Chapter 246_ How To Kill A Hydra (4)

Chapter 246_ How To Kill A Hydra (4)

As Willow felt the mana converging at Amelia's location, he realized that the time had come to escalate their efforts. They needed to get serious, to push beyond their limits. The plan required their full commitment and resolve.

Stage Two was pretty simple. Hit & Run.

Gathering his chi, Willow propelled himself with renewed vigor, slashing through the remaining heads with unmatched skill. Each strike was precise, aimed at keeping the Hydra at bay. His senses heightened to the fullest, he avoided the snapping jaws and unleashed his attacks with calculated efficiency.

Raegis was no slack either. It almost seemed as if she was evolving as she was fighting, as she was killing. Her movements started to become more fluid instead of beast-like. For example, if she made a mistake in her footwork, she made sure not to make the same mistake again next, and this proved lethal to the wounded Multi-Headed Hydra as it was forced to keep most of it’s attention on the dancing beastkin. Most of it’s heads completely locked onto Raegis as a target, all of them rushing in together at once, maws open, ready to snap shut onto the little beastkin. 

It was hasty. It was impatient. 

Which was exactly what Willow had wanted. 

“NOW!”

Raegis suddenly paused, a serene calmness settling over her. Time slowed down. She hadn’t exactly mastered this move yet, but they did have some practice. And, during all of those practices, she made sure to remember the one thing that Willow told her. 

‘Don’t be scared. Let her come out.’

Her wolf-kin tail, and ears came out, adopting a color of silver. A silver halo formed around Raegis's midsection. It separated into two, one going down and the other going up, connecting her to the primal force that has always been inside her. 

The air crackled as she locked in. Her silver eyes snapped open, and immediately, she had awakened. 

"[Open]."

One second. One swing of her arm. That was all it took for the number of Heads ready to devour her, to all be slashed effortlessly, in under a second. The Hydra's heads, so close to victory, met their demise in an instant as her blade sliced through them effortlessly.

The severed heads tumbled through the air, trailing streams of blood, while the Hydra convulsed in agonizing screeches. 

“KRIEEEEK! KREIIIIIIIIIIE!” 

Willow smiled. “Looks like she managed to control it.” Willow, witnessing Raegis's display of power, marveled at her abilities. He could sense the Hydra's panic as its remaining heads realized they were not receiving the anticipated double boost in power. 

But, he made sure that they stuck to the plan. “HOLD AT 50!” Willow commanded. He knew the critical threshold was approaching, and they had to keep the Hydra from activating its devastating ability. 

He was worried if Raegis would listen to him, but apparently, she did, since she stopped slicing and dicing the many heads into sashimi at the pace of a master chef, and instead, slowed down a little bit.

Willow shut off his prana completely. He instead only allowed one energy to flow within his body. “Breathe.” He focused the power of chi into his legs, eyes, and hands. 

He bit his lips as the energy kept trying to resist his command. “Stop. Being. So. Stubborn.” Time seemed to slow down around him as something cracked within him, as he finally felt his limbs growing stronger.

Willow opened his eyes. He couldn’t maintain this state forever, and the longer they took to enact the next stage of their plan, the faster the Hydra would recover. 

After all, if it wasn’t tired from laying it’s egg, he would never even think of challenging it. 

With heightened perception, Willow noticed one of the Hydra's heads fixating on Amelia's gathering mana. Acting swiftly, he pointed his sword toward the head, determination burning in his eyes. In one fluid motion, he traversed the distance with incredible speed, appearing before the head as if teleporting.

“Annoying ass monster!”

The Hydra had no time to react as Willow's blade cleaved through its brain, splitting it open like a peeled banana. The head fell to the ground, lifeless, as a surge of triumph surged through Willow's veins. 

"Ten more," Willow's voice whispered with unwavering determination as he resumed his relentless assault on the Multi-Headed Hydra. Each strike he delivered was a testament to his skill and resolve. The Hydra, weakened but far from defeated, writhed and thrashed in a desperate attempt to fend off their relentless attacks.

