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Chapter 6 - Hydra

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Roran's POV

Soon after hearing about Akia's story and her implications, she left the room with a somewhat warmer smile on her face. I took a look around the room, and I saw Evie lying awake on one of the 2 beds. In the room was only a chair, a desk, with two beds. Nothing special. I laid my newly-acquired weapons next to my bed, next to where Evie had left her basic spear.

I looked at Evie, "Evie, do you want anything to eat?"

"No," she declined.

As I wasn't hungry either, I silently nodded.

I was exhausted, but as I laid down on my bed, I realized that we hadn't even come up with a plan to fight the hydra.

F*ck. Why did I forget... D*mned plans.. Well, I'm sure that since Akia's a rank A adventurer, she can come up with something.

With a relieved expression on my face, I laid down on the bed, and fell asleep.

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Evie's POV

I watched as Roran laid down on his bed to sleep.

It's good that I have a caring master..

I imagined him wearing his very rare kind smiles, and with that in mind, I started to feel sleepy.

Suddenly, I heard a yell.

"f*ck... f*ck, F*CK!!! WHY ARE YOU HERE CELEA? Oh.. was it my fault.. is that what you're saying? HAHA.. I'M GLAD YOU LEFT! SOMEONE AS INCOMPETENT AS YOU SHOULDN'T EXIST!"

Roran sprang up out of his bed in cold sweat. His face was terrifying...

Just watching him yell makes me shiver.

He looked towards me, and apologizes, "Oh. Sorry Evie.. I didn't want to wake you up. I'm just having bad dreams, I guess.."

His calm expression made me depressed, but I said it was ok, and tried to fall asleep again. I opened my eyes to check on Roran again, only to see that he was uncomfortably moving around in his bed.

Seeing this, I got out of my bed, and laid down next to him. I felt strangely embarrassed, and my cheeks were hot, but I decided that I must be a useful servant to Roran.

I give him a hug from his back, and felt his body ease..

I heard him mutter a word in his sleep, "Evie..."

With his last word replaying in my mind, I fell asleep.

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Roran's POV

It was morning again, and I felt two small, but soft things pressed against my back as I slowly opened my eyes. I lightly turned my face to look behind me, and saw Evie sleeping, while holding on to me... rather tightly.

What the hell did I do yesterday? I remember yelling, but nothing after that.. why is she sleeping next to me?

My mind confused, I tried to recollect any memories from last night.

When I was sure I didn't do anything, I tried to loosen Evie's grip to slip away, but when I tried to move her hand, I heard her protest, "Mmm...."

Her face became stern, and her grip tightened even more.

Wait.. I don't think I can get out of this.....

....and so I slept another 2 hours. I opened my eyes yet again, to see Evie already awake, laying down two plates on the one desk in the room.

"Evie, when did you get up? Why didn't you wake me.. we needed to get up much earlier you know?"

I questioned, and she answered, "Oh, you were peacefully sleeping, so I didn't want to disturb you."

I silently got up, and felt stinging pain around my sides.

Ugh... d*mn, she has a tight grip.. She's probably angry at me...I should be careful not to wake her when she is sleeping from now on.. It is said that one shouldn't wake a sleeping tiger...

As I made my comparison, I got out of bed, and grabbed one of the plates on the desk. The food was mashed potatoes, which I thought was weird, since potatoes were always thought as the devil plant that poisons people. Either way, I ate the potato silently, and motioned Evie to follow me.

We left our room, and bid goodbye to the desk lady, whose name was Kath. I exited the inn to see the same bustling marketplace as yesterday. On further inspection, there were alchemist, trading, and jewelry shacks with the 'roofs' filled with the leaves of the towering trees next to our inn. As we didn't have much time, I planned to take a look at the others later.

I sighed, Well... I forgot to ask where Akia was staying. I should start paying attention...

Just as I was thinking that, I heard the same excited voice as yesterday, "OHelloooo! How're you two doing? Great morning huh? But, we should head off quickly, to finish off the hydra before he,she, or it awakens!"

She was standing right behind me. How did she get there? I don't know.

I turned, and asked, "Don't tell me... you were in the same inn as us?"

She saluted, and said, "Yes Sir!"

Oi. This isn't the time for comical relief...

