I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 561 The Sky Full of Stars Sinks into the Earth

(Under revision)

The elevator slowly descended, and the surrounding light gradually dimmed.

At that moment, the floor tiles beneath their feet lit up.

The intricate patterns on the surface—similar to family crests commonly found in Europe—show that fairies also have their own emblems, carved into the floor tiles.

Light rises from these patterns.

It looks like a magic circle.

The magic circle passed through their bodies and eventually floated above their heads, becoming a fixed light source to help them dispel the darkness.

------

The Elf Kingdom is far more complex than anyone imagined.

The elevator descended for more than a minute, and the surrounding area was still rock walls.

Irving could sense that the elevator was actually quite fast. At least much faster than a regular elevator.

In that minute, it felt like they had descended at least a thousand feet (over three hundred meters).

But this is still not the end.

About thirty seconds later.

Suddenly, the darkness before Owen's eyes seemed to be cut off. An extremely rich, ghastly color rose up from the soles of his feet.

"God—"

"this--"

"Oh—not bad."

Hermione, Koyatl, and Owen couldn't help but say.

Before me lay a vast canyon—no, that's not right, it should be called a massive cavern.

The term "cave" is inappropriate because it is simply too large.

The city stretched as far as the eye could see, and the dome twinkled with lights like stars.

It was absolutely beautiful. It was as if the city was growing out of the Milky Way, moving alongside the sun and moon.

Who could imagine that there would be a city that seems like another world just underground?

"Welcome to the Fairy Kingdom," Gonuk said with immense pride.

"Click—" The elevator landed.

The group entered a courtyard.

This is a very open space, possibly a plaza or something similar. After all, the entrance and exit are right behind them, like a train station, so the waiting area naturally needs to be quite large.

Gonuk led the way.

The other fairy did not follow.

At the end of the courtyard, the group descended a straight, narrow staircase. On either side of the staircase, towering walls stood like guardians, their surfaces covered with intricate carvings, each line delicate and meticulous, as if a perfect fusion of nature and the craftsman's spirit.

The starlight from the dome can only pass through the gap where this downward staircase is located.

This might be the city gate of the fairy kingdom, although Owen didn't see the gate.

It must be said that the fairy's aesthetic achievements in architecture are astonishing.

Whether it's the intricate patterns on the walls on both sides or the distant stars, the way the passage widens from narrow to wide, eventually opening up as if stepping into a fairyland, this aesthetic design truly amazed Irving.

To develop such astonishing aesthetics and art from such a small perspective, this civilization must first possess a long history, stable politics, and abundant material wealth. Even if countries with only a few hundred years of history racked their brains, they couldn't possibly build such structures.

As you walk deeper into the staircase, it gradually becomes wider until it opens up into a completely new world, as if you have crossed the boundaries of time and space.

The Milky Way suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes, bringing them great shock.

Above the dome, the Milky Way flows like a fairyland.

Endless purple light bathed the city. This purple was not a single color, but rather a collection of countless tiny rays of light that intertwined and danced in the air, like the most precious galaxy silk, making one feel as if they were in the vast universe, or strolling through a dreamlike purple sea of ​​flowers.

There is still a bridge between us and the city.

A canal bridge.

The canal bridge is also a typical example of classical architecture. Its most prominent feature is the use of a classical column structure that is heavier at the bottom and lighter at the top. This huge structure made up of columns is divided into three sections. The term "heavy at the bottom and light at the top" means that, following the architectural form of the three sections, you can clearly see that the columns at the bottom are much thicker than those at the top, gradually decreasing in thickness from bottom to top. In addition, the columns at the top are double columns.

The design is somewhat like a combination of the facade of the ancient Roman Colosseum and the ancient Roman aqueduct.

The top of the canal bridge features Corinthian columns, consistent with the facade of the ancient Roman Colosseum.

Similar buildings are common in southern France and Italy, as they represent the most dazzling architectural style of the Roman Empire at its peak.

Cross the canal bridge and listen to the rushing underground river flowing beneath it.

