Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Two giant beasts, transfigured from rock, wrestled fiercely on the barren mountain arena, each collision sending fragments of stone flying.
The students' cheers rose higher and higher, and under the surge of this emotional energy, the arena's environment began to shift—cracks split open in the ground, and bursts of scorching fire shot out from them.
The earth at the center of the arena began to bulge and swell upward at a visible rate.
Sagres clearly had no intention of dragging the fight into a war of attrition. With a sharp slash of his wand toward the ground, the area where the badger and the giant python were entangled suddenly softened, like two converging mudslides crashing down, instantly engulfing and burying the two battling rock constructs.
But Professor McGonagall's wand tapped rapidly several times—scattered boulders at the edge of the arena rose in response, immediately transforming into several large, sleek black giant cats.
They moved soundlessly on their paws, circling Sagres from different directions like predators closing in on their prey.
Sagres reacted swiftly. He waved his wand toward the path of the approaching cats, and the ground beneath their feet instantly turned into a thick, pitch-black quagmire.
Several of the foremost cats immediately sank deep into it, struggling to escape, and with another tap of his wand, the quagmire solidified like iron, leaving only a few massive cat heads exposed, writhing helplessly.
But Professor McGonagall's assault was far from over; more rocks, shrubs, and even the ground itself animated and transformed under the command of her wand.
Ferocious stone wolves, roaring earth bears, screeching flint falcons… an army of beasts, all created through Transfiguration, surged toward Sagres like a bursting flood.
The young wizards stared in stunned silence, their eyes nearly bulging from their sockets.
None of them had imagined that Transfiguration could be wielded with such overwhelming power in actual combat—this was a magical spectacle that completely upended their understanding.
What shocked them even more was Professor McGonagall's display of overwhelming strength and unrelenting offense. Facing Sagres, an opponent of equal skill, she not only held her ground but subtly seized control of the duel's rhythm.
Just as the army of stone beasts was about to descend upon Sagres, the audience's cheers reached a deafening peak—
BoOOoom!!!
The ground at the center of the arena, swollen to its limit, finally erupted like a long-suppressed volcano.
A plume of black smoke, thick with the stench of sulfur, shot into the sky, followed by a torrent of blazing lava that burst forth like wrathful dragons rising from the depths of hell.
Several of the giant stone beasts at the front were hit head-on, sent hurtling into the air by the furious surge.
Molten lava splashed outward like burning raindrops, hitting the ground with a series of sharp sizzles.
But this seemingly catastrophic natural disaster instantly became a new weapon in the hands of two Transfiguration masters.
Professor McGonagall's wand flashed toward a flowing stream of lava, and the viscous, searing mass immediately rose from the ground—condensing, stretching, reshaping under her command.
A dragon composed entirely of molten rock, radiating intense heat, raised its head and let out a thunderous roar!
Just as it was about to spread its wings—Sagres's wand simultaneously pointed at a massive rock falling from the sky.
Stained with lava and billowing thick smoke, the rock instantly transformed into a colossal hand, descending with the force to crush mountains.
Ignoring the searing heat, its five fingers splayed wide, the hand came crashing down on the lava dragon's head like a swatting blow.
BANG!!!
The impact was deafening, erupting in a burst of sparks and sound.
Professor McGonagall remained composed. The lava dragon did not disperse; instead, it instantly "melted" and flowed back into the stream of lava.
In the next moment, that stretch of lava surged violently as if it had come to life, transforming in a blink into a monstrous, gaping maw that lunged upward.
Crunch!
The enormous mouth clamped down on the basalt giant's wrist. Under the intense heat and crushing force, the solid stone snapped instantly—half of the massive hand broke off and tumbled down.
Sagres's expression remained calm. He gave a swift wave of his wand, and a glowing ball of lava falling from the sky began to morph once more, shaped and stretched by unseen forces as it descended—transforming into a massive, glowing red arrow.
Whoosh—!
The arrow, trailing a streak of red and emitting a sharp whistle, pierced straight through the giant head that had just risen from the lava, pinning it firmly to the ground.
But the battle didn't end with that shot.
Professor McGonagall relinquished control of the lava dragon's head and instead cast Transfiguration on the river of lava flowing between them.
The churning molten stream came to a sudden halt. Then, a fierce giant python, its scales glowing with red-hot light, rose from the ground.
But Sagres did not remain idle. He too waved his wand, casting Transfiguration on the fiery serpent conjured by Professor McGonagall.
What happened next was bizarre: the latter half of the giant python's body, under Sagres's forceful magical influence, twisted and reshaped—transforming in an instant into a second snake head.
