by Brent Tyman
Even I could tell exactly what this monster was: a Hydra.
“Gods,” Juliana breathed. “It cannot be.”
“Ahh, its aura is the one I saw earlier,” Anny said, her body shaking in fear. “What is it doing here?”
The Hydra roared with all five of its heads and I felt a chill run through my bones.
Jeez…
Aurielle immediately unsheathed her sword and pulled up her shield, readying herself for battle. The rest of us did the same. From what I could see, the crowd seemed as stunned as we were, but hadn’t run away just yet. Maybe this was all part of the tournament?
“A Hy… Hy… Hydra!” The announcer wheezed, his voice shaky.
I guess it wasn’t part of the tournament, then…
“What do we do, handsome?” Clarissa asked. “My father never mentioned fighting a Hydra.”
Clarissa looked across the fighting pit to her father.
When I followed her gaze, I saw that both he and the Sovereign were staring at the Hydra in confusion.
The Hydra roared again, and as I readied myself for a fight, the monster decided that we weren’t worth its time. Its gaze spanned the entire fighting pit before it spun around and slammed heads first into the wooden structure of the Arena.
This one act caused absolute pandemonium, as the wooden walls and structural supports were no match for the monster. The sound of wood splitting reverberated across the entire Arena as the Hydra tried to smash its way out of the city. Panic followed soon after and I watched as everyone in the stands tried to flee the Hydra’s wrath, only to find that the main exit from the Arena had been blocked somehow.
I couldn’t quite see things properly from down here in the fighting pit, but as more and more people clogged up the entrance, that was the only logical conclusion.
“We have to stop it,” I said, pointing to the Hydra. “Aurielle, can you try your Ethereal Spears?”
She nodded and raised her artifact sword.
Multiple translucent spears formed in the air surrounding its tip before sailing towards the Hydra. When the monster didn’t react, I thought this might be over already as the spears sailed true—only to see Aurielle’s Ethereal spears fizzle out of existence just as they hit the Hydra, leaving barely any visible damage.
“No,” Aurielle breathed, eyes wide. “I believe the arena’s dampening magic has negated my spell.”
The Hydra clearly had felt something, though, as all five of its heads turned around to glare at us. It let out a chilling roar as its body twisted around. More wooden supports were knocked aside and crunched under its feet.
Before we could react, dozens upon dozens of soldiers converged on the Hydra, sporting both red and green dyed armor. They appeared from both ends of the Arena and rushed forward with their weapons raised. Spells of all kinds streaked through the air above us as mages wearing the same colors made their contributions.
The Hydra howled as it swiped at the first group of soldiers to reach it. One moment they were attacking, and the next, they were blown backwards, several feet away from the monster. One of its heads snapped at a mage on a nearby abandoned spectator stand above it, knocking the mage over to fall into the fighting put below him.
“Juliana!” a familiar voice called, and I turned around to see Juliana’s father, with his entourage of bodyguards running towards us.
He was accompanied by Clarissa’s father as well, along with the man’s green-armored guards.
“You will follow me to safety,” he ordered, facing his daughter.
“Father… but,” Juliana started to say, but the man had already turned to walk back the way we had come, entering the arena’s ground level.
“My oh my,” Clarissa’s father said as he rolled his eyes. “Even with our demise a near certainty, the man still won’t lose his grating attitude.” He raised an eyebrow at us as a thought occurred to him. “To think that my daughter is the reason that I lost the tournament I proposed… What a twist. She has become quite spirited of late, no?”
“Father,” Clarissa said, her cheeks turning pink. “Must we really talk about that here?”
“Why not?” He said, shrugging. “Here, there, the Hydra will only take a few minutes, regardless before it is finished with our forces.”
I looked back at the Hydra, and the fighting didn’t appear to be going well at all. Any time a soldier even got near it, one of its heads made short work of them. Every spell that touched its body simply washed over it harmlessly. Heck, sword strikes just seemed to bounce off its scales.
“Juliana!” a voice boomed in the distance.
“We are on our way, father!” Juliana replied back, before crossing her arms. “I wonder what he wishes of us…”
“Let’s go see what the man has to say,” Clarissa’s father said with a sigh, waving a hand dismissively and walking after the Sovereign. As we ran towards the exit of the fighting grounds, Clarissa’s father watched me curiously. “I’ve heard the most interesting tales about this party,” he said.
“Father…” Clarissa drawled.
“So many rumors flittering about. Why, I can barely go through a day before conversation inevitably centers on your exploits, and on my daughter’s….”
“Father!”
Clarissa’s father simply rolled his eyes and waved a hand once again, but a very familiar smirk formed on his face.
I guess she also got that from him too…
A few Sovereignty guards stood at the gates leading into the waiting area we’d used earlier. Once we had passed them, they shut the wooden gates behind us. I doubted that would do much to stop the Hydra, though.
“There must be some other way out of here!” Juliana’s father shouted as we entered.
I noticed that he had Tovar gripped by the broken strap of his beaten-up leather armor. The poor man cowered in the Sovereign’s presence. Juliana’s father shook Tovar by the shoulders, which looked rather comical to my eyes before he released the man.
