Chapter 366: Stand

A familiar tone and a familiar address.

Just after hearing those words, Voldemort immediately recognized the identity of the speaker as if it were a conditioned reflex.

"You actually showed up in front of me, filthy mudblood."

Voldemort turned his gaze toward the sound.

In the corner of the Ministry of Magic's group, there stood a young wizard wearing a mask, who seemed particularly inconspicuous among the crowd of wizards.

He was Alaric.

However, at that moment, when he removed his mask, he instantly became dazzling.

This was not only due to his extraordinary appearance—though that appearance was like Voldemort's opposite: Voldemort was the epitome of ugliness, while he was the epitome of beauty.

The so-called dazzling quality stemmed from the wise and elegant aura he exuded. 

Just by standing there, he seemed like the embodiment of wisdom, as if no problem in the world could stump him. 

His deep black eyes appeared profound and mysterious, making one unable to resist probing into what kind of secrets they contained.

Although his attire was not extravagant, or rather quite simple, his tall and well-proportioned figure, different from most wizards, made him stand out. 

His athletic physique, even under the most ordinary cloak, moved the hearts of nearly all the witches present.

Such a character, simply standing there, was like the main protagonist of the world.

It was hard to imagine that just moments ago, the wizards, including Voldemort, had not noticed him.

No one knew that this was due to Alaric using a potion to reduce his presence.

Upon seeing Alaric's face, Voldemort's expression was complicated: fear, disgust, anticipation—all mingled together.

It was hard to imagine such a vivid expression appearing on the face of the Dark Lord.

"I've remembered you since four years ago, mudblood. You've certainly caused me quite a bit of trouble, more than once. 

I have to admit, compared to Dumbledore, you are indeed a more troublesome opponent because you are not as pedantic as he is. 

Sometimes, I even feel that you and I are of the same kind."

Voldemort continued to evaluate Alaric, his expression becoming unusually serious.

"Is that so?" Alaric shrugged indifferently, "You and I are not the same kind of person. Don't compare your stupid and childish ideas to mine."

His tone suggested that being compared to Voldemort was a disgusting thing.

"Stupid and childish?" Voldemort's already ugly face twisted further, "So, that's how you view me in your eyes… what a pity."

"However, it doesn't matter. I've never expected a lowly Muggle to understand the nobility of blood… and now, you can be proud of it because the one who is going to kill you is me, Voldemort!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

As soon as the words fell, Voldemort struck without warning, giving no chance for anyone to react.

Moreover, he led with his strongest killing curse.

From the tip of his yew wand, a sickly green light with a black skull shot towards Alaric.

The deathly green light caused all the wizards present to change color.

The Death Eaters appeared excited, while the wizards from the Ministry of Magic showed concern.

After all, Alaric was not Dumbledore.

Although Alaric had always demonstrated unmatched strength before them, as a young wizard who had not truly faced off against veterans like Dumbledore or Voldemort, most people still harbored some doubts about him.

Even if Alaric had invented so many powerful spells and created numerous unprecedented magical items.

After all, only a few with keen insight could see the true strength of Alaric.

Now, Alaric was facing Voldemort head-on, and right from the start, he had to confront Voldemort's signature spell, the full-force killing curse.

Many were worried that Alaric might be killed with a single strike.

Voldemort's killing curse was not easy to block.

An ordinary killing curse could be countered with small animals or even temporary lives created by Transfiguration, as long as they met the curse's requirement for life to be devoured, this terrifying spell would automatically dissipate into nothingness.

But Voldemort's killing curse was different.

This was one of his most skilled spells; Voldemort had split his soul using the killing curse, creating seven (including one unknown to Voldemort—Harry) Horcruxes. Being able to do that was proof of his mastery over the killing curse.

Throughout history, countless dark wizards had used the killing curse, but very few could truly split their souls to create Horcruxes. 

Besides the creator of Horcrux theory, perhaps only a handful, including Voldemort himself, had that capability—otherwise, rumors of the immortals would have spread widely throughout the magical world.

A person like him using the killing curse made it difficult for even Dumbledore to block it; he even had to sacrifice one of his phoenix Fawkes' lives to counter this spell.

Even if Alaric were incredibly powerful, in such a rushed situation, many were concerned that he would at least suffer severely, if not die.

But how could Alaric be something they could predict?

In the face of Voldemort's killing curse, Alaric appeared remarkably calm, not even drawing his wand.

He merely snapped his fingers and uttered a phrase that left everyone—even girls—perplexed.

"Come forth, my Stand, Silver White Hope!"

In the next moment, a tall silver-white figure materialized behind him, floating in mid-air.

Although its overall appearance was human, it bore dragon-like features, such as wings on its back, dragon horns, and golden slit pupils, among others.

Moreover, this figure was clad in armor adorned with dragon patterns, making it look like a glamorous knight from the Middle Ages.

However, peculiarly, most wizards present could not see this figure at all.

Only Hermione and a few girls—not including Fleur and Luna—along with Voldemort and a few of the most powerful wizards, could see this half-dragon, half-human silver figure.

It suddenly appeared behind Alaric's body, then flew in front of him.

With crossed arms resting on its chest, it faced Voldemort's killing curse head-on.

The green, deathly aura of the curse struck the figure known as "Silver White Hope" with full force, the powerful impact forcing it back several meters, shattering the armor and making it look incredibly disheveled.

However, this "person" was merely injured and did not die.

Moreover, the battered armor and body seemed to reverse time, restoring to their original state within seconds.

If not for several people witnessing this scene, everyone would have doubted whether Voldemort had truly cast the killing curse just now.

More astonishing than them were the wizards who could not see Silver White Hope.

In their eyes, when Alaric snapped his fingers, it seemed as if Voldemort's curse had hit something invisible, producing an explosive effect, yet nothing had actually happened.

It was as if a blank shot had been fired.

"Could it be that this boy has become so strong that a non-verbal Shield Charm can block Voldemort's killing curse?" 

This was the thought of most among them.

This wasn't surprising; after all, the earlier scene, that invisible wall, indeed looked as if an ordinary spell had been blocked by an Shield Charm.

"What is this magic?" Voldemort said grimly, his face darkening.

At that moment, he realized that despite having always regarded Alaric highly, he had underestimated this boy.

"Magic?" Upon hearing Voldemort's question, Alaric suddenly shifted his posture, crossing his legs, with one hand extended backward and the other open, resting on his forehead.

The bizarre pose had a unique beauty to it.

"This is my Stand, Riddle."

Underneath his pursuit of the essence of wisdom, he remained just a geek at heart.

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