Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Heracles did not attempt to communicate, and he felt no need to do so.

In the simple mind of mortals like Chaos, creatures like the Nine-Headed Snake were nothing good to begin with.

They could not communicate with humans, and even if they could, it would only be for deceit and lies.

Thus, upon hearing the roar, the young hero leaped up and headed in the direction of the sound.

"Come—"

"Demon, meet your death!"

Picking up the iron club he carried, Heracles struck down with one blow.

A kilometer away in the swamp, Hydra suddenly raised its head, staring at the human rushing toward it.

It neither dodged nor hid, lifting its snake heads to ram forward.

"Thud—!"

"Roar—!"

A muffled sound echoed, accompanied by the hiss of the Nine-Headed Snake.

Under the tremendous strength of Heracles, Hydra was momentarily battered and beaten.

But a Nine-Headed Demon has more than one head; even if one were lost, it still had eight unscathed.

Suddenly struck hard, Hydra also recognized the extraordinariness of its opponent. It shed its previous contempt, bringing out its signature skill.

"Hiss—"

"Hiss—"

"Hiss—"

"..."

Eight snake heads cried out to the sky, spewing forth a dark green fog.

The potent toxin instantly corrupted everything around it, even causing tiny fluctuations in the space.

In a moment, the iron club that had just hit the Nine-Headed Snake melted away, and Heracles' clothes also began to dissolve.

Only the coat made from the Giant Lion's fur remained unharmed, untouched by the poison.

"So this is Hydra's poison, truly extraordinary indeed!"

With a severe expression and looking at the remnants of his weapon, Heracles realized the demon's might.

A demon that incarnations of All Gods and heroes throughout history had struggled to subdue, it not only had undying life but also such a terrifying poison.

Even normal Divine Artifacts, if carelessly contaminated with this toxin inherited from The King of All Monsters, might suffer damage to their might and require Divine Power to be cleansed for a long time before recovery.

In comparison, the iron club that Heracles had casually procured was merely a mortal object; how could it resist this terrible toxin?

For a moment, the young hero couldn't help but want to find a more suitable weapon.

Otherwise, against the foes he would face in the future, mere mortal items would be entirely useless.

"Ha ha ha... You see, mortal."

"You're no match for me; for thousands of years, no one has been able to kill me. I advise you to surrender quickly; you might even spare your life."

Laughing loudly, Hydra was both surprised at the material of the lion skin on Heracles and scoffed.

Although it intended to make this hard-to-come-by mortal work for it, the Nine-Headed Snake didn't think it could persuade the other party through mere words.

Ultimately, it had to beat its opponent first; this was true not only for demons but also for humans.

"Heh."

With a cold snort, the young hero did not reply.

He threw away the useless iron club, his blood boiling even more.

Hydra's poison was indeed potent; although he wasn't struck by the poison teeth, just the parts scattered in the air made him slightly dizzy.

But the brief collision also let Heracles know that the other party's strength was nowhere near his.

Thump—

His right foot landed, leaving a huge pit in its place.

Heracles leapt forward.

One snake head attempted to fend him off but was directly seized by the hands wrapped in the lion skin.

For a moment, the thick snake head was encircled by arms. Just as Hydra was about to break free, a boundless strength accompanied by pain surged to its heart.

The next moment, a column of blood sprayed out as one of the Nine-Headed Snake's heads was brutally torn off.

"Ugh—human, you dare!"

A loud roar; Hydra glared furiously at the young hero through the pain of having been decapitated.

The mortal had such impressive strength... Hydra was somewhat shocked but not at all fearful.

No one could kill it; even it couldn't do so itself. Thus, its remaining heads bit at him, only to be easily avoided by Heracles.

The hero's nimble figure leaped among the massive snake body, ready to repeat his earlier maneuver.

What did it matter if he had no weapon? His body, forged through countless trials, was the most powerful weapon of all.

Leaping up, he tried to get close to another snake head. However, in that brief moment, Heracles suddenly saw flesh regenerating at the severed neck of Hydra, and another snake head grew.

"It's useless, mortal."

"Cut off one, and two grow back, millions upon millions, endless."

"This may only be rumor among mortals, but for me, to grow a head in place of one lost is not difficult."

Recovering from the intense pain, Hydra stared at the hero in front of it.

It acknowledged that this guy indeed had some skills, and for the moment, it could not do anything against him.

If it were an ordinary day, Hydra would not mind battling him for three hundred rounds.

But considering its recent experiences, the Nine-Headed Snake managed a grim smile.

"Mortal, I know why you are here."

"You all wish to kill me, to use my life to achieve your own fame."

"However, I am Hydra, the undying demon. Even if I were to not resist, no one in this world could kill me."

"You can't do anything to me... but if you can do me a small favor, I can leave this place, live somewhere else. And you, you shall enjoy the might of defeating me among the mortals."

"...Demon lies."

Somewhat surprised, Heracles did not expect the Nine-Headed Snake Hydra to be able to communicate with him so logically.

Therefore, although he did not intend to agree to its request, he still temporarily ceased his attack, willing to hear what the other wanted to do.

