If the only thing that could rival the Elder Wand was another Elder Wand—then why not create a second one?
Ancient magic had the power to temporarily forge a false Elder Wand, and for Cyrus, whose magic now far surpassed even Fitzgerald's, there was no need to seek legends.
He only needed to become one.
At that moment, Cyrus raised the Salazar's Serpent wood wand high. All the forces of the world poured into it, spiraling around his body!
Herpo realized something was wrong.
He was witnessing the birth of a legend.
But—how was that possible?
How could a mortal rival a god?
"A god? You?" Cyrus let out a scornful laugh. "You're nothing but a pitiful thing. A coward with a filthy soul. Even Death itself rejected you."
"How dare you speak to me like that!" Herpo roared with fury.
Because Cyrus had struck a nerve.
Herpo's soul had been rejected even by Death itself—like a sludge of rot, festering with the stench of corpses fermented for millennia. It was undeniable that Herpo wielded immense power now, but his soul was so vile it couldn't compare to even a single hair of Dumbledore's.
And now, even in terms of power, he might no longer be Cyrus's equal!
Cyrus lifted his arm slightly, and from the depths of the sea, countless spiraling towers rose. In an instant, the entire world changed.
A forest of towering spires stood tall and magnificent, and he stood among them like a god—
The next moment, Cyrus flipped his arm, and heaven and earth inverted!
In an instant, Herpo was hurled skyward by Cyrus's magic, but he quickly reacted. The Elder Wand allowed him to withstand Cyrus's assault, and at the same time, his counterattack followed without delay!
It was a spell of tremendous power. The moment Herpo cast it, the heavens dimmed, and even time itself seemed to freeze!
Wherever the spell flew, the very fabric of space collapsed in its path.
BOOM!!!
Cyrus didn't dodge.
But the spell didn't hit him either.
In fact, that terrifying curse was blocked before it could even touch him—by an invisible barrier.
It was as if he were standing behind a massive mirror. The mirror stopped the spell, then shattered into countless fragments, each reflecting the world's beauty like a kaleidoscope.
Though he had left the Invisibility Cloak with Grindelwald, Cyrus had memorized the runes inscribed on it.
With his unparalleled magical power and the diary's memory function, he had directly replicated the cloak's magic.
Of course, this wouldn't have been possible without the help of Grindelwald's magical eye.
In Cyrus's possession, the eye exhibited power far beyond what it ever had before. The world no longer appeared as surface and illusion—he saw everything in its truest form.
And the true essence of the world… was magic and matter.
Even things devoid of magical power bore traces of magic.
It could be said that in his current state, Cyrus now stood at the very peak of the magical world. As long as Herpo still wielded magic, he could not win.
As long as he remained a being of matter, he could not win.
Silver light burst from Cyrus's eyes, and in the next moment, terrifying magical power began carving symbols in the air around him.
Ancient runes materialized into the forms of magical creatures—representations of the beasts from Ilvermorny and Hogwarts thundered toward Herpo, tearing into him.
The ancient magic once inscribed within magical beasts—Cyrus could now replicate it directly.
And when unleashed by him, its power far surpassed the original.
Now, the serpent of Slytherin and the horned serpent of Ilvermorny coiled together to bind Herpo's body.
"Noooo!!!—Urgh!" The thunderbird and Ravenclaw's raven pecked out his eyes. The wildcat and Gryffindor's lion tore into his chest with their claws.
"Argh—! I can not lose—AAAArgh!"
Finally, the goblin drew its bow and shot an arrow through Herpo's heart—and Hufflepuff's badger bit clean through his throat.
Herpo plunged, defeated, into the endless sea.
...
The world fell silent.
That once-invincible Herpo, after a brief and blinding display of power, had swiftly withered away in Cyrus's hands.
Now, Cyrus looked out over the calm sea, and with a slight raise of his hand, he summoned the Elder Wand from the vast ocean.
The wand remained just as it always had—elegant in appearance, yet radiating an ominous aura.
It was a cursed power.
Cyrus pocketed the Elder Wand. Unknowingly, he had at last become the master of all three Deathly Hallows.
The Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak—all now belonged to him. Returning to the towering spire rising from the ocean, he cast a Muggle-Repelling Charm over the entire area to prevent any unprepared Muggles from discovering it.
Grindelwald still lay quietly on the tower's floor, breathing steadily, as if in a peaceful sleep.
Cyrus gently drew back the Invisibility Cloak that had covered him. The movement stirred Grindelwald from his shallow dreams. He opened his cloudy eye and looked at Cyrus.
"You killed him?" Grindelwald asked immediately.
Cyrus shook his head. "Not yet."
He hadn't forgotten—Herpo was a soul even Death rejected.
And Herpo had also created a Horcrux. Unless that Horcrux was destroyed, Herpo wouldn't truly die. The problem was, neither of them knew what Herpo's Horcrux actually was.
"If we could reverse time, maybe we'd find out," Grindelwald said with regret. Even speaking seemed to exhaust him, like a breath might crack his ribs.
But Cyrus curled his lips into a smile. "Who says I can't?"
"But the Hall of Time was destroyed by Voldemort."
"I still have a skill I have mastered by now," Cyrus said, showing a smile.
He had kept a Time-Turner a long time ago, thinking it might come in handy one day. Because it was just one, he hadn't placed too much hope in it. Without the Hall of Time and its endless sands to sustain the magic, a single Time-Turner couldn't rewind much but with his time magic, it was possible.
It might be the key to destroying Herpo.
"Can it really work?" Grindelwald looked as if he'd caught hold of a thread of hope—his eyes lit up again.
"Herpo's magic allows him to see beyond time without any tools," Cyrus said, remembering how, when he had peered into the past in the Hall of Knowledge, Herpo had sensed his presence across time.
Now, Cyrus's power had already surpassed Herpo's. He could resist the influence of time on his own.
If Herpo could do it—Cyrus could do it even better.
With the help of the Time-Turner, finding the Horcrux wouldn't be a problem.
Upon hearing that, Grindelwald let out a long breath.
Whatever it took—so long as Herpo could be killed, that was enough.
"I'll take you back to Hogwarts first," Cyrus said, grasping Grindelwald's arm. He didn't use Apparition, knowing full well Grindelwald's frail condition couldn't withstand its side effects.
Instead, he used a gentler method to return to Hogwarts.
Of course, it took a bit longer.
The castle was shrouded in thunderclouds—clearly, this was a terrible night. Cyrus could sense that every gust of wind and every drop of rain in the air was imbued with magic.
It was obvious that his battle in the North Sea had left its mark here.
In fact, his magic had affected the whole of Britain.
The bizarre storm was so inexplicable that even meteorologists were baffled.
At Hogwarts, most people had already fallen asleep amidst the flashes of lightning. Strangely, the deafening thunder and drumming rain had become a kind of lullaby.
Cyrus headed straight to the 7h floor, carrying Grindelwald into the Room of Requirement.
Harry and the others were all gathered inside. The moment they saw Cyrus burst in, everyone jumped to their feet in joy.
"Cyrus!" Ginny and Hermione, clearly having been worried sick, rushed over and threw their arms around him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Cyrus said, laying Grindelwald gently on the floor.
He then soothed Hermione and the others.
While relieved at Cyrus's safe return, they couldn't help but cast curious and wary glances at Grindelwald.
Grindelwald looked utterly pitiful now—so old and fragile, he seemed like he might crumble to dust at the slightest touch.
Only then did Cyrus turn his attention to the two women in the portrait.
Fitzgerald, his longtime friend, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him return safely. "I'm glad you're alright. Otherwise, I'd have lost another friend."
It was Ariana's first time meeting Cyrus, but at that moment, her gaze was entirely fixed on Grindelwald.
"Is he alright?" she asked.
Grindelwald had fallen asleep again.
He was utterly exhausted. If Cyrus hadn't used the power of the Philosopher's Stone to sustain his life, Grindelwald would likely already be dead.
"For now, he's okay," Cyrus said. "But he gave me all his magic. From now on, he probably won't have any magic left."
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