I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 345 was played quite well, but it didn't quite seem like a wizard's play.

"Ha!" Irving's booming voice echoed around him.

The explosive force of the steel mech surged like a raging tide, each strike severely damaging the giant's body and nearly destroying him completely.

The machine is indeed powerful; every movement it makes is unrestrained, requiring no skill in exerting force, but is purely a release of power.

Just as you're about to throw a punch, the mech's hydraulic system has already propelled your fist out at an even faster speed.

Add to that Kyrie Irving's mediocre close-quarters combat skills.

Despite the overwhelming advantage the giant possessed in sheer strength, he was still completely overwhelmed.

Soon, the black-haired giant's already unsightly face was covered in bruises from Owen's beating.

To put it bluntly, you shouldn't hit someone in the face or insult them by revealing their shortcomings, but Kyrie Irving just keeps hitting people in the face.

He quickly set the giant on fire.

"roar!"

With a tremor, the giant finally couldn't take it anymore; he was enraged by Owen. A deafening roar echoed around them, and the earth trembled at that moment.

His eyes turned bloodshot, the color of rage, and then he charged madly at Owen with ferocious power and furious roars.

Every inch of his body exudes a violent power.

On his right arm, a metal bracelet engraved with runes suddenly burst forth with a dazzling purple light as the giant grew angry. A mysterious power, unprecedented yet familiar to Owen, caused the giant's imposing presence to shift dramatically.

His muscles were even more swollen, and his aura even stronger. He was like a god.

Owen noticed almost immediately the significant increase in the giant's physical strength.

And it didn't just get a little bigger, it suddenly got several times bigger.

"Depend on!"

Before Owen could even curse, he immediately waved his wand, and ancient magic transformed into runes, flowing into the core of the steel mech.

The unique instant slash skill belonging to the ancient puppet was activated immediately.

It was like a phantom shifting.

The mech suddenly charged more than fifty feet toward the lakeside.

Only in this way could he barely dodge the punch.

Then, when the giant's missed punch landed directly on a mound of earth to one side, the terrifying force tore apart the already sparse vegetation on the small mound, sending dead leaves flying everywhere.

Even now, the power of that punch remained undiminished. The earthen mound finally opened up, blasting a large hole in it. The scattered shockwaves still possessed considerable power, like a gale brought by low pressure, sweeping around and even scattering the clouds in the sky.

An atmosphere of destruction filled the air, and the surrounding scenery was instantly turned into a mess.

"Merlin's beard!"

"That's magic! The bracelet on its arm is a magical artifact!" Mrs. Maxim immediately recognized it.

"When did the Titans acquire this technology?" she murmured, then immediately realized that it was definitely not something from the Titans.

They can't make something like that.

"Death Eaters?" Hagrid wasn't stupid; he immediately thought of Death Eaters. According to the information they had received, the only wizards to have recently landed on the island were Death Eaters.

"Maybe!"

Mrs. Maxim looked worried.

The giants cheered with glee, raising their hands and roaring like baboons.

It's annoying to hear.

Lady Titan frowned, a sense of foreboding creeping into her heart at the sight of the giants of the surrounding volcanic tribes cheering so jubilantly.

She turned her head to look at the female chieftain of the volcano tribe.

Seeing that the other person's face remained unchanged, still expressionless.

Isn't she worried about this?

Using magic in such an illegal manner, how could a giant possibly defeat a wizard in magic?

On the other side, Owen controlled the steel mech. Inside the cabin, a 365-degree mirror with a full-view skylight clearly displayed the scenery outside.

At this moment, the black-haired giant's bracelet was still glowing with purple light. His face was full of smugness. His face, which had been beaten into a pig's head, was now adorned with a disgusting smile, looking extremely ferocious.

"Ha—magic?" Owen laughed in exasperation.

Does this idiot think he can take advantage of wizards in magic?

Is your brain so funny?

