Faith — The Sword of Gryffindor!

As his death approached, Grindelwald's chest suddenly flashed with a barely perceptible light, and his body, which had been frozen stiff, instantly regained the ability to move. He hooked his free left hand with all his might, and the cabinet behind Ivan crashed into it.

Ivan, who was focused on casting the spell, did not have time to react. His back was hit hard, and the Life-Extinguishing Curse, which he had been maintaining, was forced to stop.

The two beams of light that had been hovering in mid-air vanished almost at the same time, and the central black dot shrank to a tiny point before expanding even more rapidly.

The next moment, a violent explosion sounded in the Department of Mysteries. The aftermath of the explosion cracked the bricks on the ground, and the shockwave knocked the two people standing on the field to the ground.

More crucially, the spell was forcibly interrupted in mid-spell, causing Ivan and Grindelwald to suffer severe magical backlashes.

Ivan got to his feet, clutching his chest, and looked at Grindelwald with confusion in his eyes. He had used his Basilisk eyes to immobilise Grindelwald, but Grindelwald was able to move again in an instant, something that had never happened in any previous battle…

Unless… Ivan thought suddenly of a special case, and a chill went down his spine.

When he confronted Tom Riddle in the Slytherin Chamber over four years ago, the latter had a similar performance.

While his true form's mind was being controlled by the Basilisk's eye, Tom Riddle's other Horcrux took over the control of his body, dodging a fatal blow.

Ivan's heart sank as he realised that his worst fears had come true.

He had originally believed that Grindelwald's arrogance would make him disdain creating multiple Horcruxes, but it seems that, perhaps because of his pressure, or perhaps because he wanted to avoid following in Voldemort's footsteps, Grindelwald created at least two Horcruxes, one of which he carried with him at all times.

No wonder Grindelwald was only slightly affected when the first pendant was destroyed…

Ivan's eyes scanned Grindelwald's body, but he could not see where the Horcrux was placed. Even if he knew, however, it would not be easy to break the Invisibility Cloak.

I can only hope there isn't a third Horcrux… Ivan's right hand trembled as he touched the fine cracks on his human-bone wand, understanding that he would have to fight for his life.

Ivan exhaled deeply, then charged at Grindelwald, wand in hand.

Scarlet dragon scales gradually appeared on Ivan's arms and cheeks, his expression ferocious and tyrannical…

Grindelwald had recovered from the delay, and although his body was still stiff from the effects of the basilisk's eyes, he was getting better with every second that passed.

Grindelwald was wary of Ivan's strange eyes, so he deliberately avoided Ivan's gaze. When Ivan charged straight at him, Grindelwald's expression changed, and he waved his stiff right hand with all his might, sending an invisible blade of magic towards Ivan.

"Sectumsempra ~ (God's Edge is Shadowless)" Ivan also waved his wand at the same time.

There was the sound of metal and stone colliding in midair. The two invisible blades collided and then disappeared…

The Human Bones Wand in Ivan's hand could not withstand this spell and exploded!

Grindelwald's lips curled into a smile as he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. He pointed his Elder Wand at Ivan again and shouted.

"Avada Kedavra ~ (Avada Kedavra)"

Grindelwald was certain that he would never miss at such a close range, and there was a great deal of killing intent in this fatal spell!

However, Ivan, who was less than two meters away from him, made an unbelievable move. He made a grabbing motion with his hands without any weapon and slashed down with all his might!

The dark green beam of light was sliced apart, spinning away from Ivan's body and slicing off Grindelwald's right hand, which was still holding the wand. Blood spurted from Grindelwald's severed wrist, and the wand, the most powerful wand in the possession of countless legendary wizards, fell to the ground in a whirl…

This is impossible!

Grindelwald's pupils contracted as he realized that a silver-white sword engraved with countless exquisite runes had appeared in Ivan's clasped hands. It was this sword that had cut through the powerful Death Curse and severed his right hand.

Ivan stepped forward again, flipped his right wrist to hold the sword out flat, and stabbed Grindelwald in the chest with his left hand.

A thin robe was placed between the tip of the sword and Ivan's chest, and the cloak was the only thing standing between them.

"Get out of my way!" Grindelwald shouted angrily, and his powerful magic burst forth, transforming into a torrent of ghostly blue fire that surged toward Ivan.

No one would have been able to face this terrifying fire head-on, but Ivan did not dodge. He allowed the fire to burn him, and his expression became even more ferocious as he pushed Grindelwald against the wall with the tip of his sword.

"You can't kill me, Hals. I'm the only one who will win!" Grindelwald said fiercely, his good left hand gripping Ivan's shoulder in a death grip. Dark blue fire poured from his fingertips, trying to engulf Ivan.

Unfortunately, an invisible barrier of magic floated across Ivan's skin, preventing the Fire from entering.

"You can't be sure of that!" Ivan said, his eyes red as he stared at Grindelwald. "Take your chances, Grindelwald…"

"I bet you'll die!" Ivan shouted. The Sword of Gryffindor glowed with a golden light, and the inscriptions carved into the blade seemed to come alive, quickly absorbing the magic of its wielder.

A crack appeared on the cloak's fabric-like surface, and then the crack widened, and the silver-white blade pierced Grindelwald.

"How?!" Grindelwald looked down in disbelief. The powerful protective relic had been penetrated, and to his horror, Ivan had not stabbed him in the heart, but in the left chest, where he kept the Horcrux.

"I've always been lucky!" Ivan's eyes twinkled. He had no idea where Grindelwald kept his Horcruxes, or even what they looked like, so he had cut them based on his intuition.

It just so happened that his intuition today was very accurate!

"I see you don't have a third Horcrux!" Ivan said sarcastically, sensing Grindelwald's rapidly weakening vitality.

The look on Grindelwald's face was one of pure madness. All of his remaining magic surged into his left hand, sending Ivan flying…

Ivan was thrown to the ground, and as he tried to get back on his feet, Grindelwald grabbed him by the throat and pushed him back down…

Ivan did not resist. He looked at Grindelwald coldly, as Grindelwald did not even have the strength to strangle him.

Grindelwald would have been dead if the sword hadn't hit his vitals… but even so, Grindelwald could feel that his life force was almost gone, and he was only holding on because his opponent was holding on to his last vestiges of life through sheer willpower.

Ivan stared into Grindelwald's eyes for a long moment, then said hoarsely, "It's time for you to fulfil your contract… Gellert!"

Grindelwald's crazed expression froze, and his left hand trembled around Ivan's neck.

"You lost this time…" Ivan said slowly, his face calm. "Don't forget, he's waiting!"

Grindelwald suddenly let go of Ivan's left hand and stumbled to his feet. The only sound in the empty Department of Mysteries was a series of sharp snorts.

Ten seconds later, everything returned to normal…