Chapter 102. Mechanical Hydra
A red flash pierced the stillness of the Machine Graveyard.
*Shiiing—!*
The Mechanical Hydra’s laser barrage cut through the air, striking the ground with immense force.
With a single attack.
Half of the Machine Legion’s metal exoskeletons melted, instantly evaporating.
【Pururu】─What the hell is that?!
【Mysticism】─😱😱😱
【Yumi】─Half of them are gone with just one hit…
【Rise Nova】─As expected, numbers mean nothing in the face of an SS-grade monster.
【Bubble Bubble】─Of course. SS-grade monsters are practically gods.
─［Everyone, scatter! Huh!!!］
Omega’s sharp mechanical voice reverberated.
The remaining machines quickly scattered in response to the command.
The Mechanical Hydra’s attacks continued to rain down.
Flashes of electricity, acidic liquid, resonance waves, cryogenic nitrogen, high-pressure steam, plasma spheres, and dark matter.
Each attack took on a different form, flying in all directions.
“Iris, dodge those incoming attacks and get close to Omega.”
─［Roger that.］
One of the Irises swiftly approached Omega.
I immediately spoke to Omega.
“Omega, isn’t that black device on its body the weak spot?”
─［Huh. That power source is a regenerative core. If destroyed, the Hydra will lose its regenerative ability. However, attacking that spot is useless right now. Unless the functionality of all its heads drops below a certain level, you won’t be able to break through the protective barrier shielding the power source.］
After replying, Omega added:
─［Luckily, it seems this version of the Mechanical Hydra doesn’t possess time manipulation abilities like the one from before! Still, the head emitting dark matter is highly dangerous, so we need to stop that one first. Huh!］
Omega leapt high into the air, pushing off the ground.
His massive fist, made of steel and gears, spun in midair.
*Boom!*
As Omega’s powerful punch struck one of the Hydra’s heads, the impact caused an explosion, scattering metal fragments everywhere.
But it was in vain.
In the blink of an eye.
A new head, spewing dark matter, regenerated in place.
【Pururu】─How is its regeneration so fast?
【Mysticism】─Is that thing even a machine? 😨
─［Is that the most dangerous head?］
─［Exactly! We can’t completely get rid of it, but we need to keep destroying it to stay safe! Huh!］
─［Got it. I’ll try to incapacitate it!］
Arachne’s thick web strands shot through the air.
The web quickly wrapped around one of the Hydra’s heads, binding it tightly.
It seemed to stop moving, but then,
─［Grrrr…］
*Ziiing—!*
The head wrapped in webs corroded and disintegrated.
Soon, a new head popped out of the body.
Since it could regenerate heads quickly at any time, the Hydra had made the decision to abandon the incapacitated head without hesitation.
─［The webs don’t work on the body… It seems like I’ll need to bind all the heads at once.］
Arachne scanned the Mechanical Hydra from top to bottom and sighed deeply.
I could guess the reason for the sigh.
Binding all those large snake-like heads at once would require a massive amount of webbing.
Of course, it was doable.
But producing that much webbing would take time, and even if she threw that much webbing, it would be difficult to accurately bind all the heads.
The Mechanical Hydra’s heads, despite their size, were surprisingly fast.
─［I’ll keep working on incapacitating that head so it can’t spew dark matter.］
【Pururu】─Wasn’t it supposed to only take one strand of our tiny spider’s web to incapacitate a target?
【Bubble Bubble】─It depends on the opponent.
Bastet Daong was darting around the Hydra at the speed of light, distracting one of its heads.
Next up was the Necro Puppet Master.
─［I’ll use a power-boosting ability. I can’t move while using it, so cover me.］
In front of Puppet Master.
The SS-grade puppets, Jellyfish Queen and Niara Nepensis, stepped forward.
As Jellyfish Queen extended her arm, a rainbow-colored explosive orb formed, and when Niara Nepensis raised her arms, the sky tore open.
Beyond the tear, a vast universe filled with countless stars was visible.
─［Let’s make some artistic explosions.］
When Jellyfish Queen’s rainbow orb collided with one of the Hydra’s heads, a dazzling flash of light and a deafening roar echoed.
Immediately after,
─［Come, stars.］
A massive meteor, burning fiercely, descended from the torn sky.
*Crash!*
The ground trembled, and a thick cloud of dust billowed into the air.
As the dust quickly cleared, two of the Mechanical Hydra’s heads lay crushed.
But in an instant, new heads sprouted.
【Yumi】─None of our attacks are working.
【Pururu】─They’re working, but its regeneration is just broken.
【Mysticism】─Can’t we all attack at the same time? One person per head? 🤔
【Bubble Bubble】─That’s unlikely. Everyone has their own pace when attacking. Unless it’s a team that’s worked together for a long time, it’s almost impossible to synchronize perfectly.
【Rise Nova】─Bubble is right. The regeneration happens in less than a second, so for us to destroy all the heads simultaneously without even a fraction of a second’s delay… It’s no easy feat to prepare an attack strong enough to deal significant damage and hit all the heads at the same time.
