HP: Beyond Miracle

Chapter 39: Mad Magic: Blood and Taboos (Part 2)



Was this what it meant to reach the correct answer through a process of failure?

Dawn read through Celestine's manuscript, experiencing a whirlwind of emotions in a short span—resonance, disdain, surprise, and doubt all swirling within him.

And the final section of this manuscript?

It was Celestine's experimental result on casting the Flesh-Separation Curse. The notes ended like this—

"I did it!"

"I can feel it—my magical power, which had stagnated for forty years, is growing rapidly once again!"

"Merlin, this feeling is incredible! I believe I can use this spell to rise among the greatest wizards!"

"It's entirely possible that I could even reach Merlin's stature!"

"After all... I've solved the limitation of magical power with just one spell!"

". . ."

". . ."

"Alright."

"After my magical power plateaued again, my attempt to transform into a magical creature failed once more."

"Perhaps... my magic is still insufficient?"

"But it's fine! I just need to separate more limbs and organs! After all, magic has never been a shackle to me!"

The results were undeniably exciting.

But this time, Dawn remained entirely calm as he read them.

As expected—

At the end of the manuscript, the compiler of this book had also left a note after Celestine's conclusion.

"In 1383, Celestine died due to a magical mishap."

"Later research into the Flesh-Separation Curse revealed that once cast, the curse continues to split the user's body over time."

"By the time of her death, Celestine had transformed into a horrific, deformed creature, eventually starving to death in her own home as her body's need for nutrients outpaced what she could consume."

"Fortunately, though the spell had already spread at the time, it did not result in widespread incidents."

"Further studies revealed that the spell's effects could be halted with the 'Final End to All Curses' incantation."

"However, once halted, all severed limbs would begin to wither, and the boosted magic would quickly decline, even dropping below the original levels."

Dawn was unmoved.

He had expected it!

If the bottleneck in magical power could truly be broken this easily, there was no way a witch like Celestine would have remained so obscure.

Still, despite its fatal flaw, the Flesh-Separation Curse was undoubtedly a very interesting spell.

If he had to put it in Muggle game terms, it was a spell that permanently lowered one's maximum magic, in exchange for a temporary, long-term increase in magical power.

But since the growth occurred over months, it couldn't be used to turn the tide during moments of crisis, so its practical value was rather low.

Dawn copied the incantation and theory from the manuscript into his spell collection.

Since he remained on edge about Dumbledore showing up at any time, he didn't dwell too deeply on the spell just yet, choosing instead to finish reading the entire book.

…....

The second part of the manuscript was titled: "The Root of Arrogance—The All-Powerful Wizard"

And when Dawn saw the name of the manuscript's author, he was slightly surprised.

It was written by none other than Alaric Oxido, the same person who had authored [Animagi: A Wizard's Fantasy], which Dawn had read earlier.

This particular manuscript was written in 1472, and the entire piece focused on the importance of belief and a strong sense of self in magic.

Alaric believed that all magic stemmed from a wizard's firm beliefs.

He claimed that the reason wizards failed to transform into magical creatures, and could only become ordinary animals through the Animagus transformation, was because deep down, they couldn't truly believe it was possible.

Overall, Dawn couldn't help but feel that Alaric was a psychologist who had been derailed by magic.

In the manuscript, Alaric wrote:

"Through extensive research, I've come to understand that it is impossible for a person to fully grasp their own subconscious."

". . ."

"In ancient times, wizards had not yet developed many spells, and thus feared the innately powerful magical creatures."

"That fear has been passed down for generations, to the point where even now, despite our ability to defeat most magical beasts, we still don't believe we can become them ourselves—deep down."

Hmm...

In a way, the theory had a kind of internal consistency.

To overcome this subconscious disbelief, Alaric made a rather... incomprehensible decision.

He would make himself believe—truly believe—that he could become a dragon.

And his method?

He adjusted his lifestyle to mirror that of a fire dragon—living in mountains or wastelands, attaching claws and fangs to his body, and feeding on large mammals.

To strengthen his conviction even further, Alaric even began injecting a few drops of dragon's blood into his veins each day.

Dawn really wanted to ask—why didn't you just go for organ transplants like the author of "Flesh and Flesh"?

Suppressing the urge to smile, he kept reading.

This manuscript only recorded Alaric's theory and methods, without confirming whether he succeeded in transforming.

However…

No surprises.

Further on in the manuscript, the compiler had once again provided the experiment's outcome.

"Maybe, by now, you think Alaric was a complete madman. Honestly, I thought the same when I first found this manuscript."

"But after digging into Alaric's life out of curiosity..."

"I couldn't help but feel—maybe, just maybe, he really was a genius?"

"Yes. Based on what I've found, it's entirely possible he succeeded."

"According to what I gathered—"

"Near the end of his life, having hypnotized himself for years, Alaric finally decided to test his theory for real."

"He informed his neighbor of his intent, then locked himself in his home."

"A month later, the neighbor, feeling something was wrong, broke into the house and found Alaric lying on the floor—still humanoid, but covered in dragon scales, his eyes shut tight."

". . ."

"Inspiring, isn't it?"

"But unfortunately..."

"I used so many uncertain words above because only one person—his neighbor—ever saw that scene."

"That's right."

"When the terrified neighbor ran off to gather others, they returned to find nothing of the sort."

"There wasn't a single person or even a body in Alaric's home."

"Despite a thorough search by the wizarding community that lasted months, the consensus was that the neighbor had simply been hallucinating due to intoxication."

"However, there is one detail worth noting—"

"From the moment the neighbor claimed to have seen him..."

"No one ever saw Alaric again."

". . ."

"When I was compiling this manuscript, I couldn't help but wonder."

"Maybe."

"Among the dragons soaring across the skies of this world..."

"One of them really is Alaric."

". . ."

Dawn remained silent for a long while.

This manuscript felt shrouded in mystery, like reading an embellished fantasy tale.

But Dawn was willing to believe it was real.

Because he also agreed with Alaric's theory—"belief determines everything."

With his own magical capabilities, and his interpretation of spells being driven by changes in symbolic patterns, Dawn believed that transformation into magical creatures was entirely possible.

And that belief was the very reason he had, up until now, focused all his research on solving the problem of time limitation.

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