The wind intensified, carrying a repulsive stench.
The air invaded the mind, slowly consuming every remaining trace of feeling in the hearts of its victims, until nothing was left.
Eric held no appreciation for them, yet he still found it unacceptable to have anything taken from him.
Unfortunately, he lacked the power to simply erase that mangrove from the face of the Dream Realm.
'For now…'
The delicate light of the cage reflected on the black surface of the beast's reptilian eyes as it stared at the various prey below.
Young humans. Weak.
Their bones cracked easily. Muscles spilled crimson.
They should fear. They should run.
But what did the giant feel in the face of death?
Nothing.
Around his neck, intense heat radiated from several sharp shark teeth bound together on a tribal cord.
His amulet, [Bloody Hunger], was overloaded at that moment. It had absorbed the lives of hundreds of insects and beasts its bearer had slain over the days of travel. Power pulsed from the memory, violence given form.
It was not time yet.
"Giovanni, keep her busy," Eric spoke indifferently.
He did not wait for a reply. The delicate young man might have a shell too soft for his liking, but he was competent.
That was why he trusted him.
In his other hand, [Son of Andromeda] shimmered coldly, shaped into a fearsome helmet of black metal.
The most valuable relic he possessed.
A familiar female voice echoed from his memory, whispering sweet, unintelligible words. The intent behind them was still clear to him.
An invitation.
"Behold…" Eric whispered as he fitted the helmet onto his head. From within the visor, a purple glow escaped before his imposing silhouette simply vanished as if by magic.
The world took on a vivid violet hue. Sounds dulled into background noise. The effect ran deeper than a visual trick. It was a complete erasure.
His scent, his presence, and even the sounds he made seemed isolated from the surrounding space, leaving him a solitary entity.
Finally free from the burden of his flaw.
The smell of fear. The vibrant colors of lustful desire. The sharp sound of envy and inner conflict.
The bitter taste of despair.
All of it is trying to reach him. To consume him.
'You will be the first of many… lizard.'
Everything moved in unison.
The battle began.
***
Giovanni felt the world respond to his command.
Earth rose from beneath the murky water. It crudely mimicked the Hydra's serpentine heads. Each construct, comparable in size to the abomination itself, had a single purpose.
To dilute the enemy's attention.
"I-It's a Fallen… a Fallen Monster!" Sofia announced the danger to the group as she stepped back.
Dormant ones were never meant to face awakened creatures to begin with. What chance did they have against an aberration comparable to the masters of humanity?
Still, they could not afford to falter. They could win.
"Shelly, try to blind the heads. I'll hold it as long as I can! Sofia, don't get close to that thing!" Giovanni shouted, seconds before the stone serpents collided violently with the giant beast.
For lack of a better word, both Giovanni and Sofia were the weak links of the group in direct combat.
Without Eric's exaggerated physical attributes or Shelly's super speed, getting close would only make them a hindrance.
His attacks were painfully ineffective, no different from trying to destroy a battle tank with paper balls.
At least, knowing he would not truly injure the enemy, Giovanni could act violently, unconcerned with his flaw.
She bit down and crushed the stone serpents, attacking anything that approached on instinct.
The Hydra fully emerged from the water and climbed onto the hastily formed island. Its weight made the platform sway violently, allowing polluted waves to wash over the surface.
Giovanni reacted quickly to keep Eric from being bathed in the lethal liquid, raising barriers to stop the water.
"I'm not good at aiming!" Shelly summoned tentacles along her arm and a familiar pendant on her chest, bearing a colorful, shining gem.
Jets of acid fired in rapid succession toward the multiple serpentine heads, as fast as gunfire, thanks to her aspect.
Even with poor accuracy, the Hydra struggled to evade the projectiles that moved at irrational speeds.
The fluid couldn't corrode even the scales' surface, but it was far more effective on sensitive areas like the eyes.
Soft flesh bubbled violently, releasing gas as the acid burrowed deeper into the eyeballs.
"It's getting too close!" Sofia retreated to the edge of the bridge while summoning a pearlescent thurible and the head of a dead insect.
She could not simply light the incense there. Endless bliss would affect everyone nearby, allies included. Still, it would serve as a last resort.
Giovanni continued distracting it with futile attacks, but the Hydra marched across the island toward the visible humans. He did not know what Eric was planning, but it had better be fast.
'Damn, damn!' His heart pounded faster, nerves threatening to burst.
Only meters away from the aberration, one monstrous head, about to crush a construct of earth, suddenly changed targets… and slammed into its own body.
The other heads followed, abandoning their surroundings to bite at themselves, as if chasing an invisible insect across their own flesh.
An opportunity.
As the Hydra climbed fully onto the rocky island, Giovanni transmuted the solid ground beneath its front legs into water, causing the beast to collapse onto itself.
'There he is!'
Then, above them all, a blood-red glow erupted like a flash.
Pulsing with power.
***
Eric could not advance without thinking. As resilient as his armor was, it was as fragile as paper against a Fallen creature.
One miscalculation would cost him his life.
Giovanni's distraction was crucial. Eric needed to study every movement to plan the decisive strike.
His cold eyes judged every bite and claw swipe, searching for a weakness.
Shelly's shots, though not lethal, compromised the Hydra's vision and slowed its advance.
Striking one of the heads would not suffice.
Damaging the legs would be ineffective as well.
His gaze fixed on the beast's spine, where the necks converged.
