"...Roar."
A low, deep growl echoed from Norbert's throat as it shook its head, opening its massive mouth. Then, it spat a tattered, saliva-covered piece of wood onto the ground. The wood rolled several times before colliding with its other half—Athena's remains, now transformed into a half-broken puppet substitute.
"Looks like there's more."
William raised his hand, and the redwood wand he had just stored leapt into his grasp. With a casual wave, a crimson glow shone from the rubble, followed by a crisp "clang" as the protective shield summoned by the Iron Armor Spell shattered. Yet the golden spear lost all momentum and fell to the ground with a clatter.
"A substitute technique? You from the village too?"
William turned his head to the side, where the "goddess" that had been chewed in half stepped out from the dragon-inflicted ruins. The woman's face retained its compassionate expression, and behind her followed dozens of women identical to her in appearance and height. "Relying solely on sneak attacks and deception, you'll never make it to the grand halls. Devil, your power is brutal and dangerous..."
Multiple mouths spoke simultaneously, their voices resonating with echoes.
"What? Next you're going to say I have ties with Western Buddhism?"
William interrupted her monologue directly, twirling the wand in his hand. "Alright, that fellow who just launched the sneak attack—does your arm still hurt?" William redirected his trash talk towards Ares on the other side, clearly identifying the spiky-headed individual as the easiest to provoke.
"..."
Ares turned crimson—yet behind him, another seemed even more enraged.
"Have your pet rat return my things, and I won't interfere in this matter!"
Hephaestus, just climbing out of the ruins, finally diverted his gaze from Kabuda, glanced at the spear that William had effortlessly deflected, and decided to quit while ahead. As the forging god, Hephaestus had no ties of life or death with the others—it's normal for a blacksmith to be unskilled in combat, right?
But William merely shot a sidelong glance at the ugly cripple and turned away, stepping onto Norbert's back. The fire dragon roared, flapping its wings to ascend into the night sky. Moonlight poured down over man and dragon, as William brandished his wand in one hand, and Gryffindor's Sword, inexplicably retrieved, in the other. He cleared his throat, while the hem of his coat fluttered wildly in the wind.
"Unfortunately, I just want to kill you all, or be killed by you three..."
The voice descended from the heavens, thunderous and deafening.
"...Are we really good people?"
On the ground, Lucius huddled in a corner with Kabuda, gazing at the sky-bound silhouette. He couldn't help but murmur softly—the demeanor was even more brazen than his days as a Death Eater!
"Ignorant!"
Off to the side, Ares roared angrily, exposing his bare torso as his crimson-gold muscles bulged. Intricate and ancient golden totems lit up beneath his skin, flowing like molten lava. The stone slabs beneath his feet cracked inch by inch. "I will tear you apart! Along with that damned lizard!"
Hephaestus, however, remained far more silent, his face stern as he slammed his massive hammer onto the ground. With a resonant "buzz," the entire wreckage's temperature sharply rose, a furnace-like heat spreading from beneath his feet, distorting the air due to the high temperatures.
Meanwhile in the sky, having just shown off, William no longer maintained his dragon rider status. Riding Norbert was merely for the spectacle—in true battle, he had to rely on himself. As a silver flash streaked by, William's figure ghosted to Hephaestus's side.
"Confringo!"
A twisted red shockwave pierced the air with a shrill screech, slamming into the fire god's skull. The man hastily raised his hammer to block, yet the explosive impact forced him to stagger back repeatedly, as fine cracks appeared on the well-tempered hammer head.
Simultaneously, without much movement, Norbert, faced with "old friend" Ares's charge, subtly sidestepped with an agility defying its massive size. Its tail, covered in hard scales and barbs, whipped out like an enormous steel whip, slicing through the air.
"Bang!"
Empowered by ancient magical text, Ares indeed managed to hammer the charging dragon tail with his arms. But Newton might still be resting peacefully, as the airborne attacker, despite blocking the blow, was sent flying by the tail's sweep. Landing, he plowed two deep grooves in the ground while barely managing to stabilize himself.
"Is that all you've got..."
"Avada Kedavra."
As Ares tried to speak further, a dreadful green light appeared behind him almost instantly. The oppressive shadow of death choked his words halfway. Suddenly, an "Athena" appeared between the Killing Curse and Ares, exploding into fragments.
"Reacting quickly, but now you're exposed—"
William commented, his figure flashing again, reappearing among the group of "Athenas." "Sectumsempra!" William swung his wand, and invisible blades mercilessly sliced through, leaving several Athenas neatly segmented into square chunks, scattered haphazardly on the ground.
"Could've moved faster—"
Reappearing, William twirled a flourish with Gryffindor's Sword in his left hand, and thrust it towards a woman beside him. This time, the woman no longer watched the scene with expressionless eyes, her empty pupils finally filling with fear as she shrieked without hesitation—
"Damn, are you a human-shaped Mandrake?"
Admittedly unprepared for this move, William's sword thrust skewed off-course. By the time he resumed the attack, the woman successfully escaped from the puppet form. However, William showed no disappointment, casually slicing a fire serpent attacking him with the sword, tone mocking, "The stench of decay in you cannot be hidden no matter what."
"Playing tricks—"
A golden figure charged from afar, but the mountain-splitting punch was deftly dodged by William using Apparition. Appearing in mid-air, he pointed his wand into the sky. "Wait, hold on, look up—" For some reason, he smiled maliciously, "Fulminus!"
Blinding lightning plummeted from the sky, seized by William to transform into a ghastly white lightning spear.
"Hey, take a look, don't I resemble your dad?"