Reviews:
Quatermass: The fight is incoming! I did take a bit of inspiration from that infamous Dio line. No problem, I love seeing the Berserk fandom grow and I'll be sure to give it a read!
Hairul The Nightrage Beast: The armor will come out again, no denying that. And Casca gets to test the sword out this time around.
Pyromania101: So glad you enjoyed it so much, it was a blast to write. This chapter and the next one are ones I've been looking forward to writing since the start. I'll try to have it out as soon as possible and always glad to have you back.
Guest: The Ministry is up to their usual schemes. And the fight goes down for sure.
joshjones433: Thank you!
Necrogod: Not a problem!
MorphCross: Glad to see the build-up was worth it! Forces is an amazing score as well.
kaxipoptos: This fight was a blast to write for and I hope that it lives up for the build-up. Harry takes notice of how Casca is in battle here and how different it is. When all is said and done, it will only add to the infamy of Harry and his companions. And we get to see Guts' thoughts on why he is fighting Voldemort as well.
PrometheusDark: I've been waiting to write that scene and glad that it lived up!
Exiled Soul Nomad: Go Guts indeed.
Energy-the-hedgehog: I try my best to have a chapter done a week so the wait isn't that bad. The pieces are all in motion and I hope to have included every character be of some relevance in this battle.
Greer123: Thanks! I had a blast writing this chapter as well.
Tero7323: Not a problem. I hope everything is okay family wise. I hope this chapter has plenty of action to go around.
Disclaimer- Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Berserk is owned by Kentaro Miura. I own nothing.
Guts would give credit where credit was due, the wizard known as Voldemort was pretty fast. Maybe not in terms of actual speed; at least, not that he knew yet, but rather with his wand and his spell-work. It had been Voldemort to make the first move of their fight, his red eyes shining with a dangerous amusement as he said some words that, to Guts, sounded like "Abra Kedabra."
He was probably wrong on what the words actually were, but they sure as hell sounded like that. Whatever words Voldemort truly did say, a jet of green light, a shade similar to Harry's eyes, flew forth from the end of his wand straight toward Guts.
Guts momentarily stopped in his own advance to bring the fight to a close-range distance, digging his boots into the grassy ground, Guts kicked off to the left to avoid being hit by the unknown green spell. And he was glad that he did. As the green jet of light soared past his head, a cold, bone-chilling feeling ran down Guts' spine as he eyed the soaring spell. He had grown used to the feeling of death since a very early age, ever since his birth, the feeling of having his life being nearly extinguished was one he was no stranger to. This feeling, however… just looking at it made him feel like somebody was walking on his grave like he was already dead and in the ground.
Whatever the hell the spell was, Guts made sure that he would not let it even graze the surface of his skin.
After evading the spell, Guts regained his proper footing and kicked off in a full sprint, his sword poised in front of him, looking to impale the dark wizard straight through. The Dragonslayer was still coated in the warm, thick blood of the first dragon and some drops began to fly off the surface with how fast Guts was running. As he neared, he noticed a bit of a surprised look flash across Voldemort's face.
"You move quite well for one wearing full armor," Voldemort remarked. "Hauling that sword around must be such a burden." Instead of retreating or making an attempt to dodge, Voldemort fired off another spell.
To Guts' relief, it wasn't the same green light he had fired off to begin. Instead, a part of the ground near Guts exploded outward sending bits of grass, dirt, and rock up to strike Guts. He could feel some of the debris land on his head from the sheer force of the explosion in question, a bit of it almost striking his singular eye.
Damn bastard is trying to blind me, Guts realized what the dark wizard was up to. And his assessment turned out to be true. Voldemort sent another explosion his way, striking where he thought Guts was going to be next and coming very close to actually hitting his intended target. More dirt and clutter fell down on Guts who felt the soft feeling of dirt weigh down his hair and touch his scalp. As Guts jumped out of the way of another explosion charm aimed at him, Voldemort stood exactly where he had been this whole time. Guts could see an amused sadistic grin on the man's relatively handsome face.
This guy is just as same as him! He has a pretty boy disguise and is completely fucked on the inside. Guts looked at the massive amount of dragon blood that still coated the massive blade that was Dragonslayer. By now, dirt and grass had gotten mixed in there as well. He would make sure to give the blade a good cleaning, starting now.
Guts halted in his advance but still held Dragonslayer like he was about to swing it and cleave the dark wizard in half. Voldemort noticed his behavior and change of tactic as well. "That sword of yours is massive, but even you do not have the range to hit me from here."
"You sure about that?" Guts swung Dragonslayer for all it was worth, pivoting his upper body along with it while keeping his legs firmly planted where he was standing. He was not expecting to hit Voldemort with Dragonslayer from here at his distance, but his efforts at dodging had gotten him close enough to use Voldemort's own tactic against him.
All the blood and mixture of dirt and grass that had been coating the blade was suddenly flung off that it flew outward in the same crescent arc Guts had made. Guts knew it worked instantly when Voldemort had no idea how to react to such an impromptu form of attack and the dragon blood landed in his eyes.
"Gnh!" Voldemort winced as he faltered for a bit, rubbing the material from his eyes to clear his vision once more. "You little-!" as soon as Voldemort had cleared his vision, he was met with the sight of Guts towering over him with Dragonslayer held high above his head, ready to do to him what he had done to the dragon previous.
With surprising speed for a man caught off guard, Voldemort fired off another explosion spell at the space between him and Guts, using the resulting force to launch himself back and away from Dragonslayer which ended up taking a very sizable chunk from the ground as well.
Voldemort narrowed his eyes dangerously at Guts, flicking away a bit of dirt that was stuck to the side of his face. "Not a very noble tactic to try and blind an opponent like that."
"Yeah, coming from someone who has a title like 'Dark Lord,'" Guts lifted Dragonslayer again. "This is a battle; nobility doesn't guarantee shit when your opponent is some psycho who thinks he's above everyone else."
To that, Voldemort's demeanor began to change again. He began to chuckle, and that turned to a full-blown laugh. "Hahaha! Oh, what a day this is! Has the old fool actually gone and conscripted a man with no honor to fight and defend his precious school? I heard that Dumbledore was slipping, but I had no idea he was broken morally! My first encounter with him must have done more damage to his ego than I imagined."
"Don't go priding yourself so much," Guts started forward slowly this time. "Old men like him always go a bit out of it at a certain point."
"So very true," Voldemort seemed to agree. "But senile or no, no one will be forgetting this day! Look around at the scene we have created."
Guts didn't want to take his eye off of Voldemort, and luckily, he didn't have to in order to see what the dark wizard was referring to. Despite the raging fire over by the stands, the gang of giants running around, and the other dragon circling overhead above the castle, a select few were either too scared to move or were actually enraptured to see the duel he was having with Voldemort.
He picked up the pace of his advancement. "Changing the subject isn't in your favor," Guts informed. "They probably want to see you meet your match."
"Oh, no doubt about that," Voldemort smiled unapologetically. "I have caused a great deal of suffering to a great many of loved ones over the years, they would love to see me dead." His amused expression hardened to a more serious one. "But it is not with you who I will face off with. You are a mere ant to be crushed beneath my boot; Potter is who I seek. The prophecy concerning us both will, at last, be settled."
"Cut it with that prophecy shit," Guts snarled. "You'd have to be some kind of quack to believe an ounce of that. You know, if your name really is Voldemort, you would be crazy enough to believe it. Forget about Harry, your fight is here."
The mention of prophecy was enough to make Guts even more eager to put this guy down, but that was only a contributing factor. From what he knew, this Voldemort guy had some grudge with Harry that he was looking to settle. The way his name was mentioned by Sirius, Dumbledore, and Lupin, it was apparent that this guy was dangerous. As skilled as Harry had become with magic from his studies with Flora and Schierke, he had very little experience fighting other magic users. He had defeated that Daiba guy back in their escape from Vritannis but aside from that, there were no other mages they had come across who meant them harm. And from what Guts had just gauged of the man, Voldemort was a snake in every sense of the word. And he was just as slippery as one.
"My fight is here, you say?" Voldemort spoke with an aura of superiority. "You are terribly misinformed. Nothing good has ever come to those who stand in the way of Lord Voldemort, just look at what happened to Potter's filthy, mudblood mother." Voldemort's eyes flickered to over to the crowd of students that was watching them. "You said before that nobility has no place while in battle. Let me test that." He pointed his wand at one of the younger students.
