103: Sometimes, you gotta trust someone with your back.

An eight-headed giant hydra erupted right in the middle of the camp.

And leaving behind Raidock and Jurara’s combined forces.

A cold sweat broke out on my back.

Everyone! Don’t think of this as a hydra! Think of it as a dragon!

I used my own magic to amplify my voice and rang out a warning across the campsite.

The thing about it sucking power is a pain—but we can’t afford to be picky right now. No reckless casting, though.

I gave at least a minimal warning!

Its massive frame—perfectly split into separate fighting forces.

The camp was a mess.

Can't see a thing of Kyle—whole damn hydra's blocking the view!

What now!?

Break through by force!?

At that moment, my robe got yanked.

I spun around, and there was Maina, her face twisted with barely contained tears, clutching my robe tight.

My head went cold—like someone had doused me in ice water.

Right. My job is to protect Maina!

"Casper! Jitarou! We’re getting out of here—now!"

The three sisters and Jitarou snapped to attention.

"Y-yes!"

Just as we froze and started to run, one of the eight heads turned toward us.

Then it roared.

Gyugaaarrrr!

Rows of teeth—big enough to crush a whole house—filled its gaping maw, and a long, red, split tongue writhed grotesquely inside.

"Y-yaahh!"

Maina went pale and froze solid. I grabbed her up instantly.

Looks like the hydra bastard’s taken a fancy to Maina’s face—one of its heads is staring straight at us!

This is bad! I’m caught!

I pause, torn between slamming it with a big spell or just bolting for it. Just a second, but nothing good comes to mind either way!

“Craft! Run! We’ll hold it here!”

Evah, the eldest of the Cassper sisters, shouts, raising her staff.

I blink.

“What!? That’s insane! Don’t think it’s like the other hydra! Raidock couldn’t even take it down!”

I don’t have time to explain—just a flash, like I’d shared Raidock’s vision. We’d stumbled into the hydra’s strongest spot, isolated, and gotten wiped out. No time for details.

“Wh-what about Raidock!?”

“He’ll regroup and meet up with us!”

Didn’t have time to plan, but Raidock’d do it anyway.

“Then I’ll hold the line until Raidock-sama arrives!”

“But—!”

“Craft! What’s the one thing you gotta do right now!? I’m a adventurer, sworn to protect Maina-sama! My first duty is guarding her!”

I know!

I know that already!

But it’s a monster like a dragon, damn it!?

“It’s fine! I’ll be right there with ya!”

Light as a feather, Jitarou nocked his bow with that easygoing grin.

Even though he’s a hunter, been tagging along with us on every damn adventure, he’d somehow picked up a bow-hand so good it rivaled Solar, the ranger with the mark. Show-off, that one.

But he’s not dumb. He knows what he’s up against.

He’s gotta be pushing through fear right now.

"Camille-san! Let's do this together, huh?!"

"...Mm."

Jitarou approaching Camille, the second daughter, with a lazy grin.

Courage... that’s it, right?

Ignoring the two of them, Eva reaches out toward me.

"Give me all the mana potions you've got!"

Her eyes were sharp with resolve.

Right. She’s a top-tier adventurer.

I remember what I’m supposed to do—act as a alchemist.

Pulling out every last mana potion from my spatial storage, I hand them all over.

Only about twenty, though...

"Thank you."

She nods, then turns back to the hydra.

Eva’s already channeling magic, shaping the spell inside her body.

Probably going to unleash a massive spell—using every last bit of her magic.

Camille and Jitarou stepped forward to shield Eva, facing the hydra.

…….

Still, something about the hydra’s movements felt off.

It was swiveling its eight heads in all directions, clashing with soldiers everywhere—but it wasn’t using the speed it had shown earlier.

It didn’t feel like it was attacking humans. More like it wanted to drive them away.

Proof enough was that, in plain sight, not a single soldier had died yet while facing the beast.

But the problem was one of the eight heads.

Clearly, it had fixed its gaze on us—no, on Maina.

Protecting Maina is my job. So there’s only one thing to do.

I clenched my teeth so hard I felt my molars crack, then shouted.

“Leave the rest to me!”

““What?!””

Still holding Maina, I bolted away, and the head that had been targeting us let out another shriek.

The massive hydra, which had been lounging here like it owned the place, now surged toward us with unnatural speed for its size.

Like a mountain-sized ship cleaving through a great river.

It churned up the swamp water high into the air, snapping trees apart as it came, chasing after me and Maina!

“H-h-huh!!”

Maina, held in my arms, must’ve looked back—her voice cracked with terror, tears streaming down her face.

(Shit! It’s catching up!)

I screamed inside my head as magic surged through me.

It was Eva’s spell!

“Take this! The strongest, greatest attack spell, bestowed by my master—‘Abyssal Inferno Ice Prison’!!”

That spell was—!

The spell I used back when we first started carving out this frontier—when I took down an entire orc horde by myself!

Also known as Cocytus!

Back then, even A-rank adventurers who specialized in water magic couldn’t handle it—nobody could, not even the ones who’d frozen an entire forest solid. One of the highest-difficulty offensive spells in existence!

If you can unleash Cocytus properly, you’re already elite-level material—good enough to be scouted by the royal court mages.

And Eva just cast it.

You could tell she was pushing herself to the limit just by the magic array wrapped around her staff.

But her all-out strike landed—definitely hit the hydra.

The swamp terrain worked in her favor, just this once. The hydra’s whole body—down to the ground beneath it—froze solid.

“Whoa! Eva’s sister’s amazing!”

“Not done yet!”

Jitarou lunged toward Eva, grinning, but froze mid-step at her sharp rebuke.

Eva downed two mana potions at once.

...Right. She couldn’t fully recover with just one.

Truth be told, me and Professor Javir couldn’t fully restore our magic with a single legendary-grade mana potion.

Only two people I knew—just two—had ever needed more than one…

Still, Eva’s pushing herself this hard, risking her life to drain her magic… that’s probably part of it.

Crack. Crack. Crack. The sound of something splitting. Cracks spiderwebbed through the ice sealing Hydora and the surroundings.

Bam!

A high-pitched shattering sound—like glass breaking—then her head snapped free.

Eva turned her gaze slowly toward me.

Will. Pure will.

I gave a sharp nod. Then I ran.

Behind me, Cocytus fired again.

The clash of battle roared on.

I didn’t look back. Left the noise behind me. Just ran—wild, reckless, straight ahead.

Into the white mist that had swallowed the world, appearing without warning.

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