LIGHTNOVELONLINE 20. The days before Halloween
Dan would admit, of the seven deadly sins, pride wasn't even in his top five ones. His personal pride died a fiery death with the first order from a random Furry enthusiast and the subsequent exchange of art and money.
People with pride high on their priority list didn't do the things he did.
So, with his pride and morality were quietly crying in the corner of his mind, Dan had no problems with answering uncomfortable questions, or doing questionable things. Such was the life of a family guy, he was ready to look over a lot and ignore a lot, but even he had limits.
"Why?" He asked, trying to understand what his friend was thinking. It was either pure curiosity, or some higher level of thinking that even the gods could understand.
"Accurate information is valuable at any time." Luna nodded to herself, holding a very long piece of parchment and a pen for writing, "how can I write a scientific paper if I don't have all the facts?"
Yes, Luna decided to make Dan the subject of her future research paper for the College of Magizoologists – or whatever they are called, Dan wasn't actually sure. He wasn't strongly opposed, especially considering that his race most likely needs to be listed in the red book. The chance that he was the last representative of the Farlanders/Enderman was pretty high, after all.
'Does the Wizarding Government run repopulation programs for magical creatures?' Dan wondered, 'Will they arrange such a program for me?' He pushed those thoughts away as soon as they entered his head.
"Because it's private, Luna." Dan patiently replied, "You wouldn't go up to a centaur and ask him to take measurements of his genitals."
"Of course not, that would be awfully rude!" Luna said, dumbfounded. "But I'm only interested in anatomy. Even if you look like a humanoid, it doesn't mean that you have the same body structure. Changelings, for example, have a cloaca-"
"I get the idea," he interrupted the beginning of another lecture, "in that case, I'm ready to assure you, everything down there is quite humanoid."
"Hmm…" the girl mumbled, scribbling something on the paper.
Dan sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair in the abandoned classroom. It was one of the few places in the school where there was virtually no foot traffic. The boy's thoughts turned to the past weeks he had spent in the castle. To be honest, the quiet time was good for Dan. The closer the end of October was, the more confident he felt in his new position.
With his knowledge of magic accumulating day by day, and his understanding of mystical power deepening by the minute, Dan felt like he could ace the exams set for the first two years of classes. That set him just below the third years knowledge-wise and in the middle of the pack of the fourth years spell-wise.
Filius and Minerva were almost godlike conduct in his quest for information. Dan didn't understand why the two of them were still working at the school and not at some magical university. For school teachers, they were disgustingly overqualified.
Considering that he didn't do anything else other than study, his progress was immense.
Of course, Pomona and Snape also helped, but the first taught mostly how not to kill yourself with magical plants; and the second talked about how to cook these plants along with body parts of strange creatures to make simple potions. Dan had little interest in both subjects. It didn't help that Snape was a terrible teacher.
"What are you going to do for Halloween?" Luna suddenly asked, looking up at Dan.
The monster boy continued to stare at the ceiling, swaying in his chair. "Nothing interesting, maybe I'll go to the kitchens later in the day, order a personal feast from the elves, place a couple of carved pumpkins somewhere strange to scare people. Why the question?"
The girl copied Dan and also leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs and swaying in place, her dirty blonde hair fell over her shoulders. The monster boy couldn't stop thinking how adorable she was, like a cat on a valerian. Cute and a little confused about everything around, but still glad to be here.
"I don't really like Halloween. It means something different to a lot of people now." Luna said, quietly. "To the old families, it is a day of the dead, when you could feel the veil between life and death fall just a little more than usual. It is the day to maybe send a message to the other side, to pay respect, to be sure that you would be heard. For others, it's the day the Dark Lord died…"
Dan blinked, hearing a note of sadness in the girl's voice for the first time since their first meeting. He remembered one thing he had been told in the past. Luna's mother died while she was still very young, leaving her alone with her father. For her, as for many other people, what Halloween has become now, just wasn't right. Even the name has changed from what it used to be.
"Will you tell me more?" He asked, sitting at the table like a polite individual again. The girl smiled in response and began to talk.
Dan didn't fully understand why Luna liked the Forbidden Forest. Yes, it was a natural environment for many magical creatures, but that didn't override the fact that spiders the size of minivans and a bunch of other unpleasant and extremely dangerous creatures lived in the forest too.
That's not to mention that the Dementors left the forest only a week ago. The cold atmosphere of autumn and depression never completely left the school.
