Kai's first clash with the Thunderbird after his training very nearly ended the entire hunt: the monster assumed he was still sluggish in the air and attacked with too much confidence. He wasn't going to hold anything back, not against an opponent like this, so he began with Baleful Breath at nearly point blank range.

That should have been enough, but the Thunderbird was just a notch faster and more alert than he'd expected. Even though the darkness roiled forward quickly, the monster pulled back faster, and the thunderclap of its wings actually slowed the expansion of his deadly smoke. The Thunderbird's eyes flashed and it summoned more lightning against him as they clashed in the air.

So in the end he wasn't able to bring it down by surprise, but he'd get another chance. For the next two days the Thunderbird remained at a distance, not afraid and simply waiting for the perfect opportunity. Occasionally it summoned another storm at them, but Omilaena had improved her lightning rods and they were generally safe. It was too bad they hadn't figured out a good way to use those in combat against the supremely fast monster.

As he prepared himself, Kai realized that one of his most important strategic decisions was which abilities to use. So he examined his full soul again, even though he had been overwhelmingly focused on gaining new monstrous abilities recently.

<

Name: Kai Clanless

Total Power: 381

Cultivation: Body Refinement 31% (107)

Physique Level: D-2 (210)

Soul Level: 8 (64)

Loose Chakra: 68 (0)

Monstrous Hunger - XI (lambda)

Behemoth's Heart - VII (eta)

Direboar's Strength - XI (lambda)

Isulfr's Bite - VII (eta)

Tyrant's Claw - VIII (theta)

Void Gaze - VI (zeta)

-

Baleful Breath - IV (delta)

Sahagin's Soul - VI (zeta)

Garuda's Wing - VI (zeta)

Pegasus's Grace - V (epsilon)

Lizarkyl's Tail - IV (delta)

Direurchin's Spikes - IV (delta)

Wallcrawler's Feet - II (beta)

Crystal Slime - I (beta)

Dreamleech - I (alpha)

Abominalgum - I (alpha)

Rose Piranha - II (beta)

Bloodtrap - III (gamma)

Deathvine - I (alpha)

Banchlain - IV (delta)

>

Fusing Garuda's Wing and Pegasus's Grace felt wrong and he reserved that as a desperation choice if all else failed, but that meant he had little flexibility. Void Gaze was most effective but couldn't end things on its own, then Baleful Breath and Tyrant's Claw each had their weaknesses.

In the end he decided to leave Void Gaze behind and use both mobility traits at once. He had to wait another day before he got his chance, then at last the Thunderbird rumbled toward them again.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

This time he actually tried to fly against it, arcing up into the sky in a single leap. It flew toward him and he raised a hand, only for it to arc away. The Thunderbird managed to flit around to his back like a shadow on wings, but he twisted smoothly in midair, ready to attack again, and it darted away.

He knew that he couldn't compete in the air with pure speed... but he wasn't getting torn apart, either. The Thunderbird didn't attack too recklessly, no doubt being wary of Void Gaze. Omilaena harried it with spears tipped with its own feathers, preventing it from building up too much speed while he dropped back to the ground.

When he next leapt forward, a lightning bolt seared just in front of him, singing some of his hair. He was almost completely blind, but he could still feel the Thunderbird with raw hunger. It had hesitated, surprised he pushed through, so he finally had his chance.

He launched a Tyrant's Claw at the same time he began exhaling Baleful Breath. The Thunderbird dodged the claw, of course, darting to the side, which took it into the path of his breath. So close, smoke coiling around its wings... when it beat its wings in another thunderclap he knew it would move too fast for him to see, so he moved on instinct. It shot upward, but his head swung up first, expelling the cloud of destructive smoke overhead.

Finally he landed a direct hit. The Thunderbird roared out in pain as his breath impacted its chest, and for a moment as he fell he thought it was over. But it managed another flap of its wings - not as strong as before, but enough to escape being consumed by the breath entirely. Kai crashed to the ground, spent, and watched the Thunderbird limp away into the storm.

"Almost had it," Omilaena said as she stepped up beside him.

