Chapter 769
“Belya… sister?”
A look of bewilderment crossed Hongpeng’s face. Belya gazed back at her with a mischievous smile.
“What’s this? Why have you gotten so skinny since I last saw you?”
“Never mind that, how did you even get here…!”
Belya shrugged her shoulders.
“Being a professor at Keyzen has its perks, you know? I asked some underlings to prepare a teleportation magic circle to the grasslands, and guess what—they actually did.”
Having heard from Sasha’s party that Simon was at the grasslands, Belya immediately rode the teleportation circle and arrived at the upper grasslands.
When she went to the communal settlement where her clan usually stayed, she found it empty. Broken jars that once held food, dried bloodstains, there were signs of people, but no people themselves.
Sensing something had happened, Belya followed the scent down into the lower grasslands. But a mysterious forest that moved like a living creature blocked her path with magic.
Breaking through the interference, she pressed deeper into the lower grasslands and eventually discovered strange serpents—leading her here.
“Quite large.”
Belya placed her hand on her forehead and whistled.
“Kundar Hydra? No… it looks even stronger than that.”
“It’s the summoned beast of the Ancient Undead, Myurr.”
“What, Myurr? That thing actually existed?”
Seeing the twins standing side by side, watching the Hydra, Simon thought: different personalities, yes—but twins were still twins.
“And you are?”
Belya’s gaze suddenly snapped toward Simon.
He answered without thinking.
[I am the commander of the mighty 7th Legion!]
…He definitely picked the wrong persona.
To hide his true identity, he had planned to cloak himself with dignity and weight, adopting a persona unlike his usual self, but it wasn’t working out. Unfamiliarity made awkward words spill out.
“Oh, so you’re that famous one. Didn’t expect to see you here.”
Belya bared her shark-like teeth in a grin. Whether she truly believed him or not, Simon stayed cautious.
He feared her wild instinct, so he cloaked himself in Feer’s Darkness, hoping the aura of the Ancient Undead would throw her senses off.
Hongpeng added an explanation.
“As I said earlier, the cause of this disaster is the Ancient Undead, Myurr. This 7th Legion commander came to capture him.”
Belya clicked her tongue and turned back to Simon.
“Commander! Isn’t the world in chaos and all this happening because you can’t control your own undead? Hm?”
“…Sister, he has nothing to do with Myurr. The former 7th Legion Commander briefly possessed it, that’s all.”
“Former or current, doesn’t matter! The problem’s the 7th Legion either way!”
Inside Feer’s skull-helm, Simon broke into a sweat.
The truth was—she wasn’t entirely wrong. The previous 7th Legion Commander had been his own father.
‘Still… is it just me, or has Professor Hongpeng’s continental language gotten a lot more fluent since Professor Belya showed up…?’
“Anyway!”
Thump!
Belya cracked her fists together and stepped forward.
The giant serpent flicked its tongue, glaring down at the humans. Above it, Myurr hovered, crimson robe fluttering.
“So all we need to do is clean them up, right?”
Keyzen’s Magical Combat professor, Hongpeng.
Keyzen’s Toxicology professor, Belya.
And the current Commander of the 7th Legion.
Three of the continent’s renowned powerhouses stood together, gazing up at their enemy—a sight to behold.
Myurr half-opened his eyes with a sigh.
[I didn’t want to face all three of you at once, but so be it.]
He thrust out his arm.
[Kill them all.]
The Hydra’s heads tensed like drawn bows, then shot forth at near-invisible speed, leaving only afterimages.
The three of them kicked off the ground in different directions, narrowly avoiding the strike. The Hydra’s head gouged the earth, leaving a massive scar across the plain.
“Pretty fast.”
Belya smirked, unfastening her coat.
The black coat fluttered high into the air, revealing her worn shorts and bandaged outfit underneath.
“Here I go.”
Secretions burst forth from her sweat glands, instantly coating her body in strange fluids as though she’d just taken a mud shower.
Purple, mint green, pink—colors as vivid as paint squeezed from tubes. Beautiful to behold, but lethally toxic.
She raised her arms, and the venom writhed like living things, forming into shapes.
<Poison Whip>
As she swung her arms overhead, the toxic fluids surged forward, entangling the Hydra’s body like tentacles. The Hydra writhed in agony.
Chiii—!
Crack! Cra-crunch!
