You can read ahead up to 110 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
The centaurs shouted angrily, and some even raised their bows again, just then, a strange wave appeared in the air.
"Ha ha ha ha ha~"
A bizarre sound echoed.
The black Phoenix appeared in front of the centaurs.
"Attack!"
"Damn! It's an ambush!"
The panicked centaurs attempted to shoot down the flying black Phoenix, but it seemed to flit between life and death, its form flickering as it dove toward the centaurs.
It pierced through the nearest centaur, but when the terrified centaur looked down at its chest, it found no wound.
"I'm still alive! It's fine!" The centaur exclaimed, but when it turned to look at its companions, it saw their expressions filled with horror.
"What's wrong?"
It turned back.
Instantly, its face turned pale.
There, the black Phoenix held a dim, somewhat transparent figure in its beak, which was struggling, its face identical to that of the centaur.
With a swift motion, the black Phoenix raised its head and swallowed the entire transparent figure.
"NO!"
The attacked centaur's voice was abruptly cut off, as if an invisible force had seized its throat. Its eyes began to fade, transitioning from deep amber to a pale gray, as if all vitality was being drained away. This fading process rapidly spread throughout its body, and its once robust muscles and smooth skin became dull and lifeless.
It was as though the ravages of time had eroded it.
As the fading intensified, the centaur's body grew weak, its limbs trembling as if they could no longer support its massive frame.
Finally, with a dull thud, the centaur collapsed like an ancient statue, shattering into countless pieces, revealing pale bones and shredded muscle fibers.
Clearly, what had been taken and consumed was its soul!
"What a wicked creature! What a terrifying ability! Alert all kin! Inform the school!" The lead centaur, witnessing the gruesome demise of its kin, was struck with fear.
The other centaurs reacted similarly. All centaurs were champions unafraid of death, but the horror of having their souls consumed made them tremble in fear.
"Don't let these beasts escape; they just attempted to murder me!"
Ian watched as the centaurs began to scatter, speaking softly to the black Phoenix that had returned to his arm. He didn't draw his wand, as the centaur's soul had been devoured, and the black Phoenix was once again engulfed in purple flames, a surge of magic power flowing back to him, albeit not much, but certainly better than nothing.
"Ha ha ha ha ha~"
The black Phoenix soared into the air once more.
However, before it could charge out, the stationary black-robed skeleton assumed Ian was speaking to it, turning its head slightly to gaze at the fleeing centaurs.
Its eye sockets flickered with a flickering fire of souls, and the red lines on its bones began to shimmer, glowing eerily in the moonlight. Some mysterious magical power seemed to radiate outward from it.
The next moment...
"Ahhhahhh!"
A series of piercing screams erupted.
Even though they had already scattered, fleeing in different directions, all the centaurs ignited in crimson flames simultaneously. There was no escape, no warning; the flames seemed to erupt from within them. All the centaurs fell to the ground, their agonizing cries echoing through the forest.
The flames did not immediately kill the centaurs.
Instead, they acted like a dreadful curse, gradually eroding their skin and flesh. The centaurs' skin began to dry out, as though exposed to the burning heat of a dragon's breath for days, losing all luster and elasticity. Their muscles contracted, as if an invisible force was squeezing out all their blood and moisture.
The surrounding trees seemed to sway away, as if recoiling from the very magic that coursed through the air.
"NO!!! I was wrong!!!"
"Kill me! Just kill me!"
"Evil dark wizard! Your soul will be cursed!"
After a series of painful moans and desperate struggles, the centaurs, like puppets deprived of all life, slowly collapsed to the ground, their bodies withered like mummies. They lost all their former pride and vitality. The flames extinguished as the centaurs fell, leaving behind a scene of charred remains and devastation.
The air was thick with a suffocating, burnt smell, the trace of life ruthlessly stripped away.
"What bad luck!"
Ian quickly distanced himself from the ashes, watching as the black Phoenix perched on his shoulder, while the black-robed skeleton followed him. He decided to share the curse of the centaurs.
"To be fair, it was you who attacked first, so you're the dark wizard in their eyes." Even without sensing the curse, Ian remained extremely cautious.
"Ha?"
The black Phoenix seemed to indicate that it was not a wizard.
"Then it must be referring to it; it is the only outsider here... the outer bone." Ian and the black Phoenix almost simultaneously turned their heads to look at the silent black-robed skeleton.
"??????"
The black-robed skeleton remained silent.
But it clearly sensed how Ian was treating it, as it had just followed Ian's orders to eliminate the centaurs, only to find itself being excluded alongside the black Phoenix.
"It's fine; you can handle it; I believe in you... and please help me bear the curse from Voldemort." Ian walked along the narrow path toward the secret passage.
The empty forest echoed with the sound of rustling. The white light from his wand illuminated the surrounding scene, and the damp path was covered with various slippery mosses.
Some oddly shaped fireflies were drawn to the light but dared not approach.
"Smack~"
The black-robed skeleton stepped on a tiny mushroom.
Ian glanced back at it.
Immediately, he took off running.
The somewhat bewildered black-robed skeleton had just begun to follow when the tiny mushroom beneath it suddenly swelled and exploded, releasing a large cloud of green smoke.
The toxic mist enveloped the black-robed skeleton, turning it green, yet it still moved swiftly, teleporting to Ian's side, who had already run quite a distance away.
"This is a good find; let me scrape some off." Ian had already pulled out a vial and brush, donning protective gear, and as soon as the black-robed skeleton appeared, he rushed forward to collect the toxic powder.
After a moment, the black-robed skeleton returned to its original color.
Ian was satisfied with the vial of powder he had collected. Perhaps they had lingered in this spot too long, as a curious creature emerged from the depths of the forest.
It seemed unafraid of the black-robed skeleton or Ian and the black Phoenix, slowly walking out of the thicket. It resembled a horse but much cleaner and more graceful, surrounded by colorful butterflies that emitted a soft glow. It was a Unicorn.
Ian was somewhat surprised by this encounter; he had roamed the Forbidden Forest more than once or twice but had never seen a Unicorn approach him so willingly.
In fact, the Unicorn was not approaching him at all. It walked past Ian and the black Phoenix, kneeling before the black-robed skeleton. Its front legs touched the ground as it bowed slightly.
The black-robed skeleton tilted its head in confusion but still reached out to stroke the Unicorn's head, this scene felt magical and unbelievable to Ian.
"You were so cruel when you killed the centaur! How can a Unicorn consider you to have a pure soul?" Ian thought either he was going mad or the Unicorn had lost its mind.
It certainly wouldn't show such affection to him; while it might allow him to touch it, it would never be as submissive as it was before the black-robed skeleton. This beautiful magical creature had quite the temper.
Seeing that the Unicorn even seemed to want to carry the black-robed skeleton, Ian's expression turned bewildered.
"You are actually a good skeleton!?"
He couldn't fathom why he was witnessing such a bizarre scene.
"Ha ha ha~"
The black Phoenix echoed in agreement.
It looked at the black-robed skeleton as if it were a traitor to its kind.
(End of this chapter)