Sterling's magic was instantly drained dry.
Manifesting a meteor clearly consumed several times more energy than the Hogwarts Express. He had no intention of facing the Dark Lord directly.
Though this might not be Voldemort's peak form, as a wizard on par with Dumbledore, he could obviously match any great wizard.
Fighting such an opponent directly would undoubtedly be unwise.
So using an unlimited magic supply and manifestation abilities to kite until Dumbledore arrived was the best plan.
A meteor would undoubtedly both delay Voldemort and attract Dumbledore's attention.
But this meteor Sterling had pinned his hopes on didn't achieve his expected results...
The meteor appeared directly above the centaur tribe, pressing down slowly with heavy atmospheric pressure, even obscuring the firelight.
Before the meteor reached treetop height, a thick black beam struck its centre. Dense black threads spread from that point, covering the entire surface in seconds, then contracted inward with crushing force.
The whole meteor shattered into countless fragments, shooting in all directions. But before they'd flown far through the air, residual black liquid corroded all the debris clean.
This meteor was less effective than the surprising Hogwarts Express.
After all, no one could expect a steam train to come charging through the Forbidden Forest.
Sterling immediately relocated the moment the meteor shattered. Sure enough, his original position was instantly hit by a thick green curse.
That curse radiated dense death energy, with faint wails seemingly surrounding it.
The struck ancient tree was instantly wrapped in disturbing gray-white, then quietly turned to powder.
From that curse, Sterling sensed the aura of some "Thirteen Magic."
"Next time won't miss."
A voice full of mockery came from the centaur tribe's direction, then a black thread shot out at invisible speed, firmly connecting to Sterling's right wrist.
Sterling immediately burned the thread with Life Magic Flame, but it seemed merely a projection. No matter how much Sterling increased his magical output, it remained unaffected.
"Avada Kedavra..."
The green curse rushed forth again. Sterling could see clearly it was following that black thread.
So no matter how Sterling dodged, as long as he couldn't sever that thread, he couldn't avoid the Killing Curse.
The Killing Curse... such spells rarely appeared in the spellbooks Sterling had read. As one of the three Unforgivable Curses, few books would willingly record anything about it.
Sterling only knew it was the manifestation of death.
"Hit and die." Simple effect, ultimate power. This thread had eliminated the "hit" prerequisite entirely. Wasn't this rather unfair? Combining spells like this made the effect simply "die."
Sterling sighed. He hadn't expected his trump card to be forced out in just this first exchange...
The realm of great wizards truly couldn't be challenged by mere mortals below. If not for turning the Forbidden Forest into his home field beforehand and gaining an unlimited magic supply, he'd probably be down already.
Sterling rapidly wrote his name in "Witness of the Author", and golden text immediately revealed his fate: "Sterling Page is hit by Voldemort's curse, cannot escape the fatal Avada Kedavra, he will..."
The words after "he will" became strange ink blots, but Sterling had no time to decipher them. Under death's threat, he exploded with the fastest hand speed of his life.
"Sterling Page is hit by Voldemort's blessing and cannot escape the warm Energising Charm; he will..."
The quill completed its final stroke. His stamina was instantly half-depleted, but the green curse immediately injected fresh energy into his body. His pale face instantly reddened.
The black thread on his wrist also snapped, becoming a white hollow circular pattern that continuously raised Sterling's magic usage ceiling.
Origin Magic. Trustworthy.
Reality modification's value was still increasing!
"What?" Voldemort's voice carried profound bewilderment. He had witnessed cases of surviving the Killing Curse before—that accursed Harry Potter and his mother's protective magic.
But even then, the curse had claimed a life. The Killing Curse inevitably took life; this was fundamental to Voldemort's magical understanding.
Getting healthier after taking a Killing Curse?
Those who didn't know might think Voldemort had become St. Mungo's director, the merciful Dark Lord graciously granting healing charms to help young wizards overcome physical ailments.
