The air in Zone C grew heavy and still as they approached the serpent's lair. A flooded swamp covered in endless and sickly green fog.

The silence was unnatural. No chirping. No rustling. Just heavy quiet that felt like a held breath.

Squish. Squelch.

The ground became soft and dangerous. Black mud and tangled, thorny vines were grabbing at their ankles. Every member of the team was on high alert.

Their new artifacts gleamed dully in the gloom. Faces set in grim lines. The grief for Edgar had transformed into vengeful resolve.

Fuel that Dante had carefully manufactured.

This was not a hunt for vengeance. It was a hunt for the strength needed to claim the wish.

The wish that would be his. Not Edgar's. Never Edgar's.

They stopped at the edge of the swamp. Fog coiling around their boots. Rot and stagnant water mixed with something.

"This is it," Dante said. His voice low. "It's in there. Waiting."

He closed his eyes. Focusing his will. The air beside him grew cold.

The pure-dark silhouette of Edgar appeared.

His appearance sent a ripple of fresh sorrow through the team.

"Appraise the dominant life form within that fog," he commanded the shadow.

The ghost of Edgar tilted its head. Its empty gaze fixed on the swirling mist. It stood motionless for a long moment.

Then the information flowed directly into Dante's mind. A flood of cold, terrifying data.

Creature: Gorgon-Hydra, 'Ouroboros'

Rank: S

Abilities:

- Adamantine Scales: Nearly immune to physical and low-to-mid-level magical attacks. High resistance to elemental damage.

- Petrifying Gaze: Direct eye contact with any of its seven heads causes rapid, permanent petrification. The effect is mental and bypasses physical barriers.

- Venomous Miasma: Breathes corrosive, nerve-damaging fog from its main head. Causes paralysis and decay.

- Hyper-Regeneration: Heals extremely quickly. Severed heads regrow within minutes unless burned by S-rank elemental energy or purified by holy magic.

Weaknesses:

- The 'King Scale' located directly under the jaw of the central head. This single scale is the source of its healing power. Piercing it will temporarily stop all regeneration.

- Vulnerable to attacks that target the mind and soul directly.

- Its Petrifying Gaze requires direct line of sight and a moment of focus.

'An S-rank monster. A fortress of flesh and scale. A creature whose very gaze can end a life.'

'Direct attack is suicide. But with the right strategy, with the right sacrifices, it can be done.'

"Thank you, Edgar," Dante whispered. A cruel irony in the words.

With a thought, he released the summon. The shadow dissolved.

'Every drop of mana will be critical. Can't waste it on useless puppet in fight.'

He turned to his team. Face set in absolute confidence.

"Listen carefully. This is how we kill it."

Then he began with his strategy.

"Phase One: The Lure," he began. His voice cutting through the fog. "Eric, you are the anchor. You will go into the swamp alone."

"Your job is not to fight it. Your job is to survive it."

"Use your shield. Use the Buckler of Sparks. You will be our bait. Drawing its attention. Forcing its heads to focus on a single target. The rest of us will be hidden on the sides."

Eric nodded. His face grim but determined.

'He'll probably survive this. Probably. And if he doesn't, he served his purpose.'

He looked at Masha. "Your Grimoire of Hoarfrost. You will use it to control the battlefield. Forget attacks. I need you to freeze the ground. Create walls of ice. Make the area a prison for a creature of its size."

"Slow its movement. Block its line of sight to the rest of us. You are our cage builder."

Masha's eyes narrowed. But she nodded.

"Phase Two: The Sting," he continued. His gaze falling on Talia. "The moment its central head is distracted by Eric, you move."

"You are the only one with the speed to get close and the weapon to make it count."

"The Viper's Kiss daggers. The poison won't kill it. But the King Scale is a weak point. A powerful nerve poison applied there should disrupt its healing."

"You're not trying to kill it. You're trying to poison its regeneration. One cut. That's your only goal."

Talia's expression didn't change. But her hand moved to her daggers.

"Phase Three: The Execution," he said. His voice dropping. "Once the poison is delivered and its regeneration is crippled, we attack with everything we have."

"Erica, Lana, Jin. You will unleash a relentless, overwhelming assault."

"Erica, I need plasma lances. Nothing less. We need to pierce those scales."

"Lana, your staff is a battering ram. Use it."

"Jin, your cloak will protect you from the poison fog long enough to get close."

He looked at Rina.

"Rina, you will do nothing but keep Eric alive. He is our wall. And he will fall without you."

"And what will you be doing?" Lana asked. A challenging glint in her eye.

"I," Dante said. Touching the Ring of the Maelstrom on his finger. "Will be the backup plan."

"I will control the flow of the battle. And if any of you are caught, if the serpent turns its gaze upon you... I will make sure it has something else to look at."

'I'll save them if it's convenient. If it risks me my life, they're on their own.'

