Chapter 86: "Your Fiery Curse Is Like a Child's Play—Have You Ever Seen True Inferno?"
"No matter what, if Quirrell has already killed the unicorn, I can at least take advantage of the situation."
Aside from that, Dylan also wanted to see if he could use this opportunity to deal a blow to Quirrell.
After all, he had spent 10,000 Galleons to trigger an advanced mastery task for the Cruciatus Curse.
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# [Spell Mastery Task]: Cruciatus (Cruciatus Curse)
- **Pending Spell Trait Unlock**: Endless Agony
- **Current Mastery Task**: Cast the Cruciatus Curse 44 times on the same living target to unlock its trait and complete the spell mastery.
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Initially, Dylan had planned to test the Cruciatus Curse on Scabbers, the rat Ron kept as a pet.
However, since the task required him to cast the curse 44 times, the rat seemed to have an uncanny sense of danger.
Every time Dylan so much as glanced at it, the rat would start squeaking frantically.
Ron, noticing this odd behavior, would immediately take Scabbers to Madam Pomfrey, asking her to check if something was wrong.
This made it difficult for Dylan to find a good opportunity.
He had originally intended to wait until Ron fell asleep one night, then silently cast a soundless barrier before proceeding with the 44 Cruciatus curses in a row.
But now, with Quirrell in the picture, Dylan had changed his plan.
Quirrell's identity had always been dubious. And right now, Dylan was completely concealed under an invisibility cloak.
Aside from Dumbledore, he didn't believe anyone could see through it.
Even if Quirrell did catch a glimpse of his face, would he dare to report him?
And even if Quirrell went to the professors or Dumbledore to expose him—
So what?
Who would believe him?
If it really came down to it, Dylan could just yank off Quirrell's turban.
Who would believe that an innocent, kind, and harmless little wizard like him had mastered the Unforgivable Curses to perfection?
And that he could cast them instantly and in rapid succession?
Nobody would believe a word from Quirrell—especially since he was harboring Voldemort.
"Kehehe…"
Dylan let out a low chuckle.
Aside from these reasons, he also wanted to see if he could run into Firenze.
Centaurs had many valuable materials on them...
For example, their hooves.
An absolute treasure!
They could be used to brew healing salves.
Because centaurs often roamed magical lands and possessed innate magical energy, their hooves were incredibly resilient and carried a strong connection to natural magic.
When combined with various magical ingredients, centaur hooves could be used to create potions that not only healed wounds but also repaired bone fractures.
Most importantly, thanks to Professor Snape's lectures, Dylan had learned that—
A potion made from centaur hooves could form a faint magical barrier, offering some resistance against dark magic. It could enhance a wizard's ability to withstand curses and dark enchantments.
The benefits were endless!
Of course, Dylan wasn't planning to kill Firenze and take all four of his hooves for potion-making.
—What good would just four hooves do?
His goal was to locate the centaur tribe and acquire hooves from multiple centaurs.
"Though, that won't be easy."
Dylan wasn't fixated on obtaining centaur hooves immediately—he just wanted to meet Firenze, build a connection, and plan his next steps.
As Dylan ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest,
The air, already thick with dampness and decay, carried an additional, sharp scent of blood.
Rather than feeling fear, Dylan's eyes lit up.
"Lucky me! Did I just stumble upon the unicorn that Quirrell injured?"
He took a deep breath, inhaling the mix of damp earth and metallic tang.
Beneath the blood's acrid scent, he detected the faint fragrance of rain-soaked foliage.
A unicorn, no doubt!
Dylan felt a thrill of excitement.
Unicorn blood was one of the most potent magical materials, though any blood obtained through malicious intent would carry a powerful curse.
Even crafted into magical artifacts, the resulting products would inevitably be tainted.
But Dylan wasn't concerned about that.
He had no intention of using the blood on himself—no matter how cursed it was, it wouldn't affect him.
And if he managed to create something particularly sinister with it, he could simply use it against Voldemort in battle.
Dylan adjusted his invisibility cloak—the one he had spent another fortune to enhance—making sure not even a sliver of his form was exposed.
Then, he pressed forward.
His pulse quickened with anticipation.
