Episode 56, Chapter 1 – Starting Point (1)
This chapter is updated by Novels.pl
Translator: Tsubak
The hero Heracles had accomplished several quests in all his life.
And the ones that were especially famous were the 12 quests.
Hunting down the Hydra of Lerna was the second quest and what he had to do was to defeat it just like the name implied.
“But not even the great Heracles could kill the Hydra. It’s because the middle head of the nine has an immortal strength.”
The Hydra that had nine heads was feared even by the Gods because of its strong poison but it also possessed other frightening powers that was its regenerative power that was close to unlimited.
The middle head of the Hydra had immortality that didn’t die no matter what you did. In addition, the remaining eight heads regrew when they got cut so it was like an impregnable fortress.
That’s why Heracles placed it in a swamp and sealed it after covering it with a huge mountain.
Tae Ho reviewed the explanation he heard from Athena and looked at the swamp of Lerna that was below the cliff he was at. There was indeed a mountain of boulders piling up from deep in the swamp.
[Sealed]
[Hydra]
He saw red words below the mountain as he looked with the ‘eyes of the dragon’. He could feel the grief and resentment even from the words perhaps because it got sealed away for hundreds years while it was alive.
“I will rescue you soon.”
Tae Ho spoke in a low voice and then checked the state of the ones that accompanied him.
Adenmaha, Nidhogg, Rolo, Drakon Ismenios, Siri and Bracky.
The other six excluding Nidhogg, that was resistant to poison as she was a poison dragon in the first place, had prepared towards the poison thoroughly.
But Tae Ho didn’t relax with just that and also engraved one rune in each of their bodies. They were the runes Odin engraved in him when he went to save Nidhogg and protected the owner from poison.
‘Did you learn it as you became the successor of Odin?’
‘Yes, Odin-nim is also the God of magic.’
He didn’t receive all of Odin’s vast knowledge but he could still learn several strong magic. The reason he was able to call thunder and lightning, that represented Thor, when fighting against Ares was because his control over the runes got greatly strengthened.
When Tae Ho finished engraving the runes on them he turned to look at every one of them and said.
“We will start now. You all remember the strategy, right?”
“Yes, I will do it clearly.”
Nidhogg, that was the most motivated in the group, clenched her fists and spoke. Even so she had been given a quite important role.
“Good, let’s start then.”
Tae Ho clapped and then turned towards the swamp of Lerna.
&
The Hydra, that was sealed in the deepest place of the swamp of Lerna, didn’t have any thoughts.
In the early stages when she got trapped, she struggled to escape and even worked hard to maintain her consciousness but she gave up everything when 10 years passed.
What she could think of while being pressed down by a heavy mountain of rocks wasn’t freedom but pain.
That’s why the Hydra didn’t think anything. It worked hard to not do so.
Hundreds of years like that.
Hydra woke up from its deep slumber. It was because it felt someone approaching it.
They weren’t fools that got lost and entered the swamp. The ones that did get lost would get surprised at the poison and turn around in the entrance.
The ones that were approaching had entered quite deeply. If Hydra’s senses hadn’t been dulled they weren’t that far from the mountain. In addition the distance was still being closed.
Hydra gulped dry saliva once again. It felt its heart beat for the first time in hundreds of years.
Who was coming?
Why?
‘No, let’s not make any expectations. You can’t.’
In the first place, you would get disappointed if you had some expectations. It didn’t know who had come but it wasn’t probable that they had come to rescue it as it was a terrible monster.
Hydra consoled itself and tried to fall in a deep sleep again. But it couldn’t stop its heart from beating. It couldn’t stop itself from feeling like a fool while waiting for something.
‘They are coming. They are getting closer.’
There wasn’t only one person. There were several of them. In addition they reached right in front of the mountain.
What were they trying to do? Why had they come to this place?
It wasn’t important. Hydra just focused on one thing.
If they had come to clean away the mountain. If they had freed it from its seal whether they had come to kill it.
It wouldn’t miss the opportunity. It would fly high away and escape from this hell.
‘And just in case, if just in case.’
They came to rescue Hydra.
There was no one in this world that would do that but if they really did.
It should repay to them. Do everything it can to pay them back.
In the first place, Hydra wasn’t such an evil monster. Compared to the Gods of Olympus that were famous to be nasty, it was rather good. It was also worried that the poison that spread out from it would affect its surroundings.
Hydra gulped dry saliva once again and concentrated on what was happening above it.
The mountain was moving.
At first, it moved really faintly but then started to be moved greatly.
The mountain was collapsing. The mountain that was pressing down on it for a hundred years disappeared.
Its breathing got rough by its own. It felt like its chest would burst out at the unrealistic dream.
And at some point.
The weight of the mountain pressing down on it became a tenth. If it was this much weight it could stand up by its own strength.
Hydra sobbed. It roared and struggled and tried to obtain freedom by surging up.
But it was at that moment.
“Kuk!”
Hydra let out a breathtaking sound. It was because the moment it stood up something bigger than the mountain had pressed down on it.
“Tae Ho master! Am I doing well?”
“Yes, you are! Just keep pressing it down!”
The huge black dragon that was a hundred meters big.
The hydra was also huge but it was only 30 meters long from head to tail. It’s body structure was closer to a snake so it couldn’t be compared to Nidhogg at all.
Hydra struggled to see who was the one pressing down on it but it couldn’t even move. It unavoidably tried to at least see in front of it.
And then took a breath again. It got dispirited at the beings looking down at it.
First, there was a huge and white dragon. It was releasing white frost from its mouth and its violet eyes were really scary.