A precise blow there could cripple it, or at least severely debilitate it.
Eric let the creature pass him, exposing its back to the silent warrior. Just a little more, and it would be time.
Seconds dragged on in slow motion as the beast drew closer to his companions.
Pillars of earth shaped into crude serpents rose from every direction, a final attempt to delay the inevitable collision.
The giant moved.
His body represented the peak of a Dormant's power. No, even more than that, thanks to his attribute. The distance between him and the Hydra vanished in a single second.
The moment his foot touched its scales, it reacted. One mouth twisted defensively, deflecting the attack and snapping at the spot where he had been an instant earlier.
Crash!
His dodge was perfect, calculated in advance. The area struck by the headbutt shattered without regard for self-preservation.
Every strike from the Hydra carried full force.
'Fast…' One by one, the heads coiled and snapped where he moved. Without invisibility, climbing its back would be suicide.
Then all five heads moved in unison, attacking from every direction to ensure a hit. Eric was ready to sacrifice his physical integrity to escape the encirclement, but the ground beneath the beast gave way first.
The aberration's balance collapsed, and its attack failed as its body sank back into the water.
The perfect opening.
Eric used one of the heads as a foothold, focused strength into his legs, and leapt. At the same time, he lightened gravity around himself, gained momentum, and shot upward.
His necklace, brighter than ever, had its light extinguished, transferring its stored power to his war hammer.
As he reached the top of the vegetation, he dismissed his helmet midair, becoming visible once more.
And more importantly, he was able to communicate.
"Fox." His calm voice echoed like thunder, reaching Shelly, who awaited the command.
[Bloody Hunger] possessed two distinct, equally simple functions. The first released a shockwave that damaged multiple opponents across a wide area.
The second concentrated all accumulated power into a single strike.
His merely awakened weapon could not pierce the Fallen Monster's scales. But with one or two helping hands…
Activating his aspect a second time, Eric increased gravity on his body as his companion accelerated his movement.
The result was a red comet descending faster than any awakened… and even some masters could move.
The Hydra had no time to process the attack before it was too late.
BOOM!
The violent collision of the hammer against the armored spine generated such heat that the enchanted metal became incandescent, erupting into sparks.
The island built to host the combatants shattered like glass, and the shockwave knocked down his companions.
Then came the blood. Gray flesh and black fluid sprayed from the monstrous being. Bones and muscles crushed beyond recognition were visible within the mortal wound.
'Insufficient.' Before the body fully sank into the water, Eric leapt back to the bridge, lightening gravity and extending the jump's distance.
"You killed it?! That was… that was insane." Shelly stared wide-eyed, unable to restrain genuine praise.
"It still lives. Recreate the island. Now." Eric dispelled the illusion of victory, eyes fixed on the water.
Giovanni was equally stunned by the attack's power, his expression ridiculous, but the news that the enemy still lived snapped him back to focus as he rebuilt the improvised arena.
The rippling surface grew turbulent as the same bestial silhouette emerged, gravely wounded but still moving, ignoring pain it should have felt.
Its necks moved with difficulty, only partially connected by shattered bone.
Its death was inevitable. The only question was whether it would drag the youths into the grave with it.
"I'll hold it. Pour as much acid as possible into the exposed wound, Shelly. Giovanni, keep sabotaging its movements." Eric sent the molten hammer back into his Soul Sea, summoning a pair of heavy, dark blades in its place.
For the second time, the knight alone stepped onto the island. All black eyes focused on him, the sole source of danger.
'You should not hesitate, monster… before a mere man.'
As if reacting to the thought, the Hydra lunged forward on four legs, staggering toward Eric.
The shrill grind of steel against bone became an endless cacophony.
"Fox." His body blurred, vanishing from the path where three heads collided. Before he could breathe, long claws swept the field, ready to slice the man into pieces.
They would have, had the strike not been stopped by two thick blades.
The impact dragged his body backward, leaving grooves where his feet scraped the ground.
He was granted only a second's respite before a fourth head contracted and lunged.
Space warped beside him, creating a powerful suction that tore him from the attack's path at the last second.
'We are not so different after all.'
As he attacked and defended relentlessly, Eric reflected each time his weapons clashed with scales, claws, and teeth.
'You despise the colors, too.'
The battle slowly shifted. The young man, once defensive, pressed faster and faster, while the monster grew lethargic, weakened as blood poured endlessly from its wound.
His blades left marks with every impact. Bones threatened to break, muscles tore under the strain.
Giovanni stole the creature's balance with every movement. Shelly, atop a stone tower, fired acid jets into the exposed spine, melting it further with every second.
Tears opened across his metal armor: a glancing claw, a brief collision with sharp scales. Even the slightest contact injured Eric like paper.
Fresh blood streamed from the cuts, scattering through the air with each movement.
Yet the pain did not affect him.
'Then consider your execution a gift.'
One by one, the heads ceased moving, completely dead. When only the last remained, the creature could barely fight, forced to drag its own weight.
Eric, face drenched in gray and red blood, raised both swords and drove them into the abomination's eyes, pinning its head to the island's surface.
The beast's muscles contracted in its final breaths, still trying to bite its enemy.
'And perish by my hand.'
The blades sank deeper, splitting the brain like paste.
The Hydra's entire body tensed… and never moved again.
[You have slain a Fallen Monster, Hueless Hydra Matriarch.]