"Since that's how it is—then I'll show you what real magic is!"

He suddenly waved his wand in the cockpit, and the mech raised its hands as well.

An atmosphere of solemnity and impending doom pervaded the surroundings.

Tiny specks of blue and white light converged toward the hand that held up the mecha.

This was a revelation he received from Hermione—or more precisely, from the tornado spell engraved on the sword of Gryffindor, which Godric left to his heir.

A magic belonging to the sword.

"How magnificent!!!"

A surge of magical power flowed through the mecha's limbs, and a deep blue light flowed into its hands like blood.

Then the magic transformed into countless tiny runes, the light growing brighter and brighter in the brilliance. The runes wove together a short sword, and then with a burst of light, the long sword suddenly grew larger.

Then, the surging magic power continued to transform into the sword's edge, and the magical longsword expanded once more.

From a few feet to forty feet. The light was so intense it blotted out the sun; the length of the magic sword was already longer than the height of the mecha.

"Kalia—no—Honorable!!! Hufflepuff's Blade!!!"

As it spoke, the mecha swung its arm, and the azure magic sword, with its howling momentum and dazzling special effects, transformed into a beast that cut down all evil.

With a loud "thud," the blow struck the black-haired giant's raised arm.

"Um?"

Irving stared wide-eyed at the scene before him in disbelief.

Although his magic has a lot of special effects, its power is not very great, probably similar to the Divine Sword Shadowless Spell.

But what kind of magic is the Divine Sword Shadowless Spell?

A killing curse comparable to the three Unforgivable Curses, a powerful form of dark magic.

His sword strike might not have cleaved the giant in two, but it would have easily severed his arm.

Now—why is there such a strong sense of obstruction?

"What... what's going on?"

All eyes were fixed on the azure slash before them.

The magical longsword, possessing the power to cleave mountains, began to weaken rapidly the moment it touched the metal ring in front of the giant's arm, and then quickly began to disintegrate.

It was like a wisp of fog that was easily blown away.

The magic was completely absorbed by the bracelet, without harming the giant in the slightest.

"this?"

"What kind of magical artifact is this?" Hagrid's eyes widened, and he immediately turned to ask Mrs. Maxim beside him.

As the Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is renowned for its alchemical magical artifacts and boasts one of the world's greatest alchemists as its professors, she must know something.

"Me? I'm not quite sure—an item that can absorb magic? That's too far-fetched." Mrs. Maxim's expression was grave. Although she was the headmistress of Beauxbatons School of Magic, she was not particularly skilled in alchemy.

She had seen many of Nicolas Flamel's alchemical artifacts, and she knew of several artifacts that absorbed magic, but none were as powerful as that giant's bracelet.

She absorbed such a powerful spell in just a few breaths; she had never seen such a prop before.

Lady Titan, standing to the side, finally understood why the female leader of the Volcano tribe could act so recklessly and calmly.

Is that strange magical artifact her source of confidence?

If—if it really could absorb all the wizards' magic, then the giant would indeed have a huge advantage in terms of physical strength, but—would things be that simple?

She knew perfectly well that the wizard's killing curse was irresistible.

Could that item even absorb the Killing Curse?

As the onlookers were bewildered, the black-skinned giant roared triumphantly on the battlefield.

Then, with a powerful thrust of his legs, he delivered a straight punch.

Owen quickly maneuvered his mech's hands together to block the punch.

But the immense force still sent him flying backward for dozens of meters.

The mecha made a creaking sound, and sparks flashed, looking like it had broken down.

Fortunately, the giant's punch did not have any power amplification, otherwise his giant toy would have been reduced to scrap metal long ago.

"Stablize!"

The tip of the wand continued to emit ancient magic, the power merging into its core.

Immediately, the damaged parts began to repair themselves automatically, and the misaligned parts were moved back to their original positions.

If this is the original ancient puppet.

This damage can be repaired in the blink of an eye.