I sighed yet again, and said, "Alright, as you were saying, we should leave before the Hydra awakens. You seriously should have told me this yesterday... And we didn't make a plan, so you have one in mind?"

She continued smiling happily, and stated, "No Sir!"

D*mn you're useless...

With that, I came up with something like a plan on the spot, and it was consisted of 4 steps:

1. No body moves until I give the signal to attack when it is asleep.

2. Don't make any careless moves that can get you killed.

3. Don't disturb me unless it is for something important.

4. Akia is the vanguard, with Evie as the middle guard, and me as the rear.

5. Don't let one person take over 200 damage at once - there needs to be distractions.

As I was explaining these steps to them, I felt a hand grab at my pants, or the location where I kept my money. There was a crowd around us, but no one dared bump into us, since two of us looked like demons.

At the moment I felt the hand on my pocket, I grabbed the arm, and flung the man onto the ground.

It seemed like I made a commotion the moment I did that, since everyone around us stopped to watch once the man was on the ground.

I heard whispers among them, "Oi.. is the demon going to kill him? Should we stop him?"

The moment I noticed the uneasiness in the crowd, I turned to Evie, and nodded.

Evie explained, "Everyone. Please quiet down. No need for a commotion, Roran has just caught a bandit. Look. In his hands is our money."

I heard some boos, but the people around us left after a few minutes, and returned to the busy city center.

I took a look at the man I threw, and saw that he wore a large smirk on his face. I was disgusted, so I tied him up with the rope I had in the magic bag that he had stolen. I noticed earlier that my magic bag is rare, and since it only looked like a pouch, it didn't seem like there was much money, so bandits usually don't notice.

I knew that this one knew, however. So after I tied him up, I returned a smile, and declared, "Hey, how's it going? You're going to be my bait for the 5-HEADED HYDRA that we are going to fight soon. What do you think? Great! Thanks for trying to steal my stuff. Let's go!"

With a large smile on my face, I walked the struggling man to the edge of the city, and headed towards the Pond of Disaster, or the location where the Hydra was at.

The man started disturbing me by struggling even more, so I kicked his knees, and started dragging him across the dirt. Not one word came out of Evie's or Akia's mouth.

I turned to look at them, and saw that they were smiling uncomfortably. I sighed, and continued on the dirt road through the forest with huge trees. There were no hills, not much light shined through the canopy, and the only noise that could be heard is the scraping of the floor from the man I was dragging.

Akia, sensing the awkwardness, spoke up, "A...ah.. Ummm..Oh yea! let me tell you guys about the one time that I talked to a dragon! It was a bright blue one..... "

D*mn... now I have to put up with her rattling...

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Akia's POV

I hurriedly started explaining about my encounter with a dragon when I noticed that no one was talking.

What can I say? I don't like awkward situations...

As I was explaining, I glanced over at Roran, who was walking ahead of us, dragging the bandit. He didn't seem uneasy to fight the Hydra, rather it seemed like he was calm, collected, and was analyzing any possible situation that might turn the tide of battle to our side.

I looked at Roran's long hair, and thought, How does he fight with such long hair? I only keep mine since it makes me look nice... but it seems like he never cared. Let me ask him!

I stopped explaining, "...Aaand that was my story of how I met the blue dragon, Hyadd... Well, anyway Roran! How do you keep your hair so long when you battle? Don't you tie it up or something?"

He turned back to look at me, and sighed. Then started explaining, "I never cared... but I don't think it is long enough to get in my way.. It's only to my hip, unlike you, who has it going down all the way to your knees. But I guess I'll cut it off later when I have the time.. thanks for reminding me."

With that, it returned to silence, of course aside from the dragging sounds from the guy on the ground...

I wonder what Evie thinks of Roran...

The moment I thought that, Evie nudged me on the shoulder, and declared, "Where are you looking? Roran is mine, you know... hands off."

I was instantaneously surprised.

This girl seems quite assertive... maybe she fights well?

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Roran's POV

Well, after 4 hours of walking and dragging, we have finally reached the pond. Problem is, it's not a pond. The trees were parted, and the blue lake glimmered under the sun. It was a dazzling light blue, and there seemed to be all sorts of animals nearby, since I was able to spot a deer drinking water from at least a mile away.

My eyesight seems to be improving....I don't even understand why. F*ck I don't get this body!

