Chapter 86: The Hydra's Advance

Seraphimon

Saias’s Villa

20 Minutes

 

“…So…a lot has happened since we’ve been gone, I see,” Apollomon said. “IceDevimon…DeathPhantomon…Lilithmon’s allies being freed from the Dark Area…”

“Deckerdramon said…he said if that were to ever happen, then Arcadia would never know light again,” Statuedramon said. “And it…it happened…”

“Well, we’re all going to make damn sure Arcadia does see light again!” BlackGaomon said. “Even if I have to give my life in—”

“NO!!!” I interrupted. I marched over to the Rookie Digimon, leaned down, and sternly said, “Let me make one thing very clear to everybody; under no circumstances are you to put yourselves in a situation that would cost you your life. Am I understood?!”

“…Yes, sir,” BlackGaomon said, slowly scooting back on the floor away from me.

“…We are the only ones who can stop Lilithmon,” I whispered. “If even one person in this room where to fall in battle…”

“What should we do first, sir?” Dianamon looked at Apollomon.

“I don’t know,” Apollomon sighed. “…Luna…are you done yet?”

“Almost, sir,” the witch said. “This healing spell usually only takes a few minutes to work, so the four of us should be ready to go any second now.”

“And how are you feeling?” Apollomon looked at Statuedramon, Zelda, and Thomas, sitting next to each other on a couch.

“Well, my arm doesn’t feel broken anymore, and—” Thomas began.

“No, not that,” Apollomon interrupted. “How do you feel about…what happened, Thomas? Anxious? Confident? Despaired?”

“…To be…quite honest, sir, I…don’t really know,” he admitted. “Anything could happen…We could win, or they could…And if they do…I don’t want to think about that possibility.”

“I…feel the same,” Statuedramon said. “For the first time in my life…I’m actually afraid. I’m not scared that I might get killed, but that I might get killed without having done everything I could have done to protect my family…”

“I tink ve can all say dat ve ah afraid,” Pheragas said. “Dare is noting dat can be done about dat, given de circumstances.”

“…If anybody wants out, just say so,” Apollomon said. “This will be different than fighting off bandits, or even the Bio Hybrids. If you wish to leave simply to save yourself, then…you may go.”

“Apollomon, how could you say that?!” Statch exclaimed. “I’m afraid…but I’m still willing to fight, too!”

“I’m ready to stand against my fears and worries and fight Lilithmon and her allies,” Zelda said. “I have faith in my comrades…they’ve never let anyone down before, and I know they won’t now. I’ll give my all to make sure they don’t get hurt.”

“…Just give us our orders, sir,” Thomas said.

“…Very well. The first thing we ought to do should be to—” The entire villa trembled violently. All the furniture seemed to be lifted off the floor as it shook. Then, quite suddenly, the shaking stopped. It ended so abruptly that everyone in the room was still frozen in place from the initial surprise.

“Is everyone okay?!” I asked.

“What was that? And earthquake?!” Statuedramon asked as another tremor shook the villa.

“No…they’re here!” I yelled, running outside. “They’ve found us!”

“Damn it! So soon?!” Apollomon asked. He and Dianamon dashed after me as I ran outside. The rest of Apollomon’s guild followed us out onto the lawn, where Hydramon stood. The center head of the colossal Mega licked its lips.

“So good to see you all again,” Hydramon said. “Which one of you…shall we devour first?”

“Everyone…get away from here,” Apollomon commanded. “Right now!”

“Are you kidding me? I’ve killed this stupid snake all on my own before, and I can do it again!” Statuedramon said.

“Oh, then, by all means, go ahead and try,” Hydramon’s three heads smirked, opening their mouths. “Lernaean Inferno!” Statuedramon held up his shield, preparing to defend against the oncoming attack.

“Statuedramon, get back!” Apollomon yelled. “That’s an order!”

“Don’t worry, boss; I’ve got—” Hydramon’s thick, orange flames completely overwhelmed the Rookie, for they had been far too violent for him to block. His small body was hidden from sight, covered by the flames. Thomas called out his friend’s name, and had I not grabbed his arm, he’d have surely run into the flames.

“Statuedramon…Statch, no…”

“There is nothing that can be done for him,” I said as Thomas fell to his knees. There was a clearing in the flames, and the form of two figures standing could be seen. Apollomon, with his arm raised, stood in front of Statuedramon, who looked up in awe at the Mega Digimon.

