As I regained my senses, I could see the creature still shielding itself from the students' attacks, desperation once again written all over their faces. The burning in my arm had spread through most of my body.
Turning, I saw Lyara and Vaelinya had managed to get most of the injured and fainted students—those who had collapsed from magical exhaustion, just like Seraphis—out of the way.
Though part of me doesn't think it's right to reveal such a powerful spell to the other students, I have no choice. And even as I say that, I can't claim I'm fully confident about the true extent of this spell's power—after all, the first time I used it with Alphonse, the practice dummy was reduced to ashes.
"Everyone, listen carefully and follow my orders. I need you to distract it as much as possible. I'll handle this, but I need your help."
"How long exactly, Dion?!" shouted Aelric, dodging one of the cyclops's blows as he ran.
"A minute at most."
"That's too long, Dion!" cried Nyxithra.
"Trust me!"
"I'll buy you the time—we know you can do this, Dion," said Patrick.
Gripping my wand tightly and focusing, I felt the burning in my wrist spread through my whole body.
The others dodged the cyclops's strikes and cast spells whenever they had an opening. At that point, there were about eighteen of us fighting, though exhaustion was clear in the weak spells being cast. Their magical reserves were running out with every attempt.
Little by little, we were becoming fewer, and that was a real problem. On top of that, Phylicia—one of the most talented duelists I had ever seen at her age—hadn't moved since she saved Patrick.
Patrick, meanwhile, was struggling. He was using his spells just to keep the cyclops away from both Phylicia and me. Phylicia was conscious, but it was as though she were paralyzed by fear.
"Talrico, look out!" Patrick dashed toward him to stop the creature from smashing him, but the cyclops anticipated it, striking them both with a blow that sent them flying into one of the stone walls of the chamber.
Neither of them moved—a bad sign. I knew they were still alive because I could see their bodies twitching, but they had clearly reached their limits.
As I was distracted, the cyclops swatted Aelric and Nyxithra aside in the same way. Aelric tried to get back up, but the beast roared in his face, making him collapse back to the ground in terror.
The cyclops rampaged again, striking down more students and leaving them unconscious on the floor. I knew some might not survive such devastating blows.
"Phylicia, snap out of it! I don't know what's going through your head right now, but I need you!"
My shouts were loud, but I didn't know if she could even hear me.
"Phylicia, I'm almost done with the spell—help me keep it still!"
Though hesitant at first, Phylicia finally raised her wand with trembling hands, pointing it at the cyclops, which had its back to her. The creature, hearing my cries, turned toward me. And in that moment, for an instant, I could swear I saw it smile, ready to charge straight at me.
Seeing this, Phylicia steadied her grip, raised her wand toward the ceiling, and sent chunks of rock crashing down on the cyclops. As it stopped to shield itself, I seized the chance and unleashed a powerful fireball straight at it.
"Phylicia, shield yourself, now!"
She sprinted toward Patrick and Talrico—the two closest to the beast—and cast a protective charm over them.
The fireball roared forward, slamming into the cyclops with such force that the explosion shook the ground, triggering another massive quake and showering the chamber with debris.
___________________________________
(Near the Hogwarts grounds, minutes after Dion entered the dungeon.)
Philip soared above the grounds, scanning for the man he had seen at the old woman's shop—the dwarf who had been handed that mysterious beast.
Realizing the forest stretched far and that finding anything from the air would be hopeless, he descended, relying on his tracker instead—also to avoid drawing the attention of Dementors drifting through the skies.
The creature that had helped Philip escape from Filvor the hunter walked beside him for a while. But soon, sensing prey nearby, it wandered off in search of food. Philip didn't mind—it was just an animal driven by survival instincts.
Still, unease gnawed at him. Moving cautiously through the forest, he cloaked himself with spells to conceal his presence from wild creatures—a trick Rakan had taught him when Philip became his assistant, to avoid being ambushed.
As he pressed on, a bird perched in the trees above, following him while he checked his tracker, hoping to pick up even a trace of the beast. Odd, Philip thought.
If the creature was still with the dwarf, why would it be wandering the forest alone? Unless… unless the dwarf was some kind of beast master, training it. That thought made a twisted sort of sense, considering Rakan's connections. At least, Philip tried to convince himself of that as he drew closer to the academy.
"Sometimes, I just wish I could rest from all this," Philip muttered, weary from walking.
At least it was daylight. The forest at night—especially the Dark Forest—teemed with magical creatures that could end his life in seconds.
Sensing he was being followed, Philip quickened his pace to draw out whatever was tailing him. The sound of wings beating confirmed it: a bird.
Suddenly, he spun and cast a stunning spell, striking the bird mid-flight and bringing it down. Approaching cautiously, he examined it closely—and noticed it bore a distinct feature resembling someone he had fought not long ago.
"Come out, I know you're here," Philip called, alert for any ambush.
"Took you longer than I expected, Philip," came a voice from among the trees.
Startled, Philip whipped his head around, searching for the source.
"I must admit, your beast is quick and ferocious, its claws sharp… but on the ground, it wasn't as dangerous as I first thought," Filvor said, stepping out from behind a tree, drenched in blood.
Philip froze in shock. Despite being covered in blood, Filvor bore no visible wounds—not fatal, not even minor. Yet in his hand, he held one of the creature's severed legs.
"You animal… how dare you," Philip spat, rage boiling.
"Hahaha. I wanted a keepsake from another successful mission. I couldn't let this opportunity go to waste," Filvor sneered, laughing darkly.
"You'll get nothing from me—you'll have to go through my corpse," Philip replied firmly.
"I expected no less. I look forward to this… now, shall we begin?" Filvor said, raising his wand.
Suddenly, a dozen birds burst from the trees, startled by the eruption of spells as their duel began.
"Avada Kedavra!" Filvor's voice rang out, echoing through the forest. Explosions and violent bursts followed, shaking the trees and sending the birds shrieking into the sky.
(Minutes later, silence reclaimed the Dark Forest, as though nothing had ever happened.)