Chapter 309

309 Strength of Monsters #9

Some of us had to stay behind to guard the Gorgor ship we came on and Elpride, who had lost consciousness.

Thus, Hippolyte decided to stay on the ship we arrived on.

“Of all things we came here to do, and it ends up being to guard the ship. Tch-.”

Though she seemed dissatisfied, among us, only Hippolyte was capable enough to guard the ship against whatever might emerge from the unpredictable sea.

Without the ship, we’d surely face difficulties returning.

“I, I want to stay here too… Beyond there, I can’t go. The smell is too strong. There’s something terrible at the end.”

The problem was Luna.

Since we’d arrived at this cluster of ships, Luna couldn’t seem to calm down, trembling as though she was terrified of some great thing.

While it made sense that someone as delicate as Luna would feel anxious about stepping into the unknown where anything could jump out, I couldn’t help but question whether I’d ever seen Luna so frightened before. She was usually braver than expected.

Could it be that Luna, with her heightened senses, instinctively perceived that something powerful and terrible was hidden in this pile of wreckage?

The more I thought about it, the more dangerous this situation seemed.

Luna said, “Hassan, though I can’t come with you, take this! Use it if the snakes bother you too much!”

“What is this?”

“It’s… you’ll know once you use it!”

I was about to ask for more details when Paranoi spoke first.

“Hassan-sama…! I shall remain here with everyone to protect this ship…! I believe even without us, Hassan-sama will surely defeat the evil sea snakes…!”

“Well, guess that means I’ll have to go alone.”

In the end, I was the only one left to venture onto this strange island of ships to look for the sea serpent.

Seeing how everyone was suffering from this noxious fog, it seemed unavoidable.

Certainly, as we moved further out, the fog would only become thicker. In a world without proper gas masks, trying to lead everyone through this toxic substance was as crazy as it gets.

Thus, in the end, only Triton and I ended up heading out to deal with the sea serpent.

Strange as it felt to be paired with the man who had attacked me so viciously, it was somewhat comforting to know I wasn’t going alone into the lair where the monstrous snake waited.

Still, creak-creeeaaak.

The sound of our footsteps echoed as we walked the broken decks of abandoned ships, moving deeper into the fog.

After walking what seemed like a few dozen meters, the ship we came on was already lost in the dark mist, no longer visible.

Spooky.

Is it really okay to proceed like this?

“Cough-Cough-.”

Right then, Triton emitted a deep cough, as if pushed by some invisible force. His palm was covered in bl**d, causing an involuntary frown to form on my face. He didn’t seem to be in good shape.

“It’s a potent poison. Much stronger than before. Phew… Even I find it hard just to stand.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Look at yourself, you’re handling it pretty well, aren’t you? You must have some kind of natural resistance to poison.”

“Hmm.”

Thinking back, there were many similar incidents that came to mind.

Perhaps due to the influence of my father, who was a fan of martial arts stories, I was made to ingest all sorts of bizarre things under the pretense of creating some ‘all-poison-resistant potion’ since I was young.

Whether honeybees or hornets, I’ve been stung countless times by all sorts of bee-like creatures. I’ve also experienced the venom of various dangerous creatures, from centipedes to vipers.

The worst of all was an ant my father somehow procured once—a weird ant with a scorpion-like tail that shot venom.

Getting stung by that tail was painful enough to bring tears to my eyes.

The real test was having to wear a strange glove filled with those awful ants and endure it for an hour.

It hurts so much! Aaaah!

You’re a man, endure it! Once this is over, your fingers will become weapons that can cleave the sky and sea!

HYEAHHH!

That was just child ab*se.

But thinking about it now, maybe all those childhood trials were the reason I can maintain my composure in this black fog, unlike the others.

Could my father have anticipated that I’d end up in a situation like this?

Of course, it’s just my imagination. No one could’ve expected I’d end up here.

Cough-.

“Hmm, we don’t have much time. The snake’s poison is getting stronger. Let’s hurry and eliminate it.”

As Triton continued to cough up bl**d, I asked something that had been on my mind.

“By any chance, is the snake injured?”

“How did you know that?”

“Well, wounded snakes or poisonous creatures tend to produce much stronger venom.”

“You’re right. For some reason, the sea serpent Hydra escaped to this place after being injured. Though it supposedly has an immortal body, I don’t know who could’ve caused such wounds.”

“What? Did you say Hydra?”

I felt as if my vision was darkening.

Hydra.

I knew all too well the immense dread and authority the name carried.

A creature so powerful, with venomous bl**d capable of incapacitating even gods and heroes. That was Hydra, they said.

A mythical monster that was said to exist only in legends, yet here it was, curled up somewhere within this graveyard of ships, causing my spine to chill.

“Dammit, why didn’t you tell me sooner that it was Hydra?”

“Because mentioning its name would make everyone run away.”

I couldn’t really argue with that.

True to Triton’s point, if we had known there was a Hydra lurking here, would our party have come this far across the straits?

It’s hard to say.

Perhaps we would’ve had even more discussions before setting out.

Well, at this point, maybe it’s best if I just turn back and act like none of this happened.

Just as I was seriously considering that thought, a large and dark shape began to rise from the turbid sea surface, slowly climbing up onto the broken deck.

Creeeak, Creeeeak.

It was a massive crab. A truly enormous creature that stretched up to half the size of a human torso. I almost felt a twinge of familiarity.

“Are these your minions?”

“No, they’ve been enslaved by Hydra’s poison. There are countless monsters and heroes in this area that have fallen victim to its poison. It’s wise to be cautious.”

Geeerrr-.

No sooner had Triton finished speaking than grotesque corpses rose from the sea alongside the crabs.

Swollen to an alarming degree and covered with mussels and seaweed, their horrific bodies made me involuntarily scream.

By their jewelry, they seemed to be brave warriors who once ventured here to complete their heroic tasks.

“d*mn it!”

Their bloated, pig-like faces were so terrifying that I couldn’t help but scream.

“Hell, they look awful!”

Geeerrr-.

The water zombies lunged at Triton and me.

The thought of being touched by something so hideous made me sick, so I brandished my club and struck with all my might, decapitating one.

PAAANG!

GOOOAHH-.

However, even without its head, the creature continued to lunge at me relentlessly.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed countless tiny crabs and shrimps wriggling inside its body, gnawing at its flesh.

The sea creatures inside were controlling the dead bodies!

The sight was so unsettling it made the hairs on my neck stand up. I felt an overwhelming urge to scratch the goosebumps all over my skin.

This world shouldn’t contain such a thing! This is utterly unacceptable!

“d*mn it!”

While striking at the encroaching crabs with everything I had, I also trampled them underfoot.

“At this rate, there’ll be no end to them. Let’s break through and head to where the snake is sealed.”

Triton’s words brought my agreement without hesitation.

“That’s a good plan!”

If we kept dealing with these minions one by one, there was a good chance we’d also become sea-bound corpses.

Geeerrr-.

“Get lost, you fear-instilling bastards!”

*

Eventually, Triton and I reached a massive wrecked ship that could’ve passed for a passenger liner.

As if hit by cannon fire, the side of the wrecked ship was torn apart, and an eerie-looking rock was embedded where it broke.

“Fortunately, the seal hasn’t been broken yet.”

From Triton’s words, I understood that the rock sealed away the toxic dragon Hydra.

I had imagined the cave entrance where the snake curled up to be more like an underwater cavern, but finding it inside a shattered wreck made the situation feel strangely surreal.

“Huh…”

Triton sighed deeply.

bl**d was already streaming from his eyes, nose, and ears. His condition was clearly terrible. Was he about to collapse?

We had broken through many minions, and yet it wasn’t due to combat injuries. The reason had to be these dark and turbid substances flowing out from beyond the rock.

The stench was suffocating.

The smell was so foul and pungent that even my nose felt like it was rotting away.

If Luna with her keen sense of smell were here, she might have fainted from the mere stench.

Perhaps her reason for deciding to stay on the ship was because she’d already sensed this scent from afar. It’s certainly plausible.

Her instincts, one might call it, were urging her to get away.

“Hhh…”

I took a deep breath.

I reflected on why I was here.

The task set by the prophets—to slay the monster that stained the sea black—was, in fact, a mission assigned to humanity through the prophets by the gods themselves.

It was said that upon completing this task, the returning hero would gain the opportunity to receive answers to any question.

From that logic, I felt something akin to destiny.

If I succeeded,

If I truly succeeded, I might understand why I was brought into this bizarre world.

It felt like a rule tailor-made for me.

It was as if Jupiter’s invitation from the depths of the abyss to come to Delphi was leading to this exact moment.

It may sound grandiose and delusional, but I truly believed it.

No one yearned for answers as much as I did.

I moved towards the rock slowly. Triton, who had been standing behind me, spoke out in surprise.

“Are you serious? What’s behind there is the real Hydra. The king of monsters, the daughter of Echidna! A monstrous creature from ancient times! It’s not just a snake!”

“Yes, that’s why we’ve come here—to hunt Hydra.”

“No, do you really not understand? You’re planning to take on the real Hydra?”

I couldn’t grasp what Triton suddenly was trying to say.

“Didn’t you come here to take it down together?”

Upon hearing my question, Triton scrunched his face.

“No! I thought you’d give up and turn back after guiding you here this far! I didn’t want to add more bodies to the sea!”

“Ah-.”

I didn’t know all the details but could understand that Triton was scared.

Do gods also feel fear?

No, this Triton fellow seemed different from the gods I’d encountered so far.

So, I voiced aloud what I’d been thinking.

“You’re much less than I thought.”

“What?”

“I thought you were amazing since you had over 30 harems, but now I see you’re not much different from me.”

“Of course, man! I don’t even have followers or a throne yet! At best, I’m just slightly stronger than some demigods!”

“Ah, so that’s how it is.”

As I nodded in agreement, Triton appeared slightly calmer, speaking with a composed tone.

“Even if I had borrowed my father’s divine weapon, Trinaar, I’m still just a mere mage skilled at handling water. It’s the same for you, right?”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Although I didn’t fully understand, it became clear that not all successors to divinity are powerful like gods. It seemed Triton had immense potential but hadn’t yet reached a certain level of mastery.

It was similar with Luna.

“And, the reason Hydra is feared even by gods is…”

“Does that really happen? There’s something even gods fear?”

“The unbreakable body and the curse of poison eat away at the soul. For eternity, you’d suffer without dying.”

I deducted a few points from the mysterious and magnificent image of gods I’d imagined. Strangely enough, it felt like my mind was clearing up.

So, what should we do now?

Retreat?

No, we wouldn’t have come here only to give up now.

“Then, stay here and watch.”

I stood in front of the rock nearly twice my height.

GROOOOOOOOAAAAAN.

As I pressed hard on my palms, the massive rock that was embedded in place began to shift.

PUSSHHHH-.

The toxic gas that was gushing out stung my eyes even more painfully.

“No, haven’t I warned you enough? I’m doing all this for your safety, man! What’s wrong with you? You’ve gone crazy!”

“I’ll find out now.”

This was literally my chance.

“I’ll discover what I can do-.”

This was my mission, the opportunity for me to find answers.

“-and understand what kind of person I am.”

In front of me, countless glowing eyes appeared in the darkness.

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