Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 405 The Restless Baruch

Their landing point was the Aragog nest, in the center of a depression, with layers of spider webs.

The entire depression was shrouded in a thick fog that never dissipated, and the tree canopies overhead completely closed off.

The air was humid and thick, filled with the smell of spider silk secretions—a sour, rotten, and fishy odor, mixed with the stench of damp, decaying leaves and the remnants of old prey on the spider silk, pungent and unpleasant.

I was stepping on layers upon layers of spider webs, the bottom layer being old silk from several years ago, dried and brittle, crumbling into powder with a crackling sound when stepped on.

The middle section is a woven channel, still elastic, and you'll sink in when you step on it.

At the very top was a freshly sprayed hunting net, sticky and translucent, hanging among the pebbles in the depression. Morning dew condensed on the mesh, and the entire depression was filled with shimmering light.

The hemispherical giant nest lay in the very center of the depression, like an inverted egg, its surface woven from spider silk as thick as an arm.

The surface of the nest is covered with holes of all sizes, and black hairy spiders go in and out of them. Some slide down on silk, while others lie motionless at the entrance, with only their compound eyes gleaming in the darkness.

The trees on the walls of the depression were also covered with layers of nets, on which hung the remains of countless prey.

Hermes wobbled when he landed, and once he regained his footing, he couldn't take it all in.

His wand had slid out of his sleeve and was held in his right hand, its magic now in an active, activated state.

His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, past the giant nest, the layers of spider webs, the black-haired spiders going in and out of the holes, and in the distance, several pairs of glowing compound eyes were approaching from the darkness.

Then he turned around and saw Regulus.

He remembered now; it was Regulus who brought him here, so nothing bad could happen.

His shoulders slumped back down, the wand still in his hand, but the tip drooped.

He looked down at the spider web at his feet, rolled it with the sole of his shoe to test its elasticity, and found it solid before shifting his weight onto it.

He looked up at the giant nest again, his eyes fixed on it.

This was his first time in this place, and it was indeed eerie, but he had seen far more eerie things before, like a spider's nest.

Then he watched as the giant spider, bigger than Baruch, slowly crawled out of its lair, and raised his wand once more.

Aragog.

Its body is a whole size larger than Baruch's, and its eight legs stretch for nearly three meters. Black bristles cover its dark brown carapace, and with each step it takes, the spider web beneath its feet is pressed down.

Above its head and thorax, four pairs of eyes are arranged in an arc. The largest pair of primary eyes is bright white, while the other three pairs are milky white.

Its large chelicerae are spread open, revealing the dark red inner walls and two rows of barbs.

The surrounding spider webs were vibrating, and more than a dozen adult eight-eyed giant spiders emerged from the holes in their nests, hanging down from the treetops and peeking out from under the webs.

With their claws outstretched and eight legs supporting their bodies, they moved forward, forming a large circle in the mist that tightened more and more.

Aragog took a few steps out of the nest entrance, and all the spiders around him that were closing up stopped.

They lay still, their eight legs tucked together at their sides, their compound eyes all facing the same direction.

Baruch stood next to Regulus, his body bent down, his front legs tucked in, his hind legs supporting him on the ground, his entire carapace pressed against the ground.

The giant spider's subservient attitude towards its leader is etched into its body from the moment it hatches.

But when it was halfway down, it suddenly stopped, as if it had remembered something.

Now that it is the spider of Regulus's leader, and Aragog's father is also afraid of Regulus, does it still need to submit as before?

Logically, it shouldn't be necessary.

But Baruch was a clever spider after all, and his mind worked quickly.

It didn't straighten up; it remained crouched.

Aragog was tall, and from above, you couldn't see the main eye under its lowered head, which was eagerly glancing in Regulus's direction.

Only Regulus could see it.

Its two main eyes looked at him pitifully, while its compound eyes below were not idle either, darting around and looking Aragog from bottom to top, showing no sign of restlessness.

Regulus was amused by it, his lips curled up, and he raised his hand to pat its big head.

Baruch understood; Chief Regulus was backing the spider.

It lowered its body and bowed to Aragog in a proper manner, closing its chelipeds and tucking its eight legs together, making a perfect gesture.

"Aragok's father."

The sound was rough and sharp, with a frictional texture unique to spiders.

Then it immediately got up, circled behind Regulus, and tried to hide its two-meter-long body behind him.

It couldn't hide completely, so half of its head peeked out from Regulus's shoulder, glancing towards Aragog. Its chelicerae clicked softly, and it remained motionless.

Aragog ignored Baruch's tricks.

Several pairs of compound eyes scanned back and forth between Regulus and Baruch, with the largest pair of main eyes fixed on Regulus, while the other pairs of compound eyes each had their own function.

Several eyes were fixed on Baruch, while two others turned to Hermes, scanning the unfamiliar wizard from head to toe before returning their gaze to Regulus.

Its main eye twitched, and a rough, deep voice squeezed out from the base of its chelicerae: "Wizard."

Regulus nodded: "Aragok."

"What do you intend to do this time?" Aragog's pincers parted slightly, revealing their dark red inner walls.

Regulus raised his hand and gestured backward.

Baruch reluctantly emerged from behind him, his eight legs moving slowly, his chelicerae half-open and half-closed, his spider head lowered. He first glanced at Aragog, then turned back to look at Regulus.