Guts knew instantly what he was about to do before he even said the word. "Avada…"
He was moving to intercept the green light as it soared toward the student. Judging by the terrified, statuesque student, there was no way to block this by any spell they knew. With Dragonslayer held out at arm's length, the jet of light struck his blade, dissolving into a green mist upon contact.
It looked like physical barriers would work just fine against that spell. Dragonslayer was wide enough to be used as a shield if need be and it looked like it would be coming in handy if Voldemort decided to pull another one of those spells on him so suddenly. With the student safe, Guts snarled at the crowd.
"The hell is wrong with you all?! Get out of here already!" his voice carried a great weight to it, and while some did flee the scene, others were either too scared to move or had no idea where to even go.
He quickly turned around expecting to see Voldemort ready to fire off another one of his curses. Instead, he saw the back of Voldemort's as the Dark Lord began walking away in search of his true objective, Harry.
From a mercenary perspective, this was a clear an insult as any. Guts reached into his satchel to pull out one of the small explosives Godo had made and Isidro was fond of. He sparked the fuse by moving it across his metal hand and waited until the fuse was nearly expired before he threw it at the retreating form of Voldemort.
Kaboom!
It went off with a flash of light and a puff of smoke.
Voldemort halted in his retreat, reaching a hand up to the back of his dark head where some of his hair had been fried. He pulled his fingers away with the tiniest bit of blood on the end of his index. He put his hand back over his wound and tiny red threads of magic began to seal up the wound and his hair grew back in place. When he turned around, his handsome features were rooted in a deep scowl.
Guts glowered back pointing Dragonslayer right at him.
"So be it," Voldemort said with a sneer. The fight resumed.
While the battle waged away on land, things were much different on the deck of the Sea Horse. Not to say they weren't hectic with the crew on high alert from the sounds going on, but Farnese doubted that anyone who was on the shore would think this a crazy place to be. No, instead they would probably think that it was quite the calming change. She was worried for Casca who went out with a team comprised of Harry, Serpico, Isidro, and the still-disguised Sir Azan.
It wasn't that she doubted any of them or their abilities – well, maybe Sir Azan as he had not been dealing with supernatural forces for as long as they had; but Farnese was concerned all the same. She had a pretty good grasp on the state of Casca's well-being and while it wasn't anything seriously life-threatening, her body was still building itself back up. She would likely be familiar with the moves she knew, but unable to physically execute them to perfection.
Strange, in her tenure with the Holy Iron Chain Knights, she never found herself valuing the lives of her subordinates as much as she did her companions. Most of the knights were ill-equipped sons of nobles who had never actually swung a sword before joining. On the rare occasion that one died, she hardly spared a thought on it since it was none too surprising when it happened. Now, the danger was very much present and a woman she had looked after for months was out there risking her life while leading others who she had come to call friends.
But she was not the only one to stay behind on the boat while the battle carried on. "Helmsman, take us closer to shore!" Roderick ordered as he walked the deck. "Quartermaster, get all hands to report to their stations and see to it our starboard cannons are loaded and ready to fire!" he carried himself with an added flare of his usual confidence. Right now, he was truly in his element. It was surprising to see how fast he had transformed into the easy-going friend of her brother to the experienced and capable Sailing Prince of Lith.
She saw her brother scramble up on deck. Magnifico's blonde curls were a mess and his expensive evening robes were hastily thrown on. "Wha-! What is going on out there?" he sputtered as he observed the scene happening out on shore. "Roderick, why are we going closer to land?!"
"We have to get in range," Roderick responded as he assisted a crewman in loading a cannon. "Can't let the Chief and the rest have all the fun now, can we?"
"Fun?" Magnifico parroted. "That is hardly the word I would use. Besides, you've seen how he can fight; this should be nothing to them. They have magic as well. That scar headed boy-,"
"-He has a name," Schierke cut him off sounding more than a bit miffed. With Farnese, she constructed a circular runic shape on the deck of the boat near the center mast. She had borrowed some salt from the reserves in order to do so.
The reason being that Farnese was still getting used to the basic summoning of spirits in magic and having Schierke on the boat and on the lake could prove very useful with getting in contact with a water-based spirit. With the multiple fires roaring near that one pitch, and that second dragon still on the loose, Farnese suspected that water would be her ally instead of the fire that had captivated her as a child.
Both of her teachers had told her that this place was brimming with magical energy and therefore getting in contact with a powerful spirit should be no problem at all. "Alright, Farnese, the circle is complete. Step inside so we may begin."
"Target those giants and fire!" Roderick gave the command.
Multiple cannons fired off at once. Boom!Boom! Boom! Boom!
The air stung with the lingering smell of smoke and fire and Farnese had to cover her ears from the sheer noise of the shots. She was used to Guts using his cannon-arm, but multiple shots and of much greater force proved to be her limit.
Even so, the cannons proved to be halfway decent when it came to dealing damage. The crew had instinctively targeted what they perceived to be the biggest threat, one of the giants. Not expecting an attack from behind, the giant staggered on its leg, as one had been blown off at the knee from a cannonball. After two more cannons had fired upon the wounded giant, it fell with a thud that could be heard from the boat.
"Apologies for that, ladies," Roderick let slip his Sailing Prince persona for a brief second or two. "This won't be a disturbance to you, will it?"
"Not unless our bodies are physically disrupted," Schierke told the captain. "As long as you keep the ship steady, you can fire off as many cannons as you wish. Farnese and I will be entering our luminous bodies to get in contact with one of the spirits of the lake."
"I'm going to pretend to understand what you just said," Roderick nodded. "I'll keep the ship and your persons safe, count on that." He gave a nod of his head to Farnese who gave one in turn. "I'll have all hands on deck helping out as well." Roderick grabbed Magnifico by the collar of his clothes. "That includes you."
"M-me?" Magnifico stuttered. "Roderick, I've no experience in fighting!"
"You don't have to in order to load a cannon." Roderick used his foot to stop a cannonball from rolling across the deck. He picked it up and handed it off to the elder Vandimion.
"B-But I've never loaded a cannon either!" Magnifico whined again.
"Gret time to start, my friend!" Roderick ushered him along. "My first mate will show you all you need to know."
As the two of them sauntered off, Ivalera commented. "At least now that guy can help pull his weight." It was clear she didn't have a high opinion of Farnese's elder brother.
"Don't worry about him right now," Schierke said as she took hold of Farnese's hands once they were both inside the salt circle. "Remember, let the feeling of your physical body go away."
"And leave what is only inside," Farnese recalled what had been taught to her.
The continued sound of firing cannons and the yells and thudding of the crew's boots made for a difficult concentration to say the least, but Farnese could feel the calming presence of Schierke helping to ease her mind into a state of higher understanding as was required of most all magic. Her head began to feel lighter and she was thankful that she was kneeling otherwise she might have fallen. The sound of cannons being fired invaded her senses once more, this time sounding distinctively more muffled. But the smell… the smell of smoke and fire that had held her rapt attention as a young girl took hold of her.
Before, Farnese would have associated the smell of fire and smoke to the burning of heretics and suspected witches. Now, she was one of the very same she and the rest of her men had hunted. The fire to her now was more than just a tool for destruction; it was like a breath of fresh life.
When her eyes opened, she saw her body kneeling on the deck of the ship below her. Looking at her hand, Farnese saw that it seemed almost transparent and surrounded in a dim flame of a sort. Schierke looked the same. This wasn't the first time Farnese had been in her astral form, but the feeling was all still very new to her.
"Come," Schierke said as she took a hold of Farnese and together they floated over the side of the ship and down toward the Black Lake below.
Seeing the water coming so close, Farnese almost instinctively took a deep breath but stopped short when she remembered her actual body was safe up on deck. She did not feel a thing as she and Schierke just passed through the water like it wasn't even there. The water was near pitch black, only being illuminated by the fire reflected on the surface and the spark of a cannon being fired off. It was eerie, to say the least, and Farnese could now see why it was named the Black Lake.
"Teacher, how far down are we going to go?" It would seem childish to say she did not like the dark; even more so considering Schierke was younger than her by a couple years.
"Maybe to the bottom," Schierke answered, still keeping Farnese's hand in her own. "It is like Harry and I said, this entire place is like one big magical melting pot. Between the life in the forest with their own magic, so too exists life down in this lake with their own set of spirits."
