Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 526 The Final Battle and the Return

"What did you say?" Professor McGonagall almost thought she had misheard, but Godric repeated himself.

"What do you take Salazar Slytherin for?" Professor McGonagall felt a surge of anger rising within her, and she said in a hoarse voice, "Even a great wizard like Dumbledore—"

"I told you, this is my destiny battle with him. I will win," Godric interrupted Professor McGonagall, his words brimming with undisguised confidence.

Professor McGonagall was momentarily at a loss for words.

Just as she was about to send the eccentric little wizard back to the common room, the two of them suddenly heard a song coming from afar.

"It's the song of the phoenix!" Professor McGonagall recognized the voice; she knew it was Dumbledore's phoenix song.

But why would Fox suddenly start singing?

"Oh no, it can't be..." Professor McGonagall thought of an extremely terrifying possibility.

Fortunately, the worst didn't happen. Phoenix Fox simply flew over to them and tossed a tattered hat at their feet.

Godric picked up the Sorting Hat, dusted it off, and then magically produced a gleaming silver longsword from it.

"The Gryffindor sword will answer the call of Gryffindors in need," Godric said with a smile. "Professor, just wait patiently for my good news!"

As he spoke, he put the Sorting Hat on his head, grabbed the Gryffindor sword in one hand, and held the phoenix's claws in the other.

The next second, before Professor McGonagall could stop him, Phoenix Fox transformed into a golden-red streak of light, disappearing into the horizon with Godric.

Professor McGonagall's face was filled with shock; she hadn't expected Godric to be serious, and that both Phoenix Fox and the Sorting Hat had responded to his request.

But how could a child like him be a match for Salazar?

Professor McGonagall suppressed her confusion and immediately set off for Azkaban—she was going to stop Godric, or rather, find a way to keep him alive.

Godric was unaware of Professor McGonagall's actions, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

At worst, I can fight Professor McGonagall before I fight Salazar.

Godric thought that this kind of thing could be settled with fists, and that Professor McGonagall would definitely be convinced by him.

Moreover, Godric was confident of victory in his duel with Salazar.

Fox's flight speed was unbelievable. In the blink of an eye, Godric had set foot on Azkaban.

Sensing the presence of a stranger, the Dementors swarmed in, but Godric easily dealt with them.

In actual combat, the Dementors are like the mobs at the start of a game: they're always present, but they don't deal any damage, and they can't even deplete Godric's stamina.

After driving away the Dementors, Azkaban Castle remained undefended, and Godric easily reached the top floor, where he met his old friend.

Their eyes met, and some long-forgotten memories surged from the depths of their minds.

That was a brief epilogue to what happened after Salazar stormed off to Hogwarts.

After a fight with his old friend, a calmer Godric tries to bring Salazar back to Hogwarts, but he fails.

"Godric, you still want to take me back to Hogwarts this time?"

Upon hearing his old friend's question, Godric chuckled.

"No, didn't you already go back?" The tattered Sorting Hat covered most of Godric's forehead, hiding his eyes in the shadows under the brim, but you could still tell from the upturned corners of his mouth that he was happy.

"You're quite the smooth talker, saying all sorts of things." Rice didn't want to continue arguing with Godric on this issue, otherwise he would most likely be the one to lose face, so he slapped a label on Godric and then changed the subject.

"What did that prophetic crystal ball say?"

Godric took the crystal ball from his pocket and activated the prophecy inside, letting Salazar hear it.

After hearing the prophecy, Rice raised an eyebrow: So Tom believed the prophecy and tried to solve the problem himself, only to fail miserably?

This is really...

No wonder Dumbledore was willing to support Professor Trelawney day after day. Just based on this prophecy, he could have a lifetime meal ticket at Hogwarts, right?

A rational analysis suggests that Professor Trelawney was the one who benefited the most from Voldemort.

After hearing the prophecy, Rice casually tossed the crystal ball to Godric.

