Time froze as precisely 121 thoughts raced across the hydra's melded consciousness. Communicate with it? Maybe. Kill it? No. Eat it? Yes! Much better. But wait. It's a plant; it wouldn't taste good, would it? So, communicate with it?
And many more.
In the end, the decision was simple. The creature seemed already horrified by the vampiric blood. Negotiating from a disadvantaged position was pointless when they could attempt a more optimal strategy in the next loop. That left only violence.
Before the [[Dryad]] was able to blink, the hydra was already lunging forward. A sphere of restrictive power settled over the [[Dryad]]'s ankles while a large status window that shown as bright as the sun in the sky enveloped the woman's eyes. At the very same time, all three heads raked shallow cuts along each other's lower jaws and spit the resulting blood at the shocked forest creature.
The [[Dryad]] squeaked and stumbled backward. A tremor washed over the woods like an invisible wave, and Aevum idly noted that the constant chitter of the forest had gone deathly still. The other two heads were occupied elsewhere. The glowing status in front of the [[Dryad]]'s eyes vanished as Max focused every scrap of attention on enhancing their next blow.
Google, meanwhile, mindlessly went for the kill.
Razor-sharp incisors flashed brilliantly in the morning light, seeping through the canopy and tearing long thing gashes in the [[Dryad]]'s dress. She let out a dainty cry as green ichor oozed out of the wounds and met with the onslaught of bright red vampiric blood.
The fluids roiled as they collided, spitting and hissing as they vied for dominance in the magical creature. The remaining two heads joined Google's assault and latched onto the creature, tearing more holes for the vampiric blood to enter her body.
Cascading hooves shook the earth. Max looked up, acting as the scout for the party and spotted a herd of giant [[Briarblood Charger]]'s approaching rapidly. Just as the thought-form was processed and shared with the other heads, the [[Dryad]] did something strange.
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Her back hit the trunk of a [[Blackburr Spire]] and seemed to stick to it. Her body melted into the bark as if she had suddenly become a ghost. Inch by inch, her soft flesh was replaced by impenetrable hard bark, and the hydra was forced to relinquish its toothy grasp lest it lose teeth to the strange magic.
By now, the herd of enraged [[Briarblood Charger]]'s had arrived, and the hydra did the only thing it could to escape. It climbed the tree. Sharp claws bit into the bark as the hydra desperately climbed to escape the certain death below. Their status manifested before them, then whizzed off to the side as it subtly shifted to grant them additional strength and dexterity for the action.
A slow field whizzed all over the place, tripping and confusing the rampaging herd below, only for it to fly up and futilely try to slow down a swarm of birds that darkened the sky.
A cacophony of noise tore through the normally peaceful forest. Thinking was impossible. There were birds screeching, chargers bellowing and...a cruel, feminine laugh?
With three functioning heads, the hydra spotted several things in its last moments before the swarm of [[Morfischer Scout]]s tore it to shreds.
1) The [[Dryad]] melting seamlessly out of a distant tree. Its body was shriveled and hurt. Its eyes were sunken in, and a look of pure hatred had replaced the once gentle countenance. It glanced evilly at them before raising a palm over its chest. A green glow pulsed over its skin and healed much of the damage done by the vampiric blood. After a second, it appeared as if the creature had never been hurt at all.
2) One creature in the herd of [[Briarblood Charger]]'s was larger than the rest. It stood calmly near the back while its kin trampled the earth beneath the hydra's tree. Its eyes were large and a pure, perfect crimson with a keen intelligence that followed the hydra's every move. A red mist hung over the creature's horns.
3) the [[Morfischer Scout]]s seemed particularly fragile to the vampiric blood.
Not that the hydra had long to make that final observation before it was literally torn to shreds by the swarm.
...Darkness...followed by a familiar ghostly sequence of respawning.
This time, there were still 4 heads, and one of the heads was still limp and sleeping. The forest had returned to its peaceful origin. And the hydra had grown again. This time, any confrontation with the [[Dryad]] would be one where they were in the same weight class, even if a battle with any of her [[Briarblood Charger]]s would still be unbalanced.
What do you do?
[[Dawn of the 4th Death]]