Chapter 428: A Hydra (2/2)

They were sitting in a carriage that was parked beside a hill. The knights were asked to do another test where they gathered traces of the monsters' outbreak. However, the Seika didn't monitor them and simply chose to sit in the carriage and write on his little device.

Ma was bored, so he started looking through the window. As luck would have it, he saw one of the knights stroll through the woods. It was the giant man, and he found a few chicks that fell from their nest.

The man looked around. Although there was a time limit, he crouched down and lifted the chicks to return them to their nests. After that, the man resumed looking.

Ma was touched, and he turned to tell the Seika, so he managed to see what the Seika was writing. As he still hadn't named them, the giant knight was given the nickname Big Cub. Ma wondered if this was a play on Big Bear.

'Big Cub seems to have a gentle side to animals,' the Seika wrote, and Ma's eyes widened. But, of course, the Seika couldn't have possibly seen the giant man because he was looking at his device all the time.

'My Lord is one of many talents,' Ma vowed again to serve him well. The hours ticked by as he waited, and then, the Seika suddenly put his device away.

”Listen, Ma. I need you to go back now,” the Seika's face looked grave, and then Ma nodded. ”No, I need you to hide,” he suddenly changed his mind before disappearing.

Ma was confused before he looked out of the window. The lake was still a distance away from them, but somehow, he could see the water rising. The water rose until it was on the level of the hills beside the lake.

Then, Ma saw the Seika appear on top of a hill beside it. His figure was tiny in comparison, but the water stopped rising the moment that he teleported there.

There was a feeling in Ma's stomach as if a void was being carved into it. But then, he knew what that feeling was. It was danger. The water split apart to reveal a nine-head hydra that made the Seika look like an ant in comparison.

***

”We meet again, human,” the hydra said to him with its countless heads staring at Arthur. ”You kept your word and returned, but I don't see my child.”

”Greetings, Ruler of Seas,” Arthur said with a sigh. ”I'm here to assure you that I'm working on retrieving your child. That's why I'm here.”

”And how is being here will help?”

”I want to interrogate the people of this place,” Arthur answered the voice in his mind. ”You are a hydra,”

”What did you expect? That I was a demi-human?” the countless serpents sneered. ”Very well. I will trust you. However, make haste. For my daughter's tears are shed once every full moon.”

After that, the hydra went back into the water, and Arthur sighed. He had no idea how to handle the mess that would occur due to this, but at least he managed to convince the monster that he wasn't going back on their promise.

However, a full moon was but a week away from now. Arthur would have to find the child of the monster before then, lest Solomon is poisoned and his rune is taken away.

As he spread his detection, he found the baron's son on the lakeshore, trembling on the ground. Arthur teleported to his position and dragged the young master into the woods without his followers spotting them.

”Se... Seika?” the young master was barely breathing after witnessing the hydra emerging from the water. ”That monster... it is...”

”Quiet,” Arthur's art of submission was already activated. ”Tell me, who came here before the monster's attacks began.”

Arthur could feel his mana take hold of the man's existence and force it to obey his wishes. So, as Randolph left behind another lake beneath him, he began telling Arthur names and titles.

A name that caught Arthur's attention and which he remembered to be a noble that served the Knight of Nobility. Arthur frowned because if that knight was the culprit, It would be pretty tricky.