Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard
Chapter 829: Rosier’s Decision

“Petrificus Totalus!”

In the forest, Kyle flicked his wand behind him—not at Vinda Rosier and the others chasing him, but at the thick trees.

First, he used a Softening Charm to knock them down across the path, then turned them to stone, forming a more solid barricade that might slow his pursuers down... for a few seconds.

Kyle had initially thought his enemies were just a group of elderly wizards and witches in their seventies or eighties, barely able to walk. Shaking them off should’ve been easy. But he quickly realized how wrong he was.

They didn’t need to run. They floated through the air like ghosts. As long as they had enough magic, age meant nothing.

To be honest, this was one of the toughest fights Kyle had ever experienced. He found it hard to even launch an effective counterattack.

More critically, their combat instincts were on a completely different level from the Death Eaters he’d faced before—their reaction times were simply too fast.

Kyle threw out every trick he had, but still couldn’t gain the upper hand. Aside from the ambush at the start that took out two of them, he’d also used the Nundu to lay a trap and lured them into it.

It worked well—one of the faster wizards, unfamiliar with Kyle’s tactics, ran straight into the poisonous fog and dropped on the spot... but that was the extent of it.

The others didn’t hesitate for even a second. The moment they realized something was wrong, they split to either side. The rearguard immediately cast Bubble-Head Charms and rushed in to retrieve their fallen comrade—quick and clean, as if they’d rehearsed it a hundred times.

Later, as they nearly caught up to him again, Kyle tossed out twenty pots of mandrakes. The cost stung, but the result was impressive—the scream radius was even larger than the poison fog, and two more enemies went down... Whether they were still alive, Kyle didn’t know. He only knew three fewer were chasing him now.

As for the Chomping Cabbages... they were useless. His enemies were airborne, and those things couldn’t fly, so he didn’t bother.

At this point, the only trump card he had left was the Basilisk. Meanwhile, five enemies remained, including the strongest of them all—Vinda Rosier.

She kept pace steadily, holding her position in the middle of the group with patient composure.

Kyle didn’t bother trying the same tricks again. Based on how they'd reacted so far, there was no way they’d fall for the same trap twice.

Rustling came from behind again—the sound of robes brushing leaves, a sound Kyle had become all too familiar with. It meant they were close.

Without hesitation, Kyle turned and pointed his wand behind him.

“Sectumsempra!”

Three invisible blades sliced through the air, cleanly severing everything in their path—two trees and a hand still holding a wand.

At the same time, a silvery-white flash to his left turned into a shield, blocking a Stunning Spell flying at him.

The silver shield flickered, then instantly shifted behind him, intercepting another spell—before shattering into shimmering fragments.

Taking advantage of the opening, Kyle flipped onto his broom and took off again.

Flying through the forest, his Firebolt couldn’t reach top speed, and he didn’t dare rise too high—he’d be a perfect target in the open sky. He had to trade speed for cover.

“Shit!” someone cursed. “How many times has this happened already? That damn spell—doesn’t his shield charm need to be actively cast?”

“Apparently not,” Rosier narrowed her eyes. “Tinos, how are you holding up?”

“I’m fine. Just got careless.” The wizard named Tinos picked up his severed arm, pressed it to the wound, and gritted his teeth as he murmured a spell.

A blue glow lit up at the injury as it began to slowly heal.

“Are British wizards like this now? What is he—twenty? And he’s managed to drive twelve of us to this point!”

“And his spells are bizarre too. Nearly all of them are runic magic. Completely unreasonable.”

“It’s not all British wizards—just him,” Rosier replied. “...A magical prodigy. That’s probably why Dumbledore sent him to Nurmengard.”

“Between him and Credence, who do you think has more talent?”

“There’s no comparison,” Rosier said after a pause. “Credence is an Obscurial, one of the rare few who survived and mastered his Obscurus. His existence is a miracle—impossible to replicate.”

“But if we’re just talking magic, he might not match this Hogwarts student. Add cunning and adaptability, and the gap only widens.” She shook her head and lowered her voice. “How’s the situation?”

“He’s been forced to change direction...” Another wizard stepped out from the trees. “He’s back inside the Apparition-blocked zone. Krafft is tailing him. At the current pace, he won’t be able to escape for at least an hour.”

“Good. As long as he can’t Apparate out, we have time to deal with him at our own pace.” Rosier glanced at a neatly severed tree trunk nearby. “Let’s see how many more tricks he’s got left.”

“Tinos, you stay here.”