The surviving Machine Legion continued attacking the Mechanical Hydra’s body.
They weren’t causing any damage, but.
Just distracting the Hydra was enough for them to fulfill their role.
The Techno Reaper and Cyborg Dragon were also relentlessly targeting the Hydra’s heads from the air.
Blue energy beams slashed through space from the Techno Reaper’s scythe, and plasma flames erupted from the Cyborg Dragon’s maw.
‘…Is the Princess not done yet?’
Before the Mechanical Hydra appeared.
I had given Omega and the exploration team monsters one order.
To attract the Hydra’s attention as much as possible.
To keep the Blood Jellyfish Princess out of its sight.
The continuous attacks were also part of an effort to block the Hydra’s field of vision.
The reason for this order was simple.
The most powerful force on our side was the Jellyfish Princess.
Usually, the Jellyfish Princess was weaker compared to other SS-grade monsters, but today was different.
When we were preparing for the long-term exploration.
She had been constantly absorbing blood from a waterfall of it.
I wasn’t sure exactly how much she drank, but she must have absorbed and stored the blood of at least tens of thousands of Pig Kings.
And the more blood the Princess consumed, the stronger she became.
‘I’m waiting for her to use her ultimate technique… but it’s taking longer than expected.’
If even the Princess’s attack didn’t work.
I was ready to retreat for the day.
Through Iris, I checked on the Jellyfish Princess.
She stood perfectly still, hands clasped together, her eyes quietly closed.
【Pururu】─What’s the Princess doing?
【Yumi】─She said she was preparing some kind of attack earlier.
As the battle reached its peak.
The Princess slowly opened her eyes.
Then, her mouth opened, and a red mist began to flow from within.
─［Drench the world in blood.］
At the moment her incantation was complete.
Everything turned red.
The mountains of scrap metal, the ground, the sky, even the Mechanical Hydra.
The only things that didn’t change color were the exploration team and Omega’s Machine Legion, in other words, our side.
─［Krrr…？］
It was only then that the Mechanical Hydra became aware of the Jellyfish Princess.
But by then, it was too late.
Drip.
A raindrop fell from the sky.
It was a clear, transparent drop of water.
Drip, drop.
More pure water followed.
The sound of raindrops intensified.
*Plop, plop, plop, plop─*
Soon, the sound grew into a roar like that of a waterfall.
─［Kr, Krraaaaahhh!!!］
The Mechanical Hydra’s scream shook the heavens and trembled the earth.
Not only the blood-red world.
But the Hydra itself began to turn transparent as soon as the clear water touched it, as if it were being erased from existence.
Like filthy blood being washed clean by holy water.
No matter how violently the Hydra thrashed its seven heads and shook its body, it was all in vain.
The only thing it could do now was accept its fate of annihilation.
‘Thank goodness, the Princess’s attack worked…’
I let out a sigh of relief.
Well, I had a hunch we’d win the moment she began her incantation.
For a brief moment.
I had felt the Jellyfish Princess’s danger level surge to SSS-grade for about 0.1 seconds.
【Bubble Bubble】─Wow…
【Mysticism】─😮
【Yumi】─It’s amazing, but also kind of a mysterious sight.
【Pururu】─Whoa, the Princess is the strongest among Geon’s monsters.
【Rise Nova】─That’s because she drank so much blood.
While everyone was dazed, watching the scene unfold.
Omega, who had come to his senses, shouted loudly.
─［Now is the time! The barrier is gone, so destroy the power source now! Huh!!!］
【Pururu】─Won’t it disappear on its own if we leave it alone?
【Bubble Bubble】─That’s true, but we can’t let it completely vanish. Omega said he needs the Mechanical Hydra’s parts.
─［Leave it to me!］
At the moment Omega’s mechanical voice echoed, Bastet Daong disappeared.
─［Solorb members, watch me!］
When Bastet reappeared, she was on the opposite side.
She had moved at lightning speed, piercing through the Hydra’s body.
Naturally, the black mechanical device, the regenerative core, had been destroyed.
Seeing this, the Jellyfish Princess smiled as if her task was complete and,
─［Phew… I did it…］
She collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
At the same time, the world regained its original colors.
The Mechanical Hydra was still alive, but that wasn’t a problem.
─［The Mechanical Hydra has lost its regenerative ability! Huh Huh!］
It was now on the brink of death.
And with its super-regeneration gone as well.
─［Everyone, full assault! Huh Huh Huh!!!］
Under the combined assault of Omega, Omega’s Machine Legion, and the exploration team.
The Mechanical Hydra crumbled without putting up any meaningful resistance.
—
■ Mechanical Hydra
─Actual Danger Level: SS-grade x7.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: A-grade x7.
─Abilities: Electricity, acidic liquid, resonance waves, cryogenic nitrogen, high-pressure steam, plasma spheres, dark matter.
─Notes: In its infancy, so it’s currently weak.
The Mechanical Hydra naturally grows stronger over time, gaining more power as it matures. Its intelligence and destructive instincts also increase.
And.
The Mechanical Hydra we defeated today was only a month old.