Volrian also ran forward, raising his blade, trying to strike that same broken part again.
But the hydra didn't allow it.
Then suddenly
The hydra began regenerating.
The scales started closing again.
"Enough of this. These humans have crossed the line. It's about time I killed them instantly," the hydra thought.
Vorian and Volric frowned in the air. The hydra was regenerating.
"Well, whatever," Vorian muttered. Both of them were injured and scratched across their bodies. They were already exhausted. "What more can we do?"
"It doesn't matter. If we die, we die together. Let's just give it our all," Volric said, running toward the hydra.
The hydra's head lunged toward him at insane speed. Volric immediately jumped aside. The sheer weight of its head could have crushed the dungeon wall. But this time, it didn't.
The hydra twisted mid-air, redirecting its head toward Volric. Its massive jaw closed around his wrist.
"Clear, how, how are we supposed to fight this?" Vorian screamed.
He saw Volric being spat out, blood dripping, landing on top of him. The hydra opened its massive mouth wide, ready to swallow them both.
"Damn it, I can't move my body," Vorian thought. "Shit, this is the end, we tried our best." A small, grim smile crossed his face.
Then Merilda stood up and ran in front of them. She raised her hand toward the hydra.
"I can't do much, my attack is weak, but I'll try my best," she said. Holding her staff, she formed a fireball and hurled it. It slammed against the hydra like dust.
The hydra didn't even flinch.
Merilda paused, her face going pale.
"What the hell? Not now, I've used most of my mana healing Jorah!"
She closed her eyes tightly. "Damn it! I can't, not now! Someone, help!" she gasped.
The hydra lowered its head, ready to crush them.
At that moment, Lucivar acted. A small knife suddenly emerged from his grasp, slicing swiftly. Another followed. The knives struck from inside the hydra's mouth, piercing deep. The hydra screamed as it recoiled, its massive head snapping back.
Merilda opened her eyes in shock. "What, what's happening? I'm still alive?" She saw the hydra bleeding.
Lucivar's knives had choked it from the inside, tearing through its thick tissues. The hydra screamed violently, its mouth flailing.
"He's alive!" Merilda shouted as Lucivar launched forward.
Everyone froze.
"Lucivar, he's alive?!" Volric muttered, barely audible.
"Why is he bleeding?" Merilda gasped, lying on the ground with her hand on her chest.
Lucivar slowly stood, covered in slime, saliva, and toxic venom. "Damn it, what the hell is this mess? Poison, slime, ugh, gross," he said, looking at his hands.
The hydra's eyes glared at him.
"You, you still refuse to die! How dare you survive! I swallowed you whole! Even the poison in my body should have killed you! You shouldn't have lived!" the hydra bellowed.
"I'm not that weak," Lucivar said calmly.
The hydra screamed again, opening its massive mouth. Lucivar raised a knife in his hand.
"I hate relying on this knife, but if I wait for the right moment, it works," he muttered.
As the hydra lunged forward, its mouth wide, Lucivar's eyes glowed crimson. Eyes of Judgment activated.
He saw faint points above the hydra's skin, a weak spot barely noticeable. He parried the hydra head with his knife, then plunged it deep into the weaker part of the hydra's skin. Pulling it out and striking again, the knife pierced even deeper.
The hydra screamed in pain, thrashing violently as Lucivar moved with precision. Every strike of his knife exploited the weakness, cutting from the inside out.
"Damn it, tell me something," the hydra hissed in Lucivar's mind. "What happened while you were inside me?"
Lucivar smiled, his crimson eyes glinting. "All I can tell you is, inside your body, it stinks really bad. And guess what? You thought a lowly devil like me could be ranked beneath you. But that's a lie, I'm far superior to you," he said as he lunged forward once more.
The hydra slammed its head toward him, but Lucivar was faster. He pulled back his knife and threw it straight, piercing its eye with impossible speed. The hydra roared as Lucivar leapt onto its head, moving his knife from one eye to the other with precise, lethal strikes.
The hydra thrashed violently, slamming its massive body against the dungeon walls, trying to crush him. Blood streamed down Lucivar's arms, but he held firm.
"I just have to break this, shatter its scales!" Lucivar muttered, channeling all his strength into a single strike. Bam! The thick scale cracked, exposing the vulnerable core beneath.
The hydra let out a strangled roar and released a cloud of poisonous gas. The dungeon filled with black spikes of venomous mist.
"Everyone, hold your breath!" Lucivar shouted, leaping down from the head. The party covered their noses, holding back every inhale. Slowly, the poisonous haze faded, leaving the dungeon eerily silent.
The hydra collapsed to the ground, exhausted and defeated. Its four massive heads closed their eyes, finally still.
Lucivar stood over it, his chest heaving. The hydra groaned weakly. "I, I don't know who you really are, or how you survived all this, but, you are one hell of a devil," it whispered before finally succumbing to death.