"We'll get it next time," he told her.

But there wasn't a next time. The Thunderbird appeared to have more intelligence than the average monster, because it didn't return to fight him. Two days later it attacked other elves to the east, and for several days they tried to pursue it, but even in its weakened state they couldn't catch up and hunt it down so easily. For a time Kai thought that all of his efforts had been completely in vain.

If only he'd chosen a slightly different set of skills, or been a little faster, or fused his aerial skills... none of that mattered now, since the Thunderbird wouldn't attack him again. He could try to hide within another caravan, but it was attacking cautiously while its wounds healed. Just when he was about to give up, he was surprised to see Yonto strolling out onto the plan.

"Gotta say, you impressed us," he said slowly. "Not many humans have that sort of... stick-to-it-itiveness. And all for our sake... well, we can't let you keep going alone."

"You're going to help fight?" Kai asked. He should have been happy, but he was more worried they might prevent him from eating the monster.

"Naw, we don't have many strong enough. But we can definitely attack the birdy. I'll get all the hunters together and we'll push it north. The trick will probably only work once, so this is your last chance."

Omilaena didn't have a better plan, so they agreed. Both of them teleported north to a hiding place while the elves finally deployed their forces against the Thunderbird. Kai hoped that the Inverted Guard might join in too, but that seemed to be too much to hope for. So long as it worked out, this would be enough.

Everything would come down to him in the end, so Kai considered his strategy extremely carefully. In the end, he went with a different set of abilities than he'd originally planned.

<

Monstrous Hunger - XI (lambda)

Behemoth's Heart - VII (eta)

Garuda's Wing - VI (zeta)

Pegasus's Grace - V (epsilon)

Isulfr's Bite - VII (eta)

Void Gaze - VI (zeta)

>

He still hadn't fused his aerial skills, getting full use out of each. Instead he gave up Direboar's Strength for the first time in ages to free an extra slot. No Tyrant's Claw or Baleful Breath, since the Thunderbird was now familiar with them... just Void Gaze to stop it, and Isulfr's Bite to hopefully end things for good.

When the Thunderbird appeared on the horizon, Kai took a deep breath and rose to his feet. There were no elves in range and Omilaena was ready... there was nothing else they could do to prepare. The monster still seemed somewhat injured, but it was regenerating too. It had to be now.

Kai leapt from hiding silently, flying through the air with all the speed his abilities could manage. He nearly reached the Thunderbird, activating Void Gaze, but it managed another thunderclap with its wings, hammering him back down into the ground.

But even as he fell, Kai didn't close his eyes or flinch. Even when his back smashed into the ground, he kept the Thunderbird locked in place.

That was just long enough for one of Omilaena's spears to strike it. This one had a syringe at the tip, injecting the monster with her best poison. It screeched in pain and unleashed a more devastating lightning storm than ever before.

The explosion of light broke Kai's concentration and Void Gaze, but he'd recovered enough to get to his feet and leap again. This time he didn't try to freeze the entire monster, just caught one wing and pinned it in place, which made its path swing violently to one side. It moved with the motion and whirled on him, beak opening...

And it froze. Kai continued hurtling forward and for the first time struck the Thunderbird directly. His fingers burned as they gripped the feathers, but they instinctively dug in, curling into claws. He opened his mouth, feeling his maw stretch, and tried to bite down.

Lightning struck him first, not just from above but flowing from the Thunderbird's body. The raw pain of it froze him in place, and by the time the second bolt hit, his world was spinning. There was so much electricity coursing through him that he could barely concentrate on his abilities and the Thunderbird opened its beak to kill him...

Somehow he managed to summon Void Gaze again. He clutched the Thunderbird's feathers as it fell backward through the air, neither of them capable of moving. His eyes locked it into place as they plummeted, while its eyes flashed and sent bolt after bolt of lightning into him. A hideous stench increased around him as first his clothing and then his flesh burned.

Kai tasted blood in his mouth, but it was his own. As they plummeted to earth in an apocalyptic storm of thunder and lightning, he struggled to close his jaws.