“Other than the front gate and side entrances that were locked before the match, there is no other way out, my Lord,” Tovar wheezed.
“Ugh. Leave us,” Juliana’s father ordered.
Tovar quickly dashed off, running past us to the stairs that led up to the stands.
“I see the art of negotiation still eludes you, Domiroth,” Clarissa’s father said, grinning.
“Now is not the time for your games,” the Sovereign hissed. “If you hadn’t noticed, the situation outside is… untenable.”
That one was quite the understatement. I heard the Hydra bellow out a roar that shook the flimsy walls around us.
“Father,” Juliana said, “what is going on? Stephania was supposed to be our opponent, but I heard she has left the city.”
The Sovereign opened his mouth and then closed it, before flicking a hand to dismiss his guards to the far side of the room. After an intense stare with his brows arched, Clarissa’s father rolled his eyes before ordering his guards to do the same.
“This is no doubt a plot by the other nations,” the Sovereign said, “Either by the Hogannan or Yunissans, perhaps even both.”
“Oh please,” Clarissa’s father drawled. “I may sometimes keep questionable company, but I’m afraid even I would not get anywhere near a Hydra.”
Another rumble shook the walls, making the tables here vibrate. The sound of a large bang! reverberated in the air.
“Ahh,” Anny said, wiggling her hips. “A bunch of the soldiers’ auras have… dimmed.”
“The dampening magic puts them at a heavy disadvantage,” Juliana said.
“Shouldn’t that also apply to the Hydra,” I asked, and she nodded.
“Yes, but Hydras are from the deepest recesses of the Dungeon. It could possibly be even more powerful than the Titan.”
That thing was worse than a Titan?
Jeez…
And there weren’t any furnaces around I could use to drop on its many heads. Plus, from what little I had seen
, it didn’t look to be the least bit injured—unlike the Titan we’d defeated.
“That damned dampening magic,” the Sovereign hissed. “With it in place, my attacks will be useless against it.”
“What’s a Hydra even doing out here on the surface?” I asked, and Juliana’s father crossed his arms.
“If it has nothing to do with Hoganna…”
“And it hasn’t,” Clarissa’s father said, wagging a finger. “I would suggest looking around to see which nation is missing.”
There was silence for a moment, before the Sovereign hissed through his teethed. “Rhydranus… No wonder that intolerable Yunissan was absent today.”
“Isn’t it lovely when we can all agree on something,” Clarissa’s father beamed before a more serious look adorned his face. “And we had best come up with a plan to survive, unless we want to end up crushed by that Hydra.”
“I’m sure Juliana can blast a whole through these wooden walls,” Clarissa said, waving a hand. “Problem solved, right handsome?”
“The dampening magic would prevent this,” Juliana said, shaking her head.
Another loud boom resounded, coming from the fighting pit. No doubt, the Hydra had crashed into another wall in an attempt to get out.
“What happens if the Hydra leaves the Arena?” I asked.
“Then it will lay waste to the city,” Clarissa’s father said. “The dampening magic will cease to hold back its destructive power and if the Yunissans are the ones behind this, then they will lay claim to ruins.”
Clarissa’s father suddenly smirked. “Perhaps, if we stay here long enough, it will be too busy destroying the city to notice our escape.”
“Oh, you would love to escape all the way back to the sunshine of Hoganna, wouldn’t you, Hugorus?” Juliana’s father drawled. “With the Yunissans having forfeited the tournament’s final match, the city is under my care.”
“Then perhaps we should stop by the city’s market stalls to grab some local delicacies before the Hydra destroys it all,” Clarissa’s father said.
I raised an eyebrow as the two leaders argued about what to do next. Juliana’s father wanted to find a way to save the city, probably since he wanted to take it over, while Clarissa’s father just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. As I watched the two men, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to the many times that Juliana and Clarissa had argued.
Either way, it didn’t seem like they would be much help.
“We should probably come up with a way to defeat that Hydra on our own,” I said, turning to my women.
“Without my Ethereal magic, the battle will be hard fought,” Aurielle admitted.
“Ahh… is facing the Hydra really an option, Alex?” Anny asked hesitantly.
“We have to do something to save the city,” I said. “And from the looks of it, we don’t have much time, before it breaks out of the Arena.”
“The dampening magic will be the main issue,” Clarissa said. “I doubt even you could damage its scales with such a handicap, handsome.”
One thing bothered me about this dampening field. I wasn’t clear on how the magic worked.
“How does the dampening magic affect us, and who cast it?” I asked.
“More like what than who,” Clarissa muttered, as she tapped her foot in thought. “Hmm, some dampeners are in the support columns, aren’t they, Juliana?”
“That is correct. We likely would have heard already if it had destroyed one by now,” Juliana replied.
“Huh?” I questioned. “I think I’m a bit lost…”
“The dampening magic is the result of crystals embedded in columns spread throughout the superstructure of the Arena,” Juliana explained. “I believe there are at least three of them. If they were to be destroyed, the dampening magic would fully dissolve.”
“Oh wow,” I said. “I didn’t notice any columns with crystals in them.”