For a moment, Voldemort was wary enough not to act.
Having learnt from Lily Potter, Voldemort was undoubtedly much more cautious. With such strange things, acting rashly might make him explode again...
Wait another lifetime for the Philosopher's Stone to appear? Or die back to Albania, immediately find someone to control, and just happen to infiltrate Hogwarts to steal the Stone for him?
Voldemort had to be prudent.
Sterling seized this chance to immediately think of other escape methods.
Modifying the Killing Curse into an Energising Charm was intentional. Certainly, just rewriting the "cannot escape" part would break the death trap with less consumption.
But that wouldn't have the effect of shocking Voldemort into hesitation.
Sterling bet that Voldemort, this Dark Lord who used Killing Curses like basic attacks, would be surprised by his "immunity to the Killing Curse".
He thought of the flowers he'd sown along his path.
Those petals, nurtured by his magic, were his most handy "magical materials" at present.
"Dark Lord! Didn't you want to recruit me?"
"I changed my mind."
Voldemort's answer was decisive. If before Sterling blocked the Killing Curse he might have taken him as a servant; after Sterling showed "Killing Curse immunity", Voldemort was reminded of that baby in swaddling clothes every time he saw him.
Disgusting to look at. Wouldn't appease his anger without killing him.
"Professor Dumbledore! You're finally here!"
Sterling suddenly looked delighted toward the western tree shadows. Hearing "Dumbledore", Voldemort felt a shiver. No one knew that old man's power better than him.
That was the terrifying force that had beaten him near death several times.
At his peak, he could only rely on "immortality" to contend with him. Now with just a temporary body, he absolutely couldn't oppose him.
He immediately condensed his body from the black smoke enveloping the forest, watching the western direction with full alert.
Seeing Voldemort's true form, Sterling immediately opened the mist behind him. Saturated magical flames gushed from the mist, instantly swallowing the undefended Voldemort.
This was expression management from years at book signings!
Sterling had just put on a smile when a pale hand casually emerged from the magical flames, tearing away the flames wrapping him like leaves and tossing them aside.
His skin showed no damage.
Sterling gritted his teeth. All the flowers he'd planted swayed simultaneously. Petals lightly left their stamens, gathering into a torrent in the sky, rapidly flying toward Sterling.
Voldemort coldly watched his death throes. Having possessed too many animals in Albanian forests had slowed his thinking, or he wouldn't have been fooled by such a crude lie.
After this encounter, he was certain Sterling had no other trump cards... otherwise he wouldn't resort to deception and sneak attacks.
So what if he was immune to the Killing Curse?
He'd burn him to death with Fiendfyre. Same result, just a corpse.
He wouldn't give Sterling a chance to gather those petals, though the magic within was far from threatening him. But this young wizard had already created too many impossible things in his view.
Dealing with such unpredictable children required nipping them in the bud.
Fiendfyre appeared behind Voldemort from nowhere, roaring as it took serpentine form, charging Sterling without delay.
The petals still needed a moment to enter Sterling's control range.
The instant Fiendfyre reached Sterling's chest...
"Crack"
A thick transparent light shield appeared before Sterling. Though quickly consumed by Fiendfyre, it was enough time for Sterling to control the petals for protection.
All petals shattered into countless tiny white light points, diving down to construct a massive barrier before Sterling, keeping the vicious Fiendfyre outside the light wall.
Just buying time.
Voldemort pressed his finger down, and Fiendfyre instantly boiled. But Sterling suddenly showed joy again.
"Professor Dumbledore! You're finally here!"
"Do you think I'm as stupid as Quirrell? That I'd believe your lies twice in a row?"
Voldemort shook his head, feeling Sterling was probably desperate.
"Tom, I think you're not necessarily as clever as Quirrell."
A voice filled with ancient authority resonated behind Voldemort. Then overwhelming flames engulfed his entire world.
"Firestorm."
The spell name fell like a death sentence.