NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26
…F*cking bastard.
I grit my teeth and forced my pain-ridden body to rise.
Unbelievably, it seems Karina’s Purification Magic worked out well for the Hydra. Thanks to the forced removal of its zombie state, it looked like it regained its sanity.
“Well, is this how it ends?”
I had thought about such possibilities, but still, playing dead until all seven heads were gone? That’s just cold-blooded.
I gasped in disbelief at the Hydra’s scheme, waiting until its life was truly hanging by a thread before striking from behind. Breathing is tough. As I tried to move, a burn-like pain surged from my chest.
Did I break a rib?
I couldn’t tell how many were cracked, but it was clear this wasn’t a good situation.
I’m no Renny or superhuman, and there’s no way I can fight properly in this condition. If I’m going to fight, I need Karina’s help. My eyes frantically searched for the pink-haired Saint. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find her.
Good thing her armor is reinforced. I guess I avoided a fatal wound. Though, a few ribs might be broken. I glanced at Karina and Renny, who were quite far away, and regripped my shovel. My chest throbbed.
I don’t want to move. No one, even if they are used to pain, wants to move their body willingly if they aren’t a masochist. But I have to move.
This time, I need to finally end the life of my revived nemesis.
Fortunately, the situation isn’t utterly hopeless.
First off, I have Karina to heal me and Renny to fight alongside me. And the Hydra’s condition can’t be all that great either. No matter how much regenerative ability it has, bouncing back to its original state in an instant wouldn’t be easy.
Additionally, right now, the Hydra’s body is pierced with wooden stakes and claws made from bear bones. With dozens of blades digging into its body, even a Hydra couldn’t escape.
I bet the Hydra knows this too. There’s no way that the smartest monster on this island wouldn’t have noticed that issue. Yet for some reason, it jumped into this trap… it’s likely because it couldn’t control its own body.
Even now it’s regained control yet can’t move.
…It’s a deadlock.
Me too.
That guy too.
I endured the throbbing pain, repeatedly lifting and lowering my foot. Dust swirled around with the Hydra’s movements. Boom, and crunch. Followed by Renny’s yell.
“Karina! Stay back!”
Aah, f*ck. This really hurts.
The ground shakes. Renny’s swing had taken off the head of a snake. I couldn’t help but click my tongue upon seeing the head fall before it even fully regenerated.
This is only going to increase our enemies.
Cutting off heads is meaningless. Whether it regenerates from that head or its neck, it wouldn’t be a significant blow to the Hydra.
“Karina! Come this way!”
“Johann!?”
From afar, I could hear Karina’s bewildered voice. It was a voice that drew my attention even in such dire circumstances. I reluctantly turned my gaze to the fallen snake’s head. Fortunately, it seems the head isn’t alive anymore, likely because my mind was completely messed up.
“Johann! Are you okay? Your body…”
“Use your Healing Magic right now!”
“Yes, of course!”
Karina, taken aback, reached out to me. Suddenly her hand glowed golden. As warm as the spring sun, the light sparkled in front of my eyes, and the crushing pain in my chest lessened. After a little while, it completely disappeared.
This is why the Saint is called the Saint. To treat such a serious injury in an instant? I gave a thankful glance at Karina before turning to look up at the Hydra, who was struggling fiercely with Renny.
The heads that were trying to bite Renny were starting to regain their shape. The way the necks twitched unnaturally after being severed was truly grotesque.
“Karina, you stay hidden.”
“…Yes!”
I’m glad she knows when to jump in and when to pull back. I briefly watched Karina’s retreating figure into the forest and checked the status of the trap.
Fortunately, the trap was still doing its job. But if I give it time, that Hydra bastard will definitely escape.
I can’t let that happen.
“Renny! Stall for time!”
“What?”
“I need time!”
“Alright! I can’t hold for long, so do what you need to do quickly!”
I immediately jumped onto the Hydra’s sleek torso. Its smooth yet sturdy skin seemed impervious to any regular object. The first thing I looked for upon landing on the Hydra’s skin were the stakes piercing its body.
Among them, the closest stake to me was about halfway piercing its torso. I settled on that stake and activated my skill.
“Dismantle.”
The stake broke down into countless wooden chunks that fell to the ground. I quickly thrust my hand into the empty hole to avoid becoming a pancake under the Hydra’s body. It was regenerating at a quick pace, but it was still a wide enough opening for me. I squeezed my body inside.
“Seriously, I’m doing all sorts of insane stuff.”
Where even am I? I pulled a small lamp from my pouch and lit it. I never thought I’d be using what I brought for burning in the middle of the night this way. As the matches I made from mixing various materials ignited and began to burn the wick of the lamp, the dimly lit area revealed itself.
A gut?
Or is it a cloak?
It certainly looks like the space between its guts.
I started prodding around wildly with my shovel to find the spot I was looking for.
This is no easy task.
The ground seemed to want to trap my feet, constantly expanding and contracting, shaking like a crazy amusement park ride. If I hadn’t stabbed the shovel into the guts to stabilize myself, I might’ve been seriously injured or even dead despite receiving healing.
Even now, I’m risking my life digging away.
Ah, here we go.
Looking up, I noticed a white object faintly visible in the pinkish guts.
Of course, it’s a bone.
The Hydra’s bone.
About the middle of its spine, I suppose.
“Damn bastard. Let’s see if you can withstand this too.”