"Demon's words aren't necessarily lies, and those wearing human skin don't always know honor. Humans, ever since I heard the history circulating among you, how you describe the despicable Divine King defeating the great ancestor of all monsters, I have not believed that you truly possess what you call 'morality.'"

With a cold laugh, Hydra had no intention of entangling here any longer.

How the All Gods dealt with it was irrelevant; it only wanted to resolve the troubles it faced.

"Mortal, I hope you can restrain the behavior of your own kind, and not always come to disturb my peace."

"Especially a bunch from Meng Village who are nothing but troublemakers..."

"—Hydra, meet your end!"

Before Hydra could finish its speech, suddenly, an old voice came from behind Heracles.

The young hero didn't need to turn to know that it must be Meng Yi, who had shown him the way.

Indeed, a figure quickly burst past him. The elder, who had traveled with him, charged forward with his arms swinging and a face full of sorrow and anger.

"?"

"Again, these annoying creatures!"

Hydra's expression changed with the intent to kill the man with a swipe of its tail. But remembering its purpose, it forcibly held back.

The Nine-Headed Demon tried to muster a smile, then 'gently' swayed its tail, attempting to push the old man aside.

The timing of his arrival was just right, conveniently, I can let this young man take him away and make sure they no longer bother me...

Bang—

As it was contemplating where to go after ridding itself of the nuisance, the next moment, Hydra was left stunned in place.

It watched as its tail, which was supposed to be gently pushing the mortal away, caused the man to collapse, blood flowing from all his orifices.

This shouldn't be happening, is he dead?

But I had no intention of killing him, how did he die?

Then again, on second thought, is the suicide technique of humans so advanced now? If it wasn't for my direct intervention, I couldn't even tell that he had actually killed himself...

"—Hydra, how dare you commit murder before me!"

A roar erupted, instantly disrupting the Nine-Headed Demon's thoughts.

Hydra raised its heads only to meet the enraged Heracles.

The young hero clearly did not expect Meng Yi to die before him, nor did he notice how the Demon before him had cleverly killed the poor elder.

Looking at its fierce expression, I actually thought it was smiling earlier? What a mistake.

Indeed, many a Demon are adept at deception. I must have been too naive to fall for its delaying tactic.

"Nine-Headed Hydra, meet your end!"

No longer hesitating, with a furious shout, Heracles rushed into battle.

Hydra's regenerative ability might be formidable, but he was not without means to handle the creature.

After all, he was no longer alone; the Undying Ande had given him a solution.

If the Hydra cannot be stopped, then find a way to disable its capability for evil, to divide it into parts.

And Ande used the conceptual 'threads' to link them together, so in some sense they remained an 'entirety.'

Since it was still 'complete,' there was no need for regeneration.

And since it was now divided, each part's strength was significantly diminished.

Although it might not be possible to kill Hydra outright, if it could be rendered incapable of harming others, Heracles thought this solution was good.

Such a ferocious demon, it was better to suppress it.

If left to roam free, who knows how many more would perish because of it.

······

Boom—

Boom Boom—

Bang—!

Within the Unchanging Swamp, the sounds of a great commotion reverberated endlessly.

The Nine-Headed Demon howled skywards as the demigod hero's vital force pierced the clouds.

A distance away from the battlefield, atop a small hillock, a young man was observing the fray through a telescope.
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Although Heracles had found a way to overcome the Hydra, he still needed time to subdue the demon.

The battle had raged a full day and night, and the young man had been watching for that long.

"Tsk, this God-King Bloodline of this world is quite impressive indeed."

"All these abnormal disturbances, he must have fateful crossings with more than one Great Divine Power."

"How unexpected, I was merely looking for some information, yet stumbled upon such an intriguing affair."

With a smile playing on his lips, Amon put down the alchemical telescope, conveniently acquired from who knows where, and glanced casually toward the distant sky.

There seemed to be something hiding there, likely a God... probably the Wind Gods of this world.

It seemed to be following the Son of God-King, but sadly, my current power is far insufficient, otherwise, inhabiting his body wouldn't be a bad idea.

Hmm... no matter, there is plenty of time. Compared to Hemenu, Chaos is far more interesting.

Since the Divine King is not the supreme being of this world, and the Primordial Deities reside in the four corners,

Then the one who caused Hemenu's demise must be one of them, probably the Lord of the Spirit Realm.

"I initially intended to visit the city of the Faith God, but who knew I'd cross paths with traces of a third world on my way."

"Typhon... The King of All Monsters?"

"If my senses are not mistaken, there might also be traces of an Outsider on his being... could it be an existence like myself, or something else?"

"And this Son of God-King..."

Raising the telescope again, although all his powers were lost, the transcendent nature of Amon, the God, still lingered within him.

Observing the pathways of fate was but one of his inconsequential abilities.

To replace an existence, to inherit everything it was, that fate it carried was also included... so with just one look, Amon had realized something unusual about Heracles.

"Son of God-King, a Faith God related to an Outer God."

"Hmm... this will do."

It was just a facade; Amon did not care about his own life or death.

If this could grant him access to the hidden upper echelons of this world, then all the better, as La once did rule as a Divine King.

And if not, then just die once and while at it, frame some dislikable God.

After all, as an Outsider, no matter whose luck turns sour... what does it have to do with me?