'Hydra?!? Please tell me he's kidding!'
At first I think he is bluffing since none of the doors into the arena are big enough for something like a hydra. But then two sections of the arena wall slide apart to form a massive opening and I begin to worry. Then from beyond the opening I hear a loud hissing sound and something large approaching.
Okay, if it is a hydra like from the legends I know then it will have multiple heads and each one will have a different breath weapon. I absolutely can't cut any of the heads off, main body hits only. That's all I really remember about them, I just hope it is enough.
The first thing I see are the eyes, six eyes glowing red in the darkness, then I see the heads. Three heads like massive snakes and then the long necks and finally the four legged main body. The damn thing is the size of a school bus, and it looks really really hungry.
At first the three heads are turning every which way looking at the crowd but after a minute they turn and focus on me. They each act independently so it is going to be like fighting three opponents instead of one. It takes up about a quarter of the arena so moving around it is going to be tricky, I have to be careful not to get trapped.
The heads just stare at me, they seem to be sizing me up, which suggests a dangerous level of intelligence. As those six eyes stare at me I start to feel a force in my head telling me to stay still and go to sleep. The legends never said anything about a hypnotic gaze, I quickly stop looking into its eyes.
As soon as I look away one of the heads darts forward with amazing speed and tries to bite me. Its mouth is big enough to eat me in one bite but even with its speed a single step back and a slight lean and it just barely misses me. I get a really good look at its mouth and I notice it has fangs like a snake and from the liquid dripping from them it is probably poisonous too.
This thing has way too many ways to kill me, I have to be perfect in this fight, one mistake will kill me for sure. Seeing the middle head missed the other two come at me from either side, I move back forward to avoid them. As I do I move under the middle head which is still recovering from its attack and take a swing at the body.
The sword I got from the champion cuts through the scales and into the body but it doesn't go far. I quickly move away as the heads recover and prepare to attack again. The heads don't immediately attack again, they seem to be reevaluating me since I caused it pain.
As I watch the hydra watching me I notice the slash on its chest is slowly closing up. Regeneration, this just keeps getting better and better, I am going to need to do more damage. I need to get in close and do a massive amount of damage in a short time, enough that it can't heal it quickly.
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As I am thinking how to manage it one of the heads acts differently, it draws back and before the mouth even opens I am already moving out of the way. Well, now I know the left head breaths fire, luckily it is only a small stream and it doesn't last long. Not long after the fire ends the right head draws back and then spits a stream of green liquid which I am guessing is poison.
When it hits the sand and starts hissing I change my mind and call it acid, now it's the middle heads turn. But to my surprise the middle head just keeps trying to bite me. Either it is not willing to use its breath weapon or it doesn't have one, whichever it is I keep dodging.
I manage to get close and hit the main body a few times but am quickly forced to retreat before I can do any real damage. I just can't keep the three heads off me long enough to do any real damage. I need to come up with a better way to do this, at this rate I will end up exhausted and then dead.
The hydra seems to have come to the same conclusion, it stops attacking and backs off to stare at me. It seems we are at a stalemate for the moment, the crowd however is cheering like mad. They are loving the show and if anything there are more humans and demons watching than there were at the start.
While I am still trying to think of a plan the hydra tries to end the fight. All three heads snap forward and release their breath weapons at once, and it turns out the middle head breathes lightning. This is the luckiest thing that could have possibly happened to me.
Instead of trying to dodge all three attacks I dodge into the lightning breath and move forward through it. As the lightning washes over me it feels amazing, I feel like I've just had a full night's sleep. And what's more the hydra is focused on the breath attack allowing me to freely move up close to the main body.
'Mind blade! Lightning Aura! Demonic Assault!'
The champion's sword was able to cut the hydra but not enough so I toss it aside as I step up next to the main body. With my mind blade covered by the lightning aura and demonic assault active I cut into the hydra and inflict major wounds. As soon as its breath attacks end the three heads roar in pain, I continue cutting it as hard and as fast as I can.
Demonic assault is used up before the hydra recovers enough to launch an attack and force me away. I managed to cut into its chest seven times before it drove me back and now it is bleeding heavily. The hydra is furious and launches continuous attacks against me keeping me from inflicting any more damage.
After a minute even the heavy wounds I dealt to the thing start showing signs of healing. I am forced to consider the possibility that this thing might be beyond my current ability to kill. It would be a totally different story if I didn't have these stupid manacles on.
I am starting to think that I am going to have to try something stupid in order to have a chance of killing this thing. The legends I remember say that if you cut off a head either it will regrow, or two will grow in its place. I don't think a head can regrow instantly, and it might slow down the healing of the wounds on the chest.
If I can cut off all three heads the time it will take them to regrow is my best chance of killing it permanently. The problem is can I cut off all three fast enough or is the first going to regrow before I can cut off the third. Since I can't think of a better idea I decide to give it a try and the next head that tries to bite me goes flying.