The ocean' red city was in a ruckus. Almost a hundred messengers swam out in a hurry to deliver news to all corners of the kingdom: The fugitive princess had returned, and she brought reinforcements.
The messages written by the city's count, the echidna Luciano, made it sound like even the volcano was at risk of destruction. Little did he know that his wild claims were not so far from the truth.
Inside the hydra's chamber, Natalie was looking at an ocean of lava. As if the volcano was about to erupt, the cave was full to the brink with melted rock.
The one who triggered this response, Finn, was smiling awkwardly beside her, protected by the bubble of heat and fire she had summoned around both of them.
"Can't you make it a bit cooler in here?"
Natalie gave him a look.
"Surely this isn't the first time the liza… I mean your second master melted. What did you do the last time?"
“I got out of the room.”
It took a moment for Finn to comprehend what she said, but soon enough, he put the pieces together.
‘She’s never beaten or even fought the hydra in its final form. I got back here right before the cave filled with lava, and ever since, teleporting through it has been impossible. We don’t know how to beat the enemy and we can’t escape, which means…’
Stolen story; please report.
“We’re trapped.”
“I was going to say screwed, but that works too. Hey, could you please stop peeking into my thoughts until I learn how to block you?”
“Foolish hero,” the hydra’s voice bellowed through the lava. “Your corruption will not seep into my ocean.”
Like a current inside water, the lava started moving and flowing around Natalie’s bubble. The pressure it exerted increased by the second and Finn could feel his mouth dry from the heat.
“We’re going down.” Natalie forced the bubble to descend. “I can reach the main body, but I cannot destroy it. That’s up to you.”
“With what? I have a knife.”
“Figure it out!”
The lava current pushed the bubble from below, then from the sides and even from above, trying to confuse Natalie and delay her descent. Unable to directly oppose the hydra’s will, she had no choice but to ride the currents up, left, down, right, in every possible direction, while slowly inching away towards the bottom.
“I’m gonna barf.” Finn kneeled on the ground and grabbed the goat horn still attached to his forehead.
“Stop messing around.” Natalie clasped the side of her bubble and focused on feeling the flow.
Left, down, and up they went. Her buble turned upside down then on its side, and while Finn smashed into the walls and got burned, she did her best to maintain their direction.
“Just so you know, I’m not doing this just for shits and giggles,” said Finn after falling to the bubble’s floor, his body full of burns from contact with the fire and magma. “I can’t move my body while I unsummon the other horn.”
“You don’t say.” The hydra sounded happy.