Dark Mark - The Return of Lord Voldemort!!!

As the Hippogriff's claw came for him, the Inferi flew away but then caught a red bolt of energy right on his chest. "Ugh!"

Ekrizdis looked up and saw the wizard who almost caused him to lose his wand.

Gellert Grindelwald steered the Hippogriff and came to rest near Dumbledore, helping him against the dragon. "Go!" the old man shouted, panting heavily. "I… can handle him…"

Dumbledore knew a lie when he heard it.

Still, there were things he needed to do, and he needed to do them now.

He nodded at his old friend and flew down, his eyes going hard along with his grip over the Elder Wand.

Above him, Ekrizdis finally tasted panic.

Once Dumbledore saved the children, there was no escaping this situation anymore. He could defend himself against both the Headmaster and Grindelwald, but not against the full magical might of scores of Aurors backing them up.

-Lord… Yellow Warlock,- the Lord of Azkaban hissed, sending the words through the Artifact. -If not now, then when?!-

…

Black saw Dumbledore charging down, heard Ekrizdis' panicked words, and frowned.

If the Headmaster cast away his Dementors, then he wouldn't even get the amount he was hoping for now. He still needed 100 Soul Points to upgrade his Blood Essence.

And sucking the souls out needed time.

The only way Black could think of now was to use Lilith's inherent Apparation ability and flee with Ekrizdis before returning as the young Arlen Black.

However, with the Merlin's Staff still present in the battle, he couldn't afford to do so.

There was no way the Six wouldn't recognize the presence of Lethifold through the Staff later on. It didn't mean they would pin down Lethifold as Lilith, but it would make them suspicious of Darcie, and that was one thing Kai could never let happen.

I need a distraction… Black thought, calling the Lethifold to him anyway. Ekrizdis needs a distraction. He can run away using the undead Zouwu then. But first… I need to prevent Dumbledore from sorting out this mess without attacking him.

Suddenly, Black's dark eyes lit up and he finally replied to Ekrizdis' plea.

In the sky, the Lord of Azkaban first grinned as he heard Lord Yellow Warlock's voice, but then immediately frowned.

-It's a Bounded Field!- Ekrizdis hissed back furiously. -No one from outside can enter unless the Staff weakens the barrier…-

-Just do it!- Black hissed back, snapping.

Lord Ekrizdis twisted his rotten mouth. Then, under the surprised gaze of Grindelwald, he lifted his wand high and cast the long, forgotten spell.

Even Dumbledore, whose wand had almost cast the Patronus Charm, got stunned to a sudden stop as he heard that word, his eyes shaking with bewilderment and… the sheer impossibility of such a thing.

Ekrizdis hadn't used any charm to amplify his voice, but the word echoed across the Bounded Field anyway.

A burst of ghostly, green ball of energy shot toward heaven, riding on the terror of that spell.

Simultaneously, on the train, Black hid his hands behind his back and chanted the same word.

Morsmordre!

…

A giant foggy and ghostly, green skull rippled into existence in the sky right under the invisible boundary of the Bounded Field.

Under the shocked, bewildered, and horrified gazes of all, a snake slithered out of the gaping mouth of the skull.

The snake opened its mouth and spat out a pillar of black fog, which tore open the space between the skull and Dumbledore like a missile, its speed a blur.

Even before the foggy, black pillar revealed the darkness it hid within, words rang out from it, echoing far and wide.

"Avada Kedavra!!!"

A green flash lit up the sky in a sinister, white-green color.

Dumbledore's face twisted, becoming white. He waved the Elder Wand as the muscle memories kicked in, his eyes refusing to believe what he was hearing, seeing, and… experiencing.

A bolt of brilliant green met a fountain of red.

For a moment, white overwhelmed the space around the derailed Hogwarts Express making everyone squint their eyes.

Then the sound reached their ears, making many students cover them up involuntarily.

Boom!!!

Dumbledore twisted his hand, trying to ward off the creepy sensation slithering up his arm.

It was then, through the blinding whiteness, that he saw the evil taking shape from the black fog.

He was wearing a stark, black cloak, its seams fogging, rippling, and churning. His face was white, for nose, he had snake-like slits, his eyes were reptilian, and he was bald.

As their eyes met, he hissed, "We meet again… Dumbledore!"

Lord Voldemort!!!

Dueling with a stunned Grindelwald, high in the sky, Lord Ekrizdis gawked at the sight of Dumbledore getting held back by the newcomer.

Once again he realized he didn't have a clue about Lord Yellow Warlock's true powers.

What ridiculous magic was this? Summoning someone from outside when there was a Bounded Field around them? A Bounded Field… placed none other than Merlin's magic…

Suddenly, Ekrizdis remembered DEATH's whispered words when he had asked about his real identity.

[Even thinking of Yellow Warlock's origin is the greatest Taboo]

No matter how much the Lord of Azkaban hated it, he finally had to acknowledge the mystery surrounding that purple-hazel-eyed demon was greater than his own relationship with Merlin and Herpo the Foul.

Coming to terms with the magical might shown by his partner, the Inferi let out a rotten grin. "Ha-ha! Let the second round… begin!"

A massive boom rang out as the Horcrux waved his wand and threw Grindelwald off the Hippogriff he was riding, despite placing a magical shield in between.

Under them, Voldemort and Dumbledore broke off the spell bounding them in space.

They spun around each other, black and white fog curling and spinning and churning furiously.

Their gazes met several times, one brimming with hatred and the other oozing with questions, disbelief, and… horrors of consequences.

Then their wands moved.

And Bolts of green and red kissed each other once again.

…

Black squinted his eyes as the sky became white once more.

Behind his back, on his left arm, the Dark Mark tattoo rippled, acting in tandem with Ekrizdis' magic.

He looked at Voldemort, waiting for Timeline Backlash to kick in.

However, he knew there wouldn't be any retribution for the Skill he had used just now.

The Timeline might have played him regarding the non-usage of Timeline's Applaud in this timeline. Not to mention, IT had gifted him three Items just to take his mind off the real thing IT had been aiming for.

For Black, three Heroic Items had been indeed enough to just question the Timeline's intent, but ignore the consequences.

For the Timeline, the Heroic Items were just chump change, though.

No wonder I paid those prices to get the Heroic Items, Black wondered, hiding the Dark Mark further with his sleeves. The true price would have been imprisonment or eradication of Lord Ekrizdis, making me lose my most important ally in this timeline… my link to the Deep One, DEATH.

The plan was so perfect that Black truly got played out, almost becoming the losing party in his deal with it. It was just —

— the Timeline itself had no clue that Kai even possessed such a Skill because he had never used it before.

**************

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