This was the first time he was about to confront Quirrell directly!
For nearly a year, he had immersed himself in magical studies and spellcraft.
And in some ways, wasn't this moment exactly what he had been preparing for?
As Dylan advanced deeper into the woods,
He noticed more bloodstains scattered across the forest floor.
The aura around them radiated pure malice.
Dylan instinctively hesitated to step closer.
"These stains are nearly dry—not much use for research."
He wasn't going to waste time collecting them.
His main objective was to find the unicorn itself.
—If it was still alive, saving it might earn him a willing donation of normal unicorn blood for study.
He could always harvest the cursed blood afterward.
But if he arrived too late and the unicorn was already dead… then so be it.
"Neigh—!"
Suddenly, a piercing, agonized whinny shattered the forest's silence.
Then—abruptly—it was cut off.
Clearly, someone had silenced it with a spell.
Dylan blinked.
**"Still Alive?"**
If the unicorn was still alive, then naturally, he wouldn't be able to break off its entire horn. But if he could obtain the unicorn's willingly given blood, that would be good enough.
Dylan hurried forward, his footsteps swift, though completely silent—wrapped in the effects of the Silencing Charm.
Finally, beyond two towering trees—
He saw a horrifying sight.
A unicorn, pure white as freshly fallen snow, was suspended high in the air, ensnared by thick, coiling vines. Blood gushed from a wound on its neck, flowing relentlessly.
It struggled desperately, the horn atop its head flickering with a holy white light, but it was futile.
Below it stood a mysterious figure cloaked entirely in black robes. The figure tilted its face upward, mouth wide open, greedily drinking the blood as it dripped from the unicorn's wound.
The vines continued to tighten, constricting the unicorn's neck, slowly strangling it.
Dylan cast a look of distaste at Quirrell.
"How crude."
He raised his wand.
*"Crucio!"*
Rather than rescuing the unicorn first, he caught Quirrell off guard by hitting him with the Cruciatus Curse.
The reason he didn't simply cast *Avada Kedavra* was simple—even Dumbledore wouldn't dare to do so.
Naturally, he wasn't going to let Voldemort die so easily, either.
If one died, who knew how many more might pop up? Six? Seven? Eight? The entire world would be in chaos. That would severely impact economic growth—
And that, in turn, would slow down the speed at which his parents made money for him.
There was no dazzling light, no deafening explosion.
Dylan simply raised his wand and cast *Crucio.*
From the tip of his wand, an invisible force surged forth—an effect he had spent a hundred Galleons to modify, making it completely transparent—striking the unsuspecting figure in black robes.
Quirrell froze for a moment. Then, his body convulsed violently. His facial muscles twisted in agony, contorting beneath his hood.
"Ah—h-how is this possible?!"
Quirrell's voice was piercing, warped by excruciating pain.
"Who's there?!"
He spun around sharply, roaring hoarsely in disbelief.
Apart from himself and the Death Eaters, who would dare use an Unforgivable Curse at Hogwarts?
And on *him*, no less?!
Quirrell, trembling with both terror and rage, frantically turned his head in every direction—only to find nothing.
Yet even through the unbearable pain, he refused to let go of his wand, forcing the vines to continue strangling the unicorn.
Hidden beneath his Invisibility Cloak, Dylan raised an eyebrow.
"Wow, still holding on?"
Did this mean that those who practiced the Dark Arts had some degree of resistance to them?
He had never used an Unforgivable Curse on himself, so he had no way of knowing for sure.
But now he was intrigued.
Once again, he raised his wand.
*"Crucio × 10!"*
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One after another, invisible waves of magic surged toward Quirrell.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
After the second hit, Quirrell immediately tried to dodge.
But no matter how he zigzagged, he still ended up taking five or six more of Dylan's Cruciatus Curses.
By now, the pain had nearly crippled him.
"Damn it! Who?! Who is it?!"
Quirrell screamed in agony, barely managing to stay upright by forcing out spell after spell to steady himself.
"Invisibility Cloak *and* a Transparency Charm? That's just unfair!"
Dylan glanced at the unicorn, still suspended in midair, blood dripping steadily.
*"Diffindo!"*
With a single swipe, he sliced through the vines.
