by Brent Tyman
We were still a fair bit away from it, but I still watched its every move—just in case the Hydra decided to charge at us. I really wanted to push forward and see if I could damage it with my Strength, but after glancing at Aurielle, I knew one hit would put me out of commission, as well.
A few brave soldiers rushed forward to attack the Hydra, and I gripped my sword tighter as I tried to figure out our next move, when a familiar voice caught my attention.
“Alex! My Lady!” Vencia shouted.
I turned around to see Juliana’s retinue rushing towards us.
“You were in the Arena?” Juliana said, her voice reflecting her confusion.
“Of course,” Karl said. “I wanted to study Alex’s and Aurielle’s tactics and methods against Stephania.”
“And it wasn’t like we had anything else to do,” Kesara said as she crossed her arms with a frown. “Daiver kept whining about our loss to Stephania and we were all ready to toss him over the wall.”
“Hey! That Yunissan couldn’t possibly have bested me in a fair fight,” Daiver whined. “She must have cheated, or used some kind of underhanded tactic.”
“She knocked your sword away with one strike,” Vencia drawled. “And Karl was too busy pushing the rest of her retinue back to save you. I am glad My Lady didn’t have to bear witness to our resounding defeat.”
“Why didn’t you say anything about any of that in the Clan Messages?” Juliana asked.
“Uhh,” Kesara said. “If you haven’t noticed, Juliana, our Clan chat is just filled with reports to and orders from your father. I don’t think he appreciates us using it at all.”
That certainly sounded like Juliana’s father.
“Probably better if we save this for another time,” I growled, as the Hydra crashed one of its heads into the ground, blasting back the soldiers fighting it.
There really weren’t all that many left, at this point… And the mages might as well just be conducting light shows for all that their magic failed to do to the Hydra.
“Yes. We are ready to assist,” Karl said. “I’m afraid the panic in the stands made our route down to the fighting pit a rather difficult one.”
“One of them knocked my shield off my back. That isn’t the way to treat a duke’s son,” Daiver said with a sniff.
“Not now, Daiver,” Kesara ground out. “If you hadn’t noticed, there’s a Hydra right in front of us!”
“And I shall be the one to slay it,” Daiver assured her.
I had to admit, despite Daiver being, well… Daiver. the man certainly didn’t lack for bravery.
Karl suggested we join our parties together, and I quickly explained my plan right after doing so, keeping an eye on the Hydra the whole time. While it was content to stay where it was, fighting the soldiers and the occasional mage who got too close, it was still blocking our path to Aurielle.
I had to get to her.
“What do we do, if Anny is unable to retrieve the crystal?” Vencia asked.
“Then we’ll bravely meet our end once it’s done with the soldiers,” Juliana said. “We must work together and ensure we stay alive long enough for Anny to complete her task.”
“I’m sure it won’t take her much longer,” I said, looking up at the obsidian walls. “Although it does kinda look like a long climb…”
“What is our strategy, Alex?” Karl asked.
“I want to get that thing away from Aurielle,” I said. “But it doesn’t seem to want to budge.”
“Perhaps it is being cautious, given the loss of two of its five heads?” Karl mused.
“Alex, would you try your Icy Cloud magic again?” Juliana asked me. “Clarissa was right in that it did react oddly to it.”
“Of course it did. You know I’m right,” Clarissa said, winking.
“Uhh sure,” I replied. “But if it works, we need to lead it out to the middle of the fighting pit so that I can get to Aurielle.”
“I’m sure the rest of us can keep its attention, while we wait for Anny,” Karl said.
“I’m even more sure I can defeat it,” Daiver said. “Just a few swings should do it.”
“If you get yourself knocked out with your recklessness, My Lady will not be happy,” Vencia warned.
Before they could fall into another argument, I quickly clapped my hands together to get everyone’s attention.
“Alright, let’s give this a go,” I ordered.
When I cast my Icy Clouds spell, the Hydra immediately turned its three remaining heads on us, its eyes narrowing.
