Chapter 110. Umbra.
A huge, four-legged red figure with a snake tail and a full, slightly singed scarlet mane moved through the thick forest, pushing aside vines and wet leaves with every heavy step. Between two blue horns on its head sat Severus, cloaked, calmly watching the surroundings as he stroked a small creature, a miniature version of the giant.
"They grow here," the lion rumbled, staring ahead at trees and undergrowth tinged in purple hues. "But I cannot go any farther. This place is harmless to you and me, but the poison in the air could be deadly for my cub."
"All right, there's no need. I will handle the rest myself." Severus ruffled the fawn's head with satisfaction and jumped down. Then he turned back to the lion. "Have you thought about my proposal? Beyond these barriers, the world is much larger. You could raise your cub without worrying about her life."
"I cannot decide something like that so easily. It does not depend only on me. Please give me a little more time." The beast lowered its head, looking into Severus's eyes. After their battle it felt genuine respect for him as the stronger one. Severus had not fought dirty. With his speed he could have taken the cub hostage, but he had won fairly, and that proved his strength.
"I see. Then take your time. I will be here for a few more days."
"Yes. I am grateful you spared us. And be careful out there. That flower is usually guarded by monsters even I would not want to meet."
"Thanks for the warning. I will keep it in mind. See you later." Severus lifted his eyes to the cub. "And you, little one."
"Raaaar! Hissss!" the fawn roared in displeasure, the snake tail hissing at being called little one.
With a silent bow, the King of Chimeras turned and headed back toward its hunting grounds.
Once they were out of sight, Severus stepped into the strange forest and walked calmly toward the place Brew had described.
"You could have forced the King of Chimeras under a seal. Why let it go?" Nagini asked, puzzled, her head resting on his shoulder.
"I could have, but a seal imposed against its will would not be stable. One day it could break free once its strength crosses a threshold, and what if I am not nearby?"
"And if...?"
"Then it becomes much stronger. The seal would feed not only on external magic, but on the creature's own power, so it would maintain itself willingly. And even if the seal were somehow destroyed, it would not turn on its master. It would keep protecting and following orders even without it." Severus spoke calmly, checking the surroundings against the map he had memorized, studying the marks other people had left on trees to help navigate this purple zone.
"Then why did you force those three to accept your seal with threats?" Nagini asked, remembering the three monsters he had caught deeper in the forest.
"They will never be a threat to us. Their potential is limited, and earning their loyalty is not difficult." Severus raised his palm. A small fireball appeared and shot into a bush. At that moment, a palm-sized creature like a scorpion with mantis legs sprang out to the right. It changed direction sharply, bounced off a tree, and flew at him, its mouth dripping purple liquid. The fireball chased it, turning just as sharply.
A second later, a pitiful squeak rang out, and a charred body dropped to the ground.
Strong poison. Severus lowered his gaze to the burnt leaf where a drop of the creature's saliva had fallen. He looked right as another similar monster leapt from behind a tree, but it did not even get a chance to move before flames swallowed it.
"There is the red cloth that man mentioned," Nagini said, pointing with her tail at a strip of fabric tied to a branch.
"And that means we are close. Brew just did not mention this place is crawling with these half-scorpions."
The bushes rustled, and hundreds of red eyes stared at them, blinking in unison like embers in the undergrowth.
Breaking through the swarm was not difficult. Severus did not burn them one by one. He surrounded himself with a dome of fire, just as he had against the spiders. The ones foolish enough to jump at him turned to dust in a second, and their poison evaporated the moment it touched the flames.
The monsters did not pursue him for long, realizing it was pointless. When Severus had gone far enough away, they fell back, but the attacks did not stop entirely.
There were centipedes, snakes, spiders, lizards, frogs, even birds, and their size was not limited to a few centimeters. The biggest creature he met was a centipede almost eighteen meters long, covered in spikes, with skin like a snake's.
That one forced him to draw his sword. He did not want to use stronger spells and attract the attention of even nastier creatures. After that, he kept his blade drawn for the rest of the way. The closer he got to his goal, the bigger the monsters became, and the deadlier their venom.
Still, after a little over an hour, having cut his way through hordes of magical creatures, Severus reached the place where Brew had once seen the flower. He did not have to search long. As soon as he stepped onto a small rise, a sweet smell hit him, impossible to describe or compare to anything. It was thick, almost tangible, like honey warmed by a fire, and it crawled into the lungs with every breath. Any other sweetness felt pale next to it, and it affected monsters especially strongly.
"Wipe your drool." Severus glanced at Nagini with mild displeasure as saliva dripped from her mouth onto his shoulder. Her eyes were gleaming, tongue lolling, staring in one direction.
"Sorry, but it smells so wonderful."
"Do not let the smell fool you. They taste disgusting, probably worse than those." At the mention of that, Nagini shuddered, then glared at him, offended. "And stop drooling on my shoulder pad."
Her reaction pointed him toward the source. A few seconds later, Severus reached a swamp. In its center floated three water lilies, and on each lily grew a flower with purple petals. He did not rush to grab them. Even a fool could see this was a trap. He did not step onto the shore either, only watched from a distance.
"It is a trap," Nagini said, fighting temptation. Remembering that magnificent taste, her urge to eat them vanished completely.
"Obviously, but I am not walking up to them." A wooden box covered in symbols appeared in Severus's hand. He lifted his eyes to the flowers and extended his other hand. "Accio Umbra." The three ingredients vanished from the middle of the swamp and appeared right in front of him. Almost immediately, under Nagini's startled stare, he shoved them into the box and snapped it shut. "Now we leave. The smell will linger for about ten minutes."
Without another word, Severus left.
Nine minutes after the flowers disappeared, the swamp began to boil. A creature like a massive worm rose up. The moment it saw the empty lilies, a hole opened on its head, lined with a couple of hundred small teeth despite the creature being almost two meters thick. A furious howl burst out, and for the second time in Chimera territory, unrest spread through the forest.
The monster tried to find the thief by smell and magic, but Severus had erased every trace. There was nothing to cling to, not even a direction.
With nothing else to do, it swallowed its grief, tore up the shore, and sank back into the swamp to wait for the flowers to bloom again.
In that short time, Severus had already covered ten kilometers, wiping away his trail as he went. The howl barely registered with him. His thoughts were already elsewhere.
"Blood of the first dragon. If it allows evolution to begin, and after all this time the magic in it still has not dissipated, then real dragons probably did exist in this world. But why did it degrade so badly? Where did the magic go? It cannot simply vanish. Plants almost identical to what grew in my world, and some creatures too. It is all so strange."
With a slow breath, Severus shook his head and forced the thoughts away. Even if I keep thinking about it, I will not find answers yet, only more questions. First I deal with what I came for, and then I can look for something at the very centre of this forest. And if I remember right, that serpent said it could not cross even the first barrier... wait.
Goosebumps ran down his spine, and his focus sharpened. Could these barriers have been built not only to contain monsters, but to keep something else in, or keep someone out? I hope I am wrong, and my worst fears do not come true.
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