Magni landed either face-first, on his backside, or on all fours.
Propelled by the sheer force of the sonic cannon, he tumbled for at least two kilometers, slamming into the mountain and becoming embedded within the rock.
The mountainside struck by the sonic cannon looked as if it had been bored through by a tunneling machine, leaving behind a perfectly uniform, massive cavern.
"Audrey... she's so strong!"
The young wizards' minds couldn't quite process it; with their capacity for language halved by shock, they could only mutter simple descriptors like "amazing," "powerful," "incredible," or "badass."
The adult wizards, like Dumbledore, understood the true caliber of Hydrus's strike much better.
Crackle!
Grindelwald appeared beside Dumbledore.
The Headmaster had granted his old friend a backdoor, allowing him to Apparate freely within the grounds of Hogwarts.
"What's the situation?"
Grindelwald's face carried a trace of anxiety, lacking his usual composure that remained unshaken even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him.
"I rushed here the moment I received the message. I'm not too late, am I?"
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Grindelwald saw the absurdly exaggerated battle scars across the field and Hydrus, who was leaning on her knees, gasping for air.
"Fortunately,"
Dumbledore hadn't yet found the words due to his extreme shock, so Grindelwald analyzed the situation himself.
"She's alright!"
Although he had dispatched Edmond to stay at Hogwarts just in case, as the girl's teacher, he could not simply stand by and watch.
Hydrus remained bent over, taking deep, gulping breaths.
While that last strike had been immensely powerful, it had nearly drained her of all magic. Right now, her body was like a vacuum, frantically absorbing ambient magic from the surroundings to replenish itself.
"Gods" were beings capable of moving mountains and filling seas with a mere gesture, but energy remained conserved; power always had a source.
The stronger the effect, the greater the consumption.
At this stage, Hydrus hadn't yet gathered a massive amount of emotional power. Relying solely on her own magic to drive the laws of the universe was clearly still too taxing.
Luckily, Magni had taken the full brunt of the hit, and he likely wouldn't be feeling very well.
This was indeed the case. Embedded in the mountain, Magni was covered in wounds from head to toe, bleeding from every orifice.
He struggled to pry himself out of the rock, his left arm dangling uselessly. He looked absolutely wretched.
"Don't relax! His regenerative powers are incredible! Wounds like these mean nothing to him!"
Glenda Chittock shouted from within the castle.
Back when she had absorbed the emotional power of ancient magic sealed beneath Hogwarts to confront Magni, the two had fought to a standstill. The damage Glenda dealt back then was even greater than Hydrus's strike just now!
Magni lifted his head. He couldn't hear Glenda's shouts for the moment because the sonic cannon had ruptured his eardrums, leaving him temporarily deaf.
But this wouldn't last long. The wizards of the Norwegian Ministry of Magic were now his fanatical cultists, providing him with a continuous stream of faith energy.
Though the accumulated faith from thousands of years ago was far less than it once was, it was more than enough to heal these injuries!
Vision, restored!
Hearing, restored!
Brain function, restored!
Fractures, healed!
External wounds, closed!
Magni looked up from within the massive cave.
Round two, officially begins!
'Woman, you've piqued my interest!'
Trailing a long wake of lightning, it took Magni only three seconds to return to the front of Hydrus.
Hydrus's expression darkened. No wonder the Gold Saints found the main characters so annoying; these unkillable cockroaches were truly irritating!
"Is your name Audrey? Or Hydrus?"
Magni slicked his hair back.
"Personally, I prefer Hydrus. It represents a constellation in the sky—it's divine!"
Hydrus tilted her head, her brow furrowed in confusion. Had this guy's brain been scrambled by the impact?
"Marry me, Hydrus! You are a new god! The offspring born of our union will surely be the finest! When the time comes, I shall be the King of Gods, and you shall be the Queen!"
Hydrus nearly exploded with rage on the spot.
Her response to Magni's proposal was a blast of dragon fire fueled by fury.
"Aha ha ha! What a fiery temper! But I like it!"
Magni puffed out his chest and endured the scorching dragon breath, laughing loudly.
"You can't defeat me right now. Come with me, and I will teach you how to become a true deity!"
Hydrus's magic was almost completely depleted, and the feeling of powerlessness was truly unpleasant!
Magni clearly saw her predicament. Laughing wildly, he strode toward Hydrus.
"If you just come with me, I'll spare the wizards here! Compared to you, they aren't even worth mentioning!"
Two thick beams of orange magic blocked Magni's path. Dumbledore and Grindelwald stood side by side, launching a coordinated assault on him.