If it weren't for the fact that they could vaguely see stalactites resembling caverns when they looked up, no one would have guessed that they were thousands of feet underground.

"It's unbelievable," Hermes exclaimed.

"I think only magic could have created such an architectural miracle."

Irving nodded; she was right.

With their current capabilities, it would be extremely difficult for Muggles to carve out such a space thousands of feet underground and build a large city.

Perhaps some large countries could achieve this with their entire national resources, but the cost would be far too high.

Only magic, only magic could create such a miracle, like the city surrounding the Tower of God in Canada.

Thinking of this, Owen suddenly realized that perhaps the wizards of yesteryear could have easily built such a magnificent city, but their history was interrupted by their resistance against the Outer Gods. Many technologies and spells were lost, which is why they are so weak now.

The fairy escaped the calamity, or the loss was not as great as that of the wizard.

We crossed the canal bridge.

Vast clusters of buildings came into their view, and from near to far, the style of the city's architecture became increasingly modern.

The newest buildings in the distance already have a European 17th and 18th century style.

Gonuk led the group to the most prominent building in the city.

It's somewhat like a chapel, with the same style as Hogwarts, featuring the same Gothic architecture and vertical spires everywhere, giving it a strong sense of extreme religious sanctity, guiding one to ascend to heaven and approach the heavens.

As they walked, Koyater suddenly spoke up, "Something's strange."

"What's wrong?" Hermione turned her gaze away from the Milky Way in the dome and looked at the girl.

"We've walked for so long—why haven't we seen a single fairy?"

"This—" Hermione also realized what was happening.

The city before her seemed large enough to hold 100,000 people, but perhaps more, given the fairy's figure.

But so far, they haven't seen a single fairy.

This made her suspect a conspiracy.

She immediately pulled out her magic wand.

"No—no—please don't be nervous!" Gornuk quickly shouted to draw everyone's attention. "There's no conspiracy. We've invited you to solve some trouble."

"What exactly is the trouble?" Owen asked coldly.

They had asked similar questions while on the carriage.

But the fairy wouldn't budge. She stammered that she would know everything once she saw the king.

Owen didn't care; his purpose in coming here was for ancient magic. Dealing with the fairies was secondary—he was just here to be a bandit, so why should he care if they had any ulterior motives?

"Right away—right away." Gornuk pointed to the massive chapel-like building ahead. "His Majesty is already waiting for you inside the royal court. He will answer some of your questions."

-

"Could this be some kind of conspiracy?" Hermione cautiously approached Owen and whispered.

"Whatever conspiracy," Owen said. "Didn't you secretly take Sirocco with you? Even fairy magic can't restrain it. Leaving is a piece of cake."

"By the way, Sirius, didn't you notice anything unusual when you came last time?"

"No—" Sirius also shifted his gaze from the magnificent buildings. "Last time I stayed for a very short time, less than a few tens of minutes before leaving."

However, there were some fairies by the roadside last time; I saw dozens. This time, I don't know why—”

"Do you think the fairies will side with the mysterious man and then ambush us?"

Owen's suspicions are perfectly understandable, given that the Fairy Brotherhood was originally aligned with the Purifiers, and later the Purifiers joined the Death Eaters. A portion of the Fairy Brotherhood also joined the Death Eaters.

The relationship between the Fairy Kingdom and the Fairy Brotherhood appears to be that of a government and a rebel group, with the two sides seemingly irreconcilable enemies. However, no one can be certain that they would never collude.

"Probably not." Sirius thought for a moment and then said in a low voice, "As far as I know, the current members of the Fairy Brotherhood don't hold much higher status than house-elves within the Death Eaters. They might even defect, so the possibility of them joining now is too small."

"Mmm-hmm—" Irving nodded.

This has always been his view.

Previously in the Tower of the Gods in Brazil, Koyatl and Ron had personally witnessed the members of the Goblin Brotherhood. They could only do odd jobs, such as escorting Muggles, and there were no Goblins in the core area.