“Vinda, I can keep going.” Tinos flexed his newly healed arm. “This kind of wound doesn’t slow me down.”

“No.” Rosier shook her head. “If we keep chasing, he’ll target you as his next opening—and then we’ll have to leave someone else behind.”

“Go relieve Nagel and get the injured out of here. Bring reinforcements as soon as possible.”

“Understood.” This time, Tinos didn’t argue. He checked his bearings, then turned and left.

Rosier and the others moved out again, heading in the direction Kyle had gone.

It was already early morning.

Kyle weaved through the dense forest, only to realize—awkwardly—that he was lost.

He’d been too focused on dodging his pursuers to pay attention to where he was going. Now, he had no idea where he was.

“No, I can’t keep running like this. They’ll just keep chasing me forever,” Kyle muttered, frustration bubbling inside him.

Just then, the Billywig he'd assigned to reconnaissance returned with a bit of good news.

“So there's only one left chasing me?”

As the Billywig chirped in response, Kyle made up his mind and came to an abrupt stop.

“Where is he?”

The Billywig changed direction, and Kyle immediately turned his broom around and shot off after it.

In under a minute, he spotted the wizard flying through the air ahead.

Without a word, Kyle raised his wand.

“Sectumsempra!”

Krafft, the one still pursuing him, didn’t understand why Kyle had suddenly doubled back, but there was no time to think. He raised his wand, sending a streak of red light straight at Kyle.

Kyle didn’t dodge. Instead, as Krafft flinched to avoid the Sectumsempra, Kyle pointed his wand at a nearby tree.

Krafft’s Stunning Spell was deflected by the silvery shield hovering around Kyle... and the branches of the tree beside Krafft suddenly writhed to life, wrapping tightly around his legs. A gaping, fanged mouth split open in the trunk next to him.

“Trying to catch me off guard again? You’re underestimating me,” Krafft snapped, clearly recalling the moment Tran’s leg had been bitten off. Furious, he smashed the trunk beside him into splinters, then turned his wand back on Kyle.

“Crucio!”

“Expelliarmus!”

Two red beams—one dark, one bright—collided midair in an explosion of light, like a miniature red sun bursting in the forest.

“Hah, a Disarming Charm? You really are just a kid!” Krafft sneered, clenching his wand as the glowing orb began to drift steadily toward Kyle.

Kyle’s expression twisted into panic. He scrambled to channel his magic, trying desperately to push back the incoming spell.

But it was no use. No matter how hard he fought, he couldn’t hold the orb at bay.

“Vinda told us to be cautious,” Krafft growled. “But it looks like you’re out of tricks. I hope you don’t break too quickly when I start interrogating you. I’d like to take my time... give Tran the justice he deserves...”

Suddenly, his voice cut off.

Krafft twitched violently, then toppled from the sky, crashing to the ground like a dropped puppet.

With the spell broken, the Cruciatus Curse vanished in an instant. Kyle caught the spinning wand midair and walked calmly toward Krafft’s fallen body.

“You really should’ve listened to Rosier,” he said quietly, raising his arm.

A Bowtruckle crawled out from Krafft’s sleeve, holding a tiny bone needle—polished sharp with Basilisk fang.

While dueling Krafft, Kyle had sent the Bowtruckle over with the help of the Billywig. Krafft hadn’t noticed—or maybe he had, and simply hadn’t cared.

After all, who in a forest would spare a second glance at a weak, ubiquitous creature like a Bowtruckle?

Kyle took out his wand again and placed it flat on his palm.

“Point Me!”

The wand twirled a few times before the tip settled on a direction. Kyle immediately mounted his broom and flew off.

...

Moments later, Rosier and the others arrived—six in total, which meant the injured had all been relocated and the caretakers rejoined the pursuit.

They spotted Krafft’s body on the ground instantly.

One of them rushed over, checked him, and turned back, face pale.

“Vinda... he’s dead.”

“I know,” Vinda Rosier said, her voice cold as her eyes settled on the back of Krafft’s hand—now completely black, with a barely visible pinprick of a wound.

“Nundu again?” she muttered, frowning. “No... the wound’s too small. A Nundu bite would be much larger.”

“Maybe some kind of venomous bee?” another wizard offered. “But are there even bees like that in the magical world? Ones strong enough to kill a battle-hardened wizard so quickly?”

“It could’ve been something else.” Rosier closed her eyes and waved her wand. The earth beneath Krafft turned to swamp, slowly swallowing his body.

“I’m going to kill that bastard! I swear I’ll kill him!” one wizard roared in fury.

