Hearing the two approaching footsteps, the person behind the reef remained completely still, as if pretending not to notice them.
Trying to fool himself?
Only when they stepped behind the rocks did Lewis understand why.
The man was wearing an Invisibility Cloak, apparently believing that made him completely undetectable.
Lewis's psychic sense had picked up his presence through the cloak—but hadn't detected the cloak itself.
"Stop hiding."
After staring at the "rock" for a moment, Ciri finally lost patience and spoke first.
"We know you're there. Tell me, wizard—why are you attacking Muggles on the beach?"
Realizing he couldn't stay hidden, the man abruptly threw off the cloak, revealing a middle-aged figure with a scarf covering his face.
Instead of answering, he burst into a stream of curses.
"I knew it! You're [Italian curse] Aurors! Just a few Muggles and you came running!"
"If it weren't for that [Italian curse] traitor… how would you have found me!"
"Since you've caught me, I won't pretend anymore! I'm the top smuggler of Britain and Italy—codename: Fire Salamander!"
"I smuggled the Runespoor, and that Chimera too! If I'm caught, I can't take it away—but you won't get out of this either!"
The man ranted wildly, clearly panicking. Lewis quickly pieced things together. Their broom flight had likely been spotted, and the man assumed they were Aurors. So he caused chaos among the Muggles to lure them out.
After his outburst, "Fire Salamander" yanked open a large bag.
From it emerged a massive, grotesque beast—over two meters tall, with a lion's head, goat's body, and dragon's tail.
The Chimera.
The moment it was freed, rage exploded within it. Seeing humans before it—the very creatures that had imprisoned it—the Chimera lunged into attack.
It opened its lion's maw and spewed toxic flames at Lewis.
A normal wizard would be burned alive—or left to suffer from lingering fire poison.
Yet Lewis didn't dodge.
He stood there, facing the flames head-on, as if unable to escape.
At least, that's what it looked like to Fire Salamander and the Chimera.
Just as they expected him to be reduced to ash—
A flash of silver cut through the flames and struck the Chimera's face.
A deep gash split its lion head, but before blood could even flow, the wound froze solid—along with half its face.
This wasn't to stop bleeding. It was to suppress its regeneration.
Otherwise, the injury would have healed completely within minutes.
Only then did Lewis emerge from the smoke.
Completely unharmed.
Not even a trace of soot on his robes.
Having already studied the Chimera's abilities, Lewis had prepared in advance:
Fire Aura.
Resist Energy (Fire).
Elemental Shield (Fire).
If that combination couldn't block a Chimera's flames, what could?
This was what a "prepared battle" looked like.
Once a wizard understood their opponent and prepared accordingly, the level of suppression they could exert was overwhelming.
Roaring in pain, the Chimera shook its head violently, gathering flames again to melt the ice sealing its wound.
Lewis didn't give it the chance.
He had already prepared his next spell—and the seaside was the perfect environment for it.
"Black Tentacles!"
Water exploded beside the reef as dozens of massive black tendrils—each over seven meters long and as thick as a thigh—burst from the sea.
They wrapped around the Chimera instantly, binding it tightly. One even coiled around its throat, choking off its breath attack entirely.
Its attempt to melt the ice failed.
The Chimera struggled fiercely, but the tentacles matched its strength. With power nearly equal to the beast—and enhanced by being summoned from seawater—they held firm.
The Chimera was trapped.
And that gave Lewis his opening.
He enchanted his Arcane Sword with Frost Arrow and began striking—again and again—thrusting through gaps in the tentacles.
The Chimera was a terrifying creature with immense regeneration and magical resistance. Normally, wizards struggled against it—weak spells couldn't penetrate, and strong ones couldn't outpace its healing.
Even powerful wizards would be dragged into a war of attrition.
But Lewis's strategy completely bypassed its strengths.
He avoided direct spell attacks, relying instead on physical and elemental damage through Black Tentacles and Frost Arrow, rendering its magic resistance useless.
He used the environment to restrain it.
Then he bled it out, strike by strike, with his enchanted blade.
No matter how strong its regeneration, it couldn't endure this.
Watching this, the smuggler was terrified.
He had never seen a wizard subdue a Chimera so effortlessly.
There was no way he could win.
If the Chimera died, he was as good as dead.
Desperate, he raised his wand, preparing to ambush Lewis and assist the beast.
But Ciri stepped forward.
"I've been waiting for you!"
She surged ahead, raising her left hand.
"Dragon's Breath!"
A torrent of flames engulfed the smuggler.
He barely managed to cast a Shield Charm in time, blocking the attack—but Ciri didn't relent. Her sword followed immediately, striking him and forcing him back.
"Damn brat!"
In panic, he opened another pouch, releasing dozens of Cornish Pixies that swarmed toward her.
But Ciri didn't even react.
She ignored them completely, her blade never leaving her opponent.
The pixies slammed into an invisible barrier, unable to reach her. Many froze midair, their wings iced over, dropping to the ground.
Others were suddenly engulfed in flames from nowhere.
Elemental Rebuke.
Meanwhile, the smuggler was steadily overwhelmed by Ciri's relentless assault. Every time he tried to cast a spell, she countered with a blast of Aard, knocking him off balance and preventing any incantation.
Finally, he broke.
He couldn't win.
Then there was only one option—run.
After forcing some distance with another Shield Charm, he prepared to Apparate.
"I'm out of creatures—now I can escape!"
Dark mist swirled as he twisted his body.
"Appari—"
"Dimensional Anchor."
A powerful force sealed the surrounding space.
His Apparition attempt slammed into an invisible wall, rebounding violently.
Caught off guard, he crashed to the ground.
Ciri seized the moment—one strike severed his wand hand, and she kicked his wand away.
Only then did she turn back.
"Where's the Chimera?" she asked.
Lewis didn't answer. He simply pointed behind him.
There, on the beach, lay the massive corpse.
Motionless.
Ciri looked closely. The Chimera's body was riddled with wounds—dozens of stab marks, each rimmed with frost.
This monstrous creature, with only one recorded kill in history—
had fallen to Lewis.
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