The Devouring Dragon-Chapter 57: The Hydra

As I continued to lead the devils throughout the forest, searching for both the nine-headed hydra and any other powerful monsters, I took a couple of snacks on the way.

The first of which was a small, fat, round, and mole-looking creature, who was aptly named [Demon Mole].

From using [Devour] on it, I got the usual two skills.

[Sense Focus] - Temporarily decrease all other senses to increase one.

[Seismic Sense] - Track enemies through the vibrations in the ground.

Overall, they were decent, and I couldn't ask for more from a little weak mole. [Sense Focus] could be useful in niche situations, and [Seismic Sense] could come in handy if I ever ended up against a stealth-using opponent.

The next monster I used [Devour] on was a small circular-shaped bat, which was called [Demon Bat]. It looked pretty identical to how I remember Rias's original familiar being, so I assumed it was of the same species.

From the creature, I got one rather average skill and one much more useful one.

[Echolocation] - Track enemies through sounds in the air.

[Species Morph] - Morph your body into that of a related species.

Due to [Valon] having [Devour], [Species Morph] has evolved into [Devour Morph]!

[Devour Morph] - Morph your body or body parts into any devoured creature.

[Echolocation] was decent, as it had a similar use to [Seismic Sense] in being useful against stealth-skill using enemies, but [Devour Morph] was a lot more versatile.

I only tested it out a bit as we walked through the forest, but the skill was pretty similar to [Physical Morph]. However, while my previous skill could change parts of my body into anything as long as I was knowledgeable enough about it, [Devour Morph] was much more effortless, but also limited.

I didn't need any knowledge, or really even any concentration, to change my body with it. If I wanted my hand to morph into a dragon's claw, then it would just do it. So, while it was limited to only the species I had used [Devour] on, it could be used more easily in the heat of a battle.

As I was staring down at my now dragon-like hand, distracted as we walked through the forest, I was pulled back to reality by a large flash of light. To my left, a flash of light, almost as if thunder had struck, appeared as the air seemed to shimmer.

"Whatever did that will at least be decent, right?" I grinned, but Tiamat just shrugged at my words. I gestured for the group of devils behind me to follow, and we took a turn.

As I pushed through the branches and bushes in front of me, the creature in question came into view.

 [Ragiku] [Raiju] - Level 52

The animal looked a bit strange, as it looked mostly like a massive wolf, but it had scales seemingly randomly spread across its body. It had sharp fangs, stood at a bit over 15 feet tall even on four legs, and had sharp yellow eyes that narrowed as I approached.

Its fur was a dirty gray, though it had a long white mane that flowed down its back entirely. Aside from the scales that separated it from a normal wolf, the occasional zap of lightning that danced around its paws confirmed that it was no normal wolf.

"This annoying mutt," Catelya hissed from Koneko's shoulder, as the giant cat was now in a much smaller form, looking more like a regular housecat than the building-sized beast from before.

"You use lightning, right, Akeno?" I hummed, staring into the Raiju's narrowed eyes, "I think this one is a good match for you."

"He does look quite fierce," Akeno giggled, stepping up next to me as the Raiju started to stalk toward me threateningly.

"I agree that it's a good match," Rias piped up from behind us, "Though I never imagined that you'd be getting such a beast this soon..."

"I'm already full, so I'll give you a chance to flee," Ragiku finally spoke, sounding like a growl to the others but like normal words to me.

"I'm not as kind, so I won't do you the same favor," I grinned back at the beast, [King's Aura] activating, "My palace needs a guard dog."

Ragiku flinched at my aura, taking a step back as lightning coursed around his body. Surprisingly, despite being a lower level than Catelya, the Raiju didn't back down as easily.

"Shut up!" Ragiku roared, a flash of lightning sparking off his body and streaming toward me. I simply stepped to the side, letting it burn the grass where I had been standing.

"To be honest, you just pissed me off," I said bluntly, narrowing my eyes at the beast. This was my forest, and yet he won't just be a good mutt and roll over?

Quicker than his eyes could ever hope to track, I appeared above him. I rocketed my fist down, punching the top of his snout and sending his face down into the ground. A crater appeared around his face from the impact, and he let out a growl of pain.

"You dare-"

"Shut up, mutt," I used [King's Command], growing annoyed at how resilient the Raiju was. He was only level 52 - he should be grateful I didn't just use [Devour] on him before he had a chance to speak.

Ragiku's mouth slammed shut at my words, his eyes widening as my presence intensified.

"You're her familiar now," I said bluntly, pointing back at Akeno, "I'd threaten you with death, but there's no alternative. You only have one choice."

His mouth started to open again, and I glared down at him before he could speak, "If you say another word, I promise you'll regret it."

His mouth shut closed again, and he begrudgingly pushed himself back onto his feet. He slowly walked forward, bowing his head to Akeno.

