The moment Oka entered the room, he saw Kai Adler sitting leisurely on a chair, looking directly at him.
"Sir, after following us all day, what exactly do you want?" Kai asked with mild amusement.
Oka, momentarily startled, quickly composed himself, raising his wand and aiming it at Kai.
"How did you spot me?" Oka demanded.
Kai's smile deepened. "Of course—"
"Avada Kedavra!"
The hideous green flash burst from Oka's wand mid-sentence, faster than most Wizards could react. Despite his outward arrogance, Oka was no fool. His mind was sharp, trained to adapt quickly.
Earlier, he'd entertained the idea of capturing the brat—torturing him slowly to vent the humiliation of being dragged around like a stray dog these past few days.
But the moment he met Kai Adler's gaze—the cool, unfazed glint in those dark eyes—he discarded the notion.
This kid… saw through my Disillusionment Charm!
The realization crystallized his objective: kill him. Fast, clean, and gone before the Aurors arrived.
Feigning conversation to distract Kai, he'd calculated the timing of his Killing Curse perfectly.
Yet, in the blink of an eye, Oka's pupils contracted in shock.
The sickly green death spell zipped across the room toward Kai—but just ten centimeters away, the air shimmered strangely. As though striking an invisible wall, the curse dispersed with a faint metallic clang, dissolving into harmless green sparks.
Kai hadn't even blinked. His hand, still holding a teacup, remained steady, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Oka's heart pounded.
Avada Kedavra… blocked?
Everyone knew—the Killing Curse was absolute. It bypassed nearly all magical defenses; dodging or using physical obstacles were the only options.
But there was nothing in front of Kai. Or so it seemed.
His eyes narrowed as he flicked his wand again.
"Diffindo!"
The cutting spell shot forward. This time, the air visibly rippled. A sharp metallic tear followed, and something clattered to the floor near Kai.
With a muttered charm, Oka dispelled the concealment magic. An object slowly appeared—a shield, cleanly sliced in half.
"Heh… clever brat," Oka sneered, his tone both annoyed and impressed. "Hiding a shield with a Disillusionment Charm? Not bad."
A transparent shield, conjured and concealed—no wonder the Killing Curse had been thwarted.
"So, this is your trick? Trying to scare me off with petty illusions?"
For the first time, Kai's confident mask cracked slightly. His hand set the teacup aside, his complexion visibly pale.
Oka relaxed, a smirk curling his lips. Just a clever kid. That's all.
"Where's your wand? Hand it over."
Kai obediently retrieved a sleek, white wand from his coat pocket, setting it gently on the table.
"A twelve-year-old, seeing through an adult's Disillusionment Charm…" Oka mused, approaching. His boot nudged the broken shield. His expression faltered slightly as realization struck.
Wait… this shield… Where did it come from?
They were in a hotel in Alexandria—no decor remotely resembled a shield. A conjured shield? Possible, but few children could transfigure one durable enough to stop a Killing Curse.
Oka's instincts screamed danger. He reacted instantly, his wand snapping up as a green flash surged toward Kai.
But before the curse could strike, snap—Kai's fingers clicked, subtle yet commanding.
A powerful surge of Black Magic flooded the room, acting directly on Oka's wand. The wood writhed, resisting his grip, vibrating as though possessed.
Expelliarmus?!
Oka's grip tightened, and with his free hand, he scrawled a glowing sigil across his chest—runes burning faintly into his robes.
Kai raised an eyebrow as his disarming charm faltered, interrupted mid-spell.
Hmm? Expelliarmus didn't work?
With a flick of his hand, Kai summoned the hawthorn wand from the table to his grip. That wandless, wordless casting wasn't mere child's play—it carried power most adults struggled to harness.
Oka's shock deepened. He'd resisted Expelliarmus with defensive runes, yet felt the raw pressure of Kai's magic. At just twelve years old? Impossible.
Kai's wand twitched again—another Expelliarmus, seamlessly cast without words.
But this time, Oka was ready, countering the spell with practiced Black Magic.
Internally, Oka reeled. Wandless… non-verbal… at his age? The brat's magic felt as potent as his own.
Grindelwald's bloodline…
He remembered the family head's grim warning: "The boy's blood runs deep with Grindelwald's legacy. Never underestimate him."
And he had.
His gaze snapped to the shield fragments. Decorative shields wouldn't stop an Avada Kedavra. Transfigured shields, unless conjured by someone profoundly skilled in magic, would crumple like parchment under such a curse.
But that shield had held.
Kai no longer looked pale. His relaxed smile returned—elegant, deceptive—paired with striking features that radiated charm. But to Oka, the boy resembled a serpent in velvet.
An icy chill gripped Oka's spine.
Kai's smile deepened. "No need to rush, sir. You came all this way to see me. Why so eager to leave?"
Oka's grip on his wand tightened. The Anti-Apparition Charm—the brat had locked down the room.
Instead of panic, he laughed darkly. "You think you've won, kid?"
"Avada Kedavra!"
The green bolt screamed toward Kai once more, surging with fury.
Kai's left hand lifted—the shield fragments hovered, reforming partially. The deadly spell slammed into the makeshift barrier, green light refracting across the room like welding sparks.
Simultaneously, Kai's wand sparked—blue flames licked along its length.
Oka snapped his wand up, summoning a Shield Charm. The barrier shimmered as Kai's blue flames collided, only to rebound toward Kai himself.
Kai's wand danced—the Black Magic clashed midair, neutralizing the backlash effortlessly.
Their eyes locked, invisible tension crackling like lightning.
The duel was only beginning.