Chapter 41 - Hydra and Heart (Patreon)

As the trees collapsed, a huge entity advanced towards them.

Easily the size of a small house, with twenty enormous heads on lengthy necks. A snake-behemoth creature from the depths of Greek mythology. It rumbled across the fallen trees and advanced upon them.

The two monsters’ gazes met, and they shared a thought.

That’s not one of Tiberius’ creations.

It did not have pure black eyes, and they didn’t feel Evolution Instinct urging them onwards.

It’s just some creature that needs to be put down.

The two monsters activated Alacrity and charged forward.

Fumi opened with a barrage of slashes that carved small grooves into the creature’s flesh.

She was immediately put on the defensive, however, as six of the twenty heads viciously counterattacked – each fang the size of a two-handed sword – and Echo felt the impacts transfer to him as blood began to seep from his wounds. The enormous blades came down with the force of a guillotine and would have sliced limbs clean off if not for their Brightsteel-Kevlar armored clothes.

Echo was able to block every attack aimed at him thanks to Perfect Defense, but he was not able to find a single opening to attack. He was just trying to not get hit.

“Fumi, back off. Find an opening.”

The Ogo warrior did as instructed using her speed to back away as the enormous Hydra focused all its attention on Echo.

He activated Overcharge and even then, was hard-pressed as the creature’s ferocity continued unabated. The wounds it had suffered at the start of the combat were already mending.

Parry, block, back to parry – Echo had no openings at all. The drain of Overcharge was forcing him to draw Quintessence from his Brightsteel ring and armor – he couldn’t keep this defense up much longer.

Fumi circled the creature and performed several hit-and-run attacks, grunting in dismay as the creature’s hide would take the hit, and then begin to regenerate. “Echo, dodge!”

Echo jumped to the side – suffering several impacts that did not pierce his armored clothes but did break bones – as he landed in a jumble, forcing himself to his feet as he continued to deflect blows, his strength starting to flag as he turned off Overcharge.

Fumi raised her blade as Quintessence flowed from her into her weapon, as she raised it high aloft. “Rift Strike!” The energy blazed into a pyre of green energy sparking with crimson fury. She brought the blade down and it neatly cut through the center of the creature.

The assault on Echo ended abruptly as the two halves separated, and the Hydra collapsed. Echo grunted as he stood up fully, Fumi coming over to join them. His leg snapped into place, and he stomped it a few times as the tingling sensation stopped.

The two glanced over at Rose, and Fumi commented, “You didn’t do anything.”

Rose was concentrating, her stone scepter held in front of her as her other hand overlaid the grip. The icy-blue Quintessence flowed around her as she prepared for a massive spell. “You’ve just made it worse.”

Echo turned as his Perfect Defense drove him to parry a series of blows whilst Fumi leaped behind him.

The Hydra halves had regenerated and healed themselves, and the two monsters were now face to face with two, smaller, ten-headed Hydras. Just like in the myth of Heracles. Echo was hard pressed and suffered hits as the barrage of bites wore him down.

“Gyah!” He cried out as one of the large fangs slipped past him and stabbed into Fumi’s neck between the collarbones.

He felt the wound transfer immediately, racing down his body.

The world began to go black.

His heart had been pierced and ripped to shreds from the damage transfer.

“Enhanced…Regeneration...” he managed to utter as he began to collapse.

This, coupled with the Regrowth upgrade allowed his shattered heart to regrow in his chest. The world slowly brightened as he recovered his faculties.

Fumi grabbed him and activated her bracelet, warping the two a short distance away as Echo recovered from the sudden shock.

"Echo!?" Fumi shouted as he was catching his breath.

Rose grinned, her white-blue Quintessence surging out from her staff.

“Wither before entropy, Death Touch.”

Her Quintessence turned a deep, sickly, miasmic black before shooting outward as it forked into two halves – one slamming into each Hydra.