Next to it was an atrocious looking red dragon. Everything it breathed flames came out from its mouth and its eyes were so yellow it thought it had a barbaric temperament.
There was a golden dragon next to it once again. The red dragon was already atrocious but this golden dragon was even more so. It was even glaring at it compared to the two dragons next to it so it was more scary.
The ones that moved the mountain.
It was them. The three dragons had moved the mountain.
But it didn’t seem like it was to save itself.
“Lovely and respectful master, its eyes are too rebellious. It seems like we have to hit it first.”
“Can’t do anything about it. They say it has been trapped for hundreds of years.”
The golden dragon said some absurd words filled with misunderstandings. The Hydra hurriedly rolled its eyes to find the one it called as master. There was a man standing proudly in front of the white dragon. It could feel a really strong power from him as he was being surrounded with his dark blue divinity.
‘No! It’s a misunderstanding! I’m not rebellious at all!’
Hydra yelled hurriedly but the only thing that came out from its mouth were roars.
“Mm, let’s start immediately.”
The moment the man said that the dragons started to move. The unknown existence that was pressing down on it pressed on its heads and the two people that were next to the man raised their big swords and approached it.
‘Don’t tell me.’
The man opened his mouth again when Hydra was covered in fear.
“It will get exhausted at one point as its unlimited regenerative power isn’t really unlimited. It should also be quite exhausted already.”
“So the first thing I will do after becoming a God is slashing heads……”
“It’s not a normal snake. In addition it has unlimited regenerative power. How fun.”
The big man and the woman next to him approached it while saying some terrible things.
‘No! Wait! Let’s speak with words!’
Hydra yelled once again but only atrocious sounds came out. Unfortunately, it seemed like no one could understand what it was saying.
“I’m starting!”
The moment the big man yelled thunder flashed and then the eight heads started to get cut off mercilessly.
“Wow! It’s really regenerating!”
“Don’t play and cut them down quickly!”
‘Kuaaak!’
Hydra yelled out mentally. The heads that regenerated got cut down again. It tried to struggle the moment they regenerated but it was pointless.
It’s mobility was greatly restricted because of some existence pressing down on it and in addition the three dragons stepped on the heads that regenerated and didn’t let it move.
“Tae Ho master, it looks like it’s really hurt.”
“Can’t do anything about it. The ones that got trapped for a long time will get hatred accumulated in them. At first they say that they should pay back to the ones that rescued them but when more time passes their resentment grows bigger and tries to kill everyone without exception. The situation is really different with you.”
“Poor………”
When the man spoke with a really regretful voice the one that was on top of Hydra said in a depressed way.
And Hydra was about to get crazy at their conversation.
‘I still didn’t reach that point! I stopped thinking before I got there!’
But it didn’t reach them either. The killing intent that didn’t exist before was about to appear as its head got cut down dozens of times.
“Hey, look that. Those evil eyes.”
“Master, I think that it’s clearly dangerous.”
The white dragon and the golden dragon said.
Hydra was only grateful towards the red dragon that just did what it had to do with a non interested face.
And after getting cut down a few more times.
It’s body was already weakened as it had been trapped for a long time. Even if it did regenerate its heads, they only drooped. It felt like its eyes were closing on its own.
“I think we can stop cutting them down.”
“I agree.”
The big man said and the woman that had a tail and wolf ears agreed.
‘Did it finally end……’
Hydra raised her eyes forcefully and looked at the man approaching it. Tae Ho observed it for a moment and then surged up and got on its head.
[Saga: The one that conquers dragons]
It didn’t feel the urge to resist at all as it got its heads cut off for close to a hundred times. It rather flowed a voice telling them to do whatever they wanted with it.
‘Certainly, the capture rate is higher after you beat it a bit and take away its strength.’
Tae Ho thought of the monster gathering game that he enjoyed while he was a pro gamer and then concentrated on his saga again.
Hydra was a being that wanted to maintain the world just like Athena had said. Thanks to that, Tae Ho didn’t special measures like he did with Drakon Ismenios.
But even so, he didn’t retrieve the ‘one that conquers dragons’. It was because he had another objective he wanted after capturing Hydra.
The mother of Hydra.
The mother of all monsters.
Hydra’s father, Typhon, was a being wanting to destroy the world but its mother was a being wanting to maintain the world.
If you used a reference from Asgard it was like the God of fire and lies Loki and his wife Angrboda.
Tae Ho also wanted to know of Echidna.
It wasn’t only because the mother of countless monsters was also of the dragon race.
The voice that changed the 12 Olympians into beings that wanted to destroy the world.
Apollo estimated the voice to belong to the Titan Chronos but Hades had said that it wasn’t the case.
He said that it wasn’t something Chronos could do as he got chased away from the seat of king of Gods.
Then who?
Who changed the 12 Olympians?
Tae Ho didn’t miss the main point. He was in a situation where he had to face Zeus and the 12 Olympians that had turned but the real enemy was the owner of the voice. He had to find who that was first.
‘If the Gods don’t know, gather information from the monsters.’
You could say that Echidna, that was the starting point of countless monsters, was the God of monsters. She was a strange existence that was a being that wanted to maintain the world and had a close relationship with her children that were beings that wanted to destroy the world.
He would obtain information about the owner of the voice from her. And even if he can’t, she would be of a bigger help than Hydra as she was of a strong dragon race.
The place the mother of monsters Echidna was hiding at.
Hydra’s memories answered to Tae Ho’s question.
< Episode 56 - Starting point (1) > End
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