The Achievement Junkie

Witnessing their second failure, the consuls roared all the louder. Their fury in battle was unfazed, unlike the majority of the elders.

All of the elders joined the consuls, however, literally. The many conjoined frost bodies glided into each other once to create one terrifyingly-large frost body with twenty-one heads. It matched Lunara's grandiose size and gave all spectators the sense that the elders were far stronger than they had anticipated, that the elders were going to pull off a victory.

This left out the seven multi-headed hydra elders and a couple of single-headed hydra elders that had never fully shared how progressive their intentions were to the mostly conservative council. Lunara was astounded by this. She was completely unaware that such a tactic was possible among her own species. Had the unwilling hydra elders joined in, Lunara wasn't sure what the outcome may have been. But as ice gathered around the massive, amalgamated hydra frost body, Lunara roared with matching fury to prove her confidence to the viewers below.

'This…'

'Don't worry, she'll be fine.'

Sighing and glancing at the young woman on his back, Raztol quietly asked, 'How are you so sure?'

Lina smiled with the utmost confidence. 'Because she's my mom. I've seen her fight gods much stronger than herself, so a bunch of old hydras that don't know any better won't stand a chance.'

Everyone's eyes were wide open and unblinking at the battle above. They were in awe of the sheer amount of ice the elders were generating, not to mention the dropping temperature they were causing. A sheet of icy javelins took shape and spread wide beside the elders' combined frost body. It nearly covered Lunara's view of the city. With a final roar, the elders unleashed this ultimate attack upon the Hydra Goddess.

As the vastly spread-out attack targeted Lunara with incredible accuracy and funneled toward her, all she did was roar. But as she roared her frost body grew larger and larger until it surpassed the size of the elders' joint frost body.

This seemingly changed nothing, only giving the icy javelins a larger target. The javelins swarmed her and came from all directions. In the end, no one was able to see Lunara as her entire body was engulfed in javelins of ice. When her roars died down, the elders finally sighed with some relief and Raztol frowned with heavy eyes.

ROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!

Lunara suddenly unleashed the most thundering roar that any hydra had ever heard, matching the intimidating and threatening cries that Halmut used before his battles. To the shock of everyone watching, the countless javelins of ice around Lunara began to move backward and then turn around. She was once again revealed to all below without even a scratch.

Unleashing another roar, more javelins of ice took shape behind Lunara, adding to the icy javelins that she had forcibly taken control of before they could damage her. Then, her own icy energy gathered further around the already existing javelins to make them larger and sharper.

'You've gained power through amazing tactics, that I'll admit. But you've lost the ability to properly wield and control your power in doing so!' shouted Lunara. 'Now, move aside and forfeit, or receive my attack and die with pride!'

Upon stating that, Luanra gave the elders a single moment of pause to decide.

Many of the frost body's heads began to shrink down as elders deserted the cause. But two heads roared mightily, swaying a few others to stay. The eight elders who commonly followed the general opinion of the council had managed to escape the battle, but the remaining thirteen elders stood firm in the water with both consuls roaring in encouragement.

'So be it!'

Finally, Lunara unleashed an attack worthy of the icy depths of hell. The slew of icicles came in all shapes and sizes but each icicle came with a razor-thin tip, proving just how meticulously Lunara was controlling both her own attack and the attack that she had taken control over.

'Please, stop!'

Upon hearing that cry, Lunara sighed in relief. Abruptly, just before the storm of ice fell upon the conjoined frost body, all of the icy javelins shattered and fell onto the world below as tiny, glistening ice crystals that melted before reaching the ground. It was both beautiful and unexpected.

Yet the moment the attack was diverted, the elders' frost body made their next move. They created a single icy spear, making sure that all thirteen of the remaining elders focused on it to not lose control like what had happened with their last attack.

But the moment the attack was thrown, another roar sounded out. 'ENOUGH!'

That attack was stopped in its tracks but not by the elders. Everyone was stunned to see someone else enter the fray but no one was surprised by who it was.

Raztol stood between Lunara and the obstinate elders. His frost body was enormous, clearly the strongest single frost body apart from Lunara's. In his claws was the giant icicle spear the elders had thrown and in his shoulder was the very tip of that spear.

'Head Raztol, why--'

'I said enough!' roared Raztol, shattering the icicle with brute strength. 'Wingreig, Hindrad, you've lost! Had I not intervened, you could've lost your lives. Yet Lunara has proven to be kind and generous, sparing you upon my request. How dare we assume she's our enemy when she's proven herself as strong enough to wipe out all of our strongest combatants combined!?'

'But, Head Raztol, if you had--'

'IT'S OVER!!! Anyone else who wishes to fight will fight me!'

The energy of the elders' frost body immediately began to dwindle. In seconds, the thirteen elders were separated without any signs of wanting to battle. They were still breathing heavily, tired after going through so much energy so quickly against a single opponent. Those thirteen elders all looked to Lunara without a word, secretly admiring her absolute power.

At the same time, Lunara dropped her frost body and reverted to the size she had shown from the beginning. She was also stumped by Raztol's interference, mostly by his action to block the petty attack which she could've swatted away without a hitch. Mostly, Lunara assumed that it was to prove his place before the public eye, but she was also impressed that Raztol was able to stop the attack without a grave injury. It proved to Lunara, the elders, and all hydras why he was the hydra head.