Bang.
Dudley's spell was intercepted by the magical barrier and had no effect whatsoever.
Seeing this result, Dudley frowned and immediately cast another spell.
"Stupefy!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Dudley cast several spells in rapid succession, but they were all easily defended against by Snape with seemingly effortless skill.
"Is this all the strength you possess?" Snape mocked with cold disdain.
Dudley's expression darkened with frustration.
In front of Snape, he couldn't use his beyonder abilities, or his secrets would be exposed completely. Under these circumstances, Dudley's strength was severely constrained. With his current mastery of conventional magic, he was completely no match for Snape.
This was abandoning his most skilled fighting style, using his weaknesses to attack his opponent's greatest strengths.
"Let me teach you what wizard dueling should actually look like," Snape declared with authority.
Suddenly, Snape swung the wand in his hand with practiced precision, and a beam of brilliant light shot out, heading straight for Dudley.
Unable to make other defenses in time, Dudley cast the Shield Charm around himself as quickly as possible.
Bang!
A thunderous crash echoed through the corridor.
Dudley felt a powerful force impact his body with tremendous strength. Although the Shield Charm defended against most of the impact, considerable force still struck him directly.
Dudley grunted in pain and staggered back several steps, struggling to dissipate the impact force.
Fortunately, Dudley's physical condition was excellent, so this impact didn't cause him serious damage.
"Casting spells isn't just about reciting incantations. You need sufficient concentration and focus. The stronger your conviction, the more powerful the spell you cast will be," Snape explained with ruthless efficiency.
"The same spell cast by you and cast by me aren't even on the same level!"
"What do you think makes powerful wizards strong? Those profound and mysterious spells? Wrong! The magic they cast casually can far exceed that of ordinary wizards."
Snape pressed forward step by step with relentless determination.
He continuously waved his wand, releasing spell after spell.
Although he used very ordinary spells, their power was incomparable to Dudley's attempts, forcing Dudley to only defend without being able to spare energy to attack.
The offensive and defensive positions had completely reversed at this moment.
Dudley could only defend with all his might to barely hold on under Snape's relentless attacks.
"Is this the true power that spells can display?" Dudley wondered while retreating, also learning from each exchange.
Snape indeed disliked him and was indeed casting magic to continuously attack him, but wasn't this also a harsh form of teaching?
Dudley didn't have many opportunities to fight powerful wizards. His previous battles had all been life-and-death struggles where he couldn't afford to lose. Only victory was acceptable!
Therefore, Dudley had used beyonder abilities in every serious battle. When opponents didn't understand his true capabilities, he could often catch them off guard and establish a decisive advantage.
Moreover, the beyonder abilities of the Black Emperor and Arbiter sequences were extremely useful. When Dudley combined them with his spells, the combat power that erupted could bridge the age gap and differences in magical cultivation between him and his opponents.
But with Snape, Dudley first couldn't use beyonder abilities, and second, Snape's personal abilities were exceptionally strong.
In terms of spell usage, he was definitely among the top wizards in all of Hogwarts.
The pressure Dudley faced against such a skilled wizard was tremendous.
But this was also a moment when Dudley could grow rapidly. As long as he could learn enough from this battle, it wouldn't be a complete loss.
Meanwhile, Snape was equally shocked by the prolonged exchange.
He had already used the vast majority of his methods, yet still couldn't completely defeat Dudley. If he continued to increase the intensity, he would have to use those highly dangerous curses.
Although he disliked Dudley intensely, he knew this was at school and Dudley was just a student. Those lethal spells absolutely couldn't be used on a student.
He still maintained that moral boundary.
However, he really couldn't drag this confrontation out anymore, or where would his dignity as a professor be?
Bang!
Another crash echoed as Dudley retreated again, though this time he was much more composed and controlled.
In this battle, he had learnt quite a lot about advanced spellcasting.
"Look at me!" Suddenly, Snape shouted with commanding authority.
Dudley couldn't help but look toward Snape, especially directly into his eyes.
But the next moment, Dudley realised something was terribly wrong.
Snape's eyes became extremely deep and penetrating, like the night sky at 2 AM, making people unable to resist being mesmerised.
The blackness kept expanding, like a black hole, threatening to devour Dudley completely.
"Let me see what secrets you really have..." Snape said with cold determination.
He wanted to enter Dudley's memories to take a look.
Just a little Legilimency. As long as he didn't go too far, no one would notice. Consider it a harsh lesson for Dudley's insolence.
Snape thought this approach was justified.
Suddenly, a strange, otherworldly darkness appeared before his eyes, and hair-raising whispers exploded in his ears with terrifying intensity.
"You..." Snape felt like his brain was about to explode directly. Blood spurted from his nose, his whole body swayed dangerously, and he collapsed headfirst to the stone floor.
Dudley also experienced a splitting headache of incredible intensity.
In that instant, he felt like something ancient and terrible in his mind had awakened, making him feel overwhelming fear and despair. Whispers in unknown languages and twisted light appeared in his ears and before his eyes, and everything seemed to be moving away from him into an abyss.
Dudley slowly collapsed to the ground and closed his eyes, consciousness fading.
Dudley felt like he was experiencing a very long, vivid dream.
In the dream, he had returned to that mysterious otherworld again.
He saw those people from his past, flashing by before him one by one. He couldn't tell whether these figures were illusory or real. He reached out desperately, trying to grab someone to ask questions, but found his hand passed through their bodies without catching anything substantial.
He looked around with growing confusion. This seemed to be Backlund, the capital of the Ruen Kingdom. Thick, choking smog shrouded this industrial city, and everyone was hurrying about their business, no one noticing Dudley's presence.
Just then, Dudley's gaze suddenly focused with sharp recognition.
In the crowd, he saw a figure that stood out distinctly from the others.
Black hair, brown eyes, ordinary appearance, deep features, with a scholarly temperament, wearing a tall top hat in the style of the era.
"Dudley, remember our agreement," that person spoke with quiet authority.
A familiar yet strange voice that sent chills through him.
The young man smiled slightly at Dudley with knowing eyes.
Then Dudley felt everything spinning violently, and his surroundings were instantly swallowed by absolute darkness.
Huff~
Dudley suddenly woke up and sat up in bed with a gasp.
"This is... the hospital wing..." Dudley looked around with growing awareness.
This was no longer the smog-filled Backlund of his dreams but Hogwarts' familiar hospital wing with its clean white beds and medicinal smell.