I shoved the shovel between the vertebrae.
The shovel, made from sturdier material than the Hydra’s spine, pierced through when I put some force into it. Liquid that looked like marrow began to flow from the half-inserted blade.
“Dismantle.”
The armor that was protecting its body turns back into material. As the previously unseen sting returned with the armor vanishing, was this Hydra’s marrow or slime acidic?
If that’s the case, then I don’t have much time.
I quickly scooped up the bones that had fallen from the armor. Quite a large quantity. Being the bones of a bear leader, they should be sturdy enough to match the Hydra’s bones.
Or else I die.
“Crafting.”
The bear bones fused together to form a sharp spear. This should be enough to pierce through.
I pulled the shovel out and quickly thrust the spear made from bear bones in between.
Thanks to being sharper than the shovel, the spear penetrated deeply, more than halfway through. As I moved it slightly, it seemed to make contact within the spinal cord, which felt nice and plush.
For now, this should suffice in terms of preparation.
Gripping the bone spear, I activated my skill again.
“Crafting.”
The spear made from bear bones began to transform within the spine. Normally, trying this would just break the material, but with bear bones sturdier than spinal bone… it should be enough…
Crack.
A fissure appeared in the spinal bone. I quickly shoved the shovel into the crack. Twisting the shovel that dug through, I widened the fissure. The regenerating crack kept fluctuating, growing larger and smaller.
Now, it’s mining time!
I started wildly prying open the spine with the shovel.
Until the spine shatters and breaks away.
My arms hurt like crazy.
How long have I been prying open with the shovel?
The bone crumbled and fell beneath my feet. A hole opened in the spine. I held the lamp closer, revealing a bundle of nerves.
Yes. That’s it.
The spinal cord.
That’s my target.
No matter how great its regenerative ability is, as a vertebrate, if the spinal cord is damaged, it can’t manage its body. I picked up a piece of Hydra’s bone that was the size of the severed head and pressed it against the vertebrae before using my skill.
“Crafting.”
The Hydra’s bone becomes a blade, piercing the spinal cord. The bone that penetrated the spinal cord blocks the path, preventing regeneration.
No matter how strong its regenerative ability, if the spinal cord is severed, it can’t move.
Even if it tries to regenerate, if the passage for the spinal cord is blocked, regeneration becomes impossible.
Despite having ridiculous regeneration, ultimately, it’s still a living creature.
“Life really has a way of settling scores.”
So let’s take care of it three more times.
After enduring for ten years, it’s time to pay back double.
I walked toward a higher point.
————————–
“Ha, what a tough bastard.”
Renny spat out the blood that pooled at the corner of her mouth as she glared at the Hydra, who was waiting to pounce on her at any moment. Fighting despite her not fully healed condition made her body scream in agony. But there was no time to rest.
The enemies right before her wouldn’t spare her sentiments.
A snake with frightening regenerative ability.
Even though she crushed its brain, the heads that reformed would continue to be a severe headache. This was among the trickiest enemies she had faced. Renny gripped her sword with a tense expression.
‘If this keeps up, my sword will snap soon.’
Even a sword made from good material will eventually break if overused. Renny clenched her teeth as the situation kept worsening. Like Johann said, she had to endure, but without a weapon…
Just then.
The Hydra’s movements grew noticeably sluggish.
Following that, a startled cry was heard as its upper body swayed and collapsed. The Hydra looked confused, rolling its eyes as if it didn’t expect this situation to happen.
An unexpected situation.
Renny instinctively sensed the opportunity.
‘Whatever it did, it’s a chance!’
With her feet pushing against the ground, Renny leaped. The target was the heads that remained. Even though she leaped toward the Hydra, it didn’t resist.
In an instant, she severed the fallen Hydra’s head. With that, the fifth head flew off its body.
Three heads remaining.
Renny stepped back, observing the situation.
“…What did he do?”
The sight of the Hydra unable to move at all was astonishing. What was certain was that the Hydra couldn’t move right now.
Renny seized the opportunity and leaped like a predator seeking prey.
Three.
Two.
One…
The Hydra’s eyes turned to fear.
It never anticipated this outcome.
The Hydra, which had sought to toy with its opponent on a carefully laid out board, squirmed as it realized its last head was about to be severed, but besides its upper neck, it couldn’t move at all.
Paralyzed with severed spinal cords, the Hydra could only accept its impending death as it slowly approached.
There was no path of escape.
“That feels a bit empty…”
Renny stared down at the last severed head. The snake’s head, splendidly severed and with its brain scrambled, can no longer revive.
What the hell had just happened?
As Renny’s questioning deepened, a familiar voice came from behind.
“You held out well.”
“What? When did you… ugh, what’s that smell?”
“There was… something like that.”
Johann was soaked in Hydra’s blood, excrement, and stomach acid. Having removed his armor, the liquids that clung to his skin stung, but Johann seemed unworried and approached the defeated Hydra.
Johann gazed at the king of snakes, which had threatened his life for the past ten years, with a peculiar expression.
Who would have thought their long fight would come to this? He approached the severed head that had once driven him to despair. This was the last head that wouldn’t be able to revive. Johann kicked the Hydra’s snout twice before stepping back.
Then, with a complicated expression, he looked at the Hydra.
Could he be ending his ten-year struggle this way?
He repeatedly opened and closed his lips.
Johann bid farewell to his long-time nemesis.
“Goodbye.”