The Succubus Hydra
Exion shifted forms freely from Zeon's fist.
Sometimes it became an awl, piercing through chimera snakes. Other times, it morphed into an axe, lopping off heads.
There wasn't even a moment to catch his breath.
Zeon knew full well that any break in the chain meant death. He poured every ounce of effort into keeping Exion's flow unbroken.
Flicker!
In that instant, lightning streaked toward him again.
It was the special entity's attack.
A skill called Lightthein, which gathered lightning into a single piercing point.
Lightthein targeted Zeon relentlessly.
Zeon formed a barrier of Exion to block it.
Shards of pure white lightning scattered in all directions upon hitting the Exion wall.
Kieeeek!
Kraaak!
The chimeras convulsed from electrocution, flesh bursting open or charring black.
'Oh ho!'
Zeon's eyes gleamed.
A brilliant idea had struck him.
He didn't have to fight head-on himself.
Turning the enemy's power against them was a valid strategy too.
Right then, the special entity unleashed Lightthein once more.
Zeon shaped Exion into a slanted barrier.
Crackle-zzt!
The lightning slammed into the Exion wall and sprayed outward.
Zeon fine-tuned the angle to maximize the spread.
The chamber turned into a slaughterhouse in seconds.
Far more chimera snakes died than when Zeon was swinging directly.
After several instances of his own attacks wiping out more of his minions, the special entity realized it was being used. But by then, a path had opened between it and Zeon.
Zeon compressed space in a flash, closing the gap.
"Die, you fucker!"
He concentrated Exion into his gauntlet and smashed it down.
Splat!
The special entity's head exploded.
Zeon moved on to the next one.
By hunting down and obliterating the special entities while sweeping up the surrounding monsters, he suddenly found himself standing alone amid the carnage.
"Hah! Hah!"
Zeon leaned against the wall, gasping for air.
He'd burned through everything in a short burst, and exhaustion crashed over him. But he couldn't afford to rest and recover his stamina and mana leisurely.
Even now, Dayton was surely pressing toward the dragon.
To help even a little, Zeon had to keep moving without pause.
He pushed on.
The passage stretched on endlessly, like it had no end.
Thankfully, no chimeras appeared this time. Still, he didn't let his guard down.
This was a dragon's lair, after all.
They wouldn't rely on mere chimeras like these for guardians.
Something bigger and stronger was undoubtedly waiting ahead.
Zeon checked his condition again.
Fortunately, he was in decent shape.
He had more stamina left than expected, and his mana was steadily recovering, bit by bit.
With this, he wouldn't go down without a fight against whatever came.
Zeon heightened his senses, ready to react the instant an enemy appeared. Yet it was eerily quiet.
It didn't feel like enemies were holding still—it was as if there were none at all. Even so, he stayed vigilant and proceeded cautiously.
After walking some distance, a vast space opened before him.
It was a colossal circular chamber, like an ancient colosseum.
Towering dozens of meters high, spanning hundreds across, it was filled—unexpectedly—with sand.
'What the hell?'
Zeon furrowed his brow.
As a Sand Mage, he should welcome sand everywhere like a gift from the gods. But Zeon knew the world didn't hand out freebies that easily.
There had to be a reason this colosseum-like floor was blanketed in sand.
As he raised his control to probe beneath it—
Shrrk!
Something burst through the sand.
"What?"
Zeon jolted, trying to manipulate the sand. But in the next moment, his body froze as if cursed.
It wasn't an actual curse.
He was just stunned by the sheer unexpectedness of what emerged.
"A woman?"
And a naked one at that, without a stitch of clothing.
Her hair undulated like mystical blue seaweed, her snow-white skin—pale as fresh-fallen snow—glowed faintly.
Her large eyes and lips shimmered ruby red, as if crushed gems had been embedded.
Sensuality radiated from her.
Zeon's face flushed crimson in an instant.
He'd never even been near a woman in his life.
Too busy surviving to date, let alone hold a girl's hand.
He had zero tolerance for women.
And this one who appeared out of nowhere was a perfect nude.
His eyes darted wildly, nowhere to land.
"Uh, uh!"
His mind went blank, like he'd been truly cursed—thoughts evaporated.
Even as that, the nude woman drew closer to Zeon.
She smiled at him.
Her mesmerizing gaze and expression ensnared him.
Red light deepened in her eyes, and Zeon gaped at her, mouth agape.
To a boy not yet fully a man, the nude temptress was overwhelming.
Unbidden, tension stirred in his lower abdomen; his lips parched.
His hands flailed in the air, lost.
