The villainous magical girl's daily mission is to find fault.

Chapter 702 Escape and escort are two options

Hydra.

Hyacinth had seen this deep-sea creature at the Chengdu Ocean Aquarium, which is why she recognized it at a glance.

This creature has a unique shape—an attachment point at the base of its roots, a columnar body, and a pair of ethereal, transparent tentacles at its head. It possesses potent venom and is able to prey on animals larger than itself.

Hydras are usually only about the size of a little finger, and at most the size of a palm. But this translucent hydra floating in the air with its tentacles is as big as an adult.

"careful."

Hyacinth raised her shield to protect the commoner girl, her sword in hand, wary of the strange hydra that hadn't made a move.

"It, it's the monster wandering in the corridor!" the girl exclaimed hurriedly, her nervousness evident in her voice.

Wandering in the corridor? This umbrella-like thing? Hyacinth was somewhat taken aback when she heard this.

Even if a hydra becomes a monster possessed by magic, it cannot escape its sessile predatory nature. Even if it can move, its short legs at the attachment point cannot exert much mobility.

Ha, it's just a hydra. Watch me take it down with my shield and greatsword!

Hyacinth stepped forward and slashed with its sharp sword.

The magical strike cleaved a gash in the hydra's head, splitting its entire umbrella-shaped canopy lengthwise. There was no scream or wail; the tentacles simply huddled together instinctively, as if the hyacinth's attack had easily dealt with them.

However, things are not that simple.

Just as Hyacinth was about to turn around and call for the commoner girl behind her to quickly evacuate from the floor, the girl's terrified expression and the oppressive feeling emanating from her made Hyacinth feel as if she were facing a formidable enemy. Her body moved before her mind could react, instinctively raising her shield to block in front of her—

"Pop!!"

A piercing, sharp scraping sound, as if some incredibly hard object had struck the large shield in her hand at high speed, sent Hyacinth staggering back two steps before regaining her balance. She peered through the edge of the shield at the thing that had been trying to pierce her and the shield together:

A powerful burst of magical energy erupted from the hydra's columnar body, which had been cleaved in two, like a small magic cannon that had been charged up for a long time. The enormous impact was enough to knock him back two steps. He couldn't imagine what would happen if the unarmed civilian girl behind him were hit.

But it wasn't over yet. The hydra's body healed and recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its columnar body quickly returned to its original shape, while the umbrella-shaped tentacles "detached" from its body in a bizarre manner.

The translucent umbrella-shaped cap contracted and writhed, while its tentacles gathered in the air, forming a slender jellyfish that swam in the air, radiating a strong magical aura!

"Jellyfish...?"

Hyacinth felt as if she had realized something quite ominous.

Most species of hydra and jellyfish are essentially the same organism. When the bell of the former falls into the water, it can form a small jellyfish, while the fertilized egg or even somatic cell of the latter can gradually develop into a swaying hydra when it falls onto the seabed.

Unfortunately, Nan Xiaofeng happens to have a significant degree of PTSD regarding "life forms" like the magical jellyfish.

The direct cause of my transformation into the Shadow of Stars was a giant astral jellyfish that attacked Rongcheng!

"What the hell are you doing..."

Hyacinth muttered to itself, raising its sword to stab at the swaying jellyfish umbrella in the air, attempting to destroy it.

The jellyfish didn't move much, nor did it make any unnecessary dodging movements. This slash easily hit it, splitting it in two and sending it crashing to the ground.

Such a weak defense is somewhat disappointing.

But its separated body did not dissipate into magic; instead, it reassembled and took shape as it writhed, forming two more entities identical to the hydra's columnar body in the blink of an eye, with umbrella-shaped tentacles beginning to grow and spread on its head.

Hyacinth felt uneasy looking at it, and her back was covered in cold sweat.

After being physically split in two, two hydras "grew" from each of the two halves? There are three hydras in front of me, and they seem to be breeding more magical jellyfish. If this continues, the entire stairwell will soon be covered by a dense swarm of hydras!

"Run! It's dangerous here!"

Sensing something was wrong, Hyacinth turned around, grabbed the hand of the commoner girl behind her, used her shield as cover to block the attacks of the three hydroids' tentacles, bypassed them, ran into the descending stairs, and made her escape.