Regulus nodded at it.

Aragog's main eye fell on Baruch and saw the change.

The eyes looked strange, turning from bright white to amber. The bristles were also no longer the same color, changing from dark brown to dark red. There were reddish-brown lines around the joints, and the surface of the carapace looked like it was covered with scales.

The scent emanating from Baruch was different from before; it had a different scent now.

But Aragog couldn't explain what was extra; it lacked the knowledge.

It just felt that this offspring had changed, that something was wrong, that it was different from all the other offspring in the nest, that it wasn't like an ordinary giant eight-eyed spider anymore.

In its two main eyes, surprise and doubt floated in the left eye, while uncertainty was evident in the right eye.

Under Aragog's watchful gaze, Baruch lay down again, tucking his front legs together, supporting himself on his hind legs, and pressing his carapace against the ground.

But it was still restless, its body facing Aragog, its spider head tilted slightly to the side, its left eye glancing at Aragog's reaction, its right eye stealing glances at Regulus's expression.

Regulus patted its big head again.

Aragog used his wisdom to ponder over and over again what these patterns, these eyes, this fur, this shell meant.

The more I think about it, the more confused I become.

It didn't even bother to care about Baruch's strange submissive posture; its mind was completely occupied by this unfathomable change.

Hermes stood to Regulus's side and slightly behind, wand still in his hand, silently glancing back and forth between Baruch and Aragog.

Aragog is indeed bigger than Baruch, with thicker and longer legs, a thicker carapace, and stiffer bristles. It looks quite imposing and would be impressive to lead around. It should also be formidable in a fight.

But no matter how you look at it, none of them are as pleasing to the eye as Baruch.

It was a dark, grayish blob, like an old specimen—dull, stale, and lifeless.

He wanted someone like Baruch.

Aragog withdrew his gaze from Baruch and fixed his main eye back on Regulus's face.

"What do you want to do this time?"

Regulus didn't answer immediately; with a thought, Baruch was instantly engulfed in flames.

Flames leaped from the roots of every bristle on Baruch's body, orange-red tongues of fire enveloping its carapace and eight legs, burning fiercely all over its body.

The flame core emitted a hint of blue-white, gradually turning orange-red, then dark red. The high temperature distorted the air, and the firelight illuminated the entire depression, making the spiderwebs on the walls appear orange-red.

The surrounding spider webs sizzled at the edge of the flames, but didn't catch fire; not a single thread broke. The flames were contained within Baruch, enveloping him completely without escaping.

Aragog took two steps back, his compound eyes widening simultaneously, his body instinctively shrinking back, and a few of his bristles curling up under the high temperature of the flames.

It almost thought Regulus was going to kill Baruch.

Setting fire to the giant eight-eyed spider is tantamount to execution.

It itself had been burned by the wizard, with the same kind of fire, orange-red and raging.

But Baruch didn't scream, struggle, or run away. It was quite comfortable in the fire, and even raised one of its flaming front legs and waved it, its chelipeds clicking as if showing off.

Aragog stopped retreating, stubbornly holding on to the edge of the intense heat, and a few more of its bristles curled up.

Baruch was still showing off, stretching out his flaming forelegs to the side. Finding that the spider web under his feet hadn't caught fire, he stretched his legs even further, trying to direct the fire elsewhere.

Regulus looked at its restless leg, somewhat speechless, and his fingers twitched slightly.

The next moment, the flames were extinguished.

Baruch remained in the extended leg position, his leg frozen in mid-air, before casually retracting it, all eight eyes glancing toward Regulus.

Aragog remained standing, his eyes fixed on Baruch.

When the flames were completely extinguished, Baruch stood there unharmed, not even a single bristle singed, before slowly taking a step forward.

It understood that Baruch was not afraid of fire.

It's not just that it's not afraid; the giant spider's fearlessness is simply that it stays away from the fire and can withstand being roasted, like it just did.

But Baruch, who burned himself with fire for so long and was still unharmed, is an eight-eyed giant spider that has never existed in the world.

In the collective memory, fire has been the number one enemy since the day they hatch.

Whether encountering a tree struck by lightning and on fire in the Forbidden Forest, or smelling smoke deep in their nest, all eight-eyed giant spiders have the same first reaction: run.

Baruch stood in the fire, still stretching out his legs.

Aragog's main eyes were wide open to their limit, while his compound eyes were churning with all sorts of emotions.

Shock, fear, vigilance, contemplation, greed, violence.

"What did you do to it?" Aragog's voice was impatient. It waved its large claws, but dared not move closer.

It wanted to ask more questions, but had no idea where to begin: "The smell on it isn't right."

Regulus looked at it.

The taste Aragog described was probably magic; it could see changes in Baruch's magical abilities.

Perhaps it's because it has more eyes; with eight eyes, it can see more diverse things than with two.

But he didn't want to explain; it was enough for the old spider to see the change. He didn't want to talk to it about anything else.

"One transformation," Regulus said casually, holding up one finger. "I'm here for the second one."

He glanced in the direction of the nest: "Make room."

Hermes stood to the side, silent from beginning to end, watching Regulus and the behemoth go back and forth, lost in thought.

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