Thomas extended a hand in gratitude toward the centaur. "Thank you for your sir. I am Thomas Grayson," he introduced himself, hoping that the centaur would continue being friendly.
Draco, though hesitantly, followed Thomas' lead and reluctantly extended his hand as well. "I'm Draco," he muttered, his voice lacking the usual arrogance.
The centaur nodded, shaking their hands and acknowledging their introductions. "I am Marsius, son of Ronan," he announced, "Over the past few months, strange happenings have indeed unfolded within these woods. The balance has been disrupted, and the presence of something dark and malefic had stirred quite a lot of worriers amongst us, the inhabitants of this forest."
Intrigued by Marsius' words, Thomas couldn't help but inquire further. "Marsius, when you mentioned 'dark and malefic,' what do you mean exactly? And in what way has it disturbed the harmony and peace of the forest?
Marsius paused for a few moments, almost as if the centaur was choosing his words carefully. "Innocent beings, mostly unicorns, have been found dead, almost every other week during the full moon," he continue and the boys could see that he was sad, "Their life force drained, their bodies bearing marks of sinister magic. It is a desecration of the purest essence of our realm."
Thomas furrowed in concern. "And what do you believe is the cause of these acts?"
Marsius sighed, "My father, Ronan, believes this to be the hand of some dark and foul magic, but at the same time some of our elders believe this to be the devil's hand. Whoever, no matter who or what is behind this will be found and punished for killing innocents."
"I want to help, it's the least we could do for you."
"Your resolve is commendable, Thomas Grayson, but this is no matter a young wizard like you should ever delve into. Dark magic is nothing to scuff at, especially when used against people or creatures that have little to no way of protecting themselves from it." Marsius responded, offering Thomas some reassurance about his refusal. "Now, let's get you two back to your group. I reckon my father had already found Hagrid.
On the other side of the forest, Hagrid and Michael had indeed met Marsius' father Ronan.
"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"
"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in this Forest. This is Michael McKenzie, by the way. Student up at the school. An' this is Ronan, Micky. He's a centaur."
"Good evening sir, may Mars watch over you."
"May Mars over you too young one," said Ronan. "This must be the first a student, greeted me in such a way. You seem to have learned a lot, up at the school."
"Not exactly at school, sir. It's a long story, but my roommates and I kind of learned a lot more than our peers, just in case we stumble across your kin or any other creatures that inhabit this forest."
"Judging by how you look, you and your friends must be in your first year and yet you say you have learned about our cultures as well as the begins that live in this forest, that's something," Ronan spoke, almost as if he was pleasantly surprised to hear Michael's words. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt, you seen anythin'?"
Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upwards, then sighed again.
"Always the innocent are the first victims," he sadly said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"
"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."
"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home,' said Hagrid. 'So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"
Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. So seeing the small opening, Michael decided to tell Hagrid something that he found interesting in Ronan words. "Hagrid, 'Mars is bright tonight', might be a clue regarding what is happening around the forest, at least that's what I think."
At last, Ronan said, "The Forest hides many secrets. And many beings both human and inhuman seek things from it that don't belong in their hands."
Suddenly something appeared in the trees behind Ronan making Hagrid raise his bow again, aiming it in that direction, but a second later, another centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan walked towards the trio.
"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"
"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"
"Well, enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? Only there's a unicorn bin injured, would yeh know anythin' about it?"
Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan before he too looked toward the sky.
"Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.
"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."
As Hagrid and Michael distanced themselves from the centaurs, Hagrid let out a gruff. "Yeh knows, Micky," he said, "tryin' to get a straight answer from a centaur is like tryin' to raise a dragon in yer backyard. It's near impossible, I tell ya."
Michael nodded, understanding Hagrid's frustration. "They do have a way of speaking in riddles, and I agree on the getting a straight answer from part, but still it was nice seeing and meeting some centaurs."
