Chapter 304 Venturing Into Aragog's Lair
Whatever it was, it had been influencing Evan through the use of Dark Magic that affected the mind.
As mentioned before, this unknown creature had awakened when Evan last appeared on this slope and killed countless Acromantulas with fire.
It devoured the souls of these dead Acromantulas, unleashed dark magic with newly regained power, and marked Evan's soul. It hoped Evan's soul would degenerate, for only then could it engulf and dominate him.
It was also a simple way to scare Evan and instill fear in him.
Only in endless fear could the mind reveal weakness and provide an opportunity.
Evan remembered the dream he had last night, those terrible illusions that had vanished and returned to him when his will completely defeated his opponent, and the memories that had previously disappeared immediately resurfaced.
Under the influence of those dreams, he had unconsciously been afraid of this cave. He was afraid to enter it, fearing those cold, expressionless red eyes behind the stone door.
This ancient, unknown being, hidden deep within the earth, whose malevolent purpose had prevailed, was affecting Evan through fear that reached the depths of his soul.
As long as his dark magic was unconquered, it would be imperceptible all the time and would succeed in altering Evan's character.
Just as now, Evan did not save Malfoy out of fear of the Acromantulas. This seemingly beneficial and wise decision was, in fact, completely contrary to Evan's nature and heart. As a result, his soul had become unstable.
That voice seized the opportunity and continued to lure Evan.
It hoped that the gap between his heart and soul would widen more and more until he became completely vulnerable to its manipulation.
Like Tom Riddle's diary, as long as someone communicated with it, the fragments of Voldemort's soul lurking inside could influence the user through temptation and magic, gradually gaining their trust to the point of dedicating their life to him.
Although the method was different, the principles were the same. However, the magic used by the voice was more subtle and strange, and no one besides Evan himself could notice anything amiss.
Even Dumbledore, without a thorough examination, could not realize that Evan had actually become a victim of the Dark Arts.
But all his actions were normal, and there was naturally no need for an examination.
Evan's mind recalled the descriptions he had seen in various ancient magic books and had some conjectures about the identity of the being hidden deep underground.
However, he was not certain.
The power of a creature using such dark magic was far beyond his capacity. Evan did not know how he could break his opponent's magic. Right now, the whisper continued to resonate in his mind, and he was on the verge of giving up completely.
But at the last moment, after something broke inside him, the voice inexplicably disappeared, and everything returned to normal.
Evan knew he had completely defeated his opponent. Now, he could sense the weakness of this individual hiding in the depths; the powerful dark magic had consumed the strength it had just regained, rendering it powerless.
It couldn't even leave this cave, let alone fight against Evan.
Evan was entering with a completely different state of mind. At this moment, he was going to venture into the cave to see what this creature was, and in doing so, he would save Malfoy.
As for Aragog and the Acromantulas, they were now out of Evan's sight.
Solving this problem would allow the Acromantulas, who had suffered great losses, to return to normal, and the Forbidden Forest could restore its ancient balance, satisfying the needs of the Centaurs.
"Mason, come on, it's eerie around here," urged Crabbe anxiously. "Let's go tell the professors to come save Draco."
"It's too late. You go and tell the others that I will go in and save Malfoy," Evan said as he stroked Buckbeak's head, signaling for him to return to the castle before him.
"What!" Goyle and Crabbe looked at Evan in surprise, their eyes wide open, their faces contorted strangely, a hint of disbelief evident in their slow understanding.
It was strange that Evan wanted to venture into that cave to save Malfoy. He was about to leave.
In any way one looked at it, entering that cave was akin to seeking death.
Despite what Goyle and Crabbe might have thought, Evan did not address the two boys again.
He raised his wand and walked carefully down the gentle slope ahead of him.
"Lumos Maxima!" His voice echoed in the cave.
Under the light emitted by the tip of his wand, he ventured into the Lair of Aragog.
The cave was not as cold as he had imagined, and warm gusts of wind from the depths made it less chilly and quite dry.
In the endless darkness, only Evan's wand faintly gleamed.
He cautiously advanced along the gentle slope, which gradually smoothed out until it was flat. There was nothing around, no Acromantulas, no remnants of prey captured by them. The cave was silent, an oppressive silence.
Evan looked around attentively, not daring to be careless in the slightest.
It seemed to be a naturally formed underground cave. After walking forward for about three minutes, branches and cracks of varying sizes began to appear in the surrounding walls.
Click, click, click...
The loud sounds of the Acromantulas began to resonate in the darkness. It seemed like they had finally discovered Evan, the intruder, and a spider began to emerge from the crevice.
Without hesitation, it waved its pincers and lunged toward him.
Evan's wand shone. He did not step back to defend himself but moved forward. He was in a hurry to find Malfoy.
Fire was indeed the best way to deal with a large number of Acromantulas.
There was nothing to burn around, but Evan had his own method.
He used Transfiguration to change the rocks of the cave, and a stone figure rose shakily. Then, with another Growth Charm, the Stone Giant rapidly grew, soon reaching the height of the cave, and everything trembled.
Although this golem had no attack power, being made of hard rock, it possessed strong defense. As it grew, it blocked the passage and stopped the Acromantulas that were constantly emerging from the wall, preventing them from approaching Evan.
The clicks were so dense they made the skin crawl, and the Acromantulas desperately attacked the Stone Giant, leaving only scratches on it.
Evan paid them no mind and continued deeper into the cave.
He became increasingly certain of his initial hunch: Malfoy must have been taken to Aragog.
Although Evan did not know exactly where Aragog was, he would not go wrong if he followed the direction from where the warm air was coming.
Aragog was so massive that he could not be overlooked.