"Wow, Mr. King is pretty scary sometimes," Akeno simply giggled at the display, placing her hand on the Raiju's head as she looked at me with sensual eyes, "Are you that scary in the bedroom too?"

"You'll have to find out," I smirked in reply, but then started walking back to the group as I didn't play into her game anymore. A glow surrounded the two, and Akeno now had a familiar in the form of a Raiju.

After that, there were a couple more unexciting encounters as I grinded up some more skills. The first of which was a rainbow slime, which looked like a normal slime blob but with a bunch of different slime colors being mixed within it.

Despite it being a slime, the skills I got from it were actually pretty good.

[Elemental Control] - Gain minor control over the elements of fire, ice, wind, earth, thunder, light, and darkness.

[Elemental Resistance] - Gain minor resistance to the elements of fire, ice, wind, earth, thunder, light, and darkness.

I couldn't know how 'minor' the skills were until I had a chance to test them out, but overall, they were pretty good. Having more resistances was always nice, and the control aspect could come in handy if I were fighting an opponent who used those elements.

After that, we encountered the familiar that I chose for Kiba: The [Undine Queen].

Despite having the title of 'queen,' she was much less interesting than the other actual monarchs I had defeated, as she was only level 47. Along with that, there was no actual kingdom she ruled over - just a small group of Undine that lived in a large pond.

She was a rather beautiful woman, as she could only be described as 'beautiful' as opposed to sexy. She had smooth skin, glowing white hair, and a pretty face, but her body was thin, petite, and a bit muscular.

Overall, I didn't have much interest in her, but she seemed strong enough that using [Devour] on her was a waste. She also didn't take much effort to convince, as the Undine, who was aptly named [Undy], seemed like she would've made a contract with Kiba even if I wasn't there.

After that, I encountered a very... unique monster. It was called the [Sex Slime] - yes, that's literally what it was called, and I suspected it was the same species of slime that Issei had tried to originally make a contract with.

That belief came from more than just the name, as I got two skills that could only be described as 'interesting' from using [Devour] on it.

[Almost Acid Production] - Produce acidic slime from your skin, which can be used to dissolve fabric.

[Aphrodisiac Slime Production] - Produce an aphrodisiac slime from your skin.

The skills definitely fit with the slime's name, and I wasn't sure how to feel about them. They were definitely skills... the skills of all time...

After that, we encountered something much more interesting. A small pure silver beast with a beak, red eyes, four clawed legs, and two feathery wings.

 [Griffin] - Level 5

I said small for a reason - the griffin was tiny, looking to be a baby. This time, it had been Ravel who was interested in claiming the familiar, though not for herself.

Ravel already had a familiar, as she had instead come to the familiar forest originally to help her brother's new Queen, which was Yubelluna, get a familiar because he was too lazy to go.

So, as much as I thought I'd get some good skills from using [Devour] on the small griffin, I held myself back. The beast didn't even put up a fight as I grabbed it, letting Yubelluna form a contract with the griffin.

After that, we hiked up, or more specifically flew to the top, of the large mountain in the corner of the forest. Just like the mountain in the corner of my territory, there were matching mountains in each corner of the forest.

As we reached the top, I finally found what I was looking for: The Nine-Headed Hydra.

The creature was massive, as it was truly one of the biggest monsters I had ever seen. Its thick lower half was at least thirty feet tall, and then the nine long serpent heads that shot upward from the thick body were all well over ten feet each.

Each head was the size of a car, and a big one at that, with thick, sharp teeth sticking out from them. The Hydra's scales were a deep emerald green, and they looked rather tough.

[Vythragon] [Nine-Headed Demonic Hydra] - Level 157

The monster was actually pretty strong, and I was once again reminded of how stupid Ragnar's 'familiar forest conquering' plan was.

Even if Tiamat had lent him some power - which she did because she knew he'd die and give her another [Scared Treasure] - he wouldn't have made it past this Hydra, much less the Meadow of Love.

"This beast would go well with you, would it not, Rias?" I grinned up at the monster as its nine heads turned to face me. A poisonous Hydra and the Crimson-Haired Princess of Ruin - a pretty fitting pair if you ask me.

"Be careful," Rias warned me from behind, looking a bit intimidated by the hulking beast, "Hyrda's have a very deadly poison in their jaws. If you get bit, only a high-class antidote or Phenex Tears can save you."

Honestly, it was heartwarming and a bit cute that she was worried about me. I wasn't sure if it was because she just wanted the strong familiar, or if she actually cared about me enough to hope I wouldn't die to the Hydra.

"Will you submit easily, or do I need to beat your ass a bit?" I called up to the Hydra bluntly, but judging from its death-glare, or death-glares considering its nine heads, I figured it would be the latter.

"Have you come here to kill me?" One of the heads hissed at me, and a notification appeared.

[Vythragon] has used [Mental Decay]!

