In the elves' ears, they could only hear Luke and the basilisk conversing in a cold, slick, hissing tongue.
Then, as if receiving its orders, the great serpent slithered straight into the spider web tunnels.
"All right, you can open your eyes now!" Luke's voice rang out to the others.
The elves opened their eyes.
"What do we do next?" Legolas asked Luke.
The others also turned to look at him.
"Wait," Luke replied.
"Herpo is already inside. It will drive the giant spiders out, and we'll be waiting here like hunters by the rabbit's burrow."
Meanwhile, the basilisk Herpo was swiftly moving through the spider tunnels.
"Delicious… I smell delicious food. Where are you? The hunt begins!"
The tunnels had silk trip-lines set by the giant spiders, so the moment Herpo moved inside, the spiders sensed it. They became excited and rushed toward Herpo's location.
"Food has come to us!"
In that moment, both sides considered the other as prey, and they closed in on one another.
The tunnels stretched in all directions. Following the scent of the giant spiders, the basilisk made its way deep into the inner sanctum of the lair.
Above it, a top-tier predator in its own right—a giant spider—was silently closing in.
Just as the spider was about to spit silk to bind the serpent below, the basilisk suddenly raised its head, an expression of mocking amusement on its face.
"Got you!"
(T/N : I don't know how fast basilisks grow, but Herpo should be 1 year old)
The spider's cluster of eyes instantly met the basilisk's golden gaze.
The giant spider felt a strange lightness—and in the next moment, its life was silently snuffed out. It dropped limply to the ground.
Staring at the fallen spider, Herpo's mouth watered, and it opened its jaws, eager to swallow it whole. But just before biting down, it stopped and shook its head.
"No… Master said kill all the tasty ones first. I can't eat yet!"
It cast a longing glance at the corpse before moving on to hunt more spiders.
From then on, Herpo entered a frenzy of slaughter.
Any spider it saw died without exception.
At first, the giant spiders didn't think much of a ten-meter-long snake; they had hunted animals bigger than that before.
But they quickly discovered this serpent seemed born to counter them—its sense of smell was incredibly sharp, and no matter how they hid, it could track them down.
It ignored their venom and illusion attacks entirely.
Its body was so well-armored and slick that even their silk could not stick to it, letting it weave through their webs as if it owned the place.
Worst of all were its eyes: any spider that met its gaze died instantly.
They even felt a natural, instinctive fear in its presence—like this serpent had been created for the sole purpose of hunting them.
The giant spiders were horrified and confused.
They were descendants of the dark god Ungoliant—how could they have a natural predator?
But the basilisk didn't care what they thought. It became death itself—cutting down all in its path, its bright golden eyes flashing deadly glances that sent them to the afterlife.
Many fled in terror, refusing to meet its gaze.
Some even destroyed their own uncloseable eyes, hoping to escape the serpent's death gaze.
Even blinded, spiders could still move using the fine hairs and sensory organs on their legs, so their eyes weren't essential.
But this plan failed too.
While Herpo's gaze couldn't harm blind spiders, it had another weapon—its venom.
The basilisk's venom was among the most lethal poisons in the world, capable of killing almost instantly. Even the most powerful wizards would be hard-pressed to survive without immediate, specialized treatment.
Its venom was also highly corrosive and destructive—powerful enough to destroy Horcruxes.
Only the tears of a phoenix could cure it—and no phoenix existed in this world. The venom was thus virtually incurable, except perhaps by Elrond, bearer of Vilya, the Ring of Air and the greatest healer in Middle-earth. For anyone else, a bite meant certain death.
Herpo caught up to fleeing spiders, biting them one by one—just a drop of venom was enough to kill them instantly.
The basilisk rampaged through the lair, unstoppable.
Terrified spiders fled wildly, many abandoning the forest entirely. But the moment they emerged from the lair, they met the waiting elven army and were pierced by countless arrows.
While Herpo wreaked havoc inside, the elves outside waited like patient hunters.
Every moment, more panicked spiders burst out, as if the serpent within was more terrifying than the elves outside.
Soon, the ground outside the lair was piled high with hundreds—if not thousands—of spider corpses.
Luke busied himself like a worker bee, collecting venom before the spiders fully died and storing their bodies in his dimensional bag—showing no concern at all for the basilisk's safety inside.
But before Luke and the elves could continue their ambush, the spider leader could wait no longer.
A sharp, piercing screech rang out from deep within the lair.
A colossal spider burst forth, its body the size of a house. Its eight legs were like massive, spear-sharp spines lined with barbs, capable of tearing a man apart with ease.
This one dwarfed all others, taller than the surrounding trees.
"It's the spider queen, Senatha!" Radagast cried, his face changing.
"Prepare for battle!" Thranduil ordered gravely.
The spider queen seemed furious, as if chasing something toward them.
"Herpo's coming back! Everyone close your eyes!" Luke suddenly sensed something and shouted loudly.
The elves obeyed at once, closing their eyes, though their bows still aimed unerringly at the queen.
A moment later, Herpo emerged from the tunnel, looking slightly worse for wear.
It quickly slithered to Luke and hid behind him, complaining:
"Master, the big tasty one chased me! It's too big—I can't beat it!"
Luke looked up at the spider queen and noticed her eyes were covered in webbing—no wonder she wasn't afraid of the basilisk's gaze.
Herpo was still a juvenile, shorter than one of her legs, so it was no surprise it had been driven back. The queen exuded powerful dark energy, her fangs bared, locking onto Luke and the elves even without sight.
"Elves, you will all die here today, and become food for my children!" the queen hissed coldly. "And you, little snake—I will tear you apart myself!"
Her ability to speak startled everyone.
As she appeared, tens of thousands of giant spiders poured from the lair, surrounding the group on all sides.
Hearing the queen's hatred for Herpo, Luke couldn't help asking the basilisk, "What exactly did you do in there to make her hate you so much?"
Herpo answered proudly, "I found the hatching chamber—so many eggs! So I poisoned them all!"
Luke laughed, patting its head. "Well done! I'll reward you with one giant spider a day from now on."
Herpo brightened, then quickly added, "Master, when you leave, be sure to take all the ones I killed! I got hundreds! And don't forget the eggs—they're my favorite snacks!"
"Fine, I won't forget," Luke promised helplessly. "Now stop talking and deal with those spiders—and don't hurt the elves, or there'll be no snacks for you!"
At Luke's command, Herpo charged the spiders with renewed ferocity.
This time, it kept its eyes shut near elves and only opened them against spiders.
The battle was fierce: the spiders outnumbered the elves, and the queen was monstrously strong. Her armor-like hide resisted arrows, and even spells from Legolas and the others did little damage.
She spewed poison gas that not only harmed but also caused hallucinations and dizziness. Even with the Bubblehead Charm protecting their heads, the gas seeped through their skin over time.
The queen also possessed powerful mental illusions, luring victims into dreamlike states and disrupting their senses.
Against such a foe, Thranduil, Radagast, and Luke all fought at full strength.
Leaping from his elk, Thranduil drew his elven blade, scaled the queen's legs with agility, and plunged his sword deep into her vulnerable abdomen.
The queen shrieked, thrashing to throw him off.
Radagast struck at her legs with his staff, the blow so forceful that she staggered and toppled.
Luke, gripping his staff, poured magic into a dazzling spell:
"Scourgify!"
The powerful cleaning charm instantly cleared away all the queen's poison gas—and stripped the webbing from her eyes.
"Herpo—look at her eyes!" Luke hissed in Parseltongue.
Realizing her sight had returned, the queen sensed danger.
But in the next instant, she found herself staring straight into the basilisk's deadly golden gaze.