Not just everyone else—even Krum himself was dumbfounded.
"…Huh?"
He stared blankly at the broom wrapped in a cluster of flowing light, floating in the air, and for a moment even forgot that there was still a fire dragon beside him. "This thing… this is something that can appear in an item round?"
"With a flying broom and without a flying broom, fighting a fire dragon is basically two completely different levels of difficulty… And judging by the model, that's a Nimbus 2001… it's good enough for a professional Quidditch pitch!"
"Did the other two champions get something like this? But if they did… then why did they take so long?"
He could not help but glance up at the judges' stand, a little suspicious that his own headmaster had secretly pulled some strings for him. But what he saw was Karkaroff looking just as stunned, with a trace of awkwardness on his face as well.
He probably realized that this had dropped him right into a very compromising situation.
"Whatever… luck is part of strength too!"
The moment he made up his mind, Krum did not even need to think further. His body had already moved on instinct, straddling the flying broom and kicking off the ground like an arrow released from a bow as he shot into the sky.
In an instant, the entire arena spread out before his eyes.
His excellent eyesight even allowed him to clearly see every expression in the stands—the slight astonishment of several judges, the shock and suspicion on most of the spectators' faces, Fleur's largely calm expression, and for some reason, Ken's especially twisted look.
Looks like they didn't get flying brooms either… sorry about that, but it seems I'm just the luckier one.
From this moment on, this is a Quidditch pitch… my home field.
He adjusted the broom's height, letting it hover in midair at roughly the same level as the tops of the stone pillars. Then he freed one hand, pulled out his wand, and hurled a few spells at the dragon below—spells far more provocative than damaging. As expected, they reignited the dragon's fury, compensating for the weakening effect of the enraging curse caused by the increased distance.
The Ukrainian Ironbelly let out an angry growl, then raised its head, its gaze following Krum's movements. Its nostrils flared slightly, and its eyes narrowed. At the same time, a patch of crimson light gradually began to shine on an open stretch of ground not far away.
"Yes, that's it!"
Of course Krum knew what it was about to do. He suddenly accelerated and vaulted upward, letting a blast of blazing dragonfire pass so close behind him that it almost brushed the tail of his broom. The flames kept tracking his position, following him as if they were one of the countless Bludgers he had dodged on the Quidditch field. The familiarity of it even gave rise to a faint, absurd sense of intimacy in his heart.
Keep going, keep going… don't stop, please, just hold on for two more seconds…
Krum sped through the air on his broom while the dragon's flames chased after him. At this moment, the Ukrainian Ironbelly was like a fire engine, its gaping maw locked onto Krum's position as it spewed fire, yet the flames were always just a fraction of a moment slower than his speed. Under his guidance, that long stream of fire bent rapidly toward the direction where the red light had appeared.
Three… two… one!
Now!
Krum suddenly exerted force with both arms and yanked the broom upward, sending himself into a near-vertical climb. At the same time, a crimson stone pillar shot up from the ground right in front of him, nearly brushing his hair as it rose.
And the relentlessly pursuing dragonfire finally struck the surface of the charging pillar exactly as he intended.
Krum saw a massive surge of magic rapidly gather at the top of the pillar, then shoot upward to the floating platform above, where his golden egg rested. The magical energy struck the golden egg dead on, making its surface flash faintly.
Even without seeing the scene below, he could guess it. Beneath the platform, a shining number "1" had definitely appeared.
Good… keep going like this!
Krum wheeled his broom around and charged back toward the dragon.
Under his skilled and precise control, the remaining four blasts of dragonfire also landed solidly on the charging pillars within just a few short minutes. The broad view from high in the sky allowed him to spot the red light the moment it appeared, unlike when he had been on the ground, where part of his attention had to be diverted to dealing with the dragon. Because of that, unless one was especially lucky, there would usually be a delay of several seconds before noticing the red light.
Avada had lost because of those few seconds of delay.
"Mr. Krum has become the only champion to complete the charging without damaging a single stone pillar!"
Bagman's voice rang out excitedly once more, as though his energy could never be exhausted. "Compared to the previous two champions, he has already gained a considerable advantage! If he can continue to perform brilliantly in the battle that follows, then he has an excellent chance of taking the highest score in this round!"
"As if he even needs to say that?"
Baron rolled his eyes in annoyance. "He's literally riding a flying broom. Comparing him to the other two who didn't get one—isn't that just bullying?"
While grumbling on behalf of his own champion, he cast a glance at Ken beside him. Based on his understanding of his old friend, that guy had definitely held back who knew how many tricks during the earlier match.
Whatever. Who doesn't have a few secrets?
In the end, he silently withdrew his gaze, and his mind drifted back to the things his father had told him before he departed to return to school—matters and tasks so shocking that even now, merely recalling them still stirred his heart.
In all likelihood, just a few months from now, he would be able to give this perpetually mysterious old friend of his an earth-shattering surprise.
"ROAR!!"
As the sharp sound of metal snapping rang out alongside a deafening dragon's roar, Krum's Ukrainian Ironbelly finally spread its wings—each dozens of meters long. Krum also tried tossing down a few Blasting Curses, attempting to suppress the dragon in midair the way Fleur had done. But unfortunately, the pressure created by these few Dark spells still fell far short of the overwhelming bombardment of a Veela.
After several wingbeats that sent dust billowing everywhere, the dragon's massive, heavy body rose into the air and rapidly closed in on Krum.
Next…
Krum narrowed his eyes slightly. After skillfully evading another burst of dragonfire, he used his wand to cut off a corner of his cloak lining and transformed it into a small mirror, sticking it onto the front end of the broom so he could keep track of the dragon's movements behind him.
Although I'm far more agile than the dragon, when it comes to fighting in the air, I probably still can't confront a fire dragon head-on. I have to split my attention to control the broom, I can't cast spells that are too powerful, and I need one hand free to grip the handle. I also can't use spells that require supporting gestures… should I try the Eye-Blinding Curse?
…No, this dragon is far too clever.
After chasing each other through the sky for a while, Krum decisively changed his mind.
It likes breathing fire too much. It's even deliberately keeping its distance from me. The only reason it flew up in the first place was to make hitting me easier. The Wronski Feint won't fool it… It's very likely fought wizards before. It knows the characteristics and power of wizarding spells…
Looks like I'll have to take some risks.