"Transfiguro!"
Sebastian waved his wand, transforming the scattered rubble into a swarm of jagged stone spikes.
"Depulso !"
The spell Depulso was versatile. It could launch nearby objects at bullet-like speeds or condense raw magic into an energy blast. Back in his past life, North American Aurors loved the energy blast version—it was their go-to for quick, lethal attacks. Firing off rapid shots, it packed a serious punch.
The storm of stone spikes caught the two Dark Cult members off guard. They reacted fast, throwing up shadowy energy shields to block the attack, but the sheer number of spikes overwhelmed them. Several pierced through, leaving them battered and barely standing as they hit the ground.
Sebastian was already on the move, standing a safe distance away. He pointed his wand upward, unleashing a torrent of flames. The fire swirled into a blazing cloud hovering above his head. With another flick of his wand, the cloud broke apart, morphing into a flock of fiery crows. The flaming birds screeched and dove, rushing toward the two wounded cultists like a wave of living fire.
Advanced transfiguration could breathe life into lifeless objects, giving them a spark of something almost real. Sebastian wasn't ashamed to admit he'd picked up the trick from studying Voldemort's moves. In his past life, he'd watched Voldemort and Dumbledore duel, and their magic blew his mind—Voldemort's fiery serpent slithering like a living beast, Dumbledore's spinning water prison trapping enemies. Compared to regular wizards, even Aurors, that was next-level stuff, like playing a whole different game.
Sebastian was chasing that same vibe. In his past life, his deadliest combo was transfiguration mixed with the Fiendfyre curse, conjuring flames that could devour anything. His magic in this life wasn't back to full strength yet, but he could still pull off about 20 to 30% of that power, blending basic fire spells with small-scale transfiguration.
His fire crows weren't as alive as Voldemort's serpent, but they were more than just regular flames. Darting around the two Dark Cult members, the crows dodged their swipes, their blazing bodies radiating heat like an oven. The high temperature scorched the cultists, leaving angry burns across their skin. The air they breathed turned searing hot, charring their lungs. Gasping and choking, they started to pass out.
Sebastian didn't let up. He thrust his wand forward, and the fire crows dove, engulfing the two cultists in a roaring blaze. The flames consumed them completely, leaving nothing but ash.
With all four cultists down, the creepy dark dimension pocket around Sebastian began to fade. The dim hall shimmered, returning to normal. Three passages appeared before him. One led outside the building. Another pulsed with heavy dark dimension energy—probably the rift where Dormammu's power leaked through. The third gave off a familiar magical vibe, and Sebastian bet Victor was at the end of it.
He hesitated, then raised his wand and whispered, "Point Me! Victor!"
Rushing straight to the rift was tempting, but risky. The Ancient One and the others were probably handling it, but what if something went wrong? If Sebastian ran in and found Dormammu's giant eye staring him down, he'd be toast—unless he wanted to grovel and join the bad guys, which wasn't happening. Teaming up with Victor first felt like the smarter move.
His wand spun like a compass, pointing to the third passage. Sebastian gripped it tightly, holding it behind his back, and hurried in. Soon, he reached a space crackling with dark dimension energy. A magical barrier shimmered, hiding the exit from anyone inside. From the outside, Sebastian could see the barrier clear as day, but Victor, trapped within, probably had no clue where the way out was.
Sebastian backed up four or five meters, not hesitating for a second. He flicked his wand, and its tip sparked with blue-white light, sending glowing threads like radiant silk toward the magical barrier. The threads hit, exploding into bursts of blue-white flames, like fireworks.
The blasts kept coming, one after another. Under the relentless Reducto spells, a human-sized gap finally tore open in the barrier. Sebastian could see the barrier knitting itself back together, fueled by the dark dimension's energy. If he didn't move fast, the gap would seal shut, and he'd have to blast it open again.
No time to overthink. The fight with the cultists had drained a chunk of his magic, and he wasn't sure he had enough juice left for another round. He shrank low and slipped through the gap, stumbling into a chamber where Victor was battling three Dark Cult members, his body trembling from the effort.
"Invisibilia!"
