"Don't worry, Gaia, we will absolutely succeed." Allen detected the raw fear in Gaia's heart—a natural reaction, considering her age and the terror of the unknown. Moreover, to the little foals, Gaia was still a newly matured young adult.
But for Allen, if he commits to a task, he performs it to the absolute best of his ability. Saving the unicorn race was a necessary undertaking, both morally and logically sound.
The deeper they ventured, the darker and more oppressive the vast forest became. Allen suddenly stood frozen, as if entranced. He saw a pair of eyes, burning with an eerie, sickly green light, fixed on them from the deep shadows.
A wave of instinctive, primal fear of wild predators washed over him. Allen clenched his wand tightly, his gaze locked on the twin green glows.
"What is that?" Gaia noticed the eyes too. Her voice was sharp, high-pitched, and slightly frantic.
Allen covertly used his free hand, concealed by his wizard robes, to cast a small, nearly invisible, Confundus charm. He then reached out and tapped the air where the eyes were fixed. Suddenly, the eerie green eyes darted violently to the side, and a streak of something white and fast shot past Allen.
Allen spun his head sharply and saw a strange, small, vaguely humanoid creature with its head cocked at an unnatural angle leap away from the pond and crash into a giant tree behind him. The collision released a strong, fishy odour. It stumbled a few steps and, in the blink of an eye, vanished into the shadows of another section of the woods.
Hearing the commotion, Gesilis immediately turned around and asked what had happened. Allen quickly and clearly described his experience. Gesilis, in response, ordered the unicorn herd to remain on high alert, huddle tightly together, and prepare for any unforeseen attack.
His decision was undoubtedly wise. Moments later, more eerie green eyes began to glow, flickering like malicious fireflies aimlessly floating through the dense forest.
"Lumos Maxima! Globular Fluorescence!" Allen ignited his wand, then transformed the bright light into a luminous sphere and shot it forward. The eerie green eyes immediately recoiled, emitting a high-pitched, distressed squeak as the glowing sphere hovered high in the air.
At that moment, everyone finally got a clear view of the attackers. Their bodies were a dark grey-green colour, but their undersides were sickly white. Most of their skin was smooth and shiny, but their backs were lined with high, scaly protrusions. Their forms were vaguely humanoid, yet their heads were distinctly fish-like, with huge, bulging eyes that never seemed to close.
Gills constantly quivered on either side of their necks, and their feet were long and fully webbed. They moved in a lurching fashion, sometimes on their hind legs, sometimes on all fours. Their hoarse, high-pitched, guttural calls seemed to convey all the dark, hateful emotions their faces lacked.
These amphibious fish-men—let's call them that for now, as they were clearly different from the Merpeople of the Black Lake at Hogwarts—paused briefly, then regrouped. They seemed enraged by Allen's sudden use of light magic.
Some of the hulking creatures lunged at the unicorns, claws extended, moving with impossible speed. Some unicorns were unable to dodge in time and were left with deep, bloody gashes, while others, more fortunate, leaped nimbly out of the way.
A fierce battle erupted between the amphibious fish-men and the unicorn herd. Allen was positioned deep within the protective circle formed by the warriors. He tried to jump out and engage several times, but each time he was firmly stopped by Gesilis, who offered a perfectly reasonable explanation:
"Allen, after using the Goddess of Fortune's orb on the Sphinx statue, your healing magic as a wizard will be temporarily weakened. Therefore, your presence right here is crucial; the safety of the herd relies entirely on your skills! If even the unicorn warriors cannot defeat these amphibious fish-men, what use is a mere student like you in the fight?"
Despite Gesilis's misjudgment of his strength, Allen dedicated himself to healing the injured unicorns. His magic was sharp and incredibly precise; he could almost always cast the healing spell onto the required unicorn in time. Even if he made a small error, he could quickly compensate with his innate ability.
While the amphibious creatures relied on their speed and razor-sharp, webbed claws, the unicorns countered with their superior agility, sharp horns, and powerfully delivered hooves.
The battle raged fiercely, but thanks to Allen's timely and consistently effective healing spells, the scales of victory finally tipped toward the unicorns. Gesilis then personally entered the fray, delivering a powerful kick that sealed the fate of the remaining attackers.
The amphibious fish-men had arrived quickly and retreated even faster. The Giant Tree Forest once again fell silent, leaving behind only broken branches and leaves, trampled and spoiled grass, the still-nursing injured unicorns, and the rest of the warriors who had just survived the fierce fight.
After resting for a while in this dim, uncertain place, Gesilis reformed his team and they moved onward. Yet, there was no sign of light ahead. They could only continue blindly through this boundless forest labyrinth; even if they wanted to find their way back, the path had vanished.
After an unknown passage of time, a strange, persistent rustling sound arose in the forest. It sounded like the wind blowing ceaselessly through leaves, or perhaps countless silkworms chewing on mulberry leaves. Far from being a pleasant sensation, in this dark and eerie environment, the sound sent shivers down everyone's spine.
Allen activated his Lumos charm again and directed the light toward the source of the sound. Instantly, goosebumps prickled his skin. The sight was horrifying: countless small, dark spiders were rapidly descending from the tree trunks and branches, completely surrounding them.
A moment later, a massive, hairy black spider, several times the size of a unicorn, slowly slithered out from among the smaller arachnids. Its large, bulbous eyes stared intently at Allen, sending an involuntary shiver down his back.
It was a nearly humanoid spider; its four front legs were raised threateningly, while it balanced on its four powerful hind legs. Each leg was densely covered with dark, gleaming spines under Allen's Light Magic.
"These vile, disgusting things!" Gaia seemed profoundly disturbed by the sight and couldn't help but cry out in complaint.
This soft complaint sounded like a battle horn to the spiders, and they rushed forward. The unicorns found it incredibly difficult to fully fend off such small, numerous creatures. If a tiny spider managed to make contact, it could quickly bite through their tough hide, burrow into their bodies, and begin sucking blood and tissue.
To make matters worse, three unicorns accidentally became entangled in the web-like strands. In their panic, they stumbled and fell. In an instant, countless spiders swarmed over their bodies, one after another, and the three warriors were dragged away by the tide of arachnids!
"Clara! Northmoor! Cassilis!" Gaia cried out in heart-wrenching grief. "Allen, you must think of something! You are a wizard! Please, save them!" Gaia pleaded desperately with Allen.
"Spiders are certainly terrified of fire, but starting a fire in a forest this dense is tantamount to suicidal arson. So, what else could they be afraid of besides fire?" Allen forced himself to remain calm; there had to be a solution.