The Hydra’s scales melted like candy, corroded, petrified, and scorched. Even a basic Toxicology technique like Poison Whip, in Belya’s hands, was devastating.
While the Hydra thrashed, Hongpeng had already soared into the sky.
She had no wings—just sheer force of her leap. Crossing her arms to her shoulders and pressing her legs together, she closed her eyes, reaching a state of pure tranquility.
<Hongpeng’s Original – Paired Wings>
Her body vibrated with waves before plunging downward, silent as a human bullet. The only warning was the massive air shockwave radiating out in a circle as she descended.
BOOOOOOM!
Her body slammed directly into the Hydra’s head with explosive force.
As the Hydra’s head smashed into the ground, Belya glanced sideways and shouted:
“Now’s your chance, Commander!”
Leap!
Simon charged forward, greatsword raised. The blade flashed brilliantly in the sun.
‘See the space!’
The opening his comrades made—failure was not an option.
He measured the Hydra’s neck, but instead of the flesh, he focused on the space itself.
‘Sever!’
SHHHHRRRK!
The white sword swung high, and the Hydra’s massive head, like a building, split clean off with a horrific cross-section.
BOOOOOM!
The headless body collapsed with another shockwave. The trio retreated quickly to avoid being engulfed.
“Kyahaha! Nothing special!”
Belya laughed wildly, looking up at the sky.
“Is that all you’ve got, Ancient Undead?”
Myurr wordlessly clenched his hand.
RUMBLE!
RUMBLEEEE!
The entire jungle shook. Around them, the ground split apart and new Hydra heads burst forth.
Though one had just been severed, now six more heads sprouted, joining the remaining nine.
“They’re lining up to be killed.”
Yet even against overwhelming numbers, the three remained calm. Belya rubbed her thigh, then worked something in her hands.
“Here, antidotes. Not perfect yet, but they’ll at least keep you from keeling over from the Hydra’s venom.”
On her palm lay brightly colored pellets.
Hongpeng frowned slightly but picked one up, better than nothing. Then Belya offered them to Simon.
“Commander, you take one too. Unless, of course, you don’t trust an antidote from another necromancer…”
Snap!
Simon grabbed it without a word, tilted his helm, and swallowed it.
“Ohh.”
Belya grinned in approval.
“You’re bolder than you look, Commander.”
“They’re coming.”
Hongpeng spoke. The six Hydra heads lunged at once.
Simon’s chest pounded.
To stand shoulder-to-shoulder with professors he had always admired from class—Hongpeng and Belya—fighting at their side.
The Hydra’s assault was overwhelming, but the two women were stronger. Together, they cut them down one by one.
Shing!
Swinging his greatsword wide, Simon slid to a halt, resting Greatsword of Destruction on his shoulder with a clack.
At the same time, a serpent’s head the size of a village crashed from above, slamming into the ground with a roar.
“Is it over?!”
Belya wiped the corner of her mouth as she spoke.
In an instant, all six had been dealt with.
Those two were truly extraordinary. Fighting alongside them made it clear—even with the aid of an Ancient Undead’s power, it was all Simon could do to keep up with their pace.
“Hey, Commander. Don’t tell me you’re already tired?”
[Stop spouting nonsense.]
That was Simon’s reply.
Ah, once again—this persona was definitely the wrong choice.
“Hahahaha! Thought so!”
Belya burst into boisterous laughter. Simon turned to look at Hongpeng.
She stood still, taking deep breaths in and out to steady herself.
Of the three, she was the real monster.
She had been held by Myurr for over a month, unable to eat or move properly. And yet, the very day she was freed, she shattered his restraints on her own and fought at this level.
That body had far surpassed the limits of a human being—it was superhuman.
“So, what now, Ancient Undead?”
Belya looked up at the sky.
“Will you step in yourself, or will you just send the remaining three snakes at us?”
[…]
Myurr floated silently, saying nothing.
If the Ancient Undead had joined forces with his summoned Eildar Hydra, the battle would have been troublesome indeed. But instead, he had simply stood by, letting his summon take a one-sided beating.
[Those aren’t my only options.]
He waved his hand.
[Rise again.]
“!”
At his command, the Hydras that had fallen headless to the ground suddenly stood upright. Their scales rippled grotesquely.
‘Molting? No…!’
Shhhhhh!