“Statuedramon…I told you…to stay back!” Apollomon yelled.

“Y—Yes sir…” Statuedramon said. Hydramon’s flames began to swirl around and around until they all gathered in a bright, shining orb in Apollomon’s hands.

“Solblaster!” Apollomon launched the flames at Hydramon, who simply laughed as he was struck by his own flames.

“My scales are harder than diamond, and proportionally as thick as the planet’s mantle! You think you could hurt me with my own flames?!” Hydramon asked. “You’ll have to try harder than that!”

“I don’t understand…I was able to do it last time,” Statuedramon said.

“Yes…but that was when about half of them remained,” I said. “Now that all twelve of them are here…their power has increased exponentially.”

“Everyone, get out of here!” Apollomon said. “This fight…this is not something that any of you can handle!”

“But, sir—”

“No buts, BlackGaomon! Just do it!”

“You too, Apollomon,” I said. “You are still injured.”

“Seraphimon…”

“Besides, you are their leader. Your presence will ease their minds,” I said. “And with peace of mind comes enhanced fighting abilities. If we are all to stay alive, then stay with them.”

“…All right.” Apollomon turned his back to me, following after his allies without turning to look back. “You’d better not get yourself killed, Seraphimon!” he called to me as he disappeared into the forest, following after the others.

“No worries there,” I whispered. “As long as my opponent is not Lilithmon…I will succeed.”

“You sure about that?” Hydramon asked. “Remember; my scales are—”

“Strike of the Seven Stars!” Seven glowing orbs struck Hydramon’s middle head, exploding on impact.

“…Hard as diamonds,” Hydramon smirked. “And after all those attacks, they retain their beautiful luster!” The center head lowered itself and looked me in the face. “Face it, Seraphimon…you’ve lost before you’ve even begun. You and your pathetic friends…you all don’t stand a chance against us!”

“Overconfidence will get you killed faster than a lack of confidence any day,” I said.

“Herculean Slicer!” Hydramon thrust the blade on his tail down, and I quickly grabbed it moments before it struck my neck. “Lernaean Inferno!” The attack happened so fast; I didn’t have enough time to react and protect myself as I was consumed by the orange flames. It was over as soon as it had begun. My armor was badly singed, and several of the golden feathers on my ten wings had fallen off and simply evaporated. I was breathing heavily, and yet I stood with a tight grip on Hydramon’s tail. As I began to generate a sword on my right arm, Hydramon flicked his tail, making me fall over onto my back, only to have the monstrous Digimon slam one of his legs on my body and pin me to the ground. His center head lowered itself even more and whispered, “I’m not going to kill you.”

“You…you’re not?!”

“Of course not…” Hydramon’s leg lifted up, allowing me to stand. “Killing only one of you would be absolutely no fun whatsoever. Run along now, little angel; find your friends.” I stood still, looking up at the tall Mega level. “Well? Don’t you wish to find your friends?”

“…And when I do find them, you’ll be there to kill them,” I said.

“The thought never crossed my mind. Go on…go find them. I’ll be waiting.”

“Hydramon…how stupid do you think I am?” I asked. “You’re planning on following me…so that when I do find them…that’s when you’ll strike.”

“And for all I know — which is quite a lot — they could have all separated,” Hydramon said. “I told you…killing only one of you at a time would be no fun at all. I want the pleasure of being able to kill the lot of you with a single attack!”

“Why should you get that honor?” another of Hydramon’s heads spoke up. “Just because you’re the one in the middle doesn’t mean you get to do all the fun stuff!”

“Ach, stop you complainin’,” Hydramon’s third head said. “Thas’ all any of us ever ‘ere from you anymore; jus’ constant bitchin’ and bitchin’…”

“Oi, shut up—”

“And then, jus’ when we think you done, you jus’ keep on bitchin’ an’ ramblin’ like you ain’t got anythin’ else to do!”

“Both of you; shut your fucking mouths!” Hydramon’s center head shouted at the two smaller heads. “I am trying to talk to our enemy!”

And while you’re busy talking to yourself, that enemy of yours is making his silent getaway. What an idiot…

“Look, Phil, I’ve said this to you thousands of times; all of us have a mind of our own now, so you don’t get to boss us around anymore!” the second head said. I hid myself behind a tree, waiting for the three heads’ little feud to end.

