Chapter 33 – The End of the Hunt

"This is over…" Edgar said, watching the battle between Windor and the Crotalus Desertignis with a detached, almost disinterested gaze.

"You'd die easily in combat if you think like that, boy."

"Why?"

"Pay attention. The real fight starts now. Watch carefully so you can later correct the mistakes that the useless bird is making—and will continue to make."

Entirely uninterested in the fight, Nala watched the two beasts as though they were ants. Her main concern was using the situation to teach Edgar a few things while silently berating herself for her earlier shameful actions.

"The first rule of combat is knowing how to study your enemies. The useless bird does this instinctively, but its training has been severely lacking in this regard. It moves forward too much, and its exploratory attacks are slow. If it were facing a Naja Aquaestrictor, it would already be caught and dead."

"…" Edgar listened intently as he observed the battle.

"Look at that. It flies too high and leaves too many openings for the enemy to hide. At any moment, the serpent will stop trying to flee and switch to survival combat. Let's see how the useless bird handles that…"

As if on cue, the fight shifted dramatically. The serpent stopped attempting to flee from Windor and began emitting a dense red aura from its horns.

Its scales, already deep red, bristled and darkened further. The horns grew nearly twice their size, its fangs lengthened, and even its eyes turned a solid crimson, completely obscuring the irises.

Then, an extraordinary sight stunned Edgar: the serpent began releasing fire from its loreal pits and mouth.

"Now it's getting serious... Send the command for the useless bird not to use combat mode," Nala said.

"Huh? But why? Won't the Crotalus have the upper hand?"

"Exactly. If it only ever faces weak opponents, it'll never grow stronger. Even though it's male, it needs to learn how to handle mortal threats—just like the girls did, though they failed miserably."

"… Understood."

Recognizing the situation, Edgar sent a message using his aura, commanding Windor not to enter combat mode.

The bird received the message clearly and obeyed without hesitation, though it became more hesitant and cautious in its movements.

The serpent, on the other hand, grew bolder and more confident. It launched a barrage of massive fireballs toward Windor. These were larger and faster than the acidic projectiles from before, making them more challenging to dodge.

But the true danger of this attack lay not in its size or speed. In reality, the Crotalus Desertignis used this special ability to counter swift prey or defend against airborne predators.

The trick was in the aura infused within the fireballs, which were directly connected to the serpent's horns. This meant each fireball had a controllable amount of aura, allowing the serpent to guide them at will.

Unaware of this, both Windor and Edgar were caught off guard when the fireballs seemed to come alive, homing in on their target. They pursued Windor at full speed, undeterred even as he ascended hundreds of meters.

Instead, the fireballs encircled Windor's path, forcing him to retreat and descend, driving him back toward the battlefield closer to the ground.

Soon, they caught up to him. Windor, having no other option, used his magic to create a shield of cold air around himself for protection.

It worked, shielding him from most of the fireballs. Unfortunately, two struck him at point-blank range, causing severe damage and momentarily throwing him off balance.

Falling several meters, Windor managed to recover but was immediately pursued by another wave of fireballs. He quickly created another cold-air shield, slightly stronger this time.

This time, he withstood the barrage before the shield shattered. However, a third wave of fireballs caught him by surprise. Hastily erecting a shield, Windor couldn't hold it, and five fireballs struck him at close range.

The damage was extensive. Severe burns marred his body, and the feathers on his wings and tail were badly damaged. Windor lost balance again, plummeting several meters before regaining flight just above the ground.

The altitude was perfect for the serpent, which wasted no time sending yet another wave of fireballs. Despite the threat and his grave injuries, Windor didn't back down. Instead, he stopped dodging altogether and committed everything to an attack.

"Don't be afraid, Windor. Use the rotation and freezing techniques together. Aim for the target."

Hearing his master's words, Windor immediately regained composure. As the fireballs closed in again, Windor didn't hesitate this time. Folding his wings, he changed direction and dove toward the ground at high speed.

The fireballs followed, but Windor raised a barrier in front of his beak. However, this barrier wasn't for protection or aerodynamics.

It was designed as a drill, with deep grooves. As air passed through the grooves, the barrier began spinning rapidly, creating a mini-tornado around Windor. Once he gained enough speed, Windor used magic to freeze the barrier.

The fireballs chasing him were extinguished instantly upon contact with the extremely cold air trailing behind Windor.

The serpent noticed this but realized that launching more fireballs would be futile. All it could do now was try to hide.

But there was no time for that. Windor had already closed the distance.

"That's an impressive move. When did you train for that?" Nala asked, her face showing a hint of surprise at Windor's highly effective strike against the serpent.

"Heh, you didn't think I spent two years only teaching him the Collapse technique and high-speed flight, did you?" Edgar responded smugly, his expression filled with satisfaction.

"I didn't say that. I just find it interesting for an aura beast to execute such a complex move without numerous prior failures," Nala replied, avoiding Edgar's gaze, knowing he was wearing a triumphant smirk.

"It wasn't anything extraordinary. It's almost the same principle as Collapse. But this is a single-target attack focused on piercing power. It's great against high-defense enemies, and I thought it might work against fire attacks. Luckily, I was right."

Saying this, Edgar turned his attention back to Windor, who, despite his injuries, stood victoriously over the carcass of the Crotalus Desertignis.

The carcass had been split in two by Windor's strike. The tail half twitched erratically, though it was merely due to lingering nervous reflexes. The other half, where the head was located, lay firmly pinned under Windor's talons.

Though it continued to spasm, there was no life left in the serpent. Its skull had been cracked open by Windor's powerful beak, and its brain devoured. Unfortunately, Windor missed out on the greater reward—a core of aura—since the serpent was female.

To compensate for the lack of a core, Windor began tearing apart the serpent's remains, searching for areas where the aura concentration was highest. These were sensitive aura points, where complex interconnections ran through its aura veins.

"Well, it seems the bird isn't so useless after all," Nala remarked, complimenting Windor's ability to defeat the serpent even without entering combat mode.

"Stop calling him that. Besides, you were the one who gave him to me as a gift. If he really were useless, wouldn't it be your fault for choosing him?"

"You've got a point... But if you put as much effort into training your aura core as you do with your pets, you'd already be ready to travel with me."

"That's irrelevant. Besides, I'm fine for now. I don't want to leave home anytime soon. I'm a laid-back guy who doesn't like over-the-top adventures or responsibilities."

"When you turn ten, you'll need to attend the Academy. By sixteen, you'll leave the Academy and train under Lord Akachi's guidance. After that, a peaceful life will be out of reach. You know that, don't you?" Nala said, turning to Edgar with a tone of warning and threat.

"Of course, but as I said, I'm a laid-back guy. One thing at a time," Edgar replied calmly, not meeting her gaze.

"Ha. You've got a Nexus Link with a Dragon Lady and have already accepted my Soul Link. You're definitely not a laid-back guy," Nala teased, her voice laced with irony and a hint of a warning.

"… Next year."

"Huh?"

"We'll travel together next year."

Caught off guard, Nala quickly turned toward the horizon. Yet, she couldn't hide the shy smile that spread across her face upon hearing Edgar's promise.

"I will hold you to that promise." She said softly.