Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 451, Section 450: Echoes of the Past 1
The occurrence of the mutation.

It didn't seem to deter the young blind wizard; in fact, he sensed the tremors beneath the lake and, far from being afraid, became even more interested.

Saruman stood up, his handsome face filled with determination: "It seems the invitation has been sent. Kag, you stay here to protect Lina. I'll go down and check."

talking.

He was about to take action.

"Too dangerous!" Kag immediately objected, his thick arm blocking Saruman's path. "We don't know what's down there! But this is clearly a trap!"

“It is precisely because we do not know that someone must explore.” Saruman’s tone was firm as he gently pushed Kag’s arm away. “Remember our oath, the ‘Eye of Dawn’—‘Fear not the darkness for the sake of truth.’”

I can tell.

This is still a wizard with idealistic sentiments.

"No!" Lina struggled to her feet, grabbing Saruman's sleeve. "Don't go down. I have a premonition; I see something terrible. You will lose something important."

Saruman gently pried her fingers apart and kissed her forehead lightly: "Some truths are worth any price."

He took one last look at his companion.

He looked up again at the strange stars in the sky above the lake, then resolutely stepped onto the stone steps leading to the bottom of the lake. His figure gradually disappeared into the depths of the purple lake water.

Only ripples spreading across the water's surface remained.

"Is he really okay?"

Kag and Lina waited anxiously by the lake for about two days—this part, presented through memory, will naturally be shown at an accelerated pace.

After all, the man in the black robe and the blind wizard couldn't possibly just wait here for that long.

"Teacher, is it you who lost your eyes during this adventure?" Up until this point, the man in the black robe did not realize that this place was now the Ministry of Magic.

After all, times change.

A thousand years is enough time to change far too many things.

"Yes, and it was this time that we opened the door to true taboo." The blind wizard's tone was full of regret, and he looked even older.

He raised his hand.

He gestured for the other to continue watching. Several days passed, and the lake remained eerily calm, Saruman's figure seemingly swallowed entirely by the purple waters. The warrior-wielder's rugged face was etched with worry; he paced back and forth, the totem battleaxe in his hand humming slightly from his tight grip.

"We can't wait any longer." Kag finally stopped and looked at Lina, whose face was still pale, his tone filled with worry and determination for his companion.

"I must go down and find him."

He could tell he was a loyal and righteous warrior. In fact, in the world of Harry Potter, being loyal and righteous seems to be a prerequisite for becoming a warrior or swordsman.

King Arthur was like that.

The same is true for Gryffindor.

The same is true for this soldier now.

"Ok!"

Lina bit her lower lip, a resolute glint in her eyes.

"I will go with you."

There isn't a "fairy tale" mentality yet, so women in this era are just as responsible, loyal, and righteous, and don't have the attitude of "it's none of my business" when something happens.

Seeing that Kag was about to object, she even preemptively said, "Although my prophetic abilities are interfered with here, it's still better than letting you take the risk alone. Besides, it's not like I don't have a way to stop the singing from reaching your ears."

She paused.

"I can use a sealing spell to temporarily block out those sounds."

As she spoke, Lina took out a few silver leaves and placed them on her temples, chanting incantations softly. As she cast the spell, the pain on her face gradually subsided.

Although still weak, he has at least regained his ability to move.

And those songs can no longer be heard.

"Alright." Seeing that there was no point in trying to dissuade him, Kag nodded and said, "Stay close to me."

He was the first to step onto the stone steps leading to the bottom of the lake.

Lina followed closely behind.

As soon as they stepped into the passage formed by the lake, the two immediately felt a powerful pressure coming from all directions, as if the weight of the entire lake was pressing down on them.

The stone steps were extremely slippery and covered with sticky algae, requiring extra caution with every step. Within the water walls on either side, the enormous shadows moved even more frequently; occasionally, one could glimpse their huge, phosphorescent pupils or see them flash by, but their sucker-covered tentacles remained unclear.

"What are these?"

Kag lowered his voice, holding his battle axe horizontally in front of his chest, ready to deal with any possible attack.

"I don't know, but it's definitely not any known magical creature."

