Chapter 248: The Dark Wizard King
"I think we should first search for clues along the edges," Bill pondered briefly. "When we were hunting down those remaining remnants, we checked the environment around here. This is a plain. Besides the abandoned building where those people entered, there aren't any other man-made structures."
But as he spoke, Bill seemed to remember something else. "There seems to be a Muggle village in the distance, but it probably has nothing to do with this. However, I could go take a look later."
"A Muggle village?" Evans filed this information away and nodded. "Then let's search along the edges first. If we find anything unusual, notify the others."
For such suddenly appearing strange magical constructs, especially after confirming internal danger, recklessly entering again would be foolish. Exploring the edges would be safer instead. If they could find useful clues confirming which wizard created this pyramid or at least understand how it was constructed, it would greatly aid their subsequent exploration.
After confirming their direction, the group spread out around the pyramid. Evans was accompanied only by the griffin Ankhaton, while the Sphinxes and remaining magical creatures returned to the pyramid's entrance to keep watch, preventing any chance of the monsters inside escaping.
According to Bill, two days had passed since the pyramid appeared, and those monsters still showed no signs of escaping; therefore, preventative measures were necessary. Besides, having that many magical creatures around wouldn't help them gather information anyway.
Walking slowly along one side of the pyramid, Evans carefully observed the structure beside him. Getting slightly closer, he instantly discovered the problem.
During his previous visits to Egypt, he'd seen many types of pyramids—some built by Muggles, others by wizards—but none of them looked this new.
Yes, new. This pyramid appeared to have just been constructed. Everything looked freshly generated, whether the stones that formed it or the coating on its surface.
But this absolutely couldn't be the result of Transfiguration. According to Bill's account, this region went from empty to this mysterious pyramid appearing in just an instant, less than five seconds.
Instantly Transfiguring a massive pyramid occupying nearly twice the ground area of the Khufu Pyramid? Even five Dumbledores couldn't manage that.
But if it wasn't Transfiguration, how did this pyramid come into existence?
With confusion gnawing at him, Evans looked at the faintly visible black mist around him and paused. He slowly extended his left hand.
A semi-transparent barrier glowed in his palm, while silver-white arcs of light faintly shimmered around him. If anything went wrong, he would instantly vanish to a distance.
With a Shield Charm attached to his palm, Evans's hand gradually touched the pyramid's surface.
Cold.
Even through the Shield Charm, he felt an extreme chill extending from the pyramid's surface into his arm, like touching a massive ice block with the temperature continuously dropping.
Yet despite this enormous cold source, he'd felt nothing when not touching the pyramid. That was quite strange.
Evans temporarily noted this discrepancy and continued searching the pyramid.
The black mist enveloping the pyramid wasn't curse residue or lingering Dark Magic. He'd already verified this using a Thestral's eyes. But besides the black mist, this pyramid showed no magical brilliance either, meaning it was purely a physical creation, not even Transfiguration.
An Extension Charm? But using such a charm to store something this large would be extremely troublesome, whether storing or retrieving it. It couldn't possibly be accomplished in mere seconds.
Perhaps some sort of ancient magic similar to spatial teleportation?
Evans shook his head and continued walking along the pyramid's edge, searching for traces and marks. After carefully examining the pyramid's perimeter, when he reached the entrance, he exchanged greetings with the Manticore stationed there, then casually glanced at the entrance.
But the next second, his gaze suddenly sharpened, intensely fixing on the area above the pyramid's entrance.
This was a relatively small cellar entrance with minimal decoration, giving it a somewhat eerie appearance.
But on the lintel above the cellar entrance, Evans faintly saw a pale silver mark.
That mark. He'd seen it many times before. Ever since the fourth year, when he obtained the Thestral's eyes talent and saw that seal, he'd seen this mark countless times.
It was the mark that would flash before the riddle appeared each time he solved a seal in the Forbidden Forest.
Profound seriousness flashed in Evans's eyes as he stared intensely at that mark. Only after his Manticore friend pushed him worriedly did he finally snap back to attention.
"It's nothing," Evans said softly to reassure his concerned friend. He took another long look at the mark, then stepped aside to wait for his companions to finish checking.
By now, most people had already returned. Only Bill and Charlie, who'd gone to the Muggle village to gather intelligence, hadn't returned yet. Probably due to distance, they'd need a bit longer.
Finding a stone to sit on, Evans hesitated briefly, then pulled out his Pensieve from his pocket. Using his wand, he tapped his temple, and a silvery strand was extracted and dropped into the Pensieve.
Diving into the bowl, strange water ripples flowed past his forehead as scene after scene emerged before his eyes.
From fourth year onward—every time he'd seen that seal, those Ogham symbols, and the silver-white mark that appeared each time he succeeded or failed in deciphering.
The fuzzy memories became clear again. Evans pulled his head from the bowl and looked once more at the entrance, at that silver-white mark.
Identical.
Countless complex thoughts flashed through Evans's mind. His mood was extremely complicated.
After first seeing that seal, he'd carefully reviewed relevant materials. Whether before graduation or after becoming a professor, he'd nearly worn out Hogwarts Library but found no valuable clues.
Back then, he'd believed that the seal was simply something some powerful wizard randomly placed in the Forbidden Forest as a legacy for posterity.
But now, he'd seen this mark again—and it was in Egypt, having absolutely nothing to do with the Forbidden Forest.
Who left this mark? And why?
While pondering, Bill and Charlie had already returned. Their expressions seemed strange, as if they'd discovered something important.
Evans shelved his confusion and stood. "Did you find anything?"
"I'm not sure if we found something," Bill said hesitantly.
"Charlie and I inquired around that village for quite a while. It's actually a normal place, just ordinary Muggles."
"But just as we were about to leave, I suddenly saw the village chief leading villagers to a square, where they began murmuring a name softly."
Bill's expression darkened.
"The Dark Wizard King."