“YES I DO!!!” I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from laughing.

“Ach, lookit what you two did now!” Hydramon’s third head moaned.

“What now, Frank?!” the center head asked.

“While you two were bitchin’ each other out, tha’ angel ran away from us!”

“Wha—Where’d he go?!”

“Aww…I wanted to roast ‘im alive…”

Some clairvoyants these guys are…

“Oh, terrific; now we’ll never know where those bastards went! How could you lose sight of him?!”

I fucking knew it…

“Jennifer, calm down; we weren’t going to follow him anyway,” the center head, apparently called Phil, said.

“Oh…what are we goin’ to do, then?” the head known as Frank asked.

“You know…I hadn’t really thought about that…Shall we just go back to the lake until we figure out what we want to do?”

“That sounds unbearably dull…but I can’t think of a better idea,” the head known as Jennifer said.

“This doesn’t come as a surprise to me. When have you ever had a good idea?”

“SHUT UP!” the ground began to shake again; I peeked out from behind the tree I hid behind to see where he was going.

Lotisea Jungle…He’s going to the lake where he was sealed away the first time? Lake Viscaria… Hydramon was soon out of sight. “More importantly…where have the others gone?” I said to myself. “Apollomon…I need to find him…But where would he go…? And are the others with him? Or would Apollomon really have been foolish enough to separate the group at a time like this?” I looked up at the sky and thought for a moment. “…He probably would have…Damn it, I have to find them!”

Thomas Kasuto

 

The sun was beginning to set for the second time since we were attacked by Hydramon. In the beginning, all the members of Lachesis were in a group, but at Apollomon’s request, we had split ourselves into smaller groups. Zelda, Statuedramon, and I had just walked into a small, unfamiliar village.

“Thomas…how long do we have to…keep walking?” Statuedramon asked as he sat down on a dirt road. “We’ve been at it for…over a day…can we at least stop here for the night?”

“…Apollomon told us to get as far away as possible from the villa for a while,” I said to myself.

“Was it a good idea for us to separate?” Zelda asked. She had remained close to me as often as possible, and she had kept her hand in mine. “What if we get attacked?”

“It was what Apollomon commanded. As long as he is able to prove himself of being a capable leader…then I will do what he says without hesitation.”

“Where are we, anyway?” Statuedramon asked.

“We’re in a village known as Primrose,” Zelda said. “It is a desert village that rests on the borders of Valencia Territory and Cyprus Desert. It’s a small place, smaller than most other villages throughout the continent. Beyond that grassy slope at the end of this rode is a cliff overlooking the desert province.”

Statch looked up at Zelda. “You’ve been here before, haven’t you? Before you met us, you said you traveled around, right?” he asked.

“…No. This is actually my first time here,” Zelda said. “Before I came here, my…reputation preceded me. Because I’m one of the Marked…I wasn’t allowed to stay here…” Zelda sighed quietly, and I placed a hand over her shoulder. “All those things I said about this village…I either knew before we came here, or I could tell just by looking.”

“Wow…you sure are smart, Zelda,” Statch said.

“Oh, n—no, I…I—”

“Now that’s a really pretty shade of scarlet your face is turning!”

“Statuedramon…” Statch laughed in a friendly manner as Zelda embarrassedly hid her face behind her hands. I began to smile as well, until a mysterious noise caught my attention.

That sound…it’s a flute… I looked around, trying to determine where the flute music came from. …One of the Horcruxes was a Flute…Does that…mean anything? Or am I just hearing things again…?

“…Thomas? Hey, Thomas, did you hear me?!”

“Oh, Statuedramon…sorry. I just…heard a flute…It just made me think of the Horcruxes…”

“I didn’t hear a flute,” Statch said. “Did you, Zelda?”

“…No…I hear it, too,” Zelda said.

“You can?! Well, why the hell can’t I hear it?!”

“This flute’s melody…it can only be heard by those destined for greatness.” A young blonde woman dressed all in white and carrying a flute walked up to us.

“Greatness…then…does that mean…I’m not…” The woman looked down at Statuedramon; her eyes were gold and piercing.

Just like Luna’s…

“…Just because one is incapable of hearing it means nothing. Some are born destined to accomplish much in life…others take control of their destinies, and forcibly engrave their names in history for all eternity.”

“Ooh…That sounds like fun!” Statch said.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“…My name…it is Linoan…”