Lena responded softly, her crystal ball emitting a gentle light that illuminated the path ahead. "I can feel that they are very ancient, very ancient."

Maintain a cautious and prudent attitude.

They continued down for about a hundred meters until the stone steps finally came to an end.

A huge underwater cave entrance appeared ahead. The cave was unusually dry, a stark contrast to the lake water outside, as if an invisible barrier kept the water out.

Two badly damaged stone statues stand at the entrance to the cave.

It can be vaguely discerned as some kind of humanoid creature, but its head is shaped like octopus tentacles, and it holds a twisted trident in its hand. The sculpture style is bizarre yet exquisite.

It is full of exotic charm.

“Saruman must have gone in.” Kag examined the ground and found some fresh footprints. The two exchanged a glance and stepped into the cave without hesitation.

The cave interior was far more spacious than it appeared from the outside, with a labyrinthine network of passages extending in all directions. Moss, emitting a ghostly blue glow, covered the walls, providing a faint light source. A pungent, nauseating stench permeated the air, mingled with a rotting, sweet aroma.

"careful!"

Lina suddenly issued a warning.

Although she has shut down her super senses, she still possesses a more acute sense of danger than most wizards.

That's what prophets are like.

Version t1.

Before the emergence of top-tier (T0) cheat codes, any wizard with prophetic talent possessed the potential to become a master, having more powerful magical talent and abilities than ordinary wizards.

This is not.

Lina's perception was absolutely correct. No sooner had she spoken than several strange creatures sprang from the shadows of the passage. They had upper bodies similar to humans, but their skin was a sickly grayish-white, covered in slime.

The lower bodies of these monsters are octopus-like tentacles, which support their rapid movement.

"Damn it! What are these things?!" The most disturbing thing was their heads—they had no facial features, only a round mouth covered with fine, sharp teeth.

"What disgusting creatures!"

Saruman's voice came from ahead.

He was being attacked by three such creatures, but he was handling them with ease. With a wave of his wand, scorching flames burned one of the rogues to a crisp.

Their weakness is their head!

Because he came down earlier, Saruman clearly had more information than the other two, but this was evident from the fact that he remained in the same spot without moving forward.

Perhaps. The flow of time outside is different from the flow of time inside. The black-robed man who witnessed this scene also had this question, and after looking at his teacher, he received a nod of confirmation.

"Both time and space are in chaos."

The blind wizard offered his explanation, then looked back into his memories. His eyes were filled with recollections of the past, a past he could never recapture.

I saw.

In my memory, the warrior Kag roared.

The totem battle axe whistled through the air as it cleaved towards the nearest rogue. The runes engraved on the axe glowed with a blinding red light, cleaving the monster in two with a single blow.

The foul-smelling blood was splattered all over the ground.

"I can't help you either!" Lina then cast a binding spell, and silver ribbons of light shot out from her crystal ball, binding the other two rogues tightly.

She clearly hadn't practiced combat magic much, perhaps as a self-sacrifice to make up for the team's weakness, since the team already had a main damage dealer.

Saruman seized the opportunity to deliver two precise Shattering Curses, thus eliminating the threat.

Why did you all come down?

Saruman strode over to his companion, his tone reproachful, but his eyes were full of emotion.

“I can’t let you take the risk alone.” Kag grinned, wiping the blood off his battle axe. He hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question that had been bothering him.

"What the hell are these?"

He genuinely felt physically nauseous.

"These."

Saruman frowned as he looked at the corpse on the ground.

“I’m not sure either. They look like some kind of cyborg. Look here—something’s definitely wrong here.” He pointed to the strange growth on the stalker’s neck.

"This appears to be a man-made implanted organ."

Saruman's judgment was actually wrong, but not entirely wrong either. People of this era, whether Muggles or wizards, did not know much about genetic issues like mutations.

"really."

Lina crouched down to examine them, her expression growing increasingly grave: "These creatures... their life forms are very unstable, as if they were forcibly pieced together. And—"

She closed her eyes and sensed it. "They don't seem to need to eat; instead, they absorb energy directly from the surrounding rocks, which completely contradicts my understanding."

