"Son of Zeus."
Hydra's massive, oppressive body surfaced, appearing like a small island. Its nine huge snake heads drooped down, gazing at Heracles standing by the pond, and it asked in a low voice:
"Did Ares send you to trouble me?"
"Ares? This matter has nothing to do with Ares."
Heracles gripped his club, not surprised that the monster Hydra spoke human words. He replied:
"This is a great deed I must accomplish to cleanse my sins. It is a trial bestowed upon me by my brother Eurystheus, through the will of the gods. So I apologize, Hydra, even if you haven't devoured humans or livestock like the Nemean Lion, I still must kill you. If you must blame someone, blame the merciless gods for hating you."
"Bastard!"
Hydra was furious upon hearing this:
"If my father Typhon hadn't been deceived by that scoundrel Ares! This world would have already been ruled by us!"
"Too bad it hasn't." Heracles held his giant club in one hand and drew the long sword from his waist with the other. "So, please die."
The long sword he held was also a gift from the gods; Hermes, the Messenger God, had given it to him on Zeus's command after Heracles completed the great deed of killing the Nemean Lion. Although it wasn't a powerful Noble Phantasm, it was more than enough to cut through Hydra's flesh.
However, Hydra seemed very confident in its immortality. Seeing Heracles strike with his sword, the monster neither dodged nor avoided. As Heracles's blade struck its serpentine body, the nine-headed serpent simultaneously spewed forth a cloud of potent venom.
Great strength works wonders. Even though Heracles used a light weapon like a sword, his sharp blade still cut off Hydra's head with unstoppable force. But just as Hydra's head hit the ground, from the gushing blood at the severed wound, two more snake heads suddenly emerged. These two heads continued to spray poisonous mist at Heracles, forcing him to retreat.
There was no other way. The Nemean Lion hide could protect Heracles from all physical attacks, but it couldn't prevent the spread of the poisonous mist. And Hydra's potent venom was something no god or human in the Greek World wanted to be afflicted with. Even figures with such resilient wills as the centaur Chiron and the future Heracles, unable to endure the torment brought by this fierce poison, one willingly gave up his immortality for release, and the other had his wife and subordinates burn him alive. This poison was indeed terrifying, far more potent than the fierce poison Ares used to stab Poseidon's kidney that day.
Just as Hydra's ten heads swayed triumphantly, indiscriminately spraying poisonous mist in all directions, Ares, behind Heracles, went into the bushes growing in the dry part of the swamp. He broke off some branches from these trees, smeared them with grease, lit them to make torches, and then waved them, shouting:
"Heracles, on the count of three, two, one, we attack together!"
"Alright."
Heracles casually lifted a huge rock beside the swamp pond and hurled it at Hydra's massive body, causing it to halt and shriek in pain. Then he took out his golden bow and fired three arrows in quick succession, precisely shooting off three of Hydra's heads.
In its pain, its movements were slightly hindered, and the surrounding poisonous mist, deprived of its source, was quickly blown away by Heracles with a 'gust of breath.'
At this moment, Ares had already approached, holding a torch. Heracles drew his divine sword and struck again. Two of Hydra's heads immediately fell. However, just as the flesh at its wounds twisted, attempting to regenerate, Ares's torch had already been swung over. These wounds, seared by the flames, instantly turned a charred color with a sizzling sound, and their healing ability was temporarily hindered.
Because Iolaus's body was being controlled by Ares, Heracles didn't have to worry about Ares's movements keeping up with his martial arts. As the God of War, Ares was probably the strongest god in one-on-one combat in this world; this was his divinity and divine nature.
So, soon, nine of Hydra's ten heads were chopped off by the two of them, leaving only the last, and largest, main head, swaying there. Now, missing its other heads, and if one ignored the circular wounds on its body, it truly looked like a giant plesiosaur.
Seeing that it was no match, Hydra rapidly moved its limbs, wanting to escape back into its deep pool to hide. Heracles, seeing this, anxiously gripped his divine sword, wanting to pursue, but just then, from beneath a patch of mud he ran over, an enormous crab claw suddenly extended, clamping towards his ankle.
A crab claw of this size, if it clamped onto an ordinary person, could easily cut their waist in two. But just as the giant crab monster felt assured, believing it had secured its prey, its claw clamped onto a pair of hard leather shoes.
These leather shoes, like the leather armor and helmet on Heracles, were also made by Ares from the Nemean Lion's hide. Therefore, the giant crab's claw was naturally blocked. It clutched Heracles's foot as if an ordinary crab, overestimating itself, had tried to clamp onto a steel bar.
Heracles, while appearing anxious on the surface, was actually well-prepared. For the moment the giant crab clamped onto his foot, the bronze giant club, which Heracles held in his other hand and had not yet used, was raised by him. With a heavy smash, the club landed with a boom, and the giant crab that had clamped onto his leg, before it could even react for a moment, was already smashed, its shell shattered, and it died bleeding from its orifices.
Afterward, Hydra, who had just seen the giant crab clamp onto Heracles and was preparing to extend its main head to deliver a finishing blow, was also sent flying by a casual swing of Heracles's hammer. He then followed up with another strike, and Hydra's main head immediately fell. The severed wound of the snake head was also quickly sealed by Ares with fire, preventing its healing ability.
Although its head had fallen, Hydra was still alive. When it saw Heracles and Iolaus (played by Ares) approach it, casting a shadow over it, the monster's eyeballs rolled, and then it actually welled up with tears:
"Compared to my brothers, I haven't done anything truly bad," it pleaded pitifully, "Please let me go."
But Heracles and Iolaus did not agree. They came before Hydra's head and began to dig a pit beside it without a word.