Ethan swung his axe toward the Hydra's eyes again.
And again.
And again.
He attacked continuously, striking the same area without giving the Hydra a chance to recover.
Each time, the Hydra pulled its head backward, but Ethan kept moving forward.
He tightened his grip on the axe.
"I won't let you regenerate!"
The Hydra's body suddenly began to glow red.
Ethan paused.
"What the hell?"
The red glow intensified.
He had seen it before, but this time it was much more visible.
The Hydra suddenly moved forward.
It used its enormous head to slam into Ethan at full speed.
BOOM!
Ethan was sent flying through the air.
His body crashed into the dungeon wall.
CRACK!
He slid down the wall before forcing himself back onto his feet.
His eyes widened.
The Hydra's eye, which had been shattered and badly damaged, began regenerating.
The cracked eyelid slowly repaired itself.
The broken flesh restored itself.
Ethan stared at it.
"It regenerated again…"
He slowly rose into the air.
But then—
He paused.
The entire atmosphere felt different.
The air was tense.
"What…?"
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
"Wait."
"I've felt this before."
He stared at the Hydra.
"According to what I know about this…"
"It's entering Berserk Mode."
Ethan's expression became serious.
"Monsters in this state have extremely strong instincts."
"It already sees me as a threat."
He remembered what had happened earlier.
"And not only that…"
"The moment I was about to touch it and take its ability…"
"It understood that something was wrong."
"It removed the scale from my hand before I could even use God Touch."
Ethan stared at the Hydra.
"No normal monster should be able to react like that."
The Hydra's eyes remained locked onto him.
Then—
It flew forward.
Ethan's expression changed.
"I'm not scared!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
But this time, the Hydra was different.
It was completely different.
The Hydra pulled its head backward.
Then—
BOOM!
It shot its head forward at an incredible speed.
Ethan barely reacted.
He moved sideways.
WHOOSH!
The Hydra's head narrowly missed him and slammed into the dungeon ceiling.
CRASH!
A massive amount of rock and crystal broke apart and fell to the ground.
BOOM!
Ethan stared at the destruction.
"What the hell?"
"It almost hit me…"
"Not only that…"
"Its strength has increased significantly!"
The Hydra quickly withdrew its head.
It turned toward Ethan again.
Then it opened its enormous mouth.
A black mist began forming inside.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Venom…"
The Hydra suddenly spat the black mist toward him.
Ethan immediately flew upward.
The venom spread through the air.
He continued flying, constantly changing directions as the Hydra repeatedly fired venom at him.
"What the hell?"
"I've never heard of this kind of scale…"
"But one thing I know…"
Ethan's expression became serious.
"According to what I've read about Hydra venom…"
"Even a single touch can be deadly."
"You don't even have to inhale it."
"The venom can enter the body through the skin."
Ethan continued dodging.
WHOOSH!
Another stream of venom passed beside him.
He quickly raised his hand.
"Fire Magic!"
A blast of fire erupted from his palm.
BOOM!
The explosion forced the Hydra to pull back slightly.
Ethan used the opportunity to close the distance.
He raised his axe.
"This time…"
He flew directly toward the Hydra.
The Hydra launched its head forward again.
The moment it came close—
Ethan dodged sideways.
"Now!"
He raised his axe.
He swung it directly toward the Hydra's eye.
SLAM!
The axe struck its eye again.
The Hydra reacted instantly.
Its enormous head snapped toward Ethan.
Before he could retreat—
The Hydra grabbed his right arm with its jaws.
CRUNCH!
"GAAH!"
Its teeth clamped down around his shoulder, arm, and the axe he was holding.
Ethan struggled violently.
"Let go!"
But the Hydra refused.
It swung its head sideways.
Ethan's body was thrown around violently.
Then—
SPLASH!
The Hydra dragged him straight into the lake.
Ethan was pulled deeper and deeper underwater.
He struggled to breathe.
The Hydra continued dragging him downward, trying to drown him.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Damn it…"
He tightened his grip on the axe.
"I can't let it kill me here!"