The open-air museum of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was cloaked in an ancient silence in the darkness of the night. The marble ruins where tourists wandered by day were now trembling slightly with the awakening of the millennial magical core lying beneath them. Abu Nazir stood inside a massive crater at the entrance of the main burial chamber in the center of the Mausoleum. Around him was lined up a new group of mortals he had gathered from Bar Street and other settlements. The mortals, groaning in pain due to the Sanguis Vinculum ritual in their veins, had aimed their wands at the Fifth Port stone. Nazir’s eyes shone with that absolute power he had won on Kara Ada, directing the ritual like an orchestra conductor. However, in the darkness surrounding the Mausoleum, two different groups of hunters had already taken their positions. In the shadows at the north gate of the museum stood Barlas and the “Inquisition” squad. Sina sniffed the air, his eyes completely closed. The magical traces entering through his nose turned into colorful maps in his mind. “Widdershins is inside,” whispered Sina, grimacing. “But not just him. The oxygen is burning. There is a massive, rotten magic inside. Much more than we expected...” “I don’t want a cowardly hound, Sina,” said Barlas, lightly tapping the tip of his cane-wand on the ground. “Okan, go in from the right flank. Vera, prepare the illusion shields. Our target is Darius Widdershins. We will also clear the other obstacles inside in the name of the Ministry.” At the same time, on the roof of a tall, modern building on the south side of the museum, the CORE team lay prone. Darius was watching the double siege below through night-vision binoculars. Meltem was to his left, and Lidya to his right. Kuzey, who had stayed behind on Alaz’s yacht, was biding his time to test his new wand. “They took the bait,” Darius said in a whisper. “Barlas and his squad are infiltrating from the north. Their target is us, but they will crash into Nazir’s mortal shield first.” “Watch out for Vera,” warned Lidya, hissing from within the shadows. “That woman’s mind is like a steel vault. My illusions don’t work on her.” “Then we will work on her,” said Meltem, activating her shock discs. Blue electrical currents danced over her leather gloves. “When are we going down?” “When Barlas fires the first spell,” said Darius. Meanwhile, down below, Barlas and his squad emerged from among the ruins of the museum, surrounding Nazir’s ritual area. Okan did not wait; he raised his short wand and sent three consecutive devastating curses straight at Nazir: “Confringo! Expulso! Reducto!” The curses flew toward Nazir, tearing through the air, but Nazir didn’t even look back. He merely swung his hand back lightly. An invisible wall caught Okan’s curses in mid-air and reflected them back like a mirror. Okan dove behind a marble column at the last second to avoid being hit by his own spells. The column was shattered to dust by the force of the reflected spells. Barlas frowned. He had realized in the very first second that Nazir’s power was much purer and more primal than described in the Ministry reports. “Vera, put the mortals to sleep! Sina, get behind him!” Vera raised her wand and tried to enter the minds of the ritualizing mortals. However, the mortals’ minds were so poisoned by the chaos of the Sanguis Vinculum ritual that Vera’s mind magic backfired. The woman stumbled backward, holding her head in pain. Nazir slowly turned toward Barlas at that moment. On his lips was that same, terrifying, condescending smile. “The Ministry... After ignoring the power lying beneath this city for centuries, do they think they can take it from me now with a few loyal dogs?” The moment Nazir raised his wand, Darius raised his hand on the roof. “Now!” The CORE team glided down from the roof like angels of death. Meltem spun in mid-air and landed directly on Okan. Just as Okan was about to raise his wand and aim it at Meltem, Meltem locked the man’s arm with her legs and slammed him to the ground. The two were locked in deadly close combat among the ruined columns. Meltem’s speed and Okan’s rapid spell-casting were intertwined. Lidya appeared from within the shadows, right behind Vera who was trying to gather her mind. “Tenebris Illusio: Phantasma!” The ruins around Vera suddenly turned into the Ministry dungeons, and screaming within the illusion of her own mind, the woman began swinging her wand indiscriminately. And Darius... Darius landed right between Barlas and Nazir with a force that cracked the stone floor. The tip of his wand glowed with an intense, blinding whiteness like never before. The moment Barlas saw Darius, he turned his cane on him. “Petrificus Totalus Maxima!” Nazir, at the same time, hurled a dark, red fireball toward Darius. In that millisecond, seeing two different deaths coming upon him, Darius gripped his wand with both hands, plunged it into the ground, and roared: “Protego Diabolica!” Around Darius detonated a massive shield of blue flame that not only defended but also burned the enemy. Barlas’s freezing spell and Nazir’s dark fire hit the blue shield simultaneously. A deafening explosion occurred in the courtyard of the Mausoleum. Three different wills, three different magical powers were locked onto a single point, and even gravity had begun to bend under this energy. From inside the shield, Darius shouted toward Barlas, his teeth bleeding: “If you’re looking for an enemy tonight, Barlas... you’re looking at the wrong person!” Darius’s blue shield (Protego Diabolica) had begun to crack under Barlas’s freezing spell and Nazir’s crimson fire. The sweat dripping from