Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 67 25. The Failed Search

In Hermione's letter to Merlin, she told Merlin that in the wizarding world, the method used to treat the Obscure is to let those children who hate their own magic learn to use magic correctly. Once the violent magic accumulated in their bodies is released , the threat brought by the shadow of darkness will quickly dissipate.

Although Merlin is not a true silent person, his situation is also very suitable for "treatment" in this way.

Merlin stayed in Brighton for another half a month. During this half month, he spent most of his energy on learning magic knowledge and studying magic.

There isn't even time for growing hair and beard.

In the real world, no matter what you do, as long as you work hard to a certain extent, you will always be rewarded.

On the night of the thirteenth day, Merlin finally successfully released the first magic in his life... or magic trick.

Light curse.

It is the simplest of all elementary spells, with only 2 syllables and requires very, very little mana.According to the records in "Hogwarts, a School History", the little wizards who really started to study, under the guidance of the instructors, usually spend 1-2 hours to successfully release this simple magic power trick.

It's a pity that Merlin didn't have a mentor to guide him, and his knowledge of magic was almost zero. Relying on his hard work, it took him nearly a hundred times more time to finally light up the "lamp" in his hand.

It was a light flame, like a flame burning in the dark, emitting a warm light.

The unshaven Merlin looked at the flame in his hand obsessively.

This flame is not powerful, it can only be used for lighting or lighting cigarettes, it cannot be used for fighting at all, but to Merlin, its meaning is stronger than any sharp sword.

It represented that a locked door opened before Merlin's eyes.

That is, hope.

"However, the color of this flame is a bit wrong."

Merlin scratched his messy hair, and he turned his head to look at the magic book spread out beside him. This book called "Hogwarts, A School History" sounds like a biography of some kind of memory, but in fact, it It is also an auxiliary book that young wizards must learn in the first year. It records some basic magic principles, as well as records of anecdotes about the mysterious Hogwarts College.

And on the opened page, there are detailed records of the successful release of the Lighting Curse. In the moving magic image, the dancing flame is a faint golden color, just like the dawn in the early morning, representing hope and hope. bright.

But the flame in Merlin's hand was golden with a hint of dark red.

It looks a little weird and a little ominous, and there is no sign of healing at all.It's like a will-o'-the-wisp dancing in the middle of the night.

Although it can also be used for lighting, this thing...how strange it looks.

"Probably has something to do with the nature of the magic power that is biased toward darkness."

Merlin waved away the flames, closed his eyes, and felt the magic power reverberating in his body.

Sure enough, just like the record in the text excerpted by Hermione, after the first magic was released according to the correct magic power system, the magic power in Merlin's body was still expanding, but it was already much more docile.

And for the first time, an active and benign "flow" began to take place in Merlin's body.

Instead of the blind and chaotic expansion like before, Merlin was greatly relieved.

He raised his finger, and a puff of smoke still wrapped around Merlin's finger, but compared to the noisy gesture before, it was much weaker.

There is no doubt that this is a sign of things getting better.

"Meow"

The ugly Crookshanks seemed to feel Merlin's joy, it lightly jumped onto Merlin's bed, rubbed its head on Merlin's arm, and made a cute gesture.

Merlin knew that this was the cat lord gently reminding him...

Don't play TM, hurry up and make supper for me!

"Alright alright."

Merlin reached out and touched Crookshanks' head. He closed the magic book, went to the kitchen, got some cat food, and added a small dried fish.Behind him, Crookshanks' tail was already wagging.

"Here, your supper."

Merlin knelt down and put the food bowl in front of the cat. He looked at Crookshanks, frowned and said:

"You're getting fat again. You can't go on like this, Hermione will blame me."

"It's enough to live here, let's go back to London tomorrow, and find a wand for me by the way. It is still very difficult to manipulate magic power out of thin air. It seems that wizards always carry wands with them for a reason."

Merlin patted Crookshanks' head, helped it smooth its fluffy fur, and then returned to the bed.

He looked at the scarlet stain on the pillow, and said:

"Tonight... probably no more bloodshed.'

----------

Early the next morning, Merlin, who had shaved his beard and trimmed his hair, was wearing a long windbreaker, carrying a bag, and hugging Crookshanks, and returned to the hotel room.Then take the train back to London.

Compared to the last time when he was ignorant when he entered London, Merlin observed carefully this time. When the train entered London, he really saw the faint light curtain on the edge of the city, like a thin layer of light. beam.