Hagrid grunted in response, acknowledging Michael's sentiment. "Aye, they're peculiar creatures, centaurs. Ancient beings with their own ways. Can't blame 'em entirely, I s'pose."
Michael chuckled softly, "Well, they certainly make things interesting in their own way."
The two of them walked on through the dense, dark trees, as Michael kept looking around trying to see if he would see another creature. Thought for some reason his entire body felt heavy, almost as if something was interfering with it. They just passed a larger boulder when something illuminated the skies.
"Bloody hell Hagrid! Look! Red sparks!"
"Wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path and don't leave, I'll come back for yeh!"
On the other side of the forest, Thomas, Fang, Draco, and Marsius found themselves facing a nightmarish scene. They had stumbled upon a grisly scene, a dead unicorn, its once majestic form now lying on the ground lifeless and mutilated.
As they looked in shock at the dead creature, Thomas noticed a hooded figure, feasting upon the unicorn's flesh. Seeing that, Marsius drew his bow and let loose an arrow, aiming to stop the hooded figure. But to their astonishment, the arrow bounced harmlessly off an invisible barrier, leaving the man unscathed. Before the centaur could give chase, a sudden movement caught their attention. A woman with bat-like wings gracefully landed before them. Thomas and Marsius glance at her in shock realizing what just landed in front of them.
At the same time, Draco, perplexed and disoriented by the unfolding events, looked at Thomas as if he was begging for an answer. At that moment, he saw something that shocked him in Thomas's eyes, the same look his father had when he was going to destroy someone, as he firmly grasped his wand. Marsius, too, sensed the imminent danger and gripped his sword tightly.
The woman, wearing little to no clothes on her succubus-like body, flashed Draco and Thomas a seductive smile, fueling their unease. In an instant, tens of magic circles surrounded them as she summoned grotesque creatures resembling nightmarish insects with razor-sharp appendages. The forest seemed to shudder in their presence as if acknowledging the darkness that had been unleashed.
"Oh, look at you brave little boys, and ugly monstrosity" she taunted them, "Scaring my master, interfering with his plans. Such naughty, naughty boys you are."
Her words carried an air of sinister playfulness as if she was enjoying the fear that gripped the boys' hearts. The creatures under her command moved in an instant closing the distance between them and Thomas, Marsius, Fang, and Draco.
However, she threw them a wicked smile, as she continue talking, "But don't worry, my darlings. My precious pets here will take care of you. They just love playing with bad little boys like you."
Seeing that there was no way they would get out of there without a fight, Thomas turned to Draco.
"Draco, when I create an opening, you run. Take Fang and go. Fire the red sparks as soon as you're out of here. We'll hold them off."
Draco's initial disbelief turned into reluctance as he glanced at Thomas. He had never expected Thomas, a muggle-born wizard to show so much bravery and even want to sacrifice himself for him, especially considering their strained relationship. Yet, at that moment, Draco saw a glimmer of something admirable in Thomas.
"You're insane if you think you could face them, Grayson," Draco retorted, "Look at these things! They would k-kill us!"
Ignoring Malfoy's words, Thomas focused his mind and with a swift motion of his wand, he cast a series of fireballs that exploded upon impact, engulfing several of the creatures in flames. The force of the explosions created a temporary opening, allowing a narrow path of escape. Without hesitation, Thomas pushed Draco forward, urging him to seize the opportunity and get the hell out of there. "Go, Draco! Run!"
Draco, startled by the explosion and Thomas's insistence, stumbled forward but quickly regained his footing. He sprinted with Fang at his side, forgetting about everything, focusing on just making it out of there alive.
As Draco and Fang disappeared into the distance, Thomas returned his attention to the horde of incoming creatures.
At the same, Marsius, using his body and its speed, charges at the creature a few of them at each time before putting some distance between the. And when that distance was more than enough, he used his arrows, though limited in number, to kill some of the creatures that were about to attack Thomas's blind spots.