I looked around for a Hydra, but I wasn't able to see one. I turned to look at Akia, and I saw that the man I dragged wore a terrified expression. He timidly got on his feet, and slowly pointed to the pond.

That's when I realized. The Hydra was invisible.

F*CK! Just when I wanted to kill something to settle myself down, a F*CKING INVISIBLE HYDRA POPPS UP! WHAT THE F*CK!

I SHOULD'VE JUST KILLED THE BANDIT!

I grabbed the bandit, and underhand threw him close to the pond.

I heard a low growl that seemed to be getting louder for every second that passed.

The man screamed, and started running, but to no avail. His torso was torn off, and blood erupted from his lower half. His legs were still moving, but after two steps, they came to a halt. Some of his intestines fell from the mouth of the hydra that had removed its disguise.

It growled again, and ate the man's lower half, and the intestines that had fallen down - with the other two heads.

The silver-scaled Hydra was in full view, and it covered what seemed to be at least 80% of the 'pond.'

Neither Evie nor Akia moved. I silently sidestepped into the bushes, and motioned for the two to follow.

They positioned themselves on each side of me.

Hmph. So much for bait..

I observed the 5 heads. Each of them had different colored eyes, and I assumed which attacking trait each of them would have.

Hmm....The one with blue eyes might be water, the one with green is probably poison, the red possibly fire, the black I guess is void? And there is one left, but it's closing its eyes. D*mn. What to do.... What to do?

I tried to conjure up a plan in my head that would kill the Hydra without any problems, but to no avail.

I asked Akia and Evie for suggestions, and Evie replied, "I think we should attack the one with its eyes closed first.. it seems suspicious. It is known that the best way to kill a hydra is to blind it, and melt its heads."

With Evie's brilliant suggestion, I smiled, and thanked her for her good work.

First to blind them, and then cut off their heads.. I think that should work.. Am I forgetting something? Well, I'm sure I'll remember sometime soon...

I wasn't wearing any armor, just plain robes, and I had two chains wrapped around my arm. (from the wakizashi - katanas)

I unsheathed each of my weapons silently, and wrapped the rest of the chain onto my arms.

Time to abandon my position as the rearguard...

I notified Akia and Evie that I would be moving first, to try and take out the eyes of the head that most suspicious. I suggested that Evie throw her spear at each of the Hydras' eyes, and Akia to go collect the spear thrown.

I dashed up a nearby tree, and perched on a branch. The tree lightly swayed, and one of the heads turned towards me.

As I jumped off the branch, I saw the first head's eyes, and launched my two swords at it, and pulled.

The chains unraveled themselves off my arm, and stabbed through the eyes of the Hydra that had its eyes' closed. When I pulled, I was brought on top of one of the heads of the hydra.

The head I stood on screeched, and my body jolted. I turned my head to see the head with black eyes glaring at me.

It took a deep breath in, and my instincts told me to run away.

I launched myself off of the head, with the chain dangling behind me - and the swords still stuck in the head of the suspicious Hydra.

The moment I launched myself, bright yellow lightning was launched towards the first head of the Hydra, from the black-eyed head.

I was surprised, and immediately pulled my swords away from the head that I stabbed, pleased to see that the blades weren't damaged.

They flew towards me, and the chains wrapped themselves around my arms again, while brimming with a black sheen.

The head that was attacked with the lightning seemed unharmed, and opened its regenerated eyes. It had white eyes, but I had no clue what they could do.

I contemplated different solutions, taking in the fact that the heads could regenerate, but without knowing what we are fighting, we won't be able to win.

A spear was launched towards the head with the white eyes, but it didn't move. It screeched, and the spear flew past the head.

[EDIT] -----------------------------------

I heard Evie yell, "How did I miss? I was sure that was going to hit. My aim shouldn't be that bad..."

I trusted Evie's ability with the spear, and figured that the one with white eyes had the power of foresight. It assumed a favorable position even before the spear was launched.

As I was thinking right in front of the hydra, red flames flew towards me. I couldn't move.

I can't move. I CAN'T MOVE! WHY!? MOVE! MOVE!!! F*CK I'M NOT DYING HERE!

I was stuck in place, and I realized that the one with green eyes froze me in place. It had the power to stop time. Probably only for a few seconds, but it was long enough for me to get scorched.

I let out a yell, and Akia ran towards me with blinding speed.