Sebastian cast the Disillusionment Charm, blending into the shadows as he crept forward.
The explosions from his entrance had caught the attention of Victor and the three cultists, but they were too locked in their fight to react, giving Sebastian the perfect opening.
Victor's hands crackled with electricity, firing bolts to fend off the cultists' attacks. He'd already taken down two of them earlier, but it had cost him. Now, at sixteen or seventeen, he was running on fumes. Sure, his magic was impressive for his age, but he wasn't like Sebastian, who had past-life experience to lean on. No matter how talented, Victor was still young. Facing five cultists, killing two, and holding off three had pushed him to his limit.
But Victor was no dummy. He knew when to cut and run. Just as he started looking for an escape, a thin red line appeared across one cultist's neck. The guy's head toppled off, blood spraying as his body collapsed.
Sebastian shimmered into view, stepping out of thin air as his Disillusionment Charm faded.
He'd crept close and unleashed Sectumsempra, the deadliest spell he could manage. Silent and invisible, it sliced without sparks or sound—a perfect assassin's tool, especially paired with the Disillusionment Charm.
"Victor, you take one, I'll handle the other!" Sebastian called.
"Got it!" Victor shouted back.
Seeing Sebastian burst onto the scene, Victor didn't waste words. He unleashed two blasts of flame, forcing one of the Dark Cult members back and clearing space. Sebastian flicked his wand, sending a swarm of gravel from the ground rocketing toward his own opponent, the stones whipping around the cultist in a relentless barrage.
"Depulso!"
The spell launched the debris like a hail of bullets. The cultist roared, summoning a massive wave of shadowy energy that surged toward Sebastian.
But Sebastian was ready. He slashed his wand, and a torrent of water gushed from its tip. The water moved like it had a mind of its own, splitting into streams that tangled with the cultist's dark energy. The streams swirled, wrapping the cultist in a spinning orb of water, like a magical cage. Suspended off the ground, the cultist thrashed but couldn't break free.
Using Aguamenti and transfiguration, Sebastian had mimicked a trick he'd seen Dumbledore pull in his past life—a water prison that trapped enemies like a living trap.
Meanwhile, Victor's hands glowed like molten lava. He sliced through his opponent's neck, dropping the cultist in a heap. Without missing a beat, he cast a spell, hurling two bolts of lightning at Sebastian's water prison. The electricity crackled, zapping the trapped cultist inside.
Electricity surged across the spinning water prison, zapping the last trapped Dark Cult member. When Sebastian canceled the Aguamenti spell, the scorched body hit the ground with a thud, reeking of burnt meat.
Gross… I'm sticking to veggies for the next three days, Sebastian thought, wincing.
Victor gawked at Sebastian, his eyes full of shock and respect. Sebastian's magic had been straight-up incredible—way more powerful than Victor had guessed. He'd thought Sebastian was just another mage, maybe on his level, but now? Anyone the Ancient One picked for a mission like this was clearly next-level.
Sebastian's wand caught Victor's attention, too. Without it, Sebastian was good, but with it? His magic was on a whole different vibe. Victor was curious about what made the wand so special, but that was it—just curious, no bad vibes. Victor was too proud and confident to get jealous. Deep down, he knew he was talented and could catch up to Sebastian soon. For now, he just thought the guy was awesome.
"Sebastian, dude, thanks a ton," Victor said. "I was seriously stuck back there."
"No worries, Victor," Sebastian replied with a shrug. "You were swarmed by those creeps. We're not pros like the Ancient One or Agatha—taking on that many goons is tough for us."
Victor grinned, picking up on Sebastian's attempt to keep his ego intact. He wanted to say he didn't care about being outdone, but they weren't close enough for that kind of talk. So, he just nodded, keeping it chill.
With the cultists toast, the creepy dark dimension pocket faded, turning back into a plain, shadowy stone hall. Sebastian and Victor both zeroed in on a passage to the right, where dark dimension energy hummed. It had to lead to the rift.
"Victor, let's head to the rift," Sebastian said. "The Ancient One and the others are probably there by now."
"Cool, let's roll!" Victor agreed.