Hydra.
A well-known mythological creature of ancient Greece that terrorized their ancient civilization.
Historical books from the 21st Century portrayed the creature to be a gigantic serpent with many heads and was said to be almost immortal but was slain by the great hero of myth, Heracles.
'Cut one off and two shall take its place'...a famous depiction of its impressive power and vitality giving its reputation as one of Heracles' 12 labors great justice.
However, Ashen wished he did not have to face such a creature of legend right from the get-go.
"EVERYONE SCATTER!!!"
He screams and immediately runs away from the wall just in time to avoid the rain of acid that came down on his previous spot.
"Bloody hell that stinks!", one of the knights exclaimed as he jumped out of the way.
"Not the point here! Ready yourselves!", another retorted.
The knights created another wall of concrete while Ashen rushed to get Rosseweisse out of one of the Hydra's many heads' way.
"YOU GODDAMNED NITWIT!!"
He screamed as he tackled Rosseweisse out of the way just in the nick of time as one of the Hydra's heads crushes the paved path they were she was previously on.
When he looked back, he felt a chill run down his back when he saw that the pavement was not just crushed; it was also melted.
'The stone friggin melted!!', Ashen exclaimed in his mind as he looked at the Hydra once more;
A total of 8 heads. Each having an estimated 25-foot necks as thick as tree trunks that were covered with pale emerald scales and connected to a body that is still underground. Its heads had large frills on the sides of their heads and some even had wicked looking spines at the frills' tips.
From Ashen's point of view, the Hydra was something straight out of a fantasy-themed video game with its seemingly glowing yellow eyes and dragon-like snout lined with wicked looking fangs that seem to drip with green-colored liquid which Ashen assumes to be either poison or acid.
It was according to what he remembers from the myth of the Hydra. However, he notices something completely off from it but his thoughts was cut off when one of the heads once again moves to attack them. This time it was about to attack with acid.
"Get up you damned Nitwit and RUN!!!"
He tugs at Rosseweisse's arm to pull her up but it seems she does not understand for what reason and just stared at him with a face that totally said, 'What is happening?'.
And just to add more problems in the mix, Ashen hears a rather bestial barking echoing all around them. No sooner that he noticed it, something large and black appeared from behind Rosseweisse along with a large gaping maw that could easily accommodate her small head.
"Look out!", Ashen quickly pulled her towards him and then let the momentum bring her while he punches the thing that almost ate her.
A pained yelp resounded and the large hulking mass the size of a mini van stumbled backwards.
"You have got to be kidding me!", Ashen grimaced as he recognized the creature;
A huge canine the size of a mini van with black grizzled fur, long black claws and wicked looking fangs and finally, a pair of bloodthirsty fiery eyes.
Ashen need no other feature to see to realize that the creature before him was none other than a,
"Barghest!"
A mythical dog said to be an omen of death from English folklore.
"This is just great!", Ashen grumbles as he draws his sword, "Knights! We have another problem in our hands!"
The Barghest looked at Ashen with hateful eyes as it began circling him and Rosseweisse. A typical wolf-like action that immediately told Ashen that it was not alone.
'This is really too much!'
"Where the hell are your Guards anyway Nitwit?! Shouldn't they be accompanying us right now?!", he demanded while not taking his eyes off of the stalking Barghest.
A curious thought. Afterall, Ashen knows the some of the Guard is here in England and he even met some of them when he and Rosseweisse arrived(?). However, how come none of them were present even back in the throne room? Afterall, Rosseweisse definitely needed to be guarded strictly considering her status as a Saint and a hot target of the terrorists. So why?
The very question baffled Ashen.
But then, Rosseweisse provided the answer in a matter-of-fact way, "I asked them to stay back in the palace and protect the people there."
Ashen could not help but feel shocked at her answer, "Why?", he asked, "And wait a minute, they were there?!"
"Why you ask? I mean, you brought along the rest of the black knights so there is no one else to defend the Queen Regnant and Queen Regent. So I asked them to stay and protect them while we go and rescue Miss Evaline."
Ashen was rendered speechless for a moment and then finally, he was triggered.
"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT?! THEY'RE FINE WITH JUST THE TALKING GUMMY BEAR AS THEIR PROTECTOR THERE!!"
He was exasperated. To him, it was one hell of a blunder not to have told Rosseweisse to bring her Guard along prior to their departure from the palace.
As he said, Guinnevere who (for some reason) holds the title of 'Brynhildr', is more than enough of a match for anyone or anything the terrorists sic at them as long as they are on the level of the Barghest right in front of him. He would understand Rosseweisse's concern if it was something on the level of a Hydra or a dragon but as logic states, Rosseweisse is the actual main target so it would stand to reason that the enemy would send the Hydra her way not Guinnevere's.
A pretty easy to understand logic that should be something even Rosseweisse realized but Ashen underestimated her ignorance and now he is suffering the consequences.
"I swear, I'll hit you later after this!"
He makes a vow just as the Barghest decides to attack.
Ashen swings his sword and in one swift strike, he beheads the lunging Barghest but he does not stop and continued his swing until he made a full circle and hits yet another Barghest that had snuck up from behind.
The monster yelps as its head gets lopped off unceremoniously and its body falls down to the ground. But Ashen had no time to spare. His problems just doubled after the Barghests' appearance and Rosseweisse's revelation.
"Screw it!"
With a grimace, Ashen can tell this was a hopeless situation. The knights numbered 15, though experienced in combat, they clearly had no prior experience fighting monsters from a completely different mythology.
'Barghests would be easy opponents as they are familiar with those...but a Hydra? Heck, I don't even know how to kill it!'
There was also no guarantee that repeating the way the legendary hero, Heracles, killed the Hydra would be possible or would even work so Ashen was troubled. For him, including the obviously ignorant Rosseweisse, he had to ensure the safety of 16 lives much to his chagrin.
But doing so would be too hard for him so instead,
"Everyone run! I don't care which direction you run to so just run! You already know the plan! Do what you think needs to be done to ensure it succeeds! We'll meet back in the palace after!"
He issues the order to flee.
"Eh? Mr. Ashen, why should we be fleeing?", Rosseweisse asks in wonder.
"Stop being stupid! Isn't it goddamned obvious already that we can't take on a pack of rabid death dogs and an immortal lizard at the same time?! Now get up and run!"
He snapped as he beheads another Barghest that had managed to get close to them.
"Milord! We shall handle distracting the Hydra!!", one of the knights called out just as an explosion blows away one of the heads, causing all the remaining heads to look at the particular knights direction, "Please go on and save Lady Evaline! We can handle distracting this beast!", declaring so, the other knights then made a cacophony of taunts and rained magic at the immortal serpent, forcing it to focus on them as it pulled its massive body from underground and slither towards the fleeing knights.
Seeing that, Ashen felt relief since he doesn't need to worry about the Hydra for the moment and he can now focus on just fighting off the Barghests.
"Mr. Ashen! The knights need help!", Rosseweisse cries out but Ashen ignored her and instead demanded her to get up and follow him,
"Shut up and start running! Those idiots are doing their best to let you run and live so don't go wasting the chance they gave you and just run!"
He snapped and angrily kicks her to stand up.
"Don't forget why you went along with me in the first place, Nitiwit. You are here to help us rescue Eva. Not to help us survive. Now get going!"
"But-!"
"I said get going!", Ashen shouts at her while beheading another Barghest then stabs another in the throat, "Run!"
Apparently, his shouting managed to convince Rosseweisse to drop the subject and just run and so she obediently gets up and clumsily runs towards the city. Seeing that, Ashen shrugs as he follows her while dealing with any Barghest that tried to get close to her.
'I thought it was just terrorists I'm fighting...why the heck are monsters popping up one after another?'
His internal grumble is left unsaid as he and Rosseweisse leave the scene and head for the city to continue their search for Evaline's whereabouts with Ashen lamenting the fact that he is somehow reliving the life of the heroes of myth.