A huge, deep voice echoed across the sky.
It sounded like a giant whale swimming through a sea of clouds, occasionally letting out a whale's cry.
Gerard and the mysterious man instinctively raised their heads at the same time. They saw that within the terrifying vortex clouds on the horizon, a nearly invisible line was slowly appearing.
Then the sky began to split open from that line.
This wasn't a figure of speech.
The sky was literally splitting apart.
If one had to describe it, it was as if the entire sky were a landscape painting.
And now, at the center of that perfect paper canvas, someone was slowly cutting it open with a paper knife.
The bizarre sight reminded both Gerard and the mysterious man of the spatial magic they were familiar with.
But how could spatial magic achieve something on this scale?
Even Apparition, at its core, merely tore open tiny holes in space that were almost impossible to see, stuffed people through them, and pulled them back out.
Portkeys and the Floo Network were even less impressive.
The holes they opened in space were even smaller.
Yet that was already close to the limit of what wizards could achieve.
But now, a giant spatial rift over a hundred meters wide had appeared in the sky, splitting the center of the vortex clouds in two and even affecting the eruption of the blood-red lightning.
How was this possible?
Gerard instinctively thought of the Sky City of the International Confederation of Wizards.
Although he had never been there himself, he had heard some information about it.
Had people from the International Confederation of Wizards arrived?
But that was impossible.
Less than half an hour had passed since they launched the attack. Throughout the entire operation, they had blocked all communications within Hogwarts.
Unless Dumbledore had sent out a message before the attack began, nobody should have noticed anything unusual at Hogwarts.
Yet this rift was now clearly displayed before his eyes.
Not only that, but a figure was now slowly stepping out of the rift, walking through empty space one step at a time.
As the figure walked, he stretched out his right hand.
A sharp wind gathered in his palm.
A terrifying force of suction swept across heaven and earth. The dead trees in the Forbidden Forest shook violently, and the thick ice covering the Black Lake shattered piece by piece. The clear water hidden beneath was actually pulled upward into the sky.
As for the raging vortex clouds above, they had already been twisted and swallowed.
Even the Dark Mark higher up let out a horrifying scream, twisting and writhing as it barely resisted the terrifying pull.
A moment later, the suction finally disappeared.
The water that had surged into the sky fell back into the lake, creating massive clouds of mist.
The remaining Dark Mark stretched out its cloud-like serpent body, revealing a very human expression of fear.
Then that fear turned into anger and killing intent, driving it to lunge at the rift and the figure.
The figure seemed to notice.
He slowly looked at the approaching serpent and crushed the wind sphere in his hand.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A massive amount of compressed air transformed into layers of blue-white shockwaves stacked together and erupted outward with deafening blasts.
The Dark Mark was hit first.
It was instantly shredded into dust by the sharp air currents.
Then came the clouds, the mist, the thick black-red magical power, and even the air itself.
It was like a drop of detergent falling into oil-covered water.
Wherever the blue-white shockwave passed, everything was destroyed.
The terrifying blast carved the sky within a hundred-mile radius into a vacuum.
For the first time, the unobstructed starry sky appeared before everyone.
At this moment, the moon and stars shone together.
Bright yet gentle starlight swept across heaven and earth and illuminated the figure in the sky.
Revealing his true appearance.
"T-That's Link?"
Countless people inside Hogwarts muttered in disbelief.
Then came overwhelming joy.
A thunderous wave of cheers erupted from the previously collapsing ranks of the Hogwarts Allied Forces.
Along with the roar of voices came countless spells launched into the sky.
Among Hogwarts' young students, Link's prestige actually surpassed even Dumbledore's.
In the hearts of many Hogwarts students, Link was undoubtedly a hero comparable to the figures of myth and legend.
And now, their hero had returned.
If that was the case, what was there left to fear?
"Victory belongs to Hogwarts!"
Countless students roared as they waved their wands at the enemies above.
Even many who had fled earlier now returned to the ranks, attacking with even greater ferocity despite the shame on their faces.
Fueled by all kinds of emotions, their strength was amplified to its limit.
The fierce counterattack caught the hooded figures completely off guard.
They hurriedly pulled back their lines, trying to regain the advantageous position above the shaft and resume their previous tactics.
As long as they could maintain fighting space, they were confident they could still win the war.
After all, following the earlier massacre, the strength of the Hogwarts Allied Forces had already been reduced to a miserable level.
But at the same time, the giant spatial rift floating amid the brilliant starlight shook again.
Then more than a hundred Durmstrang students riding broomsticks flew out under Krum's leadership, shouting wildly.
From a higher position, they launched attacks through the breaches in Hogwarts' walls.
Their methods included, but were not limited to, blasting enemies with spells or simply throwing bricks and hammers.
Caught off guard, the hooded figures instinctively tried to fight back.
But more often than not, they were smashed off their positions by burly men swinging hammers.
The Hogwarts Allied Forces became even more excited at the sight.
The arrival of the Durmstrang reinforcements had created a perfect pincer attack.
If given enough time, completely wiping out the enemy was within reach!
Outside Hogwarts Castle.
Link had already landed beside Dumbledore.
The crater previously created by the Blood Lightning Prison had completely disappeared.
In its place was an even larger and deeper oval crater.
This was also the result of Link's fully charged air cannon.
The indiscriminate attack had nearly erased a vast plain beside Hogwarts, leaving behind only lava and glowing crystals.
Its destructive power was almost comparable to that of a small nuclear weapon.
However, Link knew it still wasn't enough to truly kill legendary-level wizards.
Like Gerard and the mysterious man.
