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Malfoy didn't even have time to panic before a wall of pure white ice appeared right in front of him. The ice wall was as smooth and shiny as a mirror, and its wide surface shielded Malfoy completely. The Cruciatus Curse slammed into the ice wall, paused for just a moment, then shot back even faster.
In Loki's stunned eyes, the unforgivable curse he'd confidently aimed at Malfoy bounced right back—straight at him.
The moment the curse hit, Loki dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. He collapsed backwards onto the lawn, curling up into a tight ball as his body began to twitch silently. You had to admit, Loki had insane willpower—he didn't make a single sound, even while enduring the Cruciatus Curse.
Augustus frowned. He hadn't expected a duel he saw as simple and routine to escalate to the level of someone throwing out an Unforgivable Curse. That ice wall just now was a fifth-level frost spell called Mirror of Frosted Surface—a spell close to legendary level within the ice magic field. As long as his magic reserves were large enough, and the opponent's level was lower than his, it could reflect most spells.
Loki, writhing on the ground under the intense and continuous pain, couldn't help but roll back and forth trying to lessen the agony. Unless you've experienced the Cruciatus Curse yourself, you'll never understand just how terrifying its never-ending torment can be.
Malfoy looked visibly relieved—if Augustus hadn't stepped in, he would've been the one on the ground right now.
As Augustus watched Loki still writhing silently on the ground, he gave a small nod. This level of punishment was already more than enough for the kid.
He tossed a third-level healing spell at Loki, and under the force of Augustus's immense magic, the effects of the Cruciatus Curse gradually began to wear off.
Loki's pain slowly faded, and only after the worst had passed did he manage to stand up, though he still felt some lingering soreness. After all, a third-level healing spell needs some time to fully take effect.
"How dare you use an Unforgivable Curse on Malfoy? Don't you know that using one lands you straight in Azkaban? It was just a normal duel—how could you throw out something so cruel?" Lilian finally snapped back to reality as Loki stood up, her face flushed with anger.
Malfoy was her classmate, after all, and she never expected a simple duel between underage wizards to spiral out of control like this.
"Azkaban? Lilian, your Alyxia family might not be the most powerful purebloods, but you're at least somewhat well-known. Hearing you say something so naive honestly surprises me.
Since when did Azkaban have any real authority over us? Do you seriously think a bunch of pathetic Dementors would dare show up at our estate to arrest anyone?"
Loki, still looking relaxed as ever, didn't seem fazed at all by what had just happened.
The twisted look from earlier had faded, replaced with his usual smug ease.
"Oh, right. That spell you used just now—really interesting. What's the principle behind it? Which magic school does it come from? It even bounced back an Unforgivable Curse.
If there's a chance… would you teach me sometime?" Loki turned to Augustus, eyes shining with curiosity. Malfoy groaned and rubbed his temples—were all the people from the Adams family this crazy? The guy had just been writhing in pain because of Augustus's spell, and now he was shamelessly asking to learn it?
Augustus frowned slightly, clearly unimpressed. "If you ever manage to stop using magic to torture people, maybe I'll consider it." As a legendary Master of the Arcane and spiritual leader of the Empire, Augustus had always believed in defeating enemies with honor, whether in duels or war.
He had no time for cruel, torturous spells or shady tactics. So even if someone like Loki was a genius, if he didn't fix his bad habits, Augustus saw little hope in his future.
"Magic isn't meant for playing around with the weak," Augustus said calmly. "It's about pushing yourself and standing toe-to-toe with the strong. When you finally stop treating magic like a tool to hurt others, I'll teach you real spell theory—and let you see what true magic looks like."
Though Augustus didn't like Loki's cruel, manipulative ways, he still held out a bit of hope for him. With such strong willpower and rare talent, Loki was definitely worth teaching—if he could correct his attitude.
"...The meaning of magic?" For once, Loki's usually smug expression gave way to a bit of confusion. When he was little—and crippled—no one ever looked at him properly. People either ignored him or looked at him with disgust.
Who cared about a lame kid, even if he was from the Adams family? When his magic first went out of control, and he was diagnosed with enormous magical potential, everything changed. Those awe-struck, envious looks... the respectful tones... Loki loved it. He knew magic had given him this new life. Heaven and hell were only a step apart—magic gave him real power.
From then on, he threw himself into learning every kind of magic he could find. In duels, he took pleasure in humiliating those who thought they were better just because their bodies were "normal." For Loki, magic was all about the fear in others' eyes, and the sweet sound of their pain.
Everyone around him was either kissing up to him out of fear, or avoiding him out of disgust. Never—not once—had anyone told him he was wrong. No one had ever shown him that he had veered off the real path of magic.
Loki was proud. He didn't have friends, but he didn't care. Not having friends wasn't pathetic. What was pathetic, in his eyes, was having no worthy opponents. As someone who'd always respected Augustus, the man who had just bested him in battle, Loki couldn't help but feel a strange warmth and curiosity hearing these words from him—the first person to ever directly point out his flaws.
"I'll seriously think about what you said. And if I do change... the next time we meet, don't forget your promise. Show me the meaning of magic.
Take me to the real world of spellcraft." Despite being about the same age as Augustus, there was something incredibly persuasive about the way he spoke—Loki didn't doubt his promise for a second.
As Loki walked off with the other teens, Augustus watched them leave with a faint smile on his lips. To admit you're wrong and make a change—maybe that's what a true genius is, after all.
"....."