Endzone: Simulated Apocalypse

"SKREEEE!" The Hydra screeched in fury and pain as its second head fell. Seven left—but there was a difference.

Before, it had infinite lives. Now, however, these were its last.

Realizing they'd lost the fight, and even if they used that ultra-charged attack, they would be hurt themselves as well with no one to heal them or shield them any longer, the Hydra's various heads unanimously decided it was better to simply escape.

Turning tail, the creature attempted to burrow back into the swamp waters, but the two hunters weren't going to simply let their prey walk away that easily after what it did to them.

"Trying to run? Not today!" Ragnar roared, and chased after the creature. His HP was running dangerously low from his Pyromaniac's constant draining effect, but he didn't care.

And as for Cyanide…

"Hit it with fire!" He yelled, to which Ragnar frowned.

"Huh? The fuck?"

"Just do as I say!"

"Tch… fine!"

Ragnar wasn't too happy to be taking orders from Cyanide, but he did as told and once again charged his sword up with fire. There wasn't time to use Flaming Crescent, however, so he chose a more… brutish alternative:

Throwing his sword across the swamp.

"Eat… rock!"

Rearing his arm back, he launched his greatsword like a missile across the swamp water, and it struck the Hydra right as it was about to dig back into the hole it emerged from. The fire just barely caught onto its body momentarily, but it was enough. The little fire symbol beneath the boss's name showed that it had been inflicted with Fire.

And that… was all Cyanide needed.

Lifting his hand, he used the Soul Art, [Lightning Chain]. Purple electricity zoomed out of his palm and struck the Hydra before it could do anything else, and immediately, the two affinities reacted.

Fire plus Lightning made the Technical Reaction, Overcharge—an explosion that erupted in a small radius around the target and also guaranteed a Shock status ailment apply.

Normally, bosses are immune against certain status ailments. But luckily for Cyanide and Ragnar, the Hydra wasn't due to its already-overpowered regeneration ability. The massive creature spasmed a bit, croaking and making a weird gurgling noise, before crashing into the water, immobilized.

"And now… the final act."

Cyanide dashed around the creature's body, carefully cutting each still-alive head once with his «Anaconda's Fang». The venom weakened the Hydra and made it further vulnerable. Ragnar, not missing this opportunity, smirked and slammed down with his «Fury's Edge», dealing the maximum damage possible due to his 1 HP remaining from the Pyromaniac form's side effect.

Instantly, the Hydra's HP vanished, and there was only one head left. As Ragnar gave a snort and began walking away, Cyanide stylishly finished it off with a single gunshot.

Neither of them looked back as the Hydra's enormous body turned into a billion shards of light, and flowed into their bodies as EXP. Immediately after, notification screens appeared before the two of them.

{——— Lost Herald ———}

[Asmodeus, Nine-Headed Basilisk & King of the Serpents]

{——— Prey Slaughtered ———}

[Achievement Unlocked: Dead Herald]

- Find and slay your first Lost Herald. -

[Level Up.]

[Lv. 36-> 38.]

[You gained 20 CP and 2 SP.]

[Obtained Hydra's Fang x4.]

[Obtained Element Shard x3.]

[Obtained Vial of Hydra Blood x6.]

[Obtained Hydra Chops x16.]

[Obtained Asmodeus's Head x1.]

"… Huh? That's it?" Ragnar arched an eyebrow in confusion at the screen before him, and Cyanide looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

"All I got was a level-up message," he said, scratching his head. "Wasn't this a Lost Herald boss or something? I thought it was going to drop a bunch of shit."

"… It did," Cyanide said after some slight hesitation. "… For me, at least."

"The fuck?" Ragnar blinked in surprise. "Wait, don't tell me… item drops only go to the person who landed the final blow?!"

"Seems like it," Cyanide said casually. "But Blood Barons are different, I believe…"

"Goddammit!" Ragnar yelled in anger. "I should've just let you die, jackass!"

"You pretty much did that anyway," Cyanide said with a snicker. "Not like you did anything to help me there."

"Tch…" Ragnar gave a snort and began heading off, still pissed. Cyanide watched him go, then went around the edge of the swamp to pick up the Odium herbs they came here for before following after him.

*****

After that ordeal, there were only four more herbs on Cyanide and Ragnar's list: Moonflower, Farmakeftikós, Anastasia, and Yobendover. Of them, Yobendover was the easiest to get. They were essentially four-leaf clovers, which were rare on Earth but actually plentiful here in this world. They were found in relatively open areas with little to no trees, and came in groups—meaning it was very simple to obtain a great bunch of them.

Truly makes one wonder why it was named Yobendover, though…

But in any case, now, there were only three left. Farma-whatever-the-name-is (courtesy of Ragnar) were found along riverbanks, and was a minty blue herb that releases a toxin that numbs pain upon contacting its leaves. It was to be used in healing and/or recovery potions.

Anastasia, on the other hand, was slightly more difficult. According to the description, they 'thrived in the cold'. The problem? Cyanide and Ragnar were in a rainforest. A tropical… rainforest.

Where the hell were they supposed to find somewhere 'cold'?

After some thought, the pair decided to head for the 'coldest' place there could be in a rainforest: within a cave. On the small hill where Cyanide and Ivy had fought the giant lizard, there lay a cave along the side of it. Inside, as expected, were the single-petaled flowers known as Anastasia.

They were quite interesting, actually. Despite there not being any soil, sunlight, or water inside this deep, empty cave, these single-petal flowers thrived. They had what seemed like a human eye detailed at their edges, and oddly seemed to draw people in.

Their existence itself was a mysterious puzzle—after all, these caves had no use for pollinators like it.. But Ragnar wasn't here to consider such things—while Cyanide pondered about such facts, Ragnar simply took the flowers and left.