The plan was bold. Almost insane. It relied on perfect timing and flawless execution.

A single mistake would result in death. Petrification. A statue garden of their own frozen bodies.

They didn't flinch. They nodded. Their trust in his strategy was absolute.

"Take your positions," he commanded.

The team melted into the fog-shrouded swamp. A silent, deadly group waiting for their leader's signal.

Eric alone walked forward.

Thump. Thump.

His heavy, armored footsteps were a slow, deliberate drumbeat. He slammed the base of his tower shield into the muddy ground.

THUD.

The sound echoed across the water.

"Come on, you ugly bastard!" he roared.

For a moment, there was only silence.

Then the black, stagnant water began to churn.

The surface broke. Not with one head. But with seven.

The Gorgon-Hydra rose from the mud.

It was larger than any beast they had ever faced. Its body a writhing mass of serpentine muscle.

Six of its heads were reptilian nightmares. Their eyes glowing with evil, green light.

The seventh, central head was larger. More intelligent. Its eyes burning with ancient, hateful ruby light.

It was from this head that the thin, toxic fog began to seep.

The seven heads fixed their collective gaze on Eric.

'There it is. The serpent. The power I need. Come on, you bastard. Take the bait.'

"Masha, now!" Dante sent the command.

CRACKLE!

The ground around the Hydra exploded into a jagged prison of ice. Thick, solid walls shot up. Blocking the gaze of the six outer heads. Forcing them to smash and claw at the barriers.

The swampy mud under the beast froze solid. Its movements becoming slow and clumsy.

The central head, enraged, ignored the ice. It opened its mouth and lunged at Eric. Not with a bite. But with its gaze.

The world seemed to warp around its ruby eyes.

Eric bellowed. Slamming his shield down to cover his entire body. His eyes squeezed shut.

He wasn't looking.

But the attack wasn't physical.

Dante felt a wave of mental pressure slam outward. Eric grunted. His armor beginning to frost over with a thin layer of grey stone.

'The gaze is working even without direct eye contact. It's stronger than the appraisal suggested. Shit.'

"Rina, now!"

Rina, hidden behind an ice wall, poured her life energy into Eric. A green glow covered him. Fighting back the spreading petrification.

Buying him precious seconds.

The Hydra, frustrated, reared its central head back. Its jaw unhinging as it prepared to breathe its poisonous fog.

'Perfect. The throat is exposed. Now, Talia. Don't fail me.'

"Talia!" Dante screamed.

This was the moment.

With the central head reared back, the shimmering King Scale under its jaw was exposed.

Talia exploded from her hiding place. A blur of motion.

She ran not on the ground. But along the top of one of Masha's ice walls. Her feet impossibly light.

She was a ghost. A whisper of motion against the backdrop of chaos.

She leaped from the wall. Her body twisting in mid-air. Her Viper's Kiss daggers held in a reverse grip.

A silver streak against the monster's dark scales.

She descended upon the serpent's throat. Her blades aimed at the single, vulnerable point in its armor.

But the Gorgon-Hydra was an S-rank creature.

Its intelligence was ancient. Its battle instincts sharpened over thousands of years.

As Talia descended, one of the six outer heads, having just smashed through its ice barrier, whipped around with impossible speed.

Its gaze, a torrent of pure petrifying energy, locked onto her.

Talia's eyes widened in horror.

There was no time to dodge. No time to look away.

She was caught. Suspended in mid-air. A perfect target.

'Shit. If Talia fails, if she's turned to stone, the entire plan collapses. I need her to land that hit.'

Dante didn't hesitate.

He poured a massive amount of his own mana into the Ring of the Maelstrom.

WHOOSH!

The black, muddy water of the swamp erupted. A massive, churning whirlpool of mud and vines and stagnant water appeared directly in front of the attacking head.

A chaotic vortex that completely blocked its vision.

The serpent's head roared in fury as it was slammed by the whirlpool. Its petrifying gaze hitting nothing but churning water.

Talia, her life saved by a fraction of a second, completed her attack.

SHLIIICK!

Her poisoned daggers plunged deep into the shimmering King Scale.

A soundless scream tore through the swamp. A mental shockwave of pure pain that made them all stagger.

The Gorgon-Hydra thrashed wildly. Its seven heads roaring in a symphony of agony and rage.

The poison was working. Its regeneration was crippled.

'Yes. Perfect. Now we can kill it. Now we can—'

But their victory was short-lived.

The central head, ignoring Eric. Ignoring the whirlpool. Its ruby eyes burning with focused, absolute hatred.

It turned its gaze directly on the source of its pain.

It looked at Talia. Who was still clinging to its throat. Her daggers buried deep.

Time seemed to slow.

'And this time, there's nothing I can do to stop it. I don't have time to feed my mana to the ring.'

'She's going to die. And if she dies, we might not have enough firepower to finish this.'

'Damn it.'

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