Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

Chapter 90 The Threat from the Forbidden Forest

Seeing the spiders cowering in fear, Xavier put away his wand.

He darted forward and smashed the long leg of the foremost spider with his fist, breaking it with a crisp crack, and thick fluid spurted from the broken surface.

"Eating people? I'll show you what eating people is like!"

Xavier became inexplicably angry and lost his temper.

Some giant eight-eyed spiders even stopped participating in the attack and instead fought over and ate the severed limbs of their own kind that had fallen to the ground.

The large claw tore at the still twitching limb, making a wet, cracking sound as it chewed.

They are still beasts after all, even worse than beasts—they abandon their "prey" before any of their own kind has even died.

Hagrid was a little stunned. He stood behind, unsure whether to stop them or not. He had just taken out his little wand, and in the blink of an eye, things had turned out like this.

Seeing Xavier still throwing punches, Hagrid could only plead, "Please, Ethan, please don't harm the descendants of Aragog—"

Xavier is a bit of a pity.

If Hagrid had spoken any later, he would have actually killed a few: the giant eye spiders secrete venom, and a pinto can cost as much as a hundred gallons. Since obtaining venom from a live giant eye spider is nearly impossible, it is usually obtained from one that has just died.

This deal was actually quite a bargain—but Hagrid was almost in tears.

Xavier and Hagrid quickly left the spider's nest, leaving behind a mess.

Severed spider legs, charred spider webs, and some spiders lying on the ground still emitting wisps of smoke.

Aragok watched from a distance without intervening. The giant white eye, now blind, remained motionless in the shadows, seemingly lost in thought.

On the way back, Hagrid kept trying to change the subject and ease the tension.

He walked slowly, glancing occasionally at Xavier ahead, his slightly hunched back suggesting a hint of timidity.

"Eight-eyed giant spider—they are a type of giant spider."

Hagrid spoke, as if to explain, because he really didn't know what to say.

"They can speak human languages ​​and are indeed a very dangerous presence for wizards and Muggles. The reason for the fear of basilisks is that they have a 360-degree field of vision and cannot close their eyes—which makes it easy for them to make eye contact with basilisks."

He watched Xavier's retreating figure, carefully considering his explanation: "They hunt, they fear, they survive—it's their nature, and we shouldn't interfere."

"What if someone dies?"

Hagrid remained silent.

Xavier could clearly sense that Aragog truly meant no harm.

But he was so old that he could no longer refuse his son's request to have offspring.

What will happen if Aragog, who is gradually weakening, can no longer control his children?

Perhaps it would be fine as long as Aragog lived, but eventually, Aragog will die one day in the future, and these eight-eyed giant spiders, who have learned to hunt humans, will no longer be subject to any constraints.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort and the Death Eaters occupied the depression where the eight-eyed spider lived and made it their base when they attacked Hogwarts Castle.

So Aragog's children ran out of the Forbidden Forest and stormed into Hogwarts Castle, launching an indiscriminate attack on everyone inside.

It's hard to believe that these intelligent giant spiders were actually helping the Death Eaters.

They're just not smart enough, not stupid.

Moreover, Aragog was the same; people become cunning with age, and spiders are much the same.

Eating him would invite the purge of adult wizards. Just hand over the young spiders that ate him. Hagrid can't stop the professor and will eventually be able to maintain his clan's rule.

If Hagrid intervenes and they cannot defeat him, his offspring will not die, but they will certainly be injured, and will still be able to maintain their clan's rule.

He himself always maintained his relationship with Hagrid—after all, Hagrid was the only one who was special to him.

However, he probably didn't expect that Xavier was a little bit more capable than the average junior wizard.

Xavier hoped he was overthinking it.

Moreover, the dangers of the Forbidden Forest extend far beyond the giant eight-eyed spider—

"Perhaps I can remind the professors."

Xavier stopped and looked up at the large man beside him: "Hagrid, why did you raise Aragog at Hogwarts in the first place?"

"Ah, this is because—"

Seeing his expression, Xavier sighed, realizing that Hagrid had genuinely never thought about this issue, not even when he was expelled from school because of Aragog.

It wasn't just Hagrid; many wizards were the same, not valuing their own lives, even their own.

Can you imagine?

In some cases, wizards would directly use their own bodies to conduct magical experiments. There are quite a few wizards who have died, gone mad, or suffered a fate worse than death. The healers at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries have an absolute say in this matter.

There's also Quidditch, an Irish game called stilt fire barrels, which is considered a precursor to some of Quidditch's rules.

This game requires participants to carry a Dom (a ball made from a goat's gallbladder) one after another, quickly passing through a series of burning barrels supported by high poles and suspended in the air. The participant who successfully guides the Dom through all the barrels the fastest without getting on fire is the winner.

There's also the game of balancing a cauldron on your head, which is an extremely violent and dangerous game originating in Scotland.

Each contestant had a crucible strapped to their head with a leather belt. At the sound of a horn or drum, up to one hundred enchanted stones, suspended a hundred feet above the ground, began to fall. The contestants rose and fell in all directions.

Use the crucible on your head to catch the falling stones.

The person who catches the most stones wins.

However, Xavier believes that one more condition must be added: the person who catches the most stones and survives to the end will be the winner.

There's also a more direct aerial contest: a very simple broomstick fighting game where the goal is to ride a broomstick and knock others off their broomsticks. The last person left on a broomstick wins.

And then there's the American ghost explosion and the German pillar-protecting scene—even if wizards' physical abilities far surpass those of Muggles, they shouldn't be doing this! (Image of an elderly man on the subway)

Xavier patted Hagrid's arm—he could only pat it this far—and then continued walking forward.

He recalled information about the eight-eyed giant spider in his mind. How could he not have looked up information about such a magical creature that had a significant role in the original work?

The Acromantula is a giant spider that lives deep in the rainforests of southeastern Asia, especially in the dense jungles of Borneo.

Interestingly, the giant octopus is also believed to be a species bred by wizards—like the basilisk—to guard the wizards' dwellings or treasures.

Moreover, these giant spiders are inherently cruel and have a penchant for eating human flesh.

The giant eight-eyed spider existed before the 1965 Prohibition on Experimentation in Animals Act. As early as 1794, this creature had been sighted.

So when Haig was raising Aragog in 1943, his actions were not really illegal.

If Tom Riddle hadn't reported him, and given that a life was involved, Hagrid might actually have gotten away with it.