Giovanni was already running to Eric's aid, even before the fight had ended.
From a distance, the Hydra's low strikes looked concerning. Up close, Giovanni saw his fear was justified: the boy bled, leaning on his swords to keep from collapsing.
Even if it didn't show on his face, the pain must have been suffocating. Eric turned his attention to the delicate boy and murmured, "Are there any enemies nearby?"
"None for now, but focus on yourself! Shelly, help!" Gaius and Giovanni brought the Hydra's body and Eric to safety on the bridge.
"Remove the armor. We need to treat this immediately. Sofia, can you assist?"
The upper part of the armor and tabard disintegrated into pale sparks, revealing the open wounds.
"I'm coming!" Responding to the call, Sofia hurried over and helped Giovanni gently lay Eric onto a makeshift bed of compacted earth. Together, they began administering first aid.
Despite their limited resources, they took turns gently cleaning each wound and carefully bandaging it. Even though the cramped space made movement difficult, they worked together methodically.
The giant accepted the treatment in silence. His quietness was accentuated by exhaustion that words could no longer describe.
Wrapping his torso in cloth and applying pressure took time, but stopped the bleeding.
Eric was a capable fighter, and each blow he had received was a sacrifice to prevent wounds from going too deep.
When the care was finished, Eric finally seemed to refocus on his surroundings. His gaze landed on Sofia, and with a brief gesture, he offered his palm.
The girl froze, afraid of misinterpreting the legacy's intentions. She glanced at Giovanni, who gave a positive signal.
Sofia's palm hesitantly met his, allowing something to flow from the boy's soul into hers.
[You have received a memory: Lost Princess's Jubilation]
The last thing either of them expected was a gift from Eric. Sofia took a few seconds to process the gesture and quickly lowered her head in an exaggerated expression of thanks.
"TH-THANK YOU!" The young woman's feelings were tinged with nervousness and fear. She genuinely believed Eric would have torn her head off if she had rejected the act.
Yet the question remained: why?
The giant sat on the earthen support, placed his hands on his knees, and focused as he summoned the missing part of his armor and tabard again.
"I'm not in a condition to take the lead… it would be wasted on me. Now, let's proceed." He explained, without mincing words.
The two wasted no time and invoked the runes of memory.
Memory: [Lost Princess's Jubilation]
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Type: Armor.
Memory Description: [The Hydras were the purest blood descendants of the Tidelord. Revered by artists throughout Thalorim, they were blessed with the duty of protecting their father's sacred lands, as well as the atelier.
The most talented and beautiful among the legendary beasts was deemed worthy of her species' royal title, destined to guard the colors of her homeland for all eternity. When the fall became inevitable, she fought against the darkness encroaching upon her kingdom, untouched by the abyss's madness.
Little did they know that what would doom them was the very thing they had sworn to protect.]
Happiness, Excitement!
The explosion of emotions was so intense that Sofia had to apologize with a glance when she noticed Giovanni's dazed expression.
A protective memory of ascended rank, with a description ready to go straight into her notebook? That was a gift from the heavens.
"This is perfect. I won't disappoint, I swear!" Sofia returned Giovanni's tunic with a grateful smile, stepped back a few paces, and let the new memory materialize in a storm of golden particles.
Giovanni swallowed hard. The garment was a perfect blend of dress and armor, making it lethally beautiful.
The thin, dark fabric, like the night, resembled a reptilian membrane that flowed over the bust in a fitted bodice, transitioning naturally into a delicate godet skirt that fell to the knees.
The true highlight was the fine detailing. It reinforced the garment's elegance. The collar was high, with a ruffled white frill, evoking the Victorian style.
Just below the collar, a central decorative bow was attached to the front placket.
A gray dragon crest coiled around a black pearl, appearing as the dark inversion of the works found in the mansion that had become their home.
The sleeves were puffed and fitted at the cuffs, wrapped in black ruffles that allowed wide movement without sacrificing elegance.
Finally, short gloves seemed part of the ensemble, protecting every last inch of skin.
All the breathtaking elegance served only to conceal the perfect layer of pale scales beneath the fabric, descending to her legs and feet, giving the impression that the young woman wore long stockings and ballet flats.
Sofia finished inspecting herself and turned her attention to Giovanni, intentions clear.
"…What do you think?" she asked innocently, blinking not once.
Giovanni completely blocked his mind, creating an impenetrable barrier.