In the first match of the tournament, the ancient puppet was blasted to pieces by Miss Granger's soul torrent, but it was able to quickly regenerate.

So strong it's despair-inducing.

The mechs made by the twins have significantly reduced this ability, after all, they are different sizes!

However, the repair speed is still quite impressive. After dodging several attacks from the giants, the mech was restored to its original state.

They then thwarted several more attacks by the giants.

Irving finally had time to look at the metal ring on his arm.

"It can absorb magic power!"

"Unprecedented."

"This thing definitely doesn't belong to the giants, otherwise the wizards would have left records of it in the history of past wars."

Could it be that the Death Eaters have already mastered a device that can restrict magical power?

Irving made the uneasy connection.

I rely on!

If that's the case!

Then why bother fighting? Just surrender!

Without magic, a wizard is no better than a Muggle; at least a Muggle has a gun.

They will only become lambs to the slaughter.

Limiting Magic – Metals that block magic do exist in the magical world – just as the resistance of electric current varies when it passes through different metals, copper has the greatest resistance to magic, so it can be used as a crucible because it prevents magic from leaking out.

Mithril is like a wizard's superconducting material because it hardly blocks magical pathways.

But I've never heard of any metal that can automatically absorb magic.

"Tsk—" He smacked his lips.

But well—oh well!

Irving's gaze sharpened.

Then, the mecha's spine suddenly bulged high.

Metal gears, interlocked, then produced a sword hilt.

Irving gripped the hilt of the sword behind his head with his right hand and pulled it upwards sharply.

A slender sword emitting a faint glow suddenly appeared.

The longsword is somewhat similar to the Gryffindor sword; both are thin swords, since there's no room for a wider longsword on the back.

"Tch—you can absorb this even if I don't."

Terrifying magic surged from the core of the mech.

Blue and white light gushed out from the mecha's arms, like steam.

—Instant Slash.

The magic inherent in ancient magical puppets is activated immediately.

Like a cannonball, the steel monster, dozens of feet tall, moved with unparalleled speed.

Almost a second later, they were standing in front of the giant.

In his daze.

The longsword plunged in, and with a hissing sound, blood gushed out.

"roar!"

The excruciating pain forced the giant to roar in anger, and Owen, of course, gave him no chance to retaliate, swinging his left fist down and slamming it heavily into the giant's face.

The immense power momentarily stunned him, his mind went blank, and his roar instantly ceased.

He staggered backward.

The punch was so powerful that it briefly robbed him of his senses, leaving his mind blank. Owen seized the opportunity to unleash several sword strikes. Each strike felt like hitting wood, carrying immense resistance, demonstrating just how thick the man's skin was.

The splattered blood stained the mechs red.

The earth was covered in blood.

However, these wounds were all minor superficial injuries, and given the giant's self-healing ability, they would heal in just a few seconds.

The penetrating wound he just inflicted using speed might be a bit more troublesome.

Upon seeing this, Owen immediately abandoned his longsword.

He then clenched his fist.

The giant, having regained his senses, had just let out a roar.

Irving interrupted him with an uppercut, followed by a double punch that slammed down on his ears.

"Bang!"

Blood flowed from the giant's ears. The blow, with both fists piercing his ears, caused the giant to lose his balance instantly, and he swayed and fell backward.

Immediately, Irving made a leap.

His left fist was raised high, then swung down violently.

Strike the giant's face hard on the Zanzhu acupoint.

Finally—after being struck on the head several times in succession, the giant's eyes rolled back. With a thud, it collapsed to the ground.

"Looks like I've won!" he said coldly.

Then he picked up the rapier from the ground and reattached it to the mech's spine.

Now, of course, Irving won't kill this giant.

After all, they came to find people to join forces with, not to cause trouble.

Moreover, the meaning of the ring on his hand can only be clarified if he is alive.

