Ethan didn't notice that a shadowy, twisted figure was crawling after him, lurking in the darkness.
If he had known, he would have stopped right there.
He would have enthusiastically invited Humberg Carrow to join him in exploring the secret treasure left behind by the Dark Wizard Herpo the Foul.
At that moment, Ethan stood before the wall in the study, waving his wand and instantly stripping away the disguise crafted by the organizers.
The dull yellow wallpaper peeled back, revealing a crimson painting hidden beneath.
It depicted a wild feast, with countless figures drinking and devouring ravenously, their faces twisted into exaggerated smiles even as tears streamed down their cheeks.
At the center stood an empty golden goblet.
At the bottom, etched into the well-preserved wooden frame, was the painting's title: "The Crimson Cup."
Suddenly, the figures in the painting spoke in unison, their voices rising like a chant:
"Offer me desire, fear, and blood! Until the liquid fills the golden cup! Otherwise, you shall not pass!"
The voices cut off abruptly, like a jammed cassette tape.
The crimson liquid flowing from above grew more and more profuse.
It didn't stop even after overflowing the goblet, staining its golden surface a deep red.
Ethan watched them with a faint smile.
Two seconds later, the figures in the painting all bowed their heads and withdrew.
The red liquid spilling from the golden cup cascaded down the canvas, seeping into the wall itself.
It formed a crimson pathway, just wide enough for one person to pass through.
"Hope this doesn't stain my clothes—it looks like it'd be a nightmare to wash out," Ethan muttered.
Frowning, he stepped carefully into it, taking pains to avoid letting any of the grime touch his pristine robes.
A moment later, Humberg Carrow struggled to crawl over as well.
He stared at the crimson path on the wall before him, pulsing like something alive.
A primal fear rose instinctively in his heart, making his entire body tremble.
Yet this fear sharpened his mind just a little.
Maybe... I'll just wait here for that kid to come out...
No need to follow him to my death...
At that instant, the figures in the painting spoke again:
"Cowardly rat, you are not worthy to witness the miracles of old."
Those words ignited a fire in Humberg.
"Who—who said I'm a coward?! I'm going in right now! And then I'll burn all you worthless paper figures to ash!"
With that, Humberg gritted his teeth, swallowed his nausea, and crawled into the viscous passage.
He didn't see what happened after he entered.
The figures in the painting all grinned, weeping and laughing in eerie harmony:
"Only through sacrifice can one tread the path of blood... Raise the Crimson Cup, let the world drink of pain!"
"You have entered the hidden place—Herpo the Foul's laboratory."
"Heave-ho."
Ethan cast a cutting spell to slice open the passage, emerging from the gushing blood like a newborn emerging from the womb.
"Scourgify."
With a whoosh, his body was clean and refreshed once more.
Then, Ethan lifted his head and surveyed his surroundings.
His cobalt-blue eyes remained calm, his expression indifferent, betraying no excitement at having reached the site of the secret treasure.
It was a small room.
There was only a laboratory bench, a desk, and two rows of cabinets, all caked in grime.
Dried, web-like substances clung to the four walls, thicker than spiderwebs, resembling deadened blood vessels.
The cabinets stood empty, holding nothing but shattered vessels.
Only on the desk lay a square package.
Its outer wrapping had faded with age, and the thin string binding it was nearly rotted through.
But Ethan sensed keenly that this was the "heart" of the place.
It was the culmination of the Dark Wizard ancestor Herpo the Foul's life's work—a "legacy" left for those who came after.
It was the secret treasure he had sought.
It rested quietly on the desk, awaiting someone to unwrap it.
Thump-thump, thump-thump!
Only now did Ethan's usually steady heartbeat begin to race.
"Protego," Ethan intoned, and a protective shield shimmered into existence around him.
He drew a deep breath, steadying himself to remain rational and composed.
Then he approached step by step, slowly untying the frayed string.
The string came loose, and the package unfolded.
Revealing several round ancient coins.
And an old notebook.
Ethan picked up the notebook curiously and began to read.
...A strange moonlit forest, the indifferent radiance that illuminates all things, the primordial whispering moths with fluttering wings...
Ah, and then ten pulls.
As he read on, drops of dark red liquid began to seep from the handwriting, slipping through the protective barrier and staining his fingertips.
Slaughter, devouring, endless desire...
Ethan's breathing grew heavier without him realizing it.
Horrifying bloodshot veins slowly threaded into his cobalt-blue eyes.
Only slaughter can quench thirst, only life can sustain life...
Muggles, Mudbloods, half-bloods, pure-bloods... they are all just nutrients of varying quality...
"Go seize, go sacrifice!"
"Please the Crimson Cup, embark on the path of conquest. Let the world endure your endless desires and scourges!"
An evil, cruel, cold voice echoed from the notebook.
Ethan slowly turned his head, locking eyes with Humberg Carrow, who had just tumbled out of the passage.
The moment Humberg laid eyes on Ethan, a primal fear—born from pure biological instinct—gripped his heart.
It merged with his own dark thoughts.
Compelling him to raise his wand instantly, point it at Ethan, and shout:
"Avada Kedavra—!!!"
Bang!
A blinding green light erupted from the tip of his wand, hurtling straight toward Ethan!
Time seemed to slow in that instant.
Ethan watched the green light expand rapidly in his vision.
His lips parted, and he whispered softly:
"The portal."
Immediately, a pitch-black portal whooshed open in front of him!
It swallowed the green light whole, then expelled it from another portal that materialized beside Ethan, redirecting it straight into the notebook!
"Snap!"
The portals shattered abruptly.
"Ahhh!!!"
With a piercing shriek, the notebook was hurled backward.
It ignited with a whoosh, burning to charred ashes in an instant.
Silence fell once more.
The oppressive, anxious atmosphere in the air dissipated gradually.
"Phew, much better."
Ethan rolled his shoulders, eliciting a series of cracks, and spoke lightly.
He gazed down at the pile of ashes, his cobalt-blue eyes devoid of warmth, like distant, cold stars in the cosmos.
He said:
"Indeed, I love crimson paintings and am willing to depict scenes that have never existed in the human world."
"However, I can still distinguish between art and reality."
"The path of slaughter and violence you've chosen has been proven a failure by generations before you."
"And in the future, it will undoubtedly fail again and again."
"No."
Ethan shook his head.
He lifted his gaze, an unusual brilliance gleaming in his cobalt-blue pupils!
"I want to forge a different path!"
"I want to use my art to influence the world, to change the world!"
"Let the world spread my name!"
"Ding!"
"You have rationally read Herpo the Foul's notebook, and you have gained enlightenment."
"The Lantern has risen within your skull."
Instantly, an old-fashioned oil lamp slowly ignited in Ethan's mind.
The golden flame, though only the size of a fingernail, burned steadily.
As if it had been alight in the darkness for tens of thousands of years.
From ancient times to the present, from the present to the future.
Never to be extinguished.
"You walk the path of pursuing knowledge."
"Awaken the Lantern, and your voice and words will be more powerful than before; you will be better able to influence emotions and move people's hearts."
"When you reap darkness, you can make the light within the Lantern grow brighter."
"When the light is brighter, you can reach more hidden places and seek secret treasures."
Darkness?
Ethan looked at the unknown Dark Wizard who had collapsed in terror before him.
What a coincidence.
Right now, in front of him, there was a "darkness" that had tried to kill him.
In the other's terrified eyes, Ethan curved his lips into a smile and raised his wand.
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze