Revenge of the Soul Eater Volume 3 chapter 4 part 3

 
3
 

 
The first words that came to my mind when I saw Hydra for the first time were “dragon zombie”—a dragon of the dead.
 
Its scales covering its entire body were blackened as if rotting, and the blood oozing from various parts of its body was bubbling with body heat and foul poison. Even though we were still quite far away, the stench of decay pierced my nose through the sacred cloth mask. Clau Solas let out a pained “pwee”.
 
Probably noticing our intrusion, one of the eight heads raised itself as if to strike.
 
Its demon-lantern-like red eyes glared at us with hostility. I thought it might breathe out something, but there was no sign of that. Was it still observing, or did it think breathing wasn’t necessary?
 
Either way, all we could do was continue our observation.
 
The length of Hydra’s neck easily surpassed the walls of Ishka. Its thickness reminded me of a thousand-year-old great tree. With eight such long and thick necks, the size of its body was truly mountainous.
 
I looked at its feet, wondering how it supported such weight. Whether animal or magical beast, the larger the body, the more burden on the legs that support it. Aiming for the legs is a standard tactic when fighting giant beasts.
 
But this tactic didn’t seem applicable to Hydra.
 
This was because the lower part of Hydra’s body, where its legs should be, was completely buried in the ground.
 
—No, “ground” might be misleading.
 
The earth, corroded by the blood poison flowing from Hydra’s body, had turned into a bottomless swamp, and Hydra was advancing as if swimming through this swamp.
 
Even as I watched, the corrosion of the earth by the poison was progressing. From the air, it seemed slow, but if one were standing on the ground, they would realize it was moving at the speed of an adult’s run.
 
This rate of erosion was Hydra’s rate of invasion.
 
I had considered the possibility of Hydra flying, so in that sense, this was a relief.
 
However, its ground movement was troublesome in its own way.
 
The massive poison swamp left behind after Hydra passed—no, at this point, it should be called a sea of poison rather than a swamp. The poison sea created by Hydra continued to expand little by little, swallowing the surrounding trees. It was as if the poison sea itself had a will, which was quite grotesque.
 
At this rate, by the time Hydra reached Ishka, the entire area of Tittis would be swallowed by the poison sea. Even if we defeated Hydra then, Ishka would no longer be habitable.
 
Not just Ishka. If the poison spread through the Kale River, the village of Melte would also be in danger, and Horus, the royal capital a few days’ distance from Ishka, would be on the brink of extinction.
 
That was not a very pleasant vision of the future.
 
“Alright, Clau Solas, this is far enough.”
 
“Pwee!?”
 
“Return to Ishka. Don’t even think about trying to support me, okay? I neither have the capacity to save you nor the confidence not to involve you.”
 
“……”
 
“Answer me!”
 
“Pwgi!!”
 
“Good.”
 
After this exchange, I jumped off Clau Solas’s back towards the ground.
 
Normally, it would be an impossible height to survive, but with Kei, anything is possible—as I was thinking this, Hydra’s eyes, which had been fixed on me, gleamed.
 
Its widely opened mouth aimed at me as I fell.
 
In the next moment, a dark red breath was released from Hydra’s mouth. Judging from its color and shape, it must be a highly toxic liquid.
 
Water released under high pressure has high destructive power in itself. The existence of water magic that can shatter rocks and cut through metal is proof of this. Hydra’s poison liquid was equivalent to this, and if hit directly by the roaring approaching poison liquid, my body would be shattered by the water pressure before the poison could take effect.
 
Hydra’s breath filled my entire field of vision. It was as if a red castle wall was approaching, and I couldn’t even manage to dodge quickly. Especially not in mid-air.
 

 
So, I decided to meet it head-on.
 

 
I could have sliced through it with my Soul Equipment, but there was something else I wanted to try.
 
The knowledge of Soul Equipment I learned from the battle with Goz.
 
Soul Equipment is merely an entrance to the realm of the emptiness, a wooden sword—a primer—to further draw out the power of the same-source existence. That’s what the former instructor had said.
 
This was something I had never expected.
 
Until today, I had thought that becoming stronger meant simply raising my own level. That’s why I had wielded my Soul Equipment to defeat monsters, and why I had devoured the souls of Lunamaria, Miroslav, Ilia, and the others.
 
I probably never once thought about drawing out more power from the Soul Equipment.
 
Why? Because for me, soul-eating was the ultimate weapon. Once I had obtained the ultimate weapon, all that was left was to focus on raising my own level. This would lead to my strength—this thought wasn’t necessarily wrong.
 
But I learned that there were realms that couldn’t be reached by that alone.
 
And once I realized it, hints were scattered everywhere.
 
The biggest hint was on that day when I mastered the Soul Equipment. At that time, I was surrounded by countless maggots in the nest of the Fly King. My arms were eaten, my legs were eaten, my face was eaten.
 
The reason I’m alive and well today is none other than the power of the Soul Eater, my kindred existence.
 
Restoration magic is a divine act comparable to resurrection magic. It’s a miracle in the realm of gods that only the Pope of the Holy Kingdom can perform.
 
The Soul Eater effortlessly caused the same phenomenon. That’s how powerful this kindred existence is.
 
I was grateful for this fact, but I never thought of making that power my own.
 
I believed it was a one-time blessing, a one-time miracle for me who had awakened to the heart armor.
 
But I was wrong.
 
From that day until now, the power has always been within me. It never rejected me. I just wasn’t trying to grasp it.
 
In fact, when I desperately reached out during the fight with Goz, I was able to grasp it easily. It allowed me to grasp it.
 
This time, not out of desperation, but intentionally, I reach for it. I already understood how to do it.
 
It’s not the realm of the sky that Goz mentioned. At level [13], I can’t reach such a lofty domain.
 
What I should focus on now is not the far reaches of the sky, but the ground beneath my feet. The origin. The beginning of everything that level [1] me reached.

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— Synchronization completed here
 

 
Synchronization. Aligning mind and body with the kindred existence to draw out its power.
 
I immerse my body in that sensation of devouring everything.
 
I could have risked having my body taken over by the kindred existence, but strangely, I didn’t feel worried about that. I only heard the Soul Eater’s voice that one time, but that’s why I remember it clearly.
 
The voice that scolded me when I had given up on living.
 
The domineering roar telling me to devour everything in heaven and earth.
 
The rugged smile it showed me, leaning against an oak tree on some unknown rubble-strewn land.
 

 
— We are of the same origin and similar
 

 
My heart rages. My body burns. My vital energy roars.
 
I gather the power overflowing from within me in my mouth.
 
Vital Shot. A basic vital technique that simply spits out vital energy from the mouth.
 
But my image now is different from before. Just as I evolved Gust, another basic vital technique, into Void Eater – a single slash that devours distance – I’ll advance Vital Shot as well.
 
I imagine the breath of a dragon.
 
It’s a clash between dragons. It seems fitting that the opening act would be the collision of their breaths.
 
Pulling down the mask imbued with Priestess Sarah’s feelings, I open my mouth wide and–
 
“KAAAA!!”
 
I unleash my Vital Shot towards the approaching Hydra’s breath.
 


 


 


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