Arthur slowly sheathed his bloodied sword and drew his wand instead. The next battle would be against wizards, and he had to admit—he was looking forward to getting some real combat experience in magical dueling.
Standing before the reinforced door that separated him from his targets, Arthur's thoughts returned to his impromptu decision to use Apparition—and by extension, magic—in the earlier fights.
It had been a spur-of-the-moment choice, triggered by seeing evidence of wizards collaborating with crime lords and listening to their discussion about North, a notorious rogue wizard who operated freely across international boundaries.
The reason Arthur had originally considered going to such lengths to avoid magic during his vigilante activities was simple: he didn't want any scuffle between mundane authorities and himself to spiral out of control and spark a war between the wizarding and mundane worlds.
Such a conflict would be catastrophic, potentially ending life on Earth as he knew it.
But after encountering North, Arthur realized he'd been overthinking the situation dramatically. If North could roam the world breaking the Covenant without triggering interdimensional warfare, why should Arthur's case be any different?
And unlike North, Arthur was considerably stronger and didn't need to spend his life running from various authorities. If anyone wanted him to face consequences, they could come to him directly. Whether they would succeed was an extremely long shot.
His new plan was to act with freedom, without excessive worry about his secrets leaking. He would still handle cleanup carefully and operate as secretly as possible, but he wouldn't go out of his way in fear of discovery. That level of paranoid caution simply wasn't necessary.
These were his current thoughts, anyway. He was still young and prone to making mistakes. Maybe his perspective would change, but what mattered was that he made these decisions himself and wasn't being manipulated into anything.
After that realization, Arthur pointed his wand at the door and cast a simple unlocking charm. "Alohomora."
With a soft click, the door was unlocked.
Arthur kicked it open and walked inside with confident strides.
However, the moment he stepped through the threshold, three jets of sickly green light streaked toward him with lethal intent. Acting on pure instinct, Arthur Apparated to the far side of the room.
That had been dangerously close. While he was extraordinarily powerful, the Killing Curse remained a significant weakness for any mortal—except perhaps for the Boy Who Lived.
From his new position, Arthur observed three surprised wizards staring at the empty doorway where he'd been standing. They recovered from their shock quickly and began scanning the room for their mysteriously vanished target.
When they spotted Arthur's smiling, masked figure, North spoke first.
"How?" His American accent carried genuine bewilderment. "How were you able to Apparate under these wards?"
Arthur ignored the question entirely. "Where are Ravenscar, Greycairn, and Ashridge?"
One of North's companions stepped forward aggressively. "First answer our question, boy."
Arthur's tone remained conversational. "No need. They should have escaped via some tunnel system. No worries—I'll visit them after taking you three out."
"In your dreams!" North snarled. "Avada Kedavra!"
His associates immediately followed suit, three more Killing Curses lighting up the chamber like malevolent stars.
Arthur Apparated away again with practiced ease.
"The Killing Curse again," Arthur observed with genuine disappointment. "Are the dark wizards across the pond also so limited in their spell repertoire? I'm disappointed. I'd heard good things about MACUSA's educational standards."
The calm attitude Arthur displayed in this deadly serious situation clearly got under his opponents' skin. They began casting spells continuously, their anger overriding tactical thinking.
"Much better," Arthur said approvingly, then started Summoning objects around the room into the paths of their hexes, blocking them effortlessly.
But as time passed, Arthur realized he had underestimated these three wizards. They were casting non-stop without showing signs of magical exhaustion, and their aim remained precise despite their fury. Any mistake on Arthur's part would prove lethal.
In the middle of the running battle, Arthur came to an uncomfortable realization—he had been underestimating his opponents far too frequently in recent conflicts. It appeared his growing power was affecting his judgment, making him dangerously overconfident.
He should definitely address that tendency in the future. He was strong, but any carelessness could be his last.
But before dealing with his personal problems, he needed to deal with these wizards. Time to get serious.
Arthur Apparated behind the trio to attack from their blind spot, but surprisingly, before he could cast a single spell, all three had whirled around and launched another barrage of curses. Arthur was forced to defend again.
"You three are competent," Arthur admitted with grudging respect. "At least better than any wizard I've faced in Britain. But you're still outmatched."
Arthur understood how they were tracking him so quickly. They were listening to the distinctive cracks of Apparition and using the sounds to predict where he would materialize next. But what if he tried something different?
