Chapter 311: The Story of Aragog

"Believe me, Hagrid's friend, this is the last request of a dying old spider. I sincerely ask for your help. Help me and my children." Aragog said slowly, "At least when faced with 'it', our interests are the same."

"It depends on the value of the information you provide." The wand in Ivan's hand was motionless, pointing steadily at Aragog. "What is 'it'?"

"I don't know, I've only heard it, but I've never seen it. Click, click, click" said Aragog, "For a long time, ever since I reached the deepest part of the cave, I could hear its whispers calling me. He told me he was the God of death, in charge of death and eternal life..."

Hearing that, Ivan almost laughed.

This evil creature hiding in the depths of the earth, calling himself the God of death, was truly arrogant to the extreme.

When he heard Aragog's words, Ivan already knew who he was talking about, the guy who took Malfoy, he was the owner of the whispering voice that had been whispering in his mind earlier.

He didn't know what it was, but he was sure it wasn't a god of death.

Even though he had figured out his target, Ivan still had too many questions. He had no clues, no idea where he should start looking.

He closed his eyes and couldn't help but think of the murals carved into the rock walls he had just seen, where the dark wizard appeared, performing the cruel dark ritual.

In the last mural, countless souls were infused into a mysterious creature.

This guy hiding underground must have something to do with this magic, perhaps the powerful dark creature that was finally created.

And the dark magician who cast this spell kept Ivan distracted.

No matter how powerful this dark creature was, it was also man-made. The dark magician who cast it was undoubtedly the most evil. what was his purpose?!!

"That voice has been whispering in my ear. It told me that it could help me and my descendants gain strength." Aragog continued slowly, "But I have not believed it, I have always been cautious."

"Tell me, how did you find him?" asked Ivan.

"About fifty years ago, when the natural enemy of the Acromantulas appeared in the castle, I escaped from the castle closet and came to the forest. Click, click." Aragog recalled, "Although I was free, I was very weak at the time. Hagrid was unjustly imprisoned, he never came to see me, I was scared, I could only wander around the edge of the forest. Until I came to this cave..."

"And then, he started talking to you?" Ivan narrowed his eyes. What Aragog was describing rang true.

When he arrived at Aragog's lair a few months ago, he was unconsciously attacked by the evil creature in the depths of the earth.

"No, at first everything was normal here." Aragog shook his pincers and said slowly, "I hid in this cave and used it as my lair. We like the dark environment. As time went on, I grew stronger and stronger, and Hagrid returned. He took up residence outside the Forbidden Forest and provided me with food regularly. Everything was back to the way it was in the old days. He even helped me find my first wife. She was a beautiful female spider, physically..."

"Focus!" Ivan interrupted him hastily, and a few sparks flew from the tip of his wand.

He wasn't interested in wasting his time listening to an Acromantula talk about his furry wife and their first mating.

Just the thought of this scene was unpleasant enough.

"My children and I lived in this cave. As our numbers increased, we started digging deep underground. Click, click, click" Aragog continued. "I didn't know what was underneath, but I instinctively felt a magic that drew me in. It was the power that the Acromantulas like. We can't refuse it."

The magical power that the dark creature like an Acromantula likes was obviously pure dark power, the magic of that evil creature in the depths of the earth.

"To get the source of this power, we have been digging deep into the earth, after that, it took us about twenty years or so until we dug here. Click, click, click" and Aragog continued to tell his story slowly. "We were surprised to see that there were ruins left by human sorcerers, with weird statues and murals everywhere, and nothing related to that force..."

"What statues?" Ivan asked hurriedly, "I didn't see any statues when I arrived."

The information revealed on the evil murals was too vague. If there was a clear statue, Ivan could deduce from it who had built the ruins near Hogwarts, and perhaps all the mysteries would come to light.

"It was a crazy day, and we destroyed many things, including statues, in search of great power." Aragog said to Ivan, "The statues were all of human mages, if you want to see them, you can look down here. I remember a huge stone statue was left there."

Ivan looked again at the deep well in front of him, and the wind was blowing upward making a whirring sound.

He couldn't help but take a step back and wonder how crazy it would be to go there.

Besides, even if he wanted to keep going, there was no way.

There was no flying broom or a Hippogriff, and it was impossible for him to jump straight up.

"Think hard about what those statues look like. do they have any markings on them?" Ivan sighed and added, "This is important and may help us figure out what we're up against."

"The appearance of human beings is almost the same to me. It's been a long time since I can't remember. Click, click, click" said Aragog slowly, "I just remember those statues with little green snakes on them. That's what our natural enemies look like when they shrink. I can't say that name. Yes, I remember it very well. That's why we destroyed the statues with our fury."

"Green snakes!" Ivan repeated it again, it should be.....

"Acromantulas hate snakes. They are natural enemies to us. Those statues and the stone doors and pillars in the room below had them" Aragog said slowly, "There's also a strange curved snake sign it looks like here and there..."

"It looks like this, doesn't it?" Ivan raised his wand and, with bright golden sparks, drew the characteristic S-shaped Slytherin emblem in the air.

When he finished, he remembered that he was too excited and forgot the fact that Aragog was blind. He couldn't see anything now.

The golden sparks glittered and soon faded into thin air, as did Ivan's excitement.

"I can't see what you're doing, but I once asked Hagrid about that symbol. Click, click, click" Aragog said, "He told me it's not a snake, not our natural enemy, but the letter S that you humans created to write and spell."