Chapter 299: Aurel and the Unicorn
"That sound..."
Dylan was just about to sleep when a faint but unusual sound reached his ears, like the chirping of some creature mixed with the sharp edge of metal scraping.
The next second, his form blurred, like a stretched shadow, and silently melted into the corner's gloom. He then passed straight through the cold stone wall, as if gliding through a thin layer of vapor. Maintaining a near-gliding posture a foot above the ground, the hem of his black robe lightly swept over the dead grass as he moved. Making almost no sound, he drifted toward the Forbidden Forest.
At the forest's edge, branches crisscrossed. Moonlight was fragmented by the dense leaves into scattered patches of light, falling onto the ground covered with decaying matter.
As soon as he approached the border, Dylan's attention was drawn to a slender figure—Luna was standing under an old oak tree, her cloak gently swaying in the night breeze. She was gazing slightly upwards, apparently at something in the treetop, her expression so focused that she hadn't noticed his approach.
"Oh?" Dylan raised an eyebrow, a little surprised to find her here. He stopped, manifesting from the shadows, his foot snapping a small twig with a soft crack.
"Hey, good evening," he said, deliberately keeping his voice low.
Hearing the sound, Luna gently turned around. Her often-hazy, silvery-grey eyes blinked, looking at Dylan with obvious surprise, the corners of her eyes lifting slightly. "You came so silently, without any footsteps at all."
Dylan curved his lips into a faint smile. "At this hour, why are you out by the Forbidden Forest? I remember Professor McGonagall warning everyone not to go near here at night."
Luna stared at him, her face devoid of expression, but her tone carrying a matter-of-fact candidness. "Aren't you here too?"
Dylan shrugged helplessly, the movement of his shoulders causing his black robe to slip slightly, revealing the collar of his dark shirt underneath. He turned, his gaze fixed on the depths of the Forbidden Forest. The darkness there was thick as ink, impenetrable even to moonlight. Faintly, he could sense a familiar aura fluctuating.
"You sensed it too?" Luna noticed where his gaze rested, lowering her voice as if afraid of disturbing something in the forest. Her eyes scanned Dylan's profile with a hint of inquiry.
Dylan nodded, his gaze unwavering, his tone certain. "Yeah, I heard a sound just now. It sounded familiar, so I followed it."
Luna tilted her head, a strand of silver-grey hair slipping from behind her ear to rest against her cheek. She blinked, then seemed slightly disappointed: "A familiar sound? Then it's probably not what I'm looking for." She paused, adding, "I'm looking for signs of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. I heard they appear near the forest edge around the full moon."
Dylan paused, then realized what she meant. His tone was a little uncertain. "...Uh, although it's not what you're looking for, I think you'll still meet a new species, a creature you've definitely never seen before."
He finished, then offered a "please" gesture with his side, but immediately began walking toward the source of the aura.
Seeing this, Luna didn't ask any more questions. She lifted the hem of her cloak and followed him with light, quick steps.
The deeper they walked into the Forbidden Forest, the dimmer the light became. The branches overhead grew increasingly dense, almost completely obscuring the sky. Only scattered specks of moonlight stubbornly squeezed through, barely illuminating the path beneath their feet. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and rotting leaves, mixed with a faint, mint-like herbaceous fragrance.
The surroundings were terrifyingly silent. Only their footsteps rustled softly on the thick layer of dead leaves. Occasionally, a distant, unknown beast's low howl could be heard, quickly fading back into the silence.
After walking a bit further, they passed through a patch of overgrown thorn bushes.
In the sparse moonlight filtering through the trees, two figures gradually came into clear focus.
One was snow-white.
And the other...
"Oh?" Luna looked over.
To the right, a snow-white figure stood still: a Unicorn. It was slightly smaller than an adult unicorn. Its silvery-white mane shimmered softly in the dark, and its tail hung lightly by its side, occasionally flicking away flies near its hooves. Most striking was the spiral silver horn on its forehead, about half a foot long, its tip glinting with a cold light in the dimness, like metal tempered by moonlight.
Standing a few steps away from the Unicorn was Aurel. He leaned slightly against a thick beech trunk, his bow and arrow resting diagonally in the crook of his arm. The fletching of the arrow hung down, its end nearly touching his deep brown, horse-haired leg.
Hearing the footsteps, he lifted his head, his pupils gleaming in the darkness. His gaze landed on Dylan first, then swept to Luna behind him.
"Is that Aurel?" Luna took half a step forward, her gaze shifting from the Centaur to the snow-white Unicorn, her eyes widening slightly. Her sight lingered on the shining silver horn on the Unicorn's head for a while. The light from the horn reflected in her silvery-grey eyes.
So bright. She felt an intense urge to snap it off and hang it on her ear. Hmm... It might be too big, she'd have to polish it down properly. Or perhaps topping her head with it like a hat wouldn't be bad either.
Dylan was unaware of Luna's thoughts. He simply led her forward.
Seeing Dylan, Aurel looked at the Unicorn beside him with some surprise. "You really could call him over?"
Dylan stopped a few steps away, squinting at him. The last time, this guy had dared to stand him up. He'd been thinking about whether he should just abduct the entire Centaur tribe during the summer break or the next time school started. He hadn't expected the fellow to reappear, and with the Unicorn in tow, no less.
Luna stared at the Unicorn, and the Unicorn, having noticed Luna, was staring back at her. Both seemed to sense the powerful, almost overflowing spirituality emanating from the other.