If these fairies are like this, how could other fairies possibly join them?

However, one should always be cautious.

Owen whispered something in Hermione's ear.

Tell her to take Sirocco out of the pet carrier beforehand.

Then he drew his wand and held it in reverse in case of emergency.

A dozen minutes later, the royal court was almost within reach.

As they ascended the stairs, the group stepped into the interior, which featured an exaggeratedly high ceiling.

Inside the majestic building, three crystal chandeliers hang down, bringing light.

The crystal floor tiles underfoot reflected a dazzling light.

"Your Majesty—" Gonuk stepped forward and knelt down.

Everyone looked up and saw an old fairy dressed in a royal robe and wearing a crown of various jewels sitting on the golden throne.

"Ah—" Hermione exclaimed.

With just one glance, Owen understood why the fairy had sought him out.

He immediately put the wand away.

"That is—" Koyatl said, frowning.

"The furnace, the horns?" Sirius immediately retrieved the key information from his memory.

"So this is the trouble the fairy encountered?"

Irving's lips curled up slightly.

The old monster on the throne was covered in tree branch-like horns, with the most on his head. One of the horns growing from his right temple curved and eventually pierced his right eye.

One of his eyes is already blind.

It probably won't be long before that horn pierces his head.

"hehe--"

Grandma had mentioned before that the fairy found the Rocher Magical Disability Hospital, and then the hospital contacted her, eventually leading her to me.

Therefore, it is quite obvious that these fairies are infected with a disease similar to "ominous signs" to cause this.

"Humans—"

As Owen was lost in thought, the goblin on the throne spoke in a hoarse voice.

He was very weak and looked like he was about to die.

"No need for further words." Owen wasn't surprised that the Fairy King spoke fluent English; if he dared to speak Fairy language, he would have turned around and left immediately.

"I'm just curious. How did you and your community get infected with [the ominous sign]?"

It's not hard to deduce from Sirius's words that when he arrived several years ago, a large number of fairies in the kingdom had already been infected with the [Ominous Sign].

Moreover, based solely on what the naked eye can see, the ominous sign of this fairy king seems different from the ominous sign created by the Outer God.

Simply put, fairies are cleaner, with nothing but horns.

It lacked the blackish-gray flames, stench, and putrid pus found on the Child of Omens.

"."

The fairy king fell silent.

He didn't speak for more than ten seconds.

This question clearly touches on the secrets of their people.

Koyatel watched from the sidelines, a secret thrill rising within her at the sight of the goblins covered in horns. Clever as she was, she knew this was a truly troublesome disease. It was likely related to ancient magic, and only Owen, its heir, could cure it.

This made her very happy; she was pleased to see fairies suffer.

However, while she was happy, she also had some doubts.

So he cautiously approached Hermione and whispered, "Those horns. I've heard before that many people, including wizards and Muggles, were infected after the Battle of Italy. But this one seems different—one of his eyes is blinded by a horn. Why doesn't he cut it off?"

"Because it would be even more terrifying if they were cut off," Hermione explained. "I've seen some of Professor Victor's research. The horns on a Child of Omens can't be cut off. First, those horns have become part of the human body, with nerves and blood vessels. Cutting off a horn is like cutting off a hand or foot, causing immense pain. Second, the blood flowing from the cut surface will cause more and smaller bud-like horns to grow at an extremely fast rate. And these horns feed on the human soul and nutrients, so the person will quickly die from weakness. Eventually, they'll become a monster similar to an Infernal. This is also a kind of Child of Omens, but weaker than a normal one."

"I see." Koyatl nodded.

"But you're right, this fairy king is very different from the [Child of the Omen]. According to the research report from Rosier's Magical Disability Hospital, people infected with the [Omen] will quickly lose consciousness because the [Omen] devours their souls. So almost no one can survive for more than two days. But this fairy is strange. His horns have grown to the point that they can blind people, yet he can still maintain a clear mind. At least he can still talk to us."

(End of this chapter)