healing) | Protego | Finite Incantatem | Petrificus Totalus | Stupefy | PatronusCharm | Episkey (Healing) | Reparo | Revelio | Disillusionnt | Wingardium Leviosa | Occluncy | Legilincy | Apparition | Mirror World spell | Confundus ]

[ Aquired Interdiate Proficiency: ]

[ ... ]

With the added points to his Magical-Energy, Maverick felt his stamina return. The exhaustion that had weighed on him lifted, replaced by a sense of clarity. More importantly, he felt stronger, more focused and his confidence grew as the power inside him settled, ready to be used.

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Author's Note:

Just a quick update — up to Chapter 86 is already available on P AT r30n!

PAT r30n [.] com / RyanFic