Chapter 538 Mighty Magic
In the darkness, Evan continued to advance through the tunnel behind the entrance.
Most of the ancient relics were buried deep underground, with only the top exposed.
This used to be a ventilation passage in the ruins, and he had no idea where it led. Nor did he know when it had been transformed into a massive entrance and exit by the Manticore.
Upon entering, Evan and Buckbeak flew through what seemed like a deep, dark shaft. They were surrounded by ancient white rocks covered in moss, with no deviations along the way.
Certainly, this was not the entrance that Okegiga, the ancestor of the Centaurs, had followed eight hundred years ago. Centaurs could not fly like Hippogriffs. However, given the size of the ruins, he must have entered through other locations.
Of course, it was also possible that the malevolent god had intentionally directed him to come here and find the statue.
Over the years, the magic left by ancient sorcerers grew weaker, and the evil spirit gradually separated from the seals placed upon it. It became capable of influencing the creatures around it through the statue and turning them into its own servants.
Apart from the wizards of Hogwarts, the most evident and closest intelligent creatures belonged to the most populous and powerful Centaur colony in the Forbidden Forest.
It was natural for the malevolent god to choose them as targets to help him gather flesh and blood, and complete his summoning magic.
Needless to say, the Philosopher's Stone, preserved in the Centaur colony, was the power source he needed to come into the world.
Associated with various legends of malevolent gods and ancient sorcerers, Evan dared not be careless and scanned his surroundings attentively.
The tip of his wand gleamed brightly, dispersing the darkness around him.
Buckbeak descended swiftly, but they still flew for five minutes before reaching the bottom.
It was a vast square chamber, the lair of the Manticore. The room's floor was buried under the bones of countless creatures, all prey of the Manticore. Bones of all kinds of creatures, piled like mountains.
Fortunately, Evan did not see human bones among them, indirectly indicating that these ruins had not yet been discovered by the outside world.
Due to its proximity to Hogwarts, very few foreign wizards visited this area.
This treacherous swamp in the depths of the Forbidden Forest was even more inaccessible, and it was unknown how long it had been since anyone had been there.
As for the solitary visitor, Hagrid, he probably only saw magical creatures and cared for nothing else at all.
Evan let Buckbeak land on the pile of bones, and in doing so, heard the sound of countless bones cracking.
Indeed, it was unpleasant to see the heaps of bones beneath his feet and not know what kind of creatures they belonged to.
It was a purgatory, and if another young wizard had come here, they might have fainted long ago.
Buckbeak lowered his head and pecked forcefully at the skull of an unknown creature, producing a dull sound that resonated in the chamber.
Forced to suppress his discomfort, Evan dismounted Buckbeak.
Now was not the time to grieve; he had to hurry to complete the exploration and leave there in less than an hour.
It was no longer convenient to ride Buckbeak further, but it was up to him to proceed on foot.
A door, half buried under countless bones, was in the right corner of the room.
The journey through the bones to that door was going to be another unforgettable experience for Evan.
He had barely taken two steps when he heard a metallic sound from below, as if something was about to emerge.
Evan stopped abruptly and pointed his wand at the spot.
Deep within the bones, a red flash gleamed, and a wave of heat emerged.
Evan took half a step back and saw several large turtles with shells richly adorned in different colors crawling among the bones.
They were as red as fire, waving an enormous crab claw disproportionate to their bodies, and another slightly smaller but sharper one.
They stared fixedly at Evan, and the crab claws sounded menacingly, constantly spewing flames from their rear ends.
These creatures were Fire Crabs, with which the Manticore mated to give rise to Explosive Scarabs.
From where the Fire Crabs emerged, Evan saw many Explosive Scarabs, which were densely parasitizing amidst the mountain of bones.
The Manticore seemed to have provided them with food and was breeding its offspring.
Fortunately, these Explosive Scarabs did not grow much, and the nature of the Fire Crabs was relatively docile.
As long as Evan did not provoke them, they would not take the initiative to attack.
Navigating past the Fire Crabs and Explosive Scarabs, Evan reached the buried door.
He waved his wand gently, and all nearby bones flew into the air and landed elsewhere.
After clearing a path to be able to lean in, Evan descended the gentle slope formed by bones.
As soon as he emerged, he felt a strong magical pressure coming from all directions. It was like the magic of the strange plants from the outer dome, but more intense and rich.
Evan's magic was quickly suppressed and lost its effect.
The light at the tip of his wand flickered and finally disappeared.
In this area, all magic was useless; it was a magic-free zone!
Evan blinked and looked around in amazement.
After the light from his wand went out, he thought there would be darkness in front of him, but it was not so. At that moment, in front of him stood an ancient and massive cloister.
On the inner side, there was a white marble wall, and on the other side, a hollow garden. It was filled with strange plants that Evan had never seen before, and the ground was covered in orange-glowing mushrooms. The faint luminescence reflected everywhere, illuminating everything there.
Even without Evan's wand light, he could see the surrounding scene clearly.
Evan stood still for a moment and did not enter immediately.
His body was tense, his mind highly focused, and he observed the scene within the ruins carefully.
It was no wonder this was the place Okegiga had come to that year.
Right in front, Evan's view was blocked by countless unknown plants in the central garden of the cloister, and he could not see the end.
The marble wall beside him was engraved with light blue magical symbols and inscriptions of ancient magic.
A few minutes later, after repeatedly confirming there was no danger, he began to consider venturing into the corridor.
In this space filled with powerful and strange forces, magic had completely lost its function.
Evan could not even feel the magic inside him. He was now like a muggle.
Regardless of what happened, he had to find a way to deal with it on his own and could not rely on magic for help.
Evan took a few steps forward and immediately recognized it. The surrounding walls were all covered with ancient magical texts similar to those in the second part of the Book of Abraham.
He had not deciphered them yet. These mysterious ancient magical texts were more numerous and complex than those in the book.
Evan carefully observed that countless ancient magical characters and surrounding magical symbols seemed to constitute a powerful spell.
Although he could not understand it, he could feel the powerful force contained within it, which was the source of the strange force suppressing the magic in his body.
They were left by ancient wizards throughout this massive building, forming magic along with the entire reliquary.
Combined with the message, as well as its effect of suppressing magic, this should be a spell to seal away evil gods.
That was staggering. Evan could not describe this feeling in words. He had never seen such powerful magic.
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