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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 58
“Kyeeeeeeek—!”
The Hydra's heads were sliced clean off by the massive conceptual scythe Hercules swung.
Ruuuuuumble…
The space cut by the scythe was split in two, as if that single stroke had cleaved the entire landscape in half.
Trees, boulders, the very earth everything collapsed into two separate pieces.
It was a staggering sight, one that defied belief.
But at the stumps where the Hydra’s heads had been severed, the flesh began to writhe as if new heads were already trying to sprout.
Watching two new heads writhe up from the spot where one had fallen was nothing short of a nightmare.
Three heads had been cut if left alone, that would soon become six.
The Hydra was a beast of unending regeneration.
“Iolaus, light the torches!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Hercules' command, Iolaus dumped the oil he had prepared onto the Hydra’s exposed neck stumps.
Ssshhhhhhh—!
As the severed stumps became drenched in oil, Iolaus brought forward the pre-lit torch.
Fwoooosh!
In an instant, the Hydra's necks were ablaze.
Then, with both hands, Iolaus carried over a massive piece of wood almost comically thick and seared the burning stumps with it.
Ssssssssssshhhhhh!
With the sound of sizzling flesh, acid smoke billowed upward like a smothering cloud.
‘So that’s how they cauterized it.’
I had always wondered how they did it when the myths said they burned the stumps with fire but now I saw.
The torch was just to ignite the oil.
The real cauterizing was done with a chunk of wood wielded like a branding iron.
No wonder the Hydra couldn’t regenerate.
When the smoke finally cleared, the stumps had been charred into pitch-black charcoal, thoroughly sealed.
Using this method, we lured the Hydra’s heads one by one, cutting and burning them in turn.
The tangled mass of Hydra heads couldn’t resist each was decapitated and seared.
From twelve heads, it fell to nine… then six.
But the Hydra wasn’t about to just roll over and die.
Sssssss…
With six heads remaining, the Hydra slithered out of the cave.
Now aware of our tactics, it no longer acted individually.
The remaining six heads moved as one, scanning the surroundings.
We’d anticipated this, of course.
No beast would keep falling for the same trick over and over.
“Krrrrrk…”
With venomous breath dripping from their fanged mouths, the Hydra heads looked around in fury.
Where their breath touched, grass turned black and crumbled to ash. Rotten trees split open, their trunks hissing.
Against a monster like this, a normal strategy would involve striking from range and retreating to a guerrilla war of attrition.
But Hercules wasn’t one for such tedious tactics.
He was a true hero, one who fought head-on.
“Iolaus, once I cut off its heads, burn them immediately.”
“Understood, Lord Hercules.”
His nephew Iolaus, too, showed no hesitation.
He dragged over another thick log if that even counted as a torch and soaked it in oil, preparing it for the next round of searing.
I looked at Hercules and asked,
“There are still quite a few heads left. Will you be alright?”
“Six is manageable.”
“But the venom could be dangerous.”
“Isn’t Jeanne right next to you? She can purify it, can’t she?”
Jeanne, who had been pointed out by Hercules, spoke up hesitantly.
“Yes, I can purify the poison… but only up to a certain amount. If the area affected is larger than a palm… I can’t manage it.”
“Then there’s no problem.”
“…?”
Had he really heard that properly?
“Lord Hercules, I said a palm-sized area.”
“I heard you.”
“……”
It wasn’t that Hercules had misheard.
It was that he had no intention of getting poisoned over an area larger than a palm in the first place.
Well, of course.
In the original myths, this was the same Hercules who fought the nine-headed Hydra head-on and still, there was no record of him ever succumbing to poison.
Against such a man… six heads was hardly worth worrying about.
Hercules, gripping his olive wood club, bent his knees.
His feet dug into the earth beneath him.
Then, with a sudden motion, he launched himself into the air as his knees extended.
BOOOOM!
The ground he had stood on crumbled like a biscuit.
Before anyone could blink, Hercules was already airborne face to face with the Hydra’s heads.
“Kii?!”
The Hydra widened its eyes in surprise at Hercules’ sudden appearance.
