Fie's is fantastic! He's big enough for me to sit on and ride him now! Not as big as Auntie Amleth's thunder unicorn, of course, but still rideable! Maybe I should buy a saddle, but is there a saddle for a cat? Perhaps I should ask Brokkr to make me one! I'm sure a blacksmith like him can do just that!

"You insolent cat and you cursed child! How dare you!" [False Hydra]

The False Hydra begins to control its victim. The victim looks like they are one step away from becoming a zombie. Their mana is sucked out, their clothes are tattered. Their eyes sunken. Their skin is bruised and dry. It's horrible to look at them. Looking at them, I recognise Siti! Siti is still alive! Thank you goddess, for answering my prayer 

"Si..." [Diana]

(Quiet, or the false Hydra will specifically use Siti as a shield to make it harder for us!) [Kat]

Kat whispered to me. If that's true, I'm almost making this mission harder for us. For now, I will just remove the mana from THE THING and the false hydra mirage mana from thr victim, but

"Do that and I will eat them one by one" [False Hydra].

It now threatens us all. Randy wanted to act quickly, as his stamina was running low from the constant activation of his Berserk state. The other adventurers are trying their best to stay calm, but just like me, it shows on their faces. We all just stare at the false Hydra, waiting for it to make its next move.

I don't know why, but I can tell that the false Hydra is smiling and laughing like a villain in a novel. The hissing sound is different than usual. It clearly has the upper hand. I gritted my teeth in frustration. 

(This is bad... I don't want to do this as an adventure... Damn it... This is why I'm not a hero) "HAAAAAAAAAAAA!" [Randy]

Randy screamed loudly. With that, his life force expanded greatly as he converted it to further fuel his berserk state. It's powerful. It causes tremors. Echoes of his scream can be heard, causing us all to instinctively cover our ears. We can all see that he's getting stronger and stronger.

"Take this!" [Randy]

Randy rushes in alone. One of the heads of the false hydra threatens to eat a teenage boy alive, but unexpectedly, Randy simply ignores the head and goes to the largest head, striking it with a powerful blow from his golden axe. 

"The boy! The snake is eating him alive! Fie! Let's save him!" [Diana]

"Meow!" [Fie]

"Diana! Wait!" [Kat]

The boy's arm dangles as the head swallows it without difficulty. It tries to swallow but obviously can't as the other head feels pain. Pain as Randy mercilessly cuts the false Hydra down. The smaller heads aren't as tough, but they can regenerate like a Hydra. The largest head, however, is a tough nut to crack. I'm surprised that Randy's powerful blow didn't kill it in a single blow. It's definitely less powerful than the Chimera and the Behemoth he fought back then, so why...?

"Eat that girl!" [False hydra]

The biggest head panicked and ordered the smaller heads to do the same. Of course, the smaller heads quickly tried to do just that. It's agile, but Fie is even more agile. Fie kept me safe while I cast a few spells to counteract. 

"Damn! What a mess!"

"At least save the victim as much as we can!"

"Right! They're getting caught in the middle of the battle!" [Kat]

The others react quickly and rescue the victims one by one. The victim, still under the control of the false Hydra, scratch, bite, punch, kick, even head butt the adventures. Kat's eye began to bleed as Siti poked it! Of course, this is an emergency for the adventure, so they can't help but get a little rough for their own and the victim's safety

"He... He's dead..." [Diana]

"Meow..." [Fie]

"Right... Dead..." [Diana]

When Fie cut down the false hydra that ate the teenage boy, I felt sad and useless because I couldn't save him. I don't want to imagine it, but my mind keeps thinking about the grief the boy's mother and father will feel...

"HAAAaaa.a...." [Randy]

"Randy... Right! Randy!" [Diana]

Randy's berserk state has begun to wear off. He's clearly less powerful than his initial onslaught, but

"This is it! This is the end!" [Randy].

"Tchh, finally coming to your senses oh Berserker" [False Hydra].

"Shut up!" [Randy]

With that, Randy swung his golden axe and cut the biggest head cleanly in half. The head tried to regenerate, but Randy quickly ordered me to burn it. The other one also started throwing oil to make the fire bigger and hotter. I even use the Fire Fairy's blessing to burn it to ashes and dust.

The victims, without my help, slowly begin to form words. They're still in a state of disorder, so I treat them all quickly. Randy sits down, feeling down.

"How many of them were killed because of me?" [Randy]

"They... They will understand... If not, all of us, none of us will come back alive". 

"He's right. No one will blame you..."

"Still, if I have a little more control, I can end the fight even sooner..." [Randy]

"You know better than to cry over spilled milk" [Kat].

"That... I do..." [Randy]

So... Randy decided to sacrifice some to save them all... I... I don't know if it's right or wrong, but even I feel sorry for Randy. I'm sure what he felt right now can't be described in words. I don't know what he felt. I wanted to comfort him, but he told me to focus on treating the victim first and foremost. Still, this is Randy. He's strong and just as Nar, Sas, Jean, Aunt Amleth and the others believe in him, so will I. For now, I can only pray that the one who was killed will be accepted to the side of the Goddess.

"Di... Diana... Where... My brother... Are they safe?" [Siti]

"They are! They are!" [Diana]

"That's good. Thank you goddess" [Siti]