Darius’s forehead evaporated from the heat of the shield, his legs trembling. This tremendous collision of three different schools of magic was melting the millennial marble floor of the Mausoleum. As Barlas felt the veins bulging in the hand holding his wand, he turned his eyes to Nazir. The Ministry reports had been wrong once again. The man before him was not just a rebel, but a walking natural disaster. If Nazir opened that Port, not just Widdershins, but Barlas himself and the entire Ministry order he defended would turn to ash. Barlas was a pragmatic man. His hunter mentality dictated eliminating the greatest threat first. “Ministry protocol is suspended!” roared Barlas. With a sudden movement, he pulled his wand away from Darius’s shield and turned it directly on Nazir with all his might. “Avada Kedavra!” The blinding, toxic green light shooting from Barlas’s wand illuminated the courtyard of the Mausoleum, passing through Nazir’s crimson flames. In that millisecond, Nazir realized the killing curse was coming upon him. The arrogant smile on his face vanished. He tried to deflect the green light by bending his own dark flame like a shield, but the killing curse was too strong. The curse grazed Nazir’s shoulder and shattered a massive column behind him to dust. For the first time, Nazir stumbled backward. The darkness in his eyes flared with anger. Relieved by Barlas pulling his spell away, Darius lowered his shield and swiftly aimed his wand at the soil beneath Nazir’s feet. “Bombarda Maxima!” The earth detonated. The force of the explosion tossed Nazir into the air, causing him to fall outside the ritual area, among the ruins. For a moment, a strange, tense ceasefire settled in the courtyard. Darius and Barlas stood back-to-back, with only a few meters between them. The two enemies, now shoulder-to-shoulder, were looking at that dark demi-god slowly rising from among the ruins. “At the end of the night, I will lock you in those dungeons with my own hands, Widdershins,” said Barlas, without taking his eyes off Nazir. His voice was breathless. “If we survive tonight, I’ll gift you the keys to those dungeons, Barlas,” growled Darius. Meanwhile, Meltem had knocked Okan down, but was thrown backward by a shockwave the man fired at the last second. Lidya, on the other hand, was continuing to drive Vera mad within illusions, but Sina, despite his blind eyes, had sniffed out Lidya’s location and was advancing toward her. “We must stop that man from finishing the ritual!” said Darius. “I’ll break his shield, you deliver the finishing blow.” Darius lunged forward, preparing to swing his wand at Nazir. He had focused all his attention and magical energy on piercing Nazir’s impenetrable volcanic shield. He had to believe that Barlas would watch his back, that they would remain allies at least until this common enemy fell. But Barlas had succumbed to his hunter arrogance. Finishing Nazir off and returning to the Ministry was a great victory, yes. But taking down both Nazir and the legendary fugitive Darius Widdershins at the same time... This would make Barlas the Minister. While Darius was focused entirely on Nazir and his back was completely exposed, Barlas slowly lowered his silver-headed wand. He aimed not at Nazir, but directly at Darius’s back. “The Ministry never makes alliances, Widdershins,” whispered Barlas, with a cruel smile on his lips. “It only uses.” The tip of Barlas’s wand glowed with a deadly purple light. “Crucio!” (Torture Curse) But seconds before the curse could hit Darius’s back, the courtyard of the Mausoleum shook with a deafening, superhuman roar. This was neither a magical explosion nor a lightning strike. This was the sound of pure, ancient energy fired from miles away, off the coast of İçmeler, tearing through the air as it came. The purple curse Barlas cast evaporated and vanished within that massive, golden pillar of light descending from the sky like a meteor. The pillar of light had descended with such colossal power and speed that it hurled Barlas, Darius, Nazir, and all the surrounding ruins in different directions with a terrifying pressure wave. The darkness of the night had turned into day beneath that massive light. Darius sat up in pain after flying for meters and crashing into a marble block. He raised his head and looked at the spot where the light hit. The light had struck neither Nazir nor Barlas, but directly into the exact center of the Fifth Port stone. Unable to handle this pure and massive ancient energy, the stone had shattered to dust before it could release the sickly dark magic within it. From the earpiece in Darius’s pocket came a breathless, yet equally satisfied voice from the weapon’s recoil. “How did you like the shields, boss?” said Kuzey. He was speaking from miles away, from Alaz’s yacht, with his newly modified, illegal monster of a wand. “We are not desperate enough to turn our backs to the Ministry’s dogs.” Darius smiled, wiping his bleeding lip. “Just in time, Kuzey.” When Nazir sat up from among the ruins, he looked at the shattered Fifth Port stone in disbelief. For the first time in his life, he had lost a Port, right in the middle of a ritual. The darkness in his eyes was shaken. Barlas, trying to stand up by leaning on his wand, was trying to understand what had just exploded. Darius gripped his wand again, but this time his target was not Nazir. His target was Barlas, lying dazed on the ground. “The alliance is over, executioner,” said Darius, in a deadly tone of voice. “Now let the hunt begin.”1234 copyright protection29ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0P4HOS0M4L 尼

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