BBYW Vol. 2 Interlude Part 15 (WN)
Interlude – Dietrich Maxwell’s Adventure
Part 15 – The Two-Headed Snake
The “Hydra”, a poisonous snake with multiple heads, was a rather common sight in Dungeons.
I too had encountered a few, in my explorations of the Dungeons in the Lamperouge kingdom. I also killed and skinned some.
“This one is way too big!!”
The Sea Hydra was the size of a building. Its enormous jaws, opened to the limits, were dripping — or rather, cascading — a black liquid.
“That’s poison! Stay away!”
So I shouted as I jumped out of the way. The pirates near me all scattered, retreating behind the buildings in the cave.
The black liquid fell on the spot where we were standing, like a torrent of mud. We could hear sizzling sounds from the ground.
“Fucking nuisance!! Die already!”
I took the opportunity to slip under the snake’s body and swung Lancelot. The silver blade extended and severed one of the Sea Hydra’s heads.
“Ooh!!”
“Way to go!!”
The pirates cheered behind me.
The snake’s head fell on the ground, spraying fresh blood everywhere.
“It’s too early to let your guard down!!”
“GRAAAAAARRR!!”
Right after Grace shouted, the other head roared.
The Sea Hydra exhaled powerfully, spreading its poison like a mist, painting our field of view in purple.
Enveloped in the mist, the pirates screamed as they dropped on the ground.
“Gh…gah…! Can’t…breathe…!!”
“MY EYES!! GHAAHH!!”
“Get inside!! You’ll die if the poison mist gets you!!”
Using my legs like a spring, I leapt away to dodge the poisonous smoke, then used a wall to propel myself higher, in the direction of the snake’s remaining head.
“Time to meet your maker!!”
I was confident in my victory, but an unexpected counterattack took me by surprise.
“GRAAAAAARRR!!”
“Wha!?”
A new head had grown from the severed neck and immediately tried to devour me, as if to avenge its fallen predecessor.
I was still in midair, unable to move, at will, watching the snake’s massive maw approach.
“Gahaha!! Not so fast!”
“GRUAH!?”
The goddess who saved me from peril was Grace herself. She punched the snake’s newborn head, the size of a small mountain, and blew it away.
“We have to take off both heads at the same time, or it’ll keep reviving! On your toes!!”
“You could have said that first!!”
I cursed back at Grace’s warning, then glared at the Sea Hydra, now two-headed again.
The beast seemed to recognize Grace and me as priority threats: it paid no attention to the other pirates.
The longer we fought, the more poison would spread in the cave, limiting our movements. We had to finish it fast.
“I’ll take the right one.”
“Then the left’s mine!!”
I communicated my plan to Grace, who grasped my intentions immediately and replied just as I hoped she would.
“GRUAAARRRR!!!”
“Let’s go!!”
“GAHAHAHA!!!”
The Sea Hydra roared. We split left and right, drawing an arc as we approached the beast from the sides.
The two snake heads spewed poison in our directions.
“GRUAAARRRR!!!”
“Extend, Lancelot!! And you fucking die already!!”
“Gahaha!! I’ll let you die here!!”
I moved closer to the Sea Hydra, dodging the shots of poison targeting me without pause.
I raised Lancelot high, and on the other side Grace leapt in midair.
“It’s over!!”
“GAHAHAHA!!”
“GROAAARR!?”
My slash severed the snake’s right head. At the same time, Grace’s flurry of punches turned the left head into mincemeat.
Having lost both heads, the snake’s body dropped to the ground like a boulder. After a few seizures, it became completely motionless.
Blood colored red and black flowed out of the necks, creating an acid-like white mist from the ground, which started dissolving the nearby buildings.
The liquid released by the beast before dying seemed to be mixed with a powerful acid: like a curse, the acid blood spread, as a pungent smell filled the air.
“A nuisance till the very end…damn, this is bad.”
I looked at my trusted sword: the blade had turned black with rust and was chipped in places.
I mentally commanded it to extend, but nothing happened. As a sword, it was already dead.
“You went and ruined your magic sword! Shame!”
“It had to break, sooner or later…whoa!?”
I turned around and found Grace. She had crushed the Sea Hydra’s head with her fists, which caused her arms to be doused in poison from the elbow down: you could even see her bones.
I couldn’t help but shout at the horrifying sight, but Grace herself was brushing her hair with her bony fingers.
“My hair got all messed up, I want to take a bath soon…”
“That’s not the problem!! I can see the bones on your arms!!”
“Huh? That kind of stuff happens, no? No need to make a fuss.”
“Like hell it does!! Aah, dammit!”
I took off my shirt, ripped it in two and wrapped the two halves around Grace’s arms.
I knew it could only be a temporary measure, but it still felt better than nothing to me.
“Stay still like that for a while…honestly…”
“Hm…?”
Grace looked at the remains of my shirt, wrapped around her arms, with perplexed curiosity. She then looked at me. In her eyes, as deep and blue as the sea, my face was reflected.
“W-What now!?”
“You know, I’m still a maiden at heart. And I have a soft spot for kind men.”
Grace smiled.
Not her usual fanged grin, but a soft, beautiful smile that well suited her childlike appearance.
“And you’re this strong to boot, so…right? Looks like I fell for you, Dietrich.”
“WHA!?”
“Okay then, I wonder if Gourd and the guys are still alive?”
The unexpected confession froze me on the spot, but Grace turned on her heels and walked away.
The pirates emerged from the buildings they had taken shelter in, cheering and praising our battle.
“She…said my name…”
The pirates’ words washed over me. I stood there still, even forgetting the loss of my beloved blade.