Thunderbird's sharp gaze locked onto Alex, his mind racing. He could feel the sheer magical power emanating from the young wizard, raw, volatile, and pulsing like an electric storm. Above them, the thunderclouds crackled with life, and with each step Alex took forward, arcs of lightning scorched the ground behind him.
Thunderbird's lips curled into a sneer as he noticed the trail of destruction Alex had left in his wake. Three smugglers, wizards who had barely had time to react, now lay writhing on the ground, bodies burned and twitching from the aftershocks of Alex's magic. One was completely still, his limbs charred black from a direct lightning strike.
"Damn brat, looks like I didn't hit you hard enough last time." Thunderbird's voice was laced with irritation, but also something else, excitement. "Since I failed before, I'll finish the job now!" With a vicious flick of his wand, he hurled two powerful curses at Alex, their energy roaring through the air like battering rams. These weren't ordinary spells, they were bloated with magic, their sheer size distorting the air around them as they streaked forward like twin comets.
Alex, however, remained unfazed. He barely shifted his stance, his wand snapping upward twice in quick succession.
Bang! Bang!
He redirected the incoming curses mid-flight. One struck a rocky outcrop by the cliffside, shattering the stone and sending debris flying. The other, however, veered off course, straight into an unfortunate smuggler standing too close. The wizard barely had time to react before the curse struck his outstretched arm.
Boom.
His hand was obliterated instantly, torn apart in an explosion of blood and shredded flesh. The man's agonized screams tore through the battlefield as he collapsed, clutching the mangled stump that remained. Alex barely spared him a glance. His focus remained locked onto Thunderbird. But inwardly, he noted the sheer force behind those spells. 'Not bad.'
Meanwhile, Thunderbird was just as shocked. The moment he had deflected Sectumsempra earlier, he had realized Alex was no ordinary wizard. But now, seeing how effortlessly Alex had countered his own curses, his mind raced. Thunderbird had used his signature casting technique, one that amplified not just the power, but also the force of his spells. Any normal wizard, even one skilled in shielding charms, would have struggled against it. Yet Alex had redirected them. Without a shield. Without breaking stride.
'This kid…' If Thunderbird wanted a quick victory, he had no choice. He had to go all out.
And judging by the intensity of Alex's gaze…So did he.
Both wizards made the decision in the same instant.
"Fiendfire Ardor!" Thunderbird roared.
"Thundris Vortex!" Alex countered.
Thunderbird moved first. With a sweeping motion of his wand, a cascade of golden sparks erupted from its tip, like a match igniting against rough stone. These tiny flames spiraled outward, multiplying as they expanded into the air. Then, with another flick, the flames burst into a vortex of Fiendfire, shaping themselves into a storm of burning petals. The cursed flames danced chaotically, moving like a living entity, their heat warping the very air around them. The fiery blossoms spun toward Alex in an elegant yet deadly trajectory, each ember carrying the destructive force of a wildfire.
Alex, unfazed, raised his wand to his free hand. Silver-blue plasma crackled at his fingertips, flowing up his arm in restless waves. The energy danced across his skin like living threads of light, forming into glowing orbs, tiny, volatile electrons pulsing with raw magic. The sheer static buildup made his long silver-trimmed coat stand on end, his hair lifting slightly as if drawn by an unseen force. Then, with a single gesture The orbs detonated.
A wave of miniature electric stars burst from his body, forming a swirling orbit around him like a planetary ring. Each one pulsed with concentrated magic, their faint glow leaving behind streaks of white-hot light. Alex's wand snapped forward.
Instantly, the lightning start to surged toward Thunderbird, streaking across the battlefield like a meteor shower. Each one left a faint afterimage, glowing tails trailing behind them in the deep night sky. The two magical storms collided. Thunder met fire.
Lightning wove through the storm of cursed flames, snaking through the fiery petals like a viper striking its prey. Sparks exploded mid-air as the two forces clashed, the surrounding area illuminated by the chaotic display of raw magic. Thunderbird gritted his teeth as he felt the air vibrate around him. He hadn't expected this level of power. But he wasn't about to lose.
Fire and lightning clashed midair, their chaotic energies colliding like two armies locked in battle. Thunderbird's cursed flames, shaped like swirling embers and spectral beasts, surged forward in a deadly dance, while Alex's charged electrons, sharp as daggers and erratic as a storm, sliced through the air in precise counterattacks. Each time an electron met a spark, one of two things would happen, either the lightning sheared through the fire, erasing it in an instant, or the Fiendfire consumed the electron, absorbing its energy and growing even stronger.
Each spell devoured the other, evolving and adapting like predators locked in a brutal struggle. Tiny electric sparks expanded into Tempest Orb, arcing across the battlefield in erratic, looping patterns, while flickering flames transformed into raging infernos, their edges curling into the shape of monstrous jaws.
The air between Alex and Thunderbird crackled with heat and raw energy, their magic pulsing like two opposing forces of nature. It was as if the very elements themselves had declared war.
Caught between these two walking calamities, Occamy was having the worst night of his life. His ghoul army, painstakingly summoned for this operation, was being torn apart, not by the Aurors, not by counterspells, but by the collateral damage of the duel between Alex and Thunderbird.
One moment, his ghouls were shambling toward their targets. The next, a stray bolt of lightning would rip through their rotting forms, obliterating them into piles of smoldering ash. And if the electricity didn't get them, the Fiendfire did, consuming them in an instant, turning their animated corpses into fuel for Thunderbird's raging flames.
Occamy's stomach twisted as he watched nearly half his summoned creatures disintegrate before they could even reach the fight. "Thunderbird!" he yelled through their enchanted masks, sending an urgent signal. "Your spells are too damn destructive, I can't even keep my ghouls on the field! Either move the fight or this whole mission is going to collapse!"
Thunderbird gritted his teeth. He could feel it, his Fiendfire was beginning to overtake Alex's lightning. If he could just keep pressing forward, he would gain the upper hand. But Occamy had a point. The battle was dragging on too long. This operation was supposed to be a clean, efficient transport job. The longer they fought, the more likely the Ministry of Magic would send reinforcements.
Thunderbird's original plan had been perfect, create a diversion, transport the creatures, and disappear before anyone realized what had happened. But then this brat, this lightning-wielding menace, had arrived and completely derailed everything.
Now, instead of securing his grand victory, Thunderbird was locked in a stalemate, burning through magic at an unsustainable rate. And worst of all? Even if he did win this fight, what good would it do if the entire smuggling operation had already collapsed? His temper flared. This was Alex's fault