In the heart of a colossal cumulonimbus, thousands of meters above the ground where rain crashed endlessly from every direction, lightning split the darkness without pause and violent winds screamed hard enough to reduce buildings to rubble, looking for someone would be akin to finding a single grain of sand amidst an entire beach.
An ordinary human would be shredded apart within moments inside here, however, two figures continued climbing at tremendous speed, the catastrophic environment around them failing to hinder them in the slightest.
Grindelwald's expression darkened sensing something from the edge of his perception and glance over his shoulder. Sure enough, he quickly noticed a figure rapidly approaching, and a dangerous madness slowly surfaced within his gaze.
Escape. Yes, that was the only thing on his mind now, god knows how many times he had already tried to apparate, but the magical ward blanketing the area seemed vastly more exaggerated than he had originally believed.
Eyes gleaming madly, his magic erupted with even greater force, accelerating until a sonic boom thundered behind him, breaking past the speed of sound.
He regretted it, regretted butting in despite knowing two warlocks stood on the opposing side, having been fully confident that escape would never become a problem regardless. In fact, he had never considered himself capable of facing two opponents of the same rank simultaneously, having only recently stepped into the warlock realm himself, while who knew how long his old friend had already stood there, not to mention that monstrous anomaly of a boy who could not even be measured by common sense.
All he had wanted was to make a grand entrance, a declaration to the world that Grindelwald had returned, then a graceful departure. Was that really such an unreasonable wish?
Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-
Lightning split from every direction, each bolt more than capable of reducing flesh and bone to ash, but he paid the storm no attention and glance over his shoulder once more.
How?
His pupils contracted sharply. Maverick was now only a few dozen meters behind him and rapidly closing the distance.
What kind of freak is this kid?
A chill ran through him then abruptly spun around and lunged his wand downward, unleashing several streaks of magic consecutively.
Meanwhile, below, Maverick's eyes gleamed sharply beneath the endless flashes of lightning. The instant the streaks of magic tore through the storm toward him, his body moved almost instinctively, swerving and zigzagging like a phantom dancing between blades through the barrage, sharply veering left and right between the attacks with impossible precision while the spells brushed past him by mere inches before disappearing into the distance, and throughout it all, his speed did not decrease in the slightest.
The chase did not last long before Grindelwald finally burst through the storm layer, the raging thunderclouds suddenly giving way to calm skies illuminated by a half crescent moon overhead. But he had no heart to appreciate the sight.
Despite reaching such an altitude, he was still unable to initiate any form of spatial magic, and before he could even process that fact, the other party had also erupted through the clouds…
"It's pointless, Mr. Grindelwald… no matter how high you climb," said Maverick, smiling provocatively at him.
Grindelwald's expression hardened visibly, "boy… I don't recall ever doing anything to warrant this hostility from you."
"Did your breakthrough do something to your brain?" Maverick chuckled lightly, gliding closer through the open sky, his hands tucking into his coat pockets. "You don't remember sending me flying across half the city? Or was that you merely saying hello?"
The old Dark Lord's face twitched almost imperceptibly. "Very well. I may have overreacted, I admit… however, compared to what you did to dear Rosier, I dare say my response was entirely appropriate." He paused briefly, "Besides, you were not harmed in the slightest, so I still fail to see why you bear such animosity toward me."
"Rosier?" Maverick feigned ignorance, touching his brow thoughtfully, "Ah... you mean that crazy woman—"
"Careful, boy," Grindelwald cut in coldly, his expression turning noticeably darker.
Interesting... Maverick arched a brow. He honestly had no idea the woman held such significance in the old Dark Lord's eyes. Or perhaps... it was merely a convenient excuse.
"Well, since you mentioned her..." Maverick shrugged lightly. "She was trying to resurrect a madman. Her intention may have been to eventually free you with his help afterward, though I very much doubt that fantasy would have unfolded the way she imagined." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Riddle... I'm not sure whether you know him or not, but he is a completely different breed of evil. Had I not acted, had no one become aware of what was happening, who knows how much chaos he would have unleashed upon the world..."
Grindelwald scoffed coldly in response. "The same monster whose resurrection you knowingly permit—" he said, then suddenly pause mid-sentence. A moment later, an unexpected smile slowly surfaced on his face as a realization dawned within his eyes. "I see now..." The corners of his lips curled upward, "so that was your objective... use him merely as a pretext..."
Maverick smiled back at him without offering an answer.
Grindelwald's lips curled upward further. "To deceive the whole world while gambling with so many lives..." he clicked his tongue lightly. "Tell me, boy... when all is said and done, what exactly do you think history will call you?"
Clap... clap... clap...
Three slow claps echoed through the moonlit sky as Maverick smiled openly at the old Dark Lord. "As expected of the man once hailed as the equal of the great, wise..." he emphasized the word, "Albus Dumbledore." A chuckle escaped him. "Congratulations. You've completely seen through me..."
"It wasn't particularly difficult to piece together," Grindelwald said calmly. "And it certainly will not end with me… surely you already know that."
"So what if they figure it out?" Maverick said with a careless shrug. "Besides, it's all thanks to you, Mr. Grindelwald. Any lingering doubts that might have risen from tonight's performance have already been erased."
For several quiet seconds, neither spoke.
"You do realize there is little difference between us now..." said Grindelwald at last. "You, Albus... all of you cloak yourselves in righteousness while condemning others. Hypocrites." A cold smile touched his face. "How many people do you suppose were sacrificed tonight for your objective?"