***

Amelia refocused her attention on the task at hand—defeating the Hydra.

With only ten heads remaining until the Hydra's transformation, it was now Amelia's time to shine. She took a deep breath, channeling her mana and summoning her inner fire. 

This was the final stage of the plan. “ᚱ ᚾᚨᚷᚨᚱᚢᚾ ᚠᚨᚱᛖᚱ-” What happened when you mixed the element of fire with the element of dark, and boosted it somewhat with the element of wind?

You get the flames of hell. 

Just like Willow and Raegis, this was a spell that she had been practicing on, an amalgamation of fire, dark, and wind, the most lethal spell in her current arsenal, and also the most difficult. 

The purplish flames of her spell danced with intense energy, their searing heat held in check by her formidable control, but not it’s whispers. 

“Help me!”

“Come with me~”

“Feed me!”

Amelia ignored the cries. It was all in her imagination. She was used to this. She stood resolute, her palms outstretched before her, cradling the condensed ball of purplish fire. The raw power it contained strained against her control, its density and pressure pushing the limits of her magical prowess. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as she struggled to contain the immense energy within her grasp.

The flames flickered with an ethereal brilliance, their hues shifting and dancing with a hypnotic allure. Amelia's ears caught the crackling sound of the fire's intense heat, a symphony of energy vibrating through the air. The scent of burning ozone mingled with the scent of her own exertion, creating a unique blend of anticipation and determination.

As Amelia concentrated, her vision blurred slightly, the flames casting a purplish haze over her surroundings. The world seemed to shrink, narrowing down to the fiery vortex she held in her hands. Her muscles tensed, trembling under the strain of maintaining the delicate balance of power.

Amelia's voice, strained yet filled with unwavering determination, broke through the intensity of the moment. "I... can... do... this!" she gritted out between clenched teeth, her words infused with a fierce resolve. The strain on her body and mind was evident, but she refused to succumb to the overwhelming pressure.

Her struggle became all-consuming. The flames seemed to take on a life of their own, writhing and pulsating with an uncontrollable energy. Amelia could feel their fierce heat radiating against her skin, threatening to consume her. Every fiber of her being screamed in protest, but she refused to yield.

The pressure mounted, and a surge of pain shot through Amelia's head. She could taste the metallic tang of blood as her eyes began to bleed, the strain on her body taking its toll. Yet, she held firm, her determination unwavering. Failure was not an option.

The countdown reached its climax as the remaining heads of the Multi-Headed Hydra loomed tall and defiant, suspended in the air by Raegis and Willow's previous onslaught. 

Then, she heard a scream. 

“AMELIA!”

Amelia's eyes blazed with an inner fire, matching the intensity of the purplish flames she commanded. With a resounding roar that resonated through the forest, she unleashed her spell.

The purplish fire-ball transformed into a blazing laser, streaking through the air with unstoppable force. 

“ᚨᚱᚢᚾ. TRIPLE SPELL!”

ZOOM!

The Multi-Headed Hydra couldn’t even react. 

The laser struck true, colliding with the Hydra's remaining sixty heads. The impact was cataclysmic, a burst of radiant energy illuminating the forest with an otherworldly brilliance. The heads, once defiant, were obliterated in an instant, vanishing as if consumed by the very flames they had spewed.

Then, a cacophony of tearing flesh and the heavy thuds of severed heads crashing to the ground resounded throughout the woods. The forest floor was littered with large chunks of Hydra meat as they each fell to the ground with a heavy thud. 

Then, there was a deafening silence.

Amelia's mind swirled with a mix of disbelief and elation. Amelia's gaze shifted forward, her eyes widening as she took in the sight before her. The once-mighty Multi-Headed Hydra now lay motionless, its headless body sprawled across the forest floor. It was lifeless, defeated, and unequivocally dead. She had done it. They had done it.

"I...I did it?" Amelia's voice trembled with a mix of disbelief and triumph. She felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins, mingling with the exhaustion that threatened to consume her.

“I DID I-” Then, she lost consciousness due to mana exhaustion.

***