Thomas on the other hand, focused his magic with everything he had casting spells of all kinds, unleashing bursts of fire, bolts of lightning, and gusts of wind to keep the creatures at bay, courtesy of his nights, training with Bahamut, using the spells Latia gave him as a present a few months ago. Every time he was feeling himself getting weaker, he tapped into Bahamut's power, feeling the surge of energy coursing through his veins, enhancing his magical abilities and giving the energy necessary to keep on fighting, despite the pain his body was being put through.
However, the relentless onslaught of the creatures began to take its toll. Thomas found himself outnumbered, struggling to fend off multiple opponents at once. His movements became more frantic, his spells less controlled as exhaustion crept into his bones. Not even Bahamut's power made a difference any longer, as his young body couldn't take any more of its backlash.
Meanwhile, as Marsius was clearing her summons, the devil woman launched herself at him, holding a spear in her hands. With a chilling shriek, she aimed to take down the centaur, leaving Thomas to face the remaining creatures alone.
Thomas's heart raced as he witnessed Marsius barely dodging the spear, but he knew he had to hold his ground and protect himself as best he could, despite the overwhelming odds. After blasting another creature, his wand danced in his hand, casting defensive spells to deflect the incoming attacks, but he knew he couldn't keep this up for long, not in his current state. And for a second, his attention shifted momentarily to Marsius, who doing everything in his power to fight off the woman. The centaur's muscles strained as he parried her strikes. Yet, even with his strength, Marsius was hard-pressed to match the devil woman's relentless assault, not to mention her peak High-class power.
But that was only for a moment, as more creatures charged toward him. With not so much energy left, he cast a series of charms, causing some of them to levitate helplessly in the air while others stumbled and tripped over their own feet. Seizing the opportunity, Thomas swiftly moved toward a fallen creature aiming for its scythe-like appendage. As soon as he was beside it, he tore it free, feeling the weight and balance of the weapon in his hand. With a firm grip, he turned to face the levitating creatures first.
Swinging the scythe at them, Thomas sliced through the air, cutting down the levitating creatures one by one. Their bodies fell to the ground with a thud. Seeing that gave him a surge of confidence as he turned his attention to the creatures that were still alive. The ones that were still alive were mostly disoriented, confused, or simply in no way of fighting back or mounting an effective defense. Because of that, Thomas pressed his advantage, charging at them. He parried their attacks and swung his new weapon at them cutting one or two each time.
One by one, the creatures met their end, unable to free themselves from the ground, something that made Thomas glad, as he was feeling his body slowly shut downing itself to heal itself.
Breathing heavily, Thomas slowly sank down onto the ground, as his body tremble from the exhaustion and from the adrenaline. Yet his eyes remained fixed on the lifeless bodies scattered around him, as he struggle to comprehend just how he managed to do that.
Suddenly, a soft hand caressed Thomas's back, causing him to freeze in fear. He turned his head slowly, only to come face to face with the devil woman who had summoned those monstrous creatures.
"Well, well, well," she purred while exploring his body with her hands. "Aren't you an interesting young man? I must say, I would have loved to take you as my own, but alas, this isn't the time."
Thomas felt a chill run down his spine as her words hung in the air. The woman's touch and her eerie fascination with him made him scared, even more so than Bahamut's real body. Before he could gather his wits, a bolt narrowly missed the devil woman, who clicked her tongue in frustration.
When he looked to his right, he saw Hagrid running towards him with his crossbow in hand, already reloading another bolt. "Get away from him!"
The woman rolled her eyes at the approaching half-giant, seemingly unfazed by Hagrid's threat. Instead, she sauntered over to Thomas and leaned in, planting a kiss on his lips. It was a brief, intoxicating moment that left Thomas feeling both bewildered and strangely drawn to her. As she whispers in a seductive voice, "Wait for me, my dear. We'll meet again soon." And with those words, she vanished into a swirling magical circle, leaving Thomas disoriented on the ground.
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