A roar shakes the atmosphere.

　My eardrums scream and the impact hits my skin as an invisible whip.

　The sound, which sounded like a huge bell being rung in front of me, or a lightning bolt striking so close to me, was the sound of Hydra's poisonous fluid and my jade cannon colliding.

　It was the jingoistic cannon that took the upper hand.

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that this is the first time I've ever seen it.

　Not only that, it also struck Hydra's head as it ran straight through the air and let out a breath of air.



　At that moment, the dragon's face, which was glowing with red eyes, fluttered and splashed backwards with great force.

　It was as if he had been hit by an unseen giant's right fist thrust, and the long neck of the hydra was bent wide like a willow branch.

　After a beat, a roar of an illusory species that could not be described as either anguish or astonishment roared out.

　Hearing that roar, I descend to the ground with a sound. Then, without a moment's pause, I brandished the Soul Eater.

　The heart outfit that gushes out its power as if it is roaring. As if he finally sensed something in the air, another hydra head, besides the head that released the breath, is pointed towards you.

　So now two out of the eight heads are pointed at me. The other six heads are still pointing in the same direction as before. It was obvious that they were being licked, but I didn't mind that.

　All I had to do was punch him and make him turn around to face me.




　I was aiming at the head that was wobbling from a direct hit from the power cannon. I cut off that thing's neck and turn its eight heads into seven heads.

　Fortunately, the new neck that was trying to turn towards me still hadn't completed the action. A slow movement that could be described as leaning. It seems that the hydra, due to its immense size, has no connection to agile movements.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.


　Illusionary Itto-ryu, Hayate. In the blink of an eye, the invisible blade of power shrinks the distance between him and Hydra to zero and strikes at the scaled neck.

　The next moment--


Nuh-uh?


　I raised an eyebrow. The reason for this is because the attack I fired was almost without any resistance and slammed into Hydra's neck.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time.

　That's not all. The thick neck of the hydra, reminiscent of the trunk of a thousand-year-old tree, was easily cut in two up and down. Like an overripe fruit falling from a branch, the hydra's head fell down.

　With a rattling sound, the Hydra's head fell to the ground, where it became a sea of poison. And then it was swallowed up by the sea. It didn't take long for it to disappear completely from my sight.


　It's exactly what I was aiming for, but the lack of a response naturally makes me cautious.

　I can feel the influx of souls, so the possibility of illusions and mimicry is slim. However, the amount is about the equivalent of a basilisk. It's not a small amount, but it's not much when you've got one-eighth of all the illusions in your body.

　It's not going to be an easy opponent to fire seven more sashes at Hayate and cut off all the heads and be happy and satisfied.

　The proof of this is that the headless Hydra hasn't shown any reaction-like reaction.

　It was just a single blow to the head, and yet he doesn't seem to feel any pain or threat.


　-- As I was thinking about this, the section of the neck that had just been cut in two halves unexpectedly swelled up. It was not a spurt of blood. If I had to put it that way, it was a gush of gravy.

　The gravy that poured out continued to expand, making an eerie sound as if it had a mind of its own. Straight to the heavens, long and thick.

　Then, after rising to some extent, it began to transform into a familiar lump of flesh, pulsating intensely and repeatedly.


''--tch.''


　Sensing what was going to happen next, I fired my next attack at the regenerating neck.

　However, that attack is blocked by the other head that finally turns to face us.

　The head of the hydra that was presented to me in front of Hayate makes a sound and pops off. Blood and brain plasma splattered from the torn off skull of the Hydra.

　And in the meantime, the regeneration of the first head was complete. And the second neck began the same regenerative behavior as the first one.


　In other words, this must be a characteristic of the hydra.

　It can cut easily, but it regenerates easily. And whenever it is attacked, it will scatter a deadly poison that will rot its own scales and drive its enemies into a corner.

　It's a nasty way of defending yourself against a poisonous enemy that knows what it's doing. It's much more effective than defending yourself with poorly scaled, hard scales.

　I was attacked from a distance so I wasn't affected by the poison, but if I had actually attached myself to Hydra and swung my sword, I'm sure I wouldn't have survived the spattering of flesh and blood.



　Now, what to do.

　Every time I slash, my soul comes in, so it wouldn't be without damage. There's also the option of continuing to release Hayate endlessly. If he was in his current state of synchronization, he wouldn't run out of jade even if he continued to fight for an entire day.

　However, that would be too far fetched. Moreover, if Hydra was recovering more damage than we were dealing, it was calculated that we wouldn't be able to finish even if we continued to fight for a hundred days, let alone one day.

　More importantly, the six heads that have yet to turn towards us negate the effectiveness of this fighting style. If this option is a threat to Hydra, then all eight heads should be able to bare their fangs.

　As it stands, my danger level is two heads. That was Hydra's assessment.


If that's the case, I'll just turn around and force him to come to me.


　It wasn't that he originally thought that he could defeat the illusory species with only Hayate.

