Countless unidentified insects were awakened by the ancient magical rain.
Their jointed limbs slid through the soil, their shells scraped against one another, and that strange sound echoed throughout the pit.
Leonard's expression turned grim, and he took a slight step back. Several insects had already appeared where he had been standing moments before.
Dumbledore used magic to pull a few of them over and held them in front of himself for a closer look.
These unknown insects had thick shells and no wings. Their heads were tucked inside the armor, with only two huge blade-like mouthparts exposed.
No matter how you looked at them, they did not resemble normal living creatures.
Even under magical restraint, the insects refused to behave. They thrashed around, waving their vicious mouthparts, looking very much like creatures that wanted to carve a chunk of flesh off someone.
Dumbledore tried to crush them with magic, but under the force of that magic, the insects were not easily pulverized. Instead, they devoured the magic around them, and silver-white patterns appeared across their shells.
"Magical constructs." Dumbledore tossed them away, and in midair they exploded one after another with considerable force.
Leonard raised a brow. "I've never seen anything like that."
"That's hardly surprising." Dumbledore patted Fawkes and drew his wand. "No matter what they are, we can't let them get close. If they reach us, there will be nowhere left to run."
Leonard understood how dangerous these insects were, but fortunately, as troublesome as they looked, they were still nothing special compared to his magical plants.
Besides, he still had the Fire Warding Spell, a spell capable of grinding down even ancient magic.
So Leonard was not overly worried.
Seeing how calm Leonard remained, Dumbledore understood at once that this Heir to Ancient Magic still had more hidden trump cards.
"It looks like all we need to do is make sure these insects don't crawl up here," Dumbledore said. "A Shield Charm would normally be a good choice."
Leonard had just been about to nod when he heard a shrill, teeth-grinding sound, like countless saw blades scraping against steel bars.
That sound...
Leonard's face changed, and he immediately felt the steps beneath his feet tremble.
Remembering those grotesque mouthparts, Leonard hurriedly said, "Those insects are eating the tree!"
"Then we can't afford to stay on the defensive." Dumbledore let out a quiet sigh. "We have to drive them away, or at the very least, stop them from chewing through this tree. Do you know a fire spell?"
"I do."
"Do you still have the stamina and magic for it?" Dumbledore asked again.
He had seen how exhausted Leonard looked after casting that wide-range rain spell.
"Sorry, Headmaster Dumbledore." Leonard spread his hands. "I'm afraid I can't offer much useful help right now."
That rain had completely drained the Ancient Sprout's magic, and more than seventy percent of Leonard's own reserves had been consumed as well.
In that state, Leonard could not be said to have no fighting ability at all, but he truly could not bring out any serious offensive force.
Not unless he used his magical plants.
And before things reached a genuinely desperate point, he did not want to do that.
"Then stand back and stay careful. Don't let these little things hurt you." Dumbledore raised his wand, and surging flames gathered above them.
"Incendio!"
A simple fire spell, but in Dumbledore's hands it turned into something like a sea of flame burning across the heavens.
"Holy hell." Leonard froze at the sight.
The sheer force of this spell was even more terrifying than Leonard's fully unleashed Fiendfyre.
He needed to reassess Dumbledore's strength.
And not just Leonard. Even Dumbledore himself was startled by the power of his own spell. Its force and effect had surpassed even what he could achieve in his prime.
His century of spellcasting experience and the immense amplification of the Elder Wand were already unmatched. On top of that, the ancient magical rain had filled his body with renewed vitality, and the surging magic inside him added even more strength to the spell.
All of that together had produced a spell stronger than anything even his peak self had wielded.
Fawkes let out an excited cry. Looking at the surging flames, he spread his wings eagerly, clearly wanting to dive into the fire and guide that terrifying magical blaze.
But then he remembered that here, anything above five meters meant losing the ability to fly, and if he left the platform he would probably just plummet. So Fawkes reluctantly folded his wings again and spat a stream of phoenix fire into the blazing mass overhead.
...
The surging orange-red firecloud instantly swelled again, and its original color was overlaid with a layer of golden brilliance.
"Go!" Dumbledore commanded, and the flames poured down like an avalanche onto the insects swarming upward.
Starting from the steps, the fire swept across everything like cleansing flame, scorching every place around them, including where Leonard stood.
But the flames did not harm Leonard. On the contrary, they felt warm to him.
That was the phoenix fire hidden within them. That special power protected both Dumbledore and Leonard from being burned.
Then the fire turned into rings and spread outward, beginning at the tree trunk growing beneath the steps, burning away and driving back the insects that were climbing upward.
The flames rampaged through the swarm with a series of crackling explosions. Leonard leaned forward to look, only to discover that not a single insect had actually been burned to death. Instead, every one of them exploded on its own after absorbing enough magic from the flames.
But there were simply too many of them. The only ones truly exploding were the insects on the outermost layer of the swarm. The ones inside kept surging forward through the explosions, over the shattered remains of their own kind, still pressing toward them.
"Headmaster, I'm afraid this isn't going to be enough!" Leonard shouted, reporting what he saw while gripping a Bitterthorn seed in his hand, ready to act at any moment.
If Dumbledore could not hold them back, then Leonard would have to carve out a way through himself.
"Don't worry." Dumbledore's voice remained calm. The Elder Wand in his hand moved slightly, directing the flames as easily as moving his own limbs, like a master conductor leading a seasoned orchestra and composing a symphony of fire and explosions.
The surging flames in the air turned into phoenixes with outstretched wings. They slipped into every gap, crashing into the insect swarm with the zeal of suicide charges, drilling into the spaces between the insects and roasting them evenly, until silver light burst from their shells, until they were nicely browned on both sides...
It almost made Leonard hungry watching it.
The swarm's momentum was finally checked. The combined magic of Dumbledore and Fawkes held the insects below the line of safety.
At least for the moment, they were safe.