Chapter 358: The Fourth Head

“Haa——!”

With a thunderous roar, a brilliant white light surged from Lucien’s body, wrapping around the shield in front of him like a sturdy layer of armor.

Boom!

In the next instant, the Three-Headed Serpent crashed into Lucien.

The colossal force sent his body hurtling backward.

“Hold on——for the party!”

He gritted his teeth, straining every muscle to resist the serpent’s overwhelming strength.

Through sheer perseverance, he managed to lock the Three-Headed Serpent in a stalemate—giving the others their chance to strike.

“Flame Slash!”

“Earth Lance!”

“Shadow Spear!”

“Taste my aerial assault—Cyclone Burst Spear!”

Boom! Boom! Boom......

A series of explosions erupted across the Three-Headed Serpent’s massive body.

“ROAR!”

The serpent’s left and right heads let out painful bellows, lifting upward as their attention shifted from Lucien to the attackers.

“Watch out for its breath attacks!”

Lucien shouted a warning.

As if on cue, the two heads reared back violently, flames and ice swirling in the depths of their slightly parted jaws.

But just as the breath attacks were about to unleash—

Bang! Bang!

Two blinding bursts of white light flashed across the chamber.

The serpent’s left and right heads vanished, as if erased by some invisible force, leaving only stumps of severed necks behind.

“Huh?”

“Huh?! ”

“Wha......”

The Silver Party and Arthur, who had been tensed for a brutal battle, stood frozen in stunned silence.

Oh right......

It was only then that they snapped out of their combat instincts, remembering they had a monster-level powerhouse in their party this time.

“I feel completely unnecessary here......”

Arthur scratched his head, voicing the collective thought.

“Agreed.”

Even Frots nodded in rare agreement—likely because even he, the crucial scout, felt useless in the face of such overwhelming power.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Staring at the figure wielding the silver wand and carrying the black longsword, Arthur couldn’t help but wonder:

What on earth had Hulim been through these past few years? Back when they used to delve dungeons together, he’d at least had a role to play. Now......

Boom!

While the group stared dumbfounded at Hulim Heyerar, she raised her wand and cast another spell.

The serpent’s final remaining head suffered the same fate as its siblings—vanishing without a trace.

Thud——!

Deprived of all its heads, the Three-Headed Serpent’s enormous body crashed heavily to the ground.

“......”

Lucien, who had still been wearing a determined, battle-ready expression, awkwardly lowered his shield.

“That’s...... it? Are we sure this was the Dungeon Lord?”

Russell pinched his cheek in disbelief.

Smack!

A heavy fist landed on his face.

“Don’t you have your own cheeks to pinch?!”

Eileen snapped, rubbing her sore knuckles.

On the other side, Lucien stared at the massive corpse, scratching his head. “Well...... Let’s retrieve the magic stone first. The claws and that tail stinger are valuable materials too—we’ll take those with us.”

As he stepped forward to gather the loot, Hulim suddenly tensed, her expression shifting. “Don’t get close—step back!”

Lucien froze, but years of adventuring instinct kicked in. Before he could even think, his body reacted—leaping backward in a single bound, putting distance between himself and the serpent.

Almost the moment he moved, the serpent’s tail lashed out, its venomous stinger slicing through the air where his feet had just been.

“What?! It’s still alive?!”

“That can’t be right! Multi-headed serpents die once all their heads are gone—how is it still moving?!”

“Because...... not all its heads are gone.”

Hulim said calmly.

As her words faded—

Crack, crack......

The stumps of the serpent’s three necks began to splinter, as something struggled to break free from within.

Squelch——!

With a wet, tearing sound, a new head emerged—smaller than the previous three, but radiating a far more potent aura.

“ROAR——!”

It lifted its head to the sky and let out a deafening roar, then lowered its gaze, locking onto the group with icy, malevolent eyes.

“The Fourth Head?!”

The Silver Party and Arthur stared in shock.

“That’s impossible! How did a fourth head just pop up? I’ve never heard of this!”

Russell exclaimed, bewildered.

“No—this is possible,”

Frots spoke up again, his voice grave. “Three-Headed Serpents can grow a fourth head under certain circumstances......”

“What circumstances?”

“During evolution.”

“Evolution? Wait—does that mean this thing......”

“Not exactly. This head is clearly underdeveloped. A fully evolved serpent would have the fourth head fully formed and visible. This one was still in the developmental stage—it was forced to emerge prematurely.”

“I see. But uh... should we really be chatting right now? It looks like it’s about to breathe again......”

Perhaps learning from the last time its breath attack was interrupted, the serpent had already begun charging its attack before the new head was fully emerged.

BOOM——!

A bolt of golden thunder erupted from its jaws, crackling electricity threatening to engulf the entire chamber in an instant.

But just as the thunder was about to strike Lucien, it suddenly froze mid-air.

“Huh? It stopped?”

The group stared in confusion—only to realize that a massive Barrier had materialized around the Three-Headed Serpent, trapping it completely.

The thunder it had unleashed was contained within the barrier, bouncing back and striking the serpent itself instead of its intended targets.

Clink!

Hulim tapped her wand—the Seven Luminaries—against the ground.

A wave of energy rippled outward, and the barrier surrounding the serpent began to contract rapidly.

By now, the Three-Headed Serpent finally realized the danger, launching a desperate assault on the barrier. But no matter how fiercely it breathed fire, ice, or thunder—no matter how sharply its tail stinger struck—the barrier remained unshaken, contracting faster and faster.

In the end, the barrier shrank until the serpent had no room to move—crushing its body into a mangled, twisted heap......

Splash!

A rain of bright red blood poured down from above. This time, the Three-Headed Serpent was truly dead—its last-ditch evolution hadn’t changed its fate one bit, not even granting it a heroic final stand.

“......That’s the first time I’ve seen a Dungeon Lord die like that. Kinda feels sorry for it—wait, no! Why am I sympathizing with a monster?!”

“Don’t say that, Eileen! My back’s getting chills. She really was trying to kill me earlier, wasn’t she?”

Russell shrank back, avoiding Hulim’s gaze. The sheer brutality of her attack had left him terrified—he half-expected her to use the same trick on him someday.

But they were teammates now...... She wouldn’t do that...... Right?

......