[Mental Resistance] has blocked the skill

[Mental Resistance] effectiveness: 100%

"G-Gah," I heard a collection of pained winces behind me as the devils didn't have the same resistance I did. I glanced over my shoulder, seeing them grabbing at their heads in pain. A small flicker of annoyance shot through me as they did.

The devils were mine, and they were here because I wanted them to be. This Hydra attacking those under me was annoying.

"You're immortal, right?" I hummed, staring up at the monster with narrowed eyes.

The Nine-Headed Hydra living in the Familiar Forest had only been mentioned briefly in the series, as Rias had unseriously suggested that Issei make it his familiar, but one thing that had been mentioned was that it was immortal.

I wasn't sure how far that immortality went, as it could be the more common 'not dying of old age' immortality instead of the 'not dying at all' one, but I was annoyed enough that I'd find out now.

"Then I won't worry about accidentally killing you," I finished, tensing my legs as the monster towered over me. I didn't have my armor on, though my sword was sheathed at my hip, but I didn't need it here.

I lunged forward, and even without my armor stat boost I was still far too quick for Vythragon to react. Even if the Hydra was a pretty high level, being even stronger than Ragnar had been, I was far stronger now than when I had fought Ragnar.

And, unfortunately for the Hydra, he was the perfect opponent for me to face. My [Beast King] title gave me a 500% boost to my stats when facing a [Beast] opponent, as well as a 100% boost for fighting in my own territory.

As I shot into the air, appearing in front of the Hydra's heads even faster than I thought I would, it seemed that he definitely fit into the [Beast] category.

I grabbed the necks of the first two heads with my hands, gripping into the scales and cracking them with my fingers. Then, I quickly pounded my arms inward, clapping them together so hard that the skulls cracked.

The Hydra roared in pain and surprise as the heads slumped to the sides, their eyes glazing over as they fell unconscious. Another head lunged at me, fangs bared, but I simply leaned back and let it fly over my head.

As it did, I grabbed the next two long necks, gripping my fingers into the scales again. I slammed body arms downward, and my arms were far too strong, even without using my full strength, for the Hydra to resist.

The duo of heads slammed into the ground, craters forming around them as they were knocked out.

The Hydra's other heads snapped at me as I landed on the ground again, but their movements were sluggish. I barely resisted chuckling to myself as I took in the sight.

At one point, I had struggled to defeat Ragnar. Now, I was effortlessly defeating a Hydra even stronger than he had been

As pain rocked through its body, the other heads grew more frantic, starting to hiss and snap at me.

The next two heads lunged at me from opposite sides, but they looked almost as if they were moving in slow motion. I launched both of my fists forward at the same time, matching their strikes as my fists connected with the top of their heads.

A loud crack echoed through the mountain peak as the heads were flung backward, their necks snapping back as the heads dropped lifelessly to the ground, their eyes glazed over.

The Hydra's body convulsed, but I didn't let up. I dashed to the next set of heads, dodging the wild flailing of the remaining three.

The rest of the heads tried to bite down on me, poison flying from its jaws wildly as it did, but my reflexes were too quick - and my stats were simply too high. I ducked and weaved through their jaws easily, not taking a point of damage.

With a quick uppercut, I sent the seventh head reeling into the sky before it could even register what hit it. The eighth head followed a moment later, both of them now knocked out cold.

Now, with only one head left, the creature's body began to shake and wobble. The weight of the other necks and heads dragging against the floor was throwing off its balance, and the fight was as good as over.

"Will you obey now?" I smirked, using [King's Aura] and [King's Command] as the monster hissed at me.

Even despite the skills and the beating, Vythragon still narrowed his final set of eyes at me. For a moment, I thought he'd need another beating.

But, finally, the sole remaining head bowed down to me.

"You... I cannot beat you," The Hydra spit out, though he didn't look happy about it.

"Rias," I gestured for Rias to come up and complete the contract, then blinked in surprise at the multiple pairs of wide eyes staring at me.

Akeno's cheeks were a light shade of pink, and her eyes were glued to the defeated Hydra, "Ara, that was... intense."

Meanwhile, Rias stepped forward with a look of disbelief on her face. "Y-You beat the Nine-Headed Hydra without breaking a sweat?"

"Hmmph, to do so in just a few seconds is quite impressive, I suppose," Ravel quipped from behind her, but despite her words, she looked impressed.

"Well, it's not like it was a fair fight," I simply shrugged. With the stat boosts I could probably handle even Serafall without my armor or sword, so this Hydra never stood a chance.

Rias stepped up, placing her hand on one of the three still-conscious heads and completed the contract. After that, we headed back to the palace.

There were still a few monster species I needed to come back and use [Devour] on, but I could do that alone as I cleared out this section of my territory for development.

For now, leaving with a collection of powerful familiars and multiple completed reputation quests was satisfying enough.

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AN: Thank you for reading! The next Chapter will be out tomorrow!

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