“I think that was intentional, handsome,” Clarissa said, smirking. “They wouldn’t want anyone knowing where the crystals are, given their propensity to… you know.”
“I know what?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.
Clarissa’s smirk turned into a full-blown grin. She made a few elaborate hand motions with an accompanying sound effect of what exactly would happen…
“If you don’t turn the crystals off at exactly the same moment, they become unstable or something,” Clarissa explained. “The Hydra will probably find it very unpleasant when it smashes into a column with a crystal.”
An idea suddenly came to mind, and I wondered if it would work.
“If we tricked the Hydra into smashing all three crystals, would that finish it off?” I asked.
“Most definitely not,” a voice behind me said.
I turned around to see Clarissa’s father staring at me.
“Perhaps it will do some significant damage, but it would also weaken the dampening magic, making the Hydra that much more destructive.” He looked at his daughter. “Best if we are not around at that point.”
“Father!” Clarissa shouted, stomping her foot. “We are trying to figure out how to defeat the Hydra, not run back to Hoganna.”
“It’s quite lovely there at this time of year,” he said, grinning. “But a fully capable Hydra would very much put a crimp in our escape plans. Also, your information is slightly off, one crystal is not located in the support columns at all.”
“We aren’t done yet, Hugorus,” Juliana’s father said before stroking his chin in thought. “Hmm, destroying the dampening crystals would allow my soldiers to do some damage to the creature.”
“Before or after the Hydra crushes them?” Clarissa’s father said, rolling his eyes. “You can’t solve all your problems with a sword. This type of situation requires some finesse, and perhaps a fast carriage to get out of the city?”
Jeez…
Clarissa’s father really must want to leave this place. All the roaring and panic I could hear outside with the fighting only made me more determined to do something.
“Is the third crystal reachable at all?” I questioned.
Clarissa’s father took a moment to think about it before answering. “If you are an amazing climber, then perhaps.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but I figured that was probably a yes.
“Aurielle, if we got rid of the dampening magic, would that be enough to let your Ethereal spears do their thing?” I asked.
“Possibly,” she replied. “But it would also empower the Hydra as well, perhaps similarly boosting its defenses and negating my attack.”
“The dampening magic was designed solely to weaken fighters in the Arena,” Juliana’s father explained. “It struggles to operate correctly on monsters. When the magic is gone, it will instantly return our power but will likely take longer to release its hold on the Hydra.”
“How do you know this, father?” Juliana asked. “I’m surprised at the amount of knowledge you have about this.”
The Sovereign smirked at that. “Naturally, I did my research and read up on Tringall’s history—all part of my preparation for my obvious triumph over it.”
“Of course you did,” Juliana said, shaking her head.
“Meaning that the Hydra would be weakened for a few minutes after we shut the dampening magic off?” I asked for confirmation.
He nodded.
“We could do it, then,” I said, turning back to the women. “We weaken the Hydra by luring it to destroy both crystals in the columns, and then we destroy the other one and give it everything we’ve got, once the dampening magic is gone.”
“You do realize, that if you fail, the Hydra will burst through the walls and will have free reign in the city,” Clarissa’s father drawled.
“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic, father,” Clarissa said, waving her hand. “That will still happen, if we do nothing. I’m sure we can handle the beast, especially led by my handsome Alex here.”
Clarissa’s fathe
r shook his head. “Fine, like my dear Domiroth here, I also did a little research on Tringall. I’m sure I can point out where the crystals are… probably.”
I blinked at that; it didn’t really inspire much confidence, but I supposed I would take any help I could get.
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
“I will do my best to protect you all for this task,” Aurielle said, nodding.
“Ahh, this Hydra is really scary…” Anny muttered. “But I, too, will do my part.”
“I believe that if we all work together, we can overcome this Hydra,” Juliana said. “Shall we discuss some possible strategies?”
I was surprised to see that, while Clarissa’s father remained skeptical, Juliana’s father seemed much more agreeable to it. I would have thought it would be the other way around, given what little I had learned about the man in the few times I had spoken with Juliana’s father.
I could only guess that he really wanted to take over an intact city. Dealing with the Hydra was the next step. Either way, we discussed the plan for a few more moments before Juliana’s father called for the guards to reopen the gates to the fighting pit.
When the Hydra howled again, this time it was a lot louder. If we could defeat a Titan, then this Hydra was the next test on how effective my grinding had been these past few weeks.
We had to win.
And as Juliana said, if we worked together, we would.
One way or another.
29
When we stepped back into the Arena’s fighting pit, I saw that the Hydra had caused plenty of devastation already. The Sovereignty’s red-armored and Hoganna’s green clad soldiers still fought the creature, with both sides’ mages throwing every spell they had at it.
Fires had broken out on several ruined walls, which I figured was probably due to the huge amount of spell power zipping across the Arena. The dampening magic, though, was still very much in effect. Even as I watched, the fires seemed to flicker strangely, as if a constant gust of wind was keeping them from spreading.
I watched as one of the Hydra’s head smacked into a group of soldiers, sending them flying backwards from the powerful blow. The spectators no longer sought to flee, but cowered in place in the stands above. It seemed the Hydra had been too busy to do much more than fight the soldiers.
