"Roar!" "Roar!" "Roar roar roar!"
Amidst a series of chaotic, furious bellows, the Hydra in the lake churned up massive waves as it lunged toward the shore, throwing the entire lake district into absolute turmoil.
The creatures within the lake fled in frantic desperation.
The water itself seemed to be polluted by this sudden, unwelcome guest, turning an eerie, sickly color.
As soon as this monster, possessed of a terrifying lethal venom, entered the water, any body of water—no matter its nature—would be contaminated. It would transform into a poisonous swamp and emit toxic miasma, causing any creature that drew near to be corroded into bleached bone. It was utterly horrifying.
This was the habit of the Hydra: it loved to find a body of water it favored, pollute the source, and turn the area into a toxic bog suitable for its own habitation. Known as environment destroyers, they were deeply loathed by all species.
Today, this Hydra had come to seize this lake as its territory; the creatures within would become its rations, to be swallowed and devoured.
Thus, the Hydra rampaged here without restraint, both remodeling its future home and hunting at the same time.
Under these circumstances, Leon and his group, who had suddenly appeared on the lakeshore, were undoubtedly conspicuous, and the Hydra spotted them instantly.
Without a second thought, the Hydra charged directly toward them.
However, just as it was about to crash onto the shore carrying waves of polluted water, a magic bullet of staggering power suddenly streaked through the air and slammed into its body.
"BOOM!!!"
A roar that resounded through the nighttime forest erupted. The magic bullet's incredible force blasted the Hydra back, sending its massive frame crashing into the center of the lake with a gargantuan splash.
Only then did Leon, flapping six pitch-black demonic wings, fly over from the shore. He glided all the way to the center of the lake, hovering above the towering spray of water.
"Roar!" "Roar roar!" "Roar roar roar!"
A second later, nine roars intertwined in a cacophony of rage exploded from beneath the surface. The Hydra's colossal body emerged from the depths, kicking up even larger waves as it saw the light of day once more.
Its nine pairs of crimson eyes fixed on Leon almost instantly. They were filled with violence, brutality, and a fire of rage that caused it to roar repeatedly toward the sky.
Leon looked down upon the scene from above. There was no fear in his eyes, only appraisal.
Then, he reached out his hand and made a "come here" gesture with his finger toward the Hydra.
"Come. Let me see how much of your legendary prowess you actually possess."
Whether the Hydra understood his words, Leon did not know.
But he knew that his provocation had been delivered, for the Hydra became instantly uncontrollable with rage.
"Roar!" "Roar roar!" "Roar roar roar!"
The chaotic bellows rose again. The Hydra allowed itself to be driven by fury; its nine heads opened their maws in succession, spitting searing fireballs at Leon in mid-air.
Each of those fireballs was larger than a grown man, with a diameter of at least three meters. Any single one was enough to completely swallow Leon's silhouette, yet now a total of nine flew toward him, barraging his position.
"Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom—"
In rapid succession, nine explosions rang out, causing a dense flare of fire to bloom in the sky above the lake.
Surging explosive flames swept out one after another, carrying even more violent gusts of air that churned the lake water below.
The shockwaves and waves surged toward the edges of the lake, quickly crashing onto the shore and expanding outward.
"Watch out!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka hurriedly stepped forward, unfolding a barrier. She created a defensive wall that enveloped all the girls, blocking the incoming shockwaves and the massive spray of water.
The other creatures on the scene were not so lucky. Whether it was the Sirens—who were originally the targets of Leon's group—or the other lake creatures, they were all sent flying by the shockwaves and the water, their fates unknown.
Yet, the Hydra's world-shaking offensive was blocked by a magic circle that had appeared and begun spinning at some unknown moment.
Leon stood right behind the magic circle. Neither the explosive flames nor the waves of fire could touch him. Only the surging air currents blew through his hair and clothes, making his silhouette snap and flutter in the night wind.
Having blocked the Hydra's attack, Leon immediately turned from defense to offense. He raised his hand, and the magic circle before him rotated. A beam of magical power suddenly erupted from it, descending from the sky and striking the Hydra's massive body directly. It blasted the creature until flesh and blood flew, blood flowed in streams, and it let out shriek after shriek of agony.
"The President is so amazing!"
Seeing this, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but cry out.
To heavily wound such a terrifying monster in a single strike—he was truly worthy of being the one who could become a "King." He was worthy of being the descendant of a pure-blooded demon who could inherit the Eligos family from the seventy-two pillars. His strength was far beyond their own.
However, Yukino Yukinoshita's expression grew increasingly solemn.
With her sharp eyes, she clearly saw that although the Hydra looked pathetic after being heavily wounded by Leon's strike, the injuries on its body were actually recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye. Soon, it had completely returned to its original state.
