103. Sometimes, You Have to Trust Someone to Watch Your Back, Isn’t It?

The eight-headed giant Hydra appeared right in the middle of the camp.

Moreover, it had shaken off the combined forces of Raidok and Juralara.

Sweat poured down my back.

“Everyone! Do not think of this as a Hydra! Think of it as fighting a dragon!”

Using my original spell to amplify my voice, I echoed the warning throughout the camp.

Though it consumed a lot of magic power, now wasn’t the time to be stingy. Excessive use is prohibited.

I’ve given the minimum warning!

The sheer size of it split our forces.

The camp was in utter chaos.

I couldn’t see Kyle’s condition because of the massive Hydra blocking my view!

What to do!?

Force our way through!?

At that moment, my robe was pulled.

I turned around to see Maina, about to cry, gripping my robe tightly.

My head cooled as if doused with cold water.

That’s right. My job is to protect Maina!

“Casper and the others! Jitaro! We’re getting out of here!”

Casper’s three sisters and Jitaro, who were stunned, snapped to attention.

“Y-yes!”

As we gathered and tried to escape, one of the eight heads turned towards us.

And it roared.

Gyuaaahhhh!

Its mouth, lined with teeth that could crush a house, opened wide, and its long, split red tongue twisted menacingly.

“Eek!”

Myrna turned pale and stiffened, so I immediately picked her up.

Apparently, the Hydra bastard took a liking to Myrna’s appearance, as one head was staring right at us!

Are we being targeted!?

I considered using a big spell to stall it or running with all my might, but I couldn’t think of a good outcome no matter what I chose!

“Craft-san! Run! We’ll hold it off!”

Eva, the eldest of Casper’s three sisters, shouted while brandishing her staff.

I was stunned.

“What!? That’s reckless! Don’t think of it like any other Hydra! Even Raidoc couldn’t defeat it!”

From what I gathered from Raidok’s perspective, it seemed they were scattered in a situation where the Hydra was most proficient, unable to coordinate. But there was no time to explain this in detail to Eva.

“What happened to Raidoc-sama!?”

“They should regroup and join us!”

Though we hadn’t discussed it, Raidoc would surely do that.

“Then, we’ll hold out until Raidoc-sama arrives!”

“But!”

“Craft-san! What is your current duty!? As an adventurer, I was tasked with protecting Myrna! My top priority is to protect her!”

I understand!

I understand that!

But our opponent is a monster akin to a dragon!?

“It’ll be fine! I’m here too!”

Jitaro said cheerfully, casually readying his bow.

Despite being a hunter, he had somehow gained skills comparable to Solar, a ranger with a badge in archery, from adventuring with us. He’s a joker, but not a fool who can’t gauge an enemy’s strength.

He must be summoning all his courage!

“Camille! Let’s give it our all!”

“…Yeah.”

Jitaro approached Camille with a sloppy grin.

Courage… right?

Ignoring those two, Eva reached out her hand.

“Give me all the mana potions you have!”

Determination shone in her eyes.

That’s right. She’s a top-notch adventurer.

I remembered that my job was to do my work as an alchemist.

I took out all the mana potions from my spatial storage and handed them over.

Though there were only about twenty…

“Thank you.”

She thanked me and then turned to face the Hydra.

Eva began to channel magic power, weaving a spell inside her.

She was probably going to cast a huge spell using all her magic power.

Camille and Jitaro stepped forward to protect Eva, confronting the Hydra.

…

Even so, something about the Hydra’s movements felt off.

Its eight heads moved in all directions, fighting soldiers everywhere, but it wasn’t as swift as it had been earlier.

It seemed less like it was attacking the humans and more like it was trying to drive them away.

From what I could see, not a single soldier had died while confronting the Hydra, which proved my point.

But the problem was one of its eight heads.

That head was clearly targeting us… no, targeting Myrna.

My job is to protect Maina. So, there’s only one thing to do.

I clenched my teeth hard enough to shatter them, then shouted.

“I leave the rest to you!”

“”Understood!!””

While carrying Myrna, I started running at full speed, and the head that was targeting us let out another cry.

The giant Hydra, which had been claiming this area as its territory, began to move towards us with a speed that didn’t match its size.

It came at us like a giant ship slicing through a great river.

Water from the marsh splashed high into the air, trees were broken, and it chased us.

“Eek!!!”

Myrna, held in my arms, must have looked back, her voice filled with fear, and she started crying.

(This is bad! We’ll be caught!)

As I internally screamed, magic power surged.

It was Eva’s spell!

“Take this! The most powerful attack magic taught by my master!! [Frozen Abyss Prison]!!”

That spell!

The spell I used to defeat a group of orcs when we first began pioneering!

Also known as Cocytus!

That spell froze not only the orcs but the entire surrounding forest—a highly difficult attack magic that few water-element mages, even A-class adventurers, could cast.

Eva unleashed it.

From the magic circle entwined around her staff, it was clear she was straining herself.

But her desperate attack indeed succeeded in damaging the Hydra.

In this marshy terrain, the ground worked in our favor for once. The Hydra and the ground around it froze completely.

“Awesome, Eva!”

“It’s not over yet!”

Jitaro, who had run towards Eva in joy, stopped at her rebuke.

Eva drank two mana potions at once.

…I see. She can’t recover with just one potion, huh.

Actually, neither I nor Jabil-sensei could fully recover our magic power with just one of these legendary-grade mana potions.

Until now, I thought only the two of us were like that…

Of course, Eva was also risking her life, squeezing out every bit of magic power.

Crack, crack, crack—a sound of something breaking. Cracks appeared in the ice encasing the Hydra and its surroundings.

Snap!

With a high-pitched sound like breaking glass, a head was freed.

Eva calmly looked over at me.

Her eyes were filled with a strong will.

I nodded deeply and started running.

I heard the sound of Cocytus being unleashed again behind me.

The sound of ongoing combat.

But I didn’t look back. Leaving the noise behind, I ran desperately.

Towards the pure white mist that had appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the world.