The color of that thing is very similar to that of the sky, if you don't look carefully, you can't see it at all.

This should be the investigative enchantment set up by the British Ministry of Magic in London. It is like an eye hanging in the sky. In the urban area of ​​London, any spellcasting and strange energy interaction cannot be hidden from this eye.

Merlin relaxed and hid the magic power in his body. After the dark magic power stopped rioting, this detection barrier would no longer stimulate Merlin's magic power.

And probably because of the long-term use of the Shadow Cloak, Merlin is very good at hiding magic power.I don't know if such a disguise can hide the magic spies hiding in the crowd.

Oh, by the way, they have a special name, called Auror (Auror).

According to the records of Merlin's magic book, the name is taken from the goddess of dawn "Aurora" in Roman mythology, which is also said to be "Eos" in Greek mythology. In the world of wizards, this is a group of magic that represents light and opposes darkness. warriors.

All of them are fighting masters, and all of them are difficult to deal with.

Walking out of the train station, Merlin reached out and pulled down the black peaked cap on his head, pushed his rimless glasses, and hugged the cat tightly in his arms.He looked left and right, then reached out to stop a car and headed for the Old Town of London.

But in the apartment downstairs of Hermione's house, Merlin got bad news from the administrator of the apartment. It seems that the trip of little Hermione's family is not over yet, and she hasn't come home yet.

Merlin had no choice but to leave here with Crookshanks with a tired face. Before he left, he left a note for Hermione, on which he wrote his phone number.

While resting in the hotel, Merlin gave Crookshanks a bath, and at the same time called Gatler, who is currently performing a mission near Paris. He said that he would pick up Merlin in London in a few days and let him go first. Live there with peace of mind.

He called Fury again and chatted with him about the latest situation in New York.

Fury told Merlin that Kohler was looking for him like crazy, but under the protection of the increasingly powerful Pierce, the incompetent dared not take practical actions to trip Fury.

So Fury has been quite happy recently, and Fury told Merlin that Constantine, whom he recommended, has started to take over the job left by Merlin.

The current identity of the magic ruffian is a peripheral member of the Strategic Crisis Intervention and Espionage Logistics Department.

"He was really dishonest."

Fury complained on the phone:

"That guy has made many excuses and tried to defraud me of funds. But his work is very effective, and he understands the rules of the dark world very well, and has never caused me trouble...I mean, he is very good Trouble, but he always calms it down in his own bloody way."

"It sounds like you guys had a great time working together."

While preparing lunch for Crookshanks, Merlin said to Fury:

"Don't take that guy lightly, that guy is a fox, the kind that must be chained around his neck all the time. By the way, Fury, what happened to the hell mad dog cult?"

Hearing this question, Fury's tone suddenly became serious, and he said:

"You're right, that organization is indeed dangerous. I disclosed the news to Kohler in an unexpected way. That guy was immediately fooled and organized a big raid on Hell's Kitchen a few days ago."

"He joined forces with the New York Police Department to act together. 300 police officers were sent to Hell's Kitchen and surrounded the building of Hell Rabid. They seized a lot of contraband, drugs, dangerous guns and ammunition on the spot, and even hidden many Extremists, they were making explosives when we broke in."

"Sounds like a big win?"

Merlin put the cat food mixed with sliced ​​meat in front of Crookshanks, then stroked the cat's head and asked:

"Have you caught Morris?"

"No! That's the problem."

Fury said in a regretful tone:

"I saw the defective half-demon you mentioned with my own eyes... If you hadn't reminded us to bring heavy weapons, I'm afraid it would have been difficult to end that day."

"Seven half-devils who were stimulated by blood almost demolished the entire building, and more than 7 police officers and agents were injured. You didn't see the situation at the scene, it was just like a battlefield. We finally used explosives and heavy sniping Guns, grenade launchers, etc., pouring fire on them for 40 minutes before destroying those monsters and the building."

"The cult leader Morris should have run away, and no one knows where it is hiding now. I have entrusted Constantine to search for its traces. But it is hard to say whether it will be found."

"It's not your fault, Fury."

Merlin comforted:

"That kind of dangerous dark creature should not be dealt with by ordinary agents like us. I also found some news in London recently. It is said that there is an organization called 'Demon Hunter' active in the world. If those powerful If the half-demons of the demons make too much noise, it will attract demon hunters to clear and kill them."