"It seems like an excellent memory, of course," he replied, with a wry smile.
The young woman's expression turned into a dissatisfied grimace.
'You… think I look ugly, don't you?' Sofia telepathically complained, pouting.
Since they had become capable of hearing each other's thoughts, certain dynamics common to a relationship had been turned upside down. Privacy was one of them.
From her perspective, Giovanni saying something while hiding his thoughts would be like someone complimenting you, stepping three paces to the side, and starting to whisper with a stranger while staring you dead in the eyes.
Giovanni's eye twitched.
'Why would I think that? Your armor is incredible, with excellent protection.' He insisted, walking toward Shelly, who was trying to find the Hydra's Soul Shards to escape the conversation.
Sofia grabbed him by the tunic collar and dragged him back to his spot.
'Because you're lying through your teeth, you scoundrel!' Her dissatisfaction grew even louder in his head.
'God forbid a boy have his thoughts… I'm not lying!' Giovanni protested as he was dragged across the bridge.
Sofia physically returned Giovanni to his spot from moments earlier, then put her hands on her hips and faced him.
'Spill it! You've seen everything there is to see, there's no way your thoughts about me could be this awful!' Eric was getting up with difficulty beside them.
It required Gaius' help for him to move at an adequate pace. Already exasperated, the delicate boy exploded.
'You look hot! Is that what you wanted to hear? There! Happy now?' He shouted into his friend's head, turning red as a tomato.
Satisfaction, Embarrassment, Happiness.
'It wasn't that hard… see? I also think you look adorable in that tunic.' Sofia fixed her hair and finally turned to leave, hurrying to hide her face.
Giovanni placed his hands over his face, taking a deep breath.
He resented every bit of his aspect, without exception.
***
The group's stay in the mangrove came to an end in a hurried but peaceful walk. The Hydra acted as a territorial predator, keeping any creatures from approaching its potential lair.
That vacuum of power would not last long; however, they distanced themselves as far as possible until reaching the edge of the biome.
Ahead, the waterlogged, dark lands gave way to vast plains of pure… salt.
There was no vegetation nor any trace of organic life in sight, and the reason was not the strange soil composition… but rather what emerged from it.
Huge geysers ruptured the earth, releasing destructive, scalding jets of corrosive blood in erratic showers.
There were no nightmare creatures along the path, nor difficult terrain like the mangrove… it was a perfect path toward the waterfall.
The problem was crossing it without falling into pools of melted flesh.
Saying there were no creatures was also an exaggeration.
There was one type in particular.
Flying above the geyser inferno, whale-like beasts roamed like tracking dogs, migrating across the crater in search of prey.
When Giovanni needed to map the area, Eric activated his helmet's invisibility, allowing Giovanni to complete the task unobserved by the whale-like beasts.
Otherwise, he would have run back to the mansion with a herd of colossal beasts on his heels.
They could try to go deeper into the crater and circle the area… but none of them were brave enough to approach the abyss more than necessary.
Finally, since camping inside was impossible, they decided to camp before the final dash.
While Shelly and Eric stuffed themselves with as much meat and water as they could, Giovanni reviewed the route with Sofia. Their expressions were not happy.
"If we circle between these three, for example, we'd be freer to accelerate in the second third… but if more than one erupts at the same time, it would be far too dangerous," Sofia murmured, lost in thought.
The "route" Giovanni drew was more a suggestion than anything else. Nothing was guaranteed when the ground could explode in a corrosive shower at any time.
Taking the longest, safest path was not an option. The music would consume the others before arrival.
It was the same reason they couldn't just dig to the destination.
Time.
"Then it'll have to be this…" Putting away the region map, he stored the supply compartment in Gaius and waited for his companions to finish eating.
"By the way, have you discovered what your new memory does?"
The Hydra was a fallen monster, so the possibility of it having any power beyond super-resistance was high.
"W…well… yes." Sofia quickly blocked her mind to avoid leaking information prematurely.
With a playful smile, she gestured for Giovanni to approach.
This was the most obvious trap she had ever set, and yet he would fall for it anyway. Tragic.
With a heavy sigh, he stepped toward his friend, bracing for the chaos that was about to be unleashed on him.
"Here we go… wh-?" Even knowing it was coming, he was caught off guard. Black tentacles, moving faster than he could follow, shot out from the skirt and seized Giovanni, lifting him into the air.