From the severed neck stumps, newborn, vividly crimson snake heads burst forth.
In the blink of an eye, scales grew to cover them, and they returned to the exact forms they had before.
The seven Hydras they had defeated were alive once more.
‘How…!
Simon’s hand trembled.
‘Even the ones I personally cut down with Greatsword of Destruction—how are they all back?!’
[I knew that once I began to move, Feer, you would follow. Did you think I wouldn’t prepare a countermeasure for that sword? This is not regeneration, it is rebirth.]
KRRRRAAAAAH!
The Hydra heads shrieked.
[Unless you sever all of their heads at once, you cannot kill the Eildar Hydra.]
Slither! Slither!
To make matters worse, the Hydras began splitting off in every direction.
[And of course, with time, their number of heads will only increase.]
As he murmured this, Myurr’s body dissolved into the air.
[May fortune not smile upon you.]
“You’re not getting away!”
<Hongpeng’s Original – Impalement>
She swung her arm, slashing for Myurr—but he vanished faster. Her attack carved through empty air, and she bit her lip in frustration.
“So we have to cut down all ten heads at once?”
Belya scratched her head roughly.
“That’s basically impossible.”
At that moment, Feer spoke into Simon’s mind.
Feer knew Myurr well, he had witnessed many of his techniques. Simon gathered Feer’s thoughts and voiced them aloud.
[That claim that all heads must be cut at once, it’s a deception.]
Hongpeng and Belya turned toward him.
[After I cut the first one, about twenty minutes passed. Only then did all the heads regenerate at once.]
“In other words…”
Hongpeng said, picking up his thought,
“We have to cut all the Hydra heads within twenty minutes.”
[That’s my conclusion.]
Hearing this, Belya folded her arms.
“That’s still brutal. Isn’t there one body they’re all connected to? Break that, and all ten heads go down together?”
[No. They’re bound together only by sorcery. They don’t share a true body.]
“Then we need to leave the grasslands and call for backup. Ten heads means at least ten people, we’ll need one for each to strike at the same time—”
“No.”
Hongpeng shook her head.
“The longer this drags on, the more heads there will be. Up to a hundred.”
“…”
“If they scatter too far, it’ll become the worst kind of monster, something we’ll never be able to put down. With an Ancient Undead of malice wielding it, who knows what atrocities could be wrought?”
Her eyes hardened.
“We must kill it now. This is the best and least difficult chance we’ll ever get.”
At that, Belya gave a crooked smile.
“Fine. Then here’s the plan.”
She held up three fingers.
“Each of us takes three heads. From the moment I give the signal, we have twenty minutes. Each of us is responsible for three.”
[And the last one?]
Simon asked.
“What else? Whoever finishes their three first takes the last one too.”
[…]
It was a brutally difficult mission.
Until now, two Keyzen professors and a legion commander had fought together, taking down the heads one by one. Now each had to slay at least three alone, within twenty minutes?
The difficulty had multiplied severalfold.
‘More than that…’
Simon turned his gaze.
Hongpeng, who had gone over a month without food or water, was already at her limits. She had surpassed herself again and again just to stand here.
Could she really, alone, destroy three heads in such a short time?
“Let’s do it.”
But Hongpeng smiled through her cold sweat.
* * *
Meanwhile.
“Simon! Where are you? Simon!”
“If you can hear me, answer!”
The Student Council members each carried a lantern as they searched the temple.
Trouble had struck. Not only had the exit collapsed after Hongpeng’s sudden escape, but now Simon, who had been luring monsters away, was nowhere to be seen.
“This doesn’t feel good.”
Dick, carrying the grasslands’ girl on his back, muttered, sweat beading on his forehead. Maelyn, pale, swept her lantern through the dark corridors.
“Will Professor Hongpeng be all right? It looked like she was suddenly cursed…”
“Don’t worry too much about her, Kami.”
Maelyn said firmly.
“Before she lost herself, she asked me to set up an Awakening Magic Circle on her. She must have had something planned.”
“Ah.”
Just then, Kamibarez let out a startled cry.
“What is it, Kami?”
Dick and Maelyn hurried over.
Through a crack in the collapsed temple wall, sunlight streamed in—revealing the outside world.
And then—
Slitherrrrrr…
The colossal body of a serpent, beyond description in size, slid past outside.
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