Chapter 314 Underworld
Evan poured the potion from the glass vial. This elixir could enhance the spirit and was very useful for reading books late at night.
He intended to give something to Hermione, so he made a large quantity of it.
This was the largest vial Evan carried with him. He aimed the vial towards Aragog.
"Even though we have a common enemy, to be honest, I do not trust you. Surely, you are just the same!" Evan said sharply, "To avoid mutual distrust, I have a suggestion. If you do not possess that Dark power in your body, then my magic will work. I will shrink you and put you in this vial with Shrinking Potion. After killing that beast, I will release you and let you out."
In the darkness, Aragog was clearly hesitant and silent.
"Doesn't that seem fair?" Evan asked as he waved his wand again.
"Very fair, Hagrid's friend," Aragog said slowly with doubts. "I can grant your request, but after killing it, how can you guarantee that you will let me go?"
"You have no choice but to cooperate or be killed by me right here," Evan smirked coldly and said sharply, "I repeat, I do not care about Malfoy's life or death. I can wait for rescue and choose a safer path down."
They were at a standstill, and Evan's final words clearly disturbed Aragog.
He was right. Aragog and the other Acromantulas had no other option. They had little bargaining power with Evan, and little strength.
After several heavy losses, they were badly wounded.
If they did not do as Evan said, they could die immediately, and if they did not kill the monster below, they feared the entire Acromantula population would be wiped out.
"You've won," Aragog approached Evan slowly. "Do as you wish. I hope that after all this, you will keep your promise."
Looking at the old spider lying beside him, covered in gray and hairy; Evan gently waved his wand and shouted, "REDUCIO!"
A flash of purple light blinked, and seconds later, Aragog's body was rapidly shrinking.
Soon, it went from the size of a baby elephant to that of a normal spider, probably no larger than the palm of Evan.
"For the sake of Hagrid...", Evan heard Aragog's voice.
"Do not worry, I have always been true to my word; at least more than you."
Aragog shuddered and slithered down the web towards the vial.
Evan sealed the vial and cast a spell to make it more resilient, unafraid of any accidents. He put the vial back into his backpack, turned around, and looked at the Acromantula floating in the air, taking a deep breath and preparing himself.
"Come on, take me down, I can't wait to see the true face of the one below, I hope you do not disappoint me."
He opened his arms, like captured prey, and the Acromantula grabbed him tightly from behind with its two sturdy front spider legs.
Then, they descended slowly through the crevice along the edge of the web...
This sensation was truly strange; Evan felt uncomfortable with the spider's fur rubbing against him. He felt even more repulsed thinking that he was being held by a grotesque spider.
His back was now almost unprotected, and if it desired, the Acromantula behind him could open its large pincers and bite him to death.
Or simply, toss him and smash him to pieces.
Fortunately, what Evan feared did not happen. They moved towards the depths of the earth in a gust of cloudy wind, as if heading to another world.
With each sway, Evan was nervous and anxious for quite some time.
Not that he was cowardly, but the state he found himself in was terrifying. The deep pit, whose end was unseen in the darkness, seemed like a great beast's maw slowly and mercilessly swallowing them up.
Evan tried not to think about the Acromantula behind him or what to do if he were to fall from there. He forced himself to observe his surroundings.
Originally, he thought the depths of the underground would be just like what he saw above, so dark that one couldn't see beyond their fingertips, but it wasn't the case.
Even without the faint light at the tip of his wand, there were fluorescent underground plants growing on the rocky wall.
Some emitted a bright green glow, while others a soft yellow and white light.
Evan focused his attention and observed closely. He noticed that most of these luminous plants were precious fungi he had never seen before.
Among them, there was a species of mushroom called "Lux Aeterna," only recorded in the oldest version of "A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," and now considered extinct. It was one of the main ingredients for brewing magical potions.
If there weren't more pressing matters awaiting him, he would have definitely stopped the spider behind him and collected all these precious plants.
Continuing downwards, floating silver plankton started to appear around Evan.
They drifted slowly in the air, resembling stars in the night sky, looking truly beautiful.
These planktons seemed to be spores from certain plants, floating out of the surrounding rock crevices, clustering and drifting throughout the deep abyss.
As the depth increased, there were more and more plankton, and Evan felt like he was in a silver ocean.
The scene before him seemed straight out of a dream, exquisitely beautiful.
Evan couldn't help but think that he should find a chance to bring Hermione here for her to see. She would love this fantasy world.
All these tiny white-silver planktons seemed magical. Due to their density, Evan accidentally inhaled some of them.
The next moment, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that the magic he had just consumed in combat was quickly replenishing.
It was truly peculiar. What was this?
Instead of looking around, he hastily took out a little bottle, scooped some plankton from the air, ready to return to Hogwarts for further investigation.
He had a hunch that with these unknown spores, he could possibly develop a new potion.
This magical potion could help a wizard regain their magic quickly. If successful, it would be an achievement that would alter the history of magic. He would become the youngest Potions Master, and the Ministry of Magic would award him the Order of Merlin, First Class, in recognition.
Of course, all of this was merely a thought.
Just as Evan was distracted, it seemed they had reached the bottom of the abyss, and a massive figure of a statue appeared before him.
As Aragog had mentioned before, the scarred statue, bearing marks of damage from the Acromantulas, was carved with serpentine motifs and the emblem of the Slytherin family.
This huge green stone statue was of Salazar Slytherin himself!