The creatures immediately fell and twitched a few times before settling. Rose walked over and gestured to each corpse with her scepter, incanting another spell.

“Improve upon my form, Siphon Strength.”

The scepter glowed white and blue once more before a shimmering, sparkling cloud covered each corpse. When the cloud dissipated, naught was left except for two desiccated corpses.

Rose looked over at Echo and grinned, breaking her icy façade. “I believe I saved you there.”

Echo nodded, activating his ring, reaching into his pocket dimension, pulling out a panacea, and drinking it down. Immediately he felt his bones snap back into place, muscles and sinew repaired itself, and even blood was spontaneously created in his veins. His Quintessence refilled as well.

Too bad those are ungodly expensive.

They cost a million dreks each. And while he may be rich, he didn’t see a need to have more than one for emergencies.

Echo turned to Fumi and checked her over for damage. “Looks like Bulwark did its job.”

Fumi’s face was a mix of emotions – fear was most present, followed by shock and sorrow. She buried her face into Echo’s chest and cried, her blade clattering to the ground.

“…I’m sorry.” She whispered, reverting to her withdrawn demeanor.

Echo put his sword away in the pocket dimension and cradled Fumi’s head and shoulders with his arms. “It’s okay, I’m alive.”

Fumi shook her head, “…I was reckless…I’m not protecting myself in fights…”

She looked up at Echo with tears streaming down her face, “I almost lost you.”

Echo brushed the tears from her eyes with his thumb, “It’s okay. I don’t think my heart exploding counts as catastrophic damage, so Eternal Youth would probably bring me back.”

I hope it can.

She nodded, “…It still hurts knowing you were hurt…because I wasn’t fighting well.”

Rose walked over and tutted, “Tch. You two.” She waved her scepter and a cool shock of air jolted around the two monsters, drawing their attention to her instantly.

“You both were sloppy.” She relaxed her stance, and her face resumed its neutral posture. “You practice fighting against each other all the time, but don’t practice fighting as a team.”

She gestured to herself as well, “You also have another team member. Most of your fights will not be one-on-one.”

Echo nodded, “We need to find a way where we can practice together.” He brushed Fumi’s hair as he looked over at Rose, “I’m our best defensive fighter, so it makes sense that I try to draw attention and take blows.”

He cupped Fumi’s chin and pulled her gaze up to meet his, “And you need to do more of that hit-and-run work. Be a DPS.” Fumi and Rose both looked at him quizzically as he chuckled,

“Sorry. Damage Per Second. You’re the one who gets in to hit the thing hard.” Echo looked up at Rose, “And that-”

“Makes me the mage, yes. I’m aware of how companies are put together.” She turned to face the remaining expanse of forest, and the mountain range behind it. “We still aren’t done. There’s still a Colossus-class creature out there.”

Echo nodded and leaned down, scooping up Fumi’s blade and handing it to her. “Let’s get to it then.

Rickard was enraged.

Yet another recruit had faltered in their indoctrination.

Their eyes did not show the passion for her. They did not intone the words elevating his lady’s will above their own.

He ripped them from the chair and threw them across the room, their body slamming into the white stone with a sickly squelch before thudding on the floor.

The other want-to-be paladins redoubled their prayers.

Rickard would ensure these ones could do what he could not.

What he was forbidden to do.

Kill monsters.

Kill Echo.

The trio resumed their journey, continuing at the same pace, having Fumi utilize her Spatial Slash Ability to carve a path clear, and all three keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of a huge creature moving.

However, as night fell, and the trio forged onwards, no sign of enormous life forms was visible, nor could Rose find any with her Detect Life spell.

“Something as large as a Colossus should not be this hard to find,” Rose commented.

Fumi pulled on Echo’s sleeve, “…Let’s set up camp.”

Echo nodded and put his hand on the ground, “Transmute Substance.” The ground rose to form a sizable tower, three stories tall. He then put his hand against it, “Alter Substance,” channeling his Quintessence as the silver glow and crimson sparks engulfed the structure.

