In an instant, all the hair on Dudley's body stood on end, and he felt his entire being stiffen.
He didn't know why, but he felt genuine terror.
This monocle, this scene... he seemed to have seen it somewhere before.
Extremely terrifying. Very terrifying.
"Amon."
This name suddenly appeared in Dudley's mind. Immediately, his brain felt a sharp pain, preventing him from thinking about any information related to this name.
"You're not him." Dudley's face was pale, but he finally calmed down.
That person couldn't possibly appear here.
"Oh? Really? Why do you think I wouldn't appear here?" The 'Dudley' said, examining Dudley with interest.
"You've only read my fear, but you don't understand where this fear comes from. You're just blindly imitating, at most giving me a momentary fright." Dudley looked at the 'Dudley' wearing the monocle across from him and said slowly.
He was certain that the person opposite wasn't Amon. That person would never appear here, no matter what.
"Fine." 'Dudley' removed the glasses.
"One last time... go back now, there's still time." He said.
"After I get the Philosopher's Stone, I'll go back." Dudley said.
"Then..." 'Dudley' raised his right hand, habitually reaching into his pocket to draw his wand, but suddenly discovered his pocket was empty.
Dudley's gaze focused, noticing this action from his opponent. The corner of his mouth immediately curved up as he smiled and said, "Sorry, I didn't bring a wand!"
The 'Dudley's' expression changed, obviously not expecting such a situation. Dudley came here without bringing a wand... is this something a wizard would do?
However, 'Dudley' wasn't completely helpless. His expression shifted slightly as he directly chanted a spell at Dudley.
"Petrificus Totalus."
The 'Dudley's' magic was almost instantly cast, shooting directly at Dudley.
"Bribe!" Dudley reacted quickly, directly taking a stone from his pocket and throwing it at the opposite 'Dudley'. His Beyonder ability instantly activated, weakening the power of this spell.
"Protego." Dudley didn't have time to dodge, nor did he plan to dodge.
Bang!
The spell hit Dudley's body but was intercepted by an invisible barrier, having no effect whatsoever.
"The spell's power is average." Dudley's gaze flashed as he quickly judged this 'Dudley's' strength from the spell just cast.
"Incendio!" 'Dudley' cast another spell.
This time, Dudley also threw out a stone, continuing to activate the weakening power of bribery. Flames instantly attacked, but Dudley didn't even need to use magic to intercept them... he directly charged forward.
"Average magical power, plus the Briber's weakening effect, greatly reduced his spell power."
"Stupefy."
"Petrificus Totalus."
"Immobilus."
'Dudley' continuously cast spells, but all were significantly weakened by Dudley's bribery weakening ability. No matter how fast that 'Dudley's' casting speed was, he couldn't deal effective damage to Dudley.
"I think I understand now." After this battle, Dudley had basically figured out this 'Dudley's' situation.
"He's using spells I've used before or can use... meaning his abilities are all copied from me. I can cast spells without a wand, so he can too. But when I cast spells without a wand, I usually use Hermes language, which increases my spell power. But he doesn't know how to do this... meaning he can't copy the Hermes language I know."
"Besides that, he can't use the Beyonder abilities I activate. This is normal... after all, he can't create another Beyonder characteristic out of thin air."
"Overall, his spell casting speed, reaction speed, and spell power are all stronger than mine. From this perspective, this is a substitute who can perfectly display my current magical abilities."
"The strongest enemy has always been oneself, right? Unfortunately, he's facing me!"
Dudley analyzed his opponent's abilities while dodging attacks.
"If I'm not mistaken, the stronger the person who enters here, the stronger the copy becomes. At most, it shouldn't exceed Dumbledore's own strength. But he doesn't know that magical ability only occupies a small part of my overall strength."
"Stupefy!" The opposite 'Dudley' cast another spell.
He seemed to have exhausted his tricks, using the same few spells over and over... all spells Dudley had learned. He couldn't cast any advanced magic beyond these.
"Protego!" Dudley blocked this spell and steadied himself.
"Now, it's my turn." Dudley said with a light laugh.
He hadn't fought back earlier because he wanted to probe this 'Dudley's' situation. Now, he had almost completely figured out his opponent.
Buzz!
The next moment, a powerful aura of majesty was released from Dudley's body. The Interrogator's dignity burst forth, directly making the opposite Dudley feel tremendous pressure. The spell that had already reached his lips was directly interrupted.
"Bribe." Dudley threw out another stone, but this time he activated not weakening, but charm.
This made the opposite 'Dudley', who had just mustered the courage to attack Dudley again, suddenly feel strong affection for Dudley, making him completely unable to cast spells at Dudley.
"Reducto!"
"Diffindo!"
Dudley released two spells in succession, giving his opponent no chance to retaliate. Under the suppression of powerful majesty, that 'Dudley' found it very difficult even to cast defensive spells. He wanted to submit and no longer fight with Dudley.
Boom, boom...
Both spells hit 'Dudley's' body, directly blasting that figure to pieces.
"Incendio." As if afraid that 'Dudley' might fake his death, Dudley waved his hand and cast another flame spell, directly igniting all those fragments, destroying the other 'himself' completely, leaving not even a trace behind.
"Finally resolved."
The surrounding mist began to recede, and that 'Dudley' had completely disappeared from this strange space.
"Too bad it was just a phantom without a spirit body. Otherwise, I could have used the Interrogator's Mental Piercing and Soul Whip, making it easier to defeat him." Dudley said.
He showed no mercy toward another version of himself.
More than ten seconds later, the surrounding mist completely dispersed, and Dudley returned to the previous circular room. On the platform not far from him, the ruby-like Philosopher's Stone glittered brilliantly.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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