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Chapter 317

“Take care of the rest when you return, and wait here guarding that.”

“The commander is waiting at the entrance. Go ahead.”

“Alright then.”

After telling Lilia I was setting out to slay the Hydra, she handed me a sword with a nervous face.

At first glance it was fine quality, but as someone who used a demon blade, it didn’t really appeal to me.

More importantly, if I used it as-is, the blade would probably corrode the moment it struck the Hydra.

“You’re here.”

A black robe, a mask, and a distorted voice.

The leader of the Moon Watchers was waiting for me at the sewer entrance.

“There’s no need for you to come along.”

“I’ll lend a hand.”

“What’s there to lend a hand with? The full-grown one already melted away—at most, it’s only a hatchling.”

“You never know.”

Seeing her calmly insist, I let out a dry laugh.

“Is there actually anything you people don’t know?”

“……”

She didn’t reply, only moved ahead of me.

Clearly, she had already been briefed on the Hydra’s location.

The sewers beneath the Berner territory were vast and maze-like.

But thanks to Meryl Dyne’s hard work over the past few days, the Hydra’s suspected lair had been pinpointed.

So the maze wasn’t much of an issue.

As we went deeper toward the marked location, traces of untouched, uncleaned areas appeared, and the stench grew unbearable.

The smell was enough to make anyone faint, but neither I nor the Moon Watchers commander showed any difficulty.

“I get why I’m fine, but how come you aren’t affected?”

It wasn’t a stench an ordinary young person could endure.

“I’m using gear imbued with filtration magic.”

“Why not give me one too?”

“You’ll manage.”

Petty.

Disgusting.

Forget it.

—Kirik… Kiiiiiik!

“Damn, what a racket.”

From the darkness, twisted goblins crawled out.

I was about to cut them down when—

Slash!

The commander’s silver blade had already lopped off their heads.

A flash of a draw so swift that even the Sword Saint Osberg would’ve struggled to block it.

I knew she was strong, but each new display of skill only deepened my curiosity about her true identity.

Could she be like me—someone from Labyrinthos?

[No. Other than you, no one from Labyrinthos has ever emerged.]

So it said.

“Where the hell did you come from?”

“And you?”

“Me? I’ve lived my whole life in Cascadia.”

“And I, in my homeland.”

No getting through.

—Kirik! Kiik!!

More goblins appeared.

The commander reached for her hilt—

Crack!!

A spark burst on the ground, forming blue lightning that wiped them out before they could react.

“Pfft…”

I smirked at her, and she silently stared at me behind her mask.

“What?”

“Stop acting like a child.”

Then, as if losing interest, she simply walked deeper into the sewer.

About thirty minutes in, we found a massive sinkhole that shouldn’t exist underground.

Ten meters wide, dark and terrifying, instinctively repelling anyone from going inside. Wastewater poured endlessly into the bottomless black.

So Meryl Dyne came down here looking for the Hydra? Strange. She wasn’t the type to yield results so quickly.

“She has a special power. That must’ve been it.”

“Special power?”

“The ability to split her spirit into fragments and scout ahead. Useless in battle, but perfect for a place like this.”

“Split spirit…?”

That sounded like soul consciousness.

But that was my unique technique from Labyrinthos.

Why did she know it?

Had it already existed as magic?

She didn’t seem to know its origins.

“Isn’t it a known spell on the continent?”

She didn’t answer.

Maybe she learned about it recently.

Could they be prophets?

That would explain it.

If I’d one day taught Meryl this magic in the future, that would fit.

But why would I?

As I thought this, the commander leapt into the darkness.

“Good grief…”

I followed, using levitation magic to descend quickly.

Though water poured down all around, little had pooled; it drained away somewhere unseen.

“Enough. I can’t stand this.”

Losing patience, I snapped my fingers.

Boom!!!!

Air compressed and ignited, incinerating the foul stench instantly.

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Boom!!!!

The reek vanished, replaced by tolerable air.

Crude but effective.

Inside, no monsters, not even insects, stirred.

Which made sense: the place was thick with deadly toxins.

Anything alive would die instantly here.

“You okay?”

“No problem. We’ve found the Hydra’s domain.”

Sure enough, a sphere of light revealed warped, melted stone walls—signs of Hydra venom seeped over years.

Hydras often made their lairs this way.

And deeper in, we finally saw it.

“Hmm…”

A hatchling Hydra, blackened and corrupted, dying.

Barely five meters long.

Small compared to an adult, but with scales harder than any weapon, even if its venom was weaker.

Normally, Hydras’ scales softened as they matured, overwhelmed by their own toxins.

But this one… was dying.

“Meryl Dyne never mentioned this.”

“Something must’ve happened since.”

Even dying, its nine heads glared at us with feral light—apex predator eyes.

“Hydras are fiercely protective of their young. Did you know that?”

If the hatchling was threatened, the adult would sense it instantly.

I remembered trying to hunt a Hydra in Labyrinthos once.

The moment I touched its young, the parent had gone berserk and found me immediately.

So who had done this to a hatchling of an ancient monster?

Not humans.

This was corruption.

“It won’t last much longer anyway.”

At my words, the commander drew her sword and stepped toward it.

“Even dying, a mythical beast resists. It’ll still fight.”

“Then let’s do this. I’ll claim the scales. You just create an opening—I’ll finish it.”

I could’ve handled it alone, but with a capable ally, why bother?

Then—

The air shimmered, and a small brown otter popped out—

The poison spirit, Serqet.

It landed on my shoulder, cringing at the filthy floor, and growled low.

Immediately—

—Shhhhaaaaa!!! Shaaak!! Shhaaa!!

The Hydra, a five-meter monstrosity, recoiled in terror, thrashing and scrambling away at the sight of the tiny Serqet.

The predator, terrified.

Perhaps because Serqet itself was poison incarnate.

The hatchling feared a kin with poison as absolute as its own.

It had shown hostility toward me, yet cowered before Serqet.

Then again, my poison gland was always suppressed by a white power.

It made sense.

In silence, Serqet and I exchanged a nod.

I stepped closer to the Hydra.

—Shhhhaaaaa!! Shaaa!! Shaaaa!!!

The nine-headed serpent screamed, slamming against the wall to escape us.

“Wow. Looks like you’ve established dominance.”

A living Hydra—its value was immense.

More than its scales.

My poison gland was powerful, but Hydra venom was truly unique, impossible to synthesize.

The Hydra, trembling, was confronted by Serqet, who began to grin wickedly.

—Kiiiik…

Hovering in the air, the spirit floated toward it.

The Hydra flailed its four legs desperately, trying to block Serqet’s advance.

Terrified, completely overwhelmed.

Serqet, amused, kept feinting forward and back, mocking the creature with sadistic delight.

“That damn otter’s personality…”

“Unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like this…”

Even the Moon Watchers commander was stunned, muttering in disbelief.

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