Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Slaying the Demon Hydra
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Tadot, tadadot!
Pajijik-!
Using electric current transformation magic, I shot toward the battlefield like a bolt of lightning.
With my condition fully restored, my body felt light enough to fly.
“Phew.”
I arrived at the battlefield in an instant.
I quickly scanned the situation.
‘The damage is pretty severe, huh?’
This was the third wave, threatening enough that I’d expected some losses, but the destruction was worse than anticipated.
Hundreds of allied corpses were visible at a glance.
Of course, there were even more demon carcasses piled up, but that didn’t change the fact of our heavy casualties.
What was the cause?
‘There it is.’
It didn’t take long to spot.
Among the now thirteen rifts, one bastard was strutting openly.
Haaaaak-!
Chiiiii.
With a monstrous roar, it spewed deadly poison in all directions from its nine heads.
I didn’t even need to rack my brain for its name.
[Demon Hydra].
It ranked at the top among upper demons in combat prowess, the right-hand spawn of the Greed Legion Commander Valefor.
Slash!
While I watched, an upper knight severed one of the [Demon Hydra]’s heads.
But.
Haaaaak!!
The creature twisted its body, and a new head sprouted from the stump in an instant.
The upper knight spat curses at the sight.
“You fucking piece of shit! Just die already!”
Knights who valued honor and dignity didn’t resort to crude language lightly.
For him to say that meant he was thoroughly pissed.
Not that it was surprising.
Even I, with more patience than most, had unleashed a barrage of expletives the first time I fought the damn thing.
‘Still the same, you snake-headed freak.’
The [Demon Hydra] possessed regeneration that could only be called transcendent.
No matter how many times you lopped off its heads, it regrew them just like that.
Without knowing how to counter it, the difficulty spiked dramatically.
Of course, it wasn’t Valefor’s right hand for nothing—even knowing the counter made it a pain.
The way to beat the [Demon Hydra] was to strike all nine heads simultaneously.
“Strike” meaning sever them all at once... which was, naturally, no easy feat.
Especially for a swordsman with short arms.
‘I’ll handle it.’
Pajijik!
Tadot, tadadadot!
Having grasped the situation, I charged straight to the front lines.
My condition was at its peak.
Better to step in and finish it quick before more damage piled up.
“Huh? That’s...”
“The mage, right?”
Paat!
I leaped into the sky, ignoring the murmurs, and detonated a flash bang hovering over my right hand with a shout.
“Get down!”
Boom!
“Argh! My eyes!”
A few who didn’t react in time clutched their eyes.
But they’d be fine.
I’d used a mini flash bang for exactly this reason.
Compared to the massive version, the effect was brief and didn’t cause permanent damage.
At least for normal humans.
Ha, haaaak...!
The [Demon Hydra], facing the flash bang head-on, twisted its nine heads like corkscrews and shrieked.
An overreaction for a single flash bang.
The reason was simple.
‘It’s got a lot of eyes.’
The [Demon Hydra] was reptilian, closest to a snake among them, but unlike regular snakes, it had excellent vision.
And with nine heads.
That meant eighteen eyes total.
With eighteen eyes boasting top-tier sight, even a tiny light was lethal to it.
Plus the simultaneous hit bonus.
-[You have dealt damage to all nine heads of the Demon Hydra simultaneously.]
-Bonus effect: [Demon Hydra]’s all resistances reduced by 50%.
That message popped up whenever you struck multiple heads at once.
All resistances down 50%.
Assuming the game mechanics held here, it was the same now.
And the key to taking down a [Demon Hydra] was to capitalize on this moment.
Still positioned above its heads, I immediately forged a blade of light.
Not my usual size, but several times larger.
Yet.
Sring!
Despite the massive mana required for something so enormous, the blade formed faster than I expected, shocking even me.
In that split second, I realized it was thanks to the mana manipulation skill I’d honed saving the District 7 residents.
‘Perfect.’
No time for admiration.
I thrust without pause.
Slashslashslash!
One, two, three, four...
Hak, haaaak!
All nine heads severed in a single stroke.
The severed heads hit the ground, gasping raggedly.
But it wasn’t over yet.
The [Demon Hydra] always had one last trick to ruin your mood, even on the brink of death.
Sure enough.
Chiiiiiik!
Suddenly, thick deadly poison gushed from the stumps.
Already prepared, I leaped back to evade.
Tadot!
Chiiiiiik-.
The ground melted before my eyes.
Knowing the poison’s power sent a strange thrill through me.
“I’ve tossed dozens of armor sets because of you, you bastard.”
In a sense, this was my second life.
Cheap tricks like that didn’t faze me.
Hak...
Missing its final strike, the creature gave a look of regret before crumbling to gray ash.