The moment the new head formed, it abruptly turned and snapped toward its original body, striking at its master.
A flicker of seriousness finally appeared on Professor McGonagall's otherwise composed face. She waved her wand rapidly, her movements so fast they became a blur.
Under her precise and continuous spellcasting, the fangs and flesh of the attacking snake head began to writhe and deform—until it split apart into countless tiny serpents, each wriggling to detach from the larger form.
Then, with a sharp thrust of her wand, the swarm of fiery snakes turned into streaks of blazing light and shot toward Sagres like a wave.
...
Sagres faced the oncoming swarm of lava serpents without the slightest change in expression. He merely pointed his wand lightly at the ground beneath his feet.
Then the ground around him began to shift, rising abruptly as if obeying the command of a king.
Sagres's figure was instantly lifted atop a solitary peak, dozens of feet high, as it surged upward.
The dense fiery snakes and the lava giant python, whose second half he had usurped, could only slam uselessly against the base of the peak, sending up nothing but sparks and scorched dust.
Sagres stood at the summit, unbothered by the unstable foundation that could collapse at any moment. He raised his wand and pointed it toward the half-python and the swarm of small serpents.
Once again seizing control of Professor McGonagall's transfigured creations, he twisted them mid-air, transforming the long snakes into a massive, dark red javelin, its sharp tip aimed directly at Professor McGonagall below.
With a flick of his wand, the lava javelin tore through the sky, whistling as it descended in a deadly volley.
Facing the aerial assault, Professor McGonagall transfigured nearby granite into several thick, angular shields, stacking them one after another before her.
Crash! Bang! Boom—!
The javelins, like blazing meteors, slammed into the stone shields with violent force.
Deafening explosions rang out as molten rock and solid stone collided, bursting into dazzling flashes of light and showers of debris.
The first stone shield shattered with a resounding crash under the force of several strikes.
Then the second.
Then the third…
The heavy stone shields disintegrated one after another in the explosions, and the ground was quickly blanketed with hot gravel and flowing lava, cloaked in smoke and dust.
At the same time, under Sagres's control, the broken debris on the ground transformed into sharp spikes and shot toward Professor McGonagall like a barrage of bullets.
He didn't stop there. With continuous waves of his wand, the dense smoke around them began to twist and condense, forming a massive foot that blotted out the sky as it descended to stomp down on her.
"Merlin's beard!" the young wizards gasped in astonishment.
Poof!
With a faint pop, Professor McGonagall's figure vanished from her spot just a moment before the giant foot landed, dissolving into a wisp of black smoke.
Boom!
The enormous foot made of smoke slammed into the ground where she had just been.
At that moment, Professor McGonagall reappeared unsteadily atop a relatively intact boulder a dozen yards away.
She was slightly out of breath, a bead of cold sweat sliding down her temple—because only then did she see that hidden within the smoke-formed foot had been a deadly cluster of javelins.
Dust billowed across the arena, and thick, black smoke swirled around the two, dimming the sky.
"I lost," Professor McGonagall said, pressing her lips together. "Your talent in Transfiguration is truly formidable… Though, in truth, it was already evident when you first entered Hogwarts."
Sagres gave a calm nod. "I've devoted a great deal of effort to Transfiguration."
"What exactly do you intend to do, Sagres, now that you've returned to Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall asked in a gentler tone, her face uncharacteristically free of its usual sternness.
"Hm," Sagres thought for a moment, then replied naturally, "Finish reading the books I didn't get to… and, while I'm at it, try to change some of the unpleasant things happening in the Castle."
"At least, that was my original plan," he added.
Professor McGonagall's expression softened, as if lost in memory. "I regret that you had to go through all of that… I should've helped you back then."
"That wasn't your fault, Professor McGonagall." Sagres waved his hand lightly, and all the transfigured constructs around them immediately dissolved.
He walked to the center of the arena and re-summoned the dueling stone tablet. "And I think, perhaps being expelled from Hogwarts wasn't such a bad thing. Otherwise, my magical research wouldn't have reached the level it has today."
As he spoke, he gave his wand a casual flick, and the word "Draw" appeared clearly on the stone tablet.
When Professor McGonagall saw it, her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something—but Sagres waved it off with a light gesture. "To avoid the little lions holding a grudge, it's better for both of us if it ends in a draw."
As soon as he finished speaking, the dust and smoke instantly dispersed.
Sagres and Professor McGonagall bowed to the audience, then calmly exited the arena amid the cheers of the young wizards.
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