[Inside Hogwarts Castle]
The battle had entered its final stage.
Under the pincer attack of the Durmstrang reinforcements and the Hogwarts allied forces, the number of French wizards inside the shaft had already dropped to single digits.
The few survivors had retreated back into the eighth-floor corridor, hoping to use the terrain advantage there to make the students pay one final bloody price, or perhaps kill a professor who exposed themselves.
It wasn't impossible.
After Hogwarts' reform and campus reconstruction project, the layout of the eighth floor had changed completely. Its complexity was such that even Hogwarts students and professors could get lost there, giving the French wizards plenty of room to employ their tactics.
But just as they gritted their teeth and prepared to search for ambush positions...
A mass of orange-red flames suddenly erupted from the corridor.
Then, surrounded by golden-white holy light and radiating overwhelming presence, Dumbledore appeared out of thin air, directly blocking their path.
"D-Dumbledore!"
The leading French wizard muttered.
Fear spread uncontrollably through his eyes.
This was the terrifying figure who had once defeated Grindelwald and, not long ago, destroyed most of Beauxbatons.
Faced with him, all the rage in the French wizards' hearts was instantly extinguished.
They screamed and tried to retreat. Compared to Dumbledore, they would rather face the massive student alliance.
At least that offered a slight chance of survival.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore had no intention of giving them that opportunity.
Buzz!
A vast amount of golden-white holy light descended.
These lights, which had previously served only as defensive and expendable energy against the two Voldemort soul fragments, now displayed their true power.
They transformed into countless blades and instantly cut the French wizards before him into pieces.
In the distance, the Hogwarts crowd who witnessed everything erupted into deafening cheers.
Everyone shouted Dumbledore's name and rushed toward him like mad.
Among the noise, Dumbledore could even vaguely hear people asking about Harry and Link.
Yet amid all those voices, Dumbledore merely looked at the phoenix Fawkes beside him with a complicated expression.
"You've already started following his orders, haven't you?"
Dumbledore said softly.
Phoenixes were magical creatures that were notoriously difficult to tame.
But once they acknowledged someone, they became the most loyal guardians imaginable. Other than their master, they would ignore everyone else's commands.
Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for a phoenix to acknowledge two people at the same time.
First, because people worthy of a phoenix's recognition were exceedingly rare. For a phoenix to encounter even one in its lifetime was unusual, let alone two.
Second, because phoenixes, being intelligent creatures, also believed in first come, first served. Generally speaking, they favored the first master they acknowledged and ignored those who came later.
But an exception had appeared.
Earlier, Fawkes had chosen to obey Link's command rather than his, Dumbledore's.
This definitely wasn't because Fawkes wanted to save him.
Phoenixes had no concept of death. They would never stop their masters from facing death. If ordered, they could even kill their own master.
Which meant that between Dumbledore and Link, the phoenix preferred to follow Link's command.
Did that also mean Link possessed some quality even more outstanding than Dumbledore's, something that had earned Fawkes' recognition?
"Ying ying ying... "
A beautiful cry echoed through the corridor.
Dumbledore was pulled out of his thoughts.
Looking at the phoenix before him, he forced a smile.
"So that's how it is. You're going back to help him now? Of course you can. But I'd like to give you one more order, alright? Bring that child back. No matter what. Even if he orders you to leave, bring him back. I hope you'll listen to me this time, alright?"
The Song of Courage rang out once more.
Accompanied by that beautiful melody, Fawkes transformed into flames and vanished.
Dumbledore stared at the place where the flames disappeared, his expression extremely complicated.
Behind him, students and professors cheered as they rushed over.
———
On the other side of the battlefield.
Link, whose entire body was covered in Mist Armor and pale blue-white cyclones, had already been swallowed by a blood-red blade storm.
Fine blood lightning continuously coursed across Voldemort's body, frantically stimulating Harry's physical functions and squeezing out even more power.
As a result, Voldemort's movements had reached an extreme speed.
Laughing wildly, he continuously swung the blood-red long blade in chaotic arcs.
The nearly invisible slashes fell endlessly, each one more powerful than the last.
Blood-red flashes filled the sky, striking sparks all around Link.
Some of these slashes were sharp enough to cut through layers of Link's thickened energy barriers. Combined with the shockwaves from the other attacks, they struck Link directly, increasing his wounds and worsening the injuries to his internal organs. The taste of blood rose in his throat, and he nearly coughed it up.
This was the inevitable result of losing Dumbledore's support.
Every Legendary-tier wizard had their own combat style and energy tendency.
If it had to be described, Dumbledore was like a fortress that excelled in both offense and defense. His dominating golden-white holy light and terrifying Vanishing Spell possessed immense offensive and defensive power alike.
Voldemort was greedier.
Attack, defense, speed, intelligence...
He wanted everything.
Because of that desire, Voldemort had crazily modified his bloodline and absorbed all kinds of knowledge and abilities. Even outdated techniques like swordsmanship and blade arts were no exception.
And he truly succeeded.
The Voldemort soul fragment now wielding the blood-red blade was likely the all-powerful being Voldemort had dreamed of becoming in his youth.
As for Link, he was a pure attacker.
Even though he possessed a defensive ability like Mist Armor, its essence existed to help him attack more effectively.
So when facing Voldemort's relentless assault, he never intended to stand there and defend passively.
Even though his internal organs were damaged and blood had already risen to his throat, he still gritted his teeth and fiercely swung his wand at the blood-lightning-wreathed figure.
BOOM!
The Mist Armor, already heated to a pinkish color, suddenly expanded outward before exploding.
