206- The Godric Armor

"Haha. But fighting me won't let you perceive the gap between us." 

That was Rhys's response. 

Standing before a 10,000-meter-high pillar versus a 100,000-meter-high one—would it really make a difference to an ordinary person? Both are vast, towering wonders that stretch beyond the clouds. 

To truly grasp the disparity in strength between the two of them, Daphne would need to at least reach the level of the Capricorn encounter. 

Hearing Rhys's words, Daphne couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. She had been eager to duel him. After her matches against Hogwarts students, her confidence had swelled considerably. Now, she just wanted to understand how far she was from Rhys.

But from the looks of it, Rhys had no intention of sparring with her... 

Daphne was overthinking.

While Rhys might tease, he would never miss an opportunity to teach his young student a lesson. Just as he was about to step in and give Daphne a straightforward demonstration, his gaze caught sight of a suit of armor in the corner of the hall. 

Unlike the full plate armor typical of Western European knights commonly seen in the castle, this set was far simpler. It was entirely made of interlinked iron rings riveted together, with a conical nasal helm for the headpiece.

Its style clashed sharply with the other armor in the castle, and its surface was covered in rust and grime, as if it hadn't been maintained in ages. 

Filch must have dug up this relic from some forgotten corner and brought it to the first-floor hall—perhaps intending to restore it or simply discard the antique altogether.

"Wait..? Why is this thing here?" Rhys paused, startled.

"Hm?" Daphne followed Rhys's gaze and also noticed the battered chainmail armor.

"Such a rare type of armor," she remarked, her attention drawn to the distinctive design.

"It's the style from the Norman Conquest period," Rhys explained carefully, choosing his words with caution to avoid revealing too much. "Which means this armor could very well date back to the founders' era."

Daphne's eyes widened.

"I've heard," Rhys continued, "from a conversation with the Bloody Baron, that this type of armor had magic cast upon it. Once activated, it can engage in combat autonomously."

A faint smile appeared on Daphne's lips. "This time it's not from some wizard's letter?"

"The letter mentioned it briefly," Rhys replied, his expression perfectly composed. "So I confirmed it with the Baron. What was written was true."

Unlike the stone statues scattered throughout the castle, tasked with defending the school, this armor was designed as a "teaching tool," created by the four founders to let students practice combat.

This type of armor, named after the founder most skilled in dueling, Godric Gryffindor, was called The Godric Armor.

The founders' time was limited, and they couldn't provide high-quality dueling instruction to every student. To solve this, they enchanted the Godric Armors with dueling capabilities. Even more ingenious, the armor could switch combat styles, giving students a varied experience each time. 

Rhys quickly approached the armor, pulled out his wand, and waved it over the surface.

The rust and grime between the iron rings vanished instantly. 

Even with its surface restored to a pristine state, the armor still lacked the grandeur of the imposing full plate armors scattered throughout the castle. 

With precise taps of his wand on various parts of the armor, Rhys finished calibrating it. 

"Whenever you can defeat this armor, come find me for a duel!" Rhys declared, placing the armor before him as the qualifying challenge for Daphne. 

"Really?" Daphne's eyes lit up with excitement, and behind her, Astoria's face mirrored a similar eager anticipation. 

"Of course. You can even team up with Astoria. A victory together still counts," Rhys said, generously lowering the difficulty of the challenge. 

"No need. She'd just hold me back," Daphne replied confidently, full of self-assurance. However, she was quick to add that if her sister wanted to earn the right to duel Rhys, she wouldn't hesitate to lend a hand. 

Astoria narrowed her eyes slightly. It seemed her older sister might be due for a humbling. 

"Confidence is a good thing," Rhys remarked nonchalantly. He'd seen plenty of overconfident young witches and wizards in his time. The Godric Armor was more than capable of teaching them some humility.

"Want to postpone it to another day? You've fought so many matches today; you must be tired," Rhys suggested. 

Daphne waved her hand dismissively, indicating she was ready now. 

"Alright." Rhys flicked his wand, and the armor came to life.

A surge of air filled the cloth tunic beneath the chainmail, causing the previously deflated armor to puff up into the shape of a robust figure. From a distance, it now resembled a towering iron giant. 

The armor slowly stepped down from its stand. With a sudden flash, two red flames ignited within the visor of its pointed helmet. 

Daphne began to regret declining the offer to team up with her sister—this armor stood at least two meters tall, and with the flames flickering inside its helmet, it looked terrifying. 

The Godric Armor, however, didn't care about a young witch's nerves. Fearful? Too bad—you still had to fight. 

"Bow to it, and the duel will begin," Rhys instructed softly from the sidelines. 

Daphne swallowed hard.

Up close, the armor exuded an overwhelming sense of menace. 

Gritting her teeth, she stepped forward and bowed to the armor. The armor returned the gesture, then immediately drew the longsword at its side. 

Woosh!—In the next moment, the blade erupted into roaring flames. 

Daphne: "!!" 

Instinctively, Daphne cast an attack spell to halt the armor's advance, but the armor merely raised the round shield strapped to its arm, effortlessly deflecting her magic.

The next moment, the armor charged toward Daphne in massive strides.

A towering figure over two meters tall clad in full chainmail charging at full speed was a visually stunning and intimidating sight. Daphne dared not hesitate and immediately took to the air—surely, if she flew high enough, this melee-based armor wouldn't be able to reach her... right?

As Daphne soared to the top of the corridor, the armor indeed seemed out of range. It halted its charge, standing motionless for a moment.

Just as Daphne prepared to unleash a barrage of spells from above, she noticed the armor raising its flaming longsword.

Daphne: "??"

The next instant, the sword swung in a powerful arc, releasing a crescent-shaped flame slash, three feet long, that flew straight toward her.

Daphne: "Shite..!!!"

Reacting swiftly, she redirected her magical focus to cast a defensive charm in front of her.

But against the fiery crescent slash, her defensive charm only held for a split second before shattering. The crescent-shaped attack slammed into her midsection, sending her crashing hard against the ceiling of the corridor.

Daphne's vision went black as she lost control over her magic.

Bang!

She fell from the air, crashing onto the ground and lying there motionless.

Astoria: (｀Д')!!

Good thing I didn't join in; it would've just meant one more strike for me!

Seeing that Daphne seemed to have been knocked unconscious, the Godric Armor silently sheathed its longsword and returned to its stand, reverting to its original state.

___________

Read 12 Chapters ahead:

Patreon: HornyFBI