These two were the current power ceilings of the wizarding world. Once they joined forces, the result was definitely a case of one plus one being greater than two.
Sure enough, Magni shielded his head and face, unable to advance for a moment!
"Damn wizards!"
Magni cursed, abandoning the idea of snatching Hydrus by force. It seemed he couldn't take his bride away without first dealing with these two old men!
Exerting a sudden burst of power, Magni charged toward them.
Dumbledore's Impediment Jinx slowed Magni's movements. Although the slowing effect was limited, it was enough for Grindelwald to strike!
The blue flames of Protego Diabolica coiled around Magni like venomous snakes.
The intense heat instantly caused blisters to bubble on Magni's skin.
As his skin charred black, the pain drove Magni into a frenzy.
He threw a punch, and the wind from the strike actually blew the blue flames apart.
He stomped his foot, and Dumbledore's Impediment Jinx shattered like glass.
Lightning surged as he closed the distance with lightning speed.
Yet, why would Dumbledore and Grindelwald fear such a challenge?
With small-range Apparition, they easily avoided Magni's charge. To two masters of dueling, Magni's straightforward attack style was far too easy to dodge, despite his incredible speed!
The battle suddenly became a spectacle.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald were like two butterflies flitting through blossoms, dancing around Magni. Magni couldn't land a single hit, yet he was constantly hammered by their spells.
The dance was graceful, but they were dancing on the edge of a blade.
One small slip, one single glancing blow, and the game would be over for the two old men!
Thus, the cheering young wizards had no idea that their Headmaster and his old friend were actually fighting for their lives.
The two masters performed with such ease and poise that it gave the illusion of a casual skirmish.
But Hydrus knew exactly how perilous this fight was!
She had to recover her strength as quickly as possible to rejoin the fray!
She closed her eyes, and faint wisps of emotional energy began to converge on her from all over the world.
From the East, emotional energy came from Ukraine—the millions of Muggles who lived because of her, and the Ministry of Magic members who looked to her for leadership.
From within Hogwarts, the energy came from her "Audrey Guard." The quantity was small, but it was exceptionally pure.
Fans from across the globe also provided a steady stream of support, though because of her laziness and the fact that she hadn't performed in nearly a year, their emotions weren't quite as firm.
Regardless, this emotional energy gave her a massive boost. She could feel her power returning rapidly; she could even utilize this energy to invoke small-scale laws of sound!
Magni had never had such a frustrating fight!
Even the ancient wizards fought with a bold, head-on style, clashing directly in battle.
Not like these two old men. Clearly weaker in raw power, they fought with despicable cunning! It felt like he was punching cotton—there was no resistance to hit against!
However, both wizards knew in their hearts that they were getting on in years. They couldn't sustain a battle of this intensity for long.
If nothing changed, their best-case scenario would be to flee!
This Nordic God of Strength was simply too durable!
In these two minutes, he had taken at least a hundred spells. Even if his flesh was blasted open, the wounds would heal automatically within a few breaths.
"Dumbledore! You must use the power of the castle!"
Glenda Chittock reminded him loudly. She hadn't lured Magni to Hogwarts just to seek Dumbledore's protection, but because Hogwarts itself was a powerful ancient magical weapon!
But Dumbledore was only the Headmaster. He could, at most, activate the castle's defenses; he couldn't drive the castle to attack an enemy!
Besides, where could he find the spare focus to control the castle now?
Magni's attacks were too fierce and too fast, forcing him to maintain absolute concentration.
Any distraction right now would result in his death.
Boom!
Hydrus finally rejoined the battle!
The room for error in the fight increased significantly!
For when a team has a tank, the damage dealers can launch their attacks without restraint!
Hydrus parried Magni's fist from the side. Taking advantage of that tiny opening, Dumbledore and Grindelwald fired off several spells in succession, leaving even more wounds on Magni's body.
"You're too old, Magni! I have no interest in dry-aged meat!"
Hydrus kicked Magni away with great effort, her delicate face twisted in disgust.
"Besides, you're so ugly. What gave you the confidence to propose to me?"
Magni was stunned. In all these years, no one had ever used the word "ugly" to describe him. He usually heard terms like "mighty" or "heroic."
In that moment of hesitation, Hydrus seized the opportunity and delivered a devastating, descendant-ending groin kick.
Magni's eyes rolled back, his mouth formed an "O" shape, and he involuntarily clamped his legs together, doubling over in pain!
It seemed that no matter the time, place, or opponent, this move was always effective!
The entire field was struck dumb with shock!
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