"You mean there are merrows living here?" Farnese knew the stories of the friendly half-fish half-human creatures that sung lovely songs to guide sailors to safety.
"More like mere people," Schierke clarified.
"What is the difference?"
"Merrows are considered good and friendly and can even take human legs if out of the water for a time. Merpeople are considered to be more aggressive. Instead of using song to help sailors, they use it to drown them."
"Oh." She should warn Roderick and the rest once they returned to heed no mind to any song they heard in the dead of night.
Their astral bodies glided without pause through a grove of tall standing seaweed. More than once, Farnese thought she saw a small, horned shape dart between the stalks. She kept reminding herself that whatever it was she saw, that it could not hurt her. Right now, she was more a spirit than anything and they were of the physical world.
After clearing the seaweed, they came before a chasm. If Farnese thought that where they were now was a dark abyss, it was nothing like staring down into that trench. But staring down into it, Farnese could feel a pulling of sorts just behind her navel and it made her stomach feel like it was becoming light. Something was down there, something very strong in magical nature. They both descended down.
"Teacher, what are we looking at?" Farnese asked as she eyed the stone structures around them. It looked to be an underwater village.
"A merpeople settlement," Schierke confirmed her suspicion. "It's here where we'll also find the spirit we can contact for aid."
With a name like Lord Voldemort and with the boasted title of Dark Lord, Guts never thought for a second that the man was going to fight fair. Guts himself had used some pretty underhand tactics whilst killing various other apostles in his trek across Midland and neighboring states. He had used civilians as bait, hid under piles of corpses to get the jump on an enemy, and left a scene of devastation in his wake afterward, never turning to clean the damage he had caused. But the one thing he never did was use others to fight before making the kill himself. If Guts wanted to kill someone, he would do it and let his companions help where needed but trust that they could handle their own battles. As such, it was the main reason he was feeling so pissed off toward this Dark Lord.
Not long after Guts had drawn first blood on the apostle wizard, he noticed a drastic change in style with his opponent. First off, Voldemort seemed to be taking this fight more serious than before.
The Dark Lord unleashed a flurry of various spells, hexes, and curses. Fire shot from the end of his wand, singing the already tattered and worn black cloak on Guts back. It was meant to act as a distraction as Voldemort fired off three of the same green jets as he had done previously. Seeing the incoming projectiles, Guts tucked and rolled out of the way, able to use action to smother the flames licking at his cloak.
Seeing his spells miss yet again, Voldemort turned his wand to fire a spell at two of the nearby giants to gain their attention. Whatever he hit them with must have made them highly susceptible to his control as they instantly stopped trying to squish their original target and instead came running over to where Guts was.
And that was the second thing about Voldemort's change. Along with his taking things more seriously, he was in more of a hurry to just finish the fight altogether to go and find Harry. In order to do that, he was bringing in back-up.
Guts snarled in defiance as he stared up at the two leering giants with their large bone clubs. Seeing them made him remember Grunbeld, the Great Flame Dragon General of the Neo Band of the Hawk. That man had been a giant alright, but even he would find himself dwarfed by these two small mountains. That fight had also been when Guts had received the Berserker Armor from Flora's storage at the roots of her tree.
Even now, he could feel the pull the armor was having on his mental energy as it begged to be released. 'Let me out now. We will rip them limb from limb! Tear out their throats and drink their blood! Show this pathetic weakling how your blade feels!'
And he wanted to do just that, too. He was a fighter, always had been. That fight against Lupin previous had somewhat quelled that restless urge he felt, but not nearly close enough. A battle was in full effect all around him, it was a place to feel alive being so close to death. He would fight, he would show them. But he would not give in to the power of the armor. At least, not without the presence of Schierke or Harry in their astral form to help keep him sane.
"Hooblraagghh!" one of the giants yelled as it lifted its massive club, bringing it down with deadly force to where Guts was.
He was easily able to step inside the swing as the club created a small crater in the ground where it smashed. Being closer to the leg, Guts was prepared to drive Dragonsalyer through but had to change his stance to a defensive one as the second giant aimed a kick at him. Dragonslayer acted as a makeshift shield as the mighty blade absorbed the brunt of the kick. It protected Guts well enough, but the sheer force alone was enough to launch him back with the heels of his boots digging into the ground to try and stable himself from falling down.
There was little time to get full bearings of his situation as the two giants were upon him once again. Growling in frustration, Guts swung Dragonslayer to meet one of the bone clubs with full force.
The giant was clearly surprised when his sword didn't just snap in half or break from their exchange. It was even more stunned when it saw that it was its own weapon that was starting to develop cracks and fractures from where it came in contact with Dragonslayer. After another exchange of blows, Dragonslayer had reduced the bone club to nothing but a broken hilt and shattered pieces.
Now, the giant was wide open. Guts raised Dragonslayer horizontally above his head and plunged the massive blade through the knee of the creature. "Yeooooarrgghh!" it howled in pain and Guts could feel the blood from the would pour down on his head, weighing down his already dirt-stained hair.
"You shouldn't be screaming just yet," Guts said as he all of a sudden twisted the blade as it was still embedded in the giant's knee. It required a great amount of effort on his part, but Guts could feel the resistance from the internal muscles of the giant beginning to lessen and tear.
Shrriiiiiiip!
Tendons and muscle were ripped apart as Guts twisted the blade around. The howls of pain and tearing of flesh and tendon reached a climax as Guts pulled up and then down on the hilt of Dragonslayer before yanking it free completely. More blood shot out as Guts severed one of its legs. With no way to keep itself upright and balanced, the giant began to fall. When it hit the ground, it was like a shockwave had just passed through.
The giant was still trying to rise, but Guts was already climbing up on top of its downed body. With Dragonslayer, he made deeps cuts all along and up the side of the giant's torso as he made his way up to its head. Seeing his approach, the giant let loose one last mighty roar of defiance.
"Yaaaooogghhhh!"
Guts drove Dragonslayer straight through its open mouth, the tip of the blade protruded from the back of its skull. He panted a bit as he pulls his blade free and seeing the other giant ready to avenge his fallen brethren with a swing of his own club. Ready to meet the strike like he had down previous, Guts swung.
"Crucio!"
A feeling of intense pain struck his back like a sudden burst of lightning and Guts had to react quickly to use Dragonslayer not as a sword but as a shield. The giant's club struck and Guts was lifted off the body of the fallen giant and along the already marred grass.
Attempting to push himself to his feet, the feeling of pain never once faded. He looked over to see Voldemort pressing a finger to a tattoo he had on his left forearm. It was the same design as the one in the sky above. Three other figures were now at his side, two looked like they could be brothers and the third was a dark-haired woman with a sadistic gleam in her eyes as she held her wand level at Guts.
It looks like he knew who struck him with that spell.
Screw the giant. Right now, they were his biggest threat. Guts began toward the new arrivals, still maintaining his grip on Dragonslayer, never once did one of his fingers slip from its hilt. As he got closer the pain intensified; he could taste the familiar feeling of blood in his mouth, but he still pressed forward. The pain was agonizing, but he didn't let loose any sort of scream; he was far too angry for that. The pain was bad, but he had felt pain similar to this before. He had to power through it like he always did. Blood began leaking from his good eye. Just… struggle forward.
'Let me… let me kill them now…'
"My Lord," the woman said in a worried tone, "he isn't stopping." Guts still moved his feet, his vision going white. He was trying to balance his mental strength between continuing to move forward and keeping the Beast at bay.
"Look at him, Bellatrix," Voldemort commanded of his subordinate. "He is slowing. Just keep him like that." He raised his own wand. "I will finish this." Guts tried to move Dragonslayer to his front to shield him from the spell he knew was coming. "Avada-!"
"Expelliarmus!" a jet of red light shot out, hitting Bellatrix's wand and sending it flying from her grasp. It wasn't a huge action, but it was enough to divert Voldemort's attention to the newcomer who entered the fray.
The pain that had been clouding Guts' vision left and he was able to see just who it was who came to his side. Voldemort actually laughed. It was a cold, mirthless laugh that lacked any humanity. "Ha! Oh, what a treat! Have you learned nothing from our previous encounter, Dumbledore?"
The headmaster was striding forward with a pace that was surprising for a man his age. His blue eyes burned with passion. "As a teacher, it is my profession to learn. I thought I taught you that, Tom."