To escape from the hotel floors to the street, you need to go down more than ten floors.

With the help of Hyacinth's half-pulling and half-carrying, the commoner girl was able to keep up with the magical girl's pace with relative ease. In addition, the continuous magical buzzing sound of magical jellyfish detaching from the hydroids behind them further spurred the two to quicken their pace.

While fleeing, Hyacinth didn't forget to ask for help via voice communication.

"Nightingale! Heart Moon Fox! Did you two see what happened just now? What was that thing??"

"Don't rush. We need to analyze the specific way those hydras exist. Your priority is to get the civilians out of this office building."

"Don't be stingy with your magic power. Use spells when necessary, and make good use of the items Heartmoon Fox gave you. Make sure the civilians are safe!"

The nightingale calmly made arrangements, undoubtedly acting as a crucial external brain for the hyacinth, which had no time to think during the tense running phase.

The latter quickly reached into his magic space and pulled out a charged shield generator that could unconditionally block one attack. He stuffed it into the arms of the commoner girl next to him and told her to keep it safe. He then charged forward with a large shield and a sharp sword, cutting down all the hydroids and jellyfish blocking his way in the stairwell!

Their regeneration rate could never keep up with the speed at which the two escaped. After escaping the floor where the hydras were parasitizing, their numbers quickly decreased to a level that could be easily managed. The escape route seemed to be completely open before the hyacinths:

As long as you rush out of this building and onto the street, you can escape the onslaught and pursuit of these strange hydra and jellyfish...

The fire door was smashed open by Hyacinth wielding a shield.

The ordinary girl followed closely behind, and the scenery before her eyes changed from the stairwell where she was fleeing in a tense moment to an old-fashioned garden in front of an office building. The sudden sense of escape made Hyacinth breathe a sigh of relief.

"Don't rush to catch your breath, your escape is far from over." The calm voice of Heart Moon Fox came from the Divine Stone.

Hyacinth froze for a moment, straightened up from behind the shield and looked ahead, her smile completely wiped away by the shocking scene before her:

This area is considered the heart of the old Chengdu, surrounded by towering buildings. On the roads where countless vehicles are piled up between the buildings, countless translucent hydra are stretching their bodies and waving their menacing tentacles towards the sky.

"The deep sea is not peaceful; a food chain still exists here, and countless creatures live here."

Hyacinth remembered the introduction given by the promoter at the aquarium.

Isn't this place also a kind of deep sea?

I felt like a fish fry that had strayed into this place, lost in this forest of hydra.

"So many bad things have happened..." Hyacinth murmured to herself.

If I were to break through this hydra forest by myself, it would be relatively easy. The individual hydra are not very strong, and even if I just run and hack and slash my way through, I wouldn't get seriously injured. At worst, I'd have to go to the hospital for some bandaging.

But the commoner girl beside him was different. She was just an ordinary commoner who cowered in fear. Even being hit once would be a fatal injury for her.

As if sensing the abundant magic that had suddenly appeared before them, the hydra gathered in this direction, their bell-shaped caps swaying and tentacles fluttering.

There was no way out in any direction, and the stairwell behind them was occupied by hydra. No matter which way they went, it seemed there was nowhere to escape.

"—BOOM!!"

"Um?"

Suddenly, a deep rumble reached my ears.

Hyacinth looked toward the source of the sound, squinted her eyes, and a purple magical sword aura splashed brilliant light on the road, cutting and pulverizing countless jellyfish and hydroids, opening up a narrow but temporarily safe corridor!

A purple magical girl appeared at the end of the corridor.

Holding a longsword in her hand, her formal attire was sharp and fitted, accentuating her youthful curves. She shouted loudly at the astonished Hyacinth:

"Don't just stand there! Come this way!"

"Senior Lilac! What brings you here?" Hyacinth replied in surprise.

But is this the time for reminiscing and asking questions? The regeneration of the hydra has begun, and more hydra jellyfish are starting to gather towards the corridor that has been painstakingly opened up. Hyacinth pulls the commoner girl onto the corridor guided by her senior and runs wildly!

Regardless of how our senior managed to get into this alternate dimension, escaping is the priority!