Harry Potter: The Legend of Nero Ravenclaw-Chapter 125: After the Duel

The scent of freshly brewed tea drifted through the room, mingling with the faint tang of sweat and spell residue still clinging to their clothes.

Nero, Mio, Ayaka, Zen, and Mu sat around a low wooden table in the traditional house, the polished floor warm beneath them.

Outside, the garden whispered with the sound of rustling cherry blossoms. ƒreewebɳovel.com

Petals slipped in through the open shoji doors, fluttering gently like echoes of the battle that had just played out between them.

And yet, inside, it was calm. Peaceful.

As if the clash of elemental fury and precision magic had never happened.

Only the faint scuff marks on Ayaka's sleeve and the lingering soot near Nero's collar betrayed the intensity of what they'd just endured.

The contrast between battlefield and tea room, between spell and silence, was almost comical.

Zen took a long sip of his tea, then chuckled quietly.

"I'll admit it, Nero, you're adapting much faster than I expected. Most newcomers spend months just understanding the basics. Yet you're already applying advanced techniques into battle."

Mu nodded. "Your grasp of Onmyōdō and Fūinjutsu is unusually sharp for someone so new to the Eastern framework. Your control and understanding have progressed beyond what we anticipated."

Nero set his cup down, stretching slightly. "Well, time is limited, and I've never been one to learn slowly." He smirked. "Besides, I've had excellent instructors."

Mio rolled her eyes, but there was a smirk tugging at her lips.

"Flattery won't get you out of extra training."

Zen leaned back, studying Nero more intently. "Still, your progress is... abnormal. You're not just learning quickly, you're internalizing principles in a way that even native students struggle with."

"You're saying I'm not normal?" Nero teased.

"I'm saying it's almost like you were born for this," Zen replied, half-joking, half-serious.

Nero gave a modest shrug. "It's strange, honestly. I never thought Eastern magic would feel so... natural. The balance, the way it flows...it's different, but it makes sense. It's like something inside me already knew how to listen to it. It suits me more than I expected."

Ayaka, who had been quiet up until now, set her cup down with a soft clink.

"That last move you pulled... what was that exactly?" Her eyes locked onto Nero, curiosity evident in her voice.

Nero paused, then tilted his head, thoughtful.

"It's something I've been working on. After studying how Shikigami echo the caster's will, I wondered... what if one could echo the caster themselves?"

Zen's eyes narrowed slightly. "You mean... mimic your magical signature?"

Nero nodded. " It's a physical construct, just like any Shikigami, but instead of fighting or delivering messages, it exists to mislead. It perfectly replicates my magical presence."

"A magical decoy," Mio murmured. "But one that's real enough to fool sensory detection."

"Exactly," Nero said. "It has no offensive ability, no defense either. But if your instincts or senses rely on detecting magic, it confuses you, especially mid-battle."

"A Shikigami that confuses the enemy rather than confronts them," Mu said quietly.

"Subtle, and deadly."

Ayaka crossed her arms, brow furrowed. "So that's how you slipped past me. I hesitated because it felt like you were in two places at once."

Nero smiled faintly. "That was the idea."

Mio glanced sideways at him. "You've started creating original techniques already? It's only been a few months."

"I wouldn't call it finished," Nero said. "But it worked well enough today."

Ayaka let out a soft scoff, though there was a grudging respect in her voice.

"It's a dirty trick. But effective. And clever."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "If I keep relying solely on my magic sense, with this technique, I won't be able to discern your true self."

She paused, a playful smirk crossing her face before she continued, "Or rather, I'd need to be able to look left and right at the same time. Tracking you visually, cross-checking with instinct, and reading the magical traces you leave behind. It's multitasking at its most dangerous."

Nero's expression shifted. He murmured the words under his breath, "Look left and right at the same time..." His gaze unfocused slightly as the gears in his mind turned.

The phrase repeated itself over and over, as if unlocking something deep within him.

Mio frowned slightly, watching him. "Nero?"

Then, suddenly, he shot to his feet, nearly knocking over his tea in the process. "That's it!"

Everyone stared at him.

"What's it?" Mio asked, blinking.

Nero turned to Ayaka, grinning. "You might've just given me the key to something important! Thanks!"

Without another word, he spun on his heel and bolted out of the room, his footsteps echoing down the hallway as he ran toward his quarters.

A long silence followed. The four remaining at the table exchanged glances.

"...Should we be concerned?" Mio finally asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zen smirked. "With Nero? Always."

Mu took a slow sip of tea. "He has the look of someone who just stumbled upon something significant. We'll find out soon enough."

Ayaka exhaled, shaking her head. "That idiot better not credit me when he does something ridiculous."

The conversation lulled for a moment as they each reflected on the duel, the tea, and the strange turn of events.

Though the fight had ended, something new had begun.

An idea, a revelation, something that would no doubt push Nero even further.

He had been absorbing Eastern magic at an alarming rate since his arrival in Japan, yet he had made no significant progress regarding Void principles.

Ayaka's words secured the final cog in the framework of the magical research direction he'd long envisioned.

Outside, the wind rustled the cherry blossoms once more, carrying the remnants of the duel away with it.

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