Guts saw Voldemort snarl at the mention of a name so common. "You truly are an old goat, Dumbledore! You know of the power I boast and you still insist on provoking me. Old age really has taken a hold of you. But it will never do the same to me." He turned to his followers. "Finish them off."
Upon his command, the three additional mages he had summoned began to shake like a transformation was underway. Their skin became like black smoke, wisps radiated off with each and every movement that they made. Their eyes glowed a multitude of colors like a rainbow of sorts. They looked like grisly accursed spirits, the kind that used to haunt him every single night before Harry and Schierke had applied the seal to his brand to keep them at bay. They took off hovering straight for Dumbledore, who began firing off a multitude of spells to keep them at bay.
"Guuughhhrhh!" the second giant rushed at Guts, his club colliding with Dragonslayer, forcing Guts to almost buckle at his knees as he still fought off the lingering pain he had felt just moments prior. But Dragonsalyer held firm and the club was the one to start cracking and fracturing.
This giant yanked his club away and used his other fist to go and punch Guts instead. Seeing the fist incoming, Guts jumped to the side and cut down as the wrist went past. Blood began to spray out like a fountain as Guts had cut vital veins running along the wrist. The giant clamped a hand over the wound to try and put pressure on the bleeding and in a fit of rage, lifted one of its feet up to go and squash Guts.
As the foot came crashing down, Guts thrust Dragonslayer straight up and through the massive foot. More blood began to drench him. "Yeeeegghhh!" Guts yelled as he pushed up with all his might and too the giants footing right out from under him.
From where near a large group of spectators had gathered, Dolores Umbridge could hardly believe what she was seeing. That man, that… brute – had actually succeeded in not only toppling two giants but killed them as well after slaying a dragon. No one had killed a dragon with a sword since the times of King Arthur. And not only that, he survived a full-on cruciatus curse from Bellatrix Lestrange without so much as a scream of pain. That and he was going toe-to-toe with the darkest wizard in a century and was doing it alongside Dumbledore of all people. It was something legends were made out of.
It was… it was… infuriating! How was he able to accomplish such feats? The Minister was in too much of a shock to ever register what was going on. The both of them were being escorted by Amelia Bones and a team of Aurors to get them to safety within the castle. The second dragon was circling the battlefield, looking for its prey so they could enter without difficulty.
They would enter, but she would not. Not yet, at least.
She was not happy that You-Know-Who was attacking; she or the Minister could be killed at any moment in any of the cross-fire going around. Rather, this whole attack was… convenient for her. With the dragon, the giants, would dementors really be so out of the question?
They were still stationed where she had left them, out by the village and waiting to be summoned. Taking another look at the Black Swordsman, he was still fighting, but he seemed to be getting tired. It was all too perfect to be aligned in such a way.
"Madam Umbridge, where are you going?!" Amelia Bones cried as she saw her break away from the team of escort Aurors.
"The children are in danger!" she yelled as she ran as fast as her little legs would allow. "I have a civic responsibility to see them rescued!" while that was true, her real responsibility was and always would be to the Minister. She ran, but not into battle, and certainly not to help anyone but herself.
Harry experienced a massive surge of power travel from the pit of his stomach and through his arms before being released as a single mighty spell via the staff that had once been held by Merlin previously. The spell struck one of the masked figures square in the chest, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying backward at the force of Harry's spell. It wasn't the first masked individual he had dealt with considering there seemed to be no shortage of them at the moment. Dumbledore had been right when he suspected that Voldemort would attack on this day. Harry had not seen any sight of the aged wizard anywhere among the crowd, but he imagined he was at least trying to help the students get to safety. Currently, that was what he, Isidro and Puck were trying to do.
"Hell yeah, man!" Isidro yelled as he watched the wizard hit with his spell fly through the air. "How far did that take him?"
"Far enough," Harry answered, not really concerned with that. "We'll see what help we can be over here before making our way back to Casca."
The three of them had branched off once they landed on shore hoping to cover more ground that way. Harry could handle any magical task that awaited him and even Isidro could be useful with that Salamander dagger of his. Casca did have him a bit worried though. The best she had for a weapon right now was a basic sword borrowed from the storage on the Sea Horse. She had Serpico and even Sir Azan as well, and he trusted the blonde to keep her safe but he still felt concern for the woman who was still recovering from all that had happened previously.
"Over there!" Puck came flying back to them. They had decided to use Puck's small and fast nature to their advantage to fly around the battlefield and pinpoint where the most help was needed. "A few kids are dueling with some of those masked people. It doesn't look too good."
"Lead the way, Puck," Harry and Isidro took off after the blue elf, ducking their heads as some jets of green light came soaring their way. Harry was unfamiliar with the spell being cast, but whenever one would pass by, he got the same sensation in his stomach like he did right before the Eclipse. He made sure not to let it touch him in the slightest. Some more spell-fire was sent their way and Harry only momentarily broke stride to send a few spells back in return, not bothering to see if they hit or not.
"Here they are!" Puck pointed to a group of older and younger students who were putting up shielding charms which were on the brink of shattering from the magical bombardment coming from the masked individuals.
Concentrating on any water spirits that might be nearby, Harry began to draw from the moisture in the air. It wasn't much with all the fires burning, but it was enough for him to harden into a single pointed shape to be used as a projectile. The air cooled down as he formed a sharp, pointed icicle and launched it straight at the back of one of the masked wizards.
Not expecting an attack to come from behind or even one that was a solid object, the masked wizard fell to his knees, grasping at his throat where the ice spike was sticking out now stained with red at the end. Some of the younger wizards gasped at seeing someone killed so suddenly. But their reaction was far from the anger coming off of the second one. He shot a green light straight for Isidro who had been ready to charge and stab him with his dagger.
Knowing that a shield wouldn't be enough to stop the spell, Harry quickly dug into his satchel to pull out a golem talisman and tossed it. It grew in size until it was Isidro's height, standing in front of the boy and taking the green light head-on. A sizable chunk was blasted off of its body forcing it to stumble back. Isidro took this opportunity to rush from behind his stone savior and try for a sneak attack on the wizard.
"Got you now, basta- oof!"
Isidro brought a hand up to his nose where the wizard had gone and kneed him in the face once he got close enough. Blood was falling between his fingers but he still kept a tight grip on the hilt of his Salamander Dagger. Seeing a weakened opponent, the wizard raised his wand to perform that deadly curse.
Crrack!
"Agh!" the masked wizard shouted as his wand hand fell limp at his side. He had been hit by a bone-breaker hex.
"Sirius?" Harry saw the man running to join them. The man must have been part of the crowd for the task or maybe even visiting Lupin but he wasn't about to question why he was here.
Despite the situation, Sirius cracked a smile. "You may not have known me for long, but do you really think I'm the type of person to sit on my hands when the action starts happening?" he certainly didn't. "Now, how about we-?"
"Aarrrgghh!" the masked wizard screamed as flames were spreading from his robes, licking at his flesh beneath.
Isidro stood, dagger in hand as he watched the man become engulfed in flames. "Yea! Dab's wha ou get!" his nose was clearly broken making his speech sound slurred.
Turning his attention away from the burning man, Harry asked Sirius, "Is there any place where the students can evacuate?"
"Most seem to be trying to get to the castle," Sirius explained. He looked to the sky where the dragon was back to circling the perimeter. "But it'll take a lot to bring that dragon down."
"Maybe not," Harry thought of how Guts killed his first dragon earlier. He tried for a connection with the swordsman. Guts, where are you?
'Fighting a couple… of freaks that look like ghosts. They're pseudo-apostles. Voldemort… he's here too, looking for you. Dumbledore… he's struggling.'
Can you handle it? Harry hated to even have to ask that. Guts had gone against far worse and came back. But the way his mental voice sounded, it sounded like he was close to losing himself to the armor.
'For now. I can probably get a good hit on one of his lackeys. Wouldn't hurt if you wanted to go into your astral form and get over here.'
So, that was it then. Guts would end it as quickly as possible once he gained partial control over the Berserker Armor. Alright. I'll meet up with Casca and Serpico so they can protect my body once I join you.
Sensing an end to the conversation, Harry turned to the still frightened students. "You all must be pretty confused about what's going on right now, but if you stand around here, you'll be found out eventually. There are a few other people with us now, you'll have a better chance than you will here."
One of the younger girls pulled on the sleeve of another. "Sis, I… I think that that's… it's him."
