Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Hermes had expected this to be a close battle between wizards, or at least a battle where the difference in strength would be visible.

Wand against wand, spell against spell, dark magic against dark magic.

He had prepared several tactics and countermeasures, and even thought about how to gracefully admit defeat if he couldn't win.

But Regulus told him with a stone spike that none of his ideas were true, and that if a fight broke out, he wouldn't even have a chance to make a move.

This stirred even more complex emotions within Hermes.

Part of it was resentment; he had practiced dark magic for so long and mastered so many damaging spells, yet he didn't even have a chance to use them in front of Regulus.

Part of it is admiration; the gap is so huge, you can't help but admire it.

Another part was excitement. Seeing that level of power, and the application of magic that was completely beyond his comprehension, ignited Hermes's deep-seated desire for power.

He wanted to know just how strong Regulus was, and how long it would take him to catch up, even if he could only see his back.

So he suppressed all his emotions, raised his head, and said in a deliberately calm but still slightly trembling voice, "Like a wizard's duel."

Avery burst out laughing beside him. Alex tried to hold it in, but couldn't, and a smile crept onto his face.

Hermes ignored them, his eyes fixed on Regulus: "Formal, bow, then begin."

Regulus readily agreed, nodding, "Alright."

The two walked to the center of the training field and stood five meters apart.

Hermes bowed first, with perfect posture, back straight, head bowed, and arms hanging naturally at his sides.

Regulus returned the greeting with a smaller gesture, but his demeanor was impeccable, revealing the elegance that a pure-blood family had been trained in since childhood.

Unfortunately, it was done for a blind man.

As he stood up, Hermes' wand was already raised to his chest, the tip of the wand slightly down, a standard dueling stance.

He didn't launch an attack immediately; he did something else first—

"The Head-Soaking Curse".

A transparent bubble emerged from the tip of the wand, rapidly expanding to cover his head.

The bubbles adhere closely to the skin, without obstructing vision or breathing, but they can isolate the skin from external air.

He remembered the feeling of suffocation in his dorm room last semester. No matter what method Regulus used to disable the air, the Bubble Head Curse at least ensured that he could breathe freely.

Transfiguration didn't work either!

He practiced it specifically!

Regulus looked at the bubble, almost laughing, but didn't.

He held his wand in his right hand, letting it hang by his side, and raised his left hand, palm up, making a "please" gesture.

Avery stood by the wall and cleared his throat: "Ready, go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hermes took two steps to the left and simultaneously brandished his wand: "Obstacles Abound!"

The spell was aimed at Regulus's chest, not to achieve any effect, but only to force Regulus to move or defend.

Regulus did not move; his right hand remained hanging down.

The spell flew to a meter away from him, collided with something unseen, exploded with a crack, and dissipated into tiny specks of light.

Hermes frowned, and continued to move, circling around to Regulus's side, his wand waving repeatedly.

"Legs stiffen and he dies!"

"They'll all be petrified!"

"Grinning widely!"

Three spells shot out from different angles, each a different color, and all moving very fast.

But the result was the same: they all crashed into the invisible barrier a meter in front of Regulus, exploded, and dissipated.

Regulus didn't even turn around. When Hermes circled behind him, he was still facing forward, head slightly bowed, eyes looking at the ground.

The barrier is all-encompassing, covering all directions—front, back, left, right, up, and down—leaving no blind spots.

Hermes stopped in his tracks, his breathing rapid due to tension and excitement, the bubbles on his head expanding and contracting with each breath.

He had anticipated that the basic spells wouldn't work, so he decided to use something more powerful.

He took a deep breath, raised his wand, and began to chant a long and oddly syllableed spell, which was his forte.

"Bone and blood separated!"

It was more refined and malicious than the competition for the top spot among the new students, faster, and more powerful.

It was clearly extra practice done on purpose.

A beam of dark red, almost black, light, radiating an aura of coldness and pain, shot fiercely toward Regulus.

However, unlike last time when the barrier was fully visible, this time only a little silver light was revealed at the point where it met the spell.

Moreover, the erosion rate is slower.

Hermes gritted his teeth and increased his magical output, causing the dark red beam to thicken and darken, becoming almost completely black.

The spell's structure began to falter, shooting outwards in lightning-like streaks of light. It landed on the floor, sizzling and leaving corrosive scorch marks.

The barrier began to appear, but it was not fully visible; only a small portion of the silver barrier, solidified like a crystal wall, appeared behind it.