Arthur Apparated again with deliberate noise.
The three wizards spun toward the sound, wands raised and spells ready, but they didn't see their target. This was puzzling since they'd clearly heard two cracks—one of Arthur disappearing and one of him appearing. He should be visible somewhere.
They got their answer when three Cutting Curses descended from above, striking the two associates with surgical precision. They collapsed instantly and would not be waking up again.
North managed to conjure a Shield Charm at the last second, deflecting the curse aimed at him. He looked up in shock to see Arthur floating near the ceiling like a dark angel of death.
"You can fly?" North's voice carried disbelief.
"Yes. Quite simple really," Arthur replied casually. "You can't?"
The arrogant attitude combined with the deaths of his followers sent North into a rage. Enraged spells flew upward in a continuous stream.
But Arthur simply Apparated away again, then attacked from a completely different angle.
North proved his skill by blocking the spell again, but Arthur didn't relent. He began a relentless cycle—Apparate, cast, Apparate again—keeping up constant pressure from unpredictable angles.
North did his best to defend and find opportunities to counterattack, but even though he possessed impressive magical stamina, his physical endurance was more limited. All the spinning, diving, and rapid movements required to track Arthur's attacks were exhausting him steadily.
Eventually, fatigue led to his first mistake.
The mistake proved costly, as Arthur's Severing Charm took away North's left hand at the wrist. The American wizard screamed in agony and collapsed to his knees. A following Expelliarmus from Arthur sent his wand skittering across the floor.
"You fought well," Arthur acknowledged, "but you have the same weakness as most wizards. Too much ego to understand your physical limitations and work to address them."
"What are you?" North gasped through his pain.
"Just a Muggle-born wizard," Arthur replied simply.
North's laugh was bitter. "I lost. Kill me. Being defeated by a kid is embarrassing enough—I don't want to listen to your taunts."
"Can't a wizard have some fun after a long battle?" Arthur asked with mock disappointment.
"You should hurry," North said through gritted teeth. "Your real enemies should be far from this island by now. You don't want to lose them, do you?"
"No worries. I can find them quickly enough." Arthur's tone remained conversational. "Before going after them, I need something from you."
"What?"
"Your methods for avoiding the authorities of all wizarding countries. I heard you're quite the accomplished rogue wizard."
"I'm not telling you anything," North spat.
"You don't have to." Arthur pointed his wand with clinical precision. "Legilimens."
The mental intrusion was neither gentle nor invited. Arthur scoured through North's memories like a researcher examining specimens, looking for specifically useful knowledge.
After thoroughly exploring the wizard's mind, he found what he was seeking—North's hidden sanctuary where he kept his collection of forbidden magical tomes. Arthur would need to visit that location after finishing here.
But the most important discovery wasn't the hideout. It was a sophisticated spell that could scramble and completely hide magical signatures in ways that made them impossible to trace back to any individual caster.
It appeared Arthur wouldn't need to prepare for conflicts with all governments, magical and mundane, just yet. He could use this spell to hide all traces of his magical involvement. His current cleanup methods using mystic arts were experimental, and he wasn't sure if they worked against all wizarding authorities. This spell, however, had worked for North for years, so it would work fine for him too.
To test its effectiveness, Arthur cast the signature-masking charm. With a wave of controlled magic, all magical traces throughout the building were scrubbed clean.
North, still reeling from the painful mental intrusion, cursed weakly. "You got what you wanted. Now give me a clean death, though I hope you suffer a fate worse than mine."
"Unfortunately for you, North, the world doesn't function according to your wishes," Arthur replied philosophically. "Thanks for everything, and goodbye."
A precisely aimed Cutting Curse ended North's suffering permanently.
Arthur cast the signature-cleaning spell once more to eliminate any traces of that final magic, then began exploring the room methodically. After some searching, he found what every proper villain stronghold possessed—a self-destruct mechanism built into an unobtrusive control panel.
Arthur pressed the activation button with satisfaction.
As the countdown began echoing through the fortress's communication systems, Arthur pulled out Ravenscar's letter opener again and cast the locating spell to track down his primary targets.
The mystical energy painted their new location clearly in his mind. Arthur opened a portal and stepped through just as the first explosions began tearing through the fortress behind him.