"Come on, this may be our destined battle!"

The silver python shot out like lightning, rushing towards Godric's chest.

A flash of silver light.

Godric drew his Gryffindor sword with a backhand stroke and then cut the giant python that lunged at him in half.

To the sound of the phoenix's song, Godric charged toward Salazar, sword in one hand and wand in the other.

Bang! Boom!

An explosion rang out, and potion smoke billowed up, but this method, which was enough to wipe out half of the Ministry of Magic, was completely ineffective against Godric.

Potions had no effect on him, and explosions couldn't harm him in the slightest. Godric withstood the spells and traps, rushed to Rice, and launched an attack.

A flash of white light, and Rice, with his eyes closed, jumped backward, flying more than ten feet with the support of magic.

His chest felt cold; Godric had just launched a slash at him under the cover of a powerful illumination spell. If Rice hadn't known this guy's fighting style, or if he'd closed his eyes a second too late or hadn't retreated quickly enough, he would now be blinded and disemboweled.

Even so, Rice could still feel blood seeping from the wound on his chest.

He dodged the slash, but the force of Godric's sword tip still caused him minor injury.

"Damn it, is this guy even a wizard?" Rice cursed, a flame igniting on his finger. He then smeared it on his chest, temporarily scorching the wound and stopping the bleeding.

"Salazar, as slippery as ever!" Godric's attack followed in quick succession.

Rice easily dodged and blocked Godric's fierce attack.

"You're the same, more like a swordsman than a mage." Rice raised his hand, and a stream of water emerged from the tip of his staff, transforming into a whip that lashed out at Godric.

"Useless!" Godric swung his longsword repeatedly, cutting the water whip into several pieces.

Then, flames rose from the blade of his longsword, and he himself entered a rather strange state.

"Flaming Longsword!" "Flaming Slash!" "Flaming Block!"

"Fire Dragon Tornado!" "Fire Dragon Breath!" "Fire Dragon Roasted Bull!"

"Can you please stop calling out your stupid move names?!" Rice was really fed up with Godric. After dodging a large fireball, he flicked his wand and conjured an even thicker and larger water whip, which he then lashed out at Godric.

"Phoenix Slays Python!" Godric responded with several powerful slashes and a resounding shout of the move's name.

The outcome was the same as just seconds before: Rice's water whip was severed into several pieces. However, the difference was that the shattered water droplets that fell to the ground gathered together at an astonishing speed, then transformed into various animal shapes and pounced on Godric.

Wild boar, tiger, python, phoenix, fire dragon, griffin...

Each animal, once chopped up, quickly regenerates and grows larger by absorbing tiny droplets floating in the air.

"Good!!!" Godric exclaimed excitedly, his longsword almost turning into a red blur.

Any aquatic creature that dared to approach him was shattered by him.

The enlarged size of those aquatic animals did not serve any positive purpose; on the contrary, it made it easier for Godric to chop them down.

Rice saw the problem. He understood that continuing would be a waste of magic, so instead of letting the droplets gather into large creatures, he made them shrink in size and increase in number.

This is very energy-consuming, but the advantage is that with increased numbers, there will always be a few stragglers who can hit Godric and leave wounds on his body, whether deep or shallow.

However, Godric did not slow his offensive despite his injury. On the contrary, his fighting spirit was ignited, and he entered an unprecedented state of combat.

Rice, on the other hand, completely relinquished control of the aquatic creature and began preparing his ultimate attack. It was the same spell he had used on Dumbledore that day: the super weather spell Jormungandr.

After smashing the last bizarre-looking waterbird, Godric looked up at the dark clouds and the giant, serpentine column of water in the sky and laughed.

"Salazar, has your strength declined that much?"

"Enough with the nonsense." As his magic power rapidly depleted, Rice's face turned pale, and his voice trembled slightly. "I don't believe you can conjure up a spell with even greater power than this."

