Knight’s soul projection towered across the battlefield, its mutated body larger than mountains while vast wings spread from its back and stretched across the sky. Darkness flowed continuously from its fur and merged with surrounding space until the distinction between shadow and reality became impossible to determine.
Its glowing eyes settled upon Verilux. Then the panther vanished.
The movement happened so quickly that even the Saint-ranked Eternals momentarily failed to follow it.
One moment Knight stood behind the Hydra. The next he appeared beside its leftmost head.
Space split apart.
A single claw moved. The action looked almost casual. Yet the result was anything but. A line appeared across the Hydra’s neck.
For a brief moment nothing happened. Then the line deepened.
Ancient scales split apart. Flesh severed. Soul force ruptured. The entire neck separated cleanly from the body as though reality itself had decided the connection no longer existed. The severed head remained suspended in the air for several seconds before finally beginning its descent toward the Soul Sea below.
The massive head crashed into the ocean moments later and generated a tidal wave.
Then Verilux screamed in rage. The sound shook the entire region.
The remaining two heads thrashed violently against Aurora’s chains while endless streams of soul force erupted from the severed neck. The surrounding sea became chaotic as gigantic waves rose toward the heavens and storms intensified across the horizon.
Yet the creature never looked weakened.
If anything, it looked irritated.
A strange glow began spreading beneath Verilux’s scales. At first it resembled silver light flowing through veins hidden beneath its flesh, but within moments the radiance intensified until entire sections of the Hydra’s body resembled molten stars burning beneath black scales.
The pressure radiating from it surged higher and higher while the surrounding soul force rushed toward the creature in enormous quantities. Then its body began growing.
The already colossal guardian expanded further.
Its necks thickened. Its scales enlarged.
Its immense frame swelled until even the city beneath seemed smaller than before. The chains wrapped around its body groaned under the increasing pressure while cracks spread across their surfaces.
Aurora immediately reacted.
The storms overhead intensified and countless additional chains descended from the heavens to reinforce the restraint. Lightning poured continuously into the bindings while her projection remained seated upon her throne, directing enough power to flatten entire worlds.
It wasn’t enough.
Verilux flexed.
The movement appeared simple. The result was not.
The chains exploded.
Thousands of links shattered simultaneously as the Hydra tore free through brute force alone. Fragments of condensed lightning scattered across the battlefield while entire sections of the storm collapsed from the sudden backlash.
One of the remaining heads immediately turned toward Knight.
The creature’s eyes darkened. A darkness so complete that it appeared to devour light itself.
Then two beams erupted outward.
The attacks crossed the battlefield instantly and struck Knight before he could fully retreat. Space shattered around the gigantic panther while darkness swallowed entire sections of the sky. The impact hurled him backward through multiple layers of folded space and sent his enormous projection crashing across the horizon.
The Hydra didn’t stop there.
Its tail rose from the ocean. The thing was so large that it resembled a mountain range lifting itself into the air.
Ragnar noticed.
He roared and swung his club again.
The tail reached him first.
Several coils wrapped around the gigantic ape before he could escape. For a brief moment Ragnar struggled against the restraint, muscles bulging while enough force leaked from his body to split clouds across hundreds of kilometers.
Then Verilux moved.
The enormous tail swung downward and carried Ragnar with it.
The impact shattered the Soul Sea.
Silver waters exploded toward the heavens as Ragnar’s colossal body crashed into the ocean with enough force to create a crater stretching across the surface. Entire waves were displaced while shockwaves raced through neighboring regions.
At the same time, the third head tilted upward.
Its mouth opened.
The surrounding storms immediately became unstable.
Aurora’s lightning reacted first.
Then the clouds.
Then the chains.
Everything began flowing toward the creature.
The Hydra inhaled.
The action generated a force so absurd that entire sections of the atmosphere bent toward its open jaws. Lightning disappeared into the darkness of its throat while storm clouds unraveled and collapsed inward. The gigantic tempest Aurora had created moments ago simply ceased to exist as Verilux consumed it piece by piece.
I stared upward while ascending from the ruins below.
"That’s crazy."
The words escaped before I could stop them. The Hydra had broken free from Aurora.
Blasted away Knight. Thrown Ragnar into the ocean.
Consumed an entire storm. And somehow it still wasn’t finished.
My attention shifted toward the severed neck.
Then my eyes narrowed. The streams of soul force erupting from the wound suddenly reversed direction and began condensing around the damaged area. New scales appeared first. Then entire sections of neck rapidly reconstructed themselves while vast quantities of soul force poured into the process.
The regeneration was visible to the naked eye. Within seconds the missing neck had reformed completely.
Moments later a new head emerged. The gigantic jaws opened.
Ancient eyes blinked.
And Verilux stood whole once more.
For the first time since entering the Prime Territory, I understood why the Eternals trusted this thing to guard entire regions.
The creature wasn’t simply powerful.
It was absurd.
The three heads slowly rose higher into the sky while ancient runes ignited across every scale covering its body. Soul force gathered around it in quantities so immense that reality itself struggled to contain the pressure.
Then all three heads roared. The sound spread outward like a physical force.
The atmosphere collapsed.
The Soul Sea erupted.
Space twisted.
Entire regions felt it.
Not just Region Three.
Region Four.
Region Five.
Perhaps even further.
The roar rolled across the Prime Territory and left immense fluctuations in its wake. Cracks appeared throughout space while currents of soul force became chaotic and unstable. Millions of souls across multiple regions looked toward the horizon as the shockwave swept through their territories.
Above the city, the two Eternal Saints smiled.
Their domains expanded once more.
Verilux floated between them like a living catastrophe.
Meanwhile I remained suspended in the air, watching the creature and feeling the immense pressure radiating from its body. It was becoming increasingly obvious that this was no longer a fight against two Saints.
It was a battle against an entire system designed to crush anyone foolish enough to challenge it.
Several familiar presences appeared behind me.
Silver, Lyrate and Ash.
Lyrate studied the gigantic Hydra for several moments before turning toward me.
"What do you think?"
My gaze moved across the battlefield.
Then I slowly shook my head.
"We aren’t strong enough to fight that thing."
Nobody argued. The answer was obvious. Verilux wasn’t simply stronger than us.
It was built for battles like this. A ripple spread through the surrounding space. Knight stepped out of the distortion and immediately moved beside us.
Unlike the others, he didn’t spend much time looking at Verilux.
Instead his attention settled directly on me.
"I found something. Andrea contacted someone shortly after you left."
I frowned slightly.
"Who?"
"I don’t know."
His answer came immediately.
"But I remained close enough to hear parts of the conversation."
"And?"
Knight glanced toward Verilux.
"She mentioned the Guardian."
My eyes shifted toward the gigantic Hydra.
"At the time I didn’t know what she meant."
A faint smile appeared on Knight’s face.
"Now I do."
"What happened after that?"
"She left."
"Where?"
Knight remained silent for a moment.
Then he answered.
"I can’t take you there."
That immediately drew everyone’s attention.
Even Ash looked toward him.
"What do you mean you can’t?" Silver asked.
Knight folded his arms.
"I followed her all the way to the destination."
"Then?"
"I couldn’t enter."