Just as Dudley was still pondering his options, Quirrell suddenly let out a piercing scream. The black mist became much thinner, and his body rapidly plummeted downward.
At the same time, a translucent phantom flew out from within his body and, without any hesitation, fled toward the distance.
"Voldemort abandoned Quirrell?" Seeing this scene, Dudley's expression immediately changed.
Voldemort's sacrificial gambit was executed with ruthless precision. Quirrell's falling trajectory would bring him dangerously close to Harry and the others. Although Voldemort had drained a massive amount of life force when he departed, leaving Quirrell barely clinging to existence, the dying wizard still posed a lethal threat. Just one Killing Curse could potentially eliminate Harry or the others.
However, there was another possibility. If Quirrell felt resentment due to Voldemort's abandonment, then at his final moment, he probably wouldn't attack Harry and the others.
Dudley quickly realized his speculation was wrong.
Quirrell, holding on with his last breath, pointed his wand at Harry and the others with trembling hands.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Whoosh!
Brilliant green light shot from his wand tip, heading straight for the people on Firenze's back. At this moment, the expressions of Harry, Ron, and Hermione all froze. The Killing Curse meant absolute death for whoever it struck. This made all their minds go completely blank with terror.
"It's over!" Dudley's expression changed dramatically. He reached for the Trunsoest Brass Book, but it was already too late.
Chirp!
Suddenly, a clear cry echoed through the Forbidden Forest, and a ball of golden-red flames materialized in mid-air near Harry and the others. Immediately after, a magnificent golden-red bird appeared from thin air, swallowing the death-representing Avada Kedavra in one gulp, then transformed into flames and fell downward.
"That's... Dumbledore's phoenix?" Seeing this scene, Dudley quickly understood what had happened.
A phoenix, also known as an immortal bird, was a magical creature that could not be killed. They would be reborn in flames, and even spells like Avada Kedavra could not destroy them.
Chirp...
A soft sound came from within the forest. The golden-red flames quickly burned out, turning into a pile of ashes, and from that pile of ashes, a chick raised its head and let out a gentle cry.
"At least it played some role!" Dudley coldly looked back toward Hogwarts Castle.
In this entire battle, from beginning to end, he was the one fighting, while the people from Hogwarts had barely lifted a finger. Especially Dumbledore! Knowing that Quirrell had problems, he allowed him to act freely at Hogwarts, leading to all of this chaos.
Dudley's anger was directed not just toward Voldemort, but also toward Dumbledore. Especially after Quirrell released the Killing Curse, no matter who that spell ultimately targeted, in Dudley's eyes, Dumbledore bore responsibility. No matter what reasons he claimed.
However, after this phoenix appeared, Dudley at least knew that Dumbledore wasn't completely unprepared. At the most critical moment, he had blocked the fatal blow, somewhat redeeming himself in Dudley's estimation.
But this was still not enough. Dudley's heart remained full of dissatisfaction with Dumbledore. This disappointment had accumulated until now, making him very disillusioned with this Hogwarts headmaster.
"Norbert, descend," Dudley commanded.
Voldemort had already escaped during the chaos, leaving only the half-dead Quirrell, who had fallen in the Forbidden Forest. Norbert circled once, then dove straight down, breaking through the forest canopy and landing in a clearing not far from Quirrell.
At this time, Quirrell's face was completely drained of color, as if Voldemort had siphoned away his life force. His remaining time could be counted in minutes.
"Master... will... resurrect me..." Seeing Dudley land nearby, Quirrell forced an ugly smile and spoke in gasps.
"Resurrection? He himself is half-dead, and he'll resurrect you? Stop dreaming!" Dudley slowly walked toward Quirrell.
"No... Master will come back to life... he will..." Blood trickled from the corner of Quirrell's mouth as he spoke intermittently.
"Then you just wait for his resurrection," Dudley replied, his gaze ice-cold. The anger in his heart had nowhere to vent except on Quirrell.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Whoosh!
A green light materialized from thin air, striking Quirrell's body and freezing his ugly smile permanently. He seemed shocked that Dudley, an eleven-year-old child, would use the Killing Curse on him. When he saw that green light, bewilderment flashed across his face, and then there was nothing more.
"Reducto!"
Bang!
Quirrell's corpse exploded directly, with blood and flesh splattering everywhere.
"Incendio!"
Boom!
Terrifying flames raged outward, consuming all the scattered remains and burning them to ash in an instant. At this point, not a single trace of Quirrell remained. He had been completely obliterated by Dudley.
Not far away, some sounds approached. Dudley turned back and met the terrified gazes of Harry and the others. They had witnessed what just happened. They saw Dudley use the Killing Curse on Quirrell and completely destroy his corpse.
Their faces were full of disbelief and terror, completely frozen in place. They saw Dudley's eyes... cold, fierce, violent, and full of indescribable authority and oppression.
Dudley withdrew his gaze without comment. It didn't matter. So what if they saw? Just killing someone. It wasn't like he hadn't killed before. In that other world, he himself wasn't even clear about exactly how many people he had eliminated.
"Aguamenti!" Ancient Hermes rang out as clear water flowed around Dudley, washing clean the bloodstains on his body. Then he sat down with his back against a large tree.
Whimper...
Norbert's head stretched over and nuzzled against Dudley's body, making gentle sounds, as if afraid of disturbing him.
"Dudley, are you hurt?" Harry's concerned voice rang out as he approached ahead of the others.
Immediately followed by hurried footsteps. Ron and Hermione, as well as Firenze, also came over.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired," Dudley said.
"Thank you for saving me again," Harry said, coming to stand before Dudley.
"I wouldn't say I saved you exactly. You saw... he came to kill me," Dudley shrugged.
"No, if it weren't for me, Voldemort wouldn't target you like this," Harry insisted.
"Thank you, cousin." Dudley glanced at Harry and smiled.
He suddenly had the strange illusion of raising a child.