"Roar!" "Roar, roar!" "Roar, roar, roar!"
As the sky turned pitch black and phenomena of thunder and lightning appeared above the forest, the Hydra in the lake seemed to sense some fatal danger and began to roar frantically in unease.
It didn't know what Leon intended to do, nor did it know what it was about to face, but it at least knew it shouldn't sit idly by. Thus, it actually spat venom toward Leon in mid-air, letting a terrifying torrent of poison surge toward him.
However, before the venom could touch Leon, a fierce wind swirled around his body, shielding him firmly within and blasting away all incoming poison.
Seeing this, the Hydra spat out fireballs, striking at Leon, but the fireballs were also batted away one by one by the wind that had transformed into a tornado. They couldn't touch Leon at all.
"Roar!" "Roar, roar!" "Roar, roar, roar!"
Seeing that its attacks were consistently unable to harm Leon, and with the unease in its heart growing stronger, the Hydra could no longer bear it. It actually prepared to dive into the water, hiding at the bottom of the lake to avoid the impending danger.
But just as the Hydra prepared to dive, the lake beneath it underwent a dramatic change.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
Amidst a tooth-aching sound of freezing, a terrifying chill began to drift through the lake at some point, causing the waters to freeze into ice at an astonishing speed.
The originally turbulent lake water solidified in the chill. Even the bottom of the lake was affected by the cold and began to ice over. The temperature, which had risen slightly not long ago, was now plummeting violently, soon dropping below zero, causing wisps of cold mist to drift over the lake's surface.
The entire lake froze over just like that, turning into a world of ice and snow. The Hydra in the lake was not spared; it was slowly frozen along with the surrounding lake water, as layers of ice gradually appeared on its body.
"Roar!" "Roar, roar!" "Roar, roar, roar!"
The Hydra immediately roared and spat fireballs, shattering the ice beneath it and melting the frozen layers on its body.
Unfortunately, the chill drifting over the lake surface was much stronger than it imagined. The moment the Hydra made contact with it, ice layers quickly condensed on its body again, making it struggle frantically while letting out continuous roars of fury.
"Disappear."
As the culprit behind all this, Leon had finished charging his finishing blow while distracted by using the power of other attributes.
As Leon reached out his hand toward the sky, violent bolts of lightning suddenly emerged from the pitch-black clouds, converging toward the center like galloping thunder dragons.
Directly below that position was the Hydra.
the brutality and ferocity in the Hydra's eyes were now replaced by a surge of terror. It roared at the sky with blustery weakness while continuously spitting fireballs in an attempt to disperse the cloud layers and drive away the lightning.
If this were an existence possessing the power of a top-tier demon level, it might have been possible. However, while the Hydra itself was venomous and capable of regeneration—to the point that even Demon King-level figures would find it troublesome—its power intensity had not reached the level of a top-tier demon. At the very least, it could not disperse the sky controlled by Leon or drive away the black clouds and lightning.
Thus, at the center of the pitch-black cloud layer, the frantically converging lightning emitted a startlingly intense light, allowing blinding thunderous radiance to pierce through the clouds and illuminate the forest.
"BOOM!!!"
The next moment, a pillar of lightning that connected heaven and earth fell from the clouds. Carrying earth-shattering thunder, it struck the Hydra below.
It was a lightning pillar massive enough to swallow the Hydra's entire giant frame. Like the hammer of a Thunder God or the wrath of a Heavenly Deity, the moment it fell, it directly shattered the ice layers of the entire lake, turning the shockwave into a storm that swept out frantically.
Debris, boulders, gravel, ice, and even trees—everything existing within this zone lost its original form under this world-shaking blow. They lost control and flew everywhere with the impact storm, as if struck directly by a meteorite.
Dust also surged like a tsunami. The barrier where Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuuki Asuna, and Kasumigaoka Utaha were located was swallowed. The surrounding terrain was collapsing, causing them to disappear from sight.
In the entire field, only one person remained perfectly intact: Leon, protected by the tornado-like wind. His figure was like a mountain that would not fall; even the six demon wings behind him were motionless. The deep pitch-black on them reflected a calm face, making Leon's eyes shine with color like demonic pupils in the night.
The colossal pillar of lightning fell right before Leon, looking as if he could touch it simply by reaching out, making Leon's silhouette, facing that world-connecting bolt, appear incomparably majestic and powerful.
This scene maintained for an unknown amount of time before finally returning to peace.
The lightning pillar slowly grew smaller, allowing the thunderous light that illuminated heaven and earth to gradually fade, revealing the dim forest.