The unicorn plummeted toward the ground.
*"Wingardium Leviosa!"*
In an instant, Dylan cast a Levitation Charm, catching the unicorn mid-fall so it wouldn't slam into the earth.
As he gently lowered it, the creature—having lost so much blood—was barely clinging to life. Its pitiful whimpers had grown faint.
"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!"
Quirrell had been ambushed, struck repeatedly by Cruciatus Curses—by someone who wielded them with far greater mastery than himself. The agony was unbearable.
And yet—he still had no idea *who* was attacking him or *where* they were hiding!
His fury reached its peak.
"Invisibility Cloak? Or an Invisibility Potion? I don't care—I'll *burn* you alive!"
Despite the excruciating pain wracking his body, Quirrell raised his wand and spun it in a wide arc.
*"Fiendfyre!"*
Whoosh!
In an instant, a thick, inky-black fire erupted from the tip of his wand.
Almost immediately, the flames twisted into countless monstrous serpents, surging outward with overwhelming malice.
The heat was unimaginable—wherever the fire passed, the very air ignited with a series of sharp, crackling explosions.
The surrounding trees withered and blackened in seconds, then crumbled to ash—leaving not even a trace behind.
"Hahaha! Is *that* your idea of Fiendfyre? How pathetic!"
Dylan burst into laughter.
"WHO?!"
Quirrell's head snapped toward the sound. "You're *there*, aren't you? DIE!!!"
He swung his wand.
The fiery serpents roared, lunging straight toward Dylan with deadly force.
Dylan didn't flinch.
Without moving, he simply extended his wand from beneath his robes.
Whoosh!
Instantly, a swirling barrier of scorching Fiendfyre energy enveloped him, forming an impenetrable shield.
At the same time, the serpentine infernos came surging toward him, jaws wide open.
Wherever they passed, fallen leaves and twigs were incinerated into nothingness.
Whoosh!
A shocking scene unfolded before Quirrell's eyes.
The black fire serpents, upon touching Dylan, vanished without a trace—like mud sinking into the ocean, without causing the slightest ripple! Those flames, imbued with an aura of destruction, didn't leave a single mark on Dylan!
The area surrounding him became a vacuum, where the fire serpents encircled him but couldn't get even an inch closer!
Quirrell's eyes widened in sheer terror and disbelief.
"H-How… how is this possible?! How can this be?!"
In a frenzy, he raised his arm and wildly swung his wand again, pouring all his strength into intensifying the Fiendfyre's output.
"Die for me! You monster!!"
In an instant, even more fire serpents erupted from his wand, densely packed and overwhelming.
The trees standing between them had already been reduced to ashes—there wasn't even a trace of embers left.
A sinister aura spread through the Forbidden Forest.
"Is this truly your limit? With just this level of power, you think you can put on a dance?"
"Have you ever witnessed real Fiendfyre?"
Dylan chuckled softly. Beneath his invisibility cloak, his wand moved with a slight flick.
"Fiendfyre."
His voice was calm, yet it carried an earth-shattering power.
Boom!
This time, he didn't conceal the Fiendfyre's effect in transparency but revealed it in its full, terrifying form.
In an instant, an even more sinister and fearsome magic gathered in the air, rapidly coalescing into a colossal fire dragon.
The moment the fire dragon emerged, it seemed to dominate the entire sky and earth!
Its body was far larger and more ferocious than the one formed by countless fire serpents.
The fire dragon roared toward the heavens, then shot forward like a bolt of lightning, charging straight at the fire serpent swarm with its gaping maw.
A powerful suction force formed in an instant!
The fire serpents, which had previously surged with unstoppable momentum, were now as fragile as ants before the monstrous dragon. In a single gulp, it devoured them completely!
"W-What?!"
Seeing the fire dragon rushing toward him next, Quirrell was so terrified he nearly wet himself.
At that moment, an eerie voice echoed.
"You useless fool! I just finished devouring that cursed blood, and now you're about to drain all of my power!"
Dylan raised an eyebrow at the rough, raspy tone.
"Well, if I can truly kill Voldemort in an instant… the achievement that lights up probably wouldn't be too bad, right?"
(End of Chapter)