He thoroughly enjoyed the battle, and although there were many mysteries surrounding it, it was his involvement that brought those mysteries to light.

And—he also perfectly completed the task that Dumbledore had given him beforehand.

He demonstrated strength.

The most appropriate way, isn't it?

He then parked the steel mech to the side, opened the hatch, and jumped out.

The shock absorbers reduced speed, ensuring a smooth landing.

Hmm—this big toy is quite fun.

Although it wasn't of much practical value in terms of combat, it was certainly spectacular to look at.

After all, if he really wanted to kill that giant, he could just raise his hand and bite the melon; he wouldn't need a mecha. However, this fulfilled a dream. Doesn't every boy have a mecha dream in his heart?

"So self-driving is still better! That way, it can also be immune to Killing Curses, Imperius Curses and the like. It's stupid to have someone drive, and it's a waste of manpower," Owen concluded. However, despite his grumbling, his face was very happy.

At this moment, the onlookers on the field were still in shock.

After Owen suddenly ended the fight, they were struck by a sense of absurdity, as if the world was unreal.

Finally, as Owen approached Hagrid, he came to his senses and asked, "What—what is that thing?"

"MetalGarurumon—oops—wait, let me make up a name, hmm—I'll call it Magic Killer Machine, haha—how chuunibyou! Never mind, it was produced on May 23rd, so let's call it MetalGarurumon 523!"

"When the quantity increases in the future, we can still distinguish them by their names."

"hey-hey--"

After saying that, he glanced around at the giants who were in complete chaos.

Then, with a slight upturn of his lips, he grinned and said in a rising voice, "This is a large war machine developed by wizards using ancient puppets to replace giants."

"In future battles, we can rapidly produce mechs like these and automate their combat, specifically designed to deal with massive enemies."

"It has now entered the mass production stage."

He raised his voice, deliberately speaking to the giants around him.

Especially those powerful women who wield power behind the scenes.

His tone was full of threat.

Owen believed that even the volcano tribe had giants who could understand English.

Definitely.

And then Irving's explanation.

Mrs. Maxim's gaze sharpened slightly.

He couldn't help but admire his words.

What a clever little guy.

With just one sentence, they can gain the upper hand.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On the other side of the battlefield.

The fallen giant was unconsciously twitching.

His sword wounds had mostly healed.

Apart from the penetrating wound in his chest, there were no other visible wounds elsewhere.

Hmm—such physical fitness is truly enviable.

The black-haired giant's mother, the female chieftain of the Volcano tribe. After the battle, she immediately led her troops to check on her son's injuries.

Lady Titan kept looking up at the steel mechs in the distance, her eyes revealing a sense of loss and regret.

She naturally heard what Irving said; it was both an explanation and a threat.

The appearance of that steel giant was a death sentence for their race.

The giants are about to exit the stage of history.

"You defeated Achilles' Titan."

After a long while, Lady Titan finally came to her senses. She dragged her withered body toward them, and then, with boundless sorrow, said, "You have earned the respect of the Volcano tribe. And ours too."

"Then what about the alliance?" Mrs. Maxim asked.

"As before," said Lady Titan.

"But," she suddenly changed the subject, "my son, Lops Titan, is a Cyclopes, as you all have seen. I originally thought that with his strength he would be able to defeat any tribe's warriors and thus unify the entire giant race, but now—"

Her gaze drifted to the black-haired giant lying on the hillside, his eyes vacant, and she said, "I can only guarantee that my tribe will not become an enemy of Dumbledore."

"He used magic," Owen said. "See the metal ring on his hand? It can enhance the user's strength, which is why your son was defeated."

"Is that so?" Lady Titan murmured, her gaze fixed on the black-haired giant's arm.

Beside her, Lops Titan, who had just been dejected because of his defeat, immediately widened his single eye and roared at the giant of the Volcano Tribe.

Until his mother scolded him sternly.

He angrily stopped his meaningless yelling.

(End of this chapter)