Regulus finally made a move; he turned his head and looked at the point where the spells intersected.

Then, nodding in satisfaction, Hermes had made progress.

He raised his left hand, extended his index finger, and gently touched the barrier.

The barrier suddenly lit up and erupted on its own, with magic surging out from within, forming a shock that spread outwards from Regulus as the center.

"clang!"

A crisp metallic clang rang out.

The black beam of light shattered, dissipating into specks of light, and the impact continued to spread, colliding with Hermes.

Hermes was knocked back three steps, and the bubble of the Bubble Head Curse shook violently, almost bursting.

He steadied himself, feeling a tightness in his chest; the impact had made his internal organs tremble.

Regulus looked at him, his voice flat: "Continue."

Hermes swallowed hard. He could feel his magic power being depleted. The Bone and Blood Separation Curse had consumed too much energy, and as a result, he hadn't even broken the barrier.

What about Regulus?

He didn't even raise his wand, looking quite relaxed.

But there's another trick, an even more ruthless one!

He gripped his wand tightly in his right hand, held it out to the front, and placed his left hand protectively beside it, beginning to chant another spell.

This time the incantation was longer, the syllables were more difficult to pronounce, and each word had a dark and viscous texture.

The temperature in the training field began to drop, the light dimmed, and Avery and Alex unconsciously hugged their arms tightly against the wall.

"Shadow Binding Bite!"

A thick, black, writhing shadow appeared on the ground, like a living thing.

The center of the shadow began to bulge, from which black, tentacle-like stripes extended, twisting in the air as they searched for their target.

This is a summoning-type black magic, a magical imprint extracted from dark creatures that can summon shadow tentacles similar to the original creature's attack pattern.

The tentacles have physical form, which can not only bind enemies, but also continuously drain their life force and magic power. Those who are bound will feel a bone-chilling cold and a weakness on a spiritual level.

When the shadowy tentacles fully rose, they reached a height of nearly two meters, with seven or eight black stripes of varying thickness waving in the air, their ends sharp like spearheads.

Hermes was pale. Maintaining this spell was extremely taxing, and he felt his magical energy draining away like water being released from a dam.

But he gritted his teeth and held on, pointing his wand at Regulus with a fierce look in his eyes.

Seven or eight black streaks shot out simultaneously at great speed, leaving blurry black shadows in the air as they pierced Regulus from various angles.

Then stop.

All the tentacles froze a meter away from Regulus, writhing and stabbing with their tips, but they couldn't move forward an inch.

The shadow made a sound where it met the barrier, but that was about it.

Hermes' eyes widened as he saw the barrier reappear, this time even brighter.

Then the barrier suddenly opened in the opposite direction, like a giant net, wrapping around the shadow tentacles, and began to contract.

The tentacles were squeezed and deformed, emitting a harsh sound like metal twisting.

Cracks appeared on the surface of the black stripe, the cracks spread and widened, and finally the entire tentacle shattered into black fragments, fell to the floor, and dissipated into black smoke.

One, two, three... all the tentacles were crushed in two seconds.

The training ground is bright again and the temperature is rising.

Hermes' legs buckled, and he knelt on one knee, only managing to stay upright by supporting his body with his wand.

He gasped for breath, the bubbles from the Bubble Head Curse rising and falling violently with each breath, and sweat dripped from his forehead onto the floor.

His magic was almost depleted. Two dark spells, plus the previous probing spell, left him with very little magic.

Regulus looked at him, waited a moment, and then slowly said, "That's about it."

Hermes raised his head.

"If I let you use dark magic again, things could easily go wrong." Regulus said calmly, deciding to give him some face once more.

He raised his wand for the first time: "I'll just use one spell; try to block it."

Hermes took a deep breath and forced himself to stand up.

He waved his wand, and the bubbles of the Bubble Head Curse dissipated; after all, the spell had no effect on Regulus.

Then he began chanting the armor incantation: "Armor protects you."

As the Ironclad Charm took shape, a pale blue, semi-transparent barrier unfolded in front of him, its shape irregular and its edges undulating.

For a first-year student, being able to unleash a fully formed Ironclad Spell is already considered exceptional talent, even if it's incomplete.

Regulus looked at the barrier and tapped it lightly with his left index finger.

Repelling spell.

A beam of red light shot out and struck Hermes's armor spell.

The barrier shattered, exploding into countless pale blue fragments that flickered in the air before dissipating.