Chapter 58: Leon! Do it now!

Except Thomas noticed the attack and pushed Elroy out of harms way. When the hydra came back up, it had Thomas by the arm, screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Thadius! Help me!” he cried.

“Shit!” Thadius cursed as he rushed for the nearest wound he could find, then he shoved his sword in it.

Mavas followed suit, plunging his sword into the open cut in the hydras torso and twisting the blade with every ounce of malice he could muster.

Unable to bare the pain, the hydra let go. Yet, the height at which it let the young swordsman go, knock him out cold as he smacked the ground.

Meanwhile, Marcus ran over to the warriors and was shaking as he reached down to check their injuries. Banon lay unconscious, but Leon could still move. He reached for Leon first, but the Paladin shook his head.

“Him first, he got the worst of it.” he said.

“O-okay.” Marcus nodded and immediately went work on Banon.

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The hum of healing magic quickly filled the air, and the sound of it drew the hydra’s attention like a moth to the flame. Even the might of Thadius wasn’t enough to keep the hydra away from a easy meal.

“Hurry, Marcus!” Leon winced as he sat up.

Beads of sweat and water dripped down Marcus’ face as he concentrated on healing, trying desperately to heal the fallen warrior before death could creep up behind him.

Although the hydra covered the distance quickly, Banon was healed before could attack. Yet, it wasn’t deterred. It raised it tail brought it crashing down.

Leon quickly shoved the priest out of the way, barely managing to roll away from the attack himself. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

The beast was intent on ending Marcus’ life though, and raised its tail to crush him again. Even with his speed, Thadius knew he wouldn’t make it.

“Leon! Do it now!” Thadius cried as he ran for the priest.

Leon nodded and lifted his sword to the sky. “Holy Light!”

A blinding radiance filled the area, brighter than anything the hydra could possibly know, and it hurt. It roared as it was blinded by the light, and the momentary pause was just enough time for Thadius receive the crushing blow.

He raised his up high and took the full force of the tail slam. The sheer force brought him down hard on his knee and he cried out as an excruciating pain shot up his thigh.

“A-are you hurt!?” Marcus shouted. He was shaking uncontrollably, and his voice was barely audible over the scraping sound of the hydra dragging its tail over Thadius’ shield.

’I won’t alway be here to save you! Thadius thought bitterly. Still, he remained composed. If he didn’t try to calm Marcus down, the priest would keep freezing up like a deer in the headlights.

“I’m fine, go!” Thadius forced the words through grit teeth as held up the weight of the hydra’s tail.

Marcus quickly crawled out from under the hydra and ran towards Desha. Yet he wasn’t quick enough.

When the hydra recovered from its blindness to its intended target scurrying away, it went into fit of rage. Thadius, who had gotten in its way once again, was hit with such force that despite his shield, he blacked out until he hit the ground.

Desha, now Marcus’ last line of defense, was swept aside with another flick of its tail. The result being Marcus alone and exposed as the heads of the hydra gazed down at him with every that could stop what was to come out of commission.

’Gugugugu!’

“Marcus move!” Thadius screamed desperately. He tried to run for the priest, but his leg buckled when he put weight on it. He reached for one of his throwing knives, but he had run out.

He tried to use his pressure to gain the hydra’s attention, but he was ignored. The beast knew exactly who the threat was, and as the left head sucked in the mist, the right opened its mouth and unleashed a scalding blast at its prey.

“No!” Thadius cried, but his shout was drowned out by Marcus’ bloodcurdling shrieks. When the steam dissipated, a faceless corpse was all that was left of the Thenian priest.

Now without a healer, the squad was in jeopardy of losing everything. Desha was struggling to get up with his arrows scattered and broken around him. Thomas and Banon were still unconscious. Mavas and Elroy had completely lost the will to fight with the death of Marcus, and Leon had the look of a man resolved to die at any moment. With the squad scattered and broken, the hydra could take its sweet time picking them off one by one.

’You’ll have to finish me first!’ Thadius thought as he pushed himself to his knees.

His fighting spirit coursed through his body, filling him from head to toe. He willed himself to stand. “See! I can still move! You haven’t defeated me yet!” he cried as he took a step towards the hydra.

“You think you’re so fucking smart! Look at you! You can barely move any more than I can!” he spat as stumbled and fell to his knees. He leaned on Serenity to steady himself and rose again, threatening the beast with every step he took.

The hydra saw its chance to seal its victory, and the right head came rushing at him. Thadius raised his shield and stopped the massive jaws from clamping down on him. But he was completely pinned to the spot as the pressure and weight of the hydra crashed down on him. The attack had also caused him to drop Serenity, leaving the blade merely inches beyond his reach.

’Dammit!’

Thomas stirred as Thadius approached the monster alone and cried out in fear. "Thadius!"

"Stay back!" Thadius screamed.

The hydra writhed and clamped down its jaws as it tried to eat the prey that was right between its teeth. But Thadius refused to be eaten, and he pushed against the beast to force the shield up further. Blood and saliva dripped all around him, and the shield screeched in protest as deep ridges were cut into it from the teeth.

Thadius’ mind raced as quickly as his heart, searching for some way to end the battle as soon as possible. Every second he wasted, the worse the chances were for his squad. Sensing the distress of its victim, the hydra clamped down harder, and the power of its jaws proved too much for the shield as it began to bend under the force.

"Argh!" Thadius braced his hands against the edges of the shield, using all his strength to keep the steel and mythril from warping further.

All those that witnessed the scene could only look on helplessly as the man they had put their faith in man his final struggle. So with no one to harass it, the second head reared high.

"Gugugugu!"

Dread filled Thadius to the core as the sound of death gurgled in the back of the hydra's throat. He'd felt the same chill only once before; then a moment later, he had burst into flames. This time, he knew exactly what fate awaited him.

The hollow sound reverberated throughout the monster's mouth, and Thadius tried to reach for Serenity, only inches away. The hydra, smelling his fear, clamped down with all its might and forced him to use both hands to keep the shield from folding further. All around him, Thadius could hear the shouts of his squad. But it was too late. The sound of their voices was soon drown out by the sound of steam blasting against his shield.

Thadius’ shield began to heat up almost immediately while the force of the water pressure dislodged his shield, his only protection against the killing torrent. Fearing for his life, he pushed up as hard as he could, scalding his hands against the heated metal.

“Argh!” It was painful, but he kept pushing against the blast. This time, using his armored arms to brace against the shield.

No matter what he did though, the temperature kept rising as the steam filled the hydra’s mouth.

’I’m sorry master! I’m gonna have to use it to get me out of this! I don’t want to die here! thought regretfully as he gathered the entirety of his fighting spirit into himself.

But before he could use his master’s secret technique, the hydras steam was replace by its screams as reared back in pain.

“Thadius! Get out of there!” Leon shouted.

Thadius immediately leap for Serenity, grunting in pain as his burned has grasped the handle. When he looked up to see what happened, he saw a battle-axe lodged into the hydras spine with the giant of a man trying to wrench it free.

“Its coming back!” Leon cried.