Scorching white steam rapidly spread out, turning the entire battlefield into a high-temperature hell.
This time, Voldemort's soul fragment had learned his lesson.
The instant the steam erupted, he not only retreated sharply under the power of the blood lightning, but also continuously slashed with the blood-red blade.
The wildly dancing edges formed a storm that directly shredded all the steam in the sky.
And that reaction was exactly what Link wanted.
The shattered steam clouds reconvened under Link's control, compressed themselves, and were rapidly transformed into scorching air cannons that fired at the blade storm at extremely high frequency.
Naturally, all those attacks were blocked.
Mocking laughter even came from within the blood-red blade storm.
Link knew very well that Voldemort was laughing at his futile efforts.
But were they really futile?
In truth, if Voldemort had paid even a little attention, he would have noticed that every single attack Link launched struck the exact same spot on the side of his blade.
Unfortunately, Voldemort's mind had already been consumed by humiliation and rage.
He only focused on wildly swinging his blade, blocking attacks while trying to kill Link.
And Link was doing the same thing.
The two were like underground fighters in a cage match, completely mad, throwing heavy punches at each other without holding anything back.
After nearly half a minute of this brutal exchange, fine cracks finally spread across the side of the blood-red blade.
Crack!
The crisp sound of breaking was nearly inaudible amid the sonic booms and explosive collisions.
By now, Link had completely become a blood-soaked figure.
His body was covered in cuts.
Large amounts of blood sprayed out with every movement he made.
Yet despite that, a smile still appeared on his face.
His goal had been achieved.
Voldemort finally stopped moving.
Or rather, he was forced to stop.
The blood-red blade formed from Gerard was desperately resisting his control inside the mental world. The resistance was so intense that even Voldemort couldn't ignore it.
The blade trembled violently, producing mournful cries that sounded like screams even in the physical world.
'You can't use it anymore! It'll shatter!'
Voldemort looked down at the blade in dissatisfaction.
Its surface was already covered in fine cracks, and those cracks were still spreading.
Gerard wasn't lying.
The blood-red blade had reached its limit. It could no longer withstand additional power.
And when the blade shattered, Gerard himself would die.
"What a... worthless existence."
Voldemort shook his head with obvious disgust.
Then he looked up at Link, who was covered in blood and barely floating in the air while taking the opportunity to catch his breath.
Smiling, he said, "You are very good! Truly very good! In my long life, you are one of the few strong people who have earned my acknowledgment! So, would you like to follow me and become my new blade? This is the only way you can survive!"
The moment those words were spoken, the blood-red blade trembled even more violently.
It was as though Gerard himself was roaring at the Voldemort soul fragment.
Accusing him of trying to persuade Link to surrender.
The main Voldemort soul had already tried that before.
And the result was that not even a trace of him remained.
To Gerard, such stupidity was like casting a spell on a rooster and trying to turn it back into a Tyrannosaurus.
Yet while Gerard continued shouting inside the mental world, he suddenly heard Link nod and say, "Sure, I accept your offer."
"But if I'm joining you, what position will you give me? I think we need to discuss that first. I'm a Legendary-tier wizard. I want a status that matches my identity and strength!"
'Uh... '
Inside the mental world, Gerard instantly turned to stone.
Even the blood-red blade strangely stopped trembling, allowing the fine cracks on its surface to continue spreading.
He had never expected Link to agree so quickly and move straight into negotiating future benefits.
But after the initial shock, Gerard felt it wasn't entirely impossible to understand.
After all, Link was almost completely exhausted.
Gerard had seen plenty of people with firm beliefs surrender when faced with death.
Maybe Link was the same.
After hesitating for a while, Gerard slowly raised the corners of his mouth in the mental world and prepared to persuade the soul fragment inside Harry to accept Link's surrender.
But before he could speak, Voldemort had already tightened his grip on the blade and raised it high above his head.
"I don't sense any sincerity in your words."
Voldemort shook his head.
"Which means you're just trying to buy time so you can recover more strength."
"Ah, you saw through it. That's a shame."
Link lowered his head in disappointment.
The wounds on his body had stopped bleeding during the brief conversation.
But it was far from enough.
Because an appalling power was gathering on the blade Voldemort had raised.
Gerard's consciousness began screaming again.
In his current state, he simply couldn't endure such an enormous infusion of energy.
As the energy continued pouring in, he could feel the blade forged from his soul and energy crumbling faster and faster. The pain that reached into his very bones made him wish he could die immediately.
Unfortunately, that wish wasn't allowed.
Terrifying and viscous dark magic invaded the blood-red blade.
It spread along the cracks, forming large black fissure-like patterns.
Like an extremely powerful adhesive, it forcibly held together the blade that was on the verge of shattering, allowing it to bear even more power.
"Since you refuse to submit, then die!"
As Voldemort finished speaking...
The raised blade came down as well.
This was undoubtedly the most terrifying slash Link had ever seen.
The black and red magic had completely fused together on the blade.
Enhanced by that magic, the attack was powerful enough to split mountains and rivers.
Without question, after unleashing this full-power strike, the blade itself would shatter.
But before that happened, he would probably be cut apart first.
A bitter smile appeared on Link's face.
Then, at that moment, a clear and pleasant phoenix cry suddenly rang out beside his ear.
A huge mass of orange-red phoenix flames appeared out of nowhere and rushed forward, meeting the incoming blade before anything else.
The instant the two collided... The towering phoenix flames, along with the phoenix hidden inside them in energy form, were split in half.
But the blade itself, pushed to its absolute limit, also shattered from the sudden impact and exploded into countless fragments.