She was able to push me out of the way, and avoided getting hit by the flames as well.

She pulled me up, whispered, "sword," and a great sword appeared out of nowhere.

She threw the huge weapon like a spear at the green-eyed head, and it resulted in instant decapitation.

She turned towards me, and said, "Don't get all weak now.. keep fighting!"

With a smile, she called again, "sword," and the same weapon appeared before her.

The head that was cut off began regenerating, and I took the chance to inspect its stats, of course standing 100 meters away from the monster.

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5-HEADED HYDRA

AVOID IF POSSIBLE. Embraces the dark element, so in turn, each head is given dark magic. In exchange, it is hard to move, due to being tied to the water.

Name: ???

Level: 75

HP: 800 [1000 MAX]

MP: 10,000 [15,000 MAX]

Skills:

EYES:

Green: Stop time for 5 seconds. Costs 1,000 MP per use.

Blue: Regenerates health at 100 HP per minute in exchange for 5,000 MP - Stops at full health.

Black: Black lightning. Costs 1,000 MP per use.

White: Precognition. Passive. Uses 100 MP every minute.

Red: Uses Red Flames. Costs 2,000 MP per use.

Blood Stain: ??? [Unknown Ability]

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I looked at Akia, and asked, "So technically speaking, we can stop it from regenerating if we cut off the blue head?"

She nodded, and threw her sword again.

D*mn if I knew that you had that sword, I wouldn't have asked you to get Evie's spear.

The head of the blue-eyed Hydra was cut off, and blood poured out.

Because of her proximity to the monster, some of the blood hit Akia's face, and she flinched.

She wiped it off her face, and called on her weapon again.

Evie threw her spear, and it hit the right eye of the black eyed hydra head. The head screeched, and tossed its head around, trying to get rid of the weapon stuck on its face.

I charged forward, and let my two katanas loose. The chains unwrapped, but missed the hydra head that had precognition.

Hmm...I don't think that its foresight affects the other heads..that's good for us.

I recalled the fact that Evie's spear hit the black-eyed hydra, and send one of my katanas again at the black-eyed hydra. It connected, and I threw my other katana at the spear that was stuck to its other eye.

The weapon wrapped its chain around the spear, and when I pulled, the spear was launched towards me.

I grabbed it, and tossed it to Evie. She thanked me, and I turned back to take a look at Akia.

She was heavily breathing, and she was on her knees.

I assumed that it was because she was tired, having thrown that gigantic sword twice.

She didn't have any injuries on her body, but the silver Hydra blood was still smeared across her face.

She returned my stare, and muttered, "Hah...Ugh.. I feel sleepy... Roran... I didn't know monster subjugations were this hard... this is my first time....Lemme get some help...'skeleton-one,'"

She admitted something I didn't want to hear, but I hurried towards her as she fainted onto the floor. I reached for her arm, to feel her pulse.

I couldn't feel anything. Her heart had stopped beating, and a skeleton materialized out of thin air.

This is no time to be surprised... f*ck you hydra.. what have you done...

I turned to look at the hydra, and noticed that the blue-eyed head and the green-eyed head were regenerating slowly.

Silence surrounded us for a few seconds, but it was broken with my voice, " WHY DID YOU HARM HER YOU F*CKING HYDRAA!!??"

My voice boomed throughout the forest, and the Hydra didn't move, or speak.

I turned to look at the hydra, and I saw it take a step back in fear. I smiled, and I must have smiled like a maniac, since the Hydra squealed, and took a few more steps back.

"Oh you're not getting away... come back here Mr. Hydra.. Where are you going?" , I asked.

I stared at the right into the eyes of the blue-eyed hydra.

"You're first, " I declared.

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Roran's inventory:

- Two wakizashis - katanas. Chains attached.

- Magic pouch

- no money

- rope

- small carrying bag(empty) - when he was summoned

- Black robe (wearing)

Well, look forward to the next chapter, since I have something pretty interesting planned. Thanks for the support, and PLEASE comment/rate/favorite/follow.

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This time, I'd like to see some comments on Akia's situation!

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[EDITED] - Hopefully this makes it a little slower.. I might have written this chapter too quickly the first time. Sorry about that!

This chapter was pretty long, since i didn't update sooner. Next chapter might be a bit shorter.. just a heads up!