"It's done... Are you satisfied?"
The dragon silently gazed at its reflection. As it moved, the dragon in the mirror moved as well.
Yes, that was truly itself.
Its new self.
"ROAAAAAR!"
The dragon threw back its head and roared, while a long stream of dragon fire shot into the sky.
Newt quickly pulled Wade back several steps.
"Merlin's beard... You even replicated the range of its dragon fire?"
"This is complete Transfiguration, Mr Newt. It's become a Hungarian Horntail. Well... temporarily, at least."
Even for Wade, such a transformation was no light burden. Only one-fifth of his Ancient Magic reserves remained.
The amount of Ancient Magic consumed was equivalent to unleashing one of his strongest Ancient Magic attacks at full power.
"How long can this state last?" Newt asked hurriedly.
"It's different from Nagini. Nagini was merely shrunk, but this is a complete transformation. So this state can only last for about a day."
"A day?" Newt frowned. "That's far too short..."
In other words, Wade would have to maintain the transformation every day, but it was impossible for him to stay by the dragon's side forever.
"There's some good news, though. It won't take nearly as much magic for me to maintain the transformation afterward," Wade said cheerfully.
By now, the dragon had already soared into the sky and was flying freely through the clouds.
"Hmm... let it enjoy each day while it can..." Newt muttered. "Honestly, this is the first time I've ever seen it fly of its own accord."
Wade glanced at Newt.
At that moment, Newt was quietly watching the jubilant dragon, his eyes filled with a dreamy expression.
"Mr Newt, you really do love magical creatures."
"Yes, I love these beautiful creatures... even though they're deadly to ordinary people. That's the saddest part... I'm afraid I won't be able to save its life in the end," Newt said helplessly.
Wade was about to say something when he suddenly felt a cool sensation around his neck. A stream of pure magical power flowed from the Hogyoku into his body.
To his astonishment, the pure magic rapidly transformed into Ancient Magic within him, replenishing the reserves he had just expended.
In no time, his nearly depleted Ancient Magic reserves had been completely restored.
Wade pulled out the pendant in surprise and looked at the sapphire, which had become slightly dimmer.
Although the pure magic didn't seem capable of improving his Ancient Magic itself, meaning it couldn't expand his reserves...
The ability to automatically convert into Ancient Magic was still unimaginably valuable to Wade.
This meant that as long as the Hogyoku contained enough pure magical power, he could repeatedly unleash his strongest Ancient Magic attacks without having to spend time slowly recovering.
"What an unexpected bonus..."
Wade marvelled at the gemstone's wonder. He had never discovered this function before, mainly because his Ancient Magic reserves had rarely been depleted.
Boom!
A gust of wind swept over them as the Hungarian Horntail descended and landed before Wade.
Reading the yearning in its eyes, Wade said softly, "I'm sorry, but this isn't permanent..."
The dragon did not move. It merely gazed quietly at Wade with calm eyes.
Wade calmly returned its gaze.
After a long silence...
"I understand. In that case, come with me."
His wand once again glowed with the Ancient Magic light visible only to him.
The enormous Hungarian Horntail rapidly shrank until it was only about the size of an owl.
Newt stood dumbfounded as the dragon became smaller, then flew up and landed on Wade's shoulder.
"Calling you Old Black forever won't do. I'll give you a more imposing name... From now on, you'll be called the World Eater, Alduin. What do you think?"
Watching the boy and dragon turn and leave together, Newt unconsciously raised a hand.
Wait... what just happened? How did the dragon suddenly decide to follow Wade?
"Hey! Wade! Shouldn't you explain this to me?!"
"Sigh... Mr Newt, walking away without looking back is cooler. Stopping to explain ruins the atmosphere..."
"Explain yourself properly!"
Heh~
"The explanation is simple... it wanted to come with me, and I agreed." Wade spread his hands.
"How do you know it wanted to go with you?"
Everything had happened so quickly that Newt still hadn't fully processed it.
Wade pointed at Alduin, who was quietly perched on his shoulder.
"I think that's pretty obvious, isn't it?"
"But... it going with you, and the Ministry..." Newt became so anxious that he could barely speak properly.
"The Ministry? Those layabouts want to kill it. Are you really going to stand by and watch it be executed? You should know better than anyone whether this fellow is actually dangerous." Wade spoke patiently.
"Well..." Newt recalled all the strange things about this dragon.
It really was a unique dragon, with intelligence far beyond the norm.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have become depressed...
In truth, Newt had spent many years as a magizoologist and had seen countless magical creatures.
But a depressed dragon?
This one was the only example he had ever encountered.
The violent nature of dragons meant they simply weren't prone to such delicate emotions.
Perhaps this dragon's mixed bloodlines had triggered some remarkable reaction, giving it unusually high intelligence and leading to symptoms of depression...
Having spent so much time with it, Newt knew that its danger level was practically zero, and that its temperament was as stable as a corpse's.
Even in Albania, after being dragged onto a butcher's block, it still couldn't be bothered to move.
Yet the Ministry, simply because it didn't want trouble, intended to execute it under the excuse of preventing potential dangers from an unknown creature.
Admittedly, the Ministry didn't completely forbid the slaughter of dragons, but those regulations were aimed at specially bred dragons. After all, dragon materials were highly useful to wizards.
This dragon, however, was wild, and because of its mixed bloodline, possessed considerable research value. It shouldn't be judged by the same standards.
"Then take it with you," Newt finally decided.
He had no confidence in curing its depression. In the end, it would never be able to return to a dragon reserve.
If it stayed, the only thing awaiting it would be the executioner's axe.
If it followed Wade, then with his abilities, at least it could be properly cared for.
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of Alduin," Wade nodded.
"As for the Ministry, I'll tell them it escaped. Given their aversion to trouble, they won't pursue the matter too seriously." Newt paused before continuing, "Still, you'll need to be careful in the future. First, keep a close eye on it. Second, don't let the Ministry discover it..."
"He's easy enough to manage." Wade looked at Alduin, who was quietly lying on his shoulder, its emotions terrifyingly stable. "As for avoiding the Ministry, that's even less of a concern. Even if they find out, I'll just pay a fine."
"That's true enough. If a bastard like Grindelwald can rehabilitate his image, then what trouble could keeping a dragon possibly cause?" The mere thought of Grindelwald made even someone like Newt become a little sharp-tongued.
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