Chapter 251: The Giant Claw in the Ceiling
"Hisss."
The moment they entered the pyramid, a series of gasps erupted around Evans. Several Aurors who'd followed them immediately hugged their arms, chilled to the bone by the sudden cold air.
Their reaction was perfectly normal. Outside, due to Egypt's climate, the temperature remained quite high even in late November. At least twenty degrees Celsius at noon, warm enough to wear short sleeves without feeling cold.
But upon entering this pyramid, the temperature instantly dropped below freezing. Their exhaled breath turned to mist. Such a rapid temperature change, not immediately catching a cold, was already a sign of a good constitution.
"Flame-Freezing Charm." Evans's wand tapped lightly, and pale blue light shot from his wand tip, landing on those Aurors. He also cast the charm on Bill and the others. Although they'd already put on jackets before entering, an extra protection charm never hurt.
The pale blue light flashing before their eyes startled the Aurors. They first looked at Evans, who held his wand, tremblingly. After confirming his expression seemed normal and the spell landing on them appeared harmless, they subtly breathed sighs of relief.
Though they thought they were being subtle, Evans still caught their expression changes. His mouth twitched. Evans felt somewhat conflicted.
A simple Flame-Freezing Charm could frighten these Aurors this much. What exactly was his current reputation in Egypt? Why did he feel his notoriety now exceeded even Voldemort's reputation in Britain?
After Evans cast his spells, the group continued forward. Although this was a pyramid, there were no winding, maze-like corridors here. Only a single straight path extended forward, seemingly endless.
On both sides of the corridor, eerie green torches appeared at regular intervals. The flames atop the torches constantly flickered, making the corridor appear even more sinister and terrifying.
Such permanently fixed light sources absolutely shouldn't appear in tombs. Clearly, this pyramid wasn't being used as a burial place at all.
"This corridor takes at least ten minutes to walk. At the end of the corridor are two paths, one to the left and one to the right. Back then, we took the right path. We hadn't walked far before encountering those monsters," Bill said, walking beside Evans while describing the situation.
"Screech!" The Griffin Ankhaton, beside them, also called out, its voice automatically transforming into a language Evans could understand, supplementing it with its perspective.
"Before those monsters appeared, were there any warning signs?" Evans asked.
After a brief pause, Bill realized his senior had heard the griffin speak and added, "Same for us. Those monsters suddenly appeared while we were studying the layout of the room. No sound at all. They appeared and immediately attacked us."
Charlie poked his head out from the side. "They made no noise even when attacking. I was just distracted for a moment, then heard Bill's warning. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I'd probably be back at school discussing with Professor Kettleburn how to move around after losing a leg!"
"Don't say such unlucky things." Bill pushed his brother's head back and continued, "But as Charlie said, when those monsters appeared and attacked us, they made absolutely no sound. I just happened to look up and see their figures, shouted a warning. Combined with Charlie's quick reaction, otherwise he couldn't have escaped with just a minor injury."
There was one more thing Bill didn't say. If Charlie hadn't dodged that attack back then and been caught by those massive claws, dying there directly would have been entirely possible.
After hearing Bill's description, Evans pondered briefly and gripped his wand tighter. Appearing soundlessly, attacking soundlessly. He'd never even heard of such creatures. And Bill's words were clearly not just for Evans's ears.
The nearby Aurors also tightened their grips on their wands. The atmosphere in the corridor grew somewhat silent as the group slowly walked forward, constantly alert for any possible changes around them.
After about ten minutes, as the corridor's light gradually dimmed, Bill looked ahead and spoke softly.
"Should be here."
Without Bill speaking, Evans had already seen those two corridors ahead. Compared to their current corridor, those two were much dimmer, with torches spaced far apart. Nothing like their current well-lit location.
After carefully observing those two seemingly identical corridors, Evans asked, "You took the right side last time?"
"Yes. Walk about two minutes into the right corridor and you'll enter a room. That's where the monsters attacked us," Bill replied.
After hesitating briefly, Evans looked at the left corridor.
"Then let's take this side."
"Works for me. I was thinking the same thing." Bill nodded. The others raised no objections either.
After all, the last time they hadn't walked far on the right before being attacked. Perhaps that attack happened because they'd taken the wrong path?
Stepping into the left corridor and feeling the somewhat dim lighting around them, Evans gripped his right-hand wand while slightly raising his left hand. His palm suddenly blazed with brilliant light.
That light resembled a miniature sun, held in Evans's palm. Wherever the light reached, all darkness was illuminated.
Seeing that light, the bald, burly man beside him walked, his lips curling, his emotions somewhat complex.
The Lumos Charm was a spell that didn't rely much on spell proficiency, only magical reserves. The more magic within, the stronger the Lumos Charm's effect.
Such a bright light source. After two years, how much stronger had this guy become? He was over ten years younger than him, yet already far surpassed him in magical strength.
A silver-white arc suddenly flashed before him. The next second, the bald man felt the scenery before his eyes instantly change. He'd somehow returned to the position before entering that corridor.
Raising his head to look forward, he saw a massive claw extending from the ceiling, grabbing at his previous standing position, clawing grooves into the floor.
His forehead instantly broke out in cold sweat. The bald man looked at the claw's emergence point in disbelief.
Previously, the monsters had only suddenly appeared after entering rooms. This time, how did it directly extend its hand from the ceiling? And if they could directly appear in the ceiling and attack people below, combined with their soundless nature—how could anyone possibly defend against such monsters?