HP: god of potions

Chapter 110

Inside the Hogwarts Express, Gray sat alone in his compartment, poring over schematics with deep focus. The train rattled rhythmically, but his concentration was unbroken until he sensed something that made him smile. "The cocoon—it's about to crack," he thought, excitement flickering in his eyes. Rachel, his long-lost companion, was finally about to return, and hopefully as a human this time. But just as joy bubbled within him, Gray felt another presence. Sighing, he closed his book and disappeared in a flash, reappearing thousands of miles away from the train. Standing tall and composed, Gray addressed the figure before him. "Well, I was expecting you guys, but to think you'd only send one person," he said nonchalantly.

Before him stood a towering man with glowing green eyes and intricate runic tattoos etched across his body. His battle robes, made from enchanted dragonhide, had grown into armor-like scales radiating raw elemental energy. The air crackled around him as his steps left trails of molten earth. He spoke first. "Hello, snake." Gray chuckled dryly. "Wrong timeline, man. It's lion now," he corrected, surprising the man, who chuckled and took another step forward. "I see you're starting to become aware, child. This is not something Althea accounted for," the man mused, pondering aloud before smiling. "You're Viridian, right? Merlin's heart?" Gray asked. Viridian smiled back. "Yes, your memories are returning. Fascinating," he replied.

Gray tilted his head. "Weren't you supposed to send some low-level mages with sixth-grade syndrome to fight me first?" he quipped, earning a genuine laugh from Viridian. "That's what Althea wanted. She didn't want to risk awakening that snakes will, but I think differently," Viridian said, appearing suddenly behind Gray. The imposing figure dwarfed him, but Gray remained unfazed. "This isn't some movie where the bad guy sends minions first, just to have the hero grow stronger for a final showdown. I prefer…" Viridian paused, and a gigantic hand made of earth shot up beneath Gray, closing around him with a thunderous boom. Dust and debris scattered, "nipping problems in the bud" but as the hand disintegrated into shards, Gray emerged unscathed. Smiling, he said, "You're too late for that. You should have killed me in the third year instead of sending little ants."

With a flick of his wrist, Gray summoned a massive earth hammer that slammed down on Viridian. The attack was met with a shield that deflected it, and Viridian looked intrigued. "Your magic… it's close to domain magic. How did you get this far, this fast?" he asked, genuine curiosity flickering in his glowing green eyes. Laughing like a madman, Viridian continued, "It took that snake nearly 400 years to even scratch the tip of domain magic, and here you are, not even 16 years old, already so close. Wonderful!" His laughter abruptly ceased as he exuded raw magic. "No wonder that snake broke the prime timeline and caused all this chaos and these rifts. He was trying to get to this point much quicker," Viridian deduced, his voice brimming with excitement. "Let's see just how close you are to a domain," he declared, launching into his attack.

Viridian chanted a spell under his breath, and Gray mirrored his actions. Neither launched an attack initially, opting instead to establish powerful barriers that encased them in an arena of magical containment. Viridian's lips curved into a satisfied smile as he remarked, "Great mages think alike." Gray chuckled at the statement, his tone light yet filled with anticipation. "I just don't want your sister barging in and ruining the fun. To be honest, I'm itching for a fight," he replied, his eyes gleaming with a fierce determination. Viridian threw his head back in laughter, his voice echoing like a storm. "I'll be truly sad to kill such a mage by my hand. If only we had met under different circumstances," he said before unleashing his attack.

Viridian's chant filled the air, a guttural melody of ancient incantations that resonated with the raw elements around him. His hands moved in fluid, circular motions, weaving the threads of magic into a tangible force. With a final snap of his fingers, a colossal storm materialized, the sky within the barrier darkening instantly. Thunder boomed like the roar of a primordial beast as clouds swirled into a vortex overhead. From this swirling tempest, jagged bolts of lightning as thick as castle towers streaked down, striking the ground with deafening explosions. The earth cracked and caved beneath the sheer force, releasing geysers of molten lava into the air. The ground itself seemed alive, writhing and bending under the immense elemental fury, as if the world was protesting against the cataclysmic power.

Gray's response was immediate and equally devastating. His eyes glowed with an intense white light, his hands forming intricate gestures that left afterimages in the air. Arcane symbols burst to life around him, glowing runes spinning in concentric circles before he thrust his palms outward. A barrage of crystalline missiles erupted from his fingertips, each shard the size of a spear, glowing with an inner radiance that seemed to pierce through the storm. As they soared through the air, they fractured into smaller projectiles, each targeting a specific point in the chaos. When the shards collided with the molten geysers and lightning strikes, they didn't just deflect them—they refracted them, splitting the energy into harmless beams of light that scattered across the battlefield. The shattered crystals left trails of shimmering dust, which danced in the chaotic winds, reflecting the carnage like a macabre aurora.

Viridian raised his hand, clenching it into a fist as the ground beneath him trembled violently. Massive chunks of earth tore themselves free, rising into the air before igniting into blazing meteorites. He hurled them with a flick of his wrist, each one trailing fire and smoke as they plummeted toward Gray. The sheer heat from the burning rocks scorched the air, causing the ground to blacken and fissure before the projectiles even landed. Gray reacted swiftly, tracing a glowing sigil in the air with his finger. The sigil expanded into a shimmering dome of energy that radiated a golden hue. As the meteors struck, they disintegrated on contact, their fiery remnants absorbed into the shield, which pulsed with every impact. Each pulse sent shockwaves rippling outward, flattening the jagged remains of the battlefield and leaving glowing craters where the meteors had once been.