Maverick burst into laughter. "Are you Lecturing me about right and wrong?" His smile gradually turned mocking. "Need I remind you how many millions died pursuing your grand ambitions back then?"
Grindelwald's expression instantly turned colder once more, as though Maverick had touched some deeply buried trigger. "You know nothing, boy," he hissed icily.
"On the contrary, it's you who knows nothing, Gellert Snow," Maverick said mockingly. "Did you truly believe you could have ruled the world even if you had won that war back then?"
"How exactly are the things you, Albus, that American, and that half-breed are doing now any different from what I once did?" asked Grindelwald.
Maverick looked at him with a faint smile lingering on his face. A moment later, he finally spoke, "I suppose I might as well tell you, considering how much you contributed to making tonight's little play so perfect." His eyes met Grindelwald's directly, "I'll admit it, our goals do overlap somewhat with what you once tried to accomplish, namely exposing magic to the world." His smile faded. "The difference is, old man, that we prepared for it. We planned for it. We certainly did not plunge the entire damned world into war just to force that outcome."
The endless sea of clouds beneath them flashed with distant thunder and lightning.
"The world will panic for a while, naturally. Fear always comes first." He shrugged lightly. "But eventually... witches and wizards will walk openly amongst the rest of the world."
Grindelwald raised an eyebrow, a faint trace of genuine puzzlement surfacing within his eyes rather than shock. "Either you are mocking me, boy, or you are utterly delusional to believe the rucus you caused tonight claimed no lives."
"Are you certain about that?" Maverick's smiled knowingly. "Ask yourself something, Mr. Grindelwald... would your old friend ever agree to a plan that sacrificed innocent lives?"
Grindelwald fell silent, for several seconds, he remained deep in thought, the endless flashes of lightning below reflecting faintly within his eyes. Then, gradually, a look of realization surfaced across his face. Yes, Albus, he would never compromise.
But then… "How?" he asked directly. For the life of him, he could not understand how tonight's events could have unfolded without bloodshed.
"Surrender..." Maverick, however, did not give him the answer he wanted. "Your stubborn life can last for millennia now. Who knows... after several more decades, you may walk out of there again." he smiled, but his eyes told a different story, a dangerous glint flashing within them. "Surrender, and perhaps I'll indulge your curiosity about tonight in a bit more detail."
Another brief silence passed between them before Grindelwald suddenly burst into laughter.
"Huhuhu... hahahaha!"
The old Dark Lord laughed openly through the empty sky, "I admit..." he said slowly, the laughter gradually fading from his voice, "I am now quite interested in seeing whether your grand vision truly comes to pass." His lips curled upward faintly one last time before his expression abruptly hardened. "But if you believe I would ever willingly return to that accursed prison again..." His eyes also narrowed dangerously, "then you have made a catastrophic miscalculation."
Having said that, a crimson glint flashed within his eyes before a terrifying wave of pressure erupted outward from him like an invisible tsunami, however, Maverick appeared to have expected it already and, without ceremony, his own momentum also exploded outward to meet it head-on. This time, the two stood barely a dozen meters apart and before one could even blink, the two terrifying forces collided violently against one another.
BOOM—!!!
Deep crimson lightning crackled furiously through the void between them, their colliding momentum resembling invisible giant hammers crashing together over and over, releasing violent pressure waves that swept wildly with both of them standing at the center.
The first to bear the brunt of the collision was the endless bed of clouds directly beneath them, which shattered outward in a gigantic circle, the purgatory-like storm swallowed whole by a deafening thundercrack. The terrifying shockwave did not stop there, continuing to descend thousands of meters before smashing into the ground below and tearing gigantic spiderweb-like cracks through the already devastated land.
Far away, countless people witnessed the gigantic hurricane-like scenery vanish abruptly, the endless storm clouds erased in an instant save for the eerie lightning continuing to rain downward there. The scene was both breathtaking and terrifying from the distance, unreal in both beauty and destruction, but then, without the slightest warning, a crushing pressure suddenly descended, as if the weight of the world had all of a sudden multiplied.
The entire city, millions upon millions of people, were forced downward instantly, some dropping to one knee while others collapsed onto both or even all fours, gasping desperately as though invisible hands had seized their very souls. Thankfully, that terrifying sensation lasted only for a breath, no, even less, before vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared, causing a strange echo to pass throughout the capital like the entire population inhaling at once. However, brief as it was, the terror left behind carved permanent scars into their subconscious.
Meanwhile, far, far away, the instant Maverick's and Grindelwald's gazes locked in deadlock, both figures vanished simultaneously, not through teleportation, but by moving at such terrifying speed that it merely appeared that way.
"Haaah!"
A massive jet of crimson energy exploded from Grindelwald's wand, thick enough to resemble a raging pillar of destruction as it tore straight toward Maverick, but this time Maverick made no attempt to block or overpower it. Instead, his hand moved in a smooth circular gesture at the very same instant.
Grindelwald's magical senses flared immediately, for a split second he even thought his old friend had finally taken action.
Unfortunately, he was both wrong and unable to react in time. All he saw was Maverick making a simple gesture before the spell he had fired with all his might, powerful enough to cleave apart mountains, was suddenly swallowed by some portal-like magic, and simultaneously, a terrifying force hammered violently into him from the side.
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