‘Run,’ Yuki said. She went to her feet and began backing away from the seven headed serpent. ‘We can’t fight that thing right now.’

[Agreed,] Akira replied.

The hydra sniffed the air, its seven pairs of nostrils flaring as its heads bobbed in every direction. Yuki and Akira crept away from the serpent as quickly as they could without alerting the monster to their presence. Yuki held the magic concealing them, pumping extra mana into it to be safe. 

Then the beast roared, seven voices screaming in a dissonant symphony. The sound made Yuki’s blood run cold, but she continued backing away at a steady pace. The hydra didn’t seem to notice them yet.

Once the seven headed snake had disappeared from sight, Yuki broke into a run, slicing through the forest with Akira by her side. There was no need to be careful about attracting the attention of other monsters now. 

A few meters away from the ruined facility, the imposing presence of the hydra had almost vanished. The sudden drop off in the monster’s mana signature gave Yuki pause, her feet stopping. The distance between her and the serpent wasn’t far enough for the mana signature of a rank S to drop noticeably. 

‘This thing can hide itself too?’ Yuki thought, groaning inwardly. 

[I think it can manually dampen its presence,] Akira said. [It’s not like the centipede where the armor did it.]

‘I don’t know if that’s worse or not.’

They bolted away again, their pace faster than it was before. Yuki needed to reach the camp and warn them before the hydra found them. The monster had most likely already detected the camp. Such a large group of people would be difficult for a monster of that caliber to not notice.

Trees flew past them, Yuki’s feet pounding the ground. The wind whipped her hair all about as she leaped over fallen trees and jagged boulders. Akira ran at her side, matching her pace. Moonlight flashed in her eyes as she passed under the treetops, the wind making the trees a shutter for the moon. 

As they neared the camp, the orange flickers of the campfire came into view. The watch hadn’t switched yet. Yuki located Erica immediately. Yuna was right beside her. The third watch member she couldn’t find.

Erica noticed their approach and stood to meet them. Yuki halted in front of her, bent over a bit as she caught her breath. Akira explained the situation for her.

“We found the rank S,” Akira said, cutting straight to the chase. “We need to move.”

Erica’s eyes widened, and she turned to Yuki who gave her a quick nod. At that, Erica spun on her heel and began to march toward the corporal’s tent. Yuki and Akira followed after her.

“Wait? You found a rank S?” Yuna asked, jogging to catch up. 

“We did. It was around where you said it was,” Yuki replied, glancing to her side. “Can you still feel that dark mana?”

“It’ll be hard not to,” Yuna said with a grim smile. “But it’s lessened quite a bit. So I thought you two did something.”

“We did something alright. We woke a rank S monster.”

“Then why did the feeling lessen?” Yuna frowned. 

“We think it can hide itself. We’ll explain more when we talk to the corporal,” Yuki said. Yuna nodded as they dunked under the cloth entrance of the corporal’s tent. Akira and Erica were inside already.

“What is it?” Carol said, crossing her arms. “This better be good.”

“It’s most definitely not good,” Yuki replied. Carol frowned at her words, but let her continue. “There’s a rank S monster possibly making its way to this location right now.”

“There’s a what?” Carol repeated.

“A rank S monster. A hydra from what I saw.”

“You saw it?” 

“I did. That’s why I know there’s one out there and why I think it’s probably going to come here.”

“There hasn’t been a hydra in decades,” Carol said. Yuki nodded. “Are you sure?”

“Most definitely. Now, I’ve never seen one myself until a few minutes ago, but there’s only one monster I can think of that looks like a sea serpent with multiple heads.”

“Yuna, rouse the guys awake,” Carol ordered. Yuna saluted and ducked out of the tent. “Zero. How many heads were there?”

“I counted seven,” Yuki replied. Akira confirmed the number, and Carol sighed.

“Fuck,” she said softly. “That’s bad.”

Yuki nodded. The more heads a hydra had, the stronger it was. The last one that had appeared decades before only had five, but it was already a high rank A. 

“How close were we to its den?” Carol asked.

“A little over two miles southeast of here,” Yuki said. “I don’t know how much of the land the hydra claimed as its territory though. It was asleep when we found it, but it must have felt our presence.”

“I’ll have to ask you what you were doing away from the camp, but right now isn’t the right time since you don’t look like you’re joking about this,” Carol said. “The hydra’s territory extends as far as it can control. I was wondering why there was such a lack of monsters around here, but it’s all coming together now.”

“That’s a good point,” Yuki frowned. “I didn’t think of that. Then we’re definitely within its territory.”

“We need to evacuate immediately. I’ll notify the other squads. You three go and help with the packing. They’ll need as many hands as they can get.”

“Alright,” Yuki said. She pushed the flap of the tent open and ducked out, Akira and Erica following her.

Outside, soldiers were hustling about, collapsing tents and storing their equipment. The fire had been put out, and the smoke was being smothered by leaves. But for all of the movement, the camp was quiet. The urgency was palpable. 

“I’ll get our tent,” Akira whispered before going to the camp’s edge where they had set up leaving Yuki with Erica. 

“Do you think we’re going to be fighting that hydra?” Erica asked.

“We might,” Yuki replied. “Depends on how much time it takes for it to get here. But it probably won’t be a full on battle.”

“Have to see what its unique thing is, right?”

“Yeah. We’ll have to poke at it for a bit, then draw back and make a plan. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think throwing ourselves at a rank S without any information will turn out well.”

“It sounds fun to think about though,” Erica grinned. Yuki pictured it in her head, three crazy girls running at a towering hydra, all seven of its heads filled with confusion. 

“It does,” Yuki said, smiling back.

The camp disappeared within minutes. Akira returned and stood by Yuki’s side as the other soldiers formed a loose line in front of Carol. 

“We’re evacuating right now,” Carol announced, her tone leaving no room for questions or protests. “The mission is being abandoned. Higher ups do not know, but there will be no complaints from them. If there is, I’m taking the heat. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the soldiers replied.

“Head out.”

The group began a hurried march through the forest. The sun was rising now, peeking just over the horizon as it dyed the sky a deep purple. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched as caution was pushed aside in favor of speed. 

Along the way, Yuna caught up with Yuki and the others. They walked quietly together, Yuki constantly checking her surroundings for any signs of the hydra. The signature of the hydra was still faint, but she knew that it wasn’t something that she could rely on. 

‘Can we make it out before it catches up?’ Yuki wondered. ‘I don’t know how fast a hydra can travel. Snakes aren’t terribly fast. But then again, it isn’t just a snake.’

“The other squads will be converging on us in a few minutes,” Carol announced, her pace not slowing. “If you feel a group of beings coming toward us, it might be them, so hold off on the attacks until I tell you otherwise.”

The soldiers voiced their acknowledgement and continued marching forward without another word. Their pace was slower than Yuki would have liked, but given the injuries that some members had sustained, it was expected. But anxiety began creeping up in her stomach. 

With a small flick of her wrists, she grasped her daggers and tucked the blades into her sleeves. She might need them soon.