"I'm not going to drag any of you along," Harry added, not wanting to let these people become star struck or something. "You can either stay here too scared to move and die, or take the chance that you might actually live."
"Yea, baut ee said," Isidro said with his still broken nose.
Puck fluttered over to him. "Let me see what I can do about that, buddy."
Meanwhile, Sirius was whispering over to Harry. "Not too much of a motivational speech, but I guess it will do." It was really something he imagined Guts saying if he were here instead of battling Voldemort and a few pseudo-apostles. Or, Guts wouldn't say anything at all and just leave them there.
With Harry taking lead, Sirius and Isidro followed after with the few students as well. He and Sirius were responsible for firing off spells to keep them moving though the chaos unfolding around them. Jets of green would be sent their way and Harry would either have a golem take the blow or quickly erect an earthen barrier to act as a makeshift shield. Isidro would lite the fuse on some of his explosives before throwing them at any wizard wearing a mask.
And much to Harry's surprise, the students they had recruited did participate by firing off their own spells. They didn't produce anything noteworthy like that green jet or perform any summoning, but they did send out a few stunners and one of the older ones got a hit in with a bone-breaker or two. They seemed focused on protecting the younger of their group which seemed fair as the best spell they could conjure up was just a disarming charm. It wasn't useless, but it didn't do any damage either.
Harry went for a thought transference again as Sirius covered him with a shield charm. Casca, Serpico, where are you guys?
'We're by the pitch, right near the stands,' Serpico conveyed their location. 'We're here with a small bunch of students.'
Same here. How bad is it?
'A giant seems to have taken interest in us. Casca seems to have found a new sword of some kind, but I recommend some assistance. Her style is… off.'
He thought that might be the case. Of all the things for them to run into, it had to be a giant. Giants were probably dumb, but for a recovering Casca whose body was still adapting to getting stronger and a regular man like Sir Azan who possessed no magical items, it would be a challenge.
We'll be right over.
"We have to get to the pitch," Harry told Sirius after he already started off in that direction.
"What's down at the pitch?" Sirius asked as he chased after followed by Isidro and the gang of students as well.
Harry might have shouted back a reply, or he could have thought that he did. Really, he was too caught up in the moment to comprehend. Rushing over to where Casca was as screams and shouts rang out all around them; it was almost like how he felt during the Eclipse. Just a confused and scared boy who had no real idea what he was getting into. He had been stupid and weak back then to assume he could actually save or stop it from happening and he recalled the silent promise he had made to himself in the troll cave. He wouldn't let some horrible fate play out this time.
"Hooooorrrrrghhhh!" the yell of a giant assaulted Harry's ears as he nearly tripped over a fallen body as he came upon the pitch.
The stands were nearly destroyed and smashed to pieces. The hedge maze that had been growing was up in flames and burning to the ground causing a manner of magical animals that were inside to come fleeing out. Two large, armored bugs scampered away from the consuming flames, and what looked to be a sphinx leaped over a hedge to escape as well. Where the entrance to the maze would have been there was a split stand. This giant in question seemed bigger than the rest, possibly the leader or a very powerful war figure. Multiple cuts adorned its legs and back, but they were caused by no regular sword.
Serpico was lightly evading any and all swats that the giant tried to squish him with. With a twirl and slash of his arm, a series of wind-based cuts landed across the giant causing more blood to fall from its new wounds. He was trying to draw the giant away from the pocket of three students that were frozen before the sight before them.
One he recognized right away as being Luna Lovegood, the girl they had met before near the woods. The two others were boys, one with red and gold trimmings and the other with silver and green. The latter had platinum blonde hair and appeared more frightened than any of them. The other boy had his wand out and seemed to be trying to erect a shield charm around them to protect them from any harm that would come their way.
"Have at thee!" Sir Azan slammed his cudgel onto the toe of the giant, actually managing to leave a sizable mark.
That only seemed to agitate the already frustrated giant and with a well-timed kick, sent the knight rolling along the ground. His arm bent at a very painful angle and he made no sign of getting up soon.
As the three students looked on in horror, Harry saw a change in Casca as that happened. She was fast, no denying that. But she began to slash away at the giant's legs with a newfound sense of fury that he had not seen out of her previous. Knowing what she did about the existence of supernatural creatures beyond just human threats, she seemed to be taking out all her unbridled fury with her attacks.
But they were sloppy. They lacked the usual swift finesse that Casca usually held in her style of swordplay. Yet however messy they were, they seemed to be having as great an effect as Serpico with his wind cuts. That sword she had, Harry had seen that in the headmaster's office before, but, how did she get it?
"Dear Merlin," Sirius said as he observed the scene. "I know you lot mean business, but actually fighting a bull giant… that's something to behold."
"Not yet it isn't," Harry said as he began to channel power to the nearby earth spirits. From the ground near the giant's feet, two sets of clamps molded around them, holding them in place before sinking back down into the ground and pulling the giant down with it.
The giant continued to thrash around violently and an onslaught of spells unleashed upon the creature. Sirius, the students following them, Luna and the dark-haired boy, and a few people who must have been professors all joined in the bombardment of this giant. Harry and Sirius were even surprised to see that Snape guy hurling his own spells at the monster to help wear it down.
"Take this, you giant bastard!" Isidro yelled properly with thanks from Puck and his healing dust. He tossed two more of his explosives at the back of its head as Serpico and Casca continued to slash away at its sinking body.
When the giant was at last buried up to its chest, its head was in full range. And the finishing blow came from not one spell, but a sword strike straight through one of its eyes. The jaw went limp before it could let out another roar of defiance. Casca had buried the sword up to the hilt in its skull.
The feat was impressive, but Harry saw her struggling to free the blade. She was having to yank harder than she normally would, even going as far as to put one of her feet on its head to give her more force to pull. She struggled to pull it free, but succeeded nonetheless.
"That was frecking awesome!" Isidro yelled as he rushed over to where they were.
"You all alright?" Harry asked both Casca and Serpico as they met up.
Casca seemed more winded than she ought to be. "Yeah… just peachy."
"I'm certainly relieved," Serpico said. "That foe was proving rather difficult. So much blood, I was trying to keep it as clean as possible."
The one blonde boy was darting his grey eyes between all of them now like he was unable to comprehend what was going on. "You… you…" he was pointing to Casca. "Sword…" his eyes found Harry. "What the… Potter?!"
Luna gave him a relieved smile. "I'm glad you're alright, Harry. Sonia was worried you might have been hurt."
"Well… nice to see you stayed safe, Luna," Harry said to the girl who he really didn't really know what to think of besides her own person entirely.
The blonde boy just looked even more stunned than before. "Loony knows… Potter?"
"Where's Guts?" Casca asked after catching her breath.
"He's dealing with Voldemort," Harry said to which some of the nearby wizards flinched putting him on high alert, making him think they were hit with some kind of spell. "He sounded close to losing control, I'm going to have to go and help him gain control of the armor. I'll need you all to keep my body safe while I do that."
"Your body?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded. "This type of magic, you don't t know about it, but my body will be completely vulnerable when I do it, I need it to be protected."
"I…" Sirius looked like he was unsure what to say before he gained a cocksure grin. "Like you even need to ask that of someone like me."
Serpico gave a nod. "No harm will befall you."
One of the professors that had joined the fight against the giant approached as well. Harry recognized her as the strict-looking McGonagall. "Well, whatever it is you plan on doing, Mr. Potter, I recommend that you do it with pride." She spoke like she was addressing a long-lost student. She turned to a very short man. "Filius, I trust I do not need to ask for your assistance in this?"
The short man danced his fingers across his wand. "Not at all, Minerva."
She gave him a grateful nod. "And you, Severus?"
The greasy-haired man sulked over to stand at their side. "I am not one to put blind faith into a foolhardy plan, but… considering a few of my own Slytherin's are present, I will stand for their sake. Let us just hope Potter knows what he is doing. After all, they are attacking because of him."
After killing those two giants, Guts thought that he would finally be able to get his crack at Voldemort or his three lackeys. He was disappointed and pissed off to find yet another giant had found its way over to him. He must have been radiating an aura that begged for a fight because these giants just kept coming over to him. By this point, Guts knew how to take them down easily enough. The only matter was actually doing it when he wasn't being peppered by pain curses that he struggled through and dodging those green lights.