In a few seconds, rather than raised dirt, a sturdy stone fortification stood upright. The trio made their way inside, and Echo reached into his pocket dimension, pulling out various camp supplies.

Rose immediately went to the ladder and started climbing up to another level, “I’ll keep watch. Sleep tight.”

Echo set up the large cot and laid down, relaxing his muscles after a day of tension. Fumi sidled up next to him, curling an arm around him and planting a kiss on his cheek, “…Goodnight.”

Echo grinned as sleep took him.

Copulate…

Fumi turned over and stared into his eyes, her wolfish grin returning as she kissed him, and he returned the gesture.

Evolve...

The urge was stronger than the past few days.

Fumi ripped off his clothes as her nails distorted into claws, and the two locked into a passionate, violent embrace.

CREAAK!

CRASH!

CRUNCH!

Echo woke with a start as the tower collapsed down on him and Fumi. He felt his bones crunch as the whole structure caved in as he was buried in the rubble.

He channeled more Quintessence into his Enhanced Regeneration and, after healing his pulverized bones, pushed the rocks off him and Fumi. He took a deep breath as he looked around their ruined tower.

No one was around.

“Rose?” He called out.

No one answered.

Fumi stood up as soon as she could and whipped her sword out of its sheath, looking around for foes. “She’s not here,” Fumi commented as she sheathed her weapon after surveying the area. “What made it fall?”

Echo dusted himself off and sighed as he looked at the pile of rubble.

He shook his head, “I don’t know.”

Then, the ground shook. Powerfully. Echo retrieved his sword and brandished it in front of him, waiting for the rumbling to cease. But it did not.

“The mountains are sinking,” Fumi commented as she pointed at the range in the distance.

Echo’s eyes widened, It’s not the mountains. He put his hands down onto the ground, “Sonar Pulse.”

The new spell pulsed as a shockwave of non-harmful sound raced through the ground below. It functioned like a bat or submarine’s sonar.

But, to his rising dread, he did not receive the feedback he was expecting. Instead of being dirt and eventually rock, the sound wave bounced back from the fleshy substance under caked layers of dirt.

“We’re on top of it…” he said, dumbfounded at the size of the creature.

It’s bigger than a castle!

They weren’t kidding when this thing was called a Colossus. It was massive. A truly enormous beast.

Fumi took off running – as did Echo after her – but he stopped after a few meters. Behind him, sticking up through the rubble, was a clenched, white arm.

“Rose!” He ran over and pulled the rubble off her. She was crushed and seemingly dead.

Where’s the ring!

He dug through the rubble and found her other arm – ring still attached.

He opened his pocket dimension, scooped her body and equipment into the space, and shut the portal once more. He ran to catch up with Fumi who had reached the edge of the creature.

Echo looked down – hundreds of meters of distance between their new perch and the forest below. The earth around them shook as the ponderous footsteps shattered parts of the broken forest.

“How do we kill this?” Echo asked, incredulously.

Fumi grinned her warrior-mode grin, “We find its weak point.”

“Have you killed something this big?”

She shook her head, “No.” She put her hands down on the creature, incanting a spell as her hands glowed with green and crimson energy. “Slicing Gale.”

The gust of air pulsed down through her palms and into the earth below. She was rocked backward as the blast of air bounced back and threw gravel up towards her.

Echo shook his head, “It’s Magic Resistance is too high for you. Let me try.” He knelt and placed his hands, “Immolate.”

The silver flames rushed down into the groove that Fumi had created, and a backblast pushed Echo onto his ass.

“…And my Magic Potency is not strong enough either.” He slowly got up and brushed himself off.

Fumi frowned and stabbed her sword into the ground, “Resonating Thrust!”

The torrent of sound flashed downwards in a burst of green. There was an ear-shattering roar as both monsters were brought to their knees by the volume of the pained scream.

Then, the world tilted.

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