Luna led Dan to the edge of the forest, where the Thestrals heard spent their time. He preferred not to ask where she got the bucket of fresh meat from, and she preferred not to tell.
"Good boy." Dan said while stroking one dragon-like horse on the neck. The beast was brave enough to approach him, so the monster boy decided to reward him with a little bit of affection. And meat. That too.
"You know, you two are alike." Luna noticed.
"Black, skinny and scary as death?" Dan said back, only to wince the next moment. "Sounds very racist."
The girl just shook her head. "Only a few can see you, and many probably won't understand you even if they see you." She swayed in place and smiled in his direction. "And yes, maybe you can be called scary, but someone who looks only at appearances is doomed to be miserable."
"... Well said." Dan nodded back as he continued petting the horse in front of him. They were indeed very similar, except that Dan could hardly be called like a dragon. Only his teeth were sharp and powerful enough to approach at least part of the quality of a dragon's teeth.
Suddenly, something crunched in the denser part of the forest, causing the Thestrals to jump and stumble back at the sound. Dan turned sharply towards the sound, pushing Luna behind him. Dozens and hundreds of eyes stared at him from the darkness of the trees, the spiders made clicking squeaks as they slowly circled their prey.
"Killer of our blood…" One of them hissed, striding into the light of the setting sun. "Enemy of our blood…" This Acromantula was much larger than any Dan had seen before. The monster was almost five meters wide and two meters tall, with eight hairy legs ending like razors. "For our blood, we shall take yours."
Dan managed to count ten spiders on the ground, but he had no idea how many were in the trees. Spiders were secretive in their own right, not to mention huge ones with human intelligence.
"Luna, run back to the castle – ride if any of the Thestrals are still around." Dan whispered in the direction of the girl, already preparing to take off his goggles. He didn't hear any protests, only her quick footsteps sounded behind him, leading in the same direction the Thestrals had fled.
Luna couldn't help him right now. Maybe she could hold off one, two spiders at most, but she would be more of a hindrance than a helping hand. So, she chose to run and call for help.
"I will give you one chance to go back to your territory. Only death awaits you here, if not at my hands, then at the hands of the professors of this school."
"Dead blood demands payment man-flesh." The Acromantula replied.
Dan twitched, slowly coming to realize just how fucked up he was. The first time he went crazy in the Acromantula colony, he didn't even have time to think about his actions. Yes, a hundred huge spiders died at his hands, but they were just spiders, even if they were big. He had no idea that they had intelligence, that they could speak and understand human speech.
Now everything was different, he was ambushed, he had no surprise advantage. Dan knew perfectly well what kind of creatures they were and what the strong alphas of the colony could do with a Wizard. The spider in front of him was definitely an alpha, and he brought the strongest of the colony with him.
Even so, he made the decision to remove his defenses and look his enemies in the eye. He refused to hesitate when his life was on the line, but he didn't think he could do it without a little push.
"I'll take that as a no." Dan muttered and plucked the goggles from his face. His gaze locked with the lower being's, causing his face to contort in hatred. But this time he was ready.
Direct eye contact with those bastards felt wrong even now. These creatures haven't earned the right to look at a higher being and continue to live without paying for their sin. His mind felt blank, only one word was being repeated over and over, like a broken record.
"Disgusting."
Dan didn't hold back and rushed forward, ready to collect payment from the lower beings.
As he expected, two spiders immediately blocked his path to the alpha, they were smaller than a car, but much faster than the leader's bulky body would allow.
The spiders' legs whistled through the air, hungry for blood, but they never reached Dan's body. He ducked under their sweeps, kicking off the ground and piercing the head of the first spider with one well-placed blow. The second was not awarded such a quick death, his body was torn by a precise cutting spell.
Something sharp hit Dan from behind, slicing apart his clothes and skin. He immediately teleported to the side, ripping off one of the dead spider's legs and banishing it into a third that crept up behind him.
Now five spiders surrounded him, but the alpha did not move, watching Dan's movements. It teleported from place to place, throwing sharp things at the spiders, tearing their bodies apart with difficulty. He missed punches here and there, his skin filling with thin lines that oozed fresh black blood.
The Acromantulas knew that the weaker members of their colony could only scratch the enemy of their blood. Now they could wound him. Hurt him. Drain him minute by minute, so that the alpha could kill the enemy when he was ready. And he would be ready.