"Hoho!"
She giggled at his reaction, finding him adorable.
That only drove him madder.
His mind emptied.
An intense desire to embrace her flooded his head.
He'd never felt craving this fierce.
Zeon reached out.
She smiled sweetly and took his hand.
Electricity surged through him.
The lust intensified; he ached to devour her.
As if teasing him, she circled slowly. Zeon turned to follow.
His eyes had lost focus.
Only then did she close in.
Faces nearly touching.
She peered into his face, then leaned for his lips.
Her sweet breath teased his senses.
Just before the kiss, focus snapped back to Zeon's eyes.
Her breath carried a faint fishy stench that jolted him awake.
The reek of dead insects.
A scent he'd smelled recently.
"It's a chimera!"
Zeon bellowed, driving his fist into her chest.
Boom!
With the explosive impact, the near-kissing woman slid back. Her face twisted savagely.
"How dare a puny human…"
"Fuck! Almost did it with a chimera. My first time with a fucking chimera… Ugh!"
Zeon shuddered violently.
Just imagining it was horrifying.
If anyone had seen, it'd be lifelong mockery.
"I won't forgive you!"
Zeon's rage erupted.
The woman's matched it.
"I'll kill you."
Chwiiik!
Her body rocketed into the air, revealing her true form.
"What? No way that's possible?"
Zeon's eyes bulged.
Bursting from the sand was a nine-headed monster hydra. The "woman" part he'd mistaken was actually its tail.
A massive chimera fusing hydra and succubus.
Its name: Kaesu.
One of the three great guardians painstakingly crafted by the gold dragon Hai Elton for his lair's core.
Hai Elton had stationed these three guardians at key points.
Kaesu boasted immense regeneration, poison, and raw physical power.
Its scales granted massive magic resistance.
Hydras ranked A-grade monsters.
No mere C-grade like Zeon could handle it.
"Hah! This is insane!"
Even with his rapid growth to C-grade, he couldn't touch an A-grade's heel.
The gap between A and B dwarfed C and D.
And this was A-grade versus his C.
No amount of grit could bridge that chasm.
Worse, fused with succubus, it gained superior intellect and the Charm skill.
Zeon's earlier lapse into lust? The succubus's Charm at work.
Without catching that fishy chimera stink, he'd have been drained dry and died.
The hydra-succubus fusion elevated Kaesu to near S-grade power despite its A-grade base.
Facing that, Zeon had no clue how to fight.
"Die!"
Kaesu struck.
All nine heads spat venom.
"Tch!"
Zeon bit his lip and dodged desperately.
Sizzle!
The sand where venom hit melted instantly.
A direct hit would've done the same to him.
Chills raced up his spine. But he glimpsed a sliver of hope.
This underground cavern brimmed with sand.
Kaesu stood atop it.
Sand was Zeon's essence, his weapon.
Rank gap be damned—this changed everything.
"Alright! Let's do this."
Snap!
Zeon flicked his fingers.
Gaaaah!
Sand whirled at high speed around the hydra.
Sand Mixer deployed.
Kraka-kaka!
Coarse grains scraped its surface viciously. But not a scratch on the hydra's scales.
A B-grade-or-higher force field protected it.
Sand Mixer didn't wound—it just stoked fury.
Kuooooh!
The nine heads lunged at Zeon in frenzy.
Zeon detonated Cremoa head-on.
Kaboom!
Thousands of sand orbs, balled like iron shot, hammered the heads.
Enough to obliterate most Awakeners instantly. But insufficient against hydra.
Kuuu!
The heads burst through the sand cloud unscathed.
"Shit!"
Zeon triggered Sand Step in haste.
Snap!
A head snapped at his former spot.
A split-second slower, and those massive fangs would've shredded him.
The nine heads pursued relentlessly.
Zeon unleashed Sand Missiles and Cremoa in barrage.
Kaboom-boom!
Explosions billowed thick dust.
Yet Kaesu's colossal heads bore no marks.
'How do I do this?'
Zeon desperately evaded while racking his brain.
Dire straits, but he believed persistence would flip the script somehow.
"Hoho! Die already."
The succubus fused to the hydra's tail mocked him.
Zeon's eyes flashed.
'Does that woman have the same toughness as the hydra?'
Hydra had impenetrable scales, but the succubus was buck-naked.
'If so…'
Zeon shifted targets.
Sand soldiers rose silently behind the succubus.
While drawing hydra and succubus eyes, ten Sand Soldiers advanced.
They struck the succubus stealthily.
"Kyaaaak!"
Caught off-guard, the succubus shrieked.