The remainder of the journey through the flooded forest was shrouded in heavy silence.
None of them spoke, each lost in their own thoughts. The only sounds were the steady splash of hooves through water, the occasional drip from overhanging branches, and the distant calls of creatures beginning their nightly hunts.
As they ventured deeper into the forest's heart, moving away from the settled boundaries and into truly wild territory, the surrounding forest gradually beca filled with a primitive atmosphere of complete isolation from the civilized world.
Behind the giant trees and dense shrubs veiled in thin miasma, several dark shadows occasionally flashed by in Bryan's peripheral vision. These were magical creatures dwelling in the depths of the Forbidden Forest, that never ventured near human habitation. All were extrely dangerous species, the kind that would kill without hesitation if provoked.
However, despite their proximity and the vulnerability of the small group traveling through their territory, these wild creatures deliberately chose not to attack.
Magical beasts living in the wild possessed keen instincts honed by countless generations of survival. They could sense the aura of destruction and power emanating from the floating wizard.
And besides, the centaurs were undoubtedly one of the acknowledged 'overlords' of the Forbidden Forest. Even the Acromantulas with their venomous fangs and numbers were no match for organized centaur warriors when it ca to open conflict.
Finally the group arrived at what was once the territory of Fenrir Greyback and his pack of savage subordinates.
A fallen giant log and a small stone hill ford an inconspicuous doorway between them. To the casual eye, it looked like nothing more than natural forest topographies.
Bryan slowly descended to the ground. His gaze directed toward the centaur elder Horn with a slight nod, who understood and reached toward his mane with one hand, fumbling carefully for sothing hidden within the long strands.
"Mr. Watson—"
Firenze hesitated, his body language looked uncertain. He took several tentative steps toward Bryan's side. Bryan could see clearly that this young, strong centaur's face—much more rugged and angular than human features, with its definite bone structure and wide set of eyes was written with words left unspoken, emotions struggling for expression.
"Oh, what is it, Firenze?"
Bryan asked gently.
"Well, it's nothing important, I—"
Firenze noticed Ronan casting a sharp warning glance his way. The silent rebuke made Firenze even more hesitant. He pawed the ground several tis with his front hooves nervously. Finally, he asked sowhat abruptly,
"Is the Potter boy doing well lately?"
"You an Harry?"
Bryan smiled at Firenze. "He's doing well, quite well actually. I an, growing strong and capable. Developing into a fine young wizard. But Firenze, that's not really what you want to ask about, is it?"
"Firenze!"
Ronan called out in a low warning tone. The centaur elder Horn, who had just succeeded in extracting the key from his mane also turned his head to look at the uneasy Firenze with concern and perhaps sympathy.
"You're right, Mr. Watson, you see through —"
Ronan's blunt warning didn't deter Firenze from his purpose. Though clearly deeply concerned about potential consequences, he gritted his teeth with determination and persisted,
"The thing is, we don't know exactly why you've co to visit the Druids today, what business you have with them. But—"
Firenze drew in a deep breath of the cold, foul-slling air, tinged with decay and damp to suppress his rapidly pumping heart. He could feel it hamring against his chest.
"Those Druids living in the enchanted forest are all good-hearted people. Oh, of course, I know Miss Cliodna committed an unforgivable cri against wizards. But the people within the enchanted forest, they are... are..."
He struggled to find the right words, his voice was trailing off.
"Innocent?"
Bryan smiled slightly, completing the words Firenze couldn't quite bring himself to say aloud.
All three centaurs fell into heavy silence at this word. Horn clutched the enchanted forest's key tightly in his weathered palm, not moving toward the door yet. He was seemingly waiting for sothing.
"Don't worry—"
Bryan took in the expressions of all three centaurs with a sweeping glance. He clasped his hands behind his back, gazing steadily at the hidden doorway to the enchanted forest, and said calmly,
"I'm only here to seek their agreent on a particular matter, to negotiate. Oh, of course, I must be honest—if negotiations fail, I won't simply go on a killing spree and slaughter them all."