"That's... the Hydra's regenerative ability?!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka, who was maintaining the defensive barrier, obviously saw this too, recalling the legends regarding the Hydra.
In legend, the Hydra's most famous and feared abilities were two-fold.
One was that terrifying lethal poison. Not only could it pollute the environment, but it could also corrode everything. Even the great legendary hero Heracles could not avoid being poisoned to death by the venom on its body. Since then, rumors spread that this poison could even kill gods.
The other was the regenerative trait brought by its powerful vitality. It allowed the creature to recover quickly even from the most severe wounds, giving it a near-immortal body. Unless all nine heads were cut off and destroyed one by one, it would be difficult for even a Demon King to kill it.
Possessing a venom capable of killing any enemy and a regenerative ability that kept it safe under any circumstances—these two abilities catapulted the Hydra to become one of the most terrifying existences among the world's many monsters.
"Well now, you really do live up to your reputation. If it were Yukino, Asuna, and Senpai facing you, they really might have blundered and been wiped out by you directly."
Leon did not fail to notice the situation and clicked his tongue in wonder.
"Roar!" "Roar roar!" "Roar roar roar!"
The Hydra, however, had been completely infuriated by the previous attack and pain. As if it had lost all reason, it repeatedly fired massive fireballs at Leon, causing the temperature in the air to rise.
"Swish!"
Leon did not choose to block head-on this time. Instead, he flapped the demonic wings on his back, his body darting out like a blur. He dodged the incoming massive fireballs one by one, letting them miss and soar into the horizon. Meanwhile, he was rapidly flying downward, closing the distance between himself and the Hydra.
The Hydra naturally saw Leon's seemingly suicidal behavior. Nine heads lunged forward with fury, opening their bloody maws like giant pythons to bite Leon, yet they were still dodged by Leon one after another.
"Boom!"
As Leon darted beneath one of the heads, he suddenly released a brilliant bolt of lightning, striking the head and blasting it away.
After blasting that head away, Leon's silhouette did not pause. He continued to glide out, arriving between the second and third heads.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
As two roars sounded, Leon successively released searing flames and a violent tornado, blasting and crushing the two heads, eliminating them instantly.
"Roar roar roar roar...!"
The Hydra's remaining six heads let out a collective howl of pain. Finally unable to endure any longer, it brought out its trump card.
Its massive body shook violently, and a miasma-like smoke began to seep out from each of its heads, causing the lake water to boil and the air to evaporate.
"Watch out!"
"It's poisonous!"
Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka cried out at the same time.
The Hydra's most feared lethal poison had been transformed into a toxic miasma and released.
"Swish!"
Leon naturally did not dare to be careless. His demonic wings flapped, and his silhouette retreated like a bolt of lightning, avoiding the incoming poisonous gas.
"Sizzle sizzle...!"
The hem of his clothes suddenly made a scalp-numbing sound. Because it had accidentally touched the poisonous gas, it was slowly carbonizing as if being corroded by sulfuric acid.
"This poison really is something else."
Leon's expression changed instantly, no longer as composed as before.
With the Hydra as the center, the poisonous gas was rapidly spreading in all directions. It quickly turned the central area of the lake into a forbidden zone for life. Those lake creatures that hadn't had time to flee floated to the surface in an instant—only they were now nothing but white bones, stripped of all life.
"Roar!" "Roar roar!" "Roar roar roar!"
Within the poisonous gas, the Hydra roared again, its figure appearing and disappearing within the haze. The three heads that had been blasted away actually began to regenerate amidst the sound of squelching flesh, slowly returning to normal.
"As I thought, to kill a Hydra, you have to destroy all nine heads simultaneously."
Leon confirmed this point.
As long as a single head remained, this terrifying monster would continue to regenerate and revive endlessly.
Many people knew the Hydra's weakness, but they still claimed this monster possessed an immortal body for this very reason: if you didn't destroy all nine heads at once, you simply couldn't do anything to it.
"It seems I have to get serious too."
Leon tore off the hem of his clothes tainted by the poison, flew out of the poison gas's range, and came to a halt at an altitude of about several dozen meters.
"Destroying them one by one is too much of a hassle."
Leon's eyes looked as if fire was burning within them, with the brilliance of magical power fluctuating wildly inside.
"Watch me settle you in one go!"
As soon as he spoke, the magical power within Leon—which was only half a step away from a Top-tier Demon—suddenly erupted. It turned into a soaring aura that shot straight into the clouds.
The power of "Sublime Heavenly Thunder Hell" was activated. The previously cloudless night sky was suddenly swarmed by banks of dark clouds, completely obscuring the heavens.
"Rumble—"
Thunder danced within, and the phenomenon of lightning and thunder flickered frequently, bringing a sense of oppression like an impending storm.
Leon went all out, instantly dominating the sky and turning the climate of this area into his own domain.