"So although they look powerful, they are also limited by the rules in their own world. That Morris, it doesn't dare to mess around in New York, trust me."

"No, I'm not afraid, Merlin."

Fury explained:

"I have some regrets. If I knew the consequences of this matter were so serious, I shouldn't have handed it over to Kohler. If I could wait a little longer until our master who specializes in dealing with supernatural phenomena returns, then It is absolutely impossible for that Morris to escape. This time, I was negligent, and the escape of that dangerous half-demon is my responsibility."

"You always say there's a master helping us."

Merlin asked again:

"But you never tell me, what is the name of that master? Does he or she really exist?"

"Of course!"

Fury hesitated for a few seconds, lowered his voice and said to Merlin:

"He exists, and he is one of the members of the 'demon hunter' you call. His name is Ulysses Bloodstone. It is said that he is one of the most powerful demon hunters of the contemporary era. He once fought with Captain America. Steve Rogers fought side by side, with the help of the Roaring Commandos, to disintegrate the **** Vampire Legion in **** Germany. You will definitely meet him if you get the chance."

"Bloodstone? This last name..."

Merlin narrowed his eyes. After he hung up the phone, he quickly found the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and turned to the title page of the chapter on vampires.Sure enough, this surname existed in the records of the magical animal naturalist and Sir Newt, the second-level magician of the Merlin Order.

It was one of several esoteric families of vampire hunters from the Middle Ages to the present.

It seems that the master in Fury's mouth is indeed a real super heavyweight master, not a liar like Constantine who only knows how to cheat.

Merlin closed the pages of the book, and he looked at the time. It was 8 o'clock in the evening. Merlin put on his clothes and cap, picked up his pile of odds and ends, and walked out of the room.

Taking advantage of this night, Merlin is going to investigate the mysterious Diagon Alley.

It is said that it is equivalent to a wizard's supermarket, but everything Merlin needs now can be found there.

------------

"bookstore."

Merlin was standing in Westminster, London, on the side of Charing Cross Road. He looked to the left, and there was a closed bookstore.

"The record store."

He looked to the right again, and there was a record store that was still in business, but with little popularity.

"It should be here."

Merlin was holding a hand-drawn map in his hand, and he raised his head to look at the place between the bookstore and the record store.

It was the map that Mr. Arthur had specially inserted in the pages of "Hogwarts, A School History", marking the road to Diagon Alley.

However, in the middle of the bookstore and record store, the standard place on the map is a bar called the Leaky Cauldron.

But when Merlin raised his head, there was nothing in front of him except the old wall.

"It should be here!"

Merlin looked at the map several times, and after confirming that he had made the right move, he put the map away and took a few steps forward.

He thought it was a blindfold, like a shadow cloak, covering the original building with shadows.

But beyond his expectation, he went all the way to the wall, but he couldn't find the hidden door of the Leaky Cauldron.

It's as if it's that place, and it's not here at all.

"No, it's not like that."

Merlin reached out and took off his glasses. He concentrated and looked at the empty land in front of him.

The embers in his eyes began to dance, and the open land under the night was gradually layered before his eyes, and he could vaguely see the distorted scene.

It looked like an old and small old-fashioned bar, with a pale lamp hanging at the door, and a signboard with a picture of a broken cauldron, and people could still be vaguely seen shaking in the bar.

But all of this is like being separated by a layer of water curtain, which cannot be seen clearly or touched.

"There must be a way!"

Merlin frowned. He regretted not bringing those magic books with him. In those books, the method of entering the bar must be recorded.

But tonight, he probably returned disappointed.

Merlin put on his glasses, he shook his head, glanced at the location of the Leaky Cauldron, put his hands in the pockets of his windbreaker, turned around and planned to leave.

However, at this moment, a black object fell to his feet with a slap.

Merlin was taken aback.

This thing seemed to appear out of nowhere, he took a step back, looked at the things under his feet, and couldn't see clearly.But Merlin could feel that the thing in front of him was alive, as if it was injured.

Merlin squatted down and reached out to touch the shadow. The moment his fingers touched it, the shadow in front of him suddenly dissipated, and what appeared in front of him was a weak, injured, weapon-holding...

beautiful brunette.

Merlin's heart sank suddenly, he knew...

With my trouble-prone physique, I encountered strange things again.

(End of this chapter)