CHAPTER 66: THE END OF THE HYDRA

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Fwoosh.

The dragon felt the vexing commandment that captured its forefoot fade away.

DAMNED HUMANS…!

The dragon brimmed with rage toward humans.

They defeated six of his nine heads, and they even cast some impertinent spell onto his leg, which restricted its movement.

Unforgivable.

I shall heal my wounds for a short while after I defeat the formidable enemy before me.
Then, I shall repay this grudge ten-thousand-fold.
I will slaughter every last human and stain these lands red with blood.

The Hydra used that as its sole motivation, continuing its advance as it endured the onslaught of Magic Arrows pouring from the mountain.

Just a little more.

Just a little more, and I will be in range.

Once that happens, the poison that gushes forth from my body will kill that magic caster.
Every inch of their body will be dyed purple, and they will greet death as they vomit out their rotten internal organs. 

The dragon took a step forward.
It marched and marched, and slowly but surely, its fantasy would become reality—

But it didn’t.

—!?

The dragon was astonished.

The pain scorching its body was now different than before.

When it looked forward, the number of arrows flying at it had clearly increased.

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At a quick glance—

The arrows had literally doubled.

Under the unbelievable increase in firepower, the dragon, which had been slowly advancing until now, had come to a total stop.

The dragon’s body shook violently.

W-WHY!? WHY HAS THE FIREPOWER SUDDENLY DOUBLED AFTER ALL THIS TIME!?

The dragon was thrown into confusion.

This shouldn’t be happening.
This was impossible.

You could’ve just used that firepower from the start.
Why didn’t you do that? Impossible! WHY HAS IT DOUBLED!?

However, it couldn’t deny the reality in front of it.

The dragon writhed in agony.

The dragon tried resisting, but it was futile.
The rapid stream of white arrows engulfed its body whole, allowing not even a single step forward.

The dragon knew.

Its life force was slowly being shaved away to zero.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The dragon bellowed.

In anger.

At the reality beyond its control.

As if to shake off the fear of death.

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But nothing changed.

The dragon’s scream became its last as it knocked on death’s door.

YOU DAMNED HUMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!

After awakening from its century-spanning slumber, the ancient dragon fell into an eternal slumber in the span of one night.

I endlessly fired two Magic Arrows each from both hands.

I never thought I could actually pull it off…

“Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow—”

The white arrows released from both of my hands mercilessly beat down the Hydra.

Did I…win?

I doubled my firepower.

Even the Hydra seemed completely helpless against my barrage.

The mountain-sized behemoth, which had been advancing bit-by-bit until now, was now stopped dead in its tracks.

Just a little more.

Just a little more, and it’ll be over.

I never relented my assault.
I’ll reduce it to nothingness until the very end.

“Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow, Magic Arrow—”

White arrows ceaselessly streamed from both of my hands.

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Before long—

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The Hydra let out a roar.

That was the dragon’s death throes.

“Magic Arrow—”

I stopped casting my magic.

The ninth and final head was split in half.
The dragon slumped downwards, lost its balance, and toppled to the ground with a thunderous crash.

A violent tremor shook the ground.

I guess… it’s over…

Leaning my back against a nearby tree, I let out a deep breath.
My tension-strained body began loosening, and my muscles relaxed.

Just how many hours have I been fighting for?

The once-jet-black darkness of the night sky had begun to show the first signs of daybreak.

As expected, I was dead tired.
The crushing sense of pressure I felt while watching that behemoth approach inch by inch was far from normal.
Knowing full well that it meant certain death if the Hydra closed the distance didn’t help, either.

Just then—

The collapsed body of the Hydra began letting out a white light.

Its body became light and ascended to the heavens.
Eventually, only the ground caved in with the dragon’s shape remained.

I didn’t know about the Hydra’s ecology or anything, but—

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That thing probably wasn’t your usual living creature.
It might’ve been the physical incarnation of a natural disaster or something like that.
It must’ve used up all of its internal energy and couldn’t keep its physical form together.

But that didn’t matter anymore.

I just got finished with an exhausting life or death battle; I didn’t have the energy to think about anything.

The morning sun cast its light upon me as it edged over the mountain on the other side from me, and beams of light shone on my face.

The dark night ended—

And morning began anew.

The nightmare from ancient times was over.

There won’t be any more women offered as sacrifices here.

There won’t be anyone despairing about the Hydra’s rampage in the imminent future, either.

It’s over.

Everything.

Completely exhausted, I was assailed by sudden drowsiness.
My eyelids began closing, and my body slipped from the tree.

In the middle of my half-conscious daze, I muttered my final few words before dozing off.

“…Laura.
I did it… I saved everyone, without leaving a single person behind… I was terrified and couldn’t help but tremble, but I did it… I hope I can still… call myself your hero…”

I fell backward to the ground with a thud.

“Hey, Laura… I’d really like to return quickly and reassure you, but… Let me rest for a little… Sorry…”

I then fell into a deep sleep.