Or rather, they bit him.
What seemed like tentacles were, in fact, five entirely black serpent heads made of ink. Giovanni felt every muscle in his body tense, momentarily thinking he might die.
Sofia opened her mind, letting him hear the exaggerated laughter swirling in her head.
"…Can you let me go now?" the delicate boy grunted, clearly displeased.
"Sorry… sorry. I couldn't pass up the chance!" Sofia gently lowered him to the ground, hands clasped in a gesture of feigned apology, her pulse still racing from the mischievous act.
"Can you control these things freely…?" Setting aside his pouting, he asked, genuinely curious about the memory's mechanics.
Sofia cleared her throat and adopted a more serious posture. "I need to control them individually, so it's a bit challenging at first, but my attributes compensate for the headache. I'll get the hang of it soon enough."
That… was incredible, really. Not a miraculous solution, but it made Sofia a deadly combatant.
Even though its power was significantly diminished, these were still the jaws of an ascended memory. They were not the weak link—he was the only leftover with that title.
Giovanni didn't take pride easily… but he had to admit his ego was wounded.
He could also use the memory to restrain powerful creatures, but that power would be wasted on him. Sofia could truly eliminate threats, rather than incapacitate them.
"I'll be counting on you to protect us, then." The boy smiled awkwardly and looked at Eric, who was staggering in a daze.
"You can count on me, boss!" Sofia gave a crooked salute and returned his smile. The term made Giovanni shiver completely.
She was doing it on purpose.
"…Never say that again." He muttered, embarrassed. Where was the shy, insecure girl? Living together really revealed sides of people they never expected.
Walking toward Shelly, who had her eyes wide like an owl, he knew this part of the plan depended mostly on the wild girl. Expectations rested heavily on her shoulders.
"We're moving out. Everything good on your end?" He gestured toward the exit of the makeshift cabin.
"Ugh… yeah. I think I might throw up." Overeating left Shelly queasy, but it was better to suffer from excess than lack.
It was her time to shine.
***
Now, only one last obstacle remained between them and the end of this cursed expedition.
A salt minefield.
Shelly stepped repeatedly on the ground, finding this region stranger than any previous one. What could have created something like this? As with most biomes in the crater, it made no sense.
It was as if someone, playing god, had randomly connected pieces to assemble a puzzle.
Was this what they called artistic sense? It seemed like complete nonsense.
Nearby, Giovanni was transmuting a large section of soil into earth, preparing for the night's trick.
"Okay… this will have to do. Everyone start moving up!" Giovanni gestured to his companions.
Sofia took the lead, while Gaius and Eric stayed at the rear, in the spot they considered safest, since the giant still looked like a zombie.
It was purely aesthetic. If a geyser near them erupted, it would fall on everyone equally.
Shelly climbed and stood at the center, already invoking the [Draconic Pendant] in advance.
Their plan was simple.
If they wanted to be fast enough to make up for their mangrove delay, every trick had to be stacked in their arsenal.
"Time to start, all passengers aboard!" Giovanni focused on the mass of earth below him and ordered it forward at full force.
The wave moved quickly across the plain, but it was nothing extraordinary. It was comparable to Giovanni or Sofia running at their maximum speed.
The only advantage was that it caused no physical strain on the exhausted group.
That was where she came in.
Her pendant strengthened its bearer according to how intense the emotions they felt at the moment were. A niche ability, but undoubtedly useful.
For everyone… except her.
In her mind, memories of familiar faces in a destroyed room resurfaced. The mere thought caused indescribable nausea and rage.
No, much worse than that.
It was the purest, uncontrollable hatred.
Her hand gripped the hilt of her black dagger so tightly her fingers went white. Emotions exploded in her chest like an uncontrollable vortex.
She wanted to kill them all. She would kill them all.
Blood pulsed in her ears, her vision blurred. Her emotions threatened to consume every bit of her rationality.
This was the price of her flaw.
The jewel on her chest lit up, emanating a sea of colors that enveloped everything around her in saturated tones.
Latent power coursed through her body like a divine gift, overwhelming her with a maddening pleasure.
'Go… to… hell!' Controlling her nerves enough not to stab the nearest person… she activated, unenhanced, the wave of earth that everyone was clinging to.
Everyone swallowed hard, trembling in the face of the inevitable future.
WHOOSH!
A rainbow blur disappeared from view, shooting toward the horizon.