Harry Potter and the Hidden Treasure (Volume 3)

Chapter 422 The Vampires Appear

Under the dim light of his wand, Evan saw the corpse of a man.

His face was swollen and disfigured, with his mouth wide open.

The tongue, deteriorated and rotted to a dark brown hue, extended long; and his skin was pale and cold.

Almost instantly, Evan recalled the Inferi he had seen in the cave before.

He hurried to step back, but his feet were entangled by something.

Evan struggled, feeling his heart thumping hard, but he was dragged back!

He could feel a body beneath his feet, something akin to a tentacle, unwilling to let him go. It was trying to pull him down.

Facing such a murky blood situation could easily crush anyone's composure.

The wand in Evan's hand pointed towards the floating body at his feet, emitting several consecutive red lights.

Bang, bang, bang...

In the blood, each of Evan's spells caused a strong water current.

Under the impact of his spells, the already murky blood grew even more chaotic.

The man's body was dragged by Evan's magic, but the tentacles on his legs were tightening and contracting backwards.

The more Evan fought, the more tangled his legs became.

Soon, he saw the black vine winding along his legs up to his upper body.

These vines, Evan realized...

It was the Devil's Snare!

He finally understood what he was up against. A Devil's Snare was growing in the blood pool.

This plant thrives in darkness and moisture, able to kill trapped living creatures by strangulation.

It was the first time Evan had seen a Devil's Snare growing directly in water. Perhaps due to the blood concentration in the pool, this Devil's Snare was thriving well.

This was an insightful discovery about blood stimulating Devil's Snare growth... Evan shook his head. It was not the time for such trivial thoughts now!

He quickly waved his wand, pointing directly forward, and the end of his wand emitted Blue Flames.

The Blue Flames surrounded Evan with scorching heat.

They were harmless to the human body but could persist even in water.

Within seconds, the Devil's Snare loosened its grip on Evan.

It was evident it shrank away from the light and heat brought by the flames.

The Devil's Snare writhed and wriggled, automatically unraveling its tendrils entwined around Evan.

It took the body Evan had just flung and retreated to a dark corner.

After getting rid of the Devil's Snare, Evan continued swiftly through the passage.

Because he was concerned about Sirius, he kept accelerating.

Fortunately, there was nothing else in the blood to stop him.

After a winding passage, the downward slope began to decrease and quickly rose upward, and Evan heard the sound of gulping from above.

Here, the blood concentration in the water was much higher! It wasn't like the murky blood mixed with mud and dust. It was completely red and sticky.

Evan even suspected it was pure blood!

Glug, glug, glug...

Like boiling water, the blood constantly bubbled outward.

Following the bubbles, Evan surfaced.

Around him, all the wizards who had just fallen had turned into cold corpses, floating silently in the bright red water.

The red bubbles kept surfacing from below, breaking beside them.

The blood pool faced a large gap above the temple. It was over a thousand feet deep and dark above. Nothing could be seen, like a black hole devouring everything.

Evan disregarded the surroundings and searched for Sirius in the blood pool.

"Good evening, young human!" A deep male voice resonated ahead. "If you are looking for him, then you need not waste your effort."

Evan looked up and saw a dozen vampires in black robes standing on the ground outside the blood pool, pointing their wands at him.

In the center of these individuals stood a middle-aged man with a chilly visage.

He was handsome and upright, with deep and distant wine-colored eyes, clad in a beautiful black cloak, and his exposed skin was notably pale.

He had an aura of "pure malevolence" around him, and it seemed like light deviated from him.

Evan could sense a whirlwind of pure magic swirling around his body, absorbing other magic and light around him.

This vampire was too peculiar; Evan had never seen a sorcerer like this before.

His eyes stopped at him and immediately went to Sirius, huddled in front of him.

He was bloody and unconscious, but he still seemed to be breathing.

"SIRIUS!" Evan shouted.

He took two steps forward only to be met by a dozen spells coming his way.

Evan hurried to stop, and the magic brushed against his body and flew off.

They didn't make a real attack, just warning him not to move.

"Don't worry, this human is very strong, and he's not dead yet!" the middle-aged man said. "His life depends entirely on you. We have something to ask you."

"Let Sirius go. I will tell you everything," Evan said eagerly.

So, these vampires were the ones pulling the strings behind the scenes. What did they want to know?

Could it be that they already knew the Philosopher's Stone was with him?

Evan looked around, trying to find a solution to the immediate predicament.

He saw the flesh and blood in the blood pool in front of him, drawn by magic, slowly moving upwards, forming currents rising to meet in the distance.

Aside from that, there was nothing in the stone chamber.

At the same time, facing over a dozen powerful vampire wizards and a man of unpredictable strength, Evan had no chance of winning anyway.

"Don't worry, we still have time. We need to decipher the final magic left by the ancient Centaurs!" With an elegant smile on his face, the vampire said slowly, "First, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Caresius Slytherin, it..."

"I know Elaine, we..." Evan hesitated for a moment and continued shouting, "We are friends!"

Upon hearing the surname Slytherin, he immediately knew who these vampires were.

"Friend of Elaine?" Caresius showed a hint of surprise on his face. "No, you shouldn't know her..."

"We met in Diagon Alley, on Christmas Eve." Evan pulled out the locket from his chest and hurriedly said. "I know the prophecy and the troubles you are facing. I can help you. I have Slytherin's locket with me. I am probably the one mentioned in the prophecy."

After Evan finished his words, there was a long silence.

Caresius didn't speak, and his wine-colored eyes lingered on the locket on Evan's chest.

His face was clouded and uncertain, as he seemed to be pondering over what Evan had said.