The three pseudo-apostles were not making it any easier as they proved to be the main source of the attacks. Looking at them, they really were like accursed spirits. They floated across the air, shooting spells and curses down at him and the headmaster, who was quite nimble for a man his age.
Dumbledore shot forth a variety of spells that managed to knock the three out of the air for a time being. Guts rushed to try and finish them off only to change course when Voldemort stepped in to protect them by firing off a mix of those explosive spells and the green curses that he seemed to enjoy so much. By the time Guts had evaded, the pseudo-apostles were already back up and taking to hovering around once more.
It was so fucking annoying!
On his own, he could have easily killed them by now; but take into account that interference after interference kept happening, it made for a much more difficult task. With every swing of his sword, Guts could feel the inner darkness of Gaiseric's old armor start to creep into his mind more and more.
He was barely able to keep his sanity and block the giant's club. And Dumbledore was starting to get worn out as well. While no spell flung by the pseudo-apostles had yet to hit him, he was growing tired from shooting off his own spells to repel them or ground them. Guts didn't know why the man didn't just hit them with a green light of his own, but his thoughts drifted from that as Voldemort stepped in while Dumbledore was distracted.
Voldemort uttered a spell and a torrent of jagged, dark energy shot from his wand, blackening the grass as it soared over to Dumbledore. The headmaster saw it incoming and raised a shield to protect himself against it. The moment the curse hit the shield, it broke.
"Hnngh!" Dumbledore dropped his wand as he clutched at his hand which was turning withered and black from where it struck him on his wand hand.
As Dumbledore writhed in pain, Voldemort laughed that cold laugh of his. "Oh, Dumbledore, you old goat! I thought you were done amusing me, but here you are, withering in the dirt like a pathetic worm. That curse I struck you with is similar to the one I put as protection for a family ring. A fitting end for one who used to mettle so much into my previous affairs." His lackey's cackled at their master's triumph.
Guts ducked around and slashed the back of the giant's heels, knowing that it will fall over soon. He could feel the helm of the armor starting to creep up and over his face, ready to send him into a blind rampage at the price of his humanity. It could be to him losing his senses, but he almost heard a voice whisper in his ear like someone had just hopped on his back.
'Guts…'
It sounded like… Harry.
"Depulso!" Voldemort yelled a spell. It struck the giant and it began to topple down towards Guts. He raised Dragonslayer up to impale the body, but it still fell on top of him all the same.
Voldemort observed the scene. Just the tip of the blade was visible from where the giant had fallen flat on top of him. "Is that it? I was told that you fight like a hound out of hell. How disappointed am I to find only a neutered mutt." He turned to his followers. "Come, let us find and dispose of Potter now so that we may-,"
Ssssrrrriiippp!
Voldemort stopped, turning to see the tip of Dragonslayer moving like a fin in the water. Blood began shooting out of cuts that were appearing too fast for his eyes to keep track of. The tip of the blade kept popping in and out; carving the corpse of the giant like it was a pumpkin before Halloween. Something was coming out.
The torso exploded outward as Guts emerged from the corpse of the giant. Dark, heavy blood covered the ebony Berserker Armor as well as his cloak. The wolf helm was in place, but his lone eye was visible as was the lower half of his face. He could feel the presence of Harry's astral body on his back helping to ease the burden of the armor.
"Hound out of hell?" Guts repeated his voice like a snarl. "You asked for it."
The three pseudo-apostles hovered over in a defensive line in front of their master, not willing to let any harm befall him. They could all tell something was drastically different about him now. Three sets of wands raised and simultaneously shot forth three jets of green lights. The spells never found their mark.
Leaping from the corpse of the dead giant, Guts stabbed Dragonslayer into the ground, propelled himself upward and flipped out of the way of the projectiles. He took off in a mad dash straight for the apostle and his disciples. More spells were shot his way and he was able to use Dragonslayer to block all of them. His now enhanced speed and strength made him a near impossible target to hit.
Slamming his feet to the ground, Guts pivoted at the hip, ready to cleave the one deranged woman in half. Fear and surprise were lined into her smoke and phantom-like face. However, the two others moved with speed previously unseen before and made a move to block his swing by getting in front of the woman and spreading their arms apart. A magical shield enveloping around them.
Guts still took the swing anyway, not caring if they had erected a shield or not. Dragonslayer had proven to work against their magic before, no point in stopping now. The massive blade easily bypassed straight through the magical shield and carved right through the two wizards. The end of Dragonslayer even managed to cut a sizable chunk from the side of the woman as well.
"Aaaannnggh!" the woman shrieked as he wound seemed to smoke from the cut he had inflicted. The two wizards fell alongside her in two halves each. Their pseudo-apostle forms seemed to become undone as they reverted back to their human forms.
"H-heal…" the woman tried to close her wound. "Heallllll…" she was beaten but did not seem to process that she could no longer fight.
Guts made ready to finish her off just the same when a cry of fury erupted from Voldemort. The dark wizard shot the same black curse at Guts as he had Dumbledore previous. He was easily able to roll out of the way of the incoming curse and kicked off to finish the fight he had started with Voldemort instead.
The dark wizard started shooting off a variety of spells his way. Voldemort seemed to be really feeling the pressure now that two of his pseudo-apostles had been killed and the third was reverted back to her regular human state. Not to mention the onlookers who kept a safe distance back. In order to keep up his untouchable appearance, Voldemort could not afford to be bested here and now in what was supposed to be his moment of glory.
"Death Eaters, to me!" Voldemort shouted for half a dozen masked wizards to come rushing to his aid.
As a unit, they sent a volley of bombardment spells toward Guts. Some of the explosions managed to strike his heels, but the armor worked in making him feel none of the pain and quickly pinned his bones back in place to ensure he continued fighting. Kicking off from the ground once again, Guts tossed Dragonslayer down taking off one of their heads and splitting the body straight down the middle.
Landing, Guts grabbed the hilt once more and swung around in a wide arc, severing arms, legs, and torsos in half and staining the ground red with their blood. And as expected of Voldemort, he chose that moment to strike.
"Levicorpus!"
Guts' feet were pulled from under him as he dangled upside down. He could easily break free, but seeing Voldemort approach gave him an idea he had used against many other previous apostles. Voldemort raised his wand to finish him off while he was trapped and Guts put his surprise into motion.
Babooom!
His cannon shot off forcing Voldemort to change his motion and put a shield around himself instead. Even then, it was a late reaction on his end; some smoke had already stung his eyes.
"Gnh!" Voldemort grunted as his eyes stung him. He wiped them clean and found them widening as he saw the mass that was Dragonslayer flying toward him through the air. "Impedimenta!" Voldemort shouted to slow the movement of the blade.
It worked, but Guts quickly came rushing to grab the blade out of the air and charged Voldemort once again. The blade was almost a blur as it came crashing down to where Voldemort was and it was only quick reflexes that saved him. he used a dispelling charm on himself to fly back and out of Dragonslayer's range and the massive blade created a small crater in the earth.
For the first time since this fight began, Voldemort's face showed true fear at almost being killed so easily. "You… you were not moving like this before!"
"Guess not," Guts brushed it aside. "Can't say the same about you. Your style was just as piss poor before."
The handsome features of Voldemort's face were becoming distorted, making him look every ounce the monster he was inside. "You dare?"
"Yeah, I fucking dare," Guts challenged. "All you've done is fling your little lights around. Don't have an apostle form to change into?"
"My body is magic," Voldemort said with a snarl. "If you desire to see my power, then I will oblige!" he pointed his wand at the ground and a mass of golden flames burst forth from his wand. The heat generated from it was enough to make Guts certain that the exposed skin of his lower face would need some ointment afterward.
"Fire?" Guts asked as the flames began to hiss and bend like the waves of an ocean.
He heard the voice of Harry speak to him via the connection of his astral body and the armor. 'That's no ordinary fire.'
The flames had completely rearranged themselves to form a serpent made of fire. From the center of its coils, Voldemort stood with a maniacal glint in his eye. "How is fiendfyre to your liking?"
The ground combusted as the serpent slithered its way with open maw toward Guts. He leaned back, putting all his weight on one leg before kicking off, sending him spinning through the air like a throwing knife. Dragonslayer worked on parting the flames of the wide open maw and causing smoke to rise from where it touched the magically enchanted flames.