Behind me, soldiers cheered hoarsely.
“Woooah! The mage did it!”
“Mage! Mage! Mage...!”
“No idea where you were hiding, but what a badass entrance!”
“Damn! Feels so reassuring now! Solid!”
Their fervor suggested they had a serious grudge against the thing.
Makes sense—plenty of comrades they’d fought and bled with alongside had died.
“Everyone okay?”
“Don’t ask. Worst moment of our lives! Even the knights couldn’t touch it-.”
“Fuck. Thought we were done for...”
“...We’re good now. Where’s the commander?”
That’s when I asked the soldiers about Elbert’s whereabouts.
A familiar voice came from behind.
“Looks like you’re feeling better.”
Knight Commander Elbert Tyiran had snuck right up behind me.
“Ah, yeah. Th-thanks... I drank what you gave me. Appreciate it.”
“Yeah? How’d it feel?”
“Killed it.”
“Hahaha, knew it would. Has to. What kind of potion you think that was?”
Elbert grinned slyly and continued.
“I’ll let you pay back the debt slowly.”
“Huh? Debt?”
“Why that face? Just stating the obvious. Wait, you weren’t planning to stiff me?”
“B-but surely...”
“Kidding.”
Ugh, did this guy get off on stuff like that?
Gave me a damn heart attack.
‘Same type as Roan?’
Reasonable to suspect Elbert was a psycho.
Anyway.
After delivering the joke with a straight face, Elbert switched to serious mode.
“I’ll brief you on the changed situation.”
Seemed he planned to fill me in on everything.
I nodded solemnly, and he began.
“Ten new rifts opened today. Total of thirteen active now. The royals signaled they’re ready to close them, and in two hours, they’ll join us for the full operation.”
Then, the types of demons emerging from the rifts, the scale of our losses so far, and a rough overview of the battle situation.
Despite the volume, Elbert’s briefing was concise.
Like tweezers plucking out only the essentials.
Listening, a question popped up.
‘Why tell me all this? In person, no less?’
Felt like I was the commander, not him.
A 5th circle mage getting a report from the Knight Commander? Unheard of.
I stared, trying to read his intent, and Elbert shrugged, noticing.
“What? Feels weird?”
“Yeah, a bit. Why tell me?”
“Because I figured out what you really want.”
“What I really... want?”
“Hmm, playing dumb? Fine, briefing’s done. Any insights, speak up.”
“...”
No clue what he meant, but one thing was clear.
Elbert was seriously misunderstanding something.
Otherwise, no reason to say that.
Whatever.
‘Insights, huh...’
I rapidly pieced together the info in my head.
Damage was high, but the situation wasn’t bad.
Hold out two more hours, and royal support would seal the rifts—smooth sailing.
But.
‘What’s this? This off feeling?’
Like I was missing something crucial.
Something big.
‘Figure it out. Figure it out...’
How much time passed?
I finally pinpointed the source of my unease.
“The pattern... it’s different.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t match the standard third wave pattern I know.”
To sum up:
[Prophecy of the Red Moon]. In its third wave, upper demons spawn equal to the number of rifts.
That’s the norm.
But Elbert’s briefing didn’t match.
Thirteen rifts, yet only ten upper demons total.
I explained.
“Any guesses?”
Elbert asked, claiming ignorance.
But nothing came to mind.
‘What variable causes this?’
That’s when.
“Oh, right—the third rift showed unstable magic earlier... Related?”
Elbert’s words hit like a hammer to the back of my head.
“Unstable magic...!”
Fewer upper demons than usual.
And the unstable magic observed on day two.
All the puzzle pieces clicked.
But if my hypothesis held... we were in deep shit.
“B-Barundel. Where’s Barundel right now?”
Barundel, with his [Magic Detection] trait, would have the precise answer.
I quickly asked his location, but Elbert shook his head.
“No idea. He said something needed prepping and bolted. Good dwarf, so I let him go. Problem?”
‘Fuck...’
I hadn’t heard it from Barundel himself, but that confirmed my theory.
For calm-headed Barundel to rush off prepping meant something huge was happening.
Right then.
Czzzz! Czzzzzzt!
An enormous surge of magic poured from one rift.
The unstable third one Elbert mentioned.
Gulp.
That eerie magic made me, Elbert, and every soldier here swallow hard as we stared.
Soon.
Step, step, step.
Gooooo-!
A lifeform emerged from the rift.
“That guy...?”
“Wh-who is it? Human?”
Allies fell into collective confusion.
Only I stayed calm.
I knew that being.
Not from the game.
Something I’d witnessed with my own eyes in this world.
“...Aldeon’s former Tower Lord.”
“...What?”
Aldeon’s former Tower Lord, Dershion Pigma.
A reunion with that mad old man.