chsdbacks Chapter 309 Unveiling the Secrets Inside the Eagle's Nest
Chapter 309 Unveiling the Secrets Inside the Eagle's Nest
Chapter 309 Unveiling the Secrets Inside the Eagle's Nest
The next morning, when Karen and her three companions appeared in the auditorium dining room with varying degrees of dark circles under their eyes, they attracted some curious glances. They practically wolfed down their breakfast, then exchanged a knowing look with each other before immediately getting up and heading towards the Eagle's Nest on the fifth floor as fast as they could.
The Eagle's Nest remained exactly as it had been when they left, with all the experimental equipment, books, and notes neatly arranged. The moment Karen closed the door, she immediately waved her wand, and layers of magical light rippled outwards like water, completely enveloping the space.
"Okay, everything's fine now." Karen turned around to face her three roommates, who were staring intently at her.
"Quick! Karen, tell us!" Wesley practically jumped up and sat down at a workbench, urging us impatiently.
Fabian had already taken out his notebook and mechanical quill, poised to take detailed notes. Ernesto, on the other hand, leaned against a bookshelf, arms crossed, his grey eyes fixed intently on Karen.
Karen took a deep breath and carefully took out the memory crystals, the parchment imprinted with intricate runes, and the copies of the magical photographs from her spatial bag, placing them one by one on the large workbench in the center. These items themselves seemed to carry an ancient and mysterious aura, making the atmosphere in the room even more solemn.
"Alright, let's start from the beginning." Karen cleared his throat and began to recount. He began by describing how he and Professor Castor descended again, detailing how they observed the dramatic changes in the magical flow inside the rock wall at the designated time, how the Slytherin serpent rune appeared, and how he realized it was the frequency of the Parseltongue in the form of light, and how he successfully resonated with it by imitating its rhythm, thus opening the magical archway.
"The feeling of going through the archway was strange, like a layer of cool water film, but when I came out, I was completely dry—" Karen described the feeling when she entered, and then began to describe the scene inside the laboratory.
He entered the spacious, noticeably expanded rectangular stone chamber, its walls inlaid with steadily glowing crystals, and in the corners, enormous glass jars emitting bioluminescence and containing specimens of strange magical creatures. "—There's a huge reptilian eyeball, as big as my head, still staring out from inside the jar—and scales shimmering with bronze metallic luster, fragments of carapace with golden spirals—Fabian, some of these creatures might be recorded in Nicolas Flamel's encyclopedia, but the variety and quantity here are astonishing."
He spoke of the enormous black stone experimental platform in the center, the intricate grooves and channels on its surface, the metal clamps along the edges, and the unidentifiable dark stains. "—I saw it with my Eye of Truth," he said, "those stains are remnants of various powerful life forces and magic mixed and then annihilated; very faint, but the feeling is very—intense." He carefully chose his words.
He described the sunken observation pool, its walls smooth, with remnants of a metal frame, and its bottom marked with intricate, dark red magic array markings. "—It looks like it was used to observe or even control the reactions of living organisms."
He also mentioned the unfinished or abandoned experimental apparatus scattered around the edges—broken crystal tubes, black bone-like objects stuck in supports covered with sharp probes, and splatter marks on the surrounding tabletop.
"—The entire laboratory, though ancient, still has its air circulation, dust removal, and even temperature control magic operating silently. It's very dry and clean, and apart from the dust, it doesn't look like a place that's been abandoned for thousands of years," Karen summarized her impression of the environment.
Then he talked about the most important discovery—at one end of the experimental table, a heavy notebook wrapped in black leather with a dark green scale pattern, and several scrolls of the same material next to it.
"Those are most likely Slytherin's experimental logs and core research scrolls," Cullen said, her voice tinged with awe and longing. "However, they are imbued with extremely sophisticated authentication magic. The professor and I both believe it's a kind of bloodline or soul-level access lock."
He picked up a memory crystal, activated it with his wand, and projected the sequence of access lock runes and the pattern of magic flow recorded within—which he had seen with his "Eye of Truth"—into the air. The runes were incredibly complex, shimmering with a faint silver light, and slowly flowing in a unique, dormant pattern.
“I tried,” Cullen said somewhat helplessly. “I tried the Parseltongue frequency that opened the entrance, and a few simple words I learned from Harry. The journal and a nearby locker door, which were also locked, only lit up briefly or vibrated slightly, but they wouldn’t open at all. The professor thinks it might require a specific, complex command code, or—” He paused, “or perhaps my imitation lacked the most crucial element—the unique quality of the Slytherin blood and soul. That’s the real key.”
After demonstrating the access lock, he activated other memory crystals and magical photographs, showing his roommates the dense ancient runes and Latin labels on the specimen bottles, several scattered research sketches, the magic circle patterns at the bottom of the observation pool, and the details of the abandoned devices.
As Karen narrated and demonstrated, gasps and suppressed exclamations frequently rose from around the worktable.
"Merlin—horned camel bile—triple concentrate? Or just for etching?" Wesley stared wide-eyed at a label.
"The bird-snake molting powder has a strong affinity for the Unseen Stretching Charm—this discovery is incredibly useful!" Fabian jotted down notes rapidly, muttering to himself, "And this—the vocal cord tissue of the ethereal siren," mentioned only in the oldest documents—"
Ernesto stared intently at the images of the magical creatures, especially those parts that clearly came from rare, ancient, or even modern creatures deemed extremely dangerous or extinct. His expression became incredibly complex. He spoke slowly, his voice a few decibels lower than usual: "As expected of a legendary wizard, he has managed to collect and analyze so many—such powerful and dangerous creations."
A brief silence fell over the dormitory when Karen showed the drawings depicting organ grafting, blood fusion magic reaction diagrams, and sketches of ideas for introducing biological bloodlines into wizards.
"This—is too radical." Fabian pushed up his glasses, a hint of unease in his voice. "It's even somewhat—dangerous. Forcibly fusing the bloodline characteristics of different creatures, look at these notes: 'Severe rejection reaction,' 'A sharp drop in soul stability'—this is simply—"
"Madness," Ernesto replied, his voice somewhat hoarse, "but also—frighteningly powerful. What he's exploring is indeed the source of power, only the methods he uses are somewhat—"
"Slytherin's research direction is very clear: to explore the deep characteristics, bloodline powers, and innate magical sources of magical creatures, especially those dangerous, powerful, or rare species, and to attempt to forcibly extract, fuse, and even extract their power, materials, and even essence for application in magical practice," Karen summarized, pointing to the crossed-out unicorn label. "He even considered unicorn tail hairs 'unusable' because they 'rejected their use' due to their lack of vitality."
"It's not just biological research," Karen added, quoting Professor Castor. "The maintenance of that space itself, the preservation of the specimens, the magic array in the observation pool—all demonstrate extremely high levels of alchemy and ancient rune proficiency. Slytherin is a polymath. The professor speculates that the damage to those devices was more likely caused by an experiment going out of control or the research being abruptly interrupted."
After all the information had been displayed, the worktable was piled high with various magical images and data. The four of them fell silent for a moment, immersed in the overwhelming information and shock.
“Even this peripheral information,” Karen broke the silence, her voice becoming serious, “is already invaluable. However, the professor is right to warn us; there must be a reason why core knowledge is so tightly protected. We absolutely cannot act rashly before the professor and Nicolas Flamel reach further conclusions.”
He reiterated the importance of secrecy, his gaze sweeping over each of his roommates. All three nodded solemnly, fully aware of the seriousness of the matter.