Sensing damage being dealt, the flames began to rearrange, taking the form of a second snake from the remains of the first. The open maw barred straight down toward Guts who pivoted with his heels and used the motion of his torso twisting to move like a cyclone, cutting the inside of the flame mouth and dispelling the flames in a way that Serpico would have implemented.
From the center of the coils, Voldemort continued to pour more flames from his wand once he saw two already get cut away by Guts.
"Is Puck with you at your body?" Guts asked.
'Yeah.'
"Good." Even if he wouldn't feel it now, he would later.
Guts charged straight toward Voldemort, Dragonslayer ready to impale him straight through. Seeing the incoming attack, Voldemort rearranged the flames to draw back toward him and act like a barrier. The flames had to be at least a few meters high by the point he coiled them around for protection.
It did not matter.
The flames hissed and dissolved to smoke as Dragonslayer cut right through them as Guts passed through the wall of fire. His blade lined straight up to Voldemort's face.
Fear had never been more apparent in that exact moment. The blade moved closer and closer to his head and Voldemort felt the tip graze the upper part of his right forehead. "No…" blood began to seep forth as time seemed to slow for the Dark Lord. "No…" his flesh was being marred by the blade of a low-born, filthy, miserable, non-important muggle. "No!"
With all he could muster, Voldemort sent out a magic shockwave, dispensing of his fiendfyre and knocking the demon-like Black Swordsman back. The claws of his armor dug into the ground as he glared at the wizard. But he had to do it. It was that or be killed and he would not fall to the hands of some filth!
He had to… he had… he had to retreat. The notion brought a very sickening thought to his mind. But it had to be done. He rushed over to the fallen form of Bellatrix, the wound on her side had yet to heal in the slightest.
"Master…" she croaked out.
He would disapparate them out of here and back to the manor, he had taken out the anti-apparation wards when he started the attack. They would regroup, reevaluate and strike back once their forces assembled again. And the door to that Falconia was still open. He would have to speak to the God Hand there. This was not suppose to be how this went!
Before he could disapparate, Voldemort was distracted by a disturbance on the lake. It looked like something was rising from the depths only for him to notice that it was just the water transfigurating into the shape of a merman with a trident. The water merman pointed his trident toward the multitude of raging fires and water shot out from the weapon, dousing the flames and some of his own forces as well. It was as if the lake itself had suddenly come to life.
This was beyond even the work of someone like McGonagall or any other master of transfiguration. This was… pure nature magic. Blood poured from his wound and he grimaced. He shot one last look of pure hate to the Black Swordsman before disapparating with Bellatrix in his arms.
"The hell did he go?" Guts scanned for any trace of where the wizard might possibly pop back up.
'He must have gone,' Harry reasoned. 'Look at the rest of his followers.' Indeed, they all seemed to be disappearing as well. 'But we might have bigger problems to deal with now.'
The lone dragon seemed to have been entranced by the fiendfyre Voldemort had created and was now headed in their direction. Guts hefted Dragonslayer once again. "Fine. I'll see what I can do." With the still enhanced strength of the armor, Guts tossed the sword through the air as easily as a child would a stick.
Before the dragon could open its mouth to breathe its fire, it was thrown off course as the sword cut its left wing clean off. The dragon twisted and turned in the air as it attempted to straighten itself out before it crashed into the earth, creating yet another huge crater.
Guts rushed over to the downed dragon, retrieving his blade and raising it high above his head as the dragon made one last attempt to shoot its flames. As soon as it opened its mouth, Guts brought Dragonslayer right down and severing the top potion of its head right at the jaw. The thrashing body of the dragon went limp straight away.
"Go back to your body," Guts instructed Harry once he felt himself able to bring himself out of the Berserker trance. "I'll be waiting here." He felt Harry's presence leave as the helm of the armor slid back down, ending his rampage.
As soon as it did, Guts dropped to his knees breathing heavily. Sweat and blood coated his brow and he was seeing spots with his one good eye. It was like the effort of all his previous actions were catching up to him all at once. He was tired, multiple bones would need fixing and he just felt like passing out right then and there.
He couldn't feel the heat the way he used to, he knew that as evidenced by his hand shaking like he had plunged it into a frozen lake but he felt colder now than he had previously. Speaking of lakes, Schierke and Farnese had came through with that spirit just now that was disappearing back into the depths of the lake. He would have to congratulate them on it later, once he was better and not so damn cold.
His teeth started to chatter and his shaking didn't ease up at all either. Once Harry came back, Puck would be with him. As annoying as the bug could be, he was still good for his healing dust. Guts could feel himself hypervenalating as well. He could see his breath when he exhaled.
What?
He knew that he was cold, but that did not mean the air was cool. With all the fires and carnage that had been going on previous, the air should be warmer than ever. It should be warm like the blood of all those he had killed, both here and his time as the lone Black Swordsman. Why was he thinking of that?
The countless lives of innocents he had let die along the way for him to achieve his path of revenge, their blood should be making him feel warm, not cold.
Why was he remembering that right now?
Then there were the children he had killed back at the Misty Valley. Their little hands had accepted Rosine's offer and become her playthings. Now they were dead and their blood added to the pool as well.
Stop, he didn't need to think of that right now. He needed to focus on warm things and thoughts.
Like the fire that had killed Flora, leaving Schierke without her teacher. He had been out of his mind Berserk to do anything about that.
But he couldn't.
And then there was the time he killed young Adonis, the son of the king's brother, Julius. He had just been coming to see his father when Guts mistook him for a guard and killed him. Ran him right through with his sword. it was because of him Charlotte was now the last of her family.
But that had been a mistake. He would have let the boy live if he had known, wouldn't he?
The feeling of coldness was growing stronger now and with it, came the memory of that night. The night he had been just a boy when all of a sudden…
"Guts!" he could hear the voice of Casca calling his name as she ran toward him, Serpico following close behind. "Guts are you-?" she stopped all of a sudden as did Serpico. Through the haze that was covering his vision, he saw Casca's breath as cold as ice, her hand reaching up to where the brand was. Serpico was equally as still like he was seeing something traumatizing.
Harry came rushing over as well. "Get away from there!" he fired off a few spells at the air around them, but it seemed to have no effect at all. He kept firing off spells, but he too seemed to be falling under the effect of whatever was present.
Guts could recall the incident near perfectly as a young boy, he tried to grab a sword to defend himself, but Donovan was too quick for him. He remembered being pinned down and having a gag shoved in his mouth. Everything that followed after, and even now it was like a pair of cold, clammy hands were clutching the side of his face and tilting his head up like something was trying to kiss him.
He could feel that. He could feel that touch. The touch that haunted him as a child and… the touch that had been done to Casca…
"Rrraggh!" Guts blindly thrust Dragonslayer forward to where he thought that the invisible touch was coming from. Dragonslayer seemed to strike something as he noticed a dark blue substance drip onto his blade. He thought he heard a vague thump as something hit the ground but he was rushing over to Casca and the rest, using Dragonslayer to chop down where he suspected these things to be.
He could fell a cold seep over him and he realized it was from no creature, but the armor he wore. It was coming back, the feeling was coming back, he would lose himself and…
"Expecto Patronum!"
A white mist seemed to take shape in the form of a large bird. Dumbledore had made his way over to them, his hand looking like it belonged to a corpse, but he still remained standing. Guts gave a few more cuts of Dragonslayer, following where the bird was hovering, hoping that he was able to cut whatever down.
He could feel his vision and his strength leave him as the feeling of cold at last subsided. He was… he needed to… to…
…
…
…
"What the hell is happening out there?" Lucius asked himself as he stayed in position within the forest. As part of the reserves, he was off the front line, but even so, he was curious as to how the battle was progressing. So long as Draco remained safe, that was really all that mattered. But he had no desire to enter the battle if it meant he might end up being captured. He was far too valuable to be taken, prisoner.
He could hear shouts and curse being thrown and even the roar of a dragon until finally, it all stopped. It was unnerving to hear especially while in the forest. Who knows what might be lurking in these trees. More than once he thought he heard hooves that might have belonged to a centaur, but no beast ever showed up.
The anticipation was killing away at him so he excused himself to relieve his bladder. He was expecting the hear word from the Dark Lord soon once the castle was taken. The battle should be over soon and then they would get word to move in. Lucius never thought the thing he would hear would be a shout from one of his fellow Death Eaters.
He rushed back to where he had left them only to find another sight instead. It was no centaur, but he honestly would have preferred one to this. A skeletal figure seated atop a mount of similar appearance as well. The eyes from the socket of the skull helm glowed a mix of red and purple and they were staring directly at him.
