"Harry…"
Sirius stared at the face that mirrored James' and the eyes that echoed Lily's, his expression a turmoil of emotions.
But this was neither the time nor the place for sentiment.
"I don't want to hurt you," Sirius said, trying to persuade Harry and the others to leave.
Harry's expression softened slightly at Sirius's words. After a moment of consideration, he spoke, "I want to talk to you."
Hearing this, Sirius secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His tone became gentle, "I will, Harry, I promise. Just not now."
Sirius was about to learn a harsh lesson – he hadn't yet earned Harry's trust.
And…
"That sounds suspiciously like a con," Malfoy drawled, eyeing Sirius with distrust. "How do we know you won't just grab that rat and run, never to be seen again?"
"…"
Run?
Sirius's expression darkened.
Reasoning was clearly out of the question for the moment, and the need to get his hands on Peter Pettigrew was too urgent. He had no choice but to…
Just as Sirius was about to lunge at Peter Pettigrew again, Cassandra, who had been watching him intently, raised her hand and unleashed a "Thunder Explosion"!
Sirius, on edge, immediately halted as the spell flashed before him.
So brutal?!
Staring at the bright yellow spell, Sirius was aghast.
Had Hogwarts really "progressed" this far?
Who the hell taught this student?! Straight to a deadly attack!
Sirius's demeanor instantly shifted to serious.
He retracted his earlier disdain for the children; a misstep just now could have grave consequences.
"…"
Even Harry was somewhat taken aback. Deep down, he sympathized with Sirius Black, and he had only intended to capture him, not engage in a fight to the death. "Cassandra, is this… really necessary?"
"Are you kidding me?"
Cassandra's piercing gaze made Harry uncomfortable. "He's far stronger than us. Are you planning on holding back?"
"…"
"Besides, even if we all landed Killing Curses, it might not kill him instantly. What are you waiting for?"
She had a point. They were only third-year wizards. Even though Cassandra, due to her unique bloodline and two years of development, had her magic grown to be comparable to upperclassmen near adult wizards, even if her Killing Curse hit Sirius Black, he would likely remain active for some time.
After all, it was the Killing Curse.
"…I understand!"
Harry realized Cassandra was right; even if they fought with all their might, they still might not be able to defeat Sirius, let alone kill him.
So the conclusion was obvious…if they couldn't kill him, they'd fight him to the death!
"Malfoy!"
At Harry's shout, Malfoy instantly understood and grinned confidently. "Let's go, Scarhead!"
Under Sirius's puzzled gaze, Harry and Malfoy each produced strange little objects, one blue and one pink, and then…
"Demacia!!!" x2
Two dazzling lights, one blue and one pink, erupted under the cover of night!
The transformed Harry and Malfoy stood side-by-side before Sirius, their faces beaming with newfound power and confidence.
"Ah~ My eyes! My eyes!"
Ron clutched his eyes and knelt on the ground… blinded by the sheer intensity of Harry and Malfoy's transformations.
But Sirius was genuinely affected by Harry's "special fetish."
"James! Lily! I'm so sorry! Waaah…"
Sirius was dumbstruck and burst into tears.
After a long while, he finally calmed down, looked up at Harry again, and cried even harder.
"…"
Harry's face was a mask of bewilderment, and even Malfoy beside him was unnerved.
"…Harry…I…I understand…Holy shit!"
Sirius, who had temporarily forgotten about Peter Pettigrew due to Harry's "special fetish," was about to try to comfort Harry when he looked up and saw a hammer bigger than his head hurtling towards him!
Reacting swiftly, Sirius swung his wand. "Protego!"
A translucent white shield materialized, just in time to block the giant hammer.
Thump…
The pink hammer slammed into the translucent white shield with a dull thud, sending ripples across its surface.
"…"
Sirius didn't relax his guard; he was well aware of the sheer force behind that attack.
Although the "Golden Barbie Box" might sound ridiculous, it was a power-boosting tool that forced its user to abandon the finesse of magic and adaptability of spells… emphasizing the unadulterated path of brute force!
Simply put, it ripped off the mana bar and converted it into raw stats, incidentally attaching the skill pool to those stats as well.
Furthermore, Sirius knew his wand wasn't particularly compatible with him; he suspected this was intentional.
All of this hammered the realization into Sirius's mind: another attack like that would likely shatter his shield.
"Scarface! I'm here to help you!"
? ? ?
He's really coming!
Sirius, still maintaining his shield, glanced to the side and saw a blue hammer descending with terrifying speed!
Thump…
…Crack!
? ? !
Sirius's eyes widened as he stared at his shattered shield, his feet darting backwards.
Two heavy hammers slammed into the ground with undiminished force, leaving large craters in their wake and narrowly missing Sirius.
His eyes twitched wildly as he surveyed the damage.
Boom!
Huh? I didn't see any clouds before… Damn!
Looking up at the sky, Sirius belatedly realized what was happening when he spotted a dark cloud faintly flashing with lightning.
But it was too late.
BOOM!!!
A blinding blue-white lightning bolt crashed down, striking Sirius directly on the top of his head!
In an instant, a tingling, numbing sensation mixed with excruciating pain coursed through his entire body, but he couldn't react as his mind was completely blank!
---