Godric couldn't help but nod: Salazar was right. Without the support of a domain, relying solely on the magic within his own body, casting a spell of this scale was indeed the limit.

Seeing that Salazar was already gathering his strength to unleash his strongest attack, Godric dared not be careless. The flames on his longsword instantly became even more dazzling, and even showed a faint tendency to turn white.

With the infusion of massive amounts of magic power, Godric's longsword also condensed into flames of terrifying power.

"Jormungandr!"

"Phineas!"

The giant serpent lowered its head from the sky and crashed to the ground with the force of thunder, while a golden-red fire phoenix soared into the sky to meet the giant serpent head-on.

Two incredibly powerful spells clashed fiercely in the sky.

The entire sea area was shrouded in fog generated during the clash between the two sides.

The giant serpent roared incessantly, while the phoenix's song grew ever louder, the power of their spells reaching its peak.

Finally, with a loud bang, the giant snake's body exploded, turning into a continuous drizzle.

The top floor of Azkaban Castle had collapsed into ruins in the aftermath of the battle. Rhys and Godric lay at opposite ends of the ruins, with the Gryffindor sword and the Slytherin staff stuck between them.

Blood gushed from Rice's seven orifices; his magic was exhausted, and his internal organs seemed to be out of place.

Godric was in no better shape; his beard and hair had all turned to ash, and his skin was charred black, indicating that he had been severely harmed by his own spell.

Both wanted to get up and end the fight, but neither had the strength to continue.

Rainwater fell beside them, gradually forming two dark red puddles.

At that moment, a loud bang was heard in the air, and Helga appeared in the ruins.

Godric and Rice both struggled to lift their heads, seemingly wanting to say something, but Helga didn't give them the chance. She drew her wand and knocked them both unconscious with two Stunning Charms.

After doing all this, she floated into the air and pointed her wand at the Azkaban castle below her.

The next moment, she repaired the top floor of the castle, which had been reduced to ruins.

After that, one spell after another emerged from the tip of her staff, completely sealing off the entire castle, making it impossible for anyone inside to escape.

Another loud bang, and Professor McGonagall appeared on Azkaban.

She looked at Helga in the sky in surprise and asked her what she was doing here and what had happened.

"Godric just fought a fierce battle with Salazar, and they both perished. I cast a spell on this place to prevent anything inside from escaping. With Godric guarding the inside, the Salazar rebellion has been quelled."

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened in disbelief.

That Godric actually managed to beat Salazar?!

Meanwhile, in his ward at Hogwarts Hospital, Dumbledore slowly opened his eyes.

Looking at the familiar ceiling, he was momentarily disoriented and couldn't quite tell where he was.

But he soon received wonderful news: Godric Longbottom, having gained the approval of the Gryffindor sword and the Sorting Hat, went alone to Azkaban to challenge Salazar Slytherin, and ultimately defeated and sealed him away.

The third Dark Lord, who was at the height of his power, thus fell from grace.

Everything seems to have changed.

Rice felt as if she had taken a very long nap.

When he woke up, he once again smelled the familiar yet unfamiliar scent that belonged only to the ocean.

Familiarity refers to the smell of the sea; unfamiliarity refers to the fact that the smell carried by the sea breeze here seems different from that of the familiar Beihai.

Where am I?

Fragmented memories flooded back, and Rice recalled the great battle with Godric.

Calling it a great battle might be an exaggeration, since neither of them used their domains, but it was still the limit of their abilities. In the end, both were severely injured.

What about Godric?

The thought flashed through Rice's mind, and he quickly tried to sit up, only to discover something was wrong: he was not on the stone floor of Azkaban, but on a soft bed.

Turning his head again, Rice found Godric fast asleep on the bed opposite him—his face was no longer young, but the same old face.

The moment Rice saw Godric's face, he realized: they were back.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Update delivered, goodnight everyone.

The next update will be at midnight tomorrow night~

(End of this chapter)