Bryan's clear assurance visibly relaxed the three centaurs considerably. As fellow descendants of the legendary Isle of Avalon, inheritors of ancient magical traditions, they didn't wish to see the Druids, their distant cousins in a way to et their destruction at a wizard's hands.
Horn bowed deeply to Bryan in gratitude and respect, then walked to the massive tree stump. He pressed the erald green leaf-shaped key into an inconspicuous hollow in the stump's surface.
Imdiately, a swirling vortex of intertwined gold and green magic appeared before Bryan, expanding outside from that point. The colors danced and twisted together, beautiful and hypnotic.
Though this was his second ti entering the enchanted forest, the sight of this impossible land still filled Bryan with genuine admiration and wonder that never quite faded.
The ti cycle and weather system operating here were completely separate from the outside world, governed by completely different rules. Unlike the rain-soaked, flooded outside they'd just left behind, the enchanted forest remained continuously sunny with gentle breezes, locked in eternal pleasant spring.
Soft, pale golden sunlight fell beautifully over the lush green lawn and the umbrella-shaped canopies of gigantic trees that seed healthy and vibrant. Everything was magnificent. The floral fragrance perating the warm air and the ethereal birdsong drifting on the breeze made one feel deeply comfortable and relaxed, as if all worldly troubles simply lted away.
This was a paradise, a pocket of perfection carved out of reality.
The colossal oak tree standing in the center of the enchanted forest dominated the landscape like a giant Atlas holding up the world on his shoulders. Its trunk was wider than a house, its branches spread so far they seed to touch the sky. Bryan gazed at it quietly, and various experiences from the collapsing Isle of Avalon resurfaced in his mind.
To establish such a vast enchanted forest spanning acres, and to have lifted the entire Isle of Avalon to such heights, rlin's power must have been simply terrifying, beyond modern comprehension. Of course, this might be significantly related to the magical environnt of that ancient era—magic was wilder then, more abundant, more responsive to those who could command it.
But even accounting for that advantage, if a wizard with power approaching rlin's appeared in modern tis, Bryan truly didn't know how he would effectively resist such a force.
So powers were simply beyond countering through normal ans.
The commotion from opening the doorway had already attracted the attention of the people living here.
Within monts, a little girl with glossy brown hair in two braids led a laughing group of children cheerfully rushing toward the entrance. Their voices resounded clearly in the still air, full of innocent joy and excitent at the visitors.
Bryan's gaze shifted from the magnificent giant oak to rest on those approaching children with interest. If he rembered correctly, that little girl's na was Roya.
"Grandpa Horn!"
The little girl called out from a distance, laughing and waving enthusiastically at Horn with both small hands. Her face was filled with happiness.
"And Uncle Firenze and Uncle Ronan, why are you here? This is a surprise! It's not ti for the regular supply deliveries yet! Did you bring us sothing special?"
Due to their height difference, the children running toward them could only see the three tall centaurs at first. The wizard walking among them was hidden from view by their bodies.
But when the children crested the last gentle hill and Bryan suddenly appeared before their eyes, the dozen or so children who had been running over with cheerful shouts and bright smiles suddenly froze in their tracks.
It was as if they'd been struck by a Freezing Charm.
Their previously bright, innocent eyes were filled instantly with terror and fear!
A wizard had intruded into their secret enchanted forest!
An outsider had found them!
The children, who had developed a keen sense of vigilance and danger from their wandering lives, from being hunted and persecuted, imdiately recognized the threat this represented.
The joy and excitent vanished from their young faces as if it had never been. They turned together and ran desperately toward the sacred tree in the distance, seeking the protection of the adults.
Only one child remained standing frozen in place, rooted to the spot, staring blankly at Bryan with wide eyes.
But when the centaurs and Bryan began walking forward toward her, closing the distance, the little girl's survival instincts finally kicked in. She instinctively started backing away.
"Don't be afraid, Roya, there's no need for fear—"
Horn glanced at the gently smiling Bryan, whose expression remained calm, then beckoned to the frightened girl with a kind smile. His voice was warm, reassuring.
