Chapter 29: A Good Hunt

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: A Good Hunt

The Storm Talons shrieked.

Then dove as the battle exploded.

Wind blades rained from above.

Lightning and fire answered from below.

Kane moved too.

Purple lightning erupted around him.

His Lightningstorm Serpent shot forward beside him.

A spear of purple lightning pierced straight through a diving Storm Talon.

The beast crashed into the ground lifeless.

Weak cheers immediately followed.

Yet they had time to celebrate as three more replaced it.

The zone had gone completely mad.

*****

Back on Damon’s side.

The storm screamed around him.

The wind had become so powerful that even walking required effort.

Dust swirled endlessly.

Trees bent under the pressure.

Freya’s ears twitched. Instantly her body tensed.

Damon noticed it too.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

The next second.

SHRIEEEEK!

A sharp cry descended from above.

Damon’s instincts exploded.

"Move!"

He threw himself sideways as a shadow crashed into the spot he had occupied moments ago.

BOOM!

Earth exploded.

Wind scattered everywhere.

Damon rolled across the ground before quickly standing.

His eyes narrowed.

Above them.

Several massive winged figures circled through the storm.

Their glowing eyes locked onto him.

Freya growled.

Silver lightning crackled across her fur.

Damon slowly smiled.

"So..."

He pulled out his knife.

"...you guys want a turn too?"

The moment Damon recognized the beasts, he stopped worrying about their numbers.

Storm Talons.

C Rank.

Fast.

Deadly.

That was enough information.

The rest could be figured out during the fight.

A grin slowly appeared on his face.

"Well... let’s see what C Rank really feels like."

Beside him, Freya’s silver eyes lit up.

Damon glanced at her and nodded.

No words were needed.

The little fox understood immediately.

The next second, both vanished.

Crack!

Silver lightning exploded from their previous position.

One went left.

The other went right.

The Storm Talons barely had time to react.

Damon shot upward like a bolt of lightning.

Wind roared around him as he appeared above the nearest beast.

The Storm Talon’s eyes widened.

Too late.

Shhhk!

His knife came down.

Straight into its eye.

The blade sank deep.

The beast released a painful screech.

SKREEEE!

But Damon wasn’t done.

Silver lightning surged through his arm and poured into the knife.

Crackle!

The Storm Talon’s entire body convulsed.

Its wings stiffened. Smoke rose from its feathers.

A second later, the light vanished from its eyes.

The corpse dropped from the sky.

Boom!

It crashed heavily into the ground below and Damon landed lightly beside it.

"One."

The remaining Storm Talons immediately reacted.

Their fear lasted only a moment before anger took over.

Sharp screeches filled the air.

Several wings beat at once.

The surrounding winds suddenly became violent.

The beasts attacked together.

Two of them dove from opposite directions.

Wind blades formed around their wings.

Damon’s eyes narrowed.

There was no panic. No hesitation.

Everything felt strangely clear.

The movement of the wind.

The angle of their attack.

Even the tension in their muscles.

It was almost as if he could predict what they were about to do.

The beasts moved.

But Damon moved first.

Crack!

Lightning flashed beneath his feet.

The wind blades sliced through empty air.

The Storm Talons missed completely.

"What?"

Damon almost laughed.

The speed boost was ridiculous.

He twisted his body in mid-step and appeared beneath one of the beasts.

His knife shot upward.

Shhhk!

The blade pierced through the underside of its skull.

The resistance lasted only a second. Then the knife punched through.

Silver lightning erupted again.

The beast dropped instantly.

Damon didn’t even stop moving.

He pulled the knife free and rolled forward.

A gust exploded behind him as the last Storm Talon attempted an ambush.

Boom!

Dust scattered everywhere.

The beast expected Damon to retreat.

Instead, Damon charged straight at it.

The Storm Talon panicked.

Its wings beat wildly as it tried to gain height.

Too slow... Damon laughed.

"Now you’re trying to run?"

Crack!

Lightning wrapped around his body.

His speed surged again.

The distance vanished instantly.

The beast barely turned its head before Damon swung.

A silver arc flashed through the air.

Shhhk!

The Storm Talon’s head separated cleanly from its body.

The corpse continued flying forward for several meters before crashing into the earth.

Boom!

Silence followed.

Damon landed softly.

Silver lightning still danced around his body.

Tiny arcs jumped between his fingers before fading away.

For a moment, he simply stood there.

Feeling it.

The power.

The control.

The freedom.

Then he exhaled.

"That was fun."

The smile on his face couldn’t be hidden anymore.

The more he fought, the more comfortable the lightning felt.

At first it had felt foreign.

Borrowed.

Now it felt like a natural extension of himself.

Every battle made the connection deeper.

The white core truly deserved its reputation.

His control improved almost in real time.

The lightning became faster.

Sharper.

More responsive.

It was as if the element wanted to be used.

But Damon wasn’t the only monster on the battlefield.

A distant screech pulled his attention away.

He turned just in time to witness Freya finishing her own fight.

One Storm Talon attempted to flee.

Three silver foxes chased after it.

No.

Not true foxes. But her Afterimages.

The real Freya stood calmly on a nearby rock.

Watching.

The fleeing beast desperately flapped its wings.

Then one afterimage appeared above it.

Another below.

The third directly ahead.

The Storm Talon froze.

It had nowhere to go.

The first fox tore into its wing.

The second crushed its throat.

The third slammed into its chest with a burst of lightning.

Boom!

The Storm Talon dropped from the sky.

Dead before it touched the ground.

The afterimages shattered into countless particles of silver light.

Freya stretched lazily. Then yawned.

As if she had merely finished a nap.

The little fox trotted over and jumped onto Damon’s shoulder.

Damon stared at her. While Freya blinked innocently.

Her expression practically screamed:

"What?"

Damon laughed. "You really are unbelievable."

Freya proudly raised her chin.

If someone saw her now, they would never believe she had just slaughtered four C Rank beasts.

She looked more like a spoiled pet than a terrifying spirit elemental.

Damon rubbed behind her ears as he praised.

"Good work."