Chapter 360 Full Of Malevolent Taboos
"Prepare for battle!" murmured Okegiga, drawing his spear.
Watching the slowly opening stone door, Evan focused on gearing up for a total battle.
The next second, he gasped and let his wand drop. There was nothing on the other side of the stone door.
At that moment, the fallen Centaurs were battling outside and not expecting anyone to infiltrate from the depths of the lake; the whole Temple of the Moon was empty.
"Well, our plan was successful. No one noticed we've entered the Temple." Without hesitation, Okegiga headed straight to the left side of the passage. "This way, human! We don't have much time to spare. We must reach the top of the Temple before we're discovered. It is our destiny, where the evil rituals take place."
Under the dim torchlight, the ancient temple was shrouded in mystery.
The mottled walls only left traces of years of erosion. Many unique Centaur hieroglyphic ornaments and huge stone sculptures stood silently in the corners, covered in dust.
In the empty hallway, only the hurried steps of two people echoed.
It was exactly like what Evan had seen when entering the Temple for the first time. Even after 800 years, the serene temple had not changed.
However, he soon discovered a difference. Passing through a massive vaulted stone room, Evan noticed that the floor and surrounding walls were covered in dark red paint.
He questioned in his mind, "What on earth are these fallen Centaurs up to?"
"Why did they smear their sacred Temple with red paint? This is quite unusual," he said to himself.
Then, he realized his mistake. These dark red liquids were not pigments at all. They were all dried bloodstains! A massacre had taken place here!
There were no bodies, no ruins; only dried clots of blood remained, silently recounting the crimes that had occurred in this room.
Evan followed Okegiga, feeling his feet slightly stick to the floor, emitting a faint sound as he lifted them.
Hiss, hiss, hiss…
It was a very disturbing sound, and the pungent smell of blood reached his face.
Evan felt nauseous and managed to hold back from vomiting.
"The fallen Centaurs are completely insane. They believe the evil god can lead them to glory!" Okegiga was also very uncomfortable. "Following their demands, they captured a large number of creatures and carried out massacres here. The evil god and his followers required a lot of flesh and blood as offerings."
"This is madness; let's get out of here!" Evan waved his hand.
He tried to hold his breath and squeeze his chest to prevent reacting to what he saw. He never expected to witness such a scene in the Temple of the Centaurs.
As Professor Trelawney said, the Dark Temple was full of taboos.
They advanced quickly, crossing the room. The stone door opened slowly, and Evan took the lead. Then he suddenly stopped, staring at the hallway in front of him in disbelief.
On the floor, not far away, lay the body of an aquatic monster, the Grindylow.
It seemed to have been forgotten there by the fallen Centaurs. Its highly decomposed face was facing Evan. That face resembled that of a human, with a painfully twisted expression. The missing muscles seemed to have been devoured by unknown creatures. Its bare eyes gazed forward with hatred!
Evan had indeed killed one of these creatures, but this was too brutal even for him.
Perhaps it was only to satisfy the killer's momentary pleasure, or possibly something more malevolent, to torment the soul of this Grindylow, preventing it from resting in peace.
This was the secret to creating Horcruxes. Through torture before death, the soul becomes extremely unstable and easier to split or absorb.
Evan's sense of nausea grew stronger, and he unconsciously tightened his wand.
A golden flame erupted from his wand, burning the body of the Grindylow, hoping it could rest in peace.
"This is just a part. The crime you are about to witness is far beyond your imagination!" Okegiga said coldly, with restrained anger in his voice. "The evil spirit has caused the noble Centaurs to degenerate into committing a wicked heresy that can never be forgiven."
Evan nodded, bitterness filling his mouth.
He tried to calm himself, as if it were no big deal. He was determined to stop the evil deity being invoked.
The circular room, all coagulated with blood, seemed to be a sign. As Okegiga had said, on the way back, Evan witnessed many unimaginable scenes.
The walls at both ends of the passage were painted with hideous monsters, devouring flesh and blood with their jaws open.
According to Evan's knowledge, these demonic creatures never appeared in any magic book, as if they were from the Centaurs' imagination and had never existed in the world.
In truth, he hoped it was true, that all these monsters were non-existent. Otherwise, he couldn't even imagine how to face them. This was beyond his knowledge and expectations.
What he saw and heard along the way gave him a new understanding of the Centaur species.
In the words of the house-elf Dobby, if a house-elf turned evil, then it would be bad and irredeemable. This phrase was equally applicable to the Centaurs.
The Centaurs not only loved stargazing, Divination, and archery.
These apparently rough magical creatures were filled with unimaginable fanaticism.
Evan and Okegiga pressed forward. Though not speaking, both unconsciously quickened their pace.
"Wait, this is truly strange!" Okegiga suddenly frowned and said. "The Temple is too quiet. They would never leave it unguarded."
Though it was a covert assault, it would be a great joke if they could simply run to the top of the Temple and disrupt the ongoing ceremony.
The fallen Centaurs wouldn't be that foolish, and the additional challenge Gryffindor posed to Evan wouldn't be that simple. There must be something else awaiting them.
"The fallen Centaurs are fighting outside, if they can't be here, they must have other defensive measures left behind," Evan analyzed.
He thought of the horrifying statues he had seen in that room earlier, worm-like monsters with holes all over their heads.
"Perhaps we can..." Okegiga suddenly stopped.
He gripped his long spear and nervously glanced ahead, as if something was approaching.
Buzz, buzz, buzz...
Evan was stunned, wondering how there could be bees here, but he soon saw what it was. What he saw was at a vast distance from bees...