A duel of the Professors (Part 2)

With a rumbling sound, the pedestal sank and the platform halves once again closed, returning the arena to its previous state.

The two professors went away from each other. Once they reached the end, both of them stopped.

"Let us show you how Master's in Charms fight."

Saying so, Elding took out his wand and took the initiative by shooting a silent spell at Flitwick.

For a minute, there was only the sound of swishing from the wand. They threw non-verbal spells at each other and defended against the attack from the enemy.

Students sat, confused. They didn't know what they could learn if the professors' only did non-verbal spells. Some older Slytherins had knowing smiles.

"This is not a demonstration for us; they are duelling for real, just with the rule of 'only spells'. I wonder when the actual lesson starts."

"Don't make it sound like you are bored; it's obvious how attentive you are watching them, Flint." Wood said this from a seat beside him. "It doesn't matter if one cannot play the game, but we have to learn how to enjoy watching the game, no?"

As minutes passed by slowly, the style of the battle also changed. Before, they only attacked each other directly. Now spells started hitting the space around them.

Spells created ice on the floor, beasts of fire unleashed explosive attacks, and strong air currents tried to push...

Students who were watching from the arena became enthusiastic. They had never seen such a battle.

"If there were no rules in this battle, I have no idea how intense it would be," muttered Flint. He has seen his dad have some duels with his uncle, but never this intense.

"Can we be like them one day?"

Flint looked at the boy who asked this silly question, ready to shatter his childish dreams. But Wood was faster than him.

"If we don't even have the guts to dream of this peak, how can we reach it? As long as we are determined, we can. Professor Elding believes in us and wants to give us an opportunity. Who are we to question his trust?"

Looking at his old rival, Flint was speechless. He admitted that Wood won this one.

"I wish I could laugh at your foolish courage to dream, but I can't. You are right, Wood. Let's survive in the group till the end to see what happens."

"How about we postpone this emotional moment for later and watch the duel more closely? I think it's going to end soon."

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This was the first time Elding fought with an expert. He had many duels with his friends, but there was always something lacking. They didn't have a big enough arsenal of spells, and they didn't have the complicated battle techniques of seasoned experts. He taught them how to duel, so he was familiar with their battle style.

He was enjoying himself fully in this duel. Flitwick was a champion duelist, with the Charms Master title to boot.

He also had a unique battle style. It utilised his shortness to its fullest, attacking from tricky angles and forcing the enemy to defend with quick and continuous attacks. He opted to use low-level spells, or small hexes, as they were quick and easy to use. He usually used chain-spells. It was a technique of casting several spells that would support each other and force the opponent to defend against them all.

At the end, his attacks became more aggressive and slower. The spells became more advanced spells. Elding grinned.

'Come, Professor, let's have the final showdown.'

----------

Flitwick was really excited. It had been many years since he had had a proper duel. Elding gave him the challenge and made him feel the adrenalin like his old days.

Flitwick was giving his all to this combat and expected the same from his opponent. But Elding seemed relaxed. No matter how aggressive he became, this boy didn't change his expression. If it were a normal case, Flitwick would have been angry at him for not being serious about this battle.

'This is just a demonstration for him. Okay, I'll let him go this time. I should challenge him to a proper duel one day.'

Flitwick stopped attacking. Elding also got the hint to cease rapid spellcasting. As the murmurs of students got higher, he pointed his wand at Elding firmly and chanted the foreign spell he had recently learned.

"Theía timoría apó ton Día!"

The moment he finished the chant, a strong light flashed at the wand tip. At the same time, Elding's hastily-made shield flashed. A thunderous 'BOOM' was heard. Everyone closed their eyes due to the strong light. They temporarily lost their hearing due to the loud sound.

If there were no preventative measures, their eardrums would rupture, making them deaf. But there was an invisible barrier that blocked nearly 80% of the soundwaves.

The moment their senses came back to normal, they stared worriedly at Stille, worried for their professor, who took the full-power blow from the spell.

Stille was standing behind a solid emerald shield. He vanished the shield and walked forward. Shaking hands with Professor Flitwick, he spoke.

"That was an impressive spell with highly concentrated firepower, professor. Does it come from ancient Greek books?"

Flitwick wiped his sweat off his forehead.

"Yes, it is. I recently found an old scripture. It's fairly incomplete and hard to decipher. I learned a spell from it: "Divine punishment of Zeus. "What do you say about its power?"

"It's indeed powerful. But side effects are a bit of a problem. Using it around your allies who are too weak to protect themselves might cause more damage than help you. It also leaves you vulnerable to further attacks from enemies. So, it's better not used during combat."

Flitwick was speechless.

'Why do I feel like I wasted my time learning this?'

"It's just my initial view of the spell. After some testing, we might find ways to utilise it and decrease the side effects. And the burden it has on your body might have something to do with your general fitness and age. Well, let's leave this discussion for another time, Professor. The students are eager to get your advice, I'm sure."

Flitwick's face twitched when he mentioned fitness and age, but ultimately he didn't comment on them.

"Good. Let's continue the session."

After that, Flitwick visited the groups separately, as he didn't have much skill in terms of Occlumency and illusion magic. Elding continued his usual style of teaching.