The two had already relocated to the sky over a thousand meters away and were looking over with wary expressions.
Link ignored them.
He thrust a hand into the ground and pulled hard, dragging Dumbledore out from underground where he had hidden in advance.
Dumbledore's injuries were severe.
His once-proud beard had been burned down to short stubble, and many of his joints were twisted into strange shapes.
His entire presence was weak and exhausted.
Yet after being pulled from the ground by Link, he simply grinned and said, "You're late, Link. And you were a bit too ruthless. A good portion of these injuries came from that attack of yours. Weren't you worried you might accidentally blow me to pieces?"
Link laid Dumbledore flat on the ground.
First, he fed him two bottles of potion.
Then he reset several major joints and broken bones.
After thinking for a moment, he also removed the Felix Felicis hanging around his neck and poured it into Dumbledore's mouth.
Only after finishing all that did he clap his hands and say, "I was planning to ask how you manage Hogwarts. I was only gone for a short while."
"Christmas break just ended, and I was away for barely any time. So why did something like this happen? I didn't expect you to turn around and accuse me first."
"Heh! That couldn't be helped. I was too soft-hearted. If it were you, you'd probably have handled it much better than I did."
As he spoke, Dumbledore struggled to his feet.
Link didn't respond.
He felt there was a hint of "if you're so capable, you do it" in Dumbledore's words.
So he changed the subject.
"Then can you still fight?"
Dumbledore looked toward the distant horizon.
There, Gerard and the mysterious man had already regrouped and once again stirred up a tide of black-red magical power that swept toward them.
He sighed and said, "Of course. These old bones of mine can still hold on a little longer."
As soon as he finished speaking, dense golden-white holy light once again emerged from Dumbledore's body.
At the same time, thick translucent magical flames rose from Link's body, transforming into a massive twisting fire dragon that roared toward the heavens.
The magical flame dragon, carrying a curtain of golden-white light, slammed into the overwhelming black-red tide.
The expected explosion never came.
The black-red magical power behaved as though alive, turning into thick blood-like sludge that wrapped itself around the dragon.
As it spread and twisted, ear-piercing sounds of corrosion echoed through the sky.
The enormous dragon was almost instantly swallowed.
But the magical flame dragon quickly clenched its claws and used the golden-white holy light surrounding it as sword and shield, slashing fiercely and evaporating all the black-red magical power on its body while keeping the remaining evil thoughts outside the light barrier.
A strange balance formed on the battlefield.
But it was only temporary.
Because the power Link possessed wasn't limited to the curse used to create and command the Fiendfyre dragon.
As the stalemate continued, Link suddenly shot into the air.
Wrapped in a howling storm, he launched forward like a cannonball.
Vast winds formed layers of spiraling currents around him.
Then they once again tore through the black-red polluted magical power filling the sky and thrust toward Gerard and the mysterious man hiding behind it.
The two reacted quickly.
Almost simultaneously, they swung their wands.
The polluted magical power that had been clashing with the dragon and holy light instantly flowed back and formed a gigantic spiral blade before them, shooting forward.
Just before the two attacks collided, Link, standing at the center of the hurricane, curled the corner of his mouth into a smile.
Although the battle had not lasted long, his keen perception of the King's Blood had already confirmed the identities of these two.
Both were Voldemort soul fragments.
He had to admit that both possessed legendary-level strength.
Their attributes differed slightly, perhaps because of how long each had been exposed to the King's Blood, or because they had split from the soul at different times.
This allowed them to complement one another and combine their powers into something even stronger.
In terms of destructive capability alone, they ranked among the strongest enemies Link had ever encountered.
Yet in Link's eyes, they were still far inferior to the "Norton" he had met at Beauxbatons.
The difference wasn't one of strength.
It was the nature of the power itself.
The force Norton wielded, what he called "love," or perhaps "wish", was a truly idealistic power that completely surpassed Link's understanding.
Everyone knew that magic was driven by magical power and emotions and will transformed from a portion of mental energy.
Yet Norton's power seemed to completely remove the magical power component and use emotion and will alone as the core of magic.
What was shocking was that Norton had actually succeeded.
Although his methods were horrifyingly cruel, the power he displayed had genuinely awakened instinctive fear in Link.
It felt like an ordinary person being stared down by a king cobra.
A feeling that no matter how much strength you possessed, death was inevitable.
Compared to that, these two might be powerful, but at their core, they were ordinary.
And against that kind of power, all one needed was a purer and stronger force to crush it.
Coincidentally, Link happened to possess such power.
BOOM!
Link crushed another wind sphere in his hand.
A violent storm appeared once more.
But unlike before, when it scattered the sky itself, this wind was far more condensed and focused.
It was like an arrow released from a bow, spinning as it shot forward.
There was almost no suspense.
The gigantic blade launched by Gerard and the mysterious man was instantly shattered by the concentrated storm.
Although the storm itself was on the verge of collapsing after doing so, its remaining force still swept across Gerard and the mysterious man, dragging them into the eye of a tornado filled with countless razor-sharp wind blades.
At the critical moment, the dense darkness covering the mysterious man's body finally expanded outward.
It transformed into a solid black mist that enveloped both of them, preventing them from being instantly sliced into minced meat.
Only after the storm dispersed did the black mist, now riddled with holes, gather together again and transform into a black mist serpent that crawled back onto the mysterious man's body.
But this time, the damaged mist could no longer cover his entire body.
It formed only a half-suit of armor, covering his upper body and part of his thighs.
And when Link saw the face now exposed outside the armor, he instinctively stopped his pursuit and widened his eyes in shock.
Because the mysterious man was actually Harry!