Alex's magic was even stronger than he had expected.
The sheer force of the swirling air made it hard for Pete to breathe, and on top of that, Alex's [Desolate Thunder Meteors] struck multiple times.
Though Pete blocked most hits with his instant "Protego," one meteor slipped through a gap in his armor at his back and hit him directly.
After being struck by Alex's [Thundris Tempest], Pete finally understood just how tough his opponent's magic really was.
A sharp electric current shot through Pete's body, freezing him in place even as he descended from a great height.
The pain was intense, burning and stabbing deep, almost like it seared his very soul.
Sweat broke out over his entire body instantly.
What was even more terrifying was the deadly force behind the attack, known as [Thundris Tempest].
A fist-sized hole had been blasted into the small of Pete's back, the flesh and blood inside charred black by the electricity.
If Alex's [Desolate Thunder Meteors] hadn't scattered its impact, and if Pete's body wasn't so resilient, he might have been pierced through or even cut in half.
"Why?" Pete struggled to rise, his voice filled with both pain and frustration.
"I just want to live in peace. Why do you keep fighting me?"
His eyes showed a mixture of confusion and sorrow as he looked around.
"The German wizarding world only wants stability and peace. So why do you Silver Wands keep stirring up trouble?"
Andre stepped forward through the ruins, his face stern and angry.
"Stirring up trouble?" he challenged.
Pete let out a bitter sigh and then glanced at Alex, who had landed like a meteor and now emerged from the crackling electric light.
"And you, why are you involved? With your power, you clearly don't need to waste time fighting me."
"Are you out of your mind?" Alex shot back coldly.
"You tried to kill me first. Now you don't want me to fight back? Who hasn't lost their temper? The world doesn't revolve around you, and things don't always go your way."
Pete seemed to absorb Alex's words silently, his expression twisting in self-torment.
"I see... the world really doesn't revolve around me."
It wasn't a question for others. He was wrestling with his own arrogance.
"Fine. I won't make those mistakes again."
Desperation fueling him, Pete suddenly gathered every ounce of magic within him, as if preparing to unleash something powerful and terrible.
Andre and Alex didn't hesitate for a second when they saw the situation unfold.
They quickly raised their hands and fired off two curses simultaneously.
But to their surprise, Pete didn't react with any unusual magic after channeling his power; it almost seemed like he was just goofing around.
The spells from Andre and Alex collided smoothly, and because they had thrown their magic with too much force in their rush, Pete's body ended up visibly distorted.
When hit directly by the spell, Pete's body collapsed to the ground, like a balloon that had lost all its air.
Nothing else happened.
Was that really it? Or was there something going on that they just didn't understand?
The whole process of taking down Pete had been so easy that Alex started to doubt himself a little.
But Andre didn't overthink it.
He quickly moved over to Pete's body, crouched down to check him out, then looked up and said, "He's dead. He couldn't be more dead."
Alex muttered quietly to himself, puzzled by the last sentence Pete had said: "I won't do it again."
What did that mean for his future?
As he thought about the strange things Pete had shown, like the Golden Snidget appearing in two places at once, Alex wondered if Pete had some hidden trump cards or if he was still alive somehow.
He also realized that Pete, despite their recent battle, wasn't as strong as he had expected.
Compared to Phoenix and Thunderbird, Pete's spellcasting and mana reserves were weaker.
But Pete's gravitational magic was overwhelming, able to suppress all wizards within a certain range, making it very hard for Alex to fight back.
Otherwise, Alex believed the fight wouldn't have been so tough.
Unfortunately, Alex felt he still didn't have enough information to draw any clear conclusions.
Shaking his head in frustration, he took out a bottle of nourishing potion and drank it eagerly.
The battle had drained nearly all his magical energy, and his face still looked pale as paper.
After steadying himself, Alex leaned toward Andre and asked, "How are the others? Are they badly hurt?"
"Thanks to your quick action, no one died," Andre replied with a soft sigh.
"But a few people are seriously injured, and more than a dozen have minor wounds. Thankfully, the crisis is over, and the culprit, Pete, has finally been caught."
Andre lowered his eyes to look at Pete.
The former Ministry colleague was now covered in dirt, his chest and shoulders dented from the last two spells.
Despite their political differences, they had respected Pete's character once.
It was surprising how, in just over a month, they had become bitter enemies standing on opposite sides.
Andre then raised his head and glanced around at the other Aurors.
They were slowing down, leaning in one after another, but their eyes still betrayed lingering fear.
On one hand, they were clearly in awe of Pete's power.
Part of Alex's calmness after killing Pete came from his understanding of who Pete really was.
Unlike the other Aurors, who seemed shaken and unsettled, Alex felt little emotional weight because he knew Pete's true nature.
The others' disturbed reactions came from their lack of knowledge.
If they understood Pete as well as Alex did, they wouldn't feel any psychological burden.
Still, the battle itself had been intense and nerve-wracking.
It was the first time Alex had faced such a wild power, Pete's ability to control gravity, which rendered Alex unable to use his usual thrown weapons and forced him into a more exhausting style of fighting.
On top of that, Pete's destructive strength was incredible.
The Ministry of Magic's largest courtroom, where the fight took place, was left almost completely wrecked.
The floor, walls, and even the ceiling were scarred and pocked from the aftermath.
After the fight, Alex approached Pete's body and inspected it closely.
At first glance, it looked like a normal human corpse, nothing unusual.
Yet, despite that, the corpse gave him an odd, unsettling feeling.
Upon further investigation, Alex discovered something strange: there was no magic power detectable in Pete's body at all.
He even pulled out a magic power detector to be sure, and the device confirmed his suspicions.
Pete's corpse was completely devoid of magic energy, just like an ordinary Muggle's body.
That was highly unusual, because a wizard's magic is normally bound to their body.