Before it could react, the massive club swung down.
THWACK!
“Kieegh?!”
Struck dead center on the crown, one of the Hydra’s heads collapsed limply, completely unconscious.
Ruuuuuumble—
The enormous head, easily over ten meters long, slumped to the ground.
And that was from just one hit.
Then—
SHLICK—
A gigantic conceptual scythe sliced through the Hydra’s neck.
As if on cue, Iolaus rushed in with the flaming log and seared the stump.
SSSSSSSSHHH!
In an instant, one of the Hydra’s heads was reduced to ashes.
‘Well… I guess there’s no helping it.’
I had hoped we could take this slowly and carefully, but now that Hercules had thrown himself into the fray, any idea of guerrilla warfare was out the window.
“KIEEEEEEE!”
The furious Hydra now surged in from all sides, surrounding Hercules and launching its attack.
BANG—!
BANG—!
I fired magic bullets to split the Hydra’s attention.
“Kii?!”
Two of the Hydra’s heads immediately turned toward the direction the shots had come from.
“Vanessa, please stall them just a little longer.”
“Understood, Benefactor.”
Turning her head, Vanessa lured the remaining heads away.
She darted through the forest, slipping seamlessly between shadow and darkness.
Her movements were as swift as a phantom and as elusive as a shadow, captivating the Hydra’s senses and dragging its attention astray.
Meanwhile, Hercules was locked in fierce close combat with the Hydra.
Ssssssss…
Dodging venomous sprays and swinging his club with precision, Hercules looked every bit the hero of legend.
Just as he’d boldly declared he did not allow a single drop of poison to touch him.
I, supporting Hercules from a distance, scanned the surroundings.
According to the myths I knew, the Hydra wasn’t the only threat in this place.
To hinder Hercules’ labor, Hera had sent reinforcements, a giant crab known as Carcinus, to assist the Hydra.
But so far, Carcinus has yet to appear.
That master hunter was likely hiding somewhere, waiting to strike at Hercules’ ankle at a critical moment.
I focused my gaze on the ground, watching carefully.
And then, something strange caught my eye.
Shff, shff.
The ground near Hercules was subtly moving.
Hera’s servant.
The giant crab Carcinus.
Hercules was just about to step right into its strike zone.
I summoned my Twin Dragon Sword.
Swaaa…
A brilliant white aura flowed across the blades.
A blade three feet long, sworn to Heaven, stirs the mountains and rivers.
I waited in stillness, watching with blades in hand, ready for Carcinus to move.
Then, in an instant—
WHOOSH—!
Carcinus burst from the ground, aiming straight for Hercules.
Its massive claw lunged for his ankle. ‘
And I struck at that exact moment.
The shining white aura of my blade sliced clean through the crab’s claw as it reached for Hercules.
KR-KRAAAASH!
The giant shell shattered along with the claw, its insides spilling out.
A startled Hercules glanced down.
The beast that had tried to catch his ankle now lay in a mangled heap.
Stepping on the shattered remains of the crab’s shell, Hercules launched himself again, swinging his club.
The Hydra retaliated, opening its massive jaws and releasing another toxic fog.
Normally, Hercules would have had no choice but to retreat.
But—
FWOOOOOM—!
A burst of stigmata light flared out, cleansing the poison mist for a brief moment.
It was only for an instant, but it was enough.
Hercules charged straight through the cleared air, and his club struck the Hydra’s crown once more.
THWAAACK!
Another head collapsed, unconscious, slamming into the earth.
At once, Iolaus seared the severed neck with fire, and with that, only three heads remained including those Vanessa had lured away.
Dealing with the remaining three was simple.
With the poison mist neutralized by Jeanne, the Hydra had no means of threatening Hercules.
One by one, Hercules cleaved through the remaining heads, including those Vanessa brought back.
RUUUUMBLE—
Headless, the Hydra’s massive body lost balance and crashed to the ground.
But it wasn’t over yet.
‘The Immortal Head.’
According to myth, one of the Hydra’s heads was immortal; meaning it would not die, no matter what.