Dylan saw that the Unicorn, after such a long time, didn't immediately greet him but instead exchanged an affectionate look with Luna. His mouth twitched. Ignoring them, he looked at Aurel and asked, "Well, aren't you going to explain yourself?"
Aurel's mouth twitched. This human's words are still so unpleasant to listen to! After only two sentences, I want to pick up my bow and shoot him straight through!
Aurel took a deep breath. "There's not much to say..."
"Hm?" Dylan raised his eyebrows.
Aurel immediately felt an intense, suffocating pressure, similar to a murderous intent, instantly wash over him. Aurel froze, straightened up, and took a few steps toward Dylan.
"I'm sorry! At the time, my uncles wouldn't let me leave, nor would they allow me to tell you the location of our gathering place! When I told them about this last time, they almost locked me in the underground chamber!"
Hearing this, Dylan slightly softened his expression. The underground chamber was an uncommon structure among the Centaur tribe. In other words, it was essentially a dungeon. Because Centaurs value freedom and liberty, they watch the night sky. A Centaur locked in a dungeon naturally cannot see the stars. Therefore, for Centaurs, this punishment is both quite humiliating and highly effective.
Since Aurel put it that way, Dylan wouldn't press the matter too hard. He hadn't felt much about it in the first place. He hadn't been angry about being stood up. What was there to be angry about? At worst, he would simply slaughter—no, invite the entire Centaur race into his world as guests. He wasn't angry at all. It wasn't necessary.
"And then? This one..." Dylan's gaze shifted to the Unicorn beside them.
Aurel glanced at the Unicorn as well. "I knew you would be finished with school soon, so I took him out when they weren't paying attention."
"The people who were hunting them recently have mostly disappeared, so my uncles were planning to release him back into the Forbidden Forest anyway, and their watch over him wasn't as strict."
Dylan mused for a moment, then nodded softly. "I see."
Aurel continued, "And it was this fellow who told me he could call you over. I didn't expect a single call from him would actually bring you here."
Dylan smiled. "Because I'm very familiar with his sound."
Aurel was still a bit puzzled. "But the problem is, his sound was very faint! I was afraid he would attract the people who were pursuing him before. Although they seem to have left now, who knows if any strange fellows are still hiding in the Forbidden Forest?"
Dylan merely smiled silently at this.
Seeing that Dylan had absolutely no intention of explaining, Aurel pouted. Hmph! He wasn't that desperate for an answer anyway.
Then, Aurel glared at the Unicorn. He had asked the Unicorn just now, but the creature wouldn't explain either! It had just twisted its mouth into a strange, crooked grin, telling him that Dylan would definitely come. What are these two, one human and one beast, hiding?
Thinking back to the expression the Unicorn had made, Aurel shivered all over. Damn it! Why is a Unicorn giving me a crooked smile? The expression made the Unicorn look entirely impure, even evil. He even suspected that the group who had been hunting the Unicorn might have captured it and subjected it to some evil modification, turning the Unicorn into some strange, Unicorn-like thing.
But he could only wonder about that.
Dylan asked, "So, do you need to take this little fellow back to your herd?"
Aurel nodded. "My uncle said that if nothing happens for another month or two, we can release him, as his herd should be waiting for him."
Dylan was a little curious now. "So, who exactly was hunting him, and where is his herd? Why did he come to you Centaurs for shelter instead of finding his own kind?"
Aurel sighed. "I don't know that either. He won't tell me, no matter what I say." The thought made him angry. Damn it! No one ever tells him what's going on! The situation with the Unicorn, why his uncles are like that, and why the Unicorn could attract Dylan with just a faint call—it was all the same! What's the harm in explaining it clearly? Why must everyone be a riddler?!
No, no... He'd have to look at the stars again when he got back. Let the stars give him the answer.
Dylan curled his lip. "So... you stayed at home all this time and figured nothing out?"
Aurel's face stiffened. He couldn't refute Dylan's somewhat mocking words, because it was the truth... Faced with the facts, any defense was weak. However, after thinking for a moment, Aurel stuck out his neck and retorted, "I don't know nothing, okay! I heard a little bit, at least!"
Dylan tilted his head. "Oh? Tell me."
Aurel immediately rattled off everything he knew, like a child eager to prove himself. "The people hunting the Unicorn must be some kind of secret organization. I'm not sure who they are, but they seem to be a few Dark Wizards. I happened to overhear them talking once when I accidentally passed my uncle's door."
"I didn't catch the organization's name, but they seem to worship a Dark Lord."
"And this organization has done plenty of bad things, but they aren't exceptionally evil. They seem to constantly be looking to seize things they can exchange for Galleons, and the Unicorn is clearly one of those things."
"As for the rest... I'm not too clear."
Dylan cocked his head. Dark Lord? Am I the Dark Lord? From Aurel's description, it felt like the people trying to capture the Unicorn were Delphini and her group. He clicked his tongue. Dylan decided that next time he had a moment, he would simply find Aurel's uncles and ask them directly. It would save him the trouble of guessing all the time. Of course, if the uncles were unwilling to cooperate or disliked him, he wouldn't need to waste any words; he'd just escort them away immediately.
Dylan nodded. "So... that's all you know?"
Aurel's face was stern. "Isn't that enough? I was eavesdropping... I accidentally overheard it. Isn't it enough to get a rough idea?"
Dylan waved his hand. "Alright, alright." Then, he continued, "You can go back now. I need to spend some quality time with the Unicorn."
Aurel's eyes widened. "Huh? You... and him... quality time?"
Dylan rolled his eyes. "Stop saying 'him, him, him.' What if it's a she? So impolite."
.......
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