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Charred tree trunks jutting into the sky resembled giant fingers struck by lightning.
The unextinguished embers of lingering magic floated among them.
Ian stood amid the ruins of the Black Forest that he had burned to ashes. Thick smoke drifted slowly over the wasteland, lingering like ghosts that refused to dissipate and adding to the land's desolation.
Just as he turned around after the old witch had fled, he saw an extraordinarily beautiful woman. She wore a magnificent crown woven from dark silver metal. Instead of jewels, countless tiny stars were embedded in the diadem, one after another.
They rotated slowly and realistically.
Compared to the crown, the woman's attire was deceptively simple: a white gown. Upon closer inspection, however, the material was neither silk nor linen, but a substance Ian could not identify.
Or perhaps it was power itself.
With each graceful step she took, trails of stars appeared and vanished along the hem of her dress, tracing celestial paths.
"Intruder."
Her face was unnaturally beautiful, not the beguiling beauty of a Veela, but rather a chilling, diamond-like coldness that was aesthetically striking.
As she moved, the ruins of the Black Forest began to revive as if under a resurrection spell. Twisted trees sprouted tender black shoots and grew rapidly. The dark vegetation pushed through the soil and spread its leaves, regaining vitality in the blink of an eye.
This gloomy forest seemed to be given entirely new life under her presence. Blood-red flowers bloomed on the ground, their petals veined with black lines that were eerily reminiscent of human eyes. The plants were dark and sinister, clashing starkly with the divine aura emanating from the woman.
It was akin to watering a Chomper with holy water from a cathedral or planting a rose garden in a graveyard. Ian felt his solar plexus thumping and the tip of his wand trembling slightly on its own.
He sensed a terrifying pressure emanating from her and it was as though he was facing a god.
Nevertheless, Ian pointed his wand at the woman. He had no choice. The woman sent chills down his spine and gave him an instinctive feeling that she was unimaginably dangerous.
This visitor was not benevolent.
"Your courage is admirable, Legend of the End Times."
Clearly, the woman had used some form of spell or magical artifact to determine Ian's era. Her gaze landed on his wand, and her silver pupils contracted into two thin lines that seemed to weave within her eyes.
Her voice was layered with countless tones, the clarity of a young girl, the rasp of an old woman, and even nonhuman hissing interspersed throughout.
Ian felt dizzy.
It seemed as if her words themselves contained formidable magical power.
"Are you the master here?"
Suppressing his unease, Ian spoke with more composure than expected. Even if Ariana had failed to bring reinforcements, he still had options in desperate situations.
"No." The woman shook her head gently, her hair swaying like black silk as she spoke.
"I am merely a resident here, a hidden one." She raised her hand, and a wisp of ash in her palm transformed into a liquid resembling blood. "And you have scared away my forest guardian. That is impolite."
Her voice was crisp and icy, like crystal striking crystal.
"I scared away your forest guardian?"
Ian's face morphed into a question mark. Anyone could see it, the old witch who had fled moments ago was clearly driven away by the woman standing before him.
'How had he scared away that old witch?'
'How could this be justified?'
When it comes to accusing someone of a crime, why worry about the reason? This woman was so adept at twisting facts. Judging by her methods, she could not be young. After all, her ability to throw reality aside so casually showed remarkable foundation and strength.
"Clearly, it was you, " Ian swallowed the rest of the sentence. The way the woman tilted her head, waiting for him to continue, reminded him of Dumbledore's expression when teasing Voldemort.
Yes.
In short, it was just a cat playing with a mouse.
"I'll leave now. Just pretend I never came." Ian started to walk away, but kept his guard up. As expected, the woman said nothing, but the forest plants seemed to obey some unseen command. The newly grown black vines immediately formed a loose encirclement around him.
More vines continued sprouting from the ground like serpents and intertwining faster and faster. Each one trembled slightly as if sensing and probing the fluctuations of the young wizard's magic.
"So she doesn't want me to leave either."
Ian confirmed his suspicions.
The woman, hearing this, did not deny it.
"Legendary Wizards are rare, so you shall become my new forest guardian." She spoke casually, as if discussing the weather rather than the personal freedom of a legendary wizard.
The next moment, Ian felt an invisible pressure crush his entire body as if unseen hands were grabbing him from all directions. It was clear that the woman left no room for negotiation.
She wasn't offering; she was announcing a decree.
How could Ian agree to such an unreasonable demand? Without hesitation, he unleashed his strongest offensive magic, -- Corruptive Surge.
A blinding green light shot into the sky, filled with immense energy and cascading like a backward-flowing waterfall. Wherever the green light passed, space itself twisted and collapsed.
The spectacle was enormous.
The power was intense.
The green beam condensed into a dazzling "nuclear bomb," radiating cataclysmic force.
However, Ian knew in his heart that the power gap between him and this woman was enormous. He couldn't expect his magic to harm her. She only wanted to use it to buy time to escape.
After all, a woman who can frighten an old witch into fleeing must be incredibly strong. For this reason, Ian immediately cloaked himself in his flying cloak and turned to run after releasing the magic.
Super acceleration!
In an instant, he shot hundreds of meters forward. The forest's Apparition restriction certainly wasn't limitless, so Ian planned to run beyond its effective range and Apparate away.
No matter how strong she was,
It seemed impossible for her to leave the Black Forest. Ian's strategy was sound. He ran several hundred meters but couldn't resist glancing back.
However, what he saw made him jump in shock. His eyes widened in disbelief. The woman, facing his nuclear-level magic, had not defended herself at all.
She simply allowed the magic to strike her. Then, in a scene that left the young wizard completely incredulous, she emerged unharmed, calm, and composed.
The magic seemed powerless before her. The corruptive force that could dissolve the body of a legendary wizard bypassed her like a docile pet. She even had time to catch a stray wisp of green light in her hand and let it wrap around her fingers, a gesture that seemed to mock the weakness of Ian's magic.
Of course.
The woman's evaluation of this magic wasn't bad at all.
"Quite a creative magic," Her voice cut clearly through the roar of the explosion. "But perhaps you still don't know whom you're facing."
The moment she said this, she vanished from in front of the exploding green "nuclear blast," and Ian felt a sudden chill rush to the top of his head.
(To Be Continued…)