The poison stream narrowly missed Anzo, who darted to the side using his telekinesis. He spun mid-air, directing the greatsword to slice through the attacking head with a sharp arc.
CLANG!
“Gotcha!” Anzo cheered as the head fell, only for his expression to sour when two more began sprouting from the stump. “This is getting old real fast!”
Alister stood atop a crumbled section of the Colosseum, his black hair whipping in the chaotic winds stirred by the Hydra’s movements.
He watched as Anzo groaned in frustration, dodging another swing of the creature’s massive tail. The Hydra’s heads that had been chopped down in the muddy floor was nearly reaching a hundred, but still the both of them kept slicing heads.
It wasn’t clear what Alister’s plan was.
“Anzo, keep at it!” Alister called out.
“What do you think I’m doing?!” Anzo shot back, his greatsword slicing through another head with a deafening SCHINK! “I’m chopping these things like firewood, but they just keep coming back!”
“Exactly,” Alister said, leaping to a higher perch as a jet of poison breath dissolved the stone beneath his feet. “Don’t let up. Keep attacking. The more pressure, the better.”
Anzo glared at him, panting. “You better know what you’re doing, oh high and mighty team leader.”
WHIRRR!
The red mana surrounding Anzo’s blade flared as it spun violently, carving through another Hydra head in a sweeping motion. The severed appendage thudded to the ground with a wet SPLAT, blood pooling around the stump.
But just as before, two new heads sprouted in its place with speed, their glowing yellow eyes locking onto Anzo causing him to move his body around swiftly to avoid getting petrified.
“I still don’t get this, what exactly is your genius plan.” Anzo yelled, dodging another strike. “This thing’s regenerating faster than I can cut it down!”
Alister, however, wasn’t fazed. He observed the Hydra carefully, his golden aura pulsing faintly as his sharp eyes scanned its movements.
It was small at first—a slight delay in the regrowth of one of the heads Anzo had severed earlier. It took a fraction of a second longer to regenerate, the flesh knitting together slower than usual.
A smirk curled on Alister’s lips. “Its working,” he muttered.
Anzo caught the expression as he floated higher to avoid another swing of the Hydra’s tail. “What’s with the creepy smile? Did you figure something out, or are you just enjoying the show?”
Alister leaped from his perch, landing gracefully on a cracked column. “Just keep attacking, Anzo,” he instructed, his voice calm but laced with confidence.
“Yeah, yeah,” Anzo grumbled, hurling his greatsword forward once more. CLANG! The blade cleaved through two more heads, ichor spraying in all directions.
Meanwhile, Alister’s gaze never left the Hydra. He studied the faint delay again, noticing another head hesitating just a moment before regrowing.
His smirk widened. “It’s tiring,” he muttered to himself. “The regeneration isn’t infinite, and it must be using mana, and so as long as we make it regenerate enough… it will eventually be
depleted entirely.”
“Just as I suspected.”
He stood there, noticing as the next heads that grew were even slower now, Alister then narrowed his eyes as he thought to himself, ‘This should be enough.’
Alister then called out to Anzo.
“That’s enough!” he yelled.
Anzo glanced back, still panting and drenched in sweat. “Enough of what? I’ve been doing all the work here!”
Alister ignored the complaint and leaped down from the column, landing in the mud with a loud SPLAT on the muddy ground.
He pointed toward the Hydra, whose heads were noticeably slower in regenerating.
“Look closely,” Alister said. “It’s weakening. The regeneration is failing.”
Anzo paused just long enough to notice the sluggish regrowth of the Hydra’s severed stumps. The flesh wavered, struggling to form even a single new head.
“About time,” Anzo muttered, cracking his neck. “So what’s the plan now, oh fearless leader?”
Alister’s golden aura flared as he clenched his fists. “We need to topple it. Bring it down and make it roll over. we’ll go for the core.”
“It’s in it’s underbelly.”
Anzo arched a brow, his greatsword spinning lazily at his side. “And by ‘we,’ you mean me, right?”
“You’re the one that will topple it,” Alister replied calmly. “I’ll handle the rest. Just get ready to move when I give the signal.”
Anzo sighed, raising his hand to summon his greatsword back to him. “I see you just completely ignored me.”
“No problem champ, I can live with that.”
The Hydra roared, its remaining heads lashing out as it sensed their intent. Alister raised his
clawed hand, golden mana crackling around him like a storm.
“Anzo, aim for its body! We’ll disrupt its balance and make it topple!”
Anzo’s red mana flared as he charged forward, his greatsword glowing with fiery intensity.
“On it!”
With a mighty swing, Anzo drove his blade into the Hydra’s coiled midsection, the impact causing the massive serpent-like body to jerk violently to one side.
“Again!” Alister commanded, his golden aura surging as he prepared his next move.
Anzo let out a fierce roar, spinning his blade once more. The Hydra’s body quivered, the sheer force of the blow causing its weight to shift unnaturally.
“Keep pushing!” Alister urged.
Anzo thrust his hand forward, his telekinesis amplifying his efforts as he used his greatsword
to press into the Hydra’s coiled body.
With a ROAR, the creature’s immense body finally tipped, the writhing heads flailing
uselessly as its bulk rolled onto its back with a deafening BOOM.
Dust and debris clouded the air as Alister leaped onto the overturned Hydra, his gaze fixed on
its vulnerable underbelly.
“Perfect,” he muttered, a wicked grin crossing his face. “Time to end this.”
Just then one of the Naga heads faced Alister and optaned It’s mouths, poison fumes rising.
Anzo noticed it and yelled, “Hay, look out!”
Alister noticed the head, But before he could move the poison torrent shot directly at him.
…