Chapter 252: The Peculiar Black Mist
Releasing his grip on Jafari's shoulder, Evans raised his head and stared at the giant claw that had suddenly appeared. Just as Bill had said earlier, there was absolutely no warning before it appeared. If his passive danger sense talent hadn't triggered and sensed the danger source, allowing him to react in time and pull Jafari away, he would probably have become a corpse by now.
No—even that wouldn't be complete. Being caught head-on by such a massive claw, only a scattered mess of flesh would remain.
Gazing at the desiccated giant claw hanging from the ceiling, wildly swiping at the surroundings, gravity flashed across Evans's eyes.
What on earth was this thing?
Around the giant claw, Bill and the others had already reacted, forming a circle with their wands raised. Semi-transparent barriers materialized at the wand tips, blocking the claw's attacks.
The Griffin Ankhaton was surrounded by streams of invisible air currents, transforming into a blur as it charged toward the base of the claw.
Boom!
The griffin's sharp beak and the junction where the claw connected to the stone wall collided together, sending bricks flying. The thing beyond the claw let out a painful wail, the claw trembling momentarily as if in pain. Then it became even more frenzied, slashing wildly at everything around it.
Timing his moment perfectly, Evans's form transformed into a silver-white arc, which then disappeared. When he reappeared, his eyes had turned pure black, and his wand touched the giant claw at the point where the flow of magical power was weakest in his vision.
From the moment he first learned of this creature's existence, he'd been certain it was some form of magical construct. After all, as a magical creature expert, there were precious few creatures he hadn't heard of. Even those that did exist were typically confined to remote corners and posed little threat. Creatures as powerful as those that had put Bill and his companions in danger absolutely couldn't be unknown to him.
The information found at Gringotts further confirmed his suspicions.
Regardless of whether these creatures were products of Dark Magic or some form of living alchemy, if they were magical constructs, they had to follow one fundamental principle: destroy the anchor point, cut off their magical supply, and even the strongest construct couldn't replenish what was lost on its own.
This was the weakness of magical constructs—why masters of Transfiguration often manifested countless different creatures in battle. Only by hiding the magical anchor points could they exploit numerical advantage and overwhelm opponents.
But such concealment had no effect whatsoever against the eyes of a Thestral.
"Diffindo!"
A pale green light flashed from the wand's tip, then directly penetrated the giant claw. A piercing scream echoed from above. Moments later, the previously rampaging claw's movements suddenly froze, then hung motionless in the air.
After about two seconds, the base of the unmoving claw slowly dissolved into powder. The massive talon crashed heavily to the ground with a dull thud.
"It—it's dead?" Charlie dispelled the Armor Charm before him, his expression somewhat disbelieving.
"No, not yet." Evans's gaze fixed upward, watching the magical shadow rapidly fusing with the wall. He spoke only after it completely vanished from his sight. "It just abandoned this arm and ran away."
However, the fact that this creature would flee was somewhat unexpected to him.
Based on the descriptions in that parchment from Gringotts, this thing should have been transformed from those so-called Dark Wizard King fanatics. How could it so easily abandon the fight and flee for survival?
Was this truly a fanatic? It seemed rather cowardly, actually.
"Dropping its tail to escape?" Looking at the fallen giant claw, Charlie's expression became somewhat contemplative.
"Thank you, Evans." The bald, burly man whom Evans had rescued earlier had already rejoined the battle group. However, having just returned, the fight ended, leaving him somewhat embarrassed.
"No need for courtesy." Evans waved his hand dismissively, turning his attention to the giant claw on the ground.
Although the creature had escaped, this battle still yielded something.
At least they'd obtained a specimen of this monster's limb. As long as they brought it back, they could study how such a creature was formed. If they could truly research its origins, the subsequent matters would become simple.
But just as Evans affixed a protective barrier to his palm and reached toward the arm to examine it closely, the previously solid giant claw suddenly transformed into a swirl of pitch-black smoke, rapidly fusing with the wall beside them before vanishing.
"What?" Charlie, beside him, went blank for a moment, clearly not understanding what had happened. But Evans had already furrowed his brow.
He carefully examined the location where the claw had been, confirming nothing else remained, and his brow furrowed even deeper.
The black smoke that appeared when the claw dispersed—it seemed identical to the kind engulfing the pyramid outside.
Though the moment was brief and he hadn't seen it entirely clearly, that flowing black mist definitely resembled the black mist surrounding the pyramid far too much.
Perhaps that creature hadn't been trying to drop its tail to escape at all. Maybe what was called "dropping the tail" inflicted no damage on it whatsoever.
Perhaps the black mist enveloping the pyramid's exterior was actually its essence, or perhaps a projection of its power.
But if that was the case, things had become rather troublesome.
Staring at where the claw had vanished, Evans fell into thought.
In truth, from the moment he first saw that pyramid, he'd been puzzled by one question.
Throughout everything, he hadn't sensed even a trace of Dark Magic from the pyramid or these creatures. Logically, any Dark Magic—even minor curses—should carry the distinctive aura of Dark Magic. After all, all hexes and Dark Spells necessarily involve emotional manipulation. For mentally powerful wizards, once magic carries emotion, it becomes impossible not to sense it.
While some legitimate magics, like the Patronus Charm or spells that draw on joy, also require emotional engagement, the Dark Magic's amplification of emotion has no exceptions.
Yet Evans absolutely couldn't believe these things weren't Dark Magic constructs.
Setting aside the obviously sinister black mist, that claw practically had malice written on its face. It was even a magical construct—how could such a thing not be the result of Dark Magic?
Alchemical creations wouldn't transform into black mist and disappear in that manner.
After a moment's hesitation, Evans raised his head and looked at Charlie nearby, then at Jafari, whom he'd just rescued.
They'd entered this pyramid twice, and Charlie and Jafari were the ones attacked first on each occasion.
Perhaps they could provide some clues.
With this thought, Evans first directed his gaze at Jafari. Having just experienced an attack, his memories should be clearest now.
"Before that claw attacked you, did you do anything particularly unusual?"