“Yes, that’s not just against common sense, it’s impossible.” Kag immediately retorted, “Every living being needs an energy source, even elemental beings that are ancestral spirits.”

Although he was just a warrior, he was one who mingled with wizards, so his understanding of the magical world was actually no less than that of most wizards.

“That’s the problem.” Saruman stood up, his expression serious. “This entire crypt, the whole environment is wrong. Come with me, I’ve discovered something even more disturbing.”

He led the two to continue deeper into the area.

They dealt with several more waves of stalker attacks along the way. As they advanced, the passage became wider and wider, and the glowing moss on the walls grew denser, illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime.

At a fork in the road.

They found some artifacts scattered on the ground—broken pottery jars, rusted metal tools, and stone slabs covered with unknown writing.

Saruman picked up a stone slab as if it were a treasure and carefully studied the writing on it.

“I’ve never seen these characters before.” His brow furrowed even more deeply. “But for some reason, I feel like they’re…moving? Do you feel the same way?”

Saruman's main goal was to verify whether he was having a delusion.

however.

The answer is obvious.

"Hmm!" Lina leaned over for a look and immediately felt dizzy: "These words contain powerful mental pollution. Don't stare at them for too long."

The group was filled with apprehension. Continuing onward, they arrived at a massive underground cavern, and the sight before them caused all three to gasp in shock.

In the center of the cave was a foul-smelling swamp, teeming with twisted, phosphorescent fungi and plants. Even more chilling were the creatures that moved slowly through the swamp—they had insect-like exoskeletons but mammalian eyes, looking utterly bizarre.

It doesn't seem like a product that could be born naturally at all.

Some resemble fish, yet glide across the mud with bird-like wings.

Some are simply random combinations of various biological organs, violating all known laws of life.

"What the hell is this ancient alchemy laboratory!" Even now, Saruman still believes that what they have unearthed is the ruins of an ancient wizard researching forbidden life alchemy.

He had not yet realized the real danger.

“Your Merlin, my foot!” Kag muttered. “Where exactly is this place?”

The soldiers were terrified, and Lina, being a girl, naturally dared not watch any longer. It wasn't just a matter of disgust; she felt a chilling terror running down her spine.

“Don’t be afraid, they’re just some alchemical creatures.” Saruman raised his wand and cast a high-level detection spell. The tip of the wand emitted a rainbow of light, sweeping across the entire swamp. “These creatures… their magical signatures are completely chaotic, as if their very essence has been forcibly distorted by some force.”

"What terrible research."

He couldn't help but sigh.

At that moment, Lina's crystal ball suddenly began to vibrate violently: "I sense... a huge consciousness sleeping deep within."

"These creatures might all be extensions of its dreams~" This was Lina's prophetic ability activated, but this idea was still a bit too ahead of its time.

"A derivative of dreams?"

"This is outrageous!"

The other two teammates were also skeptical. That's understandable; after all, for most of the Prophet's friends, it's not that they don't believe in the Prophet, but rather that the Prophet does sometimes act erratically.

For details, please refer to the Divination teacher in Hogwarts. Many prophets are actually just as mysterious as that teacher, and most of their prophecies are not clear or accurate.

Therefore.

Prophets like Grindelwald are extremely rare.

"But~"

Lina wanted to say something more.

at this time.

The creatures in the swamp seemed to have discovered the intruders and began to stir. A monster that looked like a hybrid of a crocodile and a spider was the first to attack!

"Ouch!!!!"

Its strange cry sounded like a mixture of animal and human wails. Its eight legs moved swiftly, and it opened its blood-red maw to charge at the three people.

"Back off!" Saruman roared, his wand tracing complex paths. An ice wall instantly rose, blocking the monster's path. But shockingly, the monster began to devour the ice wall, its mouthparts emitting a teeth-grinding scraping sound as they touched the magical ice crystals.

This monster!

It can even gnaw through magical ice walls that are harder than steel!!

All of a sudden.

All three of them were terrified.

This also surprised the black-robed man watching—at this moment, seeing those monsters, the black-robed man had realized something he hadn't realized before.

(End of this chapter)