“Silence. First, we need to find him again,” Rosier said calmly, scanning the woods. She muttered to herself, “He’s definitely trying to escape this place. The fastest and most straightforward method... would be to pick the right direction.”

She paused, then held her wand flat in her palm.

“Point Me.”

The wand tip spun before settling on a new direction.

“This way, right? Let’s go!” someone shouted, shooting ahead.

“Yes, over here! There’s a broken broomstick twig—he must’ve dropped it.”

The others immediately surged forward.

But Vinda Rosier didn’t move.

She flew upward instead, hovering high above for a moment. Then, without hesitation, she turned and flew back—heading in the opposite direction, the way they’d come.

...

The forest was deathly silent in the middle of the night. Even the insects seemed to have vanished. As Rosier sped through the trees, her face grew increasingly grim.

The quieter it was, the more it confirmed what she feared.

She pushed herself faster, transforming mid-flight into a massive golden eagle that soared above the canopy.

Finally, she saw it: the desolate tower—and beside it, a leopard made of fire.

And its target...

With the eagle’s sharp vision, Rosier clearly saw Tinos holding his wand in his left hand—and the wounded, unconscious figures behind him.

“Stop!”

The golden eagle let out a piercing screech and morphed back into Rosier midair. She pointed her wand straight at Kyle, releasing a blinding flash of green light.

Kyle dodged just in time. The Killing Curse struck the cliff behind him, blasting a gaping hole into the rock.

Rosier landed on the ground, her expression dark as she stared at Kyle, who was smiling calmly at her.

“This is how Dumbledore does things? Striking down someone who's already defenseless…”

“That’s quite the insult,” Kyle shook his head. “I never had any such intention. If you don’t believe me, ask this gentleman. If he hadn’t insisted on blocking my path, I’d have been long gone.”

Rosier turned to Tinos.

Reluctantly, Tinos gave a small nod. “It’s true. His target was always me.”

“I just didn’t expect you to turn back instead of chasing after me,” Kyle said with a shrug.

“You couldn’t possibly outrun us. Even if you found the right direction, we would’ve caught up eventually,” Rosier replied calmly. “So, the best choice was to double back.”

“It might take longer, but it’s the safer move—helps you shake us off. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to go for it.”

“But you still came back.”

“Because of that broomstick,” Rosier said. “I didn’t believe you’d be so careless.”

“Turns out I was being overly cautious,” Kyle sighed, clasping his hands behind his back. “For wizards like you who were already legendary sixty years ago, my tricks are child’s play.”

“That’s not entirely fair,” Rosier said, adjusting her slightly disheveled robes. “Killing Krafft provoked us, made us reckless—and then you left such obvious clues... Most people fell for it.”

“Vinda… What did you say… Krafft is dead?!” Tinos’ legs gave out, and he nearly collapsed.

“Kill him… Avenge him… Avenge Krafft…”

“There’s nothing to avenge. We struck first—it’s only fair,” Rosier said coolly. “As long as you take us into Nurmengard, I’ll see to it that your life is spared.”

“That’s not going to happen. If you manage to rescue him, I won’t be able to answer for it,” Kyle said.

“So there’s no deal, then?” Rosier raised her eyes slightly. “You should know the only reason you’re still alive is because we don’t want to kill you.”

“Oh, I know,” Kyle said. “If you’d used the Killing Curse earlier, my Shield Charm wouldn’t have held. Even so, I’m turning you down. But before we start fighting, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Fight? With just your Fiendfyre?” Rosier glanced at the wizards lying on the ground. “Still, since you didn’t harm them, go ahead and ask…”

“Between rescuing Grindelwald and watching him die, which would you choose?”

“What?”

“Incendio Totalum!”

The wand behind Kyle’s back suddenly erupted with golden-red flames. Under his control, the Fiendfyre leopard leapt into the air and merged seamlessly into the blaze.

In an instant, the golden red turned into a searing, blood-red inferno.

It was Kyle’s first time unleashing a Firestorm Charm made entirely of Fiendfyre—even Rosier flinched, instinctively raising her wand in front of her.

But she quickly realized the flames weren’t aimed at her—they were surging toward the tower atop the cliff.

Though Fiendfyre couldn’t break the enchantments protecting Nurmengard, it engulfed everything nearby, and the intense heat turned the entire tower a glowing red.

“Time to decide, Madam Vinda Rosier,” Kyle said with a smile as he turned away. “Mr. Grindelwald may not hold out much longer…”

Without the slightest hesitation, Rosier left Kyle behind and charged straight toward the tower.