Then, unexpectedly, the second head followed right behind it.
Lucivar reacted instantly.
He twisted his body and raised his leg, slamming it sideways into the first head.
BOOM!
The massive skull smashed into the dungeon wall, stone and crystal exploding outward. Prisoned figures embedded in crystal were violently shaken loose as shards rained down across the chamber.
The second head struck next.
Vorian burst forward, crossing both swords in an X-shape.
CLANG!
The jaws crashed down on his blades, but didn't pierce them.
His skill flared, draining his mana at a terrifying rate, but he held.
Lucivar and Vorian exchanged a single nod.
That was all they needed.
They tensed, then jumped.
Both launched skyward, landing atop the hydra's massive heads.
"Full force!" Vorian roared.
Lucivar raised his sword.
Vorian brought both blades down.
Lucivar struck at the same time.
BOOM!!!
The heads shattered apart.
Scales protecting the cores cracked open, then burst, fragments raining into the water below.
The hydra screamed.
That was when the main head finally moved.
Its enormous body surged forward.
"Leave this to me!" Vorian shouted.
He sprinted along the hydra's massive body, boots pounding against wet scales as the main head rushed Lucivar.
Lucivar didn't retreat.
He stepped in.
His blade plunged straight into the exposed core.
The head shuddered.
Its eyes shut.
The massive skull collapsed, defeated.
Only two heads remained.
Vorian kept running.
The final active head lunged for Lucivar,
but Vorian leapt, slamming his blade into its jaw mid-motion.
"It's me you're facing!"
The hydra reacted instantly, whipping its neck.
BOOM!
The impact sent Vorian flying, his body smashing into the lake with explosive force.
Water erupted skyward.
The main head's corpse sank slowly.
The remaining head, bloodied but alive, rose from the wall it had crashed into earlier.
Its gaze locked onto Volric.
At the same time, the hydra's massive consciousness turned back to Lucivar.
"How are you capable of this?" the hydra hissed. "You've pushed me further than I expected. But this is where you die."
Lucivar stepped forward, blood running down his chin.
He met the monster's gaze, calm, cold, absolute.
"A creature like you does not belong in the human realm," Lucivar said. "Serpent or not, today you receive judgment."
Lucivar wiped blood from his mouth and stepped forward.
The hydra lunged.
Its jaws snapped shut around him.
Lucivar caught its mouth with both hands.
Teeth scraped inches from his face.
The hydra roared and slammed him into the dungeon wall.
BOOM!
Again.
BOOM!
Stone shattered. Cracks spread outward as blood spilled down Lucivar's face.
Still, he held its jaws apart.
The hydra lifted him, trying to crush him completely.
The hydra forcefully clamped Lucivar in its massive jaw, carrying him high above the dungeon floor. Its teeth pressed against him, trying to crush him, but Lucivar's grip on the jaw didn't falter. The monster lifted him toward the ceiling, slamming him into the stone roof. Rocks rained down, shattering around them.
"Damn it, I'm in pain. What do I do? I can't use… Wait," Lucivar muttered. "I just have to push myself free."
As the hydra attempted to slam him down again, Lucivar planted both hands against its teeth and forced himself outward. The jaws snapped shut behind him, missing his body, and he hit the ground with a crash. Blood ran from his eyes, streaking his face.
Merilda sprang forward. "I'm coming! I'll heal you!"
"No," Lucivar said firmly. "Focus your energy on keeping Jorah safe. Make sure he doesn't die. Can you do that?"
"Yes," Merilda replied, resolute.
"Then don't worry about a thing," he said, gripping his sword from the ground.
The hydra's massive main head rose from the water again, eyes locked on Lucivar. It lunged forward, faster than anything they'd seen. Lucivar didn't flinch.
As the head swung down, he leapt into the air. Boom! The colossal head slammed into the dungeon wall with a deafening crash, cracking stone and sending shards flying. Lucivar landed atop a crystal platform, poised and steady.
"Nice!" he shouted, raising his sword. "Time to finish this."
He slammed the blade down with every ounce of strength into the hydra's forehead, the strongest part of its scales. The impact didn't even dent it. He raised both hands, gripping with all his power, and struck again, but the sword shattered against the impenetrable scales.