The moment Quirrell's fingertip touched the golden-red droplet of blood, a searing heat surged straight into his soul.
It was like being plunged into boiling water, scalded from head to toe.
But Lord Voldemort did not care. He could endure this pain completely.
Whether it was the agony brought on by countless Dark Arts transformations, or the torment of tearing apart his soul to create Horcruxes, all of it far surpassed this current burning sensation.
Not to mention that he had once been struck by a rebounded Avada Kedavra, a pain that almost shattered his soul and exceeded any suffering imaginable.
The instant he saw the strange creature launch its counterattack, and the moment that wisp of golden flame appeared, Quirrell instinctively used Apparition. He was extremely confident in his speed.
As the golden flame was about to touch him, his figure had already begun to twist and blur.
Yet just as Quirrell was about to dissolve into a shifting spatial shadow and teleport away—!!!
An immense, sluggish sense of solidity wrapped around him.
It was as though space itself, once flowing like water, had suddenly frozen into ice.
The fish that wished to swim and flick its tail could only remain immobile.
This completely unprecedented sensation robbed Quirrell of the chance to react at once.
Sizzle—~~~!
In that fleeting pause, the tip of the flame seemed to be drawn in, automatically latching onto the golden-red drop of blood.
Woosh!
In the next instant, the droplet burst apart.
Using that single drop as fuel, the golden fire flared and stretched, clinging to Quirrell's fingertip, then crawling over his palm, his wrist—
Pain!
A violent agony slammed directly into Lord Voldemort's soul.
If the earlier burning had been like boiling water, then this golden fire was molten lava.
Yet that torment, on par with having his soul torn apart, also shattered the sluggish restraint. Quirrell snapped his wand, and an invisible blade of force shot forth.
Swish!
His entire arm was severed at the shoulder.
But even in less than the blink of an eye, the golden flame had already devoured his forearm, surged past the elbow, and was about to climb higher.
Quirrell raised his wand again.
The remaining portion of his upper arm—what had not yet been consumed—suddenly exploded, scattering into a curtain of flesh and blood that obscured his form.
His gaze shot toward the female unicorn, her body riddled with wounds. Quirrell resolved to settle for the next best outcome, returning to his original plan of taking the fetus's blood.
Drip, drop....
Black-red blood seeped from Quirrell's eyes and nostrils as the magic within him rapidly weakened.
"Damn it!"
"This useless body!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Quirrell's body dissolved into a wisp of black smoke and shot straight into the sky.
He did not spare the female unicorn another glance, nor did he dare risk attempting to obtain the pure, fresh blood of the unicorn fetus.
In his current state, and with his magic draining at such a pace, if he lingered any longer, "Quirrell" would find it nearly impossible to escape that strange and terrifying creature.
As the enemy fled, auspicious clouds formed beneath Lumen's feet, and it was just about to rise in pursuit.
But it stopped itself and Apparated instantly to Seleneia's side.
It conjured two spheres of fire, placing one over its own wounds and the other over Seleneia's entire body.
The flames were still crimson-gold, but the golden hue within them was far more vivid and concentrated.
At the wound on Lumen's waist and abdomen, black fumes mixed with green mist were quickly evaporated, then incinerated completely by the fire.
Seleneia's condition, however, was far more severe. Her body was covered in wounds of varying size and depth, the deepest gash on her abdomen, almost exposing what lay inside.
Lumen spat out two mouthfuls of qilin saliva, which flew into Seleneia's mouth and onto her abdomen respectively.
As toxic gases of various colors seeped out from Seleneia's body, her wounds began to heal under the effects of the qilin saliva.
But it was far too slow.
The mixed poisons could not be eliminated by pure fire in a short time and continued to corrode Seleneia's body violently.
Moreover, Lumen glanced at the state of Seleneia's abdomen, and the anxiety in its eyes deepened sharply.
Seleneia let out a faint whimper, her voice weak and filled with pain.
Understanding what Seleneia meant, Lumen found itself at a loss. The child…
It separated a tiny auspicious cloud, collected a drop of golden-red blood from his own wound, and guided it gently into Seleneia's abdomen.
After another glance at what lay within, Lumen tried to comfort her softly.
"It's alright, it's alright… Wait just a moment."
Lumen released a vast amount of pure fire from its body. It pierced through the surrounding walls of flame, causing them to burn even more fiercely, while also sealing off the sky and forming a dome of fire.
In the next moment, Lumen vanished outright.
Only a few seconds later, Lumen returned with a young wizard who was hurriedly pulling on his robes.
Lucien drew his wand as he listened to Lumen rapidly recount everything that had just happened.
The entire incident had lasted only three to five minutes, yet the danger involved was enough to make anyone shudder.
Lucien's expression grew as calm and heavy as still water. With a wave of his wand, he levitated Asterion, who was slumped nearby, bringing him to Seleneia's side.
Such dreadful luck. There were so many unicorns in the Forbidden Forest, yet these were the ones Lord Voldemort had targeted.
They should have been tied up and taken into his gourd back then!
If Lumen hadn't happened to encounter them… Lucien turned his gaze to the little qilin, particularly the wound on its waist and abdomen.
"Master, I'm fine. My wounds are almost healed."
"Master, please check Seleneia quickly—and also… also her child."
Lucien nodded lightly and immediately crouched beside Seleneia, swiftly examining her injuries.
The wounds were… unmistakably stained with blood.
Lucien instantly recognized the magic that had caused Seleneia's injuries.
It was precisely the Dark Arts Quirrell had taught him a few days earlier—a method that combined Potions and spells.
Ordinary cutting wounds were not difficult to treat. The real problem lay in the effects produced by those Potions.
Black whirlpools formed in Lucien's eyes as he activated his Eye of Peering Magic, analyzing the Potion residue within the wounds.
The more he examined it, the graver his expression became.
This was not a simple mixture of several Potions, but a carefully calibrated combination of specific types and ratios, creating a far more complex and troublesome compound effect.
Seleneia's own injuries were one issue. Another lay elsewhere…
Lucien's gaze shifted to her abdomen. Through the deep, gaping wound, he could already see what lay inside.
A flicker of unbearable sorrow crossed his eyes.
No..
It… it can still be saved.
Lumen had already used a drop of qilin blood, which had temporarily stabilized the fetus's condition.
But it was still extremely precarious. Using more qilin blood would be pointless—the fetus could not withstand such an overwhelming surge of life force.
Moreover, in Seleneia's current condition, she could no longer give birth naturally.
This would require human intervention.
A unicorn's birth…
Lucien suddenly pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket, tapped it lightly with his wand, and several lines of writing quickly appeared on its surface.
Handing the parchment to Lumen, Lucien continued using magic to treat Seleneia and her unborn child.
"Lumen, go find Newt!"
________
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