A shocking, massive crater also slowly emerged as the lightning pillar vanished, replacing the original location of the lake. There was no longer a single drop of water inside; there was only mangled terrain, with black smoke rising on one side and exposed rock and soil on the other. It truly looked as though it had been directly hit by a meteorite.
As for that ferocious Hydra, it was nowhere to be seen.
Of course, it hadn't escaped. It had, quite literally, been completely annihilated.
The massive lightning pillar had swallowed its giant body, incinerated its flesh and blood, and vaporized this ferocious magical beast on the spot. Not a single scrap of meat was left behind.
Naturally, it was impossible for it to resurrect. Let alone the nine crucial heads, even a single skull didn't remain. It was as dead as dead could be.
"...It's over?"
Only then did the girls watching from the side exchange glances, muttering with somewhat dazed expressions.
The barrier enveloping them had become covered in cracks at some point. When the dust storm receded, this precarious-looking barrier emerged from a piece of mangled ground and shattered upon impact, exposing them to the air once more.
They looked at the space in front of them where the lake used to be—now only a shocking giant crater remained. Every single one of them wore a speechless expression.
"Swish!"
Leon's figure then flew through the air. The three pairs of demon wings on his back flapped slightly, only folding and retracting into Leon's body once he reached the girls.
"So? Your master is pretty impressive, isn't he?"
Looking at his three retainers who hadn't fully reacted yet, Leon spoke in a joking manner.
"I can guarantee that with the blow just now, let alone a mere Hydra, even if a ten-winged top-tier demon came and took a direct hit, they'd have to retire on the spot."
Unless the opponent was an irregular player like Miyamoto Musashi—who could sever space and time with two blades and condense Nio statues with sword pressure to hack people—anyone who dared to take that lightning pillar head-on would have to be mentally prepared to fall from grace.
This was provided the opponent wasn't a Demon King existence.
If it were a Demon King-level existence, that attack would probably only scrape off a layer of their health.
"Don't you think you went a bit too far?" Kasumigaoka Utaha complained. "We were all right here; we were almost caught in the crossfire."
"Minister's battles are always so exaggerated; it's really bad for the heart." Yuuki Asuna clutched her trembling chest, saying with lingering fear, "It would be nice if you could show a little more restraint."
"I say, you didn't plan on finishing us off together, did you?" Yukinoshita Yukino also began to scold him, saying, "Pay a little more attention to your surroundings! You idiot!"
Clearly, the girls were all frightened by this battle. One by one, they couldn't help but "rebel against their superior," continuously scolding Leon.
"I wanted to hold back too, but I had no choice, right?" Leon said quite righteously. "If the power of my attack wasn't enough and that beast was left with a head or half a neck, wouldn't the fight have been for nothing?"
"Besides, it's not that I didn't pay attention to the surroundings. On the contrary, it was because I noticed Senpai had deployed a barrier that I felt safe to unleash like that, okay?"
With Kasumigaoka Utaha's current abilities, the barrier she deployed would at least leave existences below high-tier demons helpless. Even a high-tier demon would likely have to expend considerable effort to break it. Its defensive power was quite strong.
If it took a direct hit from Leon's attack, the barrier naturally wouldn't hold. But if it were just the aftershocks, it could still withstand them quite well.
Barrier-type Sacred Gears are mostly known for their defense, and Kasumigaoka Utaha was a reincarnated demon with the "Rook" piece, which provides enhancements to both offense and defense. Therefore, Leon had quite a bit of confidence in the defensive power of her barrier.
The main issue was that the Hydra was indeed quite troublesome, and Leon didn't want to give it any chance to resurrect, hence why he acted a bit recklessly.
"Since that magical beast was so powerful, why didn't you take it as a familiar?"
After finishing her scolding, Kasumigaoka Utaha calmed her emotions and spoke.
"Do you think anything can be taken as a familiar?" Leon said irritably. "A familiar contract is, after all, not as solid as the master-servant relationship of the Evil Piece system. Even retainers reincarnated via Evil Pieces might betray their master; the binding strength of a mere familiar contract goes without saying. It simply can't bind a truly powerful magical beast."
If it were the type that voluntarily compromised to become a familiar, it would be fine. But for a familiar forcibly subdued through combat, especially one with a ferocious temperament, one would need to be on guard at all times to avoid being backstabbed during a moment of inattention.
The Hydra was a ferocious magical beast that would even poison its own master. Basically, no one would be willing to take it as a familiar.
"Contracting a Hydra is worse than contracting Tiamat. At least you can talk to Tiamat; once a deal is struck, she won't betray you casually."
Leon spoke these words offhandedly.
"Then it really is my honor."
To his surprise, just as the words left his mouth, an unfamiliar voice rang out in response.
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