I carefully observed the severed heads of the Hydra.
Then—
“Kieeeek!”
One of the heads suddenly snapped its eyes open and let out a shriek, spewing venom in a surprise attack.
Fwoosh!
Jeanne, already on alert, reacted instantly, dispersing the toxic fog.
“Kieek!”
That lone severed head squirmed and opened its red eyes wide, glaring with malice.
Even after being severed from its body, the Hydra’s head showed no signs of death.
That was the Hydra’s true core.
The Immortal Head.
“Kiek, kieeek…”
It continued belching toxic mist, threatening everyone around.
There was no way to kill it.
Left alone, it would eventually start to regenerate.
“We’ll have to bury it.”
Hercules turned and approached the cliff where the Hydra’s cave lay.
He walked toward a massive boulder near the cave’s mouth.
The boulder was even larger than the cave entrance the Hydra had used.
Without a word, Hercules slid his hands beneath the colossal rock.
And then—
RUMMMMBLE…
The ground quaked as if struck by an earthquake, and clouds of dust rose around him.
The boulder began to rise.
Lifting the massive rock above his head, Hercules turned toward the still-squirming Hydra head.
He slightly bent his knees.
The ground beneath his feet buckled under the pressure.
No way…
I muttered a curse without meaning to, still trying to process what I was seeing.
‘You’re insane.’
Hercules’ back curved like a drawn bow.
“Benefactor, stand back.”
Vanessa, realizing Hercules’ intent, pulled me out of the blast zone.
Jeanne raised a sacred barrier with her holy power.
“Kieeek! Kiek!”
The disembodied Hydra head thrashed and tried to crawl away, but it was already too late.
Hercules’ spine snapped forward as he hurled the massive boulder skyward.
And then—
KUUUAAAAAANG—!
A deafening crash shook the earth.
The rock slammed down on the Hydra’s head, flattening it completely as the ground gave way beneath.
Dust exploded outward, and the resulting sandstorm battered Jeanne’s holy barrier.
When the air finally cleared, a massive crater had formed like the mouth of a volcano.
At its center stood the enormous boulder Hercules had thrown, half-buried into the earth.
“That should keep it from moving.”
Hercules brushed the dust off his hands.
It was a brutish solution but there was no arguing with its effectiveness.
After all, who else but Hercules could lift a stone that size?
“Let’s go report the completion of the task.”
“Let’s.”
Hercules hoisted one of the Hydra’s severed heads and set off.
***
When we went to the royal palace of Mycenae to report the completion of the task, we were unable to meet King Eurystheus.
More precisely we couldn’t see his face.
—Th-the task is confirmed as complete!
A massive bronze jar was half-buried in the floor of the throne room, and Eurystheus’s voice echoed from inside it.
“Are you not going to see it for yourself?”
—C-Copreus! You saw it, right?!
“Yes, it’s definitely the Hydra.”
—Then it’s confirmed!
Eurystheus’s behavior might have seemed pitiful, but in truth, it was understandable.
After all, who in their right mind would want to go near a Hydra’s head, which could poison with just a touch?
Hercules understood this and let it slide.
“What’s the next task?”
—Capture the golden-horned hind of Ceryneia. But be warned not a single scratch must be inflicted upon it!
“Understood.”
Receiving his third labor, Hercules left the royal court, still carrying the Hydra’s head.
—Cl-clean the throne room! Hurry!
Eurystheus’s shrieking echoed behind him.
Hercules didn’t seem troubled by this new task of capturing the hind.
But unlike what he expected, the third labor would take him an entire year to complete.
Because the hind of Ceryneia was no ordinary deer.
She was—
“A handmaiden of the moon goddess Artemis.”
The golden-horned hind of Ceryneia was none other than Taygete, one of the seven Pleiades sisters and a devoted servant of Artemis.
When Zeus set his eyes on Taygete, Artemis had hidden her by transforming her into a deer.
Unaware of this truth, Hercules strode proudly out of the palace of Mycenae.
Never imagining it would take a year to catch that deer.
And the key to this labor rested with the goddess Artemis.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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