Lucius felt his hand shaking with his wand as the figure dismounted. He fumbled to get the words out. "Avada-!"
And the skeletal figure was beside him with a sword in hand coated in fresh blood. He was petrified to even move. "You will not die. Unlike your companions, yours is but a flesh wound."
And the pain hit him. looking down, Lucius saw that the fingers of this wand hand, save for the thumb, had been cut off. His wand lay split in two at his feet as well. "Aaahhhh!" he clutched at his finger stumps.
The figure hauled him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and dropped him over the back of his horse. "I am in the debt of you and your companions. If you hadn't destroyed those wards, I would not be able to be here without the use of my Sword of Actuation. And there is a great deal I must tell to the Struggler. But first, you will tell me of your master's plans."
The last thing Harry remembered before he blacked out was the utter feeling of hopelessness and doubt that plagued his mind. He recalled every instance where he had been just a tag along for everyone else, his biggest contribution taking Charlotte hostage only for it to mean nothing up to this point. He thought he heard a woman screaming, but Casca had been quiet as she too suffered the effects of those cloaked creatures.
Harry had never seen anything like that in Midland and Flora had never mentioned them once so it must only be native to this astral layer. None of his spells seemed to have any effect so he assumed that to be the case.
But he could feel warmth in his body now, so he knew that he wasn't dead. His eyes felt heavy, but he managed to open them all the same only to quickly squint at the light coming in through the window. He could feel his back resting on the closest thing to a bed and he tried his luck at sitting up. Harry opened his eyes again.
"Teacher!" Farnese cried out as she came over and knelt by his side.
"Harry! You're awake!" Schierke hurried over as well, nearly choking him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"We were getting worried," Farnese sighed in relief. Looking around, they were not back on the sea Horse. Instead, they were in a great hall of some kind, four large tables having been moved to clear room for everyone else that had been injured during the battle. This could only be Hogwarts.
He quickly asked, "What about Guts, Casca, and Serpico?" they had been right there too.
"Look to your left," the voice of Casca cut in. Harry managed to do so once Schierke let go of him and he saw Casca kneeling next to the cot Guts was on. Dragonslayer rested on the wall behind him and Serpico stood off to the left as well. "Hold still," she instructed Guts as she helped to tend his wounds.
"The bug already took care of it," Guts tried to rise only for Casca to push him down.
"That's what you say but not how you look. Stay still."
"No need to be fussy," Guts laid back down as Casca continued to clean at his wounds.
"When did you wake up?" Harry asked her, sure that she had blacked out as well.
"About an hour before you," Casca said. "Lupin came around with the healer to offer what he called chocolate. It must be some magic food, but it helped. The two of them are busy tending to everyone else." Harry looked and saw just how many other people were here and there was a lot. Their cots were a bit isolated from everyone else, but people could still look over and see them.
From all the stares being directed over every couple of seconds, Harry really wished he had that invisible cloak that Dumbledore had brought for him. Wait. "What happened to Dumbledore?"
"Did I hear you ask about Dumbledore, Mr. Potter?" walking over was McGonagall. "That is what you asked, did you not?"
Harry nodded. "I did."
She closed her eyes before answering. "Madam Pomfrey has Professor Snape personally tending to him. He was hit with a very dark curse that, knowing You-Know-Who, probably has no cure. But, he is still alive. As is your one companion, the one who has that black mustache." Had sir azan made it alive? "His arm is shattered and many ribs are broken, but Poppy believes he has a chance to pull through." She looked at him with concern. "Here, have some chocolate. It will help the lingering effects of being around a Dementor."
"Is that what that invisible thing was?" Guts demanded as he sat up to Casca's disdain.
"I could see it," Harry recalled the hooded creatures that had shown up from nowhere.
"Well, we could certainly feel them," Serpico made his way over to stand by Farnese. "If they are only visible to mages, it would make sense as to why we could not." Serpico looked around. "Where did Isidro wander off to?"
McGonagall huffed. "That young hooligan? I saw him walking around somewhere. I can only pray he stays away from the Weasley twins." The way she said that sounded like she dreaded the thought. "I can locate him if you-,"
"-Excuse me, Professor," a new voice spoke nervously from behind the teacher.
"Mr. Longbottom, Miss. Lovegood, what is it?" Harry recognized Luna, and the boy he vaguely recalled from the battle as well as being next to her. "I'll be with you both in a moment, these patients are in need of some space."
The boy looked very flustered while Luna smiled dreamily. "R-right, sorry about that, Professor, it's just…" he mustered the courage to look at Harry and the rest. "I just wanted to say thanks for… well, uh, everything. And the sister of my friend's friend wanted me to say she thought it was really brave to fight a giant like you all did."
McGonagall ushered the boy along. "Yes, yes, I'm sure that you are very grateful as everyone should be, but if you wish to repay that favor, please give some space."
She ushered the two along with Luna managing to say, "Sonia is glad that you're all alright."
"Brats," Guts sat up some more.
"You can try to be a bit appreciative," Casca said to him.
"You see the way they're looking over here?" Guts asked as he too eyed the sea of foreign faces also receiving medical attention. Some were gathered with family and friends as they shared in each other's sentiment, others just rested or tried to, and the rest chatted and glanced over to where they were isolated in the hall. Their attention was primarily focused on Harry and Guts as they must have exchanged tales of what they saw happen during the battle. They seemed to look at Harry like he was Merlin and Guts like he was on a level beyond human. Harry doubted that some of these people would just keep waiting and it was only a matter of time before more came over to speak with them.
And there was someone else coming up, someone they knew. "Sirius?" Harry said as the man approached.
"One and only," he smiled, but it seemed a cover for something. "You all doing alright?" Harry nodded and Sirius exhaled in relief. "Good." He looked to Guts. "This might be sudden, but can you stand?"
"He's supposed to be resting," Casca said. "Why?"
"Well, I was just outside, assessing the damage from last night and… someone is here for you lot."
"Roderick?" Farnese asked.
Sirius shook his head. "No, but he seems to be waiting for you. I believe he may also be referred to as a 'bonehead.'"
Guts forced himself to his feet, drawing quite a few eyes as he did so. "Show me."
As they walked through the hall, eyes followed them with every step that they took and hushed conversations took place. "Did you see him? The one who fought You-Know-Who?" "I heard he killed a dragon." "Is that Harry Potter?" "What is that staff?" "Does that lady have the Sword of Gryffindor?" "Do those blondes go to Beuxbaton?" "There's a metamorphagus too?" "Did you see his scar?" "One of the Creevy brothers has a picture from last night."
Isidro spotted them walking and stopped his chatting up of a girl around his age to follow after them, not looking too happy about closed the doors to the hall behind him as led them out the main doors of the castle. They began the walk down to the lake and Harry was able to see the full extent of the damage done. The pitch was nearly destroyed by the fire and the bodies of the giants and dragons still remained. The ground looked like it had been pelted with cannonballs. But the castle sustained little damage.
And sure enough, waiting by the shore of the lake was the familiar sight of Skull Knight. A man with platinum blonde hair lat across the back of the saddle. Harry saw that the man was missing all the fingers on his right hand save for the thumb.
"Struggler, Wizard, we meet again."
Harry saw Casca staring at the being that had assisted them with a mix of awe and shock. "So, this is Skull Knight?" she whispered to Harry's ear. Skull Knight appeared to have heard her as well.
"I see the Fighter has returned to her sanity as well. Your quest has been accomplished then."
"Surprised to see you here," Guts stepped forward. "Usually you show up to bail us out of a tight spot." He looked back to the battlefield. "You're a bit late."
"Wards prevented me from entering without the use of my sword. Once they were down, I went to find one who could inform me of his master's plans and ties to God Hand." Skull Knight glanced back at the man. "He talked easily enough."
"How convenient, we've been meaning to ask you more than a few questions ourselves," Guts said. And Harry knew exactly what some of those would be; they were the same as he was curious about as well.
Skull Knight stared at him with his glowing eyes. "Very well. It is human nature to do so. No doubt you will inquire about the God Hand and what I know of their plan. Before you ask, I shall tell you. I will tell you what I know for certain."
A/N: I hope that I was able to cover every character in the fight this chapter and I'm really looking forward to the next one and will try to have it out as soon as possible. Thank you for reading.