"ROAR!" "ROAR!" "ROAR—ROAR—ROAR!"
Amid the chaotic bellowing, the Hydra thrashed through the lake, churning up towering waves as it charged toward the shore, throwing the entire area into uproar.
Creatures fled in every direction.
The lake water itself—tainted by the monster's presence—shifted into a disturbing, unnatural color.
Any body of water a Hydra entered would be polluted. No matter the original ecosystem, it would rot into a deadly swamp infused with its Poison Miasma. Everything that approached was corroded to bare bone. Its toxicity was extreme.
This was the Hydra's nature. It searched for a water source it liked, poisoned it, then turned it into a miasma-filled swamp perfect for itself. It was the ultimate ecological destroyer, hated by every species that ever encountered it.
This Hydra had come to claim the lake as its territory. The creatures living in it would become its food.
So it rampaged without restraint, transforming its future home while hunting at the same time.
Under those circumstances, Leo's group standing at the lakeside was like a giant beacon. The Hydra spotted them instantly.
It didn't hesitate. It charged.
Just as it was about to surge onto land with a tsunami of poisoned water, a blast of demonic power shot across the air and slammed into its body.
"BOOM!!!"
An explosion thundered through the night forest. The demonic-power projectile detonated against the Hydra's bulk, blowing its massive body backward and dropping it into the center of the lake in a violent crash.
Only then did Leo unfold six black devil wings and rise from the lakeshore, flying straight to the center of the lake where the explosion had erupted.
"ROAR!" "ROAR—ROAR!" "ROAR—ROAR—ROAR!"
A chorus of nine howls erupted from underwater. The Hydra burst out again, throwing up an even greater wave as it surfaced.
Its nine pairs of blood-red eyes locked onto Leo instantly—filled with savagery and fury. It roared at him nonstop.
Leo floated above it, calmly looking down. No fear—only calculation.
Then he curled a finger at it.
"Come on. Let's see how much of your legend is real."
Whether the Hydra understood the words didn't matter.
The provocation reached it loud and clear. The Hydra was enraged beyond reason.
"ROAR!! ROAR—ROAR!! ROAR—ROAR—ROAR!!"
Driven by fury, all nine heads opened their jaws and launched blazing fireballs at Leo.
Each fireball was larger than an adult human—easily three meters across. One could swallow Leo completely. Nine hurtled toward him at once, tearing through the air.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!"
The air filled with deafening explosions as blazing fireballs burst, lighting the sky blood-red.
Shockwaves rolled outward. Waves soared up from the lake surface.
The blast slammed into the shore, spreading rapidly.
"Watch out!"
Utaha sprang forward, forming a barrier. A defensive wall enclosed the girls, shielding them from the incoming shockwave and towering spray.
The rest of the lake's creatures weren't so lucky. The sirens—originally the target of this trip—and every other being in the water were hurled away by the blast and waves, their fate unknown.
But the Hydra's violent assault slammed uselessly into a rotating magic circle that had appeared before Leo.
He stood behind it, untouched. Neither flames nor heat reached him. Only the rushing wind blew at his hair and clothes.
The moment the attack subsided, Leo switched to offense. He lifted his hand—the magic circle rotated—and a beam of demonic power shot downward like divine judgment, slamming into the Hydra's body. Flesh and blood blasted apart, spraying everywhere as the monster shrieked in agony.
"President is amazing!"
Asuna couldn't hold back her shout.
One hit had nearly blown apart that terrifying monster. No wonder he was qualified to hold a King piece. No wonder he was the pureblood devil who inherited the power of the Seventy-Two Pillars' Eligos family. His strength was leagues above theirs.
But Yukino's expression only grew darker.
Her sharp eyes caught it clearly—the Hydra's wounds, though gruesome, were regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye. In moments, it was completely healed.
"That's… the Hydra's regeneration?!"
Even Utaha, straining to maintain the barrier, saw it—and remembered the legends.
The Hydra had two infamous abilities.
The first: its terrifying poison. It polluted everything, corroded everything. Even the legendary hero Heracles died from its venom. Hence the belief that its poison could even kill gods.
The second: monstrous vitality and regeneration. No matter how grievous the wound, it recovered quickly—practically immortal. Unless all nine heads were cut off and destroyed, even a Maou would struggle to kill it.
Lethal poison that could kill any foe. Regeneration that negated any wound.
These two traits were why the Hydra was one of the most terrifying monsters in existence.
"Well damn, it really lives up to the stories. If Yukino, Asuna, and senpai had to face this thing, they really might get wiped out."
Leo wasn't surprised—only impressed.
"ROAR!! ROAR—ROAR!! ROAR—ROAR—ROAR!!"
Driven into a frenzy by pain, the Hydra launched another barrage of fireballs, raising the air temperature visibly.
"—!"
This time Leo didn't block. His devil wings flared, and his body shot forward like a flickering shadow, weaving through the barrage as the massive fireballs missed and streaked into the sky.
He dove straight toward the Hydra.
Seeing Leo charging directly at it, the Hydra lunged. All nine heads attacked like giant serpents, jaws wide.
But Leo slipped through each one effortlessly.
"Boom!"
Reaching the underside of one head, he unleashed a burst of blinding lightning. The head detonated in a spray of gore.
He didn't stop. His figure blurred toward the second and third heads.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Two more heads were blown apart—one incinerated by searing flames, the other shredded by a violent tornado of demonic power.
"ROOOOAAAR—!!"
The remaining six heads howled in agony and finally used their trump card.
Its massive body convulsed—each head releasing clouds of dark vapor, Poison Miasma thick enough to boil the lake and distort the air.
"Careful!"
"That's poison!"
Yukino and Utaha shouted at the same time.
The Hydra's most terrifying trait—its poison—filled the air.
"—!"
Leo didn't dare take it lightly. He shot backward, wings beating as he retreated from the poisonous cloud.
"Sssst…!"
A horrible sizzling noise came from his clothes. The moment they brushed the miasma, the fabric smoked and decayed like it was being eaten by acid.
"This poison is no joke."
Leo's expression hardened.
The miasma expanded rapidly, turning the lake's center into a dead zone. Creatures that hadn't escaped in time floated to the surface as bare skeletons within seconds.
"ROAR—!! ROAR—ROAR—!! ROAR—ROAR—ROAR!!"
The Hydra roared again. Within the poison cloud, its silhouette writhed—and the three destroyed heads began regenerating, flesh squirming sickeningly back into place.
"As expected. To kill a Hydra, you have to destroy all nine heads at once."
Leo confirmed the truth.
If even one head remained, the monster would revive endlessly.
Everyone knew the Hydra's weakness. But they still called it immortal for a reason—because actually destroying all nine heads at the same time was nearly impossible.
"Looks like I'll have to get serious."
Leo tore off the part of his clothes that had been touched by poison, then flew higher—several dozen meters up, out of range.
"Destroying them one by one is too much trouble."
His eyes burned with inner light—demonic power rising wildly.
"Let's finish this in a single strike!"
At that moment, the demonic power inside him—just half a step below an Ultimate-Class Devil—erupted, shooting upward like a pillar of flame.
The power of Zenith Tempest surged forth. The once-clear night sky instantly roiled with storm clouds, swallowing the moon and stars.
"RUMBLE—!"
Lightning writhed inside the clouds. Thunder cracked across the sky. The air grew heavy with the pressure of an impending storm.
Leo unleashed his full strength and seized control of the skies, transforming this entire region into his domain.