"No one here will hurt you, child. You're safe. I promise."
The assurance from Elder Horn, who had gained high respect and trust here through many supply visits, who the children knew and loved, did give Roya so courage. Her rapid breathing slowed slightly. She stopped her retreat and stood waiting tensely for them to approach.
Gray-silver hair catching the golden sunlight, handso face, purple eyes that seed to hold secrets—the little girl looked up at Bryan, studying him. Her shoulders were slightly hunched defensively, her gaze was timid and wary, her tender young face showed both obvious confusion and cautious curiosity.
"Roya, this is—"
"Oh, I can introduce myself, Horn. Allow ."
Bryan interrupted Horn's introduction with gentle politeness, smiling warmly as he extended his right hand toward Roya.
"Hello there, I'm Bryan Amos Watson. You can call Professor Watson. Oh, but just calling Bryan is perfectly fine too. So, may I call you Roya? Is that all right?"
Roya pressed her pale lips together nervously. Looking at the hand the handso wizard extended toward her, Roya's body trembled uncontrollably despite her efforts to appear brave. But ultimately, she mustered her nerve and slowly placed her tiny hand in his much larger one.
The mont their palms touched, the warmth transmitted through the contact eased Roya's anxious, racing heart considerably. She could sense instinctively that this wizard with the beautiful purple eyes ant her no harm.
She grasped Bryan's fingers and shook them a few tis, mimicking the adult greeting she'd seen before.
"Professor Watson..."
Roya blinked her eyelashes, her childish voice was tinged with innocent curiosity overcoming her fear.
"Are you... are you a teacher at the castle?"
Bryan was about to answer her question, but—
"Let go of her right now!"
A deep male voice filled with fury and terror ca from the middle distance. Though the person hadn't yet arrived, a stream of brilliant erald light shot through the air first like a cot.
The spell struck precisely at the base of an oak tree over fifty feet tall standing beside Bryan.
BOOM!
Accompanied by a deafening roar that shook the air, the ground suddenly shook beneath their feet!
The thick oak tree ca alive in an instant by Druidic magic. Its spreading branches transford rapidly into many giant palms surrounding Bryan from all directions with shocking speed. At the sa ti, a green vine crawling along the ground quickly wrapped around Roya's small ankle. It nimbly pulled her away from Bryan's side before she could be caught in the attack, dragging her to safety.
BOOM!
The giant wooden palms closed around Bryan with an earsplitting thunder-like crash that echoed across the enchanted forest!
When Horn ca to his senses, blinking in shock, Bryan Watson who had been standing calmly in front of him just a second ago had been completely sealed within those massive wooden palms, which continued to contract and compress with all their might!
"What are you doing, Flomid? Stop this at once!"
Elder Horn shouted in terror; his voice was cracking. His two front hooves rose into the air in alarm as he reared slightly.
The middle-aged Druid man who leaped athletically up to catch little Roya mid-air, pulling her protectively against his chest, was completely stunned by Horn's reaction.
His face showed complete confusion. He had thought Elder Horn, Firenze, and Ronan had been taken hostage by this intruder, that he was rescuing them. He'd never expected Elder Horn to be pleading for the intruder's life!
"Not bad magic—"
A faint murmur filled with power echoed clearly in everyone's ears despite being quiet.
Flomid, who had just landed heavily on the ground with Roya, was horrified to discover that the oak prison he had created was beginning to emit wisps of gray smoke. The wood was burning from inside, though there were no visible flas.
Before he could take any redial asures, before he could pour more magic into reinforcing his spell, the oak prison had already crumbled to ash in a gentle breeze that hadn't been there a mont before!
The ashes scattered beautifully in the sunlight, drifting like dark snow.
Gazing at the gray-haired young man standing calmly amid the falling ashes, completely unhard and looking almost bored, his expression calm and utterly inscrutable, Flomid's heart trembled with recognition and horror.
While still holding Roya against his chest, he cried out in shock,
"Are you... are you Mr. Bryan Watson?"
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