Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 111: The Source
"Urgg… I don't feel too good." Tonks was struggling to keep her balance.
It felt like suddenly being deep underwater, with all that pressure being added to her body.
Sirius and Hestia weren't doing that much better, but Moody and the more veteran wizards could hold their own and continue moving.
"We must find the source and stop it… this oppressive feeling is being caused by the activation of the circle," the German witch said.
The main chamber of the cathedral was massive, and it also appeared to be completely empty.
Voldemort glanced upwards. "It's up there… the source."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Bella held her wand up. "Let's just blow up this entire place."
"Don't be reckless!" The French wizard got in front of her. "You could cause a reaction that will end up killing us all. To activate a circle the size of London, the energy source must be massive."
Moody reacted to hearing this and realized something important. "Of course, that's why he took that from Hogwarts!"
"What are you talking about?" the German witch asked.
"The magical crystal was stolen during his last visit. Now I know what he wanted to use it for." Moody turned to Bella. "They are right. If you hit the crystal with a spell, the whole thing could blow up and then we all die."
Voldemort began walking towards the stairs. "Let's stop wasting time! I'm going up there."
Just as he was about to reach the set of stone stairs on one side of the chamber, Voldemort felt a sudden wave of heat and moved aside by pure instinct.
A second later, the stairs exploded, sending pieces everywhere.
"My Lord!" Bella exclaimed.
"Careful!" The French wizard moved in front of the group and created a shield to protect them.
A moment later, it was hit by a red projectile and shattered, sending the old wizard flying.
It was then that they saw the source of the attack and a figure descending from above.
A large humanoid creature with great black wings. It was smiling while glancing down at them.
"I am very sorry, but I cannot let you interrupt," the demon said in a calm tone.
"That's him!" Voldemort glared at the demon. "That's the one I saw."
"By Merlin! This is a high-rank demon!" The German witch was staring at Abbadon with shock on her face. "That madman brought something like this into our world?!"
"We're doomed!" someone else said.
"How dare you attack my Lord!" Bella stepped forward and aimed her wand at Abbadon. "Avada Kedavra!"
With little effort, the demon batted the spell away with one of its wings.
"Crucio!" Bella shouted.
This time, Abbadon vanished in a cloud of smoke, allowing the curse to pass through the spot he had been occupying.
"B-Bella!" Sirius had to fight against the oppressive pressure to try to warn her when he saw the demon appear behind her.
Abbadon moved too quickly for anyone to react and drove his entire fist into Bella's back, coming out at the front.
The witch let out some gargling sounds as her lungs were filled with blood, and she was unable to speak.
Loud gasps were heard when they all saw that Abbadon was holding Bella's still-beating heart in his hand.
"Hahahaa!" The demon pulled his arm out of her body, and this one collapsed on the floor, already dead. Then, the demon laughed while looking at the heart in his hands. "Magic or not… humans are always so fragile. Just take one small part out of their bodies and they die."
"Attack!" the German witch commanded.
All ten of the foreign wizards began launching a barrage of spells directed at the demon.
"Hey!" Moody pointed at Voldemort, who had been standing still and looking at his fallen follower. Bella had been his most loyal one since the beginning, and now she was dead.
Even for someone as devoid of emotion as Voldemort, it was impossible to ignore it completely. He felt anger rising up.
"Don't!" Moody stopped Voldemort when he saw that he was about to go after the demon. "Go up there! You are the only one who can face the Demon Lord. We'll keep this demon entertained for as long as we can."
Voldemort hesitated for a second but then realized that Moody was right. This was their best chance. Killing the high-ranking demon was not their main goal after all.
His body rose into the air and flew until he reached the upper part of the steps that had survived the destruction.
Abbadon turned his attention to Voldemort when he saw what the man was doing.
The demon pointed at him, and from the tip of his nails, a red ball of energy manifested.
However, before he could shoot, he was interrupted by a small animal made of pure white light.
"Urgg… this thing again…" Abbadon frowned.
The Patronus Charm was not powerful enough to cause him any real damage, but the positive emotion within the spell did give him a very unpleasant feeling, and it had been just enough to distract him.
By the time he was able to throw his attack, Voldemort had already climbed to the next floor.
"Oh well… I tried." Abbadon didn't seem too upset, as he knew better than these humans how dangerous his summoner was.
"I'll take care of the rest of you then." Instead of chasing after Voldemort, he turned his attention to the rest.
"C-can we win?" Tonks muttered. She was starting to grow accustomed to the pressure—at least barely enough to move around.
Moody did not turn to look at her, as he didn't want to take his eyes off the demon. "Do you really want me to tell you?"
The ten veteran wizards who had been selected by the I.C.W. for their magical prowess had been throwing everything they had at the demon, and this one didn't seem even a bit affected.
"Let's hope he has better luck than us…" Moody muttered.
Their only chance now lay in the hands of Lord Voldemort.