　Since ancient times, there have been three ways to purify impurity. They were either poured into the water, buried in the ground, or burned in the fire.

　Given the hydra's characteristic of being highly poisonous, it is best to avoid water and earth. If that is the case, then the rest is fire alone.


　I'll use an illusory sword, the flame (Homura).


　The Flame Tathagata that once buried the Snake King (Basilisk) is wielded again here.

　The reason I hadn't used this technique until today was partly because Hayate was easier to use, but more simply because it was difficult to use.

　Simply put, it's too powerful. If you use it in the city, it will certainly provoke fires. It was the same in the forest (Titis) and mountains (Skim).

　It is a sword technique that can only be used under such circumstances - even if the target of the attack and the surroundings are burned down.

　And, fortunately or unfortunately, that was exactly the situation now. I can wield the flaming sword, which is even more powerful than it was in the basilisk, without hesitation.


　I kicked the ground and approached Hydra. The flame doesn't have as much range as Sachi (Hayate). I needed to get as close to the hydra as possible to deliver an effective strike.

　But that meant I would have to step into the ground, which had been decomposed and turned into sewage by the raging poison. Unfortunately, I don't have the special skills to run over a swamp. It's a good idea to be able to use your own personal computer for this purpose.



　It's not just the matters related to mind gear that I learned during my battle with Goz.

　There was also a lot to learn about how to handle the jade. One of them is walking.

　I used to only strengthen my leg strength, but Goz was more concerned with controlling the bottom of my feet than leg strength. It's a bit like putting a stone pavement made of jade underneath your feet.

　Even if you strengthen your leg strength, you won't be able to gain sufficient speed if the floor or ground you step on is not firm. Goz--or rather, the students of the Illusionary Itto-ryu School--came through this condition by creating their own footholds.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

　In my case, my strength is enormous, but my skills are not as good as they could be. Even so, I was able to at least run over a poisonous swamp and hold on.


　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make your life easier. Or it could have been that he had just regenerated, but in any case, an opportunity is an opportunity.

　I raised my heartsuit high and swung it down.


"Illusion Itto-ryu--Homura!


　At that moment, the torrent of flames that spouted out, fueled by my jade, reminded me of a large river with a broken embankment.

　The flame that had literally turned into a torrent and consumed two of the hydra's necks attacked the torso as it was.

　The blood that covered the hydra's body surface evaporated in an instant, followed by a roar that spread throughout the area.

　The scales of the hit area were blown off by the impact, and the skin melted away by the raging fire.

　The flesh of the illusory species that was exposed was blanched by the high heat, and the poisonous air turned into steam.

　After observing the scene for a few moments, I moved my mouth into a smile.


''I knew the wounds inflicted by the fire wouldn't regenerate.


　When he was cut by Hayate earlier, there was hardly any time between the time he was injured and the time he began to regenerate. On the other hand, the wounds caused by the flame show no signs of starting to regenerate.

　The same is true of the two heads that were swallowed by the torrent. The half-burned head crumbled helplessly and landed in the raging sea of poison. There was no sign of getting up, nor was there any sign of regeneration.



　--The next thing I knew, Hydra had stopped advancing.



　The six heads, which had not been looking at me before, all looked back at me.

　And two of them moved, fluttering their fangs.

　I tried to retreat, wary of the bite, but Hydra wasn't aiming at me, but at my own neck, which had been burned off and was no longer moving.

　Biting, slicing and biting at the base of the neck. The head that had been detached from the body sank into the poisonous sea.

　Should I call it a kindred spirit attack, or should I call it a self-inflicted wound? I raised an eyebrow at Hydra's unexpected behavior, but the reason for this inexplicable action soon became apparent.

　From the roots of the bitten off neck, the juices of this matter flowed out and immediately began to regenerate.

　The wounds inflicted by the flames would not regenerate. However, if the flame wound is eaten away with the whole thing, that's not the case.


''Hahahahaha!　Yeah, it's not fun if it doesn't!


　I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I looked at Hydra, who had returned to her eight heads in the blink of an eye.

　If I wounded it with fire, it didn't regenerate, I was able to defeat it as it was - how could such a thing be an illusionary species? Such a thing can't be a dragon.

　That would be very disappointing.

　I'm not going to enjoy the struggle. But that doesn't mean I'm hoping for an easy victory.

　This is a battle against an illusory species. I was expecting a thorough struggle that would allow me to move up a notch or two. I want to win that struggle and then eat the hydra.

　In that sense, Hydra's actions right now were really good.



　With that in mind, he faced Hydra again.

　You may think that the war situation is back to square one now that Hydra has returned to its eight heads, but this is not the case.

　Now the Hydra has stopped moving forward and all eight heads are now pointed at me. The Hydra has completely recognized me as its enemy.

　I'm not back to square one.

　Now, at last, the battle between me and Hydra has begun.

　My face as I prepared to unleash the next flame was so happy that even I could clearly see it.