(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly.
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Deep in the Forbidden Forest, Erwin crouched low on the unicorn's back as they wove between the tall trees at high speed.
From time to time, Erwin communicated with the unicorn and pieced together what had happened.
It turned out that the unicorn killed half a month ago had been this young one's mother.
A few days after her mother disappeared, the little unicorn saw that she never returned.
Since then, she'd been leaving the unicorn herd in the Forbidden Forest every day to search for her.
But there had been no progress.
Today, she had come out to look as usual when she encountered a black-robed figure who attacked her and drank her blood.
Erwin knew it was Quirrell.
Patting the unicorn's head comfortingly, he spoke gently.
"You can count on me from now on. I'll take care of you."
The little unicorn rubbed against him intimately, expressing her feelings.
Seeing that such an intelligent creature had been left motherless by Quirrell's cruelty, a rare anger rose in Erwin's heart.
Suddenly, his heart tightened, and he subconsciously released a spell.
"[Protego]!"
A curse of sickly green light struck the shield charm, causing it to ripple violently.
The unicorn stopped running at once, looking around vigilantly, her front hooves constantly striking the ground as she prepared to attack at any moment.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine."
Erwin soothed the little unicorn and jumped off her back.
"[Lumos Maxima]"
His wand shone brilliantly, illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime.
This was the Ancient Rune version of the Lumos Charm, and its power was on an entirely different level from the standard spell.
With this light, Erwin easily spotted the black-robed figure hidden in the darkness.
Without hesitation, he flicked his wand toward the cloaked man and fired a stunner.
The black-robed figure didn't dare take chances.
He rolled to the side and immediately avoided it.
"You brat, you're nothing but annoying,"
An angry voice came from beneath the black hood.
Quirrell had clearly used some magic to obscure his features; it was pitch black under the hat, revealing nothing.
Without any visible movement, a spell burst from his mouth.
"[Serpensortia]!"
A two-foot-long serpent emerged from his wand, as thick as a small tree trunk.
Erwin didn't dare be careless.
This was the first time he'd been in a life-and-death duel with a wizard, and his entire body was in a state of heightened tension.
With a flick of his wand, the two large trees beside him stood up, their trunks transforming into bodies while branches and roots became limbs.
With lumbering steps, they advanced toward the python and began a fierce battle with the conjured serpent.
Quirrell was surprised that the young wizard was so skilled at Transfiguration, but he didn't hesitate in his assault.
"[Avada Kedavra]!"
A curse of the same sickly green color as before shot toward Erwin.
Erwin didn't panic.
With a swipe of his wand, he moved easily and dodged it.
It struck the ground, leaving a massive crater.
Quirrell hadn't expected this first-year wizard to be so difficult to deal with.
He hesitated for a moment, uncertain whether to flee or finish him off.
"Fool! You can't even handle a first-year wizard. Give me your body…"
Voldemort's voice echoed with dissatisfaction in Quirrell's mind.
Quirrell didn't dare resist.
He could only weakly mutter, "Master, please take care," before surrendering control of his body.
Suddenly, Erwin felt the aura of the wizard opposite him change instantly, becoming more sinister and malevolent.
"Run away now, quick."
He hurriedly cast several shield charms on himself, then urged the little unicorn to move away from the battleground.
"Boy, though your strength is impressive, it's a pity you're going to die here today…"
The hoarse voice grated like chalk on a blackboard, raising goosebumps along Erwin's arms.
Hearing the two different voices, he knew Voldemort had taken control.
Voldemort wasted no words.
Another Killing Curse shot forth.
The feeling this time was completely different from before; there was a suffocating sense of oppression behind it.
Erwin clenched his wand, pouring magic into it frantically.
"[Expecto Patronum]!"
A silver-white phoenix burst from his wand and headed straight for the oncoming Killing Curse.
"Chirp!"
Facing the extremely powerful curse, the Phoenix didn't dodge or evade. She opened her beak and swallowed it whole.
The phoenix's form shrank slightly, but her momentum continued.
She slammed into Quirrell's body with tremendous force.
Boom!
Quirrell's body flew backward, smashing through four or five trees before collapsing like a broken puppet.
Erwin pressed his advantage.
Before the dust had cleared, he cast another powerful spell.
"[Incendio Maxima]!"
Searing flames suddenly erupted, blazing where Quirrell had fallen.
"Ahhh!"
A shrill scream tore from Quirrell's mouth as the flames consumed him, burning through his robes.
"Damn you! I won't forget this."
With those words, Quirrell's body transformed into a plume of black smoke, breaking through the ring of flames and fleeing into the distance.
Erwin heard another agonized scream as the smoke broke through the fire.
Only then did he truly relax.
The conjured serpent beside him had long since been destroyed by the two tree guardians.
Sitting on the ground, Erwin gasped heavily.
Though it had only been a brief exchange of a few spells, the deadly peril of it was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
Both Voldemort and Quirrell were lunatics, continuously releasing Killing Curses.
Weren't they afraid of being consumed by the negative emotions and becoming mindless killing machines with no reason left?
This was a real world, after all.
It didn't mean that merely chanting a spell would produce an effect without consequence.
After releasing an Unforgivable Curse like [Avada Kedavra], there would be significant negative emotions to process, and most people would need considerable time to recover before casting another.
Yet just now, Quirrell and Voldemort had fired them in rapid succession, as if they were ordinary spells.
At that moment, the little unicorn approached and gazed at Erwin with large, innocent eyes.
He could actually see worry in them.
As expected of a high-level magical creature, her intelligence was definitely no less than that of ordinary humans.
Erwin stood up, patted the unicorn's head to show he was fine, then looked at the burning flames and the trees being steadily consumed by the fire.