Instead of using my Blast Currents spell to attack, though, I simply let the cloud float idly, waiting to see what the monster would do.
The Hydra hissed with its remaining heads, its gazes transfixed by the cloud as it began moving towards us. Unlike when its focus had been distracted by Aurielle and her artifact sword, this time it walked towards us slowly, almost transfixed by the hazy blue cloud.
“Perhaps it is vulnerable in this state,” Daiver offered, as he raised his sword high.
“Daiver, wait!” Juliana shouted, but the man had already rushed off to attack the Hydra, prompting the rest of us to do the same.
“How did we end up with such a…” Kesara started to complain, before Juliana raised a hand.
“It does not matter now. Focus on damaging the Hydra. With some luck, we may be able to dispatch it,” Juliana said.
“I can rush to aid Aurielle, in the meantime,” Clarissa said. “Make sure you don’t get hit, handsome.”
It would feel strange, going into battle without Clarissa backing me up, but Kesara and Vencia could heal me, if need be.
The Hydra hissed as we got close, its remaining three heads still mesmerized by my Icy Cloud spell. There were also a few soldiers getting ready for another charge, but even I could tell they were exhausted.
Daiver raised his sword high overhead to strike the Hydra’s leg with a mighty, two-handed swing. His sword bounced off immediately.
That didn’t bode well—not at all.
The rest of the party attacked as we got into range. Juliana threw her fireballs and Karl summoned his lightning. Vencia and Kesara stayed back to provide support, and I felt one of Kesara’s buffs wash over me. I felt a tiny surge of energy; although, I wasn’t sure if that was all it did for me. Meanwhile, Daiver kept whacking at the Hydra’s scales before having to stop when one of its claws almost knocked him over.
I finally reached the Hydra.
All of its remaining heads were raised high as it pushed forward towards my Icy Clouds spell. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to get a few good hits in while it seemed distracted. It would likely stay this way until it stomped on my spell, just like before.
I gripped my sword as tightly as I could in my hand and slashed horizontally across the Hydra’s front leg.
My sword ended up digging into its scales a little deeper than before, but the Hydra didn’t seem to notice. It continued to trudge forward, even as I stuck its body and hind legs in quick succession.
“Jeez…!” I huffed as the Hydra passed me by. I wanted to chase after it, but Aurielle needed me.
I nodded at Juliana to follow me, and we both ran after Clarissa. The rest of the brunette’s retinue kept fighting, though Karl’s lightning didn’t seem to do anything to the Hydra and Kesara and Vencia seemed to be focused on healing any soldiers that were brushed aside by the Hydra’s limbs.
Aurielle lay still, not having moved since she’d slid down the wall. When we reached her, I found Clarissa holding both her hands over Aurielle’s torso. I could see the green healing magic pass into her, but Clarissa’s face told me there was something wrong.
“What’s going on?” I asked, as I knelt down beside the blonde.
“There’s something overriding my healing attempts, handsome. Every time I heal her, her injuries resurface again a moment later…” Clarissa growled in frustration, her eyes reflecting her confusion.
“Could this be her curse?
The one she was previously afflicted with?” Juliana asked. “How could it have returned?”
“No. This is different,” Clarissa said. She directed our attention to Aurielle’s shoulder, where she had already taken a pauldron off. There was a thin yet angry gash that ran a few inches along the upper portion of Aurielle’s arm.
“This cut just won’t heal,” Clarissa said, pushing more healing into Aurielle’s body. The injury flared for a moment, the edges of the wound quivering like it was about to close up, but then refused to budge after that.
“What is that wound from?” I asked. “Some shrapnel? Or the Hydra’s teeth?”
“No… I think it’s a sword cut,” Clarissa said. “Maybe its from her own sword, when the Hydra bashed into her.”
“Wait, this is from that artifact sword?” I questioned, my head spinning as a stared at the injury. “Aurielle said it’s just toxic to monsters.”
“I don’t know…” Clarissa said, her voice catching. “I don’t have an answer for you, handsome.”
“Okay…” I said, trying to think of what I could do. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.
“What will happen to her, Clarissa?” Juliana asked.
“She won’t last much longer, I’m afraid,” Clarissa said sadly.
“Right… I guess there’s only one thing I can do…” I said, raising a hand and placing it on Aurielle’s wound.
“Wait, handsome, we should join…”
Clarissa’s voice seemed to fade out as I activated my Dynamic Healing spell. A green glow enveloped my hand as my fingers tightened on Aurielle’s shoulder. I hissed as the familiar pain washed over me. It wasn’t nearly as bad as before, though, when I’d lifted Aurielle’s curse.
But that changed, after only a few moments. My bones ached and my body began to shake, as all of the magical energy I had was syphoned out of me. I vaguely noticed Juliana and Clarissa reaching for me, no doubt about to pass their own magical energy into me, given how recklessly I’d dived in to save Aurielle.
It reminded me of the time I had healed Juliana, several months ago at the start of my journey.
Suddenly, the pain ceased. I released my hold on Aurielle and fell onto my hands and knees, just as the women started to push their magical energy into me, replenishing some of it.
“Jeeezz…” I wheezed. “Even with my Magical Capacity being a lot higher, that spell still saps it all away—just like that.”
“That was incredibly reckless, Alex Augere,” Juliana said as she knelt down to face me. “But by the Gods, I am glad you are okay.”
Yeah… Juliana using my full name like that probably highlighted how she wasn’t too pleased with me. I might owe her another date after that.
“Sorry. I just had to help her out as fast as I could,” I said honestly, looking down at Aurielle. Her wound was gone, but she was still unconscious.
“I know, Alex,” Juliana said, her voice taking on a softer, soothing quality. “It’s what we love about you, even if you act too impulsively, at times.”
“That’s why a trip to a lovely Hogannan beach is so needed,” Clarissa said, grinning. “We need to unwind, after all. Right, handsome?”
As the Hydra howled and struck a group of soldiers in the middle of the arena, I raised an eyebrow at the blonde’s comment. That she could even think about the beach, right now… we hadn’t even defeated the Hydra yet!
“Yeah… we can work on that, after we finish the Hydra,” I said. “How does Aurielle look to you now, Clarissa?”
“She will be fine,” she said, after placing a hand on Aurielle's shoulder. “That spell of yours works wonders.”
Despite Aurielle being incredibly overpowered, this only reinforced to me the fact that she was just as susceptible to injury as the rest of us; although, probably a lot less so, thanks to her crazy high Defense stat.
Which only made me wonder what the deal was with that sword. Could a single cut from it really take somebody down, just like that?
“I think the Hydra also reacted quite strongly to Aurielle’s artifact sword. Once the dampening magic is gone, maybe it can do some decent damage,” I said.
“As long as you promise to be careful with it,” Juliana said, although she still looked uneasy at the idea. “If the same thing happens to you, like it did to Aurielle, I don’t know who could save you…”
“Yes, handsome, whatever happened to Aurielle was not normal… and this was with her restored Defense stat,” Clarissa said.
“I’ll be careful,” I replied, smiling. “I promise.”
“Good,” Clarissa said, nodding. This promise seemed to appease Juliana some, too, although that worried concern was still present in her brilliant green eyes.
The battle still raged in the middle of the fighting pit, with Juliana’s retinue giving it their all. I wondered how Anny was doing with her task. Just as I thought about the dampening magic, a blur appeared next to us.
Anny appeared. “Alex!” she squeaked, “the crystal won’t break!”
In her hand, she held a solid white crystal that pulsed ever so slowly. It was about the size of her palm and shaped like a diamond, of all things.
“Anny, you’re back!” Clarissa said, clapping her hands. “Excellent.”
“Weren’t you listening?! The crystal won’t break at all, and I’ve tried everything!” Anny insisted, shaking the crystal in her hand.
“I believe the Hydra destroyed the crystals just by crashing into the pillars,” Juliana said.
“Yeah, but that’s probably because it’s a Hydra,” I said. “Can I have a look, Anny?”
She handed me the crystal, wiggling her hips ever so slightly as she let out a sigh of relief.
I supposed she had gotten pretty frustrated, with her numerous failed attempts to break the crystal by herself. I held it between my thumb and forefinger, seeing a fractured reflection of myself in it. After giving it a squeeze, I suddenly realized what would most likely occur when the crystal shattered.
And I did not want to be anywhere nearby, if that happened.
“Right. Best thing to do right now, is to have this break near the Hydra,” I said. “That way, we can weaken it even further.”
“Perhaps we could embed the crystal into the wall somehow,” Juliana suggested, looking up and down the wooden wall beside us. “Then we could lure it to crash into the crystal again.”
“Surely it wouldn’t fall for that trick a third time?” Clarissa asked before waving a hand. “No matter, I have a much better idea.” She turned that glowing smile on me. “Do you remember how I have that close range lightning spell, handsome?”
I nodded and she smirked before continuing.
“Well… maybe I can channel some of that into the crystal. It should overload its crystalline matrix and then burst on its own.”
“Oh, yes!” Juliana said. “The dampening magic is at its weakest now, allowing our spells to have much greater effect than before. I can also heat the crystal up with my fire magic; that should expedite the process.”
“Ahh…” Anny said, “Won’t it… won’t it do to us what it did to the Hydra? That sounds really dangerous.”
“Indeed. Alex will simply have to throw it at the Hydra before that happens,” Juliana agreed, nodding. “We will be able to tell when the crystal is almost ready to fracture.”
If I had to be perfectly honest, this plan seemed at least as reckless as any I’d come up with all on my own. Heck, healing Aurielle without their magical energy backing me up didn’t seem all that irresponsible, compared to the risk of overloading the final dampening crystal.
But if it worked, it would likely severely weaken the Hydra. And if the dampening magic dissolved in the process, the creature might become vulnerable to our attacks, too.
It could work.
“Alright, but we should hurry,” I said. “What do you need me to do?”
“Just hold the crystal in your palm, handsome,” Clarissa said. “And we will do the rest
.”
Both women prepared to use their magic, and I braced myself for… well, I wasn’t really sure just what might come next.
Clarissa pointed her index finger only an inch away from the crystal in my palm, and a small bridge of yellow lightning connected the tip of her finger with the jewel. There was a distinct buzzing sound from her spell, but I was relieved that the magical shock didn’t conduct into my hand.
That probably wouldn’t feel good—like, at all.
Juliana held a hand near the crystal, spreading her fingers wide as her hand glowed a slight red. Instantly, the crystal started to get warm in my hand.
“Uhh, how long do you reckon this will take?” I asked as the jewel in my hand continued to heat up.
“Just a few moments more, Alex,” Juliana said. “Please be ready to throw it, once we are done.”
Smoke emerged from the crystal, and it suddenly felt like I was holding a rock that had been sitting in the scorching sun all day long.
“It’s getting pretty hot,” I growled, doing so as calmly as I could. I wanted nothing more than to just drop the crystal right then and there, but knew I had to keep a hold of it.
“Almost done…” Juliana breathed as the crystal began turning a ruddy shade of yellow and then red.
It got redder and redder.
Just as my hand started to shake with the strain of holding onto the searing hot crystal, both women suddenly stopped.
“That’s it, handsome!” Clarissa said as they stopped charging the crystal and each took a step back. “It should crack in about twenty seconds.”
I blinked at that and watched the crystal slowly return from a ruddy red to a glowing yellow.
Twenty seconds?
I quickly looked to the middle of the Arena, where everyone was still engaged with the hydra. I rushed forward, careful to ensure the crystal didn’t slip from my grip.
The women followed behind me, but I was focused solely on the Hydra.
I’d have only one shot at this.
31
Given how big the Hydra was, I figured that if I threw the crystal above its heads, the resulting burst of power shouldn’t affect the soldiers below. Although, I still had no idea how long it might be weakened, or how powerful it might be once the dampening magic was gone.
