Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

Chapter 89 Cannibalism? I'll show you what can happen when you eat people!

Aragog dismissed his sons.

The smaller eight-eyed giant spiders rustled back into the shadows, leaving only their leader to slowly descend, its eight milky-white giant eyes gleaming dimly in the darkness.

Hagrid, along with Xavier, began communicating with Aragog.

Yes, the eight-eyed giant spider can talk.

Even the basilisk can't do this—the basilisk only hisses, while the eight-eyed giant spider can communicate with humans. But within this species, perhaps only Aragog possesses this ability. Its offspring can only emit the clicking sound of their large claws colliding and a low hiss.

"Why are your eyes white, while your offspring are all black?"

Xavier was puzzled; it seemed that among all the eight-eyed giant spiders around, only Aragog had white eyes.

Hagrid helped explain: "Ah, because at some point, Aragog went blind, so he turned white."

As I've gotten older, my eyes have become like this. But they still know everything—they're even more sensitive than before.

So now Aragog relies on smell and touch to sense their location.

Blind? I can't tell at all.

"I come from a faraway country."

Aragog spoke, his voice old and deep, like a stone grinding on withered leaves, "Before I hatched from my egg, a traveler gave me to Hagrid. He took me into the castle and raised me in a storeroom in the dungeon on scraps of food scattered on the table."

Hagrid chimed in nostalgically, "Yes, Aragog was only the size of a pug when he was a puppy—he only grew to the size of a baby elephant when he became an adult. Back then, he slept in a shoebox, and I would sneak down every night to feed him."

Xavier listened while also observing his surroundings.

The webs of the giant eight-eyed spider are large, round arches that hang from the branches. They tend to live deep in dense forests and in areas with abundant vegetation. This part of the Forbidden Forest is the territory that Hagrid specifically found for them; other places are too desolate.

Aragog was significantly more intelligent than his offspring. This might be due to his age, or perhaps because he had grown up with Hagrid from a young age.

"Why didn't you tell Hagrid about the Basilisk's identity back then?"

Xavier asked, "The monster that killed Myrtle. Hagrid said you should know about it."

Even upon hearing the word "basilisk," Aragog's body trembled violently.

"Ah~ the monster that lives in the secret chamber is an ancient creature that spiders fear most. We never speak the name of this monster because it is engraved in our souls."

"I can feel it—its smell, its movement, the vibration of the stone walls as it moves through the pipes."

Aragok recalled, "When I first sensed that beast roaming around the school, I begged Hagrid to let me go. Hagrid asked me many times what kind of monster it was, but I never answered because of fear."

Xavier noticed that even now, with the basilisk dead, Aragog had not revealed its name.

Fear? Fear etched into the very genes of the soul? Like some wizards who dare not call Voldemort by name? Only the spider's fear of the basilisk is deeper and more ancient.

Xavier asked, "You're all so big, what do you eat?"

Hagrid laughed and quickly answered, "Aragok is quite the picky eater now. Food scraps won't satisfy him; his favorite food is giant grubs, you probably didn't know that."

Yes, of course I know.

"Ugh~"

Xavier's face twisted; he knew this kind of creature all too well.

Giant grub—a creature that looks like a foot-long maggot, slimy, white, and constantly wriggling. Despite its large size, Xavier felt it was essentially just an even larger maggot.

Xavier gagged, wiped his mouth, and asked, "Where is he?"

The atmosphere turned somewhat cold.

Hagrid stopped laughing; this was the very issue he had been trying to avoid.

Aragog was silent for a moment, then admitted, "Although attacking humans is an instinct of the Octopods, out of respect for Hagrid, I have never harmed a single person."

His voice was as candid as possible: "Hagrid was a good man. He often visited me in the Forbidden Forest and even found me a wife—Mossag. My children multiplied and multiplied, eventually forming such a large community."

Hegel grabbed Xavier. "Let's go, Ethan. That's enough for today." "Go? I don't think so—"

Aragog's voice was almost a sigh. "My children obeyed my orders and did not harm Hagrid. But fresh human flesh has been delivered to their doorstep, and I cannot stop them from enjoying it. Farewell, Hagrid's friend—"

Aragog and Hagrid shared a deep friendship; Hagrid was the only one who could make him act against his nature. But the surrounding spiders were already stirring with desire.

Hagrid stormed forward, spreading his arms to block Xavier's path: "No! You can't do that."

Aragog did not answer; he was old, and he could no longer control his children.

His offspring roared and pounced, giant spiders slithering down the steep slope, some crawling along the arched web. Each one was as big as a horse pulling a cart, with eight eyes and eight legs, dark and hairy, like enormous creatures emerging from the shadows.

These young and strong eight-eyed giant spiders excitedly moved their large claws, making a series of clicking sounds.

They've wanted to eat human flesh for a long time.

You should know that there are wandering wizards and even werewolves in the Forbidden Forest, so they know exactly how delicious humans are!

Xavier looked over Hagrid's shoulder at the swarming spiders and Aragog standing motionless.

"Never mind, Hagrid."

Xavier drew his wand and emerged from behind him. "Didn't you realize? You're the only one who's special. Perhaps Aragog is special too, but his offspring..."

Xavier looked up at the spiders closing in, raised his wand, and his smile vanished. "Indeed, isn't it? Aragog, the Spider King (word: aracnid, Greek: agog, leader) —"

The giant spider roared and pounced.

Enhanced Fluorescence—Xavier's wand tip erupted with a blinding white light, then detached from the wand and was flung away by Xavier. Although it was daytime, the dim environment of the Forbidden Forest had made these spiders very sensitive to bright light. The spiders' cries of agony echoed through the air.

Petrify All—The rapid-fire use of the Silent Spell froze the first few spiders in the foreground. Although they only remained motionless for a few seconds, they rolled together with the spiders behind them who couldn't stop in time.

Torn to pieces—the spider's legs were broken apart, its fangs were pierced, and its eyes looked as if they had been blown open by something.

The enhanced flames roared—white flames erupted from the tip of the staff, scorching all the spiders at the forefront to a crisp. The flames were weak, but fortunately, they could be extinguished quickly, unlike the Fiery Blaze which burned continuously. However, they were enough to severely injure a spider the size of a horse within seconds.

Flash, hard CC, attack, apply debuff—all